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Roughly around the time Sega became a third-party developer and let the Dreamcast die, something changed in the company. There were still a few delightfully quirky titles that saw the light of day (Panzer Dragoon Orta comes to mind), but for the most part Sega seemed content to let some of its intellectual properties die off while it focused only on the money-makers. This certainly makes sense from a business standpoint but has had the effect of altering the perception of Sega by the gaming public. What once was regarded as a company with a yen for creating games that did not necessarily follow trends but instead created them, has shifted to a business stance closer to that of Electronic Arts. Some of the persons responsible for Sega's older franchises no longer work with the company, and some recent efforts to continue Sega's venerated series have been rather anticlimactic. Merely making the effort to revisit titles long left dormant would be a great boon to RPGamers.
I am aware of the plentiful Phantasy Star titles that have been released ever since the Dreamcast days. All of these Phantasy Star titles, however, are in the Online moniker that is a decided change from the four keystone Phantasy Star games that are remembered by veteran Sega fans. Whether it be an actual release outside Japan of the PS2 remakes Sega did of the first two Phantasy Star games, or a new Phantasy Star game that eschews multiplayer-friendliness to be an actual continuation of the Algol solar system's perpetual conflict with Dark Force, such would find an appreciative audience.
Skies of Arcadia was, in development, described as Phantasy Star V in conception. The game differentiated itself from Phantasy Star quite handily, and not in a bad way. But the original Phantasy Star games and Skies of Arcadia share Rieko Kodama's development skills in their credits. Her current project of 7th Dragon is nearing completion, and once it is done a new Skies of Arcadia title could be begun.
Nor, as she was also involved in Alex Kidd, he could be revived. An Alex Kidd game has not been released in almost 20 years and the games all played rather differently from each other back in the late 80's. Making an RPG based on Alex Kidd is a bit of a stretch but not an enormous one - any game with rock-paper-scissors matches for boss fights is not entirely about twitch gaming. Alex Kidd featured money to buy equipment, not a common feature in 80's platforming, and controls that were not all they should have been. Rather than revive Alex Kidd in a 3D platformer he could have an RPG.
Dragon Force is remembered with great fondness among Saturn players, for good reason. It and its Japan-only sequel still have a tactical style that has not been copied, even though Sega released in its Sega Ages line a slight remake of the first game on PS2. That PS2 redo is clearly not going to be granted an English release, but Sega could always revisit Dragon Force in the hopes of snagging tactical aficianados who were not privy to the game thanks to its Saturn exclusivity.
Panzer Dragoon Saga will almost certainly never find a port to another console. Panzer Dragoon Orta was a fine game, even if it was not an RPG. Orta is now going on seven years old, with no word from Sega on any further Panzer Dragoon titles. Team Andromeda, the development group within Sega responsible for Panzer Dragoon Saga, was long ago dissolved into the various in-house development groups of the company. Smilebit, the development group responsible for Orta, has similarly been broken apart. Thus hopes of gathering most of the people who originally worked on one of the Saturn's best titles are probably futile. Given the at-best middling sales of Panzer Dragoon, hoping for anything at all on this front is for the eternal optimist.
Wonder Boy may also be due for a return. The series evolved from Adventure Island with different sprites into a couple of action-RPG iterations that were heavier on the 'action' than the 'RPG.' Greatness was not achieved with any of the installments I've played, but Sega has sat on the license since 1994 with no word except compilations in Japan. A new Wonder Boy game is past due.
With all of these older Sega titles I reference, there is one I fervently hope never sees the light of day again. Sword of Vermilion should stay dead, though it is on the Virtual Console. It is one of the more excruciating ordeals I have played, and deserves no second chance - leave it in the graveyard of games.
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