Where are they now: Part 1

July 14, 2006

Sometime ago, Genj did an article on the current state of Capcom and their IPs. This was a good article with a template that could easily be applied to any other set of companies. For today, I am looking at Konami to see where they are and where they're going:

Konami's Franchises:
Contra: Having popularized the platformer run-and-gun, Contra was a classic. Then with the exception of Contra: Hard Corps, the series would then fall apart with Contra Force, Contra III, and those god-awful 3D Contras on the Playstation and PS2. This is a dead series.
Castlevania: Once a brilliant exploration game, Castlevania reached a high point with Dracula X for the Turbo-CD. Then the series fell apart with Symphony of the Night and Castlevania 64, and has been on the decline ever since. I do wish for Portrait of Ruin to be good, as it is the first Castlevania since Dracula X to take place outside Dracula's castle.
Metal Gear: The MSX game was OK for it's time, as was Metal Gear 2 (which was coincidentially NOT made by Kojima). Metal Gear Solid was a horrible stealth game, rendered obsolete a month later with Thief: The Dark Project (which unfortunately nobody ever heard of), MGS II was generally hated, I've yet to play MGS III, and Ac!d just angered people with it's card-game mechanics.
Gradius: This schmup series I never liked, up until Gradius V which I want to play (if only because I'm a Treasure fan).
Tokimeki Memorial: Konami's cash cow numero uno. I have yet to actually play any of them as I am not into dating sims (my rationale is they actually hurt my chances at getting a real date).

So we have one, maybe two IPs of theirs that can be good.

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bluberry - July 14, 2006 (10:45 AM)
What 3D Contras on PS2?

magicjuggler - July 14, 2006 (02:26 PM)
Shattered Soldier is the better of the two, but it still doesn't compare to Hard Corps, and Neo Contra is more of an Ikari Warriors-style shooter.

zigfried - July 14, 2006 (02:59 PM)
Gradius Gaiden is neat.

As for Tokimeki Memorial... it was influential by virtue of being early (in the same way that Gradius was influential), but it's not particularly good. It's fluff. Dozens of companies have already done it better.

//Zig

Genj - July 15, 2006 (08:04 AM)
MGS3 was easily the best in the series, but I'm betting 4 will suck ass. Although I liked SotN, Castlevania is pretty much in the crapper as far as I'm concerned.

You didn't seem to mention Silent Hill here. I haven't played past 2, but I do know 3 and especially 4 aren't liked very much by fans. I still wouldn't be surprised to see this series brought back after the movie gathered moderate success. If there ever is a SH5, I just hope they don't copy RE4's style and make it all action. That's what Atari's apparently doing with the new Alone in the Dark.

gladiator_x - July 15, 2006 (04:29 PM)
For the record, what I played of MGS2 seemed good to me. I didn't get far enough for the convulated plot to bother me, but I like convulations.

magicjuggler - July 17, 2006 (05:52 AM)
I can't believe I forgot Silent Hill...never was a fan of the series I suppose...meh.

Feedback
	bluberry - July 14, 2006 (10:45 AM) What 3D Contras on PS2?
	magicjuggler - July 14, 2006 (02:26 PM) Shattered Soldier is the better of the two, but it still doesn't compare to Hard Corps, and Neo Contra is more of an Ikari Warriors-style shooter.
	zigfried - July 14, 2006 (02:59 PM) Gradius Gaiden is neat. As for Tokimeki Memorial... it was influential by virtue of being early (in the same way that Gradius was influential), but it's not particularly good. It's fluff. Dozens of companies have already done it better. //Zig
	Genj - July 15, 2006 (08:04 AM) MGS3 was easily the best in the series, but I'm betting 4 will suck ass. Although I liked SotN, Castlevania is pretty much in the crapper as far as I'm concerned. You didn't seem to mention Silent Hill here. I haven't played past 2, but I do know 3 and especially 4 aren't liked very much by fans. I still wouldn't be surprised to see this series brought back after the movie gathered moderate success. If there ever is a SH5, I just hope they don't copy RE4's style and make it all action. That's what Atari's apparently doing with the new Alone in the Dark.
	gladiator_x - July 15, 2006 (04:29 PM) For the record, what I played of MGS2 seemed good to me. I didn't get far enough for the convulated plot to bother me, but I like convulations.
	magicjuggler - July 17, 2006 (05:52 AM) I can't believe I forgot Silent Hill...never was a fan of the series I suppose...meh.

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