Imagine booting up your PlayStation and being transported back to a time when games weren’t just played. They were cherished, remembered, and revisited over and over again. There’s something magical about the nostalgia that classic titles evoke, a blend of fond memories and a yearning for the unique experiences they provided. While gaming technology has marched forward, and we’ve recently been blessed with remasters such as Dead Rising Remastered and Tomb Raider Remastered, not every beloved game has kept pace, leaving some gems buried in the past, their potential for a glorious return untapped. For fans of these iconic PlayStation titles, the question isn’t if they deserve a remaster, but when. Here are five games that should be at the top of that list (in my extremely biased view).
5. The Legend of Dragoon
- Publisher: SCE Japan Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Release Date: 1999
- Available On: PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, PlayStation
Some may argue that Legend of Dragoon doesn’t need a remaster due to the recent release as part of the PS Plus Premium Tier, but I am not one of those people. The Legend of Dragoon is a fantastic JRPG set in a medieval period. Even today, the game is still a joy to play and holds up exceptionally well. We could do with quite a few quality-of-life improvements; one such improvement that is badly needed is increasing the speed of the battles. The battle transitions, general battle speed, and frequency of the random encounters sometimes turn your JRPG adventure into a slog.
4. Digimon Rumble Arena
- Publisher: Bandai, Hudson Soft
- Release Date: 2001
- Available On: PlayStation
Digimon Rumble Arena is quite possibly one of my favorite arena fighters of all time, just slightly behind the Super Smash Bros. series. I fondly remember picking it up in 2001 and being given a free Greymon plushie with it! It added to the experience. We don’t quite get games like this anymore, and remastering Digimon Rumble Arena could bring the genre back to life in the PlayStation ecosystem. Many may be asking for a new PlayStation All-Stars game, but I would vastly prefer either a remaster of Digimon Rumble Arena or a completely new Rumble Arena entry!
3. Final Fantasy Tactics
- Publisher: Square Enix, Sony Computer Entertainment, Square, Square Product Development Division 4
- Release Date: 1997
- Available On: PlayStation, PlayStation 3
Often called one of the greatest games of all time, it’s a travesty that we have not received a modern way to play Final Fantasy Tactics. We’re either stuck with the PS1 version or the reworked PSP version (which is also quite good, might I add). Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together recently got a remake in the form of Tactics Ogre Reborn, and with a remake/remaster of Final Fantasy Tactics being whispered about for the last five or so years, then maybe we won’t have to wait too long?
2. Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories
- Publisher: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Konami
- Release Date: 1999
- Available On: PlayStation
Yu-Gi-Oh! is on a real high at the moment, thanks to the recently released Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel title. The franchise has had its fair share of titles, ranging from small handheld versions to more significant console variations. There were none quite similar to Forbidden Memories, however. It’s an incredibly unique title that pre-dates the official rules and came up with some distinctive methods to play Yu-Gi-Oh! that have never been replicated since. I adored this game when it came out, and I’ve often returned to it every few years. A remastering of the titles could help with some of the brutal AI difficulty and the need to grind for potentially hours to acquire specific cards to help beat the story mode.
1. Digimon World
- Publisher: Bandai
- Release Date: 2000
- Available On: PlayStation
Once again, my bias is extreme here. Digimon World is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It’s an exceptionally unique monster-raising genre where we already have extremely few titles to enjoy. We did get two remakes (of sorts) for this already, Digimon World Re:Digitize on the PSP and Digimon World: Next Order on the PS Vita and PS4. The original, however, is still highly unique, and these reimagined versions have done things differently. The game was initially riddled with bugs and game-breaking glitches and would cry out for a remastering. However, I’m not confident we will ever get one.
