Mentioning licensed games these days evokes certain well earned connotations of rushed and money grabbing games shoved out the door purely to cash in on hype for a recent film or similar release. However, that doesn't stop me from missing some of my fondest and earliest gaming memories. Games like the Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers and Return Of The King are a good example of just how fun a game can be when you play through events you already know.
I shan't pretend that the shovel-ware hasn't happened. However, I feel that developers given the task of making a tie-in game to something like a major film release have in the past been able to make some really creative and well polished gameplay systems without the burden of creating a new and original story/world. Not all of them were even especially good from an objective standpoint, but this article is all about the subjective and subjectively speaking, I used to love them.
I had a fantastic time with Star Wars Episode 3. It was a strange game with some truly terrible voice acting at times, but it was great fun and even allowed for some unusual twists on the story of the film; you could win the final fight with Anakin and avoid becoming the suit clad Darth Vader. Even though the voice acting wasn't great, it kept me in the moment as it was exactly the voice I expected to come out of each character's mouth. There were options to specialise into really interesting lightsaber or force based skills which kept the combat varied between the two characters you play as in the story (Anakin and Obi-Wan). Not a classic game but one that I had a huge amount of fun with and one I'd happily play again.
Some of the Harry Potter movie tie in games were really enjoyable too. They had plenty of problems, especially with the Deathly Hallows games being really poor. However, games like the Order of the Phoenix were a glimpse into what a fully fledged RPG type game set in Hogwarts might play like. If a game like that were made in the modern day and given the mechanical depth it has the potential for, it could be a cult classic.
One other from my PS2 days was Avatar: The Last Airbender (2006). Again, it did not have great graphics or storytelling and the production values were fairly low. Despite that, it was fantastic fun. The combat mechanics were really satisfying and it also had RPG elements that kept you feeling like you were progressing over time and alongside the story you already knew. One final honourable mention is one of my all time favourite games, Dragonball Z: Legacy of Goku 2. It had RPG progression again, as well as a well-known and beloved story being expanded on in ways the TV show didn't have time to explore. It was the first game I remember 100%-ing and I've done it multiple times since that first.
The reminiscing is great and all but this topic has been simmering in my mind for a while now. I can't help but speculate on what modern day games could achieve with full licenses and the freedom to make an interesting game instead of mobile focused cash cows with a name attached. In particular, the rampant success of PlayerUnknowns: Battlegrounds and subsequently Fortnite have made me wonder how amazing a fully-featured Hunger Games licensed battle royale game could be. There is a case to be made for a fantastic single player story/campaign where you play as Katniss Everdeen, or an alternate version playing as a different or customised character. Progression over time in that context would be extremely satisfying if done properly.
Imagine an open world game based on How To Train Your Dragon; flying around on Toothless to explore a large map, competing in races with maybe some combat thrown in. I've already mentioned an immersive Harry Potter RPG and the potential that could have. How about a few Marvel games? The LEGO games that have been consistently rolling out over the years are the closest thing we have to the sorts of games I imagine and I thoroughly enjoy those games. Having said that, I feel there is so much untapped potential that isn't being met in the modern games industry due to the big business nature of franchises and publishers. Maybe licensed games will never come back in quite the same form as they once had and they may well never fulfill that potential as a result, but I live in hope.