Gaming Characters Who Deserve Their Own Adventures

As gaming becomes more and more prevalent in the modern age, game franchises are trying all sorts of new ideas in order to evolve and maintain relevance. Sometimes, this process involves giving characters from various different franchises their own solo games. We’ve seen this occur in the past with characters like Luigi, Knuckles, and others from popular gaming series, but not every franchise has managed to pull off something similar. And for that matter, there are also some characters already leading their own games on a smaller scale, who also ought to get bigger chances.

Considering all of this, we’re here to suggest some standout characters and franchises we believe have the chops to garner their own big, solo adventures.

Bowser

Throughout almost 40 years’ worth of the Mario franchise, we’ve seen plenty of side characters get games of their own. Luigi, of course, has the ever-popular Luigi’s Mansion sub-series within the greater Mario bubble; Peach had Super Princess Peach for the DS; even Toad got to headline his own game with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Yet even though the screeching mushroom child got his own game, big bad Bowser himself has yet to headline a one. The closest we’ve seen was the DS’s Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, but as is made clear from the title, Bowser only co-starred with the Mario Bros. It’s high time that Mario’s ever-popular enemy, arguably the most infamous villain in gaming, get a game of his own – perhaps showcasing his quest to kidnap Peach instead of Mario’s quest to save her?

Scorpion

Here’s a truly baffling omission: Scorpion, from the Mortal Kombat universe, has never had a title to call his own! Liu Kang had one; Jax Briggs had one; even Scorpion’s eternal rival Sub-Zero had one! Considering all of those efforts, it becomes all the more bizarre that the most iconic character of the franchise simply missed the spin-off boat. And it’s even more bizarre when you realise the game concept seemingly writes itself: With Scorpion’s kit of weapons and infamous grappling hook, a title featuring acrobatic combat and exploration of the Netherrealm during Scorpion’s time there seems obvious. Yet such a game never materialised. With the franchise now in the best position it’s been in for a while though, maybe WB will see fit to give Mortal Kombat another chance at spinoff titles – and finally give Scorpion his due.

Gonzo

You may not have heard of this fun little fellow unless of course, you happen to frequent online slots. Indeed, the name “Gonzo” is not referring to the blue, bird-like Muppet character, but rather to the star of Gonzo’s Quest, an animated arcade game featured at most of the new slot sites you can find online. As a leading, new-age video slot, Gonzo’s Quest has already enjoyed quite a bit of popularity among casino enthusiasts, and in the eyes of some critics seems to have set a new standard for this type of game. But with his fun persona and the engaging “New World’ setting that surrounds him (featuring Incan ruins and lush jungle landscapes), Gonzo could be destined for bigger things. Imagine for instance a project like the Ghosts and Goblins franchise, but with an ancient Mayan aesthetic. What better way to introduce Gonzo to the wider world?

Weavel & The Space Pirates

Let’s cap off this article with something a bit… controversial. Just hear us out. On paper, Federation Force was a good idea. Okay, so it was basically a flop, and Polygon called it “a slog.” But Federation Force’s weakest points were both obvious: the decision to focus on the bland, white bread-like Federation Troopers, and the chibified art style. However, the idea of a cooperative multiplayer shooter in the Metroid Universe has a great deal of promise – they just chose the wrong side. For years, fans have been begging Nintendo to let them play as space pirates (the race of spacefaring ne’er-do-wells that clash constantly with Samus Aran). Prime Hunters finally made it happen with the cybernetic pirate Weavel – but dropped the character almost immediately thereafter. We’d like to see him picked back up again with a game of his own.

Who knows if any of these characters will actually get their own games at some point. If we had to pick one for whom it’s most likely to happen, we’d probably say Bowser. But we’ll keep our fingers crossed for all of them!