Five 2000s Games That Should Be Remade (And How) - Article
by Mark Nielsen , posted 5 days ago / 1,832 Views
Remaking a game is a tricky art; not only do you need to balance opposing elements, such as staying true to the original and modernizing what can be improved, there are also a dozen different ways to do it, from a tile-by-tile recreation to a full-on reimagining. Not every remake is successful in finding the right format or striking that balance. Sometimes you’re left barely able to recognize the original, sometimes it’s a mix of massive improvements and baffling decisions, and other times it’s so unambitious in its changes that you’re left wanting a remake of the remake. With so many options it’s safe to say developers have their work cut out for them in figuring out how their particular game is best brought back to life, but, luckily for five of them, I’m here to give the answer.
Golden Sun & Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Type: A combined reimagining, retaining the unique puzzle and combat mechanics.
I'll start out with a cult-classic: the Golden Sun duology on GameBoy Advance, which has always been an extremely unique case. From the developers that started out making Shining Force for Sega, and now exclusively make Mario sports games for Nintendo, Golden Sun was that step in the middle where they showed they still had some RPG in them, and the results were excellent. What it might lack in story depth compared to similar titles it makes up for with unique combat mechanics, and by incorporating a magic system beautifully into interesting puzzles in the world. Unfortunately, they didn’t set the world on fire in terms of sales and the series has now been on hiatus since the less well received third entry in 2010.
The mere fact that Golden Sun and its protagonist Isaac are still a ubiquitous part of every conversation concerning potential Smash Bros. newcomers 20 years later shows it deserves a second chance at some point, and with the two beloved entries being basically two halves of the same game, remaking them as a combined package seems like the best way to do so. I suggest a reimagining because there's a lot of room to grow with this one and make it something bigger than what could be done on a GBA in 2001, but as long as the original puzzle and combat mechanics are done justice and the story remains fairly true to the originals (if expanded upon a bit), we should be looking at a very promising RPG.
Dragon Age: Origins
Type: Remake with visual and gameplay refinements, while keeping the original story and voice lines.
What Dragon Age: Origins needs isn't an overhaul, but a tune-up. 16 years later, it’s still considered by many to be the series' best entry, and that’s not just nostalgia talking; the writing and storytelling are absolutely some of BioWare’s finest work. Playing it today is interesting because in some ways it was already old school for 2009, and in other ways it was well ahead of its time, but there’s an incredibly strong core here in terms of world, characters, and gameplay that could be made even stronger if brought back today as a soft remake that refines what needs upgrading and leaves the rest intact. It’s certainly a promising idea on paper, but question is if it will ever come to pass since BioWare has been scaled down.
Sly Cooper
Type: Series reboot.
Okay, admittedly I’m cheating a bit with this one, as a reboot can’t really be called a type of remake, and while the original Thievius Raccoons is a great title with solid platforming and clever banter, it probably doesn’t have enough meat on its bones to warrant a dedicated remake. But one way or another the series needs to return, and after a 12-year hiatus (and counting), a reboot similar to what other Sony heroes like Kratos and Ratchet have gotten seems like the best bet. Stealth is one of the more underrepresented genres in modern console gaming, and Sony is frankly running low on active series at the moment; if there’s one racoon that can fix that it’s probably this one.
Devil May Cry 1 & 3
Type: Modernization but not a full reimagining, keeping the original charm.
If there’s one developer that stands out in the history of remakes it would have to be Capcom, which can arguably be said to have raised the bar for what a good remake is twice: first with Resident Evil in 2002, and then Resident Evil 2 in 2018 (not to be confused with Resident Evil (1996) or Resident Evil 2 (1998) - their naming does leave a bit to be desired). But while Resident Evil has become famous for its REmakes, the trailblazing action series that grew out of it has been left behind, and that’s a damn shame because there’s just as much potential there. Devil May Cry 1 and 3 are both excellent games for their time, with tons of charm to them, not to mention being core parts of the series' history, but it’s hard to deny that in terms of gameplay and visuals they've fallen behind compared to the flashier Devil May Cry 5. And even 5 has six years to its name already, with no new DMC news on the horizon, so I’d say the time is ripe to bring Dante back for another spin. Ideally this would be in a modernized form, with improved combat, while still keeping unique elements like Dante’s sass or the much more obvious Resident Evil inspiration in Devil May Cry 1’s design.
It should be noted that, as the undisputed worst game in the trilogy, Devil May Cry 2 would perhaps on some level have more to gain from being remade than any other title in the original trilogy, but the problem with that line of thinking is that there simply isn’t much there worth salvaging. Remaking a flawed game can give it a new chance at (greater) glory, but if you’re remaking a bad one, you’d just have been better off going for a clean slate.
Final Fantasy IX
Type: A one-part remake.
As perhaps the most hailed Final Fantasy, game along with VI and VII, Final Fantasy IX is undeniably a classic - and one that's no stranger to remake speculation. It has aged, as all games do, but is still at its core a great title, with a beautiful story that’s certainly worth retelling, and characters that deserve a second chance in the spotlight. As for the combat, I’ll leave my suggestions there vague intentionally, because on the one hand I’m a big fan of FF VII Remake’s new system that combines turn-based and real-time elements, but on the other I wouldn’t mind seeing Square finally try its hand once more at a full-budget, turn-based Final Fantasy, and that might realistically please more fans. There’s room for improvement either way, and the most important part would be giving the game new life with beautiful visuals and voice acting like FF VII Remake did, only this time maybe skip the off-brand KH Heartless and major story overhaul.
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I wouldn't mind a Dragon Age: Origins remake otherwise, but I'm not sure who would do it - probably not BioWare though, they seem to have lost their touch.
Justice for Eternal Darkness and Bully!
I haven't played either game, but they do seem like good candidates as well.
eternal darkness is a masterpiece . id be happy to get it on switch 2 online
I would so be down for a reboot of sly Cooper! I feel like it doesn’t get nearly as much love as it deserves
Dragon Age Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. Remake needs to happen! However I think EA is allergic to money these days.
People probably should have bought Veilguard if they wanted an Origins remake. It ended up being a solid game, just not on par with Origins and Inquisition.
Even if a game is bad in a franchise I love, I tend to pickup a copy... Just in hopes of a good sequel.
Veilguard whilst not achieving the same heights as Origins or even Inquisition is still a solid game... It just had that anti-woke sentiment attached to it... Which I personally don't care about. - It's sad that people missed out on a solid story because of politics.
...But EA being EA will likely remaster Battlefield 3/4 before Dragon Age Origins I think.
Just a sign of the times really. Everything “woke” in Dragon Age: The Veilguard was in Inquisition. Trans character, gay character, and diverse cast. It’s just now people make it a point to push back. 15 years ago no one cared.
Indeed it is.
Bioware always had progressive undertones with it's characters for decades...
It's like people are only just starting to now whinge that StarTek is "woke" when it's literally had the same thematics for half a century and thus shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
All started around 2016… 🤔
Baldurs Gate in 1998 had LGBT characters...
I know that. It’s really nothing new. What I’m saying is the backlash to it really started becoming heavy in 2016. Like, people are mad over Taash’s questline in Dragon Age: The Veilguard don’t seem to remember Dorian’s in Inquisition.
Only agree with FF9 and DMC
Remake that need to happen :
Vagrant story
Xenogears
FF6 and FF8
Dino crisis
God hand
Project Justice
Kula world (roll away)
Devil dice
Jak and Daxter (only the 1st one)
Parasite eve
Rogue galaxy
Yes let's not honorable mention dino crisis (1999)
Deserves it more than the whole list
I did chuckle a bit at 'a one-part remake'.
I’d love a remake of Kingdoms of Amalur. Great game and a great time to release it seeing as how action RPGs are in full swing.
Dragon Age: Origins Remake would feed families
Chrono Trigger HD Remake, using the DS version as the base to be remade.
I don't know. The more I think about game remakes today the more I think that time would be better-spent on intriguing misfires:
-Brute Force
-Too Human
-That Mickey's Magical Mirror game on Gamecube
-Killzone 1
-Voodoo Vince
-Advent Rising
-Velvet Assassin
Seeing a relatively new studio peer into the past, research what lead to it being a misfire, and craft a better interpretation has greater potential.
Kinda done with remakes in general, would prefer just new entries in series but looking at DAV and FF16... prehaps not. I would say I don't trust SquEnix when it comes to a remake of 9 though, milk 7 for all it's worth, don't care anymore but 9 feels more sacred and if it's anything but a graphical improvement, I just don't want it.
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