Between the eclectic selection of NES and SNES games served as part of everyone’s Nintendo Switch Online subscription, Fire emblemthe long-awaited (albeit limited time) English release thirty years after its debut in Japan, and the next remake of its adventure game Disc System Famicom Detective Club, it seems clear that Nintendo is not only capable, but also more than willing to strive to delve into its extensive catalog in the search for old titles.
Whether bringing these lost jewels to a new international audience for the first time or digging up retro curios that deserve a remake from head to toe after decades languishing on plastic plates and silicon chips, it seems like a game is age, gender or obscurity The current situation is apparently not a barrier to its potential for relaunch.
And this exciting behavior got us thinking: with Nintendo taking such an active interest in its history, what else could be on the horizon for Switch owners – and if they gave us the keys to Nintendo’s coffers, what would it be we choose to bring back? Knowing the legendary Japanese company, the only honest answer is “Expect the unexpected”, But that doesn’t stop us from speculating …
We’ll start with something simple. Imagine a Nintendo sports package, bringing together all of your oldest and simplest titles in the genre (Golf, Ice hockey, tennis, baseball, footballand so on) and then give them an elegant facelift, anything from the familiar faces of Mario and friends to the cutting edge minimalism of bit Generations series – or even both, alternating at will.
With its simple settings, allowing entire matches to start and end quickly in easily digestible pieces of unplanned time, rules almost universally understood (we have to admit that baseball is totally lost to us, but even we can grope our way through a 8- bit matching) and multiplayer built into the very nature of games, this would make the Perfect pack to pick up and play games; the digital equivalent of a quick kick with a friend in the park or a casual throw in the garden. We could see it becoming something like Clubhouse Games or Ring Fit Adventure, the kind of title that no one would ever dream of asking for when there is more Zeldas waiting to be done, but the instant you have it at home, you wonder how you managed to manage without a perennial collection of casual sports games that don’t expect you to buy a full-price annual update or require a huge investment of time to enjoy.
Another obvious choice is Famicom Wars: We may already be a few years late to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of this once popular franchise, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter much because any time is the perfect time for a Famicom Wars /Super Famicom Wars double packaging. Never made available outside of Japan in any official form, a launch of the history of the beginning of the Wars could play a dual role as a playable slice of history, as well as an English language first in one place.
If the Famicom Detective Club is a success, it can easily pave the way for the launch of its cousin Famicom Disc System, Shin Onigashima. Launched on Nintendo’s 8-bit hardware in 1987 and ported to the Super Famicom eleven years later, this supremely Japanese adventure game would leave a strong impression in any region thanks to its unusual theme and beautiful art. As it stands, an international release of any of the older versions in any language would be welcome, but a complete remake so stylized that it looked illustrated with woodcuts would certainly be nothing short of incredible.
One of the most obscure hypothetical candidates for a switch overhaul would be a revisit of the Mario Artist concept, the inexperienced series of creative utility programs originally created for Nintendo’s N64 add-on, the 64DD. With the barriers to sharing creations virtually extinct, Nintendo could potentially build a thriving online community of developing pixel and polygon artists, reintroducing accessible creativity to a new generation of gamers.
Another possibility that in its original form would also require a specialized attachment would be the Electronic reader series, the GBA card reader / card pack combination first launched in Japan in 2001. At the time, they were expensive to collect and some had to go through multiple cards to make anything worth playing, which should make them the perfect subject for a more convenient modern package. NES games released in the format are already handled elsewhere on the Switch, but that still leaves a wealth of other content hidden in these point codes just waiting to be rediscovered: the special Mario levels intended for use with Super Mario Advance 4 would be a perfect entertainment capsule, just like courses designed to be used with the Japanese version of F-Zero: GP legend, and certainly the switch screen would be a useful replacement for Mario Party-ephysical leisure area, keeping everything in an organized portable package. It would definitely be a strange and unexpected collection, but that would only mean that it would fit perfectly with Nintendo’s existing Switch output.
Oh, and we couldn’t mention GBA without giving Mother 3 a nod, can we? If more copies would be sold than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or sink without a trace within a week, it would be good to at least draw a line under the conspicuous absence of RPG. On a slightly more likely note (sorry, mom fans), Kuru Kuru Kururin been dormant for far long time, the game’s unique enigmatic action just begging for a totally bizarre gyroscope /Nintendo Labo collaboration that will make users dizzy due to its raw innovation or will turn into a furious frenzy to fill the forum.
Whatever happens, there is no doubt that there are many options for Nintendo to explore and of course you are happy to consider any and all possibilities; her rich history is something she wants to bring to light, instead of keeping her locked up forever. Some of these suggestions may be more likely to come true than others, but then again, this is the same company that decided to blur the boundaries between home and handheld games when everyone was happy to launch another black plastic board, the same company that gave the world SNES games transmitted via satellite, a cube with a handle on the back and 3D without glasses on a handheld computer – what is the most unlikely idea that has come true for Nintendo?
What do you think of our suggestions? What titles would you like to see revived or re-released? let us know with a comment below.