In less than a month, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be out for the Switch, which for a while seemed like it would never happen.
It’s only one of many unlikely remasters we’ve gotten over the past few years, with Ghost Trick and Baten Kaitos being among other notable ones.
There are still many games out there that I’d love to see ported or remastered to make them more readily available, so here are five that stand out to me the most. (I’ll ignore unlocalized games for the sake of this list to avoid overlap with the games I’d most like to see translated.)
5. Skies of Arcadia
I played Skies of Arcadia back in 2019 on the GameCube and found it to be a fun JRPG that I’d love to see a sequel for. Of course, a sequel to a game that’s nearly inaccessible now is even less likely, so getting a remaster would be the best first step. Sega filed a trademark for Skies of Arcadia about a month ago, along with a trademark for Eternal Arcadia, its Japanese title, so it seems like we might actually have a chance.
4. Flower, Sun, and Rain
Flower, Sun, and Rain is a PS2 and DS game from Grasshopper Manufacture, set in the same universe as The Silver Case. I’ve wanted to play it ever since I finished The Silver Case and The 25th Ward, and I keep hoping for a remaster.
We last discussed Flower, Sun, and Rain back in 2021, when Suda51 said he already has a partner picked out for remastering it. There hasn’t been any news since then, but I still have my fingers crossed.
3. Rhythm Thief
By now you’re probably tired of me asking for a Rhythm Thief remaster, as it’s been just over a month since my last lament about the lack of a Rhythm Thief sequel or remaster. I won’t go over everything again, but Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure is definitely one of the top games I want to see remastered or ported… to pave the way for an eventual sequel.
2. .hack//IMOQ
When the .hack//G.U. trilogy was remastered in 2017 as the Last Recode collection, I had a great time playing them and finished the collection with the hope that someday the original tetralogy might return as well.
.hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine have reportedly not held up as well as their successors, but that’s all the more reason why a remaster with quality-of-life improvements would be great!
(An all-new game would be good too, just saying.)
Back in 2023, we learned that the developer wanted fans to let Bandai Namco know there’s interest, in the hopes that such a remaster could be made. The initial fervor has died down a little since then, but I’m still hoping we’ll see these four games remastered someday!
And speaking of Bandai Namco…
1. Xenosaga
I really want a remastered Xenosaga trilogy. I watched playthroughs of all three games so I’d at least know the story, but that just made me want to play them someday even more. The last we heard about Xenosaga was in 2019, when we learned the possibility of a Xenosaga remaster had failed the market analysis. That’s pretty discouraging… but on the other hand, never say never. I remember when a Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster was ruled out as unfeasible, and here we are only a few weeks away from playing it! Maybe a few years from now, we’ll be talking about a Xenosaga remaster in the same way.
Conclusion
These are five of the games/series I’d most like to see remastered. Of course, I might have forgotten something obvious that I’ll regret leaving off the list later, but for now, these are my top 5! Which ports or remasters are you still hoping for the most?
