Five Games I’d like to see a Disney version of
Howdy! My last two blog entries were reviews and while I will certainly get back to that, possibly even in the next entry, I don’t want this to be a blog that is almost all reviews and nothing else so I’m going to try and do something that isn’t a review at least every few weeks. This may be a ranking list, an opinion column, or something else entirely, but the point is I don’t want to be doing the same thing for weeks/months on end.
About two months ago, I did a column on developers that should pitch to Disney seeing as they stated they were very open to pitches based on the success of games like Spider-Man and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This column will be somewhat in that vein but I won’t be talking about specific developers just games that I think would make a good fit for Disney characters that I’d like to see them in aside from the painfully obvious platformer or even action-adventure, trying to think of games a little more outside the traditional box you see licensed properties in. With that in mind, here are five games I’d like to see someone do a Disney video game in that style:
#5. Day of the Tentacle
While there are a couple of Disney games that have taken a half-hearted stab at the classic point-and-click adventure genre, none have been very good. This genre is more niche now, but it is still very much alive and has a strong fanbase.
A good point-and-click adventure in the vein of Day of the Tentacle, but switched out with a Disney aesthetic could be great. I can even imagine the basic premise: Mickey, possibly along with Donald and Goofy, throw in Minnie and Daisy as well, have to stop classic Disney villain the Mad Doctor from completing an evil scheme of some sort. It could involve time travel where you see older Disney cartoons or dimensional travel and even visit different Disney shows. With a good mix of silly meta-humor, it seems like a slam dunk of an idea for a game.
#4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Aside from a brief handful of games on the Gamecube and Gameboy advance, there actually has not been all that many sports games starring your favorite Disney characters. I really don’t think they need to try and do another game focused on just one sport, but a collection of decently done short-form physical events with Disney characters of varying abilities sounds like a pretty good time to me.
Obviously the one big obstacle here would be the Olympics license, but the Olympics only has rights to the name “Olympics”, no reason you couldn’t have a collection of sporting events, and actually not having the Olympics brand behind it could free it up to not only include things that aren’t in the Olympics but get a little crazier with the games as well. The point is I would love a collection of at least mostly decently done light versions of sporting events in a collection starring Disney characters I can play on a current gaming console.
#3. Two Point Hospital
A theme park management sim? C’mon that’s too easy. Now a hospital sim, filled with Disney characters, illnesses, and treatments all Disney-themed? That sounds incredibly interesting. Treat Donald Duck for anger management, stitch-up Goofy from his latest mishap. Does Peg-leg Pete need an improved Peg-leg? You could have a whole parade of various Disney characters all while doing the regular managing of a hospital.
Maybe an even better idea, the patients are more generic, but your potential staff is all Disney characters with their own pluses and minuses and you figure out where they’d fit best and do the regular business of running a hospital as well. There’s just a whole wide range of possibilities here and I’d love to see and it fits a whole lot better than some might think.
#2. Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed
A racing game starring Disney characters isn’t a radical idea. In fact, there are several that at least for their time were fairly decent efforts. However, The most impressive thing about Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed isn’t really the racing itself even if that is really good.
No, the most impressive thing about Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed is how much of a celebration of the history of Sega it is. It is not merely a racing game with Sonic, his friends, and a few guest characters. It has some really oddball choices for racers that are deep cuts and fun references and it carries that through to the stages, the music, and more. It’s a great celebration of the past, present, and future of the company. Wouldn’t a Disney racing game that does the same thing be really cool? I certainly think so.
#1. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
I love Mario. I love Nintendo. I love turn-based strategy RPGs. I could take or leave the Rabbids. But that doesn’t get in the way of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle being one of the most delightful games I have played in the past couple of years. I really hope there’s an actual sequel in the near future.
What I’d also love to see is a game of this style starring Disney characters. Not so much with the crossover, we don’t need Rabbids involved here. However, what Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle does better than most is that the game is more about how well you can maneuver around the field not just for things like cover, but multiple attacks, spreading out attacks, etc. It’s got a truly unique feel to it. I feel like Disney characters properly distinguished with different abilities would do really well in this type of game and you could absolutely just use the most popular and well-known ones as the cast should be relatively small. I just really want to play a new game like this and Disney would be a great way to not do the exact same thing again so make it happen Ubisoft, you’re a ridiculously huge developer, you can make it happen, do it, do it now!
So there’s my list of five games I’d like to see a Disney version of. Should be back next week with a new column, so see ya real soon!
