Sequels have (for better or for worse) become a staple of  the gaming industry; just take a look at the annual sports game updates as an example of sequelitis in action. Still, there are a handful of games that have never received follow-ups, truly deserved another series entry, or simply left questions that diehards need answered. I present to you the four games that I need before I taste the reaper’s cold touch.

Fatal Fury: Origins
Before Ash, K’, and Kyo became the pretty boy faces of SNK, the original SNK/Neo Geo star was South Town’s very own Terry Bogard. His tale was one that every red-blooded American who dresses in red-white-and-blue clothing can certainly relate to: His adoptive father Jeff Bogard, was murdered by the Gordon Gecko-meets-John Gotti crime boss Geese Howard (the details of which can be seen in the opening cinematic of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition), for being an all around do-gooder leaving Terry and his brother Andy to fend for themselves and learn the art of street justice. This is Fatal Fury lore. This is Fatal Fury history. But is it the entire tale? Let’s look at the details.

• Terry and Andy are the adopted sons of Jeff Bogard

• Terry and Andy have blond hair and blue eyes; Jeff Howard does not

• Geese Howard has blond hair and blue eyes

• Geese Howard has a history of abandoning children (see Rock Howard)

This doesn’t take rocket science, folks, and I’m surprised that SNK Playmore hasn’t dipped into this well quite a while ago. My proposal? Fatal Fury: Origins would act as a direct prequel to Fatal Fury with the Jeff Bogard available as a playable character along with Tung Fu Rue, Raiden, Duck King, Takuma, and a handful of new characters that would help expand the Bogard-Howard mythos. Bosses would consist of Geese (naturally),  Billy Kane, Yamazaki, Kaine, and others that would give South Town its proper level of grime.

Goonies III
The original Goonies arcade game was trash; the NES sequel was golden. Goonies II was a grand mix of Metroid-style exploration and weapon-gathering, plus an awesome 8-bit rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Goonies R Good Enough.” In fact, I preferred it to Nintendo’s sci-fi adventure title because it was light and cheery; even at age 12 Metroid’s bleak landscapes and moody music caused me to ponder just how fast I’d go under if I stuck head in oven. The Goonies is a classic and a viable license in the right hands, it will only take some one with vision to make it work (and no, I’m not referring to the inevitable videogame tie-in should a Goonies sequel even get off the ground). My proposal? A game that features one of the kids’ earlier, pre-movie adventures, with each character featuring unique abilities that help traverse the game world.

Kid Icarus 2
Jeremy Parish of Retronauts contends that those that have been clamoring for a sequel to Kid Icarus have been viewing the game through rose-colored nostalgia for the past twenty years, but as someone that leads Pits charge through Angel Land to fight Medusa at least once a year, I say that the game is a winner despite the forced vertical scrolling and the Grim Reaper, who, til this day, is one of the single most annoying enemy characters in gaming. Sure, we got a pea soup-green Gameboy sequel, but I want a legit Kid Icarus II. My proposal? Nintendo should craft it as a neo-retro title. Similar to Mega Man 9, the game could keep its 8-bit visuals, while featuring updated gameplay that 20 years of programming hindsight brings.

Lords of Thunder II
The shooter genre is the one category of gaming, like fighting, where I truly excel; the short, but frantic nature of each level is the closest thing to transcension that I’ll probably ever experience. Lords of Thunder (along with Lifeforce and Mars Matrix) are the very definition of the genre, and also one of the most unique. The RPG-inspired shooter featured an armored winged warrior that vanquishes enemies with the power of the elements (or his sword when close, a la Metal Slug), huge screen-filling bosses, plenty of screen-filling firepower, beautifully detailed graphics, the ability to buy weapons and armor, and what sticks with fans the most, a killer metal score that’s the perfect soundtrack to accompany gamers on their slaughter. My proposal? Red Entertainment should produce more of the same, but with high-definition visuals and an even harder score.

Will Any Of These Games Appear?
It’s disappointing to think this thought, but of all of the items on this wish list, Kid Icarus II is most likely to appear before the others even though Nintendo pretty much keeps Pit and company on the backburner. Red Entertainment only produced one game this generation, Konami certainly no longer has The Goonies license, and SNK Playmore is busy working out the kinks in King of Fighters XII. Alas, an aging 30-something can dream, but I don’t want to spend the next 40 doing so. Somebody, somewhere, make it happen.