Maniac Mansion… Mania?
It seems like only yesterday that I was asking you, my dear children, which game you’d liketo see get the “Rebirth” treatment next. In reality, it was almost ten years ago that I wrote that post. Even worse, shortly after I asked the question, Konami killed off theRebirthlines of games entirely. Hopefully this post doesn’t curse Sega’s budding “Mania” concept in the same way.
Ah, who am I kidding? Regardless of what I say or do game publishers and developers are always going to find a way to go back to a storied franchise’s roots.Mega Man 9and10,LoZ: A Link Between Worlds,River City Ransom: Underground, the upcomingMetroid: Samus Returns, and the previously mentionedRebirthandManiagames are just a few examples of the trend in action.
At least a couple of those games came into being as a response to fan outcry, so we know the people in charge of the industry are listening. So let’s tell them what we want! I’m going to spit out a couple ideas for how some of my favorite franchises could return to their pixel-art roots, and I hope you do too.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the already madeManiac Mansion Mania. It’s calledThimblweed Parkand it’s very good.
Street Fighter
Fans have been calling forStreet Fighterto return to its roots for a long time, and going by the art above byCannonBreed, new members of the game’s cast likeMenatwould look great in the old school,3rd Strikestyle. I’m sad thatStreet Fighter Vhas yet to become as huge a hit as its direct predecessor, but if that leads Capcom to returning to their classic pixel art style out of desperation, it will all be worth it.
Golden Axe
Sega’s last shot at a newGolden Axedidn’t really work out, and they can only port thefirst game to phones so many timesThis mock-up by Ray Teo, creator ofDevil’s Dare, is sure to go over better withfans of the original series. A lot of folks in their 30s and 40s have a real soft spot for the series, despite how slow-paced and repetitive it is by today’s standards. A faster, deeper reboot with colorful, approachable art would sure to make its budget back in no time flat.
Skyward Sword
I loveSkyward Sword, but I totally understand why people hate it. I think one way to cut out all the bits that turned off potential fans of the game would be to take it back to 2D,Adventure’s of Linkstyle. The most fun things about the game’s combat come from the need to react fast to high/low guessing games, which also play a big part inZelda 2‘s combat. This art byJesse Mshows that visually,Skyward Swordwouldn’t suffer much from losing one of its three dimensions. In fact, I might call it an upgrade.
Mighty Final Fight
OK, I’m sort of cheating on this one, as I already choseFinal Fightas one of the games I’d like to see get a rebirth reboot in that post from 2009. This is slightly different though.Mighty Final Fightis the chibi, NES adaptation of the arcade original that has cute baby fighters and light RPG elements. Again,Ray Teohas come to my rescue by summoning up a mock-up of how one of my favorite beat-’em-ups from the ’90s may look with aManiafacelift.Mighty Final Fight Maniamay be a bit of a mouthful, but having a long, stupid name didn’t stopDead Rising: Chop Till You Dropfrom finding its audience. Speaking of which…
Dead Rising
What’s Dead Rising without that soothing mall music? Nothing I say!By@Nanode! Main demake-https://t.co/nV2giN4wMa#gameboy#chiptunepic.twitter.com/uFjNZhtUeO
— Game Boy Demakes (@GameboyDemakes)August 06, 2025
OK, this one’s even more of a stretch, asDead Risingwas never technically a Game Boy game, butResident Evil Gaidenwas, and they’re both Capcom zombie games where you switch between first- and third-person camera angles as you survive an infestation of miscellaneous shambling horrors. This re-imagining the originalDead Risingin the same style asResident Evil‘s original portable adventure comes from theGame Boy Demakes on TwitterandPatreon. They do great work, and I hope to see Capcom throw some money at them one of these days. I know that sounds ridiculous, but that’s essentially what happened withSonic Mania, so anything’s possible.
