We’ve talked about it a lot on the show recently, so what are some of what I’ll call mechanical sequels, where the name of the game changes but the core mechanic (and critically, key staff) remain consistent and refined across the series?
We’ll list these by the critical staff member who was involved.
Tokuhiro Takemori
The Astayanax (arcade, jaleco)
Astayanax (nes - a port, so doesn’t have Takemori involved, but it’s based on the original idea. also Jaleco)
The Legendary Axe (Turbo/PCE, Victor Musical Industries)
The mechanic that’s shared: Charge up your weapon with timing-based attacks that deplete, powerups make your gauge longer but more powerful if you wait longer.
Toshihisa Hasegawa AKA dark side toshi
Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs (NES)
Psycho Fox (SMS)
Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibōken (MD)
DEcapAttack (Genesis - a full on remix/graphical remake of the above)
The mechanic that’s shared: Incredibly high vertical on jumping, throw something (backpack, hat, head) to attack. Thrown thing can change properties (as the series advances). I think these were all Vic Tokai?
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These are my two favorite examples because the mechanics are singular and it really feels like they just wanted to Make That Thing, no matter the platform.
I don’t want to get too loose with these BTW because the above are very clearly the vision of one person who got their way. Any further entries should also have that! MORE BELOW:
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Kouichi Yotsui
Strider (Capcom)
OSman (Mitchell Corp)
Moon Diver (Square Enix)
The mechanic that’s shared: walking and climbing on all surfaces, flip jumps, fixed-length swipe attack.