E3’s everywhere at the moment. You can’t do anything on the internet without hearing something about gaming’s biggest annual conference, and some of this year’s announcements are next level.
One of the most interesting things to come out of Sony’s press conference yesterday is the return of videogame superstar: Crash Bandicoot. A new playable character in the upcoming Skylanders Imaginators, Crash is looking good on PS4. But it got us thinking, what other videogame characters are due a triumphant return?
Check out seven that we want to see back on consoles ASAP:
1. Banjo-Kazooie
Anyone who owned an N64 will know and love Banjo-Kazooie.
If we told you that the whole thing was about a bear with a big red bird in his backpack, you’d probably think that we’re mental, but you can’t argue with the two million people who thought that the first game in the series was worth a buy.
Unfortunately though, the unlikely duo haven’t been seen since 2012’s Nuts & Bolts on Xbox 360, and might never have a new adventure. But we can always hope!
Possibly the next best thing, the original team that created Banjo-Kazooie are currently making a brand new game called Yooka-Laylee and it looks like it could live up to the hype. Check it:
2. Spyro
In 1998 a purple dragon named Spyro made his way onto PS1.
With amazing graphics for the time, loads of replay value and an awesome soundtrack, Spyro The Dragon became one of Sony’s hottest properties. A few decent sequels followed, but the last proper Spyro game was way back in 2008.
Sure, Skylanders is technically a Spyro game, but it’s not really, is it? We want to charge around looking for gems and blow flames at everything that moves again. We want the old Spyro back!
3. Duke Nukem
Before you say “But Duke Nukem Forever!”, let us just stop you right there.
Duke Nukem 3D is iconic. Taking the genre that DOOM and Wolfenstein made so popular and putting a whole new spin on it, Duke is world famous for his sharp one-liners and penchant for alien butt kicking.
Spending over 15 years in development, Duke Nukem Forever was a total mess. We want a proper Duke 3D sequel, and we’d like it in less than 15 years, please.
4. Earthworm Jim
The grooviest guy in all of videogaming, Earthworm Jim is pretty retro by today’s standards.
A totally normal worm at first, a supersuit (made by Professor Monkey-For-A-Head) falls from space and lands on Jim, transforming him into a walking, talking hero with super strength and a trusty raygun. Riding giant hamsters and fighting villains like Bob the Killer Goldfish, Earthworm Jim was a hilarious platformer like no other.
A sequel to the original game came out in 1995, and a HD version was released for PSN and Xbox Live in 2010, but imagine modern day Jim game? That’s what it’s all about.
5. Cortez
Timesplitters is up there with the greatest first person shooters of all time.
Although the first was a little flimsy story wise, it introduced us to a whole new level of multiplayer carnage, and even let you play as a machinegun toting gingerbread man.
Fast forward to Timesplitters 2 and we were finally given a proper plot starring witty space marine, Cortez (who looks suspiciously like Vin Diesel). Appearing once more in Timesplitters: Future Perfect, Cortez has never been seen since.
6. Croc
Back in a time when there were millions of platform game mascots fighting for our attention, Croc was one of the few that stood out.
Dropping on PS1 in 1997, Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos was an awesome platforming adventure. It was the kind of game that would make your mates ask to come to yours for tea every night just so they could have a go. Similar to the Spyro games that it definitely inspired, it mostly involved collecting gems, beating baddies and saving things, but that was all we wanted back then.
There’s nowhere near as much of a buzz around platformers now, but we reckon Croc still has a lot of potential.
7. Abe
An all-time favourite videogame character with a massive cult following, Abe is Oddworld Studios’ finest creation.
A bumbling Mudokon (read “green alien thingy”) used as a slave at RuptureFarms (read “alien meat factory”), Abe realises that the stuff he’s processing and packaging is actually his friends and family. Helping Abe escape is a massive childhood memory for anyone who grew up gaming in the mid to late 90s.
After Abe's Oddysee, the character would appear a couple of years later in Abe’s Exodus, and was a playable character in Munch’s Oddysee, but other than a recent HD revamp of his first adventure, Abe has gone completely dark. You can bet fans would lose their minds if he were to make a comeback, though!
Which videogame characters do you miss the most? Hit us up in the comments so we can get all nostalgic with you!
