Summary
Since the NES debuted in 1983 in Japan, as the Famicom, Nintendo has made a plethora of successor consoles and portables after this thus creating a gaming empire. On each system is a variety of games from genres including platformers, shooters, RPGs, and more. The RPG genre in particular is quite interesting. RPGs used to be a more niche genre which may be why some games took longer to leave Japan than others.
Final Fantasy, for example, premiered in 1987 in Japan and 1990 in North America. Thankfully, the RPG pipeline has become better between both regions and also RPGs, on the whole, have become more popular. It would be great if Nintendo could help update these forgotten RPGs from their past consoles to give them a second chance at life. The Switch will be left out since it is current.
Zelda 2: The Adventure of Linkis the entry in theZeldaseries with the most RPG elements. Oddly, the first sequel would go so hard into RPG town and then never again. Players traversed a world map from a top-down perspective and then fought enemies, earning EXP, on a 2D plane. It’s a weird entry and one many appreciate because of that fact. There were apparently plans to remake it on SNES, according to what fans unearthed inthe Giga Leak, but that never happened, so now is the perfect time for Nintendo to try again.
9The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls (Game Boy)
A Lost Nintendo Made Treasure
The Frog for Whom the Bell Tollswas aGame Boy game that never left Japan. It has been translated by fans though so diehards have been experiencing it for years. It’s a top-down game similar to aZeldaentry and coincidentally, it too shifts into the 2D perspective in dungeons. Remaking it now would be a good way to release it in English officially as well as update it for a modern audience. Nintendo could get Grezzo to remake in the same toy-like aesthetic that the remake forThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeninggot.
Chrono Triggerhas been lost to time since the last big release hit the DS in 2008. There have been ports to mobile devices and PCs, as well as a virtual console release on Wii. It hasn’t touched the Switch yet which is a shame as it is a SNES classic. Square Enix has remade a couple of their games inthe HD-2D aestheticincluding Live a Live and the upcoming remake ofDragon Quest 3:The Seeds of Salvation. That would be a good style to use forChrono Triggerif it got a remake too.
Paper Mariowas the first game in the series which appeared on the N64. It has been made available on Virtual Console stores on various Nintendo systems, but it has never received a remake.Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the second game, has received a remasterthough as of 2024.
Oddly, Nintendo would start with the second game and not the first. SincePaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doordid well in reviews, maybe that spells good news for the rest of the series to get updates.
The Frog For Whom the Bell Tollswould be great to see released in an official capacity. It is not, however, the lost game stuck in Japan that Nintendo fans want the most. That would beMother 3, factually the only game in the series that has yet to be released in the West. It’s also the last game in the series. The fan translation has become so ubiquitous that maybe Nintendo doesn’t see a point in releasing it. While a normal port of the GBA game would be fine, fans would go even wilder for aMother 3remake especially if it was done in the clay-like art style of the magazines and guides.
Skies of Arcadiawas, at first, aSega Dreamcast exclusive. Once the console failed and Sega threw in the towel, it ported many games to the GameCube includingSkies of Arcadia. It’s a throwback to the 90s when many RPGs had airships and sky pirates in them and it’s a trope of old anime too. The GameCube port is the last edition of the game and it hasn’t even been made available digitally on any console. A remaster or remake would help modernize it for a new audience.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Dayswas the first game in the series to offer multiplayer. The main game had players take on the role of Roxas in-between the first and second games, but in multiplayer partners could choose any one of theOrganization 13 members. They all play differently too. It was just a shame that the DS’ controls were a bit hindered to make this an absolute smash hit. With the various remastered collections,Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Dayshas been remade technically but only with the cutscenes. A proper remake would make fans happy to get into multiplayer again.
The Last Storywas one of the final games released on the Wii. It was an action RPG wherein players could issue commands to the other party members while smashing baddies with their hero.
It was a Mistwalker title and for those unaware, that company was started by Hironobu Sakaguchi, widely recognized as the father ofFinal Fantasy.The Last Storyhad some prestige behind it and it got good reviews too. It just hasn’t been updated since it was released in 2012 in North America nor has most of the Mistwalker catalog.
Final Fantasy Explorersis another Square Enix multiplayer-focused game that was perhaps released on the wrong system. It was their take ontheMonster Hunterformula. Players could create a character, choose a class via weapons, and then venture off with pals to take down big monsters. Collecting materials would lead to better gear and the cycle repeated. In a post-Monster Hunter Worldlandscape, a game like this may do better either with an updated version on like the Switch 2 or a brand-new sequel.
Xenoblade Chronicles Xwas an ambitious sequel to the single-player only Wii original. It had less of an emphasis on story and more of a focus on gameplay. Players could create an avatar and explore a giant world with the same type of automatic turned-based combat found in MMOs. The big gimmick was that players could go online too but the Wii U didn’t have the best connection record. A modern port or remake could help fix the multiplayer issue.
