In the era of remakes and remasters, what niche game would you like to see receive the treatment?
cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/27366526
I know that remakes and remasters are contentious, but let's pretend whatever game in question you're thinking of is handled with the utmost care by your favourite devs and they absolutely nail it.
Mine would be Shadow of Memories (called Shadow of Destiny in North America). It's legitimately one of my favourite games of all time but it kinda flew under the radar and I haven't met many people who know of it let alone played it. Seeing it get modern graphics, maybe some expanded mechanics, would be soooo cool.
I'm here once again to humbly submit the suggestions of Dungeon Keeper and Black and White. That is all.
Black and White for sure. I still get nostalgic for that one.
We simply can't leave until we get some wheeeaaat!
Idle idle eeee
I was talking to my SO about it recently and we both kinda agreed you'd probably have to update the core gameplay so it would be a little more interesting/engaging but overall B&W was fun. Hell, even Spore redone properly (aka not by fucking EA) I would love too. That one always makes me sad to think about, and we've not really had anything like it since.
SSX Tricky brought up to PS5 graphics.
I was coming here to reply SSX 3 :)
I love you both very much.
I still play SSX3 GameCube version on my Wii.
Amped was better
Obligatory Bloodborne mention.
Not sure if it's been done already, but Zelda LttP would be cool. I haven't played Echoes of Wisdom though I like the art style and could see it working well.
Goldeneye + Perfect Dark.
That'd be awesome! I'd pirate the shit out of a remake.
I don't think Nintendo is capable of doing anything to Link to the Past other than ruin it.
A lot of the Zelda games that got "remasters" mostly had their resolutions and brightnesses increased, to the point that the Wind Waker remake has problematic amounts of bloom. Makes me think someone important at Nintendo has cataracts. So if you want to "remaster" A Link to the Past, run it through an AI upscaler and turn a desk lamp on your screen.
The few that have gotten ground-up "remakes" like Link's Awakening...I kind of liked the art style they chose, it fit the tone of the game pretty well, going with quartets for the music is a stroke of genius, WHY DOESN'T THE FUCKING D-PAD WORK? The original game was designed for use with a D-Pad and either 4- or 8- way motion. I get that modern gamers might instinctively reach for the analog stick, but bind movement controls to the D-pad too, especially if you're not going to bind anything else to those controls. Nintendo never doesn't fuck this up. They made an entire console based on a revolutionary new way to fuck up the controls.
So what you'd get out of a first-party re-release of aLttP is a blank white screen you control entirely with the gyros.
How about a dark gritty reboot of LttP?
That sounds awesome. I'm imagining it in the style of Dark Souls, but a reskin would be fun.
I’m thinking like the dead space remake. Extra gory!
My wishlist is Final Fantasy Tactics, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and Xenogears. A Xenogears remake likely isn't ever happening so I'd be happy with a remaster, and it's practically an open secret at this point that an FFT project is in development. It getting the Tactics Ogre Reborn treatment would be lovely, but what I really want is an orchestrated soundtrack. Here's hoping it doesn't get cancelled. 🤞
As a genre, 4X is still kicking around, but I'm not even sure if SMAC is beloved enough to get the treatment. Good voice acting would be essential.
I hadn't heard about Tactics in the works. Would be keen on that!
Xenogears! Yes! I guess I'll have to be happy with Xenoblade
Sid Meier's Pirates! There are so few actually good pirate games.
I've played through various iterations of that game so many times, and I agree that it needs another modernization!
Honestly, looking at how modern game development studios handle remakes, I wouldn't want them anywhere near any of my beloved games. I haven't played a single remake in the last 20 years where I felt like the studio that made it knocked it out of the park.
Also, I strongly believe good games should not be remade, and only remastered/ "deluxe remastered" (where even if the game is remade, its a 1:1 faithful recreation with additional features and gameplay mechanics being optional). Remake the games that weren't great, give them another chance at big success.
I can get behind this. FC hold up very well and is an amazing game that I think is mostly forgotten by now.
I LOVED that game as a kid. One of the few games where I enjoyed both vs and coop campaign stuff
I'm playing the resident evil 4 remake right now and it's amazingly good. Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition also comes to mind.
Mine is Gothic and Soul Reaver - getting both so I'm a happy camper
Having seen the trailer for Gothic, it looks good. I really hope that it's actually good.
The old GameCube game, Eternal Darkness
Legend of dragoon and legend of dragoon but if I can't have those, legend of dragoon...
That's a great pick.
The game feels like it gradually got worse as the game progressed, but that was typical for JRPGs back then. Still had plenty of great moments, though!
Sorry, the best I can offer is Legend of Dragoon.
Just give me a proper Xenogears remake with all the cut content from the second disc and I'll die happy.
I'd be happy with a simple remaster with a cleaned-up script. Disc 2 wasn't as bad as I'd remembered on a replay I had earlier this year.
Absolutely
Deus Ex. When I first played it I was amazed by the graphics and I specifically remember being impressed that your character was reflected in mirrors. I've been replaying it recently and the graphics are obviously very dated, but it also doesn't run smoothly on modern hardware. My PC gets louder and louder as I play it and eventually the game starts to stutter and I have to restart it.
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
Any game in that genre combined with local and remote multiplayer would be a hit
I would love to see F.E.A.R. with updated graphics. Preferably just a remaster, but if it was remade in the same spirit as the Dead Space remake was, I'd be down for that too, especially if they brought back Fettel's voice actor.
The rest of the Legacy of Kain games
Black and white as VR
Mercenaries 1 playground of destruction
Just cause graphics could be something nice
Crash Team Racing. :(
The entire Ultima series for sure. I think those were the first CRPGs I played. I loved Ultima: Underworld I & II, but I was never able to get Ultima VII: Pagan to run properly on my computer. (And, holy fuck, that was 30 years ago.)
But also The Elder Scrolls: Arena, TES: Daggerfall, TES: Battlespire, TES: Redguard, and TES: Morrowind. The first two TES games would be challenging to make, given that many of the areas were randomly generated, rather than being designed.
Worms
But they'd fuck it up again
Second that! Worms was great fun when hanging out with friends.
Tribes
Absolutely. Game had a great mix of large-scale, good pace of a fight, and social element.
VGW
X3: Terran Conflict.
Yes, we got X3FL in 2021 AND X4, but X4 is a very different game and X3FL is just a heavily scripted X3AP (more or less).
It's a more-than-me years old game with a lot of mods that keep it enjoyable to day – as "enjoyable" as it can be, that janky piece o' junk – but I feel about it the same way I feel about Halo 2: imagine what it could have been, if the devs had the resources they could have today.
(if you say "X4" I'm going to fucking flip)Oh shit. I didn't even know about X3FL.
Gonna have to reinstall X3 now.
I got X4 because hella X3 fans said it was better than X3; but those people are fucking crazy. X4 sucks major by comparison.
When I first played FL I thought it came out with all the others *^*
I don't outright dislike X4, but IMO it feels too... streamlined, in a way. You've got less wares, less ships, less sectors, no jumpdrive (yes I see the reasoning, no I still want the jumpdrive), the Xenon lost their aesthetic just to look like Mass Effect reapers, and fuckers stole my magnificently redundant ship classes. Can't have ship in Detroit.
I really wouldn't mind a remake of Left 4 Dead 2 with better netcode and more official maps.
There is a GitHub project working on a recompilation of both of these for PC. They've got Majora's Mask working and are working on OoT. Looks beautiful, runs buttery smooth, and has custom controls with a free camera.
My old MUD
Aardwolf by chance? That was my jam daily for a couple years.
No but I'm sure i had logged into that one to find it a try. I remember thst name
Mine was called riftsmud
Well, a few months ago I would have said Soul Reaver, but we're finally getting that!
So I guess I'll say Siphon Filter. I remember having a lot of fun with that back in the day.
I don't think I ever got anywhere in that game, I just spent the whole weekend rental tazing poor unfortunate bros...
I'm not particularly a fan of either re-makes or full remastered but I'm a big fan or, for example, when Xbox upgraded the resolution and FPS or backwards compatible games.
I would love to see Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes again and have a similar service on Switch for GameCube games.
I'd love to see Chrono Trigger get the 2D-3D octopath-style remake that a few old SNES games have gotten.
Right now, I'd really like the Gex games. Underrated 2D platformer, and a pair of goofy early 3D collectathons!
Hopefully the remake of the trilogy is still in production. I've got it on my wishlist from Limited Run Games, lol
Bonanza Bros, Blast Corps, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Vampire: The Masquerade -Bloodlines, Cruisn World, LEGO Battles, NBA Jam
Bonanza Bros would be a great couch co-op multiplayer game in a world where we need more. It would benefit from some gameplay tweaks, and adding online play and 4 players would be big.
Blast Corps was awesome, I found it to be an extremely underrated Rare game. This game in an engine with simulated rubble and crazy explosions would be a gem. I also think changing the camera to first person should be an option at the very least.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days got its cutscenes remastered. I want the full game. It was dripping in atmosphere, and I loved the premise of scouting the new worlds. The graphics could use an upgrade, and the combat could be brought up to par with KH2. But, I love the leveling system and think it would barely need touching.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is awesome and not super long. It's extremely buggy, but luckily there's a modder named Wesp5 who has spend YEARS creating an Unofficial Patch, to a point where all the cut content is restored and it's essentially feature-complete. There's a version that just patches the game, and a restored content version. I think he should be given a team and be allowed to curate content and rebalance cut mechanics for a remake. It would be magical.
Cruisn World is one of my favorite arcade racers ever. It has untouchable vibes, and I'd just like to see that with a nice sheen over it, maybe more levels and vehicles?
LEGO Battles is an RTS for the Nintendo DS. Put it on PC, nuff said.
NBA Jam is not very niche. I want a remake, and I don't care if it's up-to-date. It's the best sports game period.
Given that they remade Chain of Memories entirely, I am really surprised they never did it for 358/2.
The Sly Cooper Trilogy +/- Thieves in Time
Solid pick.
C&C:Generals
OpenRA is nice though
Shadow of memories sounds nice.
I can see a good remake of terranigma
No one lives forever 1 & 2.
I'd like to see a return of the old racing games with hundreds of cars and performance customization
I haven't seen a game like juiced in quite some time with money on the line for each race
NFS Underground 2. I will pay full price on preorder to EA.
Thats 3 promises broken at once.
I feel like I could have some fun with a remake of Descent 1 and 2.
Overload exists. While not a remake, it is the spiritual successor with the original development team making it.
None. After the vivisection that was the GTA remaster, stay the fuck away from older games. Please and thank you.
I had the same thought initially, and unfortunately it wasn't just GTA. However, IMHO Diablo II Resurrected was an amazing exception, and I'm sure there are others. Plus, the OP's question was probably about an ideal case and they wanted to know what people have been missing from the past.
Realistically, I wouldn't expect a decent comeback of Guitar Hero 3 for example, but it sucks that it doesn't really work on Win10/11 anymore, and while Clone Hero exists, it doesn't have the same "story" mode as GH3 had, with characters, milestones and such. Hell, you can't even get "booed out".
Too bad that as you mentioned, even if there was demand, a random big company would just buy the rights, do some lazy upscale and sell it like it was gourmet shit.
Vib-Ribbon.
It's one of the coolest concepts I've seen for PSx. It's a rhythm game that loads into the console's ram, allowing you to swap the disc to one of your CDs and could generate unique levels for your songs.
While looking it up I did find there was a PS3 port, but I don't know how good that is or if it has the same custom level feature or not. I'd love a modern version that looks visually similar but allows you to either input a playlist from a service like yt or use your own local files to generate unique levels.
Check out Audiosurf!
From what I've seen, it looks good. Can't play the demo for the 2nd game, but from some of the footage I've seen, it looks fun. Thanks for the suggestion.
Shadow of Memories is such a good game. That's all I had to say.
Pong.
Omg shadow of memories! What a pick :) great game that I've heard barely anyone talk about :)
It feels like the rules to say an official english translation for Mother 3! Loved playing it (if Nintendo read this I did not play it)
Guiltily I'd also love a WWF Smackdown or Here Comes the Pain remaster, same arcade gameplay, same roster, or updated but just prettier and expanded! :)
The adventures of buckaroo banzai.
That movie suffered from poor execution but it is a cult classic and could possibly reach a new generation if it were done correctly.
Ima have to say The Neverhood and Skullmonkeys.
Definitely remasters though, no remakes.
there's always armikrog
Elite 2: Frontier.
elite dangerous is very close but it doesn't really capture the seamlessness you get from not having a landing mode or frame shifting. pioneer spaceship sim is a remake in the truest sense of the word, but a remaster would fix the ui issues the original had rather than just rolling with them.
Dangerous was originally supposed to be single player only, then they got so much money they promised to add the mp... And long after the ks finished they switched to online only. I was really pissed off. There's always X I guess
no it wasn't. i backed the kickstarter. it was always an online game, it just had "solo" and "private" modes. and they didn't get "so much money", they got like 120% of their target. they were up against the star citizen kickstarter and that got all the hype.
my main issue with ED is that they focused on building a modern Elite rather than a modern Elite 4. Building upon the ideas of Frontier: First Encounters would have made a very different game.
X is more like Freelancer meets Euro Truck Simulator, in my experience.
I might be misremembering some details, but I kick-started the game too and remember feeling betrayed by Frontier when they announced the game would be online only.
i definitely remember being excited for the possibility to play single player but telling my friends that we could play together if it succeeded. not that the online experience differs significantly from the single player...
Half-Life. I know there's been some successful efforts to modernize it, but those only bring it up to Source 2 era.
I would love a fully modern remake. Modern lighting and raytracing could do great things for the detail of a headcrab infected scientist.
This might be too many, but what I want to see remade, remastered, or given complete editions (although "complete editions" may not be relevant to the post topic; and some titles may not be considered niche but whatever) are Asura's Wrath, Bloodborne, Bujingai, Bully, Dante's Inferno, Dark Sector, Dead Rising 2 (and Off the Record), The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, the F.E.A.R. series, From Dust, God Hand, Grand Theft Auto IV, the first two Gungrave games, Just Cause, killer7, L.A. Noire, the Legend of Spyro trilogy, Like a Dragon Kenzan!, Mary Skelter 2, NieR: Automata, NieR: Replicant, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, No More Heroes 2, Prototype, Red Steel 1 and 2, Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, Spec Ops: The Line, the original Splinter Cell (plus Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory, Double Agent, and Conviction), Stranglehold, Tail Concerto, Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2, Watch Dogs 1 and 2, and the original World Ends with You.
Primarily, the goals would be to either restore cut content or integrate separate DLC into the main package, offer enhanced graphics, take advantage of the 16:9 aspect ratio if originally released during the time of 4:3 screens or on handhelds, or fix bugs or address technical limitations that affected their original console or PC releases, alongside numerous quality-of-life improvements like anti-cheat and DRM removal and extensive performance optimizations. Also, we're still waiting for a PC release for Bloodborne.
I do agree with the Splinter Cell series yeah.
Although I'm confused, why did you include Nier Replicant and Automata? Automata has already a complete version, and Replicant already had a remaster/remake/director's cut version 3 years ago.
Because I'm concerned that both their current PC versions still remain buggy messes. I'd wait until the devs provide updates on those to address these issues.
I don't remember any of my playthroughs of either title as a "buggy mess". Could just be a difference in perception.
I'm outing me as ancient:
Subspace Continuum
I would enjoy a copy of Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance with some spiffed up lighting effects, maybe the mech pack mechs included in the base game, and higher resolution copies of the FMV segments. I have my original copy but I can't get it to run on Linux. Wonder if there's a way to wash a CD game through Steam Play. Lutris...doesn't function as software? It's one of those magnetic "performance enhancing" bracelets, it doesn't do anything but it has convinced a LOT of people it does.
This may be stretching the premise a little bit but I would like to play the game they thought they were making when they made Ride To Hell: Retribution.
It doesn't need a remaster, but a PC port of Lost Odyssey would be awesome.
xenogears
One can hope for a properly fleshed out disc 2.
Megaman Legends Megaman Battle Network Jetforce Gemini
I want a remake of the original Harry Potter 1 and 2 games from the PS1. Not asking much, anything that looks nicer than this would do
How dare you, this Hagrid is beautiful
Close enough?
Oh whaat, hell yeah! Definitely gonna be having a look at this, thanks for sharing.
Still want that remake tho haha
Didn't super Mario rpg get a remake this year already?
Wow looks like it was released last year. Thanks, I had no idea!
It's very good!
Heckin' Mega Man Legends 1&2.
idk if it's considered obscure but I'd love to see the OG Viva Pinata get a remake (Or remaster atleast)
I would love that!
Here comes the Pain or No Mercy.
Toxic crusaders! A sidescroller based on the toxic avenger movie.
Starsiege: Tribes, or Alien vs Predator (2).
Both had degrees of movement that I absolutely loved (Alien wall climbing in AvP).
I understand that I should probably check out Titanfall 2 for similar reasons.
I wouldn't say no to another Echo Night.
Heroes of might and magic 3, but I feel like it might not have the same appeal if it did happen. Happy to be proven wrong, of course 🙂
Omikron The Nomad Soul
Ultima 7 I guess. I never got into it but I keep hearing his great it was. Final Fantasy VI, because it was my first and therefore the best. Space Crusade because it was just that fun.
LEGEND OF DRAGOON
Alister McGee's Alice. Pretty much a horror version of Alice in Wonderland, and it's a platformer with trippy graphics. I thought it was pretty fun.
My daughter loves this game. Her halloween costume tonight was the Alice from that game & her best friend was classic Alice.
Do you hate my country so much you can't even say the name when it's in reference to something else entirely?
(This should not be taken seriously. It is a joke.)
Die hard trilogy.
A new non ubisoft splinter cell
Horace Goes Skiing
Make clue finders for adults! Same game, just adult level facts, puzzles, and math!
Cyberbowl but add a repair garage and transformers movie level mechanicals, when the football explodes its mayhem.
Wing Commander 1-4, space epics of my childhood.
Trapt
Bloodrayne
Primal