What do you get when you cross The Legend of Zelda with tropical locales and space aliens? You get StarTropics. StarTropics was a unique, interesting title for the NES for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it has never been released in Japan. Rather, it was created by Japanese designers living in the United States, for the United States (and eventually Europe). Among those developers was one Genyo Takeda, who is perhaps best known for his involvement in the various Punch-Out!! games and the development of the Wii console. As for the game itself, it's a modern (as of 1990, anyway) story about a boy named Mike Jones who visits his uncle's island lab, only to discover he's gone missing. He sets out to visit different islands and villages via maps which resemble classic Japanese RPGs, and ventures into caves which switch things to a view which more closely resembles The Legend of Zelda, right down to the row of red hearts which form his life meter. Along the way, he gains use of various weapons, including yo-yos, baseball bats, spiked ball-and-chains, laser guns, and more, as well as a submarine with a R.O.B.-like navigator to explore the islands with. Meanwhile, enemies include everything from snakes and skeletons on up to mummies, sea serpents, and the evil alien Zoda. Speaking of Zoda, StarTropics did actually have one sequel... Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II was a 1994 release, and the second-to-last licensed game for the NES, to say nothing of the last NES-exclusive (the last, Wario's Woods, would also see a Super NES release). As sequels tend to do, it improved on some aspects of the original (such as diagonal movement and attacks), though it also arguably fell short in others. Rather than island-hopping, Zoda's Revenge put an emphasis on time travel, and wove its tale in some rather silly ways (such as retrieving a "Caesar's Hut Pizza" for Cleopatra). In any case, StarTropics is long, long overdue for a sequel... or possibly even a remake. Either way, a chance to revisit C-Island and face off against the various creatures and villains under the Southern Cross. Even more enticing is the idea of visiting such settings in a 3D environment, taking on foes with a system similar to 3D Zelda games, and of course, riding around in a fully-rendered Sub-C. The natural choice would seem to be to get one of Nintendo's western development arms to handle such a chore, perhaps once more under the supervision of Takeda. Monster Games, Next Level Games, or Retro Studios all seem like great fits - in fact, the latter has expressed interest in creating their own Zelda game. Perhaps a new StarTropics would make for a good test run? There you have it: 20 classic Nintendo games which desperately deserve sequels. As stated at the outset, though, this list isn't definitive or comprehensive - Nintendo just has too many great games to choose from - and that's where you come in. Think one game or another deserves to be ranked higher (or lower)? Do you think it's finally Urban Champion or Radar Scope's time to shine? Tell us in the comments below!
Former Nintendo Power writer, current Nintendo Force writer. Wrote the book on Mega Man (The Robot Master Field Guide). Was once fired by Vince McMahon. Dabbles in video games, comic books, toys, and fast food curiosities. Once had a new species of exotic bird named after him. It died.
You can find more of his writings, musings, and other such things on his websites at Nyteworks.net.
