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In the past few years, I have rolled my lumpy body into its thirties. This means several things. One – I should really address the fact that my body struggled to make it this far. And two – I have been witness to each gaming generation since the Mega Drive. I was born the same year as Sonic. And yes, that means that Sonic is technically 32 years old at the time of writing this. I have played over 1500 video games and less than 5 of them have been on PC.
This also means one further thing though. I have seen the gaming world come full circle and fold back on itself. With the massive success of remakes such as the Spyro Reignited trilogy and the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy the gaming world has been in full on, frothing at the mouth, crazed overdrive in order to cash in on the remake phenomenon sweeping the nations. Of course, there have been some remakes/remasters that have been total flops, embarrassments, or downright broken insults (looking at you XIII remake and Silent Hill HD collection).
I think there are SO many ancient gems, forgotten masterpieces and the like that deserve the remaster treatment. Thankfully a few that I would suggest are in development for remasters. Such as Tomba (or Tombi depending on your version), the Gex Gecko games, and even Croc Legend of the Gobbos is supposed to be getting some sort of remake. But here are my suggestions for games that need a remaster…
Echo Night
Do you remember this game? I would be surprised I you do; it seems I may be the only person who ever played this janky masterpiece. Echo night was a first-person spooky story driven game with horror elements. Released on the PS1. It was way, way ahead of its time.
The story follows the story of Richard Osmond who is transported back in time via certain objects in the world. This happens after mysteriously receiving a letter from his father who has been missing for some time. Throughout your travels, you will be helping spirits who have been stranded and trapped on our plain. You will also be chased and attacked by other spirits that don’t want you interfering with their business. Helping spirits is vital in your adventures and also to get one of the game’s best endings.
Yeah. Echo Night was a story driven horror game on the PS1 with multiple endings. It was more atmospheric and engaging than either Resident Evil or Silent Hill. The game also debuted 2 sequels, the first of them never got an English version. And do you know who made these games? FromSoftware. The company that has given us Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. And more recently Armoured Core 6. I think Echo Night trilogy is one that deserves the remake treatment – especially the first game. It is just another example of a game genre that From Software was ahead of its time in.
TimeSplitters
Now this is a game that was bound to end up on a list like this. Which game in the TimeSplitters trilogy do I think needs a remake? ALL OF THEM. Seriously, this pick isn’t exactly a curve ball opinion like Echo Night, almost everyone that has played this series has been waiting eagerly for the IP to be revived in some way. The TimeSplitters games are iconic. The series has had rumoured sequels and remakes several times now, the latest statement reads “its officially returning – for real this time” but time will tell. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me six times, well, more shame on me I guess.
The problem with a sequel is that nobody really knows what TimeSplitters is anymore. The fix to this would be simple – remake the original 3 to be released a year or so before a potential sequel to get the younger generations fixated on the IP just like us oldies were back in the day.
My one fear with bringing this back now however will be down to how developers and publishers tackle it. The original games had their amazing story modes of course, but the fun in the games came with all the alternative game modes you could play with your friends. At home. In the same room. Game modes included games were one person started on fire and you needed to touch other players to spread the fire, last man standing wins. There were traditional death match modes. There was a mode that let you regain health by killing opponents. There were crazy challenge modes. There was even a mode that let you create your own maps. With all of these modes, multiplayer elements, and chaotic fun it would be an absolute travesty if they remade it and only let you play these game modes online; or decide it would be fine to just have basic modes. Even worse is if they decide to just make it battle royal game.
Remember two minutes ago when you read this: “time will tell. Fool me once, shame on me.” Well turns out we didn’t need to wait for long. The company got dissolved thanks to a greedy parent company during the construction of this blog. But that doesn’t take away the fact that TimeSplitters needs a revival!
Asuras Wrath
Ahhhh Asura’s Wrath. What a game. By far a game that was released at the wrong time. Sales were poor for this magnificent game, which meant that a sequel, spin off or otherwise was never going to hit the table. Which is a travesty because this game was insane. It managed to blend perspectives and game modes together as smooth as silk, almost as well as Nier Automata. And that is more than just a compliment.
This is a game that undeniably graces my top 5 video games of all time list. Not only because of its incredible gameplay, but because of its top tier story telling. This game puts all other ‘I am going to fight God because I am angry’ stories to shame. God of War is by no means a poor story. But come on, Kratos never battled his mentor on the moon, got pinned to the ground by a sword that pierced through the entire planet, or fought a god larger than Earth itself. Asura’s Wrath manages to tell a story about a father who was betrayed by his fellow gods, was framed for his own wife’s murder, had his daughter kidnapped to be used as an endless source of energy, and cast into hell twice. He survives thousands of years in order to do the simple act of freeing his daughter. It is an emotional story wrapped around brutish gameplay of anger and brutality. Asura is the angriest character in any video game, and for damn good reason.
If you read my article on voice actor appreciation, you will also know that Asura is voiced by my favourite voice actor of all time too. Which is just the absolute cherry on top for me.
Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve has been dreadfully overlooked. In a time where Resident Evil is still going strong, and their older games are in constant revival. In a time where Silent Hill has been revived from the grave with a slew of games in development. In a time where The Last of Us part 2 is getting a remake when I have food in my fridge older than that game. In a time where all this is reality, there really is no reason for Parasite Eve to live in the past.
Parasite Eve is a game developed by Squaresoft. And that means only one thing: the game is an RPG game. But then there is a twist, it’s also a survival horror game. It was such an interesting game that blended two game genres together that we don’t see very often even now. This game harkens back to a time when companies were not afraid to try something new. There are not enough of the AAA game developers taking chances these days, which can make the gaming world feel a little stale.
I would love to see a revival of Parasite Eve. Because of its unique blend of genres, I think it would feel like an indie gem that has been developed by a AAA powerhouse. I think we need games that fit this niche to shake up the gaming industry a little. I also think it would do so much better in today’s market. It was a game that was by far ahead of its time.
Kingdom Under Fire Heroes
This one is another curveball I must admit. I will argue that almost nobody knows this game. Sure, the Kingdom Under Fire series has a few followers here and there. But specifically, Heroes seemed to be released with absolutely no buzz or discussion at all. I loved this game when I was younger. This entry can cover any of the games in the series really as I feel like none of the games really found their foot in the gaming industry that they deserve.
The Kingdom Under Fire games are real time war strategy games. I know! Me of all people bigging up a game like this seems strange (if you know me) but here is the kicker: it’s a fantasy style war strategy simulator. You can command legions from up high like most games of the genre but when you get into fights, you can take control of your leader in the action. And your leader is always so damn cool to control. Who wouldn’t want to take control of a brutal vampire slaying scores of humans, or an ogre ripping through hordes of elves? The second kicker? The games main music track is heavy metal! Its damn epic and fits the game so well. I mean, check out the official original game trailer here and tell me you don’t want a remake of this epic game.
This game harks back to a time when games were made for one reason. Before companies were scared of paying to have licensed music in their games. Before games needed a thousand DLCs or a battle pass or micro transactions. This game was made to simply be fun. And we need to go back to times like that.
Credit Roll
And there you are my friends, 5 games that I think need the remaster treatment. These are all games that I have incredibly fond memories of from my earlier gaming years. I would love to relive these games and play them with the controls and graphics of the current generation. I would love it if this list reminded you of some of the hidden gems in your earlier gaming years. But as always, whatever you are playing I hope you are enjoying it!