What I Want From WiiWare

As many of you know there is a size limit of 40MB for WiiWare games. Games today can't be made under that size limit if they use 3-D graphics and large soundtracks. You see great games like NyxQuest that have to be pared down and have things taken out or limited in order to fit under that 40MB limit. We've also know that NES and SNES and even N64 games fit well under that size limit with NES game being less than a megabyte in size, SNES games ranging around 2-3 MB in size and N64 games ranging between 8 and 32 MB in size.

I would like to see developers taking advantage of that fact and using those systems, mainly the SNES, as the basis for a huge epic RPG for WiiWare. Nicalis is probably the closest to doing something like that with Cave Story and La-Mulana coming out soon that utilize 8 bit and 16 bit style graphics. Capcom did that with Mega Man 9 and created a great game that could end up being a classic in the Mega Man franchise. While the shooters from Hudson, or the great puzzle games like World of Goo are awesome and bring a lot to the system gamers, especially older ones, remember things like Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger.

Who wouldn't want to to see a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past using that same engine and creating an epic tale in the Zelda franchise. We're getting a new Mario game this year that hearkens back to the side scrolling era, but can't fit under that size and has to be put on a disc. We're also getting a new Metroid game that is very reminiscent of a game like Super Metroid but is so big that it has to be put on physical media as well. Those games are more than likely going to be great and will be remembered for many years to come. I will never hid the fact that I believe the Super Nintendo era was the greatest generation in gaming to date. The system still has beautiful games that hold up better than many that came after it. You also see more and more, lists of the greatest games in franchises and many of them come from the Super Nintendo era. Here are a few that I know right off the bat; Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Final Fantasy IV (II), Final Fantasy VI (III)Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Star Fox, and there are many more that you could name.

16 bit graphics aren't out of date. They're from a different generation, but they can still be used to create memorable games. Square-Enix has given us a sequel to Final Fantasy IV and was able to charge the same amount as if the game had been released on the DS. Speaking of that system, it's become to de facto home to the top down RPG and people think that's where those games work best. That may be the case, but all the games you're playing on that system started out on a home console during the NES or Super NES era and as I've said before that's the generation people remember most fondly when they look back at their own history of gaming.

We've seen that great game can and will continue to be put on the WiiWare service. The problem is many of them don't last very long and people feel they're not getting enough game play for their dollar. Lost Winds was too short, the music is NyxQuest is repetitive, the graphics for The Three Musketeers suffered because of the size limit. All those issues could be removed with a return to the classics. People still create music on the Game Boy because it was memorable. People remember the beauty of F-Zero or Yoshi's Island. Why not get back to that. Introduce younger players to the games of the past with new games that remember that era? That's a great platform for a new game. It won't look old, it will have a different style from new games.

I want, more than anything, a new epic RPG. It doesn't have to be from a franchise I know. Create something new. Something people will talk about as a classic 16 bit RPG when they discuss Zelda, or Chrono or Fire Emblem. Create a new Mega Man X. Save the big budget, 3-D graphics, and orchestrated music for retail.