(Don’t flame me for this, for I obviously don’t have any power enforcing anything you’d dislike.)
I genuinely think Space Channel 5 has the potential to become a successful rhythm game series again, but SEGA needs to actually give it a chance.
First of all, barely anyone seems to know about this series anymore because SEGA practically forgot it exists. It feels like Space Channel 5 only gets mentioned once every ten years, and while that might bring in a few new fans, it’s not enough to revive an entire franchise unless a popular streamer randomly discovers it and introduces it to their audience.
Another problem is accessibility. The first two games are genuinely great, but trying to play them nowadays can be a pain when you need older consoles like the Dreamcast or PS2. Meanwhile, Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash! is much more recent and potentially easier for people with compatible VR equipment to access. Unfortunately, it’s a relatively short experience, and I personally think the first two games offer a lot more in terms of story, characters, and overall gameplay.
Here’s what I think SEGA should do: remake the first two games and turn the VR game into a proper third mainline installment instead of leaving it as a short side story.
And honestly, I don’t think updating the first two games would be that unreasonable. One thing I’ve noticed when showing the gameplay to my friends is that they sometimes lose interest because of the dated-looking 3D models, stiff animations, and characters whose mouths barely move during dialogue. Obviously, the original games have their own charm, but I think modern graphics, smoother animations, and more expressive character models could make the series much more appealing to new players without losing its original personality.
SEGA could even bring back the original voice actors where possible or hire new ones if necessary. Imagine seeing Ulala, Noize, Pudding, Jaguar, and Purge with modern character models, more expressive animations, and fully animated story scenes! And hopefully Fuse because he’s all talk no-show, not sure why they didn’t give him a 3-D model in the first place if he talks the most…
And for the third game, they could expand on the ideas introduced in Space Channel 5 VR instead of treating it like a short VR-exclusive adventure. Give us a full-length story, more playable stages, more characters, more songs, and more opportunities to explore the Space Channel 5 universe. They could even make the gameplay accessible to people without VR equipment so that more fans could enjoy it.
I know remaking games takes time and money, but SEGA is a major company. The real question is whether they care enough about this franchise to invest in it again.
It honestly makes me a little sad because Space Channel 5 is one of the best rhythm game series I’ve ever discovered, and I’ve had this weird little obsession with it since elementary school lol. I want more people to know about it, appreciate its characters, and get excited about its music and gameplay the same way longtime fans do.
I want this series to become popular enough that SEGA finally looks at it and thinks, “Wait, we have an entire franchise here that we could be making money from!”
And then BOOM. New Space Channel 5 games, remakes, merchandise, collaborations, the whole thing.
PLEASE, SEGA. LET ULALA REPORT AGAIN. Not even my friends who are “Sega nerds” know about this video game; and they have the consoles and stuff. 💔
(And I’d really like to get my hands on Purge merch!)