Remakes have proven to be a successful practice in recent years, with old, Playstation-era franchises like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot proving that there’s money to be made in re-releasing old properties. More recently, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy VII have received the remake treatment, both poised to break sales records as developers rush to cash in on nostalgia-driven retools of old fan favourites. But you know what? Not every popular series from the 90s deserves a modern, top-to-bottom remake (Medievil, we’re looking at you!), and with yet another generation of consoles right around the corner, it’s about time some underappreciated titles received their due breaks. Check out this list of game remakes we want to see for next-gen consoles.
Full Spectrum Warrior
Full Spectrum Warrior was a real-time tactical military shooter where you commanded two squadrons of soldiers through an urban campaign set in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Zekistan.
A wrong step or misplaced shot could – and often did – end up with your fireteam surrounded on all sides. The player couldn’t carry their team to victory with a rifle and quick-twitch reflexes. Success hinged upon how the player utilized the tools and personnel at his disposal to squeeze out of tight spots. Only with repeated failures and an intimate understanding of your weapons and grenades could a player make it through the different missions with any consistency.
With the new generation of consoles only a year out from release, we think it’s just the time for this cult classic to make its comeback. But here’s our pitch: it’s focused around community-created maps. Think Full Spectrum Warrior Mario Maker. Full Spectrum Warrior has always been more a puzzle game than a straight shooter, we’d like to see a remake that takes that aspect of the game and runs with it, allowing its community to create custom levels and challenge others to complete them.
Steel Battalion
Steel Battalion was an Xbox exclusive that was too ambitious for its own good. The developers marketed the game as a mech simulator, an authentic giant robot fighting experience. Mech games have never been particularly popular, but in 2002 when the game released, even the juggernaut mech property, Mechwarrior, was struggling to find an audience.
But none of that is why Steel Battalion failed. No, Steel Battalion was dedicated to its idea of being an accurate simulation, dedicated to a fault, and it required players to purchase a special controller in order to play the game. The controller was large and unwieldy, and more importantly, prohibitively expensive at $199.95! Reviewers lauded the game’s complexity and many admitted that the huge, 40-button controller played a major role in making the experience as immersive as it was.
Do you know what else has 40 buttons? A keyboard. It’s time to bring Steel Battalion to where it should have been from the start – PC. Revamp the graphics, add in some multiplayer modes, and make the controller optional and you’ve got a hit on your hands.
The Legacy of Kain Series
This series of action-adventure games made a big splash in the late 90s but appears to have been forgotten by history. The games featured antihero protagonists in a fantasy world of vampires and sorcerers, embroiled in unholy conflicts and rites. Their plots touched on themes like redemption and fate and overcoming adversity which, when combined with its gothic look, made it the ultimate inspiration for angsty teenage fanart.
Now, we’ll be honest, outside of the spectacular Soul Reaver (which had a demo every kid played because it came free as part of a Pizza Hut bundle), the Legacy of Kain games don’t hold up. The controls are sluggish, the camera is wonky, and the combat can be tedious and repetitive. But hey, that’s what remakes are for! Turn Legacy of Kain into a narrative epic with action-packed set pieces like the recent Tomb Raider reboots. The story is already excellent and the lore is exhaustive.
Crystal Dynamics teased a remaster back in 2017 then promptly forgot about it. Fingers crossed some enterprising developer gives this series the remake it deserves.
Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve often gets compared to another survival horror franchise of the PSX era. If you’ve ever played this unique zombie-blaster RPG, you’ll know that resemblances between the two are purely aesthetic. Parasite Eve implemented an innovative pseudo-turn-based combat system, a unique mix of the Final Fantasy ATB system and Resident Evil’s tank-control gunplay. It also featured a surprisingly robust weapon system with dozens of different weapon types that you could combine and upgrade throughout the course of your 10-12 hour run.
We’ve seen a resurgence of tactical and strategy games in the past few years. Parasite Eve withs its rare blend of real-time and turn-based elements could be a runaway success in the way the Resident Evil remakes have been. Heck, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden this year proved that gamers are up for unusual strategy experiences, let’s give them the OG weirdo real-/turn-based game.
If the rumour mill is to be believed, this is a remake that might actually happen. In 2018, Square Enix filed for a trademark for Parasite Eve in Europe. With the success of the Resident Evil 2 Remake, we’d bet good money that a Parasite Eve remake is in the books.
MegaMan Legends
MegaMan Legends bravely took the series where it had never gone before. It ignored the franchise’s reputation as a platformer, instead of giving us a story-driven action RPG in the vein of the smash-hit Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Rather than make his way through discrete stages themed after the Robot Masters that you’d inevitably face at their end, MegaMan was a dungeon-crawler-third-person-shooter that saw the player facing off against enormous mechanical beasts. The player could upgrade MegaMan’s loadout, increasing his attack speed or damage dealt. You could also dig up components for new weapons that provided utility for very specific situations. Best of all, it was set in a vibrant world filled with memorable characters.
The game sold well enough to spawn a sequel, MegaMan Legends 2, and a spin-off starring the fan-favorite villain, Tron Bonne. The third and final MegaMan Legends game was announced to be in the works, but internal company politics at Capcom left the future of the game uncertain. After several years in development limbo, Capcom finally axed the third Legends game in 2011.
Though we’d love for the next game in the series to finally see the light of day, we think Legends has been gone for too long. It’s time to remake the franchise for the better. We want it made in a new engine with standardized dual joystick controls. Fix the translation and re-do all the voice-overs. To make up for the short playtime, combine the stories of Legends 1 and 2 – heck, throw in The Misadventures of Tron Bonne while you’re at it. After it sells like hotcakes it’ll finally be time to bring the series to its long-awaited conclusion with number 3. Make it happen, Capcom!
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to undervalued gems that we think deserve to be remade for the next generation of consoles. What games do you think should have made the list?