Exclusively Games writes:
''Sometimes a game company will strike gold with a brand new franchise, taking the world of gaming by storm. Sometimes they’ll make a series of it, with new games being released regularly. But other times, a developer will make one or two successful games in a series, and then it’ll sit there stagnant for years and years, with no sequel in sight, despite fans clamoring for a new entry.''
Not every video game mascot can be a Mario or Sonic, and these guys definitely aren't either of them. They aren't even Gex.
In the 16-bit era, game devs and composers could finally change the type of tones used in the music, simulating a wider array of instruments and creating a whole lot of great soundtracks in the process.
It wasn’t easy picking out the best of the best because there were so many great ones. Even middle-of-the-road soundtracks seemed to deserve a bump if the game was just that damn good, and so many from that era are that damn good!
Here's the Ghetto Gamer list of top 20 soundtracks from the 16-bit era.
These remakes and remasters are must-haves in this next generation.
Gunstar Heroes was made by Treasure. I'm not sure if that IP actually belongs to Sega. If it does, the ONLY modern day developer that I think would do that game justice is Housemarque. Maybe Sega could collaborate with Sony to let them make a modern day Gunstar Heroes. I definitely think Shinobi and Afterburner need modern day remakes though.
I feel like there are stronger Sega IP's than some of the ones that were listed such as...
Vector Man
Comix Zone
Virtual On
Ranger X
Jet Set Radio
Landstalker
Eternal Champions
As hard as it was, the Shinobi remake that came out on PS2 was decent. But yes, a new remake would be great. Always loved that series.
“Why did Namco abandon one of their most promising new IPs of the late 90s/early 2000s?”
Because Klonoa on Wii flopped in sales which promptly killed the series. Namco was planning to remake Klonoa 2 on Wii, but the remake of the first game’s commercial failure discouraged them from continuing on with the series unfortunately.