The Tecmo-Koei merger last year put together two companies in dire need of some straightening out. Tecmo was a company that, with the departure of industry icon Tomonobu Itagaki, was without its soul. Koei was a company that suffered from over-iteration of its key franchises. So, in fixing their quandary, we have our work cut out for us. 

We know Koei’s not going to stop releasing Dynasty Warriors games, but it’s unacceptable that such an iterative game has such problems with slowdown, framerate and glitching, and the co-op is such a selling point that it should be able to handle four players locally. They keep trying gimmicks, but what they need to do is make the core experience solid. There’s a reason Dynasty Warriors games sell: there’s a quality there that’s really fun. It’s just a headache sometimes too.

Here at Snackbar Games, we love retro revivals, so it’s probably surprising to hear us say that. Here’s the problem: The company’s attempts at remakes of Tecmo Bowl, NBA Basketball and Rygar have been, shall we say, less than stellar. Looking at their back catalog, there’s not much in the way of lost gems that need reviving, either, so sit this one out, Tecmo. (We have an exception here for one game, but that’ll be obvious later.)

The move to partner Team Ninja with Nintendo for Metroid: Other M is going to result in one of the biggest games they’ve released, if only because it has the Big N’s logo on the box. Add that to the fact that Tecmo does best with full, large-budget releases, and it’s the recipe for success.

Itagaki is out of the building, and we’re just tired of the whole DOA “look at virtual girls” thing. Right now they’re even promoting their creepiness. Stop, guys. There’s a road back to reputability, and we’re paving it. The new PSP DOA Paradise might sell, but it brings down the image of the entire company with every copy.

This is the one franchise where we suggest staying the course. The highly-rated series has kept it fresh (at least by this company’s standards), and who are we to meddle with it?

The partnership with Nintendo for Other M is great. But throw in cult hit machine Grasshopper Manufacture? That game should be made as available as possible. Nintendo isn’t planning on releasing it in the U.S., but Tecmo should do what it can to get it out there. As mentioned before, the Nintendo logo helps, so that route’s better than publishing it on their own, but that’s still better than nothing.

We don’t actually have anything to say about Opoona, but we figured it should be on the list anyway. Gitaroo Man is kind of cool too, but Opoona is significantly more fun to say. You try it: Opooooooonaaa! See what we’re saying?

The game’s turn-based, a time suck and best with more players, so where it needs to be is on Facebook. Make the monster randomization based on making friends or something, and add in some micropayments for the business model. We’d pick that over FarmVille.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!