Next-Gen Resurgence: 15 Franchises That We Want to See On Xbox One and PS4

Gamers have had the pleasure of getting a look at several planned Xbox One and PS4 games. Luckily, a large variety of existing franchises are making the move to the next evolution in gaming. Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Star Wars: Battlefront, Metal Gear Solid and several other long-running franchises will be playable sooner or later on next-gen consoles. There’s a few other well-known franchises that we’re really itching to see on these two new consoles. These are the 15 gaming franchises that we want to see (and absolutely play!) on the Xbox One and PS4.

15. Darkstalkers

Capcom is most definitely invested in their most popular fighting game series – Street Fighter. We all have a feeling that Ryu and his world combatants will make a splash on the Xbox One and PS4, but there’s another Capcom fighting game franchise that we’re more invested in seeing. The warriors of the night need to make a move over to the next-gen. WE WANT ANOTHER DARKSTALKERS! We know 3D games will look 10-times more amazing on the new consoles, but we’re MORE intrigued about how awesome 2.5D games would appear. A new Darkstalkers that retains the look of current-gen Street Fighter would probably look awesome. Lord knows it would be a tight fighting game experience.

14. Def Jam (Fighting Games Series)

It’s been a long while since gamers have had the chance to take their favorite rappers into all-out 3D brawls. Def Jam Icon was pretty horrible when compared to the last two games in the series. The series took a break after that PS3/Xbox 360 flop, but now we’re ready to see it return for the new systems. The face capture animation for this game would have to be off the charts thanks to the powerful tech available on the Xbox One and PS4. We’re guaranteed to get some amazing visuals, but the return of Def Jam: Fight For New York’s fighting mechanics and Fight Club-like stages would take this sequel over the top.

13. Zone of the Enders

Konami and Hideo Kojima are quite busy with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Totally understandable. But once they’re done putting together this epic piece of espionage gameplay, we hope they return to their anime-influenced mech series – Zone of the Enders. The HD collection was recently released and it helped us remember how innovative the series was. The mid-air mech battles and the overall art design of the game’s environments and characters were endearing at the time of release (and still are). Could you just picture how more amazing Zone of the Enders would look once it moves over to the next-gen? More missile barrages for the Xbox One and PS4!

12. Darksiders

One of the more underrated gaming franchises on the current-gen is the Darksiders series. The apocalyptic adventures of War and Death were solid, thanks to their differing combat styling and the wide open worlds they were tasked with exploring. Both games took the best elements of the best action/adventure games and compiled them into one Gothic package. Darksiders needs a new home (its former publisher THQ is no more…), so we think the current masters of action games (PlatinumGames) should develop the sequel. Put War and Death together, add on the other members of the Four Horseman and just spruce up everything that was already great about the series. Darksiders on the Xbox One and PS4 would be incredible!

11. Onimusha

It’s been a while since we last sucked up all the souls of the demon army that had the undead balls to invade Japan. The Onimusha series was prevalent and strong during its tenure on the PS2. The first three games were amazing in retrospect (even Dawn of Dreams was pretty decent). Capcom needs to reach back into its huge collection of remaining franchises and deliver a true fourth sequel for the Onimusha series. Samanosuke Akechi was our favorite protagonist in the entire line of games, so we’d be more comfortable if he returned for another crusade against some demons. BRING THAT BISHAMON SWORD BACK, SON!

10. Midnight Club

Rockstar Games has certainly moved away from their line of racing games, which saddens us. We can’t blame them, since the company has crafted AAA-games that take years of development time to make right. Once they finish off Grand Theft Auto 5, we hope they take another stab at their open-world racing game series – Midnight Club. The free roaming and 24-hour day/night cycle aspects of the series were what made us fans. Now that we’re seeing a bunch of new racing games heading to the new consoles, we hope Rockstar takes the hint and makes a new Midnight Club. They might as well join the rest of the pack and revive their street racing series.

9. Mortal Kombat

Injustice: Gods Among Us is one of the better fighting games that we’ve played in 2013. We knew it was going to be dope because the development geniuses behind the Mortal Kombat series were behind it. The 2011 reboot of Mortal Kombat was more than incredible when it finally released, but now we’re psyched about playing a brand new MK. Hey, Killer Instinct is getting another stab at fighting game greatness on the Xbox One! We know NetherRealm Studios is hard at work at putting together another, super violent entry for the MK franchise. More Fatalities, more multi-tier stages and the return of past MK characters are what we want for the next-gen debut of MORTAL KOMBAT!

8. Prince of Persia

Ubisoft is a company that’s respected for putting out well-known franchises that push the boundaries of gaming, as well as brand new IP’s that look to freshen up the gaming landscape. We’re glad that they’re trying new things with the Assassin’s Creed series. We’re also joyous about the company’s newest IP, Watch Dogs. Now that we know how comfortable Ubisoft is when it comes to moving to the next-gen, we hope they bring the Prince of Persia with them. The graceful acrobatics of The Prince, the time-swapping abilities that the Sands of Time granted us and the parkour-influenced swordplay would all look amazing on the Xbox One and PS4. We wouldn’t mind seeing a return of the cel-shaded visuals of the 2008 reboot, too.

7. Resident Evil

The response to Resident Evil 6 was mixed, to say the least. We enjoyed certain aspects of the game (Leon’s campaign, the co-op gameplay and those insane dynamic events), but we also disliked a few annoying aspects of that sequel (those two other campaigns, the action-heavy gameplay and DEFINITELY Jake Muller). We want to love the survival-horror OG all over again, which means it needs a complete overhaul when it eventually makes its move to the next-gen. We hope Capcom balances the heavy action elements with the original horror elements of the first entries. Six playable characters is a bit much, so just four shall do – Leon, Claire, Chris and Jill. This series could get rejuvenated on the Xbox One and PS4.

6. Tomb Raider

Lara Croft rose from the ashes in 2013 when everyone got to play her quality reboot. The more vulnerable yet emotionally stronger Lara we got to play with made us fall in love with her all over again. Getting to take Lara into several dangerous situations and, at the same time, getting her out of them made the Tomb Raider franchise relevant again. Now we all know that this reboot was just the beginning of Lara’s tale as a world renowned treasure hunter. Her next grand adventure will most certainly move to the Xbox One and PS4, which we’re more than ready to take for a spin. Wherever young Lara Croft ends up next, we’ll be there.

Read More From Heavy

Top 10 Xbox Exclusives That Need to Be on Xbox One

5. The Elder Scrolls

Skyrim was massive, B. MASSIVE! Is there any possibility that a new Elder Scrolls could be even grander than one of the biggest action-RPG’s ever made? We think it could be done. The powerful tech that’s running inside the Xbox One and PS4 will no doubt provide some graphical improvements to the expansive worlds within The Elder Scrolls. We know there will be a lot more locations to get lost in, plus we have a good feeling that the best elements of Skyrim will make a return. Forget playing this, we’re more excited at the possibility at watching the first trailer for a next-gen Elder Scrolls.

4. Half-Life

Is Valve working on this thing in secret? We hope they are. The question is though, will they just make it for PC or will they let console gamers get a shot at experiencing the greatness of Half-Life? The Orange Box was a nice gesture from Valve, as it allowed owners of the Xbox 360/PS3 to play some of the company’s finest releases. We were one of those gamers who enjoyed our time with the collection (especially Half-Life 2). The offical third sequel is what gamers have been calling for for years now. When it finally does become a reality, we just hope Valve doesn’t ignore the owners of the next home gaming machines.

3. Fallout

Bethesda, are you listening? You guys did the world of gaming a huge favor when you dropped Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. Both games focused on post-apocalyptic locations, first-person/third-person gunplay and addictive character customization. We know all the diehard fans of the last two games and DLC campaigns are anticipating another taste of the Fallout universe. It’s not too hard to imagine what a new entry in the series will look like when it moves to the next-gen. We’re just looking forward to entering another wasteland in another part of the U.S. for a possible fourth Fallout.

2. Red Dead

Red Dead Redemption shocked everyone (gamer and non-gamer alike) when it made its strong debut on the Xbox 360 and PS3. We finally got a spaghetti western video game that was all the way awesome. We grew along with former outlaw John Marston as he searched for his former bandit buddies across the Wild Wild West. The frenetic gunplay, explorable open world and memorable cast ended up making Red Dead Redemption one of the most critically acclaimed games…ever. If (or when) Rockstar ever decided to return to the Wild West, we know they’ll do it on Microsoft and Sony’s next powerful gaming machines. Just imagine riding out into the sunset with a new cowboy in tow. We’re ready for some new Red Dead!

1. Batman (Arkham Series)

Comic book fans, Batman followers and fans of good games in general regard the Batman Arkham games as the finest in The Dark Knight’s long history. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City finally did justice to the world of Batman and his spotty video game track record. We now know that a prequel in the series (Arkham Origins) is on the way, but its being developed by a studio other than Rocksteady Studios. So that begs the question – what is Rocksteady working on? Gotham City, perhaps? The thought of getting dropped into a fully explorable Gotham City as Batman and his partners-in-crime (stopping) makes us giddy with excitement. The biggest Batman game of all time should happen on the Xbox One and PS4.

Don’t forget to pre-order your Xbox One Standard Edition HERE!

Don’t forget to pre-order your Xbox One Day One Edition HERE!

Don’t forget to pre-order your PS4 Standard Edition HERE!

[poll id=”85″]