It’s no secret that Konami has a bit of a… divisive reputation in the modern day. However, a big reason things are even like that is because Konami was one of the original powerhouses of the gaming industry.
The company has been around since 1969, but it really took off running in the 1980s with its many hit arcade games. These games, not to mention the many home console games that came after, have left a distinctive mark.
10 Best Konami Franchises, Ranked
Konami has produced many innovative franchises that have shaken gaming to its core, and we’re listing down their most prominent IPs.
Unfortunately, Konami doesn’t always make extensive use of its back catalog, and a lot ofunderrated gamesit developed and/or published have been abandoned.
These games would do well with modern remakes, either from Konami itself or whoever currently owns their licenses.
Embrace The Silly
Parodius is a spin-off series of Konami’s classic Gradius series of sidescrolling shooters, with the original game launching in 1988 for MSX computers.
The gameplay is similar to Gradius, but the weapons and presentation are completely bonkers. As the name may imply, it’s a loving parody of both Gradius and Konami’s other franchises.
There hasn’t been a new Parodius game since 1997, unless you count all the pachislot machines, which we emphatically don’t.
A remake could have all kinds of new references to more recent Konami games, as well as just be pleasantly weird on its own.
8Double Dribble
Leave It All On The Court
Double Dribble is the second basketball-themed game Konami ever made after 1984’s Super Basketball. It was originally for arcades, though it also had an excellent NES port.
It’s a straightforward basketball game, five-on-five, though the big draw was the flashy presentation. Scores and dunks would be accompanied by impressive animated sequences.
Technically, Double Dribble got a remake in 2010. However, this remake was exclusively for iOS and looked like a crummy flash game, so it could do with a do-over of a do-over, if you will.
7Ganbare Goemon
Ninjas And Giant Robots
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Ganbare Goemon is a series of action games that started in arcades in 1986. You might know the franchise better by its western name, Mystical Ninja. Goemon was actuallyone of Konami’s unofficial mascotsfor a time.
As the titular ninja, you run around a large Edo-era town, smacking punks, banishing spirits, and collecting cash. The later games also added bombastic boss fights aboard giant clockwork robots.
Konami often expressed concerns that Goemon was too Japanese for the western audience, so only a handful of games in the series got western releases.
Rather than a remake of a single game, the whole series could use a fresh start, perhaps as an open-world beat ‘em up like River City Girls. Just don’t forget the giant robot, andespeciallydon’t forget its awesome theme song.
Kojima’s First Magnum Opus
Snatcher is a graphic adventure game released for Japanese computers in 1988 before eventually being ported to home consoles like the Sega CD and PlayStation in the early 90s. It was Hideo Kojima’s first big project after the release of the original Metal Gear.
Through a detailed exploration and dialogue interface, you explore a large cyberpunk city to solve the mystery of human-replacing androids called Snatchers. The story and overall presentation are heavily inspired by films like Blade Runner and Akira.
Snatcher has never had a modern port, though Kojima does still carry a torch for it. In 2011, he produced a radio drama based on it. A remake that preserves the story while touching up the graphics and controls could be perfect for those looking for a meaty story.
5Sunset Riders
The Forgotten Quarter-Muncher
Sunset Riders
Back in the early 90s, Konami was the king of arcadesidescrolling beat ‘em upswith games like Turtles in Time and X-Men. A similarly action-packed game that often gets forgotten is 1991’s Sunset Riders.
Rather than melee combat, this game is all about spraying bullets with revolvers and shotguns. It was a wild and hectic time, especially during the cool boss fights.
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Does anyone have a quarter? I got a Game Over!
Emulated ports of Sunset Riders can be played here and there, but a full remake with rebalanced difficulty would be great. It could also work as a reimagined third-person shooter.
4Azure Dreams
A Hybrid Roguelike Monster-Catcher
Azure Dreams
Azure Dreams is a Konami-developed and published game that was originally released for PlayStation in 1997. It’s an early example of modern roguelites, well before the genre really took off.
In this game, you explore large, randomly generated dungeons, leveling up and accruing money. The big gimmick is that you may hatch avariety of monster familiarsto help you along your way. You can also use the money you earn in each run to build up your hometown.
Azure Dreams hasn’t received any particular attention since its original release. With the prominence the roguelike genre has risen to, this is the best time for a remake, if ever there was one.
3Policenauts
Kojima’sSecondMagnum Opus
Policenauts
Policenauts is the second massive visual novel created by Hideo Kojima; this one was released for Japanese PCs in 1994. Apparently, Kojima dreamed up the idea for this one while he was still working on Snatcher.
Policenauts is a combination of a visual novel and a point-and-click adventure game, having you solve puzzles and unravel mysteries aboard a city-sized space colony. There were also occasional shooting segments, which you could use a light gun for in the Sega Saturn version.
Unlike Snatcher, Policenauts has never had a western release, with players relying mostly on a fan translation that was released in 2009.Kojima wanted a sequel, but it never manifested. This makes it arguably an even better candidate for a remake, as it’d be many western fans’ first exposure.
2Kid Dracula
Castlevania’s Adorable Little Brother
Kid Dracula
Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun, later officially translated to Kid Dracula, is a Castlevania spin-off released in 1990 for the Famicom. Apparently, Dracula was a rabble-rouser even before he started tangling withthe Belmonts.
The game is both a straightforward action platformer and a cheeky send-up to Castlevania, featuring multiple enemies and locations from the original games. There’s also a lot of silly minigames, making this a much more kid-friendly entry than its source material.
Kid Dracula was Japan-exclusive for a long time, only receiving a simple English localization with the release of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection in 2019. Rather than a port of a 30-year-old game, we’d rather have a proper remake with references to the newer Castlevania games.
1NeverDead
An Action Game With An Interesting Hook
NeverDeadis a third-person action game released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012. It was developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Konami.
The big hook to this game was that its protagonist, Bryce, was immortal. He couldn’t be killed, merely dismembered, so you’d have to roll around on your head and limbs to reassemble yourself when taking heavy damage.
It was a cool idea, though unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired. With a hook that good, though, NeverDead could benefit from a do-over with a more fleshed-out execution of the immortality concept. Rebellion Developments is still alive and well, so Konami could call them up to try again.
