5 Nintendo remakes we want
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: the beautiful remake of Grezzo, released in 2019 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, except for superficial details, is essentially identical to the original game: same shot, same elements, identical game design. There is not a single way to approach a remake, and Grezzo's was characterized by an extreme confidence in the value of the original work: the fact that they were right, that is, that those same mechanics could work in a console. with infinitely superior technological possibilities, it is a demonstration of the adamantine quality of the 1993 masterpiece. The Japanese simply became aware that, on the Nintendo Switch, that world would not have seemed a wide-ranging setting - as, on the contrary, it had happened on Game Boy - and they gave the work an adequate graphic design, sculpting a kind of diorama.
As we have already written, this is certainly not the only way, nor the preferential way, to create a remake. Just think of Square Enix's mammoth Final Fantasy VII Remake project. What could be, limiting ourselves to Nintendo titles, interesting games to be technologically modernized? We have selected five.
The Mysterious Murasame Castle
The Mysterious Murasame Castle: released in 1986, only in Japan, on Famicom Disk System Confined to Japan until a few years ago, The Mysterious Murasame Castle is an old game for Famicom Disk System; at the time it was considered the twin of a much more fortunate project, namely The Legend of Zelda. Both came out in 1986, between February and April. It was developed by Nintendo EAD, and directed by Minoru Maeda, an animator (of Dragon Ball, among other series) who in the past has occasionally collaborated with Nintendo. He was thirty-two at the time and The Mysterious Murasame Castle is the only game he has directed; the music of the opera is instead by Koji Kondo, who we do not believe needs any introduction.Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: the protagonist Takamaru as Assistant The protagonist of the game is a samurai named Takamaru, who has recently found polygonal glory in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he appears as a Spirit, as a costume for Mii Fighters, and most importantly as a ruthless Assistant. His mission within The Mysterious Murasame Castle is to reach and face four castles, plus the final one, of the antagonist Murasame. The view of the adventure is from above, exactly like in The Legend of Zelda, but the game is divided into levels and is not exploratory; it is basically an action game, in which the weapons are katana and shuriken. The enemies themselves are not fantastic monsters, but ninjas, other samurai and Japanese demons. The focus of the adventure is on the combat system, and each level is divided into two phases: the approach to the castle, which can have various settings, and the castle itself.
A hypothetical remake could be interesting for several reasons. In addition to being one of the few Nintendo games with a clearly Japanese setting, it is a "pure" action game, and it is not that Nintendo produces many of them. Furthermore, a remake could make it known internationally, perhaps paving the way for a potential sequel in three dimensions. We would see it well in the hands of Koei Tecmo or, dreaming a little, in PlatinumGames.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3: a 1988 masterpiece for the NES Touch a classic like Super Mario Bros. 3 would surely be dangerous; at the same time, Nintendo had already modernized it at the time of Super Mario All-Stars (improving it technically, but worsening it not a little on a stylistic level), and the two-dimensional series of Super Mario Bros. has not had new episodes for ten years, that is, since 2012, so it would not be at all senseless to propose it to today's public. Also because, said with the utmost frankness, this game is still clearly superior to any chapter of the New Super Mario Bros saga. From that point of view, we could proceed exactly as for The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: there would be no need to alter the mechanics, controls, or level design of the work. Work that, we remember, miraculously came out for Famicom / NES in 1988, and was directed in collaboration by Miyamoto and Tezuka.Super Mario Bros. 3: what about a remake designed like this? Why choose this episode? Well, it sure is more complex than Super Mario Bros. In terms of quality, despite being very different, it plays on par with Super Mario World, with the difference that the latter is more exploratory and with a much more elaborate map, while Super Mario Bros. 3 is more linear and challenging (in the way to end the adventure, at least). Above all, compared to Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 is much more varied and creative as settings: the world of water, that of giants, the amazing one of the sky (with the first half on the ground, the "tower of Babel" , and then the clouds), that of the pipes. Seeing those scenarios with updated graphics would be beautiful, perhaps in the style of the game's artwork, then drawn (and animated) by hand.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Wario Land : Super Mario Land 3: An exceptional platformer for Game Boy, released in 1994 Published in 1994 and directed by Hiroji Kyotake (designer not only of Wario, but also of Samus Aran), Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is one of the most beautiful and iconic for Game Boy. In addition to the historical value of the work, it must be considered that Nintendo has extreme difficulty in carrying out this series, which proceeds (slowly) only thanks to the WarioWare branch: the last platform of the anti-hero dates back to 2008 (Wario Land: The Shake Dimension ), while the last chapter developed entirely by Nintendo even in 2001 (the valuable Wario Land 4 for Game Boy Advance). Creating the remake of the first episode, still by far the best-selling with more than five million, could restore vital momentum to the saga.Wario Land: the Shake Dimension: it would be nice to remake with this graphic style I platformers Wario's, unlike Super Mario's, are slower and more thoughtful. It could not be otherwise, given the "heaviness" of the character: a protagonist who, unlike Donkey Kong, is not even endowed with sudden accelerations. However, the level design of the game is fine, with extravagant enemies, settings and power-ups: in terms of internal dynamics, we could say that it borrows some features from the scrolling fighting game. Wario battles enemies with shoulders, unsaddling them, throwing them around, in his goal to collect treasure and become as rich as possible. Since now "his" team only advances thanks to collaborations, an ideal developer to support EPD 7 could be Good-Feel, an expert in 2D platforming. He has already dealt with Wario with Wario Land: the Shake Dimension for the Nintendo Wii.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages / Seasons
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons : the first The Legend of Zelda by Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the director of Breath of the Wild Released in 2001, The Legend of Zelda: Oracles of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons are two exclusive games for Game Boy Color, developed by Capcom, especially from Flagship. The engine of the two titles is clearly taken from that of Link's Awakening, so it would not be absurd if the same thing happened, thanks to Grezzo, on Nintendo Switch. Of all the potential remakes proposed, this is the only one that has been rumored for a long time: if the quality of the original works were not enough, there is an additional historical and archival value, and that is the director of the couple, Hidemaro Fujibayashi. Miyamoto liked him so much that he was hired by Nintendo, and he would end up directing Skyward Sword and, above all, Breath of the Wild.The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: the engine would be ready for the remake! The two titles are brothers, have characteristics in common and can interact with each other, but they are not at all the same, or similar as one of the many typical "pairs" of Pokémon. Originally there were to be three - a tribute to the Triforce - but the process would have required too much effort, so there were "only" two left. In both there are eight dungeons to face, but the adventures are different in both weapons and game design. In Oracle of Ages Link has the ability to travel through time, and is a title primarily focused on solving puzzles. On the contrary, Oracle of Seasons is more focused on combat and action, although here too there are some interesting puzzles, based on the ability to modify the season (the one that in summer is water, in winter it will be ice, for example). Oracle of Seasons also offers an underground world: will we see it again in Breath of the Wild 2?
Golden Sun
Golden Sun: Camelot's Japanese RPG Now that Nintendo has only one console , and no more two, Camelot could get more leeway. In the last eleven years, with the development times that have gradually lengthened, he has only worked on Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, both for pocket and fixed platforms; four titles per generation, in practice. The Japanese have suffered a lot from the transition to high definition (just think of Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for Wii U, little more than a demo), but lately they seem to have adapted. Their main projects have already been released on Nintendo Switch: we refer to Mario Tennis Aces and Mario Golf: Super Rush. Before the generation ends, they would have time for another project, and their best-known "third saga" is surely Golden Sun (absent since 2010, with Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for Nintendo DS).Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Golden Sun protagonist Isaac appears as an assistant Of course we would all prefer a fourth episode; however, to get familiar with the technological issues of creating a high definition role-playing game, proposing remakes might be a good idea. We speak in the plural because Golden Sun is a saga consisting of three chapters: the first two for the Game Boy Advance, the third for the Nintendo DS. The latter - as a story and setting - is very different from its predecessors; the ideal would probably be to elaborate the remakes of the first two titles, and publish them together. Golden Sun had a good story, a turn-based combat system, and above all some excellent puzzles, really high quality for the average of the genre. Today it would certainly seem an "old school" title, but the quality is still high and, we repeat, it could allow Camelot to regain confidence with the series, in a graphic and technological context very different from what they were used to. Should such an operation be successful, we could really hope for a new episode: after all, as we wrote at the beginning, there is now no shortage of time to devote ourselves to other things, in addition to Marieschi sports. It would be a shame to waste it.
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