Me? I was in the former category. I like the refreshed textures and added Trophies/Achievments. They're that little bit extra that makes old games worth picking up again.
With that in mind, I couldn't help noticing there are a few missing collections that dearly need to be addressed before the next gen gets into full swing. So, for those of you that care, here's my little list of HD collections I hope are coming at some point. Some of them just need a refresh akin to the other HD collections. But then... there are a few entries which require extra effort, a bit more than a coat of paint akin to Ocarina of Time 3DS or Perfect Dark on Xbox Arcade. But, of course, I cannot stop there... A few entries on this list are also basically me just flying off into Fantasy Land and likely will never exist, but hey, this is my blog and I'll opine if I want to.
Here we go!
Castlevania HD
Lament of Innocence
Curse of Darkness
With Lords of Shadow rocking the scene, the last generation of Castlevanias are kinda falling by the wayside. It would be nice to get both Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness in HD goodness. (You tell me you don't want to see the Forgotten One with some refreshed textures. Go on. Tell me.)
BONUS
The Dracula X Chronicles
A PSP released remake of Rondo of Blood, this title could definitely use some more love. Popping it in with the other two games would be the perfect place for it. Bonus points for including the two unlockable games as well! (Though for the sake of argument, they're not STRICTLY necessary, but they would be nice to have even without graphical refresh.)
EXTRA EFFORT
Castlevania 64
Legacy of Darkness
Lots do not have the fondest memories for these two games, they certainly were more reviled in their day than they are now. But they had some good stuff going for them. It would be nice to get a bit of an Ocarina treatment for these two games and have another go at Castlevania's first foray into 3D.
Front Mission HD
Front Mission 4
Front Mission 5: Scars of War
Okay guys, you made Front Mission Evolved and everybody had a good laugh about how horrible the series is when you give it the Hollywood Gloss and shitty 3rd person gameplay. But Front Mission NEEDS some RTS lovin'. BAD. Or at least I do. FINALLY releasing the fifth game over here in the states would allow us to forgive that little gaming misstep you had. I mean, I know this list is going to ask a lot from you there Squeenix in particular, but it comes from a place of love. Do us Front Mission fans a solid.
EXTRA EFFORT
Front Mission 3
Slap on some updated models and a bit of redrawn menu art and you got something special. Before the Third installment, the series simply did not exist over here in the states. This PS1 game game us anime lovin', political intruigue, mech piloting, RPG nuts something GLORIOUS. Giving it a facelift, even a modest one would help push the HD collection into must buy territory.
FANTASYLAND
Front Mission
Front Mission 2
Remember the Final Fantasy games on the PSP? Or the king or them all Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix? Do it. Do it Square. It will make up for the totally abysmal treatment the series has gotten over here. Go one further and make it the DS version of Front Mission with the extra campaign and other goodies. With redrawn sprites for the complete Front Mission story experience, the collection goes from Must Buy to "Take my fucking arm and leg if you have to, just give me the damn game!"
Grand Theft Auto HD
GTA 3
GTA: Vice City
GTA: San Andreas
GTA: Liberty City Stories
GTA: Vice City Stories
There. I just gave you a multi-billion dollar idea Rockstar. I know you've got HD versions floating around, I have one on my phone. Give us the update to the entire GTA3 era tale in an actually playable form. It's like printing money, seriously. (Oh and Platinum for 100%ing all five just to piss people off. It's what Trophies were made for.)
Legacy of Kain HD
Soul Reaver 2
Blood Omen 2
Defiance
When a game series has some of THE best voice acting in the industry, it deserves more. The story, characters and setting ain't too shabby either. I doubt more every day that the series with get a proper conclusion, especially with the passing of the legendary Tony Jay. But at least we can play through the twists and turns of this vampiric coin toss in HD.
EXTRA EFFORT
Soul Reaver
The Dreamcast version already had better graphics than the PS1 version, but another overhaul couldn't hurt. This is THE definitive game of the series. Blood Omen introduced us to Nosgoth, SR2, BO2 and Defiance gave us more to the tale. But Soul Reaver is the BIG game of the series. It took it from it's origins as a dark Zelda clone and rocketed it up to shakespearean levels withing the video game world. The game was a masterpiece in its time. From Beginning to... pull your hair out conclusion, this was a game that deserves another pass.
FANTASYLAND
Blood Omen
A Blood Omen using HD redrawn sprites? Good lord, YES! I mean, I wouldn't reject an outright remake, but give the original some respect and love. The top down perspective? The puzzles, combat and item collections straight out of a Twisted Zelda game? Sure, the gameplay was frustratingly clunky at times, but if you're giving the rest some attention, it couldn't hurt to go back to the one that started it all.
TimeSplitters HD
TimeSplitters
TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
What wasn't there to love about this offbeat FPS series? Sure, the First Game was just a collection of random multiplayer shit thrown together and the stories of the other two left something to be desired. But you gotta give the series credit on personality alone! Featuring beings from all across time and space, from monkies to walking fishbowls to anthropomophised ducks to Elvis knockoffs to Aliens to Squids to Space Marines to Jungle girls to Mobsters and everything between! Building on the Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark formula Free Radical really had something special here. An FPS with humor. (And not the Duke Nukem, Serious Sam, Postal brand either!)
BONUS
Second Sight
This third person action/stealth/telekinesis game was pretty nifty for the time, even though it competed directly with Psi-Ops. It didn't do anything spectacularly well, and it was strange seeing the TimeSplitters art style are being used for this pretty serious tale, but it had its moments. It wouldn't hurt to immortalize it in a form where others might play a minor gem they missed the first time around.
Shinobi HD
Shinobi
Nightshade
These two games where like gaming CRACK to me. Shinobi is one of those spectacularly fun games like Bayonetta where even if you're outright sucking at it, you STILL feel like a smooth ninja badass. Ninja Gaiden was a test of metal, a way to show your skills as a gamer half the time being more masochistic punishment than anything, but Shinobi was something else. You had to STUDY Ninja Gaiden, learn how to be the ninja badass the way the game wanted you to be. But Shinobi was far more simple and free, right from the get go you saw it, the slick smooth way to be the speedy ninja murder machine. And the more you played it, the more you learned and freed yourself to be even BETTER. By the final boss you barely have to even touch the ground, armies are dying before your blade within seconds. And if nothing else, it's all REALLY fucking COOL.
BONUS
WHO NEEDS A DAMN BONUS, IT'S FUCKING SHINOBI!
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic HD
KotOR
KotOR II: The Sith Lords
Knights of the Old Republic came at a weird time. Star Wars was... well, becoming pretty not good with the fresh Prequels coming out. It was losing its lustre. Star Wars just wasn't all that nifty anymore for a lot of people. And then Bioware BLEW THEIR MINDS with this little Star Wars RPG. It tackled a hertofore unseen era of Star Wars lore, it brought us these... well, FANTASTIC new characters and for once, the Star Wars license produced an outright stellar game that not even the MMO could live up to. I would hazard a guess that most people who played this game and saw the prequels were wishing that THIS is more like what we wanted from them at the time. This is a pair of games that badly needs to return, even if the series is more or less dead at this point. (and potentially becoming outright non-canon in the future.)
Star Wars Battlefront HD
Battlefront
Battlefront II
They weren't deep games. They didn't expand the Star Wars Universe in breathtaking new ways. But they were one thing. Fun. The was a pure and simple joy to running around as various classes within the star wars universe and blowing away the enemy, be they imperial or rebel. And I don't care what anyone says, there is a perverse glee in tromping around the Forrest Moon of Endor in an AT-ST and hearing the screams of Ewoks and you blow the little bastards away! (And this coming from someone who really has no hard feelings towards the teddy bears!) The nifty ideas they had coming in the third installment may be lost to the dustbin of history, but at the very least these two can get a polish and keep on runnin.
BONUS:
Republic Commando
If there was one thing he prequels brought to us was the warfare side of Star Wars. The various clone commandos had far more spunk than any Stormtrooper before. It was fun watching them kick ass in the Clone Wars cartoon. Fortunately, someone got the bright idea to take the obvious notion of an FPS and run with it. It may not be one of the greatest things since ground Greedo, but this little slice of Star Wars history could stand just fine alongside the two Battlefront games.
Mega Man X HD
Mega Man X Collection
Mega Man X7
Mega Man X8
With Mega Man taking a dirt nap over at capcom, the likelihood of this one is nil. BUT this series, moreso than the classic series, could stand up in the HD era. And right here, you could have the whole deal in one convenient set. Ideally, I'd love HD remixes of the entire series, but simply asking for three games with two having a buff job seems like the more realistic request. All three were previous gen games aching for a return in an era devoid of the taller blue bomber.
BONUS
Mega Man X Command Missions
Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
Command Missions would be a decent bonus, but Maverick Hunter X is the true gold here. Just picture this groovy remake of the first game brought up to a HD shine on the TV screen. We will never get an MHX 2 or 3 but this one can live on in our circuits.
Maximo HD
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
Ghosts & Goblins was always one of my favorites growing up. The game was hard, but everything about it was a fun kind of hard. It was cool being a knight. It was cool fighting all those insane monsters. The game qas just plain cool. When the series was finally brought into 3D, they skimp on the legendary difficulty the series offered. The series itself still holds up today, it would be great to get an update to the two entries the series received in 3D.
BONUS
Ultimate Ghosts & Goblins Revised
Much like the Mega Man series, Ghosts & Goblins got a brief appearance on the PSP. Featuring a 2.5D style, the series returned to its roots as a side scroller, with a few changes here or there of course. In japan though, they got a further release of the game with an extra redesigned mode bringing the game closer to its Arcade roots. This would be the perfect chance to release this entry over here in the states at last.
Onimusha HD
Onimusha: Warlords/Genma Onimusha
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny
Onimusha 3: DemonSiege
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
Long a fan of the Resident Evil games, Capcom took that style and applied it to Samurai lore. This is a classic Capcom franchise that was one of them I missed in its original iteration. Refreshing the series would be a good chance for us late comers to check it out. I mean, come on, doesn't a game starring Jean Reno deserve another life? Plus you can toss in BOTH versions of the first game as a bonus.
BONUS
Onimusha Blade Warriors
For... some reason Capcom chose to emulate the Smash Bros. series and released a 2D fighting entry into the series. It might be good for a lark. And, minus the GBA Tactics game, it would complete the collection of the Onimusha franchise.
Gungrave HD
Gungrave
Gungrave: Overdose
Featuring middling gameplay, low replayablity and a short length this series is the least likely to gain further entries, let alone an HD face lift. However, due to it featuring the character designs of Yasuhiro Nightow and Kosuke Fujishima on Mecha, giving it a unique style, this one could benefit the most from a paint job. Toss in an episode or two from the quite decent Anime series and you've got something quite worth the time and effort.
Sonic the Hedgehog HD
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Heroes
Sonic the Hedgehog from 2006 was horrible. It just was. But up to that point, the series had been doing quite decently in 3D. Sure, it had a LOT of problems, but they were still decently fun games and had this whole weirdly serious stroy thing going on that was just amusing to see in action. Combined with varied gameplay, and a wonderfully ridiculous faux hair metal soundtrack, the games were a hoot and a half. Smoothing out the graphics and using the updated Gamecube version of the first two entries, you've got yourself a fun little collection.
BONUS
Shadow the Hedgehog
Lord, what a rediculous idea too late for 90s EXTREME style and two cartoony for the modern age of Grim Dark, Shadow exists in a nebulous place of derision to outright anger amongst fans of the series. Which is EXACTLY why this entry should be included. It had some good points too it such as branching paths giving it tons of replay value, plus a continuation of this era's Sonic gameplay. With as much hatred as it got at the time, its an excellent selling point which would allow fans to make up their own minds. Or perhaps see where the franchise went careening off the rails if nothing else.
Shadow Hearts HD
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Full disclosure, never played any of them. Never seen a lick of gameplay. Only know the vaguest ideas of the plot and setting. But I do know how much acclaim the series gets. Collecting them all into a single package would give I and others a chance to play an acclaimed series, much like the Shadow of the Colossus/Ico set before.
BONUS
Koudelka
Apparently, the series began with an entry on the PS1. The Shadow Hearts series exists within the same universe as this initial game from the same developer. Given the near completeness of the set, tossing in at least a download voucher for this first entry would be an excellent bonus.
Xenosaga HD
Episode I
Episode II
Episode III
Featuring cutscenes gone mad, this follow up series to Xenogears would be a prime candidate for an overhaul. With the experimination of episodinc gaming in the era, Xenosaga (much like .hack, which I would include in another entry, if I could make heads of tails of the series.) would make an excellent collection featuring the entire story from beginning to end.
FANTASYLAND
Xenogears HD
Dear lord, I remember when this game came out. It's like a cult had formed within the RPG community. At the time Xenogears was made out to be the end all, be all of RPGs. Though probably not as long lived, it likely rivaled Chrono Trigger in amount of praise it got. This is a game that pretty much begs for an update with redrawn HD sprites and upgraded models and textures. The cult of Xenogears would be pleased and they may even add a few more followers.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy HD
Dissidia
Dissidia 012
Come on, there's really no reason this SHOULDN'T have happened by now. I'm willing to bet they even have HD assets squirreled away in the dungeons of Square Enix, much like Mercury Steam had with Mirror of Fate.
EXTRA EFFORT
Ehrgeiz
Okay, so, it was a terrible fighting game, but it would be fun to have an HD upgrade of Square's first foray into fighting game territory.
Final Fantasy XII HD
Final Fantasy XII
Really, this one should have just been included with the X/X-2 HD collection. I also have no doubt it's incoming eventually, assuming the HD collection doesn't bankrupt Squeenix or something. But it would be nice to finally get a chance to finish this one as my PS2 died before I had the opportunity to do so. But given how great the art assets of this one are, even with the gameplay being rather devicive, an HD collection would be something to behold.
BONUS
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Adding in the PSP update to Tactices thus transforms this into the Ivalice HD Collection. Being a big fan of the RTS/RPG hybrid gameplay, this was always a fun game, but the slight updates made to the PSP version would make this all sorts of fun to play again. Give the textures a bit of a tweek at least and you've got some gold on your hands, as likely bunches of people would buy this collection for this game alone.
EXTRA EFFORT
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Being the sequel to FFXII, this seems almost natural, but would likely require a bit more effort than a simple port. Requiring redrawn sprites and removal of stylus based gameplay.
FANTASYLAND
Vagrant Story HD
One of the initial forays into the world of Ivalice, this game developed quite the cult following. Much like Tactics, an HD version of this game would likely get people to purchase it on that merit alone.
Final Fantasy First Era HD
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
Come on, what wouldn't be spectacular about getting to play these PSP remasters on the TV? The Sprites are GORGEOUS and the new spell effects aren't too shabby either. It wouldn't suprise me if they have some Hi-res versions of everything saved off somewhere, just BEGGING to release these three games on the home consoles.
FANTASYLAND
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy VI
Look, the 3D DS version of III is okay and all, but damnit Squeenix I NEED an updated sprite version akin to the other three games above. You were working on it for the Wonderswan before ditching it. It's time for a resurrection. Toss in the same for V and VI and you could easily charge $100 and people would eat it up even then. (Or at least buy various download copies) Hell, split I, II, III and IV, V, VI into TWO collections at $60 a piece and people would STILL buy them like hot cakes. But given that these would be whole new games, and... with the art direction taking place on the new mobile game, these are unlikely to ever exist. But a man can dream...
Compilation of FFVII HD
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Dirge of Cerberus
Okay, one of these was only kinda okay, with the other one getting a bit of love. But it wouldn't hurt to release HD versions of these two games. Hell, toss in a Blu-ray copy of Advent Children and you've got nearly the whole made little experiment in one neat and tidy package.
EXTRA EFFORT
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Including some Ocarina style upgrades to the set transforms it from FFVII centric to "Final Fantasy Second Era HD Collection". And, while I know some are jonesing for full on remakes in next gen graphics, remasters in the style of Ocarina would be just fine and dandy. But really, this is more like FANTASYLAND in any case.
BONUS SINGLE GAME HD DOWNLOADS
Much like Beyond Good and Evil HD, Okami HD or the afore mentioned Perfect Dark, there's a handfull of games that could do with the refinement while not Really being able to support HD Collection disc releases.
Rygar: The Legendary Adventures
Breakdown
Psychonauts
God Hand
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Each of these Five games, with the exception perhaps of Rygar as I don't think it's quite as well known, would sell like gangbusters if remastered in HD. Psychonauts and God Hand in particular.
EXTRA EFFORT
Transformers Armada
The Thing
These two are unlikely due to liscensing and so forth, but both of them would be fantastic with a bit of polish. Transformers with its massive Boss Fights, and The Thing because... well, I'm a sucker for anything Who Goes There? related.
FANTASYLAND
Half-Life: Black Mesa
Half-Life 3 isn't coming any time soon, Episode 3 is pretty much dead at this point, but my body still joneses for more Half-Life goodness. So Valve, buy up the rights to this brilliant fan reimagining, complete the final Zen levels, and release this badboy into the console wild. Even better, come up with some more goodies, maybe remastered Blue Shift or Opposing Force and release a sequel to the Orange Box... Okay, at least give me the remastered Half-Life Source available for download on the consoles, please...?
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
To this day, I still prefer this world to the two that came after. And an HD update would be GLORIOUS. If I really had my druthers, they'd release the entire Elder Scrolls collection on consoles but their earlier games would take more effort than they're likely willing to put into them. So, just gimme a remastered Morrowind and we'll call it good, okay Bethesda?
ANYHOO... That's my list of HD Collections that I dream about. None of these releases seem likely at this point. Still it's good to dream, no?
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