I already made such a poll back when the forum started, but the recent years have thrown a WildCard with the redemption arc of Mercury Steam.
And yeah video game nerds do this thing when a company does any moderately well-liked game (Platinum Games should do [Game with Melee combat]! Respawn should do [a game where you shoot people!]") and suddenly they're good for anything, but I really think Mercury Steam would be a great choice for Wario Land for reasons that are more than meet the eyes.
-Metroid Dread especially showns they have a genuine for thrilling boss battles and action gameplay
-Takehiko Hosokawa, the co-creator of Wario Land and director of Wario Land II and Wario Land 3, was heavily involved in Mercury Steam's Metroid Games, he was director on Samus Returns and assistant director on Dread. Any new Wario Land game would be surpervised by a previous developer of the IP as is customary for Nintendo so that they already have a working relationship with the most important Wario Land person still working at Nintendo gives them a serious legs up.
-If there any concerns that their games have learned more toward the serious and violent side, they did make a goofy and lighthearted game - specifically their very first title, Scrapland.
No seriously, the more I think about it the more it makes sense. But, what do you think?
Platinum Games should do a Wario game with Melee combat!!
In all seriousness, either Good Feel (for obvious reasons) or maybe Mercury Steam, if only because, aside from what has been already said, it'd be sweet to see Wario and Metroid sharing developers once again, just like in the old days of based R&D1.
I've played some Wayforward games and while those were good... they didn't seem to reach the level of quality required for a new Wario Land game. The same goes for Arzest.
If we are talking about developer teams, I'd like to include Nintendo EDP. Great games, WarioWare games *wink wink* and Nintendo R&D1's team went there. Well, I know EDP it's multiple teams, but still, I think they could release something neat. It would be funny if the supposed Donkey Kong game in development was actually Wario Land lol
Good Feel would be the safe and obvious option, given they already have experience on the series via Wario Land Shake It! and have only grown more experienced in crafting slower paced exploration heavy games in the form of Epic Yarn and the Yoshi games. That said, I don't know if they can do it now.
MercuryStream makes sense on paper given their recent work on the Metroid series, but I don't know if that would translate to a new Land title. MercuryStream's track record doesn’t give me confidence that they're well suited to a Land title, given their track record has been dark horror themed games. But I’m willing to give them a chance.
WayForward would be one of the most interesting IMO, given Shantae and what not does have some WL vibes, I can trust them to pump out a solid Land entry.
Keep Arzest away from Wario at all costs. No offense to Naoto Ohshima, but Arzest's track record doesn't give me trust that they can do Wario justice.
I picked Wayforward (because yay River City Girls) but I'd like to see something from the likes of DotEmu or Lizardcube if Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy Dragon's Trap were anything to go by.
This is really hard for me. WayForward seems like the ideal choice, but MercurySteam's take would be good too, while GoodFeel could make a follow up to Shake It pretty easily. Honestly anyone but Arzest is my pick.
I feel like Wayford would be the best choice. Their games are well animated and I think their style would compliment the Wario Land series, in addition with them already having tons of experience with platforming games that feature pirates, lol. I also think they would be willing to add animated cutscenes similar to Wario Land: Shake It.
Hmm to play devil's advocate I will continue to contribute to this thread. I do think WayForward is a very talented developer but I am not much of a fan of what they have done with Kunio-kun
I feel like Wayford would be the best choice. Their games are well animated and I think their style would compliment the Wario Land series, in addition with them already having tons of experience with platforming games that feature pirates, lol.
WayForward would be my go-to choice too, but only as long as they keep it an internal affair. Their more recent Shantae games have a style to them that makes them quite likable (Seven Sirens has IMO by far the best art style in the series; all the characters look really good in it) but it's not really a style that would fit for a Wario Land game. Their own distinctive "house style" on the other hand, that can seen in Risky's Revenge, Ducktales Remastered, the Mighty series, etc. looks just perfect for a Land title, perhaps with a few minor alterations.
Another indie studio that should be brought up is Yacht Club Games, developers of Shovel Knight and other critically acclaimed games with a retro touch, although I'm not certain if they are willing to take on a Nintendo property.
Another indie studio that should be brought up is Yacht Club Games, developers of Shovel Knight and other critically acclaimed games with a retro touch, although I'm not certain if they are willing to take on a Nintendo property.
Oooh, Yacht Club Games would be a good/interesting choice. Nintendo seems to really like them (not many non-Nintendo characters like Shovel Knight got a amiibo), so I feel like Nintendo would be comfortable with them handling the property.
Game Atelier could be a good choice as well. Their game Monster Boy is a platformer about a character who takes different forms (which gives him new abilities). I think they could find new ways to incorporate Wario's various forms, along with giving him new ones.
I also think they would be willing to add animated cutscenes similar to Wario Land: Shake It.
