For a long time now, Nintendo has largely relied on two things: must-have first-party exclusives and the single greatest catalog of classic games and IP in the industry. That catalog is arguably the more important of the two now too, considering how much hype every remaster or remake generates.
Review: Super Mario RPG
Super Mario RPG succeeds at invoking feelings of nostalgia for the 16-bit era while looking good enough to pass for a modern game.
The continued successes of remakes likeThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening,Super Mario RPG, Metroid Prime Remastered and soon Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD likely have Nintendo eager to bring back more classics, and any of the following would make for easy successes.
1Animal Crossing: City Folk
There’s No Living Like City Living!
Revisiting Animal Crossing: City Folk would be a great way to tide fans over while Nintendo cooks upthe next full entry.The original had great staying power thanks to its “City” location and its variety of special shops, unique schedule and the Auction House. Finding friends’ characters wandering the streets was a major plus too.
Nintendo could even add things like rotating pop-up stores, plaza events or perhaps even the ability for players to put items up for auction to their friends and others. Frankly, that last bit happens outside of the game already, so it’d be to everyone’s advantage to offer an in-game option.
2Fire Emblem: Awakening
It’s Time for a Re-Awakening!
It’s been about five years since Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Fire Emblem: Engage,though quite decent,didn’t fire up the fan base like its immediate predecessor did. So the time is ripe for Nintendo and Intelligent Systems to revisit Fire Emblem: Awakening, the game that pretty much saved the series from permanent shelving back in 2012.
Review: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Three Houses offers one of the best stories in the Fire Emblem series since its revival on 3DS.
It already felt like the developers were trying to bring back a bit of Fire Emblem: Awakening in Engage, but just didn’t take it far enough to hit the same highs. A new version of Awakening with combat upgrades and more character moments could be just the thing to get the series moving again.
3Yoshi’s Island
Old School Yoshi Still Has Something to Teach the New Hatchlings
Yoshi’s past few solo outings haven’t been terrible, but they’restill kind of chasing the original’s shadow.This could be due to the games being more about enjoying the cuteness of worlds made of crochet and other crafts, and that’s a shame because Yoshi is capable of so much more.
He can be a platforming great right up there with Mario, and returning to Yoshi’s Island would be a great way to demonstrate that to newer fans. Beyond that, how fun would it be to see its hand-drawn art style brought forward to modern hardware?
4Donkey Kong Country SNES Trilogy
There’s Still Some Fight in This Old Ape! All He Needs is a Fresh Tie!
The original three Donkey Kong Country games are about as legendary as games get, so much so that the idea of revisiting them might be a bit distasteful. Even so,Donkey Kong could use a bit of a revivalsince his most recent adventure, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, is already ten years old.
The originals still hold up to this day, so all it would take to make a remastered collection a hit is some reorchestrated music, behind-the-scenes stuff and updated visuals. Seriously, how cool would it be to see the old pre-rendered artwork fully realized at last?
5Super Mario Galaxy 2
It’s Time For a New Generation to Experience the Peak of Mario Platforming!
Super Mario Odysseybroke a lot of new ground for the plumber,and it will likely be the model for all future 3D Mario games. Even so, it’d be a shame to let the old stage-based structure fade away without one more visit to the format’s apex: Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Review: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
It’s no exaggeration to say that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is one of the greatest Mario titles to come out in the last fifteen years.
The sheer complexity on display in Super Mario Galaxy 2 leaves no doubt that it was made with the express intent of not just justifying the “2” in its title, but absolutely own it. The platforming challenge here is still unmatched, with Grandmaster Galaxy still standing tall as its crowning masterpiece.
6The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
That Time Link Got Loaned Out to Another Land
While the originals are on Nintendo Switch Online, there’sstill a lot of potential in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.For one, a remake offering a fully-unified experience would be huge. Linked though they could be via their password system, bolting one adventure onto the other never felt right, since neither story references the other all that much.
More could also be done with the original game’s Capcom relationship. These are two of only four true Zelda titles developed by the company, so seeing more references to their own games would be fun.
7Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
This Set is Too Good to Be Left Incomplete!
Nintendo and Retro Studiosabsolutely killed it with Metroid Prime Remastered.The new version was gorgeous and showed us all that the Prime games still got it where it counts most. So, now that we know that and Nintendo knows that, yes, fans still love Metroid Prime, how about the rest of the trilogy?
Review: Metroid Dread
Sure to please longtime fans and general Switch owners/newcomers alike, Metroid Dread more than delivers on a climax two decades in the making.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would be even more exciting than the original, thanks to the unique features they offer. In particular, Corruption’s token system needs to make a comeback. Think of how many more cool Easter eggs and neat little extras could be packed into it!
8Diddy Kong Racing
Mario Kart Needs Some Real Competition Again
Switch has had one premier racer for its entire run. One. Certainly, there are other racing games on the platform, but nothing else on the level ofMario Kart 8 Deluxe.A true remake of Diddy Kong Racing could fix that, even if it was just a direct remaster, thanks to its robust stock of tracks and three types of vehicles.
Making it just a visual remaster would be a missed opportunity, though. If Nintendo went the full remake route and added some new tracks or even expanded the solo campaign, then the oldN64-era argument of which is betterwould come back with a vengeance.
9Earthbound
It’s Been So Long That Ness is Basically Just a Smash Bros. Character Now
Earthbound is probably the most niche RPG that ever hit the mainstream, and Nintendo seemingly has never known quite what to do about that. Perhaps it’s just not convinced that the fanbase that’s been clamoring for the company to revisit it actually represents a customer base large enough for success.
Done right, though, a remake wouldn’t even have to rely on that fan base entirely. All it would take is to render the game in a style akin to the toy figure used for magazine ads back in the day. That andsome quality-of-life improvementswould be more than enough to turn it into a modern hit.
10The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Adventure that Catapulted Zelda to the Top Could Do It Again!
Nintendo has played with the idea of a remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past before. It did it with The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, a direct story follow-up in 2013, andThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remakesort of teased the concept with its mere existence (not to mention its success).
Frankly, it’d just be fantastic to see SNES-era Hyrule fully rendered in that same toy aesthetic, but extras wouldn’t be uncalled for either. Since it’s the seminal 2D Zelda, why not add in a remix mode similar to that of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest too?
Fallout: 10 Best Easter Eggs in the TV Show
Prime Video’s Fallout season one has some sweet Easter Eggs for fans to enjoy. Here are some of the best!
