The time of the mini console is likely at its end. Nintendo seems content to stop at the Super Nintendo, and no other companies have jumped on the bandwagon in quite some time. However, one tweet earlier this week from original Xbox designer Seamus Blackley could signal a resurgence. Blackley asked his followers if they’d be interested in a machine that resembled the original silver prototype of the Xbox that only streamed games from that generation. For anyone who skipped Microsoft’s first console, the question might be “the original Xbox played more than Halo?” This is why some sort of Xbox mini console would be a great release, especially with a handful of must-have titles that haven’t released anywhere else.
An Xbox mini console would have some games that players can already get elsewhere. The original Halo and Halo 2 are almost mandatory, and quirky exclusives like Voodoo Vince and Phantom Dust are already remastered for Microsoft’s newer hardware. Still, while the Xbox may have had fewer games to its name than Sony’s PlayStation 2, it had a wealth of exclusives that are historically interesting and still fun to play. In an age where PC ports were more trouble than they were worth, many of these games have never seen release outside of the console, and that’s a real travesty.
To compound matters, the original Xbox’s resistance to proper emulation has ensured that future generations haven’t really had the opportunity to dive into the console’s library. While PS2 and GameCube novelties are the subjects of Internet fan content on the regular, the Xbox’s deep cuts are still obscure to the mainstream gaming audience. An Xbox Mini (like Blackley proposed) with a good collection of the following cult hits will seem like a huge bargain, as the average player hasn’t seen the likes of these names for a long while.
The Xbox Mini Needs MechAssault
One of the first games to take advantage of Xbox Live, MechAssault‘s larger online component would not work on an Xbox Mini, but its robust giant robot-laden campaign and splitscreen options would still shine. The game is part of the larger Battletech universe, one of the only spinoffs to function more like an action game and less like strategy tactics. Less vital is MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, the 2004 follow-up to the original hit that features an extended loop of Papa Roach playing in the background of one of its boss fights.
The Xbox Mini Needs Otogi
Speaking of giant mechs, FromSoftware also left their mark on Microsoft’s original console. Before they were the developers that invented the Soulslike, the team was known mostly for the Armored Core series, but a hint at what was to come from them came in the form of Otogi: Myth of Demons and Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors. Both games are excellent action-oriented hack and slash titles that showed a flair for swordplay and impressively unique character design that laid the foundations for FromSoftware’s modern breakout hits.
The Xbox Mini Needs Blood Wake
A late entry to the vehicular combat genre best known for the Twisted Metal series, Blood Wake featured all manner of aquatic vessels outfitted with miniguns and cannons fighting it out for high seas dominance.
While the entire genre has aged poorly, Blood Wake‘s place as one of the premier Xbox launch titles not to star a space marine and its lack of ports outside of the original Xbox earns it a spot on Microsoft’s possible mini console.
The Xbox Mini Needs Quantum Redshift
Not completely well-known even among fans of its home console, Quantum Redshift is a futuristic racer that serves as a spiritual successor to the PlayStation’s Wipeout series (the games, not the TV obstacle course) made by its original creator. Known for its graphical prowess at the time, the game’s lack of relatable characters was a critical sticking point. Still, it’s another game unique to the original Xbox that showcases what was special about the hardware.
The Xbox Mini Needs Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions
While the original game in this action/driving hybrid was published by Activision and saw ports to GameCube and PlayStation 2, its original home was Xbox. On that platform, the game was praised for its impressive graphics, and Microsoft took over publishing duties for the Japan-only sequel known as Double-S.T.E.A.L. – The Second Clash. Even though it was only published in Japan on Xbox, it is already fully translated to English and would be the perfect Star Fox 2-style addition to a theoretical Xbox Mini.
The Xbox Mini Needs Brute Force
To be blunt, Brute Force is not a good game in 2021. It’s arguable that it wasn’t a good game upon release, but the third-person shooter was never really given a fair shake.
The gaming community thrust unrealistic expectations on Brute Force to be Xbox’s next Halo, and that just wasn’t going to happen. Either way, there will be few better places to make Brute Force playable once again than a throwback collection of original Xbox classics. If Nintendo can keep releasing Urban Champion over and over in its retro rereleases, Microsoft can afford to bring back Brute Force one time.
The Xbox Mini Needs Crimson Skies
Out of all of Xbox’s various legacy franchises, the one with the most latent potential has to be Crimson Skies. The original game attempted to tell an alternate history plot through simplistic cutscenes and in-mission dialogue, showing a knack for storytelling that was ahead of its time. A spot for Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge on the Xbox Mini might help lead the way to a well-earned new game that fulfills that potential. Plus, it’s got a mode where players try to steal a giant chicken in multiplayer, and that’s always welcome.
While the original Xbox is often remembered for its bulky original controller or its introduction of Xbox Live, Microsoft’s software library at the time was full of experimental games trying new things and pushing boundaries. Things didn’t always work out, and Microsoft has left most of these names behind, but a retro celebration remembering this time in Xbox’s history will solidify Microsoft’s legacy as a console maker and supply the growing number of original Xbox fans with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Simply put, the time is right for an Xbox Mini.
