The Tropico games are a long-running series where players rule their own island and decide its future. While most early entries in a series can be rough, they also iron out core mechanics and set a great tone. Game developers like to innovate while keeping in what brought the fans there to begin with, but the Tropico games have begun to stagnate, dragging out the same scenario for players time and time again. Tropico 2: Pirate Cove truly innovated and changed up the series when it was still new, giving the game a new theme and a whole new direction, and that is why it's time to explore why the series should return to its Pirate Cove days.
Tropico 2 was the first game in the series to feature a campaign mode, which is a big step in a game like this. The campaign saw players not just maintaining control of an island but also taking on the role of Pirate King. Players encountered scenarios to maintain the island and keep inhabitants happy like in other titles in the series, but there was more to it. Players needed to also search for treasure to keep their hoard stocked and also to have a steady supply of captives as a workforce. These extra parts of the story make the theme pop more and give players more to do and think about, which is a great reason to bring the series back to that time.
When the devs partnered with Frog City Software, it was decided that the games needed a new theme, because there wasn't enough material for more Castro inspired titles, and this led directly to the second game's pirate setting. Other themes were considered during this time, and given how played out the Castro-style setting has become in most of the newer entries, it's probably time to go back to that board of ideas. The pirate setting ended up working quite well for the second game, showing that the series could retain the gameplay and ideas it was known for while changing things up. With how stagnated the Castro-era setting of the series has been lately, this change of pace would be a welcome uplift for the series, enabling it to go in new directions and even towards new themes.
One thing mentioned earlier was that the second game introduced the idea of additional objectives in-game that served to aid in building the world. While recent games have features interactions with the USA or the Soviet Union, this game featured rival lord and the possibility of uprisings. Given a pirate setting, there's a lot that could still be explored there, like famous names and new alliance ideas. Instead of the US or USSR, players might find themselves allying with Tortuga or stopping Blackbeard from causing trouble, and this could give the game a fresh new feel all over again.
Returning to an era like this also opens the door to even more potential in the future, because there are a lot of settings to be explored where the core gameplay concept of Tropico works. Beyond piracy, the series could work in settings like a medieval time or a far-future time as well. The new settings, just like Pirate Cove's, could feature new buildings to construct and new ways to keep people happy and yourself in power, as well as new objectives. This would go back to what that old era was doing and reinvigorate a series that has found itself stuck at an impasse for a setting.
In the end, there are many reasons for Tropico to return to the days of Pirate Cove. Not only has the Castro-esque era of recent titles begun to stagnate the series, both from a story and a gameplay perspective, but there are only so many times players can experience the same thing. Pirate Cove took the core of the game's idea and switched it in a new direction that the series hasn't seen again since. With all the possible settings, additional objective ideas, and new ways to really get the series going again, Tropico needs to return to its Pirate Cove days to find that magic again.