Top old-school cartoons that need video game resurrection

The 80s and the 90s can be considered as the golden era of cartoons. It’s the time when the concept of mutant turtles were born, robots as tall as buildings were created, and talking bears with cute drawings on their chest was considered cool.

Entertainment media has spawned new avenues in modern Earth, but we’re sure these old-school cartoons can still kick ass. So in this article, we look at old-school cartoons and wonder how great it would be to have them as a video game.

The 80s and the 90s can be considered as the golden era of cartoons. It’s the time when the concept of mutant turtles were born, robots as tall as buildings were created, and talking bears with cute drawings on their chest was considered cool. Entertainment media has spawned new avenues in modern Earth, but I’m sure these old-school cartoons can still kick ass. So in this article, we look at old-school cartoons and wonder how great it would be to have them as a video game.

If you’re expecting mainstream cartoons, then you might want to check out other articles because we’re going to be talking about some rather obscure shows. So without any more fanfare, here are ten cartoons we would like to see turned into video games.

Spiral Zone

“Earth’s most powerful soldiers, are Earth’s last chance to fight the Spiral Zone!”

Debuting way back in 1987, this gem of a cartoon saw a run of 65 episodes before it was discontinued. The storyline is simple, Dr. James Bent hijacks a space shuttle to drop a “Zone” creating generators all over the world. All those caught within the Zone  were automatically enslaved by Bent. It was as this point that he started calling himself Overlord and created a team of soldiers called the Black Widows to help him take over the world.

To combat this threat, the nations of the world created a team of five soldiers known as the Zone Riders. Each one was given a suit to protect them from the influence of the Zone, and were sent to stop the evil overlord and his plans for world domination.

We envision this as a squad based FPS much in the mold of Clive Barker’s Jericho. The game should offer multiplayer co-op/deathmatch (up to four players online and two players split screen).

Voltron (Lions)

“From days of long ago, in uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend.”

Inspite of Voltron gaining a lot of fans among the international community, this cartoon never actually made the step towards the video game world. However, with a film adaptation rumored to be in the making, we couldn’t resist throwing this into the mix.

For those unfamiliar with this cartoon, it features a team of five individuals who pilot robotic lions. The twist is, these lions can combine to form a giant robot that battles the forces of the evil King Zarkon.

The video game adaptation would probably fall under the action-adventure genre. As much as we would like co-op in this game, the problem of who would be given control of Voltron at the end of the stage is one that we still haven’t solved yet. Even if this game comes out as a generic adventure game, we would play it if only for the chance to use Voltron’s Blazing Sword.

Silverhawks

“Tally-Hawk! Wings of silver, nerves of steel…Silverhawks!

Another series that debuted in the 80s, Silverhawks is perhaps one of the coolest cartoons ever made. It features a group of bionically enhanced cops on a mission to stop the organized crime syndicate of Mon*Star in the Limbo Galaxy.

The Silverhawks are lead by Commander Stargazer with each member having a variety of unique skills. Quicksilver, the field leader of the team has a cyborg bird named Tally Hawk and is known for his quick reflexes. Second in command is Bluegrass, a metallic guitar playing cowboy who pilots the ship of the team Maraj. Steelheart and Steelwill are twins who are known for inventing. Finally we have the Copper Kid, who is the youngest member of the team and is being trained by Bluegrass to become the pilot of the ship.

The different characters in the cartoon would make for a very interesting beat-em-up sort of game much in the mold of Final Fight or the earlier arcade versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, it would be interspersed with side scrolling “space missions” where players can dock into their ship and “heal-up”.

Inhumanoids

“Inhumanoids! Inhumanoids! The evil that lies within!”

An obscure cartoon which only aired a few episodes, this can be considered the sleeper hit of the group. The story revolves around a scientist/soldier team known as the Earth Corps going up against subterranean beings called Inhumanoids.

The Earth Corps international team of elite soldiers each have a rich backstory. Needless to say they all became part of the team because of their individual talents. The real stars of the series though are the monsters such as the magma-based Metlar, the rotting D’Compose, and of course the plantlike Tendril.

We envision this game to be similar to Shadow of the Colossus albeit with an entire team hunting the monster down instead of just one person with a sword. Occasional team-ups with some of the other characters should make the game even more interesting (i.e. keep Magnakor alive until you reach Metlar).

M.A.S.K.

“M-m-m-ma M.A.S.K.! Is the mighty power that can save the day!”

A cartoon which probably doesn’t need much introduction to the community, this show consisted of a 65 episode run with a ten-part racing series.

The storyline revolves around the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (M.ifferent abA.S.K.) and their struggle against the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem (V.E.N.O.M). Both groups have their own unique transformable vehicles and specially powered masks that grant the wearer dilities.

This cartoon would be awesome as an FPS ala Shadowrun. The specializations of the heroes are already inherent in each character and they all come with their own custom vehicle that they can use to wreck havoc on the opposition.

Visionaries

“Visionaries, knights of the magical light! Visionaries powers that clash and fight!”

Having a powerful staff and the ability to turn one’s self into a creature is awesome. Why not introduce that concept into a video game?

This cartoon only saw a short run of 13 episodes but has spawned many loyal viewers and multiple fansites on the web.

Much like other cartoons during its time, Visionaries featured a titanic struggle between good and evil. However, unlike most cartoons of the era, it also featured a third party in the form of Merklynn, the magician. He manipulates the two factions into doing his bidding and doesn’t really care much about the well being of both parties as long as he gets what he wants.

If this were to be made into a video game, we would like to see it as a third person shooter. Single player should have a campaign for each of the major characters, with each one ending in a fight against their nemesis from the other team. Needless to say, multiplayer will be available both in co-op and deathmatch mode.

Thundercats

“Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats, Ho!”

If we had a dollar for every person who said that Thundercats would make an awesome game, we’d probably have enough money to put up our own gaming company and develop this game. Fans of this series will be happy to know that a CG movie of this series will be coming out on 2010. To celebrate the return of this classic series, why not come out with a video game?

If we were to place turn this into a video game, we would probably make it into an RPG, Final Fantasy style. Considering that Lion-o ( the cartoon’s main hero) still has a lot of growing up to do, it makes perfect sense to have character progression in the game.

True to its Final Fantasy roots, it will have turn-based combat, lots of exploration, a well fleshed out storyline, and a big boss-fight in the end.  What more could someone want in a game?

Rock Band: Gem and the Holograms Edition

“Gem is my name no one else is the same! Gem is my name!”

By the time this article comes out, Rock Band would probably be in the market. Now we here at QJ.NET would like to suggest the first expansion of the game- Rock Band Gem and the Holograms Edition.

The expansions adds support for a new device (keyboard), new songs (cartoon themes), and some stylish pink covers for all of the instruments to make it look like instruments from 80’s glam rock bands.

Imagine being able to play some of your favorite themes from the 80s on the instruments from rock band? Hey, we’d plunk down our hard earned cash for that!

Of course, there are a lot more cartoons that would be awesome turned into video games. So we’d like to throw out the question to our reader, what cartoon show  would you like to see as a video game? Post it below and let’s see if we can get a discussion going.