It’s official: we’re getting a Resident Evil 4 remake. Sure, the game is available on pretty much all modern hardware, and sure, it already feels a lot more in line with modern design mandates than its predecessors, but hey: money. Meanwhile, games that would benefit from the remake treatment languish in Capcom’s back catalog because their initials aren’t “RE” or “SF.” Here are seven such games that Capcom should remake before even thinking about touching Resident Evil 4 — of course, none of them would be guaranteed to do quite as well as Leon Kennedy’s fateful adventure in Spain.
1. Power Stone 2
Look, I get it — Super Smash Bros. scared Capcom off from wanting to make party-style fighting games. But Power Stone — and especially its sequel — are some of the most fun console multiplayer games ever made. One minute you’re fighting on airships, the next you’re floating down to earth with an umbrella like Mary Poppins, and then you’re hopping into tanks and blasting at each other like you’re playing Combat. There’s really nothing else like Power Stone, and a remake updating the visuals and maybe even adding online play would open these games up to a whole new audience.
2. Viewtiful Joe
An incredibly stylish, daring, and difficult game, Viewtiful Joe absolutely blew my mind when I played it back in the early 2000s. Sadly, it isn’t available on any hardware newer than the PSP, and the series hasn’t had an entry since 2005. It’s strange to me that Capcom would let a gem like this sit when all the game would really need to turn heads on digital storefronts would be some higher-resolution textures and maybe some new quality of life features.
3. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
I love the Breath of Fire series. I mean, I have a tattoo based on an image from the second game. The first few are pretty standard 90s JRPG fare, but by the time they got around to the fifth entry, Dragon Quarter, Capcom decided to get weird with it. Here, you explore a vast underground world by repeatedly restarting the game and getting a little further each time you fail. Despite its distinctive premise, appealing visuals, and unique combat, the game has never been rereleased. Dragon Quarter was ahead of its time, and the roguelike explosion since its release way back in 2002 means that audiences would be more willing than ever to meet it on its own terms.
4. Asura’s Wrath
Whereas many Japanese titles play with Christian imagery and storytelling, Asura’s Wrath instead borrows elements from Hinduism, while taking a great deal of liberties with the source material to produce something that still stands apart from any other action game. The mechanics mostly consist of shooter sections and quick-time events arranged around an episodic format, making Asura’s Wrath feel like a playable anime. At the time of its release, opinion was divided on whether this was a cool thing or not, but in retrospect, the game simply took the prevailing trends of big-budget western titles at the time to their logical conclusion, resulting in an experience that was utterly unique.
5. Forgotten Worlds
A classic side-scrolling shooter where you play as one of two hovering, muscle-bound dudes who have to shoot their way through a series of mythological creatures while stopping only to buy items and vibe out to the shop music, Forgotten Worlds is a perfect fit for a remake. Maybe this time we can actually get a date with Cleopatra.
6. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
Mega Man Maverick Hunter X was a remake of Mega Man X, so I’m asking for a remake of a remake here. But I’d still prefer that over revisiting Resident Evil 4, mostly because MMMHX feels like it has such missed potential, having been released only on the PSP. It added a lot to the original game, from being able to play as the Boba Fett-looking Vile to a total graphical overhaul, and if Capcom doesn’t want to make new Mega Man X titles, then it would be cool to revisit the older ones and inject some new life into them.
7. Deep Down
Think about how funny it would be to remake a game that never even came out. It would be very swag and epic. Please, Capcom.
