11 CLASSIC GAMES THAT DESERVE A FINAL FANTASY VII-STYLE REMAKE

RESIDENT EVIL 2 AND FINAL FANTASY VII SHOW HOW SUCCESSFUL MODERN REMAKES OF CLASSIC GAMES CAN BE. THESE ONES NEXT, PLEASE!

- HAYDEN DINGMAN

Forget remasters. Gone are the days where developers could stretch new textures over old games and call it a day. These days it’s all about remakes, raiding the late ‘90s and early ‘00s for games that need more than just a new coat of paint.

Resident Evil 2 (go.pcworld.com/re52) set the bar pretty damn high, allowing old fans to relive a beloved game the way they remembered it, while also creating a thoroughly modern horror game for newcomers. It’s not on PC (yet), but by all accounts Square’s Final Fantasy VII Remake (go.pcworld.com/ffrm) does the same. Activision created slightly more faithful remakes with Spyro (go.pcworld.com/spyr) and Crash Bandicoot (go.pcworld.com/ cban), and is doing the same with the upcoming Tony Hawk 1+2. The Black Mesa Project (go.pcworld.com/bmsa) injected new life into Half-Life. 2K’s releasing a Mafia remake this summer.

Who’s next? What other games should get the Resident Evil 2 treatment? We’ve put together a list—not just games that deserve a remake, not just games that would benefit from a remake, but ones where a remake seems actually feasible. And yes, that means you’ll find few games the size of Final Fantasy VII on this list, because I think even Square underestimated the scope of that undertaking at the outset. That means that as much as I’d love to see a Fallout 2 or Knights of the Old Republic or even a Longest Journey remake… well, I’m not holding my breath.