Konami used to be one of the biggest video game companies around. They ruled the NES market and even had to create another company, Ultra Games, to bypass some Nintendo legality issues on releasing too many games. Some classics on the NES include Contra, Metal Gear, Gradius, and of course, Castlevania. Nowadays, Konami doesn’t make many video games, but it does lend out characters occasionally.
Dead Cells was the perfect indie game to get Castlevania-themed DLC. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania almost works too well, overshadowing many of what made the original indie roguelike darling so charming. So, if the developers at Motion Twin could tackle another NES game from this era or beyond, like the 16-bit era, what should they go after next?
8 Final Fantasy
The Final Fantasy series has been featured in many cross-promotional game events. Some of them make sense, like the new Final Fantasy 7 Remake DLC for PowerWash Simulator, and sometimes they are more baffling, like the Assassin’s Creed content in Final Fantasy 15. Final Fantasy could work well in Dead Cells, though, if the developers base it on the first game.
There’s not a lot of story to it, so they wouldn’t have to worry about messing with any lore. Players could go into several biomes based on where the four crystals are located in the first game, and then they could fight each boss that guards these crystals like Lich.
7 Ghosts ‘N Goblins
Ghosts ‘n Goblins would make just as much sense in Dead Cells as Castlevania. Like Castlevania, it was an NES game that featured players fighting off the legions of the dead, including zombies, skeletons, and other horrors of the night. The original game is well-known for being a brutal NES title.
That difficulty challenge would fit right at home with a roguelike akin to Dead Cells. Ghosts ‘n Goblins may be kind of a dead series from Capcom now, even though they did put out a new entry in 2021 called Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection. It didn’t make a huge splash, but maybe DLC for Dead Cells could help bring the brand back in a bigger way.
6 Metroid
Metroid is the other half of the Metroidvania genre coin. Super Metroid popularized the formula over the original, and then Castlevania: Symphony of the Night upgraded Super Metroid’s ideas by adding RPG elements, and the rest is history. Dead Cells is more of a roguelike, but the core game does give players skills to unlock new paths.
For example, there is the ability to grow vines or the one that allows them to burst through floors. So, it would make just as much sense to get Samus in on the roguelike action via her Metroid series. Maybe this hypothetical DLC could turn Dead Cells into a more proper Metroidvania experience.
5 Metal Gear
Metal Gear sounds like an odd game to make Dead Cells DLC for. The developers are not beholden to make every piece of content for the game roguelike related, though. Perhaps the developers may want to branch off and try their hand at a stealth-based game instead.
Maybe the nameless hero could accidentally make a wrong turn in the pipes on his way back to his cell. Maybe this wrong turn can lead it into a prison within Outer Heaven, the location from Metal Gear on the NES. Basing the game on Metal Gear Solid may get more hype instead, but either way, fans should be overjoyed to see another classic Konami title resurrected via DLC.
4 Mortal Kombat
Making DLC based on a fighting game like Mortal Kombat might also sound odd at first. However, let’s look at Street Fighter X Mega Man, which was a fan-made game at first. Capcom liked the game so much that they officially sanctioned it and released it on PC. It was a Mega Man game through and through, but his bosses were based on Street Fighter characters like Ryu.
Mortal Kombat DLC for Dead Cells could feature the same trajectory. Players could go through reimagined levels from the Mortal Kombat series and then fight bosses like Scorpion or Sub-Zero to get their weapons or powers.
3 Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden is another game that is infamous for being expertly challenging on the NES. The entire trilogy is known for this, as is the reboot series that began on the original Xbox. The nameless hero in Dead Cells is already pretty agile, like a ninja, making this a good fit.
Plus, there are plenty of ninja-like weapons in the game, from twin blades to throwing knives to nunchaku. Give this nameless hero some black garb and send him on a ninja game journey through pain.
2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The developers shouldn’t be satisfied with making one ninja-based DLC, though. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would also be a fun fit for Dead Cells. Battletoads made it into Shovel Knight, so Dead Cells getting the turtles would be like a fun nod to that.
There are plenty of great arcade ports on the NES based on TMNT, but fans would be most ecstatic if the Dead Cells DLC was based on Turtles in Time. It could tie into the upcoming movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem instead of some good cross-promotional material.
1 The Legend Of Zelda
The Legend Of Zelda is no stranger to getting the DLC treatment/spinoff sequel via Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda. That kept the core concept of a musical roguelike intact but instead set the game in Hyrule.
The nameless hero in Dead Cells could get zapped into Hyrule and visit some iconic locations like Kakariko Village and Death Mountain. A Link to the Past would be a good game to base this Dead Cells DLC idea off of, as it is a classic 16-bit game on the SNES. However, like Metal Gear Solid’s example, Ocarina of Time may be the better nostalgia play.
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania was released on March 6, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
