Five 3D Platforming Heroes We’d Like To See Return

Rumors have recently been swirling on the Internet concerning the fate of Crash Bandicoot. According to Activision, it still owns the rights to the character and is trying to figure out how to bring the beloved series back to life.

Ultimately, we’re not concerned with who owns the character – we just want someone to bring him back proper. With the Crash rumors, the return of Sly Cooper earlier this year, and the recent quality entry into the Ratchet & Clank series, it got us thinking about other platfoming heroes we’d like to see make a return.

Spyro – Spyro was invaluable in Activision’s efforts to introduce its Skylanders series. Skylanders is enjoyed by many, even after it has more or less completely dropped Spyro from the brand, but it left some wanting a more traditional Spyro game. Massive draw distances could lead to huge explorable levels and next-generation fire tech would make Spyro’s breath hugely impressive. And with a new audience of Skylander’s fans familiar with the character, now’s the perfect time.

Banjo-Kazooie – Banjo-Kazooie saw a new entry on the Xbox 360, and while it was a very cool game with an interesting vehicle creation mechanic, it wasn’t really a Banjo-Kazooie game. The opening of the game expertly spoofed the collect-a-thon nature of the first two games, and while it made me laugh, it didn’t make me want that version of Banjo-Kazooie any less. Running around with an assortment of abilities exploring large levels to find every little thing was a lot of fun, I would love the chance to do it again with the most realistic fur and feather technology can offer.

Jak and Daxter – Naughty Dog explored the idea of bringing back Jak and Daxter before diving head first into The Last of Us, and even offered a look at some of its conceptual ideas. Ultimately it abandoned that version of the project, but that doesn’t mean it might not return to it at some point. I would love to see a return to the duo’s science-fiction-with-a-little-bit-of-magic universe.

Conker – Conker began its life as a platformer, but turned into something a little bit closer to an adventure game with jumping (and profanity) by the time is came out. Despite that, it still falls into same group as the others on this list. The game’s sense of humor could use an update (gigantic poop monsters just don’t inspire the same laughs as they use to), but I think the story of a inappropriate squirrel jumping his way through a colorful world could be embraced by fans of the original, and new fans of witty games.

Raz from Psychonauts – Psychonauts 2 is not a new concept. The game’s creator Tim Schafer shopped the game around to publishers, and Markus “Notch” Persson of Minecraft fame flirted with the idea of financing another entry into the series. Unfortunately, that never met fruition, and Double Fine is hard at work on a game that returns to the developer's roots in a different way with Broken Age. Psychonauts' ending (which you can see on our Super Replay) left the game open for a sequel, so we will always hold out hope for more.

Are there any other 3D platforming heroes you’d like to see make a return? Should Rayman get away from 2D? Are there less popular heroes that think deserve a second chance? Let us know in the comments below.