So ... How Was Your Anniversary?

In The Beginning: Back in 1986 there was nothing like The Legend of Zelda. Pretty much every other game Nintendo attempted was a 2D platformer, but Zelda was different. Zelda was an epic adventure that took a completely different camera angle and required gamers to have actual patience. Not only that, but you had to solve puzzles, discover hidden areas and beat impressive bosses. Zelda would go on to become one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, spawning countless sequels (or retellings, if you prefer) on a number of platforms. While Mario may be a star, Zelda's Link is a real hero.

20 Years Later: Going into 2006 we all knew that The Legend of Zelda was going to have a great year. Not only was the long overdue Twilight Princess scheduled for release, but there was rumblings about a possible handheld Zelda title that would make its way to the DS before Christmas. As expected the console Zelda found its way to the GameCube and Wii in the fourth quarter, but we're still waiting on that upcoming DS game. Thankfully nobody had time to think about the missing DS title because The Twilight Princess was a lengthy game that managed to hit all the notes fans on the series were hoping for. If you were waiting for a Zelda game that looked and felt like a sequel to Ocarina of Time, then you were in luck. The Twilight Princess succeeded thanks to its realistic graphics, intuitive motion controls and sizable adventure. While some may complain that the two versions of the game look nearly identical, few will argue that it is a solid adventure game that manages to retain a lot of the wonder found in Link's earlier outings. There is a debate raging out there whether this version of the game really lived up to the hype, but there's no doubt that this was a great way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Zelda franchise!

Future Prognosis: Of all the games celebrating an anniversary, The Legend of Zelda is the one with the brightest future. Considering the success of all of Nintendo's Zelda games it's hard to imagine the company up and abandoning one of their biggest franchises. That's good news for all of the gamers out there who love their Link, but recently some critics have started wondering if the franchise was stuck in something of a rut. Editors from both IGN and GameSpot have openly talked about how they were disappointed that this newest Zelda didn't do anything new and amazing, hoping that the next iteration will have something going for it we have never seen before. Given Nintendo's track record I suspect that by the time we're celebrating Zelda's 30th we will have a new type of experience that we can't get enough of.

In The Beginning: Metal Slug was released at a time when SNK was starting to tire of their non-stop diet of 2D fighting games. This was a straight forward action/shooter, similar to what we had seen from Contra and Gunstar Heroes. Unlike other games celebrating their birthdays in 2006, Metal Slug wasn't an international smash hit. Instead it was a mild success that was ported to a number of different consoles and portables over the past ten years. Even without the huge sales, SNK managed to release six different 2D installments, a 3D game and quite a few handheld ports. With its funny graphics, memorable enemies and non-stop action, Metal Slug is an easy game to remember ... even ten years later.

10 Years Later: It's hard to believe that ten years after SNK introduced Metal Slug the franchise is still going strong. Unfortunately most of the Metal Slug games released on this tenth anniversary were only available in other countries, but that doesn't mean American gamers were completely left out of the excitement. This year saw two new additions to the series and a nice Metal Slug collection available on the PSP and Wii. In Japan Metal Slug fans saw the sixth installment in the long running series, as well as a strange 3D version of the game that was widely considered to be a bust. American gamers didn't miss out on much, though. Late in the year we received the long overdue Metal Slug Anthology, a collection of every 2D title that graced the arcade (including the recently released Metal Slug 6). Sure it would have been nice for SNK to offer the 3D Metal Slug and the various portable versions, but the Anthology packs seven games together for a relatively cheap price. That's more than we got from some franchises this year.

Future Prognosis: Considering the success SNK has had with this series I wouldn't be surprised to see them continue the franchise, but something has to give. There are so many times they can make one of these Metal Slug games without doing anything to elevate the franchise. The improvements they've made have been minor, and the newest games aren't even coming to the States in standalone versions anymore. Can SNK keep this up for another ten years? I suspect not. I personally hope they aren't still milking this never-changing 2D series ten years from now.

In The Beginning: In a world of cartoon-like characters, Castlevania was the odd man out. It offered its players a chance to witness a dark world full of monsters. It was one of the first games that actually had you fighting some of yesteryear's greatest movie villains, such as Frankenstein, the Wolfman, and of course, Dracula. It also introduced gamers to a different type of video game weapon, a lengthy whip. Over the last twenty years we have watched the series go from just another 2D action game to an open world game full of mazes, role-playing attributes and magic. These days the series is best known for its success on the handhelds, but Castlevania was one of the first games that proved that you could have a dark and dreary game in a world full of bright colors and cute characters.

20 Years Later: It's been twenty years since the original Castlevania hit the Nintendo Entertainment System, but you would never know that if you talked with the nice people at Konami. When we brought up the fact that Castlevania was celebrating its 20th anniversary at E3, the people at Konami just looked at us blankly and ask, "It is?" One new Castlevania game was released this year, Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS, and it received good scores across the board. Unfortunately almost every major games publication suggested that it was something of a letdown, perhaps due to the short development time Konami is giving these sequels (this is the fifth handheld game in six years). Mid way through 2006 Konami announced that the most beloved 2D Castlevania, Symphony of the Night, would be hitting the Xbox Live Arcade at some point in the future. Sadly that has yet to happen, however we did get the very old school port of Super Castlevania IV on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Future Prognosis: Castlevania (like Dracula) will never die! Konami is one of the few third parties to make a splash on the Nintendo DS, and a large part of their success has to do with their constant barrage of Castlevania games. But here's the thing, nobody wants the Castlevania series to die out ... we just want them to slow down a little. There's no reason to have a new game every year, especially when you see the drop in quality from sequel to sequel. It's time to take a year off and then come back with a major new title, maybe even a 2D adventure on a console. The good news is that vampire hunting will never go out of style, but it's about time they took a break and focused on developing a few new IPs.