With "the video game" getting closer & closer to the age of 50, at least if you're counting 1971's Computer Space as the "first" (if you count stuff like Spacewar! or Tennis for Two, then it's already well over 50), the concept of "game preservation" has become more & more relevant, and one method that has supported preserving games is emulation. Go back even just 15 years ago, and emulation was kind of a dirty word to the industry, but today it's become much more welcome, as it's allowed the preservation of so many games that would have otherwise been lost to time. A sort of variant of that has been consoles featuring backwards compatibility (or "BC", for short) with previous generations. While some made this possible by simply having a previous console's necessary hardware in the new console's design (see: the Atari 7800, Sega Genesis, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 2, & the earliest models of the PlayStation 3), most have done this via emulation of some sort. Still, if there's one system that's effectively changed the BC game, it's the Xbox One.
The funny thing is that, when Microsoft originally released the Xbox One in late 2013, having compatibility with previous consoles' games was the furthest thing from the company's mind. In fact, then-head of Xbox Don Mattrick was quoted in 2013 with saying, "If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards." When Phil Spencer became head of Xbox in 2014, though, he secretly made BC a priority, creating an entire team in Microsoft solely to handle it. The end result came on June 15, 2015, when the first batch of 20 Xbox 360 games, both disc-based & digital-only via Xbox Live Arcade, were added. Unlike most BC efforts, though, these games were not just guaranteed to play on Xbox One exactly like they did on their original console, but would play better. Due to the sheer power of the One, 360 games can play with higher frame rates (or at least maintain their caps better), hit their max video resolutions more consistently (if they use dynamic resolutions), are given 16x anisotropic filtering (i.e. visuals look better at all angles & distances), & forced V-sync prevents screen tearing; when the Xbox One X was introduced in 2017, some games were even given new enhancements! Since then, Microsoft has been consistently adding more games to the BC service, at least 1-3 every month, & currently is at around 560 Xbox 360 games, which is about 26% of the console's total of roughly 2100 games; that's honestly super impressive.
Obviously, not every single game is going to be made BC with the Xbox One, so for this B-List I want to bring up six disc-based 360 games, plus one XBLA game, that I feel are definite longshots, but would love to see added to the BC program at some point. Note that I am not including games released on the original Xbox, of which only 33 have been made BC, mainly because there hasn't been any update to that in roughly a year, and licensing makes those exponentially harder to add; also, I could make an entire list just around those games, so maybe another time. So let's get started, shall we?
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The resulting game received a mixed reception, to no surprise, and it obviously didn't make back the tens of millions of dollars spent on it. To be fair, though, the game itself wasn't bad by any means, but what brought it down were some technical issues, like an unstable frame rate & hideously long load times, and some unrefined gameplay, which was mainly due to the troubled development making that less of a focus. Overall, Splatterhouse is actually a ton of fun, & personally one of my favorite games of this past decade. The over-the-top & absurd amounts of gore is perfect for the tone, the story is actually rather well done, the banter between main characters Rick & the Terror Mask is superb, and the gameplay is addictively fun, though it has a slightly rough time introducing you to some mechanics; also, you can unlock the original three games, which is awesome (no Wanpaku Graffiti, though). Honestly, getting Splatterhouse made to be BC on Xbox One would probably help fix the more technical shortcomings with the game, i.e. it'd have a more stable framerate & maybe the load times would even be improved somewhat, and hopefully it would remind people of this game, because it definitely deserves more love; it'd also give the game a digital offering, which it never got. It may not have been the game it was originally meant to be, but it's still a ridiculously gory fun house of horrors.
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Really, the only reason I'm including Culdcept Saga in this list is simply because it's an awesome game that most-definitely fell through the cracks back when it first came out. After all, Devil May Cry 4 came out the very same day, & Lost Odyssey came out the following week for 360-owning RPG fans. Obviously, the franchise in general is very much a hyper-niche in English-speaking territories, with only three of the games coming out by three different companies (NEC, Bandai Namco, & NIS America), with fairly long gaps of time in between each release. Also, Culdcept Saga is by no means something you can find used in any old GameStop today, and there was no digital release to accompany it (you can only find a demo on the Xbox Store), so seeing it added to the Xbox One's BC program would be a cool way to give this excellent game a new chance to find a (cult) following, as well as make it available digitally for the first time ever.
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In that same vein, SF3's place in the actual, canonical, timeline was rather loose, as you played as a band of mercenaries who simply fight for any & all sides of the war that'll pay you, and you can even recruit all manner of notable IF Neverland characters, even those who are technically rulers of some of the countries that are at war! In true Idea Factory fashion, there were also various sub-systems during combat, like a Friendship Gauge to allow for linking attacks together, but here they worked well in harmony, giving you more to work with. Overall, Spectral Force 3 felt more like a celebration of IF Neverland's origins than an actual relevant part of the timeline, giving you the ability to recruit all of the notable generals & rulers, without having to worry about silly things like messing with the timeline. The fact that there were only three more (non-remake) entries in the franchise following this game, all of which had little to nothing to actually do with this part of the timeline, supports this feeling.
When Atlus USA announced that it'd be bringing this game over to North America, two years later, people literally went to Atlus' forums and asked, "Why the hell are you doing an Idea Factory game?! They're poopy!" (I've translated their more coarse language into a more accurate representation of their demeanor); all Atlus responded with was, "Well, we just think it's a good game." Personally, I side with Atlus, because Spectral Force 3 is a very good & enjoyable strategy RPG, especially for a console that really wasn't inundated with many, and I'd love to give it another go via the Xbox One. Of course, that would likely mean getting Idea Factory involved, even though the company hasn't released anything for an Xbox console in nearly a decade; they support Windows, though.
Hey, as I said, these are "longshots", and this might just be the longest one of them all.
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To no surprise, reaction to the game was very mixed. Most fans of the series simply wanted a new fighting game, something which wouldn't happen for another seven years, and GG2 was as far away from what was expected of the series as one could get... Except not really. Amongst those various updates of GGXX were all sorts of other Guilty Gear games that went into other genres, like Isuka's four-player battle royals, Dust Strikers' single-screen, Smash Bros.-esque combat, & Judgment's side-scrolling beat-em-up action; 2010 even had auto-runner Pro Jumper! Guilty Gear Tangent!?. Taking those into consideration, GG2's genre-mixing gameplay really wasn't that much different than what the franchise had been doing for the past few years, other than the fact that this was actually the next part of the story, setting up plot threads & elements that would then come into play in the Guilty Gear Xrd games from this decade. In fact, ArcSys did already re-release Guilty Gear 2: Overture back in 2016, but only for Windows PCs. Seeing the original 360 version be made BC for Xbox One would be a great way to allow people who got into Guilty Gear via the Xrd games the chance to see what set the events of those games' Story Modes into action, and maybe the gameplay might even be given a fair shake, this time around.
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Personally, I have little to no interest in Warhammer (either "Fantasy" or 40K), but once I saw the gameplay for this title, I really wanted to play it. Now, to be fair, it was a rather simple game, mechanically, and there wasn't much variety in the enemies you fight, as you only took on a limited variety of Orks until some Chaos forces start appearing about half-way through. Still, what made Space Marine work so well is that it delivered a fun & addictive feeling of power that matched well with how the giant Ultramarines are usually venerated in the series; it's also more focused on melee combat, with shooting being more of a set-up or back-up. Relic apparently brought on people who worked on games like Gears of War, God of War, & Far Cry, and it showed in all of the best ways; in fact, it's still a fairly unique title among Warhammer games, which tend to be strategy focused. The plot, while nothing mind-blowing, was still good, setting up lead character Captain Tidus as someone who was willing to potentially go against the Codex that rules their actions if need be, even if he starts looking conspicuously like he's on the verge of going full Chaos. Unfortunately, the game was planned to be the first in a trilogy, and the ending sets that up (though still allowing for some feeling of finality), but THQ's closure in 2013 effectively killed any chance at that; Space Marine was actually the last Warhammer game THQ would ever release. Today, Sega seems to be the company that owns the rights to this title, & Relic was sold to Sega during THQ's bankruptcy, so it's not exactly impossible to see this story return, one day. In that case, though, it'd be better to just outright remaster Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine for current consoles (i.e. give it the Darksiders treatment), but should this remain just a single game, then I'd definitely love to give this title another go on the Xbox One via BC.
I mean, come on... It lets you use a chainsaw sword.
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Released in late 2004, Super Robot Wars GC was, as the name implied, a Nintendo GameCube-exclusive entry in the iconic strategy RPG/mech anime crossover franchise, & featured some notable things about it. It was one of the extremely few mainline games that showcased battles completely with polygons (by way of the decade's iconic RenderWare engine, no less), it's the only game in which a robot's body parts could be individually destroyed (which resulted in various effects, including removal of specific attacks), & the roster of anime used put a notable focus on the 80s, with series like Dancouga, SPT Layzner, L-Gaim, all three entries of the J9 Series, & Daltanious. Then, in late 2006, the game was given a remaster on the Xbox 360 under the XO name, with the main difference being enhanced visuals & effects, a much better presentation (complete with new attacks & pilot cut-ins), & online multiplayer (a first for the franchise). I actually reviewed both versions together back in 2012 & still feel that it's one of the more truly unique entries in SRW, even to this day, with XO being the better version in every single way possible; GC feels kind of unfinished, in comparison. In fact, it was even re-released on the 360 under the Platinum Hits label, but considering how little the console sold in general in Japan, that likely doesn't mean much. Unfortunately, XO is a region-locked 360 game, which has made it tougher for franchise fans to play, so seeing it get added to the BC list, even if the chances are astronomically infinitesimal, would no doubt help make this more easily accessible. It's not even like it'd be impossible from a licensing standpoint, as the Japanese PlayStation Store has had numerous older entries added to the PSOne Archives, and XO is one of the easier licensing hurdles to leap over today, with only six copyrights to deal with (Sunrise, Sotsu Agency/Sunrise, Toei, Dynamic Pro, Ashi Pro, & MIC/Shigeo Tsubota). Even then, it could simply be a "disc-only" addition, like Driver: San Francisco or ("vanilla") Lost Planet, making it so that a digital version wouldn't be required.
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Treasure tended to be against making sequels, but with the new millennium suddenly changed course, with Advance Guardian Heroes, Gunstar Super Heroes, & Sin & Punishment: Star Successor all coming to fruition, & in between the last two was Bangai-O Spirits for the Nintendo DS in 2008. While the original was a simple 44-stage campaign with only two forms of attack, Spirits upped the ante to 160 stages & seven weapons, including melee weapons, like a sword or baseball bat, & even a level creator. In comparison, Missile Fury was a slightly leaner package at only a little over 100 stages (a little over half of which could only be played after beating the main campaign), and each stage had a set weapon load-out, rather than allowing the player to freely pick & choose, like Spirits did, though this did encourage puzzle solving; also, sharing custom levels was more restrictive than Spirits' "convert to audio" idea. Still, it is weird how Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury remains the only Treasure-developed 360 offering to not be made BC for Xbox One, and that is something that really should be rectified.
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Naturally, Microsoft is only going to continue updating BC for Xbox One for so long, so who knows how many more Xbox 360 games will get added to the list. Do I expect all seven of these games to get added at some point or another? No, not at all, and while that is unfortunate it's just how things work out. Regardless, the fact that I could easily name more than just what I chose for this list shows that backwards compatibility is an important feature, especially when it allows one to experience older games in ways that they couldn't before, and we can only hope Microsoft will continue to follow this path for its next console.
Splatterhouse © 2010 Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
Culdcept Saga © 2006-2008 Omiya Soft (JAMSWORKS) © 2008 Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage © 2008 Idea Factory/XPEC Entertainment
Guilty Gear 2: Overture © Arc System Works
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine © Games Workshop Limited 2010 © Sega
Super Robot Wars XO © Ashi Pro © Movie International/Shigeo Tsubota © Sunrise © Sotsu・Sunrise © Dynamic Planning © Toei © Banpresto 2006
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury © 2011 Treasure Co., Ltd.
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