3 remakes that need to happen

Recently I wrote a piece about video game and anime remakes, exploring the differences between what I believe goes into making good remakes.

For video games, it’s nostalgia for games that stand the test of time and maintain their popularity, with Final Fantasy VII being the obvious example. With anime, meanwhile, it’s more to do with making a series that follows closely to the canonical source material — Fullmetal Alchemist is the standout here. 

Today I want to talk about some remakes that I would love to see happen at some point in time. The same rules apply as in the last piece, so both Anime and Video games will be featured on this list. Let’s get started!

Chrono Trigger – Video Game

I must say that I haven’t actually played Chrono Trigger — the game has been on my “To-Play List” for a very long time. But despite not having played the game myself, I have always heard so much about this game’s popularity, and those who have played it only have amazing things to say about it. 

When I think of the possibility of a fully voiced, 3D, and hugely expensive Chrono Trigger remake, all I can think of is something similar to Dragon Quest XI. Now, Dragon Quest XI was my game of the year back in 2017, and Chrono Trigger would have a lot in common with something like this. Characters designed by Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame; classic turn-based combat; and a wonderful cast of party members. 

Lastly, and this will be a common reason throughout this article, one of the biggest reasons I want Chrono Trigger to be remade is because of the love from its fans. When Final Fantasy 7 Remake was announced, I was elated — and I only played the game for the first time in 2014. Not only was it an incredible feeling as someone who had already played the game, but it allowed a lot of new players who felt unwilling to play the original game to give it a try!

Graphics are so good nowadays that I can understand if someone can’t get into older games; a lot of people are put off by turn-based combat as well. A fresh coat of paint can introduce a ton of new players to a franchise they might not have expected to love. This is why I want this for Chrono Trigger. I will eventually get round to playing the original game, but I would love a Dragon Quest XI-style remake too. 

Air Gear – Anime

I love sports anime; I think they’re criminally underrated, and more people need to be watching them — some of the hypest moments in anime come from sports series!

Usually sports series can go one of two routes: realistic or non-realistic. Haikyuu is a more realistic example, whereas something like Kuroko no Basket is basically DragonBall characters playing basketball.

There are outliers, of course; Keijo!!!!!!!! is just outright absurd when it comes to sports anime, and I would say that Air Gear falls into a similar category. It revolves around an extreme form of rollerblading that only gets more and more insane as the series goes on. The culture of skating is massive in Air Gear, and gangs are formed that compete in various events all revolving around skating. 

I loved this series a lot when I first got round to watching it, but the way the original run of the anime ends is just awful. Just when things are really starting to heat up and get interesting, the series ends. Obviously, I continued on with the manga and I really enjoyed it, but it did hammer home that bitter feeling of what the anime could have been. 

With today’s standards of animation, Air Gear could be something breathtakingly amazing with its high-speed skating battles. The best way I can describe Air Gear is that it is pure anime. The series is over-the-top and absolutely insane, but it completely knows that and as a viewer, it’s easy to simply enjoy what you are seeing. 

Yu Yu Hakusho

Last on the list is Yu Yu Hakusho, the much-beloved shounen series from Yoshihiro Togashi —  the same author that gave us Hunter X Hunter. Yu Yu Hakusho is a series that I have very recently started exploring, and the main reason for that is that many consider this as being one of the greatest shounen series ever made.

Dragon Ball Z brought on a new age of battle shounen manga, and many of the mangaka that were inspired by Toriyama learned from his work and refined it. Although I have yet to reach this point in the series myself, the Dark Tournament Arc of Yu Yu Hakusho is considered to be one of the best tournament arcs in all of shounen anime — and if you’ve seen your fair share of shounen, then you know this is a big claim to make. 

Similar to Chrono Trigger, I think the main reason I want Yu Yu Hakusho to be remade is to introduce new fans and expand on the areas the original anime may have rushed over or paced poorly. I understand that there could be a sense of concern if something like this were to be remade — it has that old anime aesthetic that isn’t really found in today’s work.

If the Hunter X Hunter 2011 remake has proven anything though, it’s that when done well, a remake can surpass its original animation and even the source material.

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What games and animes would you like to see a modern remake of? Let us know in the comments and via the usual social channels!

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