There is nothing quite like playing your favourite games from your childhood; that unparalleled rush of nostalgia that hits you as soon as you hear the opening menu music, the sense of accomplishment that comes with finally kicking that games ass that you never could as a kid (staring at you Castlevania: The Next Generation) all culminates in an experience like no other. In the current climate of HD remasters and reboots, the GH collective got together to discuss the games that we would like to see rebooted for modern consoles. But which classic games deserve a remaster? We have some suggestions…
Jo Hughes (@x_jamjar_x)
Game: Crash Bash (PS1)
Initial Release Date: 6th November 2000
The Crash Bandicoot remaster was excellent, for the first time we were able to play the childhood favourite on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. This was then continued when Crash Team Racing made it onto modern consoles in a spectacular remaster with all the fun of the original, but with new and improved graphics. These games were immense, but my favourite game featuring the titular bandicoot and co. was definitely Crash Bash. The multiplayer mini-games were endlessly entertaining, I would play with my parents, my friends and well anyone who would stay long enough to be convinced. Released initially on PlayStation in November 2000 this game needs to be revived!
Daniel Scott (@The_DanielScott)
Game: Dark Chronicle (PS2) AKA Dark Cloud 2
Initial Release Date: November 28th 2002
Dark chronicle is a brilliant game and it has been re-released on the PSN network, but this has been done with the minimum amount of work needed, The game still has some bugs/crashes and balance problems (looking at you monster badges). Now I wouldn’t expect to be changed in a re-release but a remaster on the other hand could be interesting, If a studio was to undertake it I would be very interested in how they would tweak and modernise a truly amazing title.
Aaron Moger (@aaronvaanmoger)
Game: Shadow Hearts
Initial Release Date: June 28th 2001
Shadow Hearts is a series of games that takes place fifteen years after the game Koudelka and takes place in the same universe. Koudelka was a PlayStation release while the Shadow Hearts all saw releases on the PlayStation 2. Shadow Hearts took the gameplay to a new level by having turn-based battles with a Judgement Ring element during battles which required careful stopping on the radar wheel to initiate more powerful attacks. The Shadow Hearts series takes place in places from Asia and Europe and even specific places in the UK such as the Port of Southampton and London. It’s definitely a series I would like to see remastered or even remade at some point.
Kyle Doherty (@Antigenetic92)
Game: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PS1)
Initial Release Date: November 1st 1996
This was a tough one, as there are a number of classic franchises that I would love to be rebooted/see the remaster treatment, primarily from the original Sony PlayStation. A few honourable mentions would be the Dino Crisis series, The Legend of Dragoon and Silent Hill 2 (just to name a few). However, if there is one franchise that is close to my heart that I want to see remade more than anything else, it would be the Legacy of Kain series. To see the first outing: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain reimagined as an open-world RPG, that still followed the same dark, gothic tone and aesthetic of the original would be the stuff of my wildest dreams. There hasn’t been a single protagonist that has matched the badassery of the titular vampire to this day, and is one that would dominate popular culture if given the right treatment. Vae Victis!
Ryan Perrow (NBFlying)
Game: Team Buddies (PS1)
Initial Release Date: September 15th 2000
My initial pick for this was going to be Dino Crisis but as that’s looking rather likely I thought I’d go for something far less likely. Team Buddies is a manic multiplayer game from Psygnosis which at the time of release caused a stir about censorship that would cause the internet to explode were it released today. You take the part of ‘Buddies’ small pill-shaped people whos peaceful paradise is ruined when weapons are airdropped into their world. Carnage ensues and multiplay madness begins, gameplay consists of stacking crates at your home base, different configurations provide different weapons…doesn’t sound much like cause for controversy…well, the buddies would taunt if you press ‘O’. These taunts were full of insults and swear words and to make matters worse the European release of the game gave each team of buddies regional or international accents ranging from posh Brit to ‘Engrish. Controversy aside the gameplay was fantastic and I’ve many fond memories of friends gathered around a TV repeating taunts of each other and would love to replicate that in the modern era.
Caleb Moran (Rad_Sh1ba)
Game: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Initial Release Date: 20th March 2006
It was quite hard to think of a game that I wanted to be remastered. A fair chunk of the games I could think of wouldn’t really change that much. Games like Red Alert 2 would just get a texture update (As Starcraft Remastered did) and while it would be a nice update, it wouldn’t be substantial enough to get excited about. But one game in particular stood out to me that even with some minor tweaks it would be a great game to play again. I said in my Retrogame article “Oblivion is a great game, and I can say that now without using nostalgia as a fallback.” and this really speaks about how how minimal the remaster would have to be. The game overall is mostly fine, with a few bugs here and they really wouldn’t have to do too much to make Oblivion a remaster. Think of it more as a modernization really, and while I do think it would take away a lot of the original charm (I even stated that the clunky animation and poor dialogue is what makes the game so memorable) I still think it would be a welcome update for a game. It has so many memories and was the first big grand adventure for many gamers out there, and I would love to see it get the love it deserves.
Kyle Byrne (@StealthFrag)
Game: Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn/Red Alert
Initial Release Date: 1995/1996
KANE LIVES! After the Command and Conquer Rivals announcement, people quickly made their frustration known and saw many seeing the franchise (for all intensive purposes) as dead. Someone at EA must of seen the backlash as it was quickly announced via Reddit that EA were working on Remasters of both the first C&C and the Orginal Red Alert and their respective expansion packs. All for Commands and Command and Conquers 25th anniversary, Currently the release date is unknown except for a possible 2020/2021 release. Interestingly enough the now Petroglyph Games is working on them, the studios are notable for being comprised of some of the former Westwood Studio, the Orginal studio behind C&C. Command and Conquer is a classic RTS usually given credit for the popularity of the RTS genre, it seems you’ll be able to switch between new and old graphics, similar to the Halo Remasters a few years back. Frank Klepacki is also redoing the amazing soundtracks for both games which he created all those years ago, even going to the extent of using the same equipment he used back then to redo the soundtrack. Its great to see it being worked on with such a emphasis on faithfulness, this will be one I’ll be keeping a eye on for definite.
That just about covers the titles that we’d like to see get a remaster. Agree with our list? Think we missed something off it? Let us know in the comments below.
