Top 10 Portable Games We Want an AAA Version Of
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Dimitri Vadrahanis
These games were great on handheld, but they could be even better on console! Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we'll be counting down our top 10 portable games we want an AAA Version of.
To have your ideas turned into a WatchMojo or MojoPlays video, head over to http://WatchMojo.comsuggest and get to it!
To have your ideas turned into a WatchMojo or MojoPlays video, head over to http://WatchMojo.comsuggest and get to it!
Top 10 Portable Games We Want an AAA Version Of
In this case, AAA doesn’t mean loot boxes and microtransactions. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our top 10 portable games we want an AAA Version Of.
Taking games on the go can give players new places and opportunities to play, but the weaker hardware can lead to some compromised experiences. Consoles like the Switch are bridging this gap and bringing games like “Pokémon” to the big screen, but this list is focusing on the rest of the titles that need to make that same leap.
In the past decade Nintendo has brought us four AAA 3D “Metroid” games on consoles, but this 3DS exclusive remake of the 1991 original hammers home that there’s still a place for the iconic 2D side-scrollers. Mercury Steam proves that this style can provide tense cinematic moments and atmospheric environments, but the whole experience is held back somewhat by the dated system specs. Screw the 3D, we need this in 1080p with a control scheme that doesn’t make our hands cramp up after an hour or two of blasting enemies.
Turn-based combat has fallen out of favor in recent years, but there’s still a thriving market for challenging and deep JRPGs in this style. The “Bravely” series fits that bill with its unique battle system that encourages players to gamble away their future turns for devastating attacks. Toss in some great animations and fun, if not occasionally frustrating stories, and you have a series ripe with mainstream potential. It’s not even a question of sales. If anything, the success of “Octopath Traveler” by the same development team should have shown Square that there’s a still a huge market that would jump on the opportunity to give these titles a go.
Smartphone gaming doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. For every score-attack like “Flappy Bird” and cow-clicker like “Simpsons: Tapped Out,” you have hardcore immersive titles like this sci-fi FPS. It takes full advantage of powerful mobile hardware to deliver a good single player experience, which is rare enough these days for the genre, while still managing to tack in popular multiplayer modes like team deathmatch. Really, the game is perfectly enjoyable as is, but we’re still hoping for an eventual jump to the PS4 or Xbox One so that we could play with controls that don’t rely on inaccurate touch inputs.
The great thing about portable gaming is low development costs, allowing developers the opportunity to take some risks. Case in point: this blend of fighting and ARPG elements that allows players to block and parry their way through an increasingly difficult series of 1 on 1 battles. Really though, that would mean nothing without a great story to keep you hooked, and this trilogy has so much lore that it even inspired a novel series written by Brandon freaking Sanderson. You know, one of the best fantasy writers alive today. With all the money “Fortnite” is raking in, we’re sure Epic Games can toss this franchise a few million for a facelift.
The Power Rangers really get the short end of the stick with the number of terrible games they star in. Amazingly, the one title that did get it right is this card-based team-focused fighter. Sure, the controls are dumbed down, and the fighting can be infuriatingly luck-based, but everything else we’ve ever wanted is here, Megazord battles included. It even includes characters from “Street Fighter,” so there’s really no excuse for it to still be flying under the radar. After all, “X-Men vs. Street Fighter” was a thing over 20 years ago, so we know it’s a concept that works.
Taking 132 of the most popular Marvel characters and counting and letting players roam free with different collectible items, “Marvel Contest of Champions” is a fun little collectathon that also happens to feature some pretty great PvP fights to boot. While they all boil down to strategically tapping and swiping, they’re fast, engaging, and never rely on spamming overpowered moves for an easy victory. An AAA console quality version without the microtransactions or overheating issues would easily find itself as one of the premiere fighting game franchises around thanks to the strength of its roster.
It’s a shame that nobody bought the Vita because it had some great games. This fantastic ARPG from Marvelous AQL is one of our favorites, and features an innovative mechanic of fusing enemy life energy into your right arm to gain different perks. Choosing between offense and defense adds a nice layer of strategy to the epic boss fights and allows for different play styles, keeping it fresh for subsequent playthroughs. With a budget of something like “God of War” to give the environments and characters fully-rendered cutscenes, this title could quickly become another premiere Sony exclusive if they borrow Nintendo’s Wii U to Switch strategy and port it to the PS4 for a second chance.
It was perhaps the first real killer app on Nintendo’s 3D handheld device, and the fact that it’s still considered a masterpiece should tell you everything you need to know about it’s quality. This reboot invested a new generation into a character that’s been a mainstay in games like “Smash Bros.” but has otherwise remained inexplicably dormant. What happened? The writing is excellent with a witty sense of humor, and the gameplay is a dynamic and frantic mash-up of third-person boss fights and shoot ‘em up sections. A new version wouldn’t even require Nintendo to release a freaking stand just to make the game playable, so there’s no reason to keep putting it off.
While this series falls short of all-time classics such as “Paper Mario and “Super Mario RPG”, there’s no denying how fun these games can be, so it’s probably time for them to jump off strictly handhelds and make its way to bigger and better things. There are endless opportunities for stories since the games are always incorporating both new and old characters, and its combat that revolves around properly timed inputs to avoid enemy attacks adds skill and depth, making it more fun than the classic turn-based approach. The only things missing are better graphics and more expansive worlds.
We’re just as excited as you are that “Final Fantasy VII” is finally getting its long-requested remake, but there’s a whole chunk of the narrative that still deserves some attention. Zack’s action focused prequel is radically different in style to the classic ATB system, sure, but it’s still got some masterful story-telling that really enhances that of the mainline game. Over 11 million copies of Cloud’s adventure were sold, and only about 3 million of Zack’s. That means there’s a huge percentage of players that deserve to have this title brought up to 2018 standards to complement the upcoming remake. Get cracking Square.
In this case, AAA doesn’t mean loot boxes and microtransactions. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our top 10 portable games we want an AAA Version Of.
Taking games on the go can give players new places and opportunities to play, but the weaker hardware can lead to some compromised experiences. Consoles like the Switch are bridging this gap and bringing games like “Pokémon” to the big screen, but this list is focusing on the rest of the titles that need to make that same leap.
#10: “Metroid: Samus Returns” (2017)
In the past decade Nintendo has brought us four AAA 3D “Metroid” games on consoles, but this 3DS exclusive remake of the 1991 original hammers home that there’s still a place for the iconic 2D side-scrollers. Mercury Steam proves that this style can provide tense cinematic moments and atmospheric environments, but the whole experience is held back somewhat by the dated system specs. Screw the 3D, we need this in 1080p with a control scheme that doesn’t make our hands cramp up after an hour or two of blasting enemies.
#9: “Bravely” series (2014-16)
Turn-based combat has fallen out of favor in recent years, but there’s still a thriving market for challenging and deep JRPGs in this style. The “Bravely” series fits that bill with its unique battle system that encourages players to gamble away their future turns for devastating attacks. Toss in some great animations and fun, if not occasionally frustrating stories, and you have a series ripe with mainstream potential. It’s not even a question of sales. If anything, the success of “Octopath Traveler” by the same development team should have shown Square that there’s a still a huge market that would jump on the opportunity to give these titles a go.
#8: “N.O.V.A 3” (2012)
Smartphone gaming doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. For every score-attack like “Flappy Bird” and cow-clicker like “Simpsons: Tapped Out,” you have hardcore immersive titles like this sci-fi FPS. It takes full advantage of powerful mobile hardware to deliver a good single player experience, which is rare enough these days for the genre, while still managing to tack in popular multiplayer modes like team deathmatch. Really, the game is perfectly enjoyable as is, but we’re still hoping for an eventual jump to the PS4 or Xbox One so that we could play with controls that don’t rely on inaccurate touch inputs.
#7: “Infinity Blade” series (2010-13)
The great thing about portable gaming is low development costs, allowing developers the opportunity to take some risks. Case in point: this blend of fighting and ARPG elements that allows players to block and parry their way through an increasingly difficult series of 1 on 1 battles. Really though, that would mean nothing without a great story to keep you hooked, and this trilogy has so much lore that it even inspired a novel series written by Brandon freaking Sanderson. You know, one of the best fantasy writers alive today. With all the money “Fortnite” is raking in, we’re sure Epic Games can toss this franchise a few million for a facelift.
#6: “Power Rangers: Legacy Wars” (2017)
The Power Rangers really get the short end of the stick with the number of terrible games they star in. Amazingly, the one title that did get it right is this card-based team-focused fighter. Sure, the controls are dumbed down, and the fighting can be infuriatingly luck-based, but everything else we’ve ever wanted is here, Megazord battles included. It even includes characters from “Street Fighter,” so there’s really no excuse for it to still be flying under the radar. After all, “X-Men vs. Street Fighter” was a thing over 20 years ago, so we know it’s a concept that works.
#5: “Marvel: Contest of Champions” (2014)
Taking 132 of the most popular Marvel characters and counting and letting players roam free with different collectible items, “Marvel Contest of Champions” is a fun little collectathon that also happens to feature some pretty great PvP fights to boot. While they all boil down to strategically tapping and swiping, they’re fast, engaging, and never rely on spamming overpowered moves for an easy victory. An AAA console quality version without the microtransactions or overheating issues would easily find itself as one of the premiere fighting game franchises around thanks to the strength of its roster.
#4: “Soul Sacrifice” (2013)
It’s a shame that nobody bought the Vita because it had some great games. This fantastic ARPG from Marvelous AQL is one of our favorites, and features an innovative mechanic of fusing enemy life energy into your right arm to gain different perks. Choosing between offense and defense adds a nice layer of strategy to the epic boss fights and allows for different play styles, keeping it fresh for subsequent playthroughs. With a budget of something like “God of War” to give the environments and characters fully-rendered cutscenes, this title could quickly become another premiere Sony exclusive if they borrow Nintendo’s Wii U to Switch strategy and port it to the PS4 for a second chance.
#3: “Kid Icarus: Uprising” (2012)
It was perhaps the first real killer app on Nintendo’s 3D handheld device, and the fact that it’s still considered a masterpiece should tell you everything you need to know about it’s quality. This reboot invested a new generation into a character that’s been a mainstay in games like “Smash Bros.” but has otherwise remained inexplicably dormant. What happened? The writing is excellent with a witty sense of humor, and the gameplay is a dynamic and frantic mash-up of third-person boss fights and shoot ‘em up sections. A new version wouldn’t even require Nintendo to release a freaking stand just to make the game playable, so there’s no reason to keep putting it off.
#2: “Mario & Luigi” series (2003-)
While this series falls short of all-time classics such as “Paper Mario and “Super Mario RPG”, there’s no denying how fun these games can be, so it’s probably time for them to jump off strictly handhelds and make its way to bigger and better things. There are endless opportunities for stories since the games are always incorporating both new and old characters, and its combat that revolves around properly timed inputs to avoid enemy attacks adds skill and depth, making it more fun than the classic turn-based approach. The only things missing are better graphics and more expansive worlds.
#1: “Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII” (2008)
We’re just as excited as you are that “Final Fantasy VII” is finally getting its long-requested remake, but there’s a whole chunk of the narrative that still deserves some attention. Zack’s action focused prequel is radically different in style to the classic ATB system, sure, but it’s still got some masterful story-telling that really enhances that of the mainline game. Over 11 million copies of Cloud’s adventure were sold, and only about 3 million of Zack’s. That means there’s a huge percentage of players that deserve to have this title brought up to 2018 standards to complement the upcoming remake. Get cracking Square.
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