Video games have a unique ability to transport players to a different world through captivating stories and challenging gameplay. Over the years, many video games have achieved legendary status and most of those classic titles deserve a remake.
As technology advances, the allure of revisiting their favourite games with modern enhancements entices gamers. Today, we will explore 20 classic video games that deserve a remake, breathing new life into these cherished titles and bringing them to a new generation of gamers.
There’s a certain magic in those genre-defining classics — games that introduced groundbreaking new mechanics and offered fans a memorable experience. We cannot help but wonder how the advancements in visuals, sound and gameplay will improve these experiences even further.
Capcom has proven time and again that modern remakes of classic video games work. But there’s much more than just Resident Evil titles that can be remade. Let’s look at 20 classic video games that deserve a modern remake.
Classic video games that deserve a remake on modern platforms
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release year: 1998
Platform: N64
For the uninitiated, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the highest-rated game on Metacritic to this very day. Numerous masterpieces have been launched over the years, but they have failed to break this streak. Nintendo hit it out of the park with this one: a decent story, incredible gameplay mechanics, unique new tools and most importantly, the series’ shift from overhead 2D to 3D third-person camera angle. Its innovation and fun gameplay make Ocarina of Time the top game on our list of classic video games that deserve a remake.
With this game, Nintendo did pretty much everything right; it has even gotten a bunch of re-releases. There’s even a stereoscopic 3D version available on Nintendo 3DS, but a real remake is still amiss. Here’s hoping Nintendo starts working on that title as soon as possible.
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2. EarthBound
Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
Release year: 1994
Platform: Super NES
A quirky RPG with a unique sense of humour and an engaging story, EarthBound is a classic undeniably. Players control a party of characters who travel through a 2D world composed of villages, cities, caves and dungeons. They fight various enemies; level up upon defeating their enemies and earn experience points. It will be incredible to experience this on a modern console like the Nintendo Switch with current-gen visuals and sound.
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Genre: Action, RPG
Release year: 2003
Platforms: Xbox, PC
One of the greatest RPGs of all time, this title is also one of the greatest Star Wars games ever. Players can create an original character by choosing a class, skill, stats and even feats. Once players start taking part in battles, they can even level up their skills and stats.
Set around 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, this game follows the conclusion of the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comics. It is an incredible story with a mind-blowing twist awaiting gamers. There are dialogue choices, minigames and much more to experience. It will be interesting to see what this game will be like on the new generation of video game platforms.
4. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release year: 2004
Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC
Ubisoft released Warrior Within as the direct sequel to Sands of Time. This game is set seven years after its predecessor and its story follows the Prince as he tries to get rid of a dangerous entity that is out for his life.
While this game mostly builds upon its prequel’s gameplay mechanics, it also adds a bunch of new combat-specific options. Players can now fight with duel-wielded swords and even pick or snatch their enemies’ weapons and throw them. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake is already coming; it would not hurt Ubisoft to release a remake of Warrior Within too, would it?
5. The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Genre: Open-World, Sandbox
Release year: 2003
Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC
Out of all the GTA rip-offs of its time, The Simpsons: Hit & Run is the best; it features an elaborate map of Springfield and a story that keeps you hooked for a long time.
Various missions take players through three different maps; there are multiple playable characters, and each character has unique abilities to keep things interesting. Now that we have Grant Theft Auto: The Trilogy—The Definitive Edition version of GTA 3, it wouldn’t hurt if someone gave us a remake of The Simpsons: Hit & Run, too.
6. System Shock 2
Genre: Action, RPG, Survivor Horror
Release year: 1999
Platform: PC
This is the franchise that inspired games like Deus Ex and Dead Space. This game takes place on a starship in the year 2114. Players must try to stop an outbreak of genetic infections that have taken over the ship.
Players control a soldier from a first-person perspective as they explore, hack and fight through this ship. Now that we have a proper remake of System Shock, it would be incredible if the developers started working on the sequel as soon as they could.
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release year: 2004
Platform: Game Boy Advance
A top-down game developed by Capcom, The Minish Cap serves as a prequel to the infamous Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, revealing the origin story of the Four Swords. With vibrant visuals, an interesting cast of characters and unique gameplay mechanics, The Minish Cap is one of the best games in the series.
We would be thrilled if Nintendo could give this title the Link’s Awakening treatment; we can only imagine how good it will look with those visuals.
8. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Genre: Stealth, Action
Release year: 2005
Platforms: Nokia N-Gage, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Xbox, PC
The Splinter Cell franchise was at its peak when Ubisoft released Chaos Theory, the third instalment in the series. Tight stealth mechanics, a bunch of new cutscenes, various gadgets to use and some well-designed levels — from a cargo ship to a well-protected bank— this game has it all.
It’s a shame this game has been left in the past by Ubisoft; they should remake it once they are done with all those Assassin’s Creed remakes they are working on. It would be awesome to sneak around as Sam Fisher on the PlayStation 5 or even the Nintendo Switch.
9. Black
Genre: Action, First-Person Shooter (FPS)
Release year: 2006
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox
Before they made fast-paced driving games where players crashed their cars to win, Criterion Games developed a game that no gamer from that era can forget. It is a straightforward first-person shooter; players shoot enemies with a bunch of different weapons.
While it sounds simple on the surface, once you start playing it, fast movement and responsive controls make for an incredible shooting experience that gamers hardly get nowadays. We can use such a straightforward, no-nonsense FPS nowadays. EA should think about bringing it back.
10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Genre: Action, Adventure, Psychological Horror
Release year: 2002
Platform: GameCube
As gamers await Nintendo’s new horror game Emio, they will be interested to know that Eternal Darkness was a horror title they published for GameCube. Emio remains special given the fact that it is being developed in-house. Eternal Darkness, on the other hand, was a game that inspired a whole generation of developers to make unique horror experiences.
It is a third-person horror game where players explore various creepy locations. For the most part, it is a typical survival game with combat in it, but the sanity effects make this title stand out. It features a sanity meter that gradually goes down, and players must keep it up or experience unsettling noises, skewed camera angles and various hallucinations. Nintendo should think about remaking this game for Nintendo Switch or its successor.
11. Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Genre: FPS
Release year: 2001
Platforms: PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2
Developed by Gray Matter Studios, Return to Castle Wolfenstein gives gamers an incredibly unique experience. This game starts at Castle Wolfenstein and goes around various locations where Nazis are continuously hunting the players. Mystical creatures, an exciting set of weapons and a very large number of enemy types — this game will keep surprising you till the very end, making it a worthy entry to our list of classic video games that deserve a remake.
With games like Wolfenstein: The New Order and The New Colossus becoming massive hits, Bethesda and Microsoft should consider remaking this incredible dark Wolfenstein title for modern platforms.
12. Saints Row 2
Genre: Open-World, Action
Release year: 2008
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Before Volition turned the franchise into a parody of itself, they made Saints Row 2, a well-made open-world action game with likeable characters and a well-written story.
From its well-designed world to engaging side missions, everything in Saints Row 2 was perfect. There was only one exception, though: its performance. It was riddled with technical issues that have not been fixed to this day. It’s a game that deserves a second chance and what better time to release such a game than now? We have powerful consoles and numerous game engines specifically designed to cater to developers of open-world games.
13. Manhunt 2
Genre: Horror, Stealth
Release year: 2007
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, PC
Nowadays, Rockstar Games focuses primarily on their Red Dead series or GTA games, but there was a time when this developer used to experiment. That’s when they released Manhunt 2, a brutal game about a psychologically disturbed man who is trying to escape people who have imprisoned him in an asylum.
He sneaks around the city and kills whoever he has to, in a bid to find out what happened to his family and why he was in that asylum in the first place. Set in the same universe as the GTA games, Manhunt 2 makes for a very creepy and shocking experience, given how players kill their enemies in it. It will be incredibly hard for them to bring this game back, but if they can, it will no doubt be a success.
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14. The ‘Resistance’ trilogy
Genre: FPS, Action
Release year: 2006 (Fall of Man), 2008 (Resistance 2), 2011 (Resistance 3)
Platforms: PlayStation 3
Before they made blockbuster superhero titles like Spider-Man, Insomniac Games worked on the Resistance series. These first-person shooters featured a world being invaded by an alien species, where players often fought back as part of the resistance group trying to push them back.
Unique weapons, fun responsive shooting mechanics and offline cooperative mode — these things made these games stand out and a worthy entry in this list of classic video games that deserve a remake. Even today, if Sony releases these games on the PlayStation 5, they will sell well, thanks to its focus on offering a good gameplay experience.
15. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: RPG
Release year: 2006
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Back in 2006, Bethesda Game Studios released Oblivion, an open-world RPG that paved the way for everything that we saw in Skyrim. Before Skyrim, the Elder Scrolls franchise was not as popular and that’s why, despite selling well, Oblivion did not get the success it deserved.
We would love to see Oblivion remade using Starfield’s engine. A detailed world, better viewing distance and a redesigned combat system will do wonders for this game.
16. Metroid Fusion
Genre: Metroidvania
Release year: 2002
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Metroid Fusion is a GBA-exclusive title that features a very dark story where Samus is infected by a parasite, which gives her the ability to absorb other parasites that restore health, missiles and bombs. She must explore the BSL station, where she learns that a parasite mimicking her is looking for her.
Paired with classic Metroid gameplay, this makes for a thrilling title, which would do well if Nintendo gave it a Metroid: Samus Returns-like treatment.
17. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas
Genre: FPS
Release year: 2006
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, PC
This was a first-person shooter where players could command their squad and complete every mission with careful planning and stealth.
Unlike any other shooter of that era, stealth plays an important role in this game; players can even go all guns blazing if they get caught or want to. There’s a Gears of War-like cover-to-cover mechanic; players shift to the third person when in cover and they can even blind fire from that position. Given the lack of stealth shooters nowadays, Rainbow Six: Vegas will do well if Ubisoft releases a remake.
18. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Genre: Stealth, Action
Release year: 2001
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a stealth game that features an overhead camera angle that changes to first-person when players are aiming their weapons at someone. Expertly designed levels, stunning visuals, immersive sound design and a well-written story made this title an unforgettable experience.
Now, more than two decades later, Konami needs to bring this game back, not as a remaster but as a proper remake. Just the way they are doing it with Metal Gear Solid 3.
19. God of War
Genre: Action, Hack and Slash
Release year: 2005
Platform: PlayStation 2
Play as Kratos, the God of War, who is out for vengeance against the gods of Greece. While Sony has moved on to titles that are more cinematic in nature, they are still no match for the classic God of War titles.
Their brutal combo-based combat, haunting music and towering bosses — everything made players feel like the titular God of War. While the modern titles in the series might have their fans, Sony needs to remake the original games and bring them to modern platforms.
20. Viewtiful Joe
Genre: Side-Scrolling, Beat ‘em Up
Release year: 2003
Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2
Directed by the legendary video game director of Bayonetta, Hideki Kamiya, Viewtiful Joe is a beat ’em-up title in which players control Joe. They must fight multiple enemies and explore the level specifically designed for platforming.
Players can punch, kick, and dodge their enemies. In addition to this, there’s a unique gameplay element called Viewtiful Effects Power, which players can use in battles as well as while solving puzzles. This effect allows players to apply various film-like camera angles to the scene. This game was way ahead of its time. With Capcom remaking so many of their games, we can easily say that Viewtiful Joe is one of those classic video games that deserve a remake.
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(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Bethesda Softworks, Capcom)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is one of the most popular games currently getting a remake.
Games are usually remastered to make them easily accessible to a new generation of gamers on modern platforms. Games like Luigi's Mansion 2 and Metroid recently got remastered.
When a game is remade from scratch, it's called a remake.
