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During The Game Awards 2023, SEGA revealed that several fan-favorite IPs are coming back in a big way. Due to, perhaps, the success Sonic the Hedgehog has received over the past few years, a few franchises are going to see a major resurrection. Not only were they revealed, but there was also a bit of footage to appear in the trailer. While not much is known, the developers disclosed the first of these IPs that will be making a comeback.
This will reportedly happen over the next couple of years, and the franchises listed below are not the only ones that are going to be making a grand return after all these years. Information may be scant for now, but there’s still plenty to be excited about.
What franchises are coming back in SEGA’s recent IP Initiative?
1) Crazy Taxi
While previewing Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, I had a sudden craving to play Crazy Taxi. One of the mini-games involved essentially being a bike-riding Uber Eats delivery person. The fast pace, wild tricks, and addictive gameplay made me think of one of my favorite SEGA titles.
Among the best driving games ever made, this intense, fast-paced Taxi game is coming back. It sounds like it’s going to hold true to the original, where players will be charged with moving through traffic in an open world, picking up and dropping off passengers as safely as possible. I just hope the soundtrack packs the same amount of heat the original did - Bad Religion, The Offspring, Brian Setzer? All bangers.
2) Jet Set Radio
Speaking of games with unforgettable soundtracks, SEGA’s Jet Set Radio is a game I found later but very swiftly fell in love with. When I watch footage/gameplay of Hi-Fi Rush, this is the game it makes me think of. This was one of the games teased to make a comeback in 2022, and now we have proof.
Jet Set Radio is all about music, graffiti, and street culture as players skate around Tokyo-to. It looks, at least according to the trailer, to keep that same vibe. The visuals looked gorgeous - vibrant colors and awesome physics. No word on the music yet, either.
3) Golden Axe
Golden Axe was one of those series that consumed many of my quarters when I and my friends would head to the arcade as a kid. Since I didn’t own a Genesis, that was the only place I could play it. Originally a side-scrolling hack ‘n’ slash, it appears to have a more modern look and feel in the most recent trailer.
Now, it looks closer to a modern third-person action title, perhaps closer to a God of War-style game. Now, it’s likely not open-world like God of War, but the comparison is drawn to the action-oriented gameplay. It’s still a melee-centered fantasy world, filled with awesome combat and powerful magic.
4) Shinobi
Before I really got into RPGs, I was big on side-scrolling platformers. They were all the rage in the mid-late 80s, after all. The Shinobi games on the Genesis were titles I either played in the arcade or at a friend's house, and I marveled at how cool it felt to play them. It was a completely different energy to Ninja Gaiden - not that it was bad, just very different.
The Shinobi footage we saw in the trailer kept that same fast-paced, cool platforming energy, and I’m certainly here for it. Ninja magic, awesome aerial combos, and a very cool dog all seem to await us in the next big SEGA Shinobi title.
5) Streets of Rage
Even though there was a fairly recent Streets of Rage title - it was not developed or published by SEGA. That game was amazing, don’t get me wrong. But I’m curious to see what a more modern, big-budget take on the series would give us. In this case, it looks like a 3D beat ‘em up.
Perhaps it’s an open-world or open-street style of beat ‘em up. We do know it’s set in a lawless, urban environment, and it will have awesome new music and incredible, brutal combat.
More information on these will no doubt come in the future. As it comes to light and SEGA reveals what’s in store for their IPs, we’ll be here to keep you up to date. 2024 and beyond are promising to be very exciting years for gamers worldwide.
