Systems listed are for the first release of each title, though they may have been released on other platforms later. Apologies for the lack of images. I did include screenshots originally but the formatting got screwed up after I hit the "post" button.
10. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade
Sega - Arcade - 1998
This is a game which I imagine people will be surprised to see on this list, but hear me out! The gameplay of Star Wars Trilogy Arcade would really lend itself to the Wii. The game's first person lightsaber sections, blocking laser blasts from Boba Fett or duelling with Darth Vader, would be a fantastic fit for the Wii Remote once Wii MotionPlus is released later in the year. Sega could add extra lightsaber levels based on other scenes from the movies to further what was already a great package in the arcade. You could even use two Wii Remotes as handlebars during the first person Speeder Bike sections from the arcade version. Make it happen Sega!
9. Super Hang On
Sega - Mega Drive (Genesis) - 1988
Put simply, Super Hang On is OutRun on 2 wheels. This classic motorcycle racer was a Mega Driver launch title and massive arcade hit, because it was one of the only racers at the time where you actually sat on a motorbike in the arcade. Sega have been making new OutRun games for a few years now and they're easily their best examples of contemporary remakes, so why not set that same development team on a new Hang On. Riders and bikes should be customisable (as in the Mega Drive version) and a Burnout style boost option should be included. In the original game travelling over a certain speed for a short time would give you access to a boost as long as you could maintain speed.
One of the game's many endings had your rider being revealed to be an old man with a long beard and pipe. That alone makes this game worth remaking!
8. Earthworm Jim
Shiny Entertainment - Mega Drive (Genesis) - 1994
There have been rumours circulating for the last couple of years that Earthworm Jim 4 is in development but nothing has ever appeared. A new Xbox 360 or PS3 Jim game, done right, would be an awesome platformer. It's worth mentioning though that the only attempt at doing Earthworm Jim in 3D so far was terrible, but put the TV show's voice actors in there and we might ignore the wonky camera controls!
If a new game isn't coming it would be great to see the original game remade with new high-def graphics for XBLA or the PSN. Surely it would make sense to make some use of the assets from the failed PSP remake?
7. Streets of Rage
Sega - Mega Drive (Genesis) - 1991
Lately, Sega have had a bad habit of butchering 3D versions of their classic franchises (Sonic, Golden Axe, After Burner - the list goes on!), so Streets of Rage in 3 dimensions is probably a very bad idea. However if it worked in a similar way to the fighting mechanics of the quietly awesome Yakuza series it could be pretty good. Though, it would of course need a lot more rocket-firing police cars! If all else fails, a high-def remake would me more than welcome.
6. Lylatwars (Star Fox 64 in USA)
Nintendo - N64 - 1997
Since this classic was released Nintendo have experimented several times with putting series protagonist Fox McCloud into 3rd person adventure games. What fans really want though is a new air combat game now that he N64 game's graphics are starting to look super dated. The Star Fox series could almost certainly find a new generation of young fans on the hugely popular Wii system. Just imagine using the Wii's motion controls to "do a barrel roll!"
5. Road Rash
EA - Mega Drive (Genesis) - 1991
For many of the games on this list (mainly the 2D side-scrollers) HD remakes are a great idea, but when it comes to Road Rash, it's definitely time for a new 3D game. The excitement and tension of constantly being right on the edge of being knocked off your bike has never been captured by any other game. But then, that's probably because there's never been another game like Road Rash!
Although, come to think of it, it would be amazing if Road Rash was just added as a game mode to Burnout Paradise. Just think of those motorbikes at those ridiculous speeds, only now the riders have chains. Now that's DLC people would pay for. Epic stuff.
4. GoldenEye
Rare - N64 - 1997
This is a remake that very nearly happened as a re-textured high-def version for Xbox Live Arcade. Unfortunately business politics are likely to prevent this Bond classic from ever being seen again. The original was developed by Rare exclusively for Nintendo, so any release on 360 would have meant Microsoft paying royalties to Ninty. To complicate things further, Rare are now owned by Microsoft, who theoretically now own the assets from the original game. On the other hand, employees who left Rare to form Free Radical might still have some ownership rights over GoldenEye's art. Even more confusing is the fact that Activison now have the exclusive James Bond rights so no other publisher can release a 007-themed game!
Don't shove your N64 in the closet just yet. GoldenEye isn't going to get remade anytime soon, regardless of how much the fans may want it.
3. Sonic 3 (& Knuckles)
Sega - Mega Drive (Genesis) - 1994
When they were originally made, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were intended to be one game, but Sonic Team missed their development deadline and shipped the games separately. The infamous "lock-on cartridge" technology was developed to allow the different game cartridges to share data, so owners of both could play the games as one experience, as originally intended.
Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) was the name given to this combined experience and it makes for arguably the definitive Sonic experience. A full HD remake with new sprites and backgrounds in the style of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix would make this one of the best games of all time. Sega need to drop the rubbish they're producing with games like Sonic Unleashed and give the fans the remade classic they deserve.
2. Metal Gear
Konami - MSX 2 - 1987
Hideo Kojima's original Metal Gear was experienced by very few people outside Japan. The game was difficult to find in Europe and was never released in North America, except for as a radically altered and inferior NES port. Because so few people played this classic it would be fantastic to see it remade in full 3D using the Metal Gear Solid 4 game engine and controls. Add in full voice acting (including David Hayter of course) and cut-scenes and Kojima Productions would be onto another winner.
Most people have very little knowledge of the story from Solid Snake's first mission. Remaking it would make this important first chapter much more accessible than having to find a MSX 2 and a copy of the original game, or finding a copy of MGS3: Subsistence (on PS2), which includes the game and its sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, as bonus content.
1. Final Fantasy VII
Squaresoft - PlayStation - 1997
The possibilities of a current-gen FF7 remake were first seen in a PlayStation 3 tech demo shown at E3 2005, in which Square had remade the game's opening cut-scene using the new PS3 hardware. It sent fanboy hearts fluttering and with good reason. It was amazing.
If the game ever really is remade (Square are willing to stick the FF7 name on just about anything these days, so why not?) it really ought to have its wonderful midi soundtrack remade with a full orchestra. In fact this has already been seen to some extent in the game's movie sequel, Advent Children. It's important though that there is no voice acting, in order to maintain the silent charm of the original game's characterisation.
An updated Final Fantasy VII with spectacular new PS3 graphics, but with its original and perfect gameplay mechanics unchanged, would instantly become one of the best games ever made.
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