Elder Scrolls: Skyrim since its release has captivated gamers with its ridiculously long quest and endless amount of sidequests and random things to do that usually don’t even contribute to the main adventure. You can literally spend over 100 hours on the game and still not be done finding everything. Yes this game has its small bugs and issues, but the general scope of the game is arguably the biggest we have in all of gaming.
No franchise has honestly attempted to reach the scope of Elder Scrolls nowadays, with the possible exception of the Grand Theft Auto games. And of course, seeing what we can now do video games thanks to American game companies ever-expanding their horizons with the evolving admiration of sandbox/non-linear gaming that used to be held exclusively to RPG, we can only ponder: what other franchises should aim for the Skyrim heights? What gaming franchises would benefit from creating a game as big as Elder Scrolls IV?
Here is my list of the franchises that would most benefit from gaining the “Skyrim Scope.”
#7: Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy used to be one of the bigger games out there, with the SNES version guaranteeing over 20 hours of gameplay and Final Fantasy VII bringing the genre to a new level. But with the recent games, the franchise has gone so far backwards I have no idea how much worse it can possibly get. What they need to do is get back to the basics: provide a decent story, decent characters, and strip any shred of evidence of linear gameplay. The JRPGs are dying because with the exception of Pokemon, they fall into the category of being to focused, too linear, and far too restrictive. With a Skyrim environment, Square can give the next Final Fantasy more breathing room to set off on your quest at your own pace. That's all we want really.
#6: James Bond 007
Goldeneye remains the best James Bond game in all of history because of the amount exploring you got to do in the midst of completing your missions. Running on the Super Mario 64 engine, Goldeneye on the N64 had a lot of spots that actually didn't even contribute to the overall mission, they were just extra rooms to explore. Imagine taking the Bond license, creating a new storyline (or just take a few existing storylines), and then trying to expand the real world settings as much as possible. Imagine being Bond and fully exploring Las Vegas or Times Square, or London, or less-traveled roads in search of enemies or new clues. That would definitely take Bond in a new direction.
#5: Endless Ocean
These ocean exploration games despite being a little slow-paced, are soothing and delightful games that have enticed the imaginations of the younger gamers. Not much happens, but the opportunity to dive and interact with creatures of the deep have made these games mild surprise hits. Now if you were to maximize the scope and include more bodies of water, more depth, and much more, well, ocean, that would jack up not only the realism of the game, but the exploration aspects of it. Endless Ocean can truly be endless, if you give it the proper scope.
#4: Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is a game that focuses heavily on interaction, an open world, and sheer size and variety. The Wii version didn't really improve upon anything the previous installments had, but with the WiiU, size should not be an issue. Imagine a Skyrim world for Animal Crossing, which allows for you to visit dozens of different places by traveling on foot or by boat or maybe even plane. With games like Animal Crossing, the main appeal is just finding all the fun little secrets scattered around. If you have a massive environment, the replayability, and eventually the quality of the game can improve.
#3: Pokemon
Pokemon is the biggest franchise in terms of sales, quality, and quantity in the handheld market. As a matter of fact its arguably the ONLY handheld franchise from the 90s to remain surviving in the world of today. Pokemon Black/White 2 has sold nearly 3 million copies---only in Japan---on an older system. One problem: too much potential has not been used. Yes, I have covered this before.
Imagine the Pokemon universe the size of Skyrim. Imagine combining all six major regions into one massive game. Now, similar to some of the entries here I have discussed the potential of Pokemon if they were to increase the scope and give it some extra time for development. Of all the best-selling franchises in history, the Pokemon remains the only one that has yet to tap into its full potential. Skyrim scoping it can definitely help.
#2: Kingdom Hearts
Part of this is because Square Enix is holding us hostage over Kingdom Hearts 3. Did you know that it has been 6 years since Kingdom Hearts II? Are you kidding me??! Now, Disney has purchased Marvel, has over 50 animated movies to work with, several live-action incarnations to mess around with as well. Come on now, that is dozens of environments to expand upon, dozens of places to truly dwell a little further into. Don’t give us samples of Disney movies, give us main courses! How awesome would it be if Disney truly went out and expanded places like Toontown, Africa (Lion King version), Halloweentown, the universe of TRON, and other Disney gems? It would be Disney fanfare to the ultimate degree. Remember, Square back in the 90s delivered some huge games. A nice way to come back to the prime is by exploding the Disney universe in the oft-delayed franchise.
#1: The Legend of Zelda
This is a no-brainer. I have discussed this time and time again: Zelda used to be the biggest and the baddest out there and Nintendo needs to attempt to reclaim this throne. In the 80s, Legend of Zelda was the biggest game out there with duel quests. In the 90s, Link to the Past held the throne for several years before the Nintendo 64 came out. Ocarina of Time---another Zelda game, became the biggest game on the face of the earth when 1998 rolled around. Lastly, Wind Waker was a game that suffered quality-wise because it was so large that gamers were quite frankly lost WITH a map AND a compass.
Fast-forward to today. Thanks to the weaker Wii system, the two Zelda games were nowhere near as immense as the norm. With the WiiU, Nintendo has the perfect opportunity to step up to the plate and truly create something special, something unique, and most importantly---something big. The Zelda brand has been soiled in recent times because of the weaker games within the past 7 years. The next Legend of Zelda game is arguably the most important in its long history---it will finally be in HD, in a decently-powerful system, and has the chance to scope like Skyrim. While it may hold the title only until the PS4 and Xbox 720 releases, it is a necessity to be on top at least for a little and clean up the name of the franchise.
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