GameInformer

Given Nintendo's penchant for being the company churning out the highest number of remakes, rehashes, and straight ports over the past few generations, this topic is to discuss the inevitability of HD remakes flooding to the Wii U.  

Nintendo's recent history has seen remakes suddenly appear as the go-to launch titles for their systems instead of actual original killer apps.  What sparks this laziness is up to debate, but the fact is that it happens.  The Nintendo DS had Super Mario 64 in it's launch window.  The 3DS had two early remakes in Ocarina of Time and StarFox64.  The Wii quickly garnered "New Play Control" GameCube ports.  Besides the launch window/first year, each latter-day Nintendo system is swamped with remakes, ports, and rehashes.  

The 25th Anniversary Super Mario collection on the Wii was a straight port of the SNES Super Mario All-Stars game.  

Ocarina of Time has been released on the N64, GameCube (twice), Wii, and 3DS.  

The Wii, again, gave Nintendo free reign to simply relaunch a bunch of GameCube games with waggle controls tacked on.  

Sony proved that HD remakes and ports are popular releases, having packed the PS3's library with HD collections of popular PS2 games.  With Nintendo always ready to cash in on it's own back catalog as often as possible, it's pretty much a given that Nintendo will follow suit.  

So, what games do you all expect will be given HD make-overs?  Do you think Nintendo will be gracious like Sony in releasing two games together in one set for a budget price, or is it more likely that Nintendo will release the HD remakes all by themselves to snag more cash from consumers?  

Frankly, I expect to see both Wii and GameCube games to be turned over to the Wii U with HD make-overs.  StarFox64 on the 3DS pretty much proves that the closest and best place for HD-ified N64 games is probably that little folding box, since StarFox64 looks fantastic on the thing having been given a near-total graphical overhaul.  

I think Super Mario Sunshine, Zelda: Wind Waker, and Pikmin are the most likely candidates.  Neither Mario Sunshine nor Wind Waker appeared on the Wii, so revisiting them first seems to me to be the most likely.  I think Pikmin, hopefully with Pikmin 2, will get the HD treatment due in large part to drum up attention for Pikmin 3 if the darn thing is ever finished.  

Since it's been all quiet on the Retro Studios front, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Metroid Prime Trilogy farmed out yet again with pretty new HD bells and whistles.  

What games are you guys hoping get the Wii U HD make-over, and which do you think are the most likely to appear?  

Personally I think, and hope, Nintendo will be focusing on doing a good job with remakes.

I think that they should a full on remake (like Ocarina of Time for the 3DS) of the original Zelda, plus a Link to the Past, OoT, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker; Super Mario 64, Sunshine, Super Mario World 1 and 2; the Metroid Prime series; Starfox 64 and Adventures; Pikmin 1 and 2...and that's probably it.

As for games that were made for the Wii, they should get a similar treatment to the one Sony's giving (making it HD and adding a couple of extras), such as Galaxy 1 and 2; Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword; Kirby's Epic Yarn...and that may be it.

Not to mention, the release of the expected Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Bros and Mario Kart.

I just had a huge argument with my boss about this. he thinks that EVERY good third party game on the Wii should be remade with HD graphics on the WiiU.....................

I'll just let that awful idea stew in your brain for a bit.

Thelizardman:

I just had a huge argument with my boss about this. he thinks that EVERY good third party game on the Wii should be remade with HD graphics on the WiiU.....................

I'll just let that awful idea stew in your brain for a bit.

That's uh, ... ridiculous.  And extremely unlikely.  There aren't a whole lot of 3rd party companies churning out HD remakes of games outside of the Metal Gear Solid collection and the upcoming Devil May Cry collection.  Sony, on the other hand, churned out HD remake after HD remake on the PS3 covering nearly all their franchises.  The original Jak & Daxter trilogy is up next I guess.

I do, however, think that some of the less-popular 3rd Party Wii games would be great to see transferred over to the 3DS.  It'd be a fairly cost-effective transition, and would benefit a helluva lot of developers.

Killer Troopa:

Personally I think, and hope, Nintendo will be focusing on doing a good job with remakes.

I think that they should a full on remake (like Ocarina of Time for the 3DS) of the original Zelda, plus a Link to the Past, OoT, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker; Super Mario 64, Sunshine, Super Mario World 1 and 2; the Metroid Prime series; Starfox 64 and Adventures; Pikmin 1 and 2...and that's probably it.

As for games that were made for the Wii, they should get a similar treatment to the one Sony's giving (making it HD and adding a couple of extras), such as Galaxy 1 and 2; Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword; Kirby's Epic Yarn...and that may be it.

Not to mention, the release of the expected Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Bros and Mario Kart.

I don't think Ocarina of Time qualifies as a "full-on" remake.  It's almost exactly the same as the original except the textures are sharper.  StarFox64 was more of a remake since they overhauled the textures of the whole thing.  

Super Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, and Pikmin are most likely going to get an HD remake. If those do come out, then I will buy Wind Waker and Pikmin (even though I have the Gamecube Pikmin). I'm not sure about Mario (Yes, I have Sunshine on my Gamecube). Instead of a Super Mario Sunshine remake, Nintendo should make a sequel to Super Mario Sunshine.

I was thinking more along the lines of Earthbound, Donkey Kong 64, and Pikmin 2. Earthbound could become a remake on the Wii U Shop while Pikmin 2 and Donkey Kong 64 becomes a HD remake. If Nintendo does release a Pikmin and Pikmin 2 remake, then they might as well release a bundle. Nintendo would be releasing Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 3, so a bundle would be the best option.

Apricot:

Super Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, and Pikmin are most likely going to get an HD remake. If those do come out, then I will buy Wind Waker and Pikmin (even though I have the Gamecube Pikmin). I'm not sure about Mario (Yes, I have Sunshine on my Gamecube). Instead of a Super Mario Sunshine remake, Nintendo should make a sequel to Super Mario Sunshine.

I was thinking more along the lines of Earthbound, Donkey Kong 64, and Pikmin 2. Earthbound could become a remake on the Wii U Shop while Pikmin 2 and Donkey Kong 64 becomes a HD remake. If Nintendo does release a Pikmin and Pikmin 2 remake, then they might as well release a bundle. Nintendo would be releasing Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 3, so a bundle would be the best option.

I'm hoping for a Pikmin HD 2-pack like what Sony did with the first 2 God of War games when they brought 'em over to the PS3.  I think having a special Pikmin trilogy HD set would be cool, but I can't get over how unlike Nintendo such a cool set would be.  Just like their total lack of special editions of games (except the sort-of special edition of Skyward Sword).  Pikmin looked amazing back in the day on the GameCube, so it's one of the only franchise from Nintendo I might buy again in HD form for the Wii U.   Well, unless Hell freezes over and the greatest game of all time, Eternal Darkness, gets the treatment.

I think Nintendo of America hates Earthbound/Mother.  The smart thing for them to do wit that would be to at least put the thing on the 3DS or Wii U Virtual Console.  Hell, they could make it one of the 3DS 3-D remakes.  

I hated Mario Sunshine, personally.  I fully expect to see an HD remake of it, but I could never get over it's awful camera and sudden difficulty spike around the 80-Shine point.  

I hope that they provide some form of Metroid Prime Trilogy(or just Metroid Prime is fine) and WInd Waker for the launch release. I don't care if it is a straight port or a remake, it is urgent that they make the important titles avaliable. The ones that are looked at often or interesting to play.

I'm hoping for a compilation remake of the entire Mother trilogy, it would serve as a quick Wii U launch title and get the two thirds that never got out of japan into the rest of the gaming world at the same time.

Also, please give us the Fire Emblems that are japan exclusive on the vc. And HD Pokemon Snap, you know you want it.

Given the peripherals (that we know of) that come with the Wii U, I think that a solid RPG line-up would be a fantastic way to set the Wii U apart from other consoles.

I know that its not the topic, but its true. Nintendo -in my opinion- made the biggest impact on the RPG world. Why not again?

I would love to see a complete re-make of Final Fantasy VI. It has a compelling story that would hold up great by today's standards. It would also be a great  opportunity for Square Enix to perhaps reinvent the old battle system to something that hardcore fans of the series to newcomers can enjoy as a sort of cornerstone or foundation for RPG's.

It would sell. Even if you've played FFVI a million times, you know you would by a Wii U remake, HD graphics and all. How great would it be to manage your team and thier attributes in (literally) the palm of your hands? Perfect fit!

As far as an HD make-over, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (I know, still not Nintendo).

Cridgeon:

 

As far as an HD make-over, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (I know, still not Nintendo).

Actually, Eternal Darkness is Nintendo.  They published it and own the rights.  Apparently, Nintendo even renewed the trademark for Eternal Darkness fairly recently, and somewhat recent rumors are making the bold claim that Retro Studios of all places may be working on a sequel.  Frankly, this would thrill me to no end as Eternal Darkness remains my favorite game of all time, and I still hold it as one of the greatest masterpieces of this entertainment form.

Check it out:

http://www.zeldainformer.com/2011/04/rumor-retro-studios-big-new-project-cafe-title-is-eternal-darkness-2.html

Frankly, I don't think Nintendo ever gave Eternal Darkness a fair shake and I don't expect Nintendo is smart enough to ever give it another chance.  It's release was unfortunately too close to the remake of Resident Evil for the GameCube, and impending news of both Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 4 helped relegate Eternal Darkness to a pitiful "wanna-be" status.  Plus, Nintendo didn't bother to promote it with enough gusto.  

Then again, rumors persisted for the bulk of this generation that Silicon Knights themselves were building a new "survival horror" title for the Wii--which may or may not have been a new Eternal Darkness and may or may not have been real.

Interestingly, Nintendo renewed the Eternal Darkness trademark around the same time they renewed a trademark for another GameCube title... Luigi's Mansion.  Now, where have we seen that make a re-appearance...?  And fairly recently at that.  http://kotaku.com/5473079/a-new-eternal-darkness-trademark-whats-that-about

Granted, this could all be an effort by Nintendo to just maintain what is theirs.  Had Hasbro done the same over the years, we'd see Transformers with their normal names.  We'd have Hot Rod instead of "Autobot Hot Rod" or "Autobot Rodimus."  Whenever you see "Autobot" or "Decepticon" on the name of one of the toys, it basically means that Hasbro let ownership of the actual character name lapse.  Eternal Darkness may have been crudely ignored by idiots and fanboys looking for the next Mario Party in 2002--but Nintendo may not want to let it go.  Be a shame to see such an impressive title languish and be forgotten.

After all, their hold on Goldeneye for the N64 remains to this day--and Nintendo is the reason Rare's HD makeover of said N64 title was killed after it was finished.  Nintendo, Microsoft, and Activision, it seemed, had to come to an agreement on the release--and Nintendo didn't agree with the deal.  Goldeneye N64 HD remake remains unreleased.

If it turns out that Eternal Darkness is getting a sequel, and against all odds, Retro is doing it?  That's all the information I need to be picking up a Wii U day one.

I had no idea that Nintendo had picked up the Eternal Darkness trademark. But in retrospect (hehe) it would make perfect sense. Silicon Knights is in an intense legal battle with Epic Games that has been going on for years now. This legal battle originated because Silicon Knights blames the Unreal Engine 3 technology for its gigantic loss of revenue for 4-6 years after Silicon bailed on Too Human. Its all very confusing, and if I knew how to post links in here, I would.

www.1up.com/news/silicon-knights-suing-epic-games

They will likely not win the case.

It is really too bad for Silicon knights that they flopped so hard on their Too Human project. I was a fan of their later stuff, especially after they re-made a version of Metal Gear Solid and called it Twin Snakes -which is another one of my favorite GameCube games. Hell, I even like Too Human; if not for its quasi-mythology story-line, then for the obvious love that went into developing the game (the game was in dev for something like 12 years). It was suppose to, I think, be Silicon Knights masterpiece trilogy, and the fact that it was completely broken is, in itself, a little heart breaking.

So, I am a little bit torn. Retro letting loose on Eternal Darkness may or or may not be totally great. Personally I would hate to see it made into something it's not. Like, Metroid Prime (which is another one of my GC favs) was made by Retro Studios, and what I loved about it was its atmosphere and its clever level design that sucked you in. Extraordinary puzzles and difficult enemies and so on and so forth. Retro is very good at these things. But that kind of design is only a small percentage of why Eternal Darkness was so great. People who played through the game multiple times can agree with that. Silicon Knights added their own unique, special touch, which was designed to totally scare the pants off of you. It probably still would.

Regardless, if a sequel is made then they have to give the original an HD make-over, right? ;D

EDIT: I didn't even notice that you mentioned Eternal Darkness n an earlier post!

The only games that really need remakes are N64 era. Those graphics have not held up. Other than that, I think the virtual console is doing just fine for old games (most of them don't need remade). They could expand the virtual console to include GameCube games (most of which still look great) and I would be perfectly happy.

If they were going to remake some games then they could easily bring us some Gamecube, N64, and Wii games. Just think of Luigis Mansion or even Eternal Darkness in HD!

Since the Wii U is backwards compatible with Wii games, I don't think there will be any HD remakes of those games. However, GameCube is a possibility.