Tuesday, May 26, 2009

(Even more) Classic Nintendo games that haven't been remade, but should be; Part III

Finally, the long awaited Part III of my list. For those of you who are discovering this for the first time, you might want to start at the beginning by clicking here.

  1. Perfect Dark — (This game falls into a strange position, because the publishing rights are no longer owned by Nintendo, but since the game was originally released for the N64, it still counts for this list.) When Rare released GoldenEye 007 for the N64 two years after the movie was released, MGM pulled the rights for them to make more Bond games, despite the game's critical acclaim and enormous commercial success. This did not deter Rare, however, from making another first person stealth shooter using the GoldenEye engine, which would vastly expand on the familiar gameplay of its predecessor. Perfect Dark boasted hi-res graphics (for the time), dynamic lighting effects, full voice acting, Dolby Pro Logic surround sound, and the most advanced AI ever seen in a console FPS. Unfortunately, the aging hardware was not always able to keep up with the new technology, and gameplay suffered as a result. The game itself was still incredible, and while a long-awaited sequel was eventually released for the Xbox 360, it failed to live up to the standards of the original. Most recently, Rare and new parent Microsoft have been campaigning for a simultaneous release of GoldenEye on both Wii Shop Channel and Xbox Live Arcade, but cannot agree with Nintendo on the financial details. Personally, I think Perfect Dark's improved gameplay, especially its multiplayer options, would be better suited for a modern rerelease. They could finally fix the framerate issue once and for all, and actually have a decent Perfect Dark game on the 360!

    (UPDATE: I discovered Perfect Dark was actually published by Rare, not Nintendo. Technically, Rare was owned by Nintendo at the time so I'm not removing it from the list, but I wanted to be clear that while this kind of bends my own rule, it fits my interpretation of it.)


  2. Super Mario 64 — When Super Mario 64 came out, it changed the face of gaming forever. 3D gaming was here to stay. As always with pioneers, its technological advances have been superseded in the 15 years since its release. It is time Nintendo remade one of the best Mario games ever. Sure, there was Super Mario 64 DS, but that was more of a port with very few graphical or gameplay enhancements. (Actually, the lack of true analog controls was a bit of a step backwards.) I would much rather play a SM64 "WiiMake" with Super Mario Galaxy graphics, Zelda-esque motion controls for punching, and tilt sensor controls for flying. Or, if you prefer, the good ol' GameCube controller. They can keep Luigi as a playable character, but lose Yoshi and Wario. They don't fit in, they're kind of annoying, and it made the game feel too much like Sonic Adventures.


  3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — Another classic from the N64 era, The Legend of Zelda's first foray into the 3D realm was long awaited, and eagerly anticipated. From its first appearance at Nintendo's Space World in '95 (less than a year before the N64 itself was released), to its arrival in gold cartridges in fall of '98, it went through several overhauls, not to mention delays. What resulted was a practically perfect game, and one that gained a single digit spot on most gamers' and gaming publications' "Top x Games of All Time" lists. Ocarina pushed the N64 to its limits more than just about any other game that did not require the Expansion Pak. It was everything a Zelda game should be, and so much more; and it looked incredible… for the time. Twilight Princess has since painted a much more detailed picture of Hyrule, and after trying to play OoT on my HDTV with the Wii and component video cables, I have to say, it does not fare well in 480p. It wouldn't take much to fix that. Here's what you do: Select all graphics, cut and paste in TP's visuals. Add in some Wii Remote slashing and shooting and you've got a classic Zelda game that fits perfectly on modern technology. (Hopefully they can do it without having to completely mirror the whole game!)


  4. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures — Here's a great game that fell by the wayside thanks to the unbelievable amount of crap required to play it as intended: A GameCube, the game disc, 4 Game Boy Advance systems, 4 GameCube-Game Boy Advance Link Cables, and four people who can cooperate long enough to accomplish simple tasks without trying to throw each other into hazards and stealing force gems. Once all these essential components came together however, you had a multiplayer experience that stood alongside Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. for sheer enjoyment. The story was a resounding "meh," but who really cares when you're busy attacking enemies and solving puzzles with three of your friends, while simultaneously competing for the most force gems? Not I! This game doesn't even need a graphical update. The enhanced 16-bit style graphics and sound were perfect for the game, but the interface was atrocious. The DS can connect to the Wii wirelessly, and everybody in the world owns at least one DS. (I myself have owned a total of four, but that's another story.) Heck, they could even cut the Wii out of the equation entirely if they wanted and just put it on the DS.


  5. Metroid 3: Super Metroid — I originally had no intentions of including Super Metroid on this list. I mean, why remake a game that's already considered perfect by most gamers? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm just going to let THIS speak for itself. Throw in the mission objective markers introduced in Metroid Prime and Fusion and you've just managed to make a perfect game even better!


So, there's my list. I invite everyone to add their own additions in the comments section. Remember the rules listed in Part II. If I can come up with enough other games, I'll make a Part IV, but for now, I'm retiring this series. Hope you all enjoyed it!

6 comments:

  1. how bizzare that you have created a neverending count up. Will you ever run out of games you want hd'd?

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  2. Legend of Zelda would be awesome. I used to play the hell out of this game called Star Tropics. I loved that game. That would be cool to play with today's standards.

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  3. But what about Perfect Dark Zero?

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  4. What about Perfect Dark Zero? It was published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360, so it couldn't be a "classic Nintendo game."

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  5. Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures was a awsome game. my friends and I had a wonderful time playing it.

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  6. Fourswords Adventures was still great as a 1player game and Nintendo was all ready starting work on a FourSwords series game for DS but when they saw how good the DS graphics were, they decided to make a wind waker sequel instead.

    SM64DS was good enough as a remake, but yeah if a wii one came out, people would buy it

    also, i know it's been a year since this was posted but on Nintendo's new 3DS there is going to be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D with improved graphics and everything

    I know they weren't published by nintendo but I wouldn't mind seeing Dragon Warrior 1,2,&3 remade for DS since they've now remade 4,5,&6 for it

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