Remasters and remakes have been all the rage for the past few years, and Nintendo has one of the most anticipated examples of all time with Ocarina of Time. The original sits near the top of nearly every “Best Games of All Time” list, and the remake may very well follow in its footsteps. Looking ahead, there are plenty of other Nintendo titles that could do with a fresh coat of paint.
Given their history, it is hard to pick out the most deserving Nintendo games for a remake, yet there are a few that fans have been asking about for decades and could hit modern consoles down the line. From platforming adventures to RPG greatness, these games are the pinnacle of Nintendo’s brilliance and should receive the remaster treatment next.
Guess the games from the emojis.
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Zelda Isn’t A One-Trick Pony
- As iconic as Ocarina of Time.
- Inventive and unusual compared to other entries.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is probably the most obvious candidate for another full-scale remaster in Nintendo’s catalog. A fan favorite for many in the long list of Zelda games, Majora’s Mask sends Link to Termina, a land doomed to be crushed by a falling moon in just three days. In that short time, you get to experience the lives of each resident using the titular mask itself as your main tool for understanding the world.
Ocarina of Time was a clear frontrunner for a modern revival, but Majora’s Mask feels like the natural next step that I and many others would flock to if it hit the Switch 2. It already has a 3DS remaster, yet I still think there is room for a ground-up remake to modernize some features and maybe even bring it in line with this new Link look for a modern audience to enjoy as much as long-time fans did with the original.
Pokemon Colosseum
In A League Of Its Own
- A darker RPG built around a very different gameplay loop.
- Stealing mechanic makes it unique in the franchise.
Pokemon Colosseum is one of the less talked about games in the creature collector space, yet that doesn’t mean there aren’t fans begging for a remake. Set in Orre, a dusty desert region where trainers can’t catch wild Pokemon, you set out to capture your own team from other trainers to purify their hearts in a story far darker than the mainline games.
Its double battles and unique collecting style make it so distinctive and a real standout in the sea of formulaic entries that many people have frankly grown tired of. While Nintendo has decided to bring it to the Switch GameCube library, I can still see a world where they go the full remaster route and revive a classic title that deserves a second life.
F-Zero
The Fastest Racer Of Them All
- Fits alongside Mario Kart perfectly.
- Can compete with more serious racers.
F-Zero is a franchise that has been incredibly quiet for many years, but I think that Nintendo has a franchise in their pocket that could capture a whole other side of the racing world with a single remake. The early games were your classic arcade racers, but later entries like GX really turned things up, sending you around corners and through halfpipes at blistering speeds that made every streak of wind feel like it was really screeching past you at the speed of sound.
The reason I think a modern remake could perform well is the success of more mature racing games like Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Forza Horizon 6. There is clearly an audience, and as great as Mario Kart is for party nights and more casual gaming, there is for sure demand for a more mature racing game on the Switch consoles. F-Zero feels like the obvious game for Nintendo to remaster to satiate that hunger.
Super Mario 64
Speedrunners Love It For A Reason
- 3D platformers still work today.
- Could fix a lot of the clunk while retaining the charm.
Many classic Nintendo games have remained relevant for decades, but none are as widely played and enjoyed today as Super Mario 64. It is the most popular game in the speedrunning community, and thousands of players are out there hitting backwards long jumps and clipping their way through each stage to shave just a few extra seconds off their best time.
By remaking the game, all of those speedrunners could still enjoy the original should they choose, with all the bugs and weird techs imaginable, but I do think there are so many other incredible elements of the game that are often overlooked due to the sheer speed at which they are experienced. You have diverse platforming segments, funky level designs, and the classic Bowser boss battles that would look stunning in a more updated engine, so as much as I appreciate the timed runs and fanatics, I also adore everything else that makes Mario 64 one of the most iconic games in the industry and would love to see it return in the future.
Mother Trilogy
Still Waiting For A Proper Home
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Image via Nintendo -
Image by GameRant; Source: Nintendo -
- Three games of emotional yet lighthearted storytelling.
- Mother 3 still has no official English version.
The Mother series is a weird, funny, and downright absurd RPG franchise that holds about as much cult status as any other game on the planet. A lot of the fandom centers on the second game, Earthbound, with Ness at the helm and his lovable demeanor acting as the driving force for both the story and the action that takes place within it.
With that said, I do think it would be great to see the whole trilogy on a single platform. Aside from fan ports and translations, it’s hard to experience the full arc in one tidy package. I can imagine a 2.5D version of the franchise or a 3D iteration similar to the fan projects that already exist. Whatever the case, I just want more people to be able to experience the peak of the RPG genre without the need for emulators or translations.
