9 classic games we’d love to see get a remake

Remakes have been happening for decades, but only in recent years have they started to push the boundaries and reintroduce some amazing games from the past to an audience that may not have given them a chance. The graphical boost is nice, of course, but it’s the quality of life changes and accessibility that make remakes so exciting. Who wants to spend hundreds of dollars on old hardware and rare cartridges that probably don’t even work with your TV anymore to play one or two games?

There’s always a fear that going back to a classic game for a remake will ruin what made it special. While I can’t say that isn’t a possibility, we’ve had more examples recently of the opposite, even when the remakes made dramatic changes to the original. Just look at Resident Evil 2 Remake and Final Fantasy 7: Remake and Rebirth for stellar examples of how a remake can modernize a title without losing the spirit of what made it special decades earlier. There are plenty of remakes on the horizon, but these are ten classic games I personally want to see remade over anything else.

1 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

The gold standard for Metroidvanias

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Symphony of the Night is still just as playable today as it was when it was released on the PlayStation 1, and is arguably still the king of the Metroidvania genre it helped pioneer. To this day, you can see the influence this game has had on games of all genres, such as an extensive map you are free to explore, upgrades that allow you to access new areas, and tons of secrets that only observant players will discover.

For a remake, I would want a more drastic change in this case. Let’s bring the castle to life in 3D this time to really immerse ourselves in the world of vampires and monsters. Keep the structure the same but add in some new areas, secrets, and abilities that take advantage of the 3D space to give it a fresh appeal. We’ve seen the potential of what this could be in some form with Bloodborne, but now we need to go all the way.

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2 Parasite Eve

Forgotten gem

Squaresoft (which would later become Square Enix) was firing on all cylinders in the PS1 era, releasing some of the best JRPGs on the market. Nestled between those juggernaut releases was a curious hybrid of a horror game and RPG based on a somewhat obscure novel called Parasite Eve. That formula ended up working out better than it had any right to, but it has been left to languish on the old console.

Remaking Parasite Eve should take a mixed approach to changing things up while remaining faithful. I believe the turn-based gameplay is core to what makes it unique and tense, but we can do away with the fixed camera angles and prerendered backgrounds. RPGs set in modern-day (well, modern-day for 1998, anyway) are still a rarity, and the more grounded tone could draw in a wider crowd.

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3 Chrono Trigger

Bring it to the future

Chrono Trigger

I can’t believe I’m still asking for this. Where is the Chrono Trigger remake!? I’m not saying games like Live A Live don’t deserve a remake too, but in terms of fan outcry, I can’t think of many games besides Final Fantasy VI that beat Chrono Trigger. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect JRPG, but Chrono Trigger sure does make a strong case for it.

I’m not asking for the world here. Let’s give it the HD-2D treatment and keep everything exactly the same. Of course, I’d welcome some new side quests, items, secret bosses, or whatever on top of that, but the core game is so tight and well-crafted that it doesn’t need much of anything added to it. The characters, plot, world, combat… it’s superb and is a crime to not be brought up to modern standards.

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4 Banjo Kazooie

The collect-a-thon king

I’m not afraid to say Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are better 3D platformers than Mario 64. The personality, charm, diversity of levels, amount of new abilities, and humor are far above anything Mario offered in his first 3D adventure. Since Rare was picked up by Microsoft, all we’ve got was the disappointing Nuts and Bolts on the 360 and the Rare Replay collection on Xbox One, but otherwise no sight of the iconic bear and bird since.

The world needs another kid-friendly platforming franchise to rival Mario. Nintendo can only give us those experiences so often, and no other major company is attempting to compete in that space. Keep the cartoony look and vibrant art style, but update the visuals and controls to modern standards, and the world will fall in love with these two unlikely heroes.

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5 Silent Hill

True horror

Silent Hill

Horror games are back and arguably bigger than ever. Resident Evil is firing on all cylinders, Alan Wake 2 was a surprise spooky hit, and dozens of quality indies are making us afraid to sleep with the lights off. With a Silent Hill 2 remake set to release in 2024, I have to ask: why are we skipping over the original? Yes, I know the second one is considered the peak of the franchise, but the first game set the groundwork for nearly all survival horror games that followed.

Silent Hill established the choking and claustrophobic setting of a town buried in fog. You’re just a normal man trying to find his daughter while decrepit monsters lurk in the mist, with only your broken radio to warn you of their presence. It’s a quiet, introspective, chilling, and gripping horror game that needs a facelift far more than its sequel.

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6 Mega Man X

Keep it 2D

The OG Mega Man series is a classic, but it wasn’t until X revitalized the series that it became a legitimate contender for the best 2D sidescrolling action game ever made. The graphics, tight controls, power-ups, and dynamic ways stages changed depending on the order you tackled them made it an endlessly replayable game.

Unfortunately, the X series went downhill fast, especially once it switched over to 3D. For a remake of X, just stick to 2D sprites and keep the controls tight and responsive. Don’t reinvent the wheel for this one.

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7 Jet Force Gemini

Held back by hardware

I believe remakes are best saved for titles that weren’t able to fully achieve their vision at the time they were released. There are few better examples of this than Jet Force Gemini, the forgotten third-person shooter on the N64 made by Rare. If you know the N64 controller, then you can already see the issue this game had, which is that any shooter on the console was crippled by the single analog stick.

While the remake would automatically fix the control issues by simply having it on modern consoles, there are plenty of other reasons Jet Force Gemini could be a decent hit today. It’s a planet-hopping adventure with satisfying weapons, three characters with their own abilities and upgrades, and a great soundtrack.

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8 Wario Land

Not a Mario clone

Wario Land

Does anyone even know Wario had his own series of platformers anymore? Maybe it’s because it debuted as Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 that it never got the attention it deserved, but unlike Wario himself, this is not just a low-budget Mario knock-off. The structure is still a 2D platformer, but Wario has attacks besides just jumping and is focused on collecting coins and treasures.

As much as I love the Game Boy, I can’t deny that it’s hard to go back to. Let’s give this game the Mario Wonder treatment and fill it with vibrant colors and detailed animations to let it sing like it always should have.

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9 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Undeniably adorable

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Trust me, I don’t like escort missions any more than you do, so an entire game of escort missions sounds like a nightmare. That said, Yoshi’s Island is a dream. The platforming and variety of stages and mechanics are all on par with what you’d expect from a mainline Mario game, but now you get to play as various Yoshis on a mission to escort Baby Mario to the exit.

Right away, the art direction, being reminiscent of a children’s coloring book, makes this game stand out. The pastel colors and crude linework all feel like you’re playing a game you would’ve drawn yourself as a kid. The music and different transformations are all equally charming and bring a level of unique style that we just don’t see enough of these days. If this one does get remade, please just tone down Baby Mario’s crying. It still haunts my dreams.