Top 10 Nostalgic Properties That Deserve Games
By: Steve Mayne
Tags: Tabletop Gaming, Gaming, Hobby, Nostalgia, Top 10

A Look at the bits of childhood I’d love to see one the table top.

There was a time when you could count the number of good licensed board games on one hand. Fortunately, that number has increased over the past few years to the point where I no longer automatically assume that a licensed game will be bad. Hell, there are a couple coming out that I’m genuinely excited for.

With this comes a number of designers who I’m pretty sure are trying to make design the games we wish we’d had when we we’re kids. There are lots of licensed games for properties that are in the consciousness now. However, older, more nostalgic IP’s are getting released all the time. Right now we have two miniatures games about the Masters of the Universe, a card game for GI Joe, a board and RPG based on Labyrinth, and I don’t know how many charcters combined in Funko Pop and Unmatched.

This list came from an episode of Dice Tower Tonight where Eric Summerer wondered about a pick up and deliver version of TaleSpin in response to an upcoming Gargoyles game based on the old Disney animated series. Honestly I love the idea of this and would really enjoy playing it. I could even see reskinning Merchants of Venus to fit the theme. I even considered placing TaleSpin on this list. But decided that I’ll let it pass since it was Eric’s and choose ten of my own bits of nostalgia.

M.A.S.K. Mobile Armored Strike Kommand

Matt Tracker and his elite team of operatives worked to thwart the machinations of Miles Mayhem and the terrorist organization MAYHEM. This was done in a series of high speed chases up and down the highway. They did this by using special vehicles to would transform into different kinds of vehicles. For example, there was a car where the doors would pop up into wings and let the car function as a plane and a motorcycle where the exhaust and supports would flip around and become a helicopter. The villains also had a couple of changing vehicles and it’s exactly as ridiculous as you think. You can check out the theme song here.

I could easily see a version of the new Fast and the Furious board game using the MASK vehicles and characters. I think both of these properties have a lot in common and would actually work pretty well together. It wouldn’t surprise me if in Fast10 if Dom’s car did turn into a plane.

Time Bandits

Time Bandits is a film directed by Terry Gilliam in 1981. The story follows Kevin as he travels through time with some of God’s former assistants. The men stole a map from God that shows all of the routes through time and they use the map to jump around stealing from some of history’s most famous characters. Sometimes Kevin is with the group and sometimes he gets left behind. While doing this they draw the attention of Evil who needs the map to escape his prison. Check out the trailer here.

There are a lot of different types of games that would work well here. My personal preference would be a Forgotten Waters style crossroads game from Plaid Hat. Admittedly the real challenge for a game like this would be getting the tone just right. Terry Gilliam has a unique voice in storytelling and if they can match then I think a good bit of the heavy lifting is done.

Thundercats

Thundercats is the story of Lion-o and is team of cat people as they face off against dark forces of Mumm-Ra. The two groups fought each other every episode with over the ancient power that Mumm-Ra needed to return to the world. The show used a mix of fantasy and technology with no clear indication of whether or not the Thundercats were from another planet or not. The show did have an update in 2011 that filled in a large amount of the backstory and did a good job of adding a pretty decent plot to the whole thing. Check out the original trailer here.

I almost didn’t include this one. While I wasn’t able to find any evidence of an upcoming Thundercats game, if either of the Masters of the Universe games coming out do well then I think this is the next logical step. I’m fairly certain the license for both properties is owned by the same company. If I’m right then I’m pretty sure that we’ll just get one of the two existing games with Thundercats in it. As near as I can tell, that’s a pretty good thing.

The Last Dragon

Who’s the baddest mofo low down around this town? If you answered Sho’nuff then we are friends and I will have a drink with you. A young martial artist, Leroy Green called Bruce Leeroy, is seeking a master to teach him the last level of martial arts so that he can achieve the glow. The show is cheesy, awesome, fun, and wild. You can rent it on most streaming services and I’d wager it’s worth a look. Check-a-look at the trailer here.

This is a fun adventure film similar in style to Big Trouble in Little China and I think would fit with that as a model for a game. I could easily see this being used in that fashion or even just adding Bruce Leeroy to Unmatched would be a great addition.

Dungeon & Dragons Animated Series

Six kids at an amusement park board a Dungeons & Dragons ride and are transported to the magical realm. They are guided by Dungeon Master in their quest to return home while actively being targeted by Venger and Tiamat. Each of the kids is given a magic weapon that reflects their “class” or skill set. They have to use these items and the riddles from Dungeon Master to travel the land, help people where they can, and try to find their way home. Trailer here.

Dungeons & Dragons already has several board games that would work very well here. There’s an entire series of cooperative dungeon crawler; Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, Temple of Elemental Evil, and the legend of Drizzt. All of the games are compatible and you could easily drop a version with the kids from the old series. Each of the kids was unique and fun with awesome powers that would fit well into the game.

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

Visionaries was both a comic and a cartoon and I devoured them both. The story was about a world where the three suns aligned after a thousand years and magic returned to the world and usurping science. The entire planet was knocked back to the medieval age and people feel back on swords and armor. A wizard offered a contest that those that finished were gifted totems that allowed them summon animal spirits. Some of the men had banners that were also given special powers. Anyone without a banner could now power old machines with magic allowing them to use hovercraft and other vehicles. The men fell into two groups, those that wanted to help humanity and those that wanted to enslave them. Check the trailer here.

It would be easy to yell Masters of the Universe and move onto the next entry on this list but I don’t want to do that. While I think this game would function as a vs team battler, I’d love to see more emphasis put on the story here. This is one that started with a lot of fun things going on. I’d relay prefer a narrative based game that took advantage of those things.

Ultraveres Comics

Created in the 90’s Ultraverse introduced a wonderful world of new, unique, and exciting heroes. From Prime, a 14 year old science experiment whose hero form rivaled Superman to Firearm a form spy turned private eye and Night Man a jazz musician who could hear the truly evil thoughts of others that brought him into conflict with terrible serial killers and worse. It even gave us the Strangers, one of the best hero teams of all time. Comic Book Resource did a wonderful article about the great stuff in the Ultraverse you can check out here.

Some comics fans from the 90’s just winced in pain. Ultraverse was a comic imprint from Malibu Comics that wanted to try something different. They launched several creator co-owned books that created a wonderful new universe. A line so wonderful that Marvel bought it and then shut it down. The true tale is longer and far more convoluted than that, but it’s where it goes. Part of the fun of this list is trying to figure out what kind of game I’d like to see, but here, legal issues are keeping Marvel from doing anything with the property and I’m pretty sure I’ll never see these folks again and that just sucks. But I would love an RPG.

Willow

How do I begin to break down the fantasy epic that is Willow? From George Lucas and Ron Howard staring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, and Joanne Whalley. Willow was the story of a baby that was targeted for death by an evil queen. Snuck from here castle and set adrift in a river the child is found by would be sorcerer, Willow. He takes the baby to find an appropriate hero to take care of the baby and ends up on a world changing quest with the help of the world’s greatest swordsman. I know what I’m watching after I finish this article. Take a look at the trailer here.

I don’t know that I would have been able to choose a style of game for Willow but then I saw Agemonia. There’s a couple of game play videos for this upcoming little gem out this week and man do I think Willow would be amazing with these rules. I could very easily see this as a fun story telling game with lots of choices and ideas. If the designers can get their hands on the notes for the two intended sequels then that would be even better.

Milestone Comics

Milestone Comics is another one of those 90’s gems that I’ve missed. Created by DC Comics to highlight original black characters and creators Milestone introduced so many wonderful characters to us. The odds are you’ve probably heard of one of them, Static Shock who was their most popular break out character and has appeared in his own series, Batman the animated series, and a couple of others. Two other character, Icon and Rocket, appeared in Young Justice. I cannot express how much fun Milestone Comics were. I don’t know why it went away but…good news, it’s coming back.

Honestly, it’s number 2 on my list because it’s coming back. They’re relaunching everything and working on getting Static his own live action movie. I’m very happy. Knight Models could do some wonderful things with these characters. The Teenage Mutant Turtle’s games from IDW would be a great fit here. I just want to see these characters in whatever way they’ll give them to me.

Thundarr the Barbarian

There has been a cataclysm. An asteroid has passed between the Earth and the moon and thrown the entire planet off its axis; environmental devastation followed. When the ashes of society finally settled a new hero arose, Thundarr the Barbarian and his fabulous sunsword. Joined by Princess Ariel and Ookla the Mok they travel the wastes and help where they can. Now, to listen to the theme found here and see how close I got from memory. I got the gist of it.

Travel, exploration, and fighting evil. Middara would rock at this. It handles storytelling, map building, and character development in such a fun way that I think this would be a great fit for Thundarr.

Back to Now

There you go folks. Those are my top 10 nostalgia properties that I would love to see on my table. I’m curious what some of yours are. Drop a comment here or on social media and let me know what stuff from the before times that you’d love to get a game.

Until next time, stay safe and be well.