RPGamer’s Most Desired Remakes
Remakes and remasters have been a large trend in the last several years as a way for companies to either earn some easy money from their back catalogue, or to revisit a property and gauge the desirability of a new entry. In 2025 alone, we have already seen remasters for titles in the Lunar, SaGa, Suikoden, Xenoblade, Ys, The Elder Scrolls, and even Raidou series. While benefiting the companies behind them, remakes and remasters are also useful to give RPGamers new and old an easy way to play something they may have missed, and that is not otherwise practical to play in its original form. Sometimes these remain true to the original, other times it offers a chance to improve something about the game, though one’s mileage will likely always vary upon how effective that is.
As always, it’s fun to poll the RPGamer staff about titles that they feel deserve the remake treatment. From old school classics to new favourites, and even some questionable games in between, there’s always a game that has great ideas but perhaps deserved a bit more love or retooling. We hope you enjoy our selections, and we would love to hear from you all about games that you feel deserve an upgrade.
Arc Rise Fantasia
Arc Rise Fanasia is an obscure Wii RPG developed by the now-defunct Imageepoch and is very loosely connected to the Luminous Arc games. A few former members of Tales Studio helped to create the game, and indeed, Arc Rise Fantasia can almost be described as a turn-based Tales game. While the Wii saw few traditional turn-based JRPGs, many RPGamers and Wii owners overlooked this game. This could be due to a variety of reasons: the game received little in the way of marketing, at least in North America; the Wii itself not being known for its RPGs; and it has infamously bad voice acting. Despite its flaws, Arc Rise Fantasia is a great RPG that deserves a second chance with a remake or HD remaster.
Arc Rise Fantasia‘s combat system is fantastic. Characters are highly customizable in terms of weapon-related abilities and magic. Battles are highly strategic, involing the management of Action Points, which are spent on a combination of spells and skills to unleash upon foes, and paying attention to the characters’ voices to know when to defend against a potentially devastating attack. Bosses can be difficult, but through learning their patterns and using an item to uncover their weakness, a player can turn the tables on the boss should they lose the first time. Aside from combat, Arc Rise Fantasia also has excellent music and a distinct character art style. Although the story is hindered by a weak localization, terrible voice acting, and some predictable plot points, it also features some neat twists and thought-provoking commentary on the state of the game’s world. The characters are also interesting and have some amusing moments between them, even if they aren’t as fleshed out as they could be. There is a lot to like, even love, about Arc Rise Fantasia, and a remake could really help it reach a wider audience, especially since the game was never released outside of Japan and North America.
Obviously, the English voice acting needs to be redone with skilled actors and actual voice direction, as a lack of direction was apparently a big reason the original dub came out the way it did. The English script also needs a complete rework and, in addition to being improved with rewrites, the characters could be further improved with additional party chats. New side quests could be added that focus on the party members and flesh them out. More difficulty options could help with the boss fights. And while this is a minor thing, it would be nice to see the bonus character costumes on party members outside of the menu. Even if Arc Rise Fantasia were to receive an HD remaster with few changes, a chance to redo the localization could help this game reach its potential, as well as a wider audience, by being on modern platforms. With Imageepoch now bankrupt, a remake or remaster may not be likely, but one can dream. — Cassandra Ramos
Bahamut Lagoon
When the Live A Live remake was announced, there were multitudes of Super Famicom classics that were given hope to see the light of day as updated remakes for a worldwide audience. This may end up being a fool’s hope, but ten years ago, saying Live A Live would happen would gather scoffs from everyone. With that in mind, I believe the title that rises to the top of this potential remake list is Bahamut Lagoon. This is a title that already reached the pinnacle of sprite-based visuals, as I believe it to be the most impressive Super Famicom title. Why not take the world by storm, doing the same with HD-2D artwork?
Beyond being visually impressive for the time, Bahamut Lagoon had an engaging story, a dragon evolution mechanic, and a brilliant hybrid of tactical role-playing that mixed with turn-based battling. In a world where the tactical RPG is gaining more headway with each passing year, there are a lot of beneficial reasons to release this title considering today’s gaming sensibilities. But, most of all, I’d play it through on day one, as it is one of the few titles that I can think of that exists where I’d be tempted to take time off work. Bahamut Lagoon is a hidden gem that a remake to accentuate its best qualities would not only find a niche, but a crowd waiting for it. — Ryan Costa
Digimon World 2
In 2001, when the Digimon World series was still defining its identity, Digimon World 2 launched on PlayStation. The title was vastly different from its predecessor, both in terms of setting and gameplay. It followed a new protagonist in a different world, and traded the first game’s monster-raising simulator formula for a turn-based dungeon crawler. It also impressed players with nice 3D Digimon models trading blows and shouting the names of their iconic signature moves. In addition, Digimon World 2 provided a fresh take on the tamers’ role and their relationship to digital monsters. In fact, unlike most titles in the Digimon franchise, the human partners weren’t just limited to a support or coaching role as they acted as pilots of Digi-Bettles, vehicles that were required to explore dungeons.
While Digimon World 2’s gameplay offered an experience more familiar to JRPG enthusiasts, it came with some flaws that prevented the title from finding success. In addition to dungeons not having enough gimmicks or elements of interest to keep their traversal engaging, the game featured a very slow-paced exploration due to the player’s Digi-Beetle’s sluggish movements and no way to speed them up. This, coupled with the unreliable Digimon capture mechanics, made the overall experience tedious.
A potential remake of Digimon World 2 may fare better by adding the option to skip certain animations and speed up the Digi-Bettle’s sluggish movements. Implementing more gimmicks in the dungeons and further ways to interact with them would also be welcomed. Hopefully, the recent interest in the Digimon video games, thanks to the upcoming release of Digimon Story: Time Stranger, may prompt Bandai Namco to polish some of the older Digimon titles. — Coulibaly Mohamed Lamine
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Dragon Quest IX stands alone amid the mainline Dragon Quest titles. We’re about to get at least the fourth version of Dragon Quest I & II (considering its NES, GBC, SNES, and other port versions), and yet Dragon Quest IX remains locked to the DS, now a few Nintendo generations old. In fact, every mainline Dragon Quest game has received an enhanced port to other systems or a full-on remake. Even the MMO, Dragon Quest X, got a fully remade Offline version, but Dragon Quest IX remains untouched.
Dragon Quest IX is a unique game, as it’s the only Dragon Quest mainline title initially released on a handheld device, but one that spurned some Nintendo innovation. Its ability to solicit other nearby Dragon Quest IX players was part of the inspiration behind the StreetPass functionality on the 3DS. It’s a game that was meant to be played locally with friends, but since US Dragon Quest fans generally lived far apart, not many of them got to experience the multiplayer aspects of the game. A modern remake with online multiplayer, far more common today than when the game was released fifteen years ago, would be an amazing treat for Dragon Quest fans.
A Dragon Quest IX releasing relatively soon would be a great companion to the recent Dragon Quest III 2D-HD release. They both star a chosen hero destined to save the world with three blank-slate party members that can change job classes. Dragon Quest IX turns it up a bit to let the hero choose job classes as well. The Dragon Quest IX world is huge, and there is seemingly always a new city with its own set of problems to save, but there’s a clear throughline story taking place too. With a memorable rogues gallery, multiplayer options, puns galore, infinite grotto diving, and a hefty post-game, it’s past time to bring this Dragon Quest classic to modern systems. — Matt Masem
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy II is an odd duck in the series, a black sheep amongst a beloved flock of RPGs. Many of the elements it introduced — named characters with intimate drama, chocobos (kweh!), or Cid – have come to define the series we all know today. The game was also a pioneer in the combat department, with Final Fantasy II forgoing the usual experience-based leveling system in favor of one where statistical growth is earned through situational events in battle. For example, if a player gets hit frequently in a battle, their HP increases. While this dynamic progression approach was incredibly daring and innovative for its time, and would later influence Square’s SaGa series, it suffers from fundamentally flawed execution due to its exploitability.
While its plot is noticeably more complex than its predecessor and more personal than its successor, the story and cast lack the depth or impact to make engaging with its combat worthwhile. While deficiencies in the writing and gameplay can largely be attributed to the technological and memory limitations of the NES, future ports and remakes of Final Fantasy II have neglected to properly address its flaws or meaningfully expand on its promising, heavy themes of rebellion, oppression, slavery, and genocide.
This puts Final Fantasy II in a special situation. Despite its remarkable elements and a fleeting but strong identity, much can be painted on its largely blank canvas. So what does a remake look like? Ideally, a truly hardcore experience, doubling down on the SaGa series’ difficulty and retaining successful combat elements of Final Fantasy II’s progeny. The game’s weightier tone deserves more exploration and attention, and an improved version of the activity-based progression system would lend itself well to the travails of overcoming the brutal Palamecian Empire. Final Fantasy II is the darkest mainline title in the series, and its mature elements would work wonders in a Stranger of Paradise-like experience, albeit one that is played significantly and consistently straighter. From the enslaved population of Salamand to the ruination of Deist and extermination of its dragoons and wyverns, it’s tantalizing to imagine a fleshed-out version of Palamecia where the costs of war are fully laid bare. — Jordan McClain
Jade Empire
When I first started dating my husband, we began trading favourite games with each other. One of his favourites was BioWare’s answer to wuxia films in the form of Jade Empire. There are multiple reasons why the game gets so much praise: its lush world; fantastic characters; interesting plot twists; and, of course, some of the most gorgeous-looking combat for its time. This choice-driven game required players to constantly consider their morality, offering them the option to be either altruistic or resort to violence to solve problems. It was quite black and white, but in the context of the game and its world, it made a lot of sense.
Part of the reason I am clamouring for a Jade Empire remake is that I think though the game has fantastic bones and satisfying combat that holds up today, it deserves a complete refresh graphically. Imagine someone taking this property and redesigning the graphics to look like a floating world or a watercolour painting? Think about the fact that there is a chance to change the morality system to be a bit more grey instead of black-and-white. Think about how the combat could be transformed to be even more speedy and robust! Jade Empire is one of those gems that needs to be rediscovered by old and new RPGamers, and while the original sits on PC (or you had the luxury of playing it on Xbox like I did), it’s not getting it’s not getting it’s due any longer, and this needs to change because its one of the greatest RPGs made by a western studio. — Sam Wachter
Operation Darkness
While many of us would love remakes of wonderful games, there’s one terrible one that I think deserves a chance to redeem itself. Success’s Operation Darkness received horrid reviews upon release, and it absolutely deserved them. The game was unbalanced, the graphics were ugly, and its inclusion of permadeath soured many players as the game never felt fair in its approach. Let’s also add in that the game had terrible story pacing and a crappy camera to boot. So why then would I want a remake of this awful game? The answer is simple: it has both a brilliant gunplay system that more RPGs should adopt, and offers a fascinating, completely bonkers premise in the form of “What if Hitler were a vampire and the British Armed Forces could transform into werewolves”? How is this not an amazing concept! And in the right set of hands, there is the potential for greatness.
The standout in Operation Darkness is the game’s gunplay, where players and enemies can hide behind cover and, when it’s not even their turn, return fire. It means that there is always a chance for multiple characters to attack, especially if they are in proximity to each other and the enemy. While the game originally failed because the gunplay started to take a backseat to the crazy paranormal powers, there’s potential to strike a good balance so that both elements can be highlighted. While there are games out there that have done this concept better, such as Valkyria Chronicles, there is just something so stupid in how brooding and angsty Operation Darkness is… because everything about it is stupid. If the game is remade and remade well, it could be absolutely iconic. — Sam Wachter
Shining Force III
While it wasn’t the final Shining Force game in the series, Shining Force III was the last one of any significance. It was certainly the most ambitious Shining Force game, comprising three scenarios that are full games in their own right, yet also connect to tell a single, long story. Characters carry over from the first two scenarios to the final one, and decisions made early on affect outcomes in the later scenarios. The plot is also considerably more complex than the prior Shining Force games, involving the worsening relations between the Republic of Aspinia and the Empire of Destonia. There are complex battle maps, some with unique gimmicks. Characters can promote twice, with the second promotion occurring in the third scenario. There is even a friendship system in which two characters get benefits like increased stats by fighting together. It’s a much grander game than the prior mainline Shining Force titles, yet while they have been ported multiple times, Shining Force III is stuck on the Sega Saturn. What’s more, regions outside of Japan only saw an official release of the first scenario, meaning they missed out on the full game.
A remake or remaster of Shining Force III would be the best way for everyone to experience the whole game. Strategy RPGs are much more popular in the modern day than they were in 1998. Other than releasing a complete version of the game, a remake could improve upon or even overhaul the awkward 3D visuals, add various quality-of-life improvements, and have actual trained actors do the voice work, as the original English dub is notoriously terrible. A remake could also tie up some loose ends in the story.
Why such a re-release hasn’t happened can only be speculated, but there are a few possible reasons. The Sega Saturn was a difficult machine to work with, and its games were equally hard to port. There are also claims that Camelot, Shining Force III‘s developer, has some of the rights to the game, and thus, a remake would require Sega and Camelot to work together. There was bad blood between Camelot and Sega after Shining Force III’s completion, with Camelot now primarily developing games for Nintendo consoles, making cooperation unlikely. Regardless of the reasons, a remake or re-release of some kind is long overdue for Shining Force III, and while improbable, fans still hold out hope for one. — Cassandra Ramos
Skies of Arcadia Legends
As a child, I was always interested in pirates. The swashbuckling adventures, the looting and pillaging, and always a new horizon to sail to. While you’re not a pirate sailing the seven seas, you are a sky pirate exploring a vast world filled with danger and excitement. Skies of Arcadia hit me at just the right time to completely consume me. The game was really different at the time. I was so used to 2D, flat worlds in RPGs with an open world, so being able to explore in the third dimension was so refreshing. Memorable characters, a world spanning adventure, great music, and some great turn-based battles all would be sitting at the table with some of the golden age of JRPG hits. It’s a shame that it never really got the attention it deserved, and nowadays, basically no one knows about it at all.
Originally released on the Dreamcast, the last time we saw the game was in the early 2000s as a GameCube port. It’s a travesty that we never got a remake, remaster, or even a spiritual successor. With a few small tweaks to things like the encounter rate and a nice new coat of paint and some remastered tracks, Skies of Arcadia could very well catch a whole new generation of adventurers who never knew they needed to be a sky pirate at least once in their lives. — Robert Sinclair
Suikoden III
After the release of the Suikoden I & II HD bundle, it only makes sense that Konami starts working on bringing Suikoden III to current consoles as well. Suikoden III follows the events of the previous games, taking place fifteen years after Suikoden II, so the returning characters have aged quite considerably. It was nice seeing characters from the first game show up in the second. It’s something akin to a proud parent watching these same characters turn from children to adults when seeing them in part three.
Suikoden III was the first game in the series on the PlayStation 2, and it shows some bumps making that transition. A remake of this game would be ideal. Fixing the combat pairing system and some of the traveling woes would do wonders for the overall experience of Suikoden III. It tells a wonderful story, has a colorful cast of characters, and offers tons of content for new fans and old to discover and enjoy. Suikoden III was the last game in the series that founder Yoshitaka Murayama worked on, and it has all the love and attention the first two games have embedded into their cores. It deserves a remake that enhances all of its positive traits, while fixing some of the issues that can drag a great game down. It also has one of the most beautiful opening movies, which every RPGamer should witness at least once. — Ryan Radcliff
Sweet Home
Capcom has seemingly done fine things with not just Resident Evil, but many of its properties in recent years. However, it has seemed to forget about some of its creations from the late ’80s through the ’90s. Despite being “just” the title that spawned survival horror as we know it, Sweet Home is a delightful mix of ideas in its own right. A remake of this wondrous title could take many forms: an Onimusha-style action RPG, a spin on Persona that incorporates more horror elements, or an as-yet-unseen capable combination of a top-down Metroidvania and turn-based combat that I would expect great things from, given Capcom’s high pedigree these days.
Even just simply adding quality-of-life features to make things faster, a remixed soundtrack, and smoother visuals, this title is a classic. It shaped so many ideas found in other genres while keeping the title playing like an RPG. There’s always been an inclination that some titles in the past were only turn-based RPGs because the technology hadn’t grown. Happily, this is proven wrong as today, everything adds RPG elements. Sweet Home was ahead of its time and a lot of fun to experience. A remake would bring its many interesting ideas to the forefront again, and likely create a brand new sub-genre with imitators in the meantime. — Ryan Costa
Valkyria Chronicles 3
The desire for another Valkyria Chronicles title to get the remake treatment is primarily to facilitate a much deserved western release opportunity for the only title in the series that has not received an official localisation. Sadly, the release of Valkyria Chronicles 3 in the West was hindered by the end of the PlayStation Portable’s lifecycle, which never took off as well in the West as it did in Japan, as well as the lukewarm reception to the major narrative and gameplay structure changes made by Valkyria Chronicles 2. The latter is particularly unfortunate, as Valkyria Chronicles 3 took the complete opposite tack.
Arguably the darkest title in the series, it returns players to the invasion of Gallia by the Imperial Alliance during the original game, this time focusing on the exploits of the Squad 422 penal brigade. Inspired by the Soviet penal brigades of WWII, the squad is stripped of its names and is assigned suicidal missions, with its achievements not detailed in official records. While the game’s original release on PSP naturally brings its combat system more into line with the second game’s narrower-scope missions with stitched-together maps, it benefits from the lessons learned from the previous game and offers numerous improvements, making its non-story battles more engaging and having potential direct impacts on upcoming story battles. With the Valkyria gameplay proving to stand very strong with the release of the fourth game and the first game’s remaster, Valkyria Chronicles 3‘s great story and focused cast are well worth putting in the effort for a remake. — Alex Fuller
We hope you enjoyed our selections for this feature. Please tell us in the comments which RPGs you feel deserve a remake!
Recent Comments