Which developer do you think would do it justice?

I love Mark of Kri and Rise of Kasai, but the combat was always pretty bad. I loved the stealth bits though.

On second thought (just played some) the combat isn't as bad as I remember. It's not as intuitive as newer combat systems though. I'd love a remake of this with more refined stealth and a Batman/Sleepy Dawgs-esque combat system with a focus on Rau's sword.

Some of the best games of that generation. Don't know what dev I'd want to take it, but if they do sign me up!

@HedinnWeis said:

On second thought (just played some) the combat isn't as bad as I remember. It's not as intuitive as newer combat systems though. I'd love a remake of this with more refined stealth and a Batman/Sleepy Dawgs-esque combat system with a focus on Rau's sword.

I was going to say I thought the combat was quite good, a nice way to handle group combat. But as you say we have made strides there.

I have no idea who should remake it. The art style would be awesome to see though in the modern era. To me it was always like a very violent Disney cartoon.

The combat was fantastic for the time. I loved that stuff. The stealth bits were great too. I don't think I'd want them to change it to stuff like Sleeping Dogs and Batman, that has been done and is starting to get less unique now. Though, it'd probably certainly have to evolve in some way.

As for who? Well, why not keep it at Sony? How about SCE Santa Monica? They worked on stuff like God of War, so they know how to handle violent combat. They also had a hand in Thatgamecompany's projects, and stuff like Fat Princess, so I think they could knock the style out of the park. They seem like the obvious choice to me.

I would say Ninja Theory. Just because its the first studio that came to mind.

@myketuna said:

I would say Ninja Theory. Just because its the first studio that came to mind.

Honestly, that's what I was thinking too.

I do still want it to look like a really violent Disney cartoon though. I think the visuals are important.

@HatKing: You can't tell me that really hardcore stealth mingled with Batman-esque melee combat wouldn't be the coolest thing ever. Well I mean you can, that's your opinion, but I really think it would work.

Oh jeez as soon as I saw that name I had a giant nostalgia trip. I never even played the full version but I must have played through the demo a hundred times. They were fun games and the Disney/gore art style was amazing!

@HatKing: Yeah, but going back to it... It's kind of rough. The whole "spin the right stick to select targets" and then having each target have a different button mapped to them just doesn't hold up very well.

To everyone: If you were in charge of designing or overseeing the development of the combat system in a new Mark of Kri game, what would you want it to be like? What combat systems from what games would you be influenced by and what combat systems would you avoid?

@HedinnWeis: Klei

@Mesoian: As a 2D side scroller?

People liked that game?

@HedinnWeis said:

@Mesoian: As a 2D side scroller?

Perhaps. Or perhaps taking that style and applying some pseudo 3D to it. I think their brand of animation would fit the Mark of Kri series well.

@JZ said:

People liked that game?

People REALLY liked those games. They were quite good for the time.

@Mesoian: I agree. I could see that working out really well actually.

I never played them but the Wiki says they were made by Sony San Diego. That studio still exists so I don't see why they wouldn't continue to make it were they to make a new one.

The combo of cartoon melee violence and stealth was amazing. I never played the second, but the first seemed like it was planned out to be a much bigger game and they just ran out of time and stuck a cutscene at the end.

Ninja Theory would be an interesting choice. Vigil might be a good one too. It's a longshot, but I'd also say Platinum could pull it off.

My strongest memory from the game is the momentum of swinging the axe. There's something similar in the back of my mind from a more recent game but I can't place it.