Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot is a remaster of the incredible SRPG classics that were originally released on the Game Boy Advance in the early 2000s. Nintendo even showed about thirty minutes of gameplay during the Nintendo Treehouse E3 event.
It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch on December 3, 2021 and it looks super good! I don’t know why Nintendo is referring to this as a remaster. It looks like it’s completely new. Maybe they’re just trying to lower people’s expectations for a bigger surprise? I don’t know but it looks like a completely original game that was inspired by the GBA titles.
I want more GBA remakes and I know I’m not alone. The GBA has a massive library filled with dozens of classics so hopefully Nintendo remakes or remasters at least a few more GBA games. There are five games in particular that I believe would be the best.
5 GBA Remakes We Need on Nintendo Switch
Metroid Fusion (and Metroid Zero Mission)
Metroid Dread takes place directly after the events of Metroid Fusion and I was honestly shocked Nintendo didn’t at least throw a port of the GBA game on the eShop for ten bucks or something.
People clearly would have bought it too because after E3 wrapped, Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission surged to the top of the Wii U eShop’s sales charts. The GBA’s Metroid series doesn’t deserve to be buried with the Wii U and yes, they should still put the originals on Switch too but it’s also the right time for remakes.
The reason I say both games is because Metroid Zero Mission is the best way to experience the beginning of Samus’ story and the game itself was a remake made with Fusion’s engine. Nintendo should remake both games in the style, aesthetic, and engine of Metroid Dread.
Playing through two incredible Metroid remakes would also be a good way to buy time while development finishes on Metroid Prime 4. It would also bring a large portion of the series to Nintendo’s most popular console, which Samus deserves.
Golden Sun (and The Lost Age)
Golden Sun and its sequel Golden Sun: The Lost Age were two of my favorite RPGs as a kid. I played the two games all the time on my Game Boy Advance, even though it was impossible to see the screen without horrible posture under bright lights.
Nintendo hasn’t really done anything with the series since the DS and as much as I’d like a new game, I don’t think it’s going to happen unless the series grows more popular.
A lot of the fans that grew up with it are stressed out and thirty like me and would love an excuse to replay these games with improvements. And new graphics, mechanics, and voice acting could also pull in millions of new fans.
The story and characters from the original games are great but the pacing, character speech, and several other aspects could be improved. Nintendo could even do 3D remakes with action RPG mechanics to pull in some Final Fantasy VII Remake fans.
They could just call it Golden Sun and do multiple parts. If it sells well then they could increase the budget and if not, they could lower it some and continue development. Another possibility would be using an art style similar to Octopath Traveler, which would be a good compromise for a smaller budget title that’s still determined to feel and look epic.
Spyro: Season of Ice
Crash 4: It’s About Time received almost universal praise and sold super well and ‘Spyro 4’ felt within wing’s reach. It was even kind of revealed in a Crash 4 art book but then Activision decided that Warzone was life and all they needed.
And now, a new Spyro game feels like it will never happen but that’s where Spyro: Season of Ice could light a new fire for the purple dragon.
Spyro: Season of Ice was not the best game when it came out. I was a huge fan of the PlayStation trilogy and addicted to my Game Boy Advance so I purchased Spyro: Season of Ice on release day without a second thought.
It was fine enough but it was nowhere near as good as Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, which was a better portable translation. But a portable and smaller Spyro could be really good on the right system. Spyro is all about distance and looking for the next treasure to snatch or enemy to scorch.
An isometric Spyro game could totally work but the GBA’s limited screen resolution held Spyro back from soaring. An isometric platformer with the Switch’s technology could be really good and inexpensive. It would be a super cheap way to test the waters for another Spyro game.
Activision has the resources and could just pull a few dozen people off of Warzone for a year. Spyro: Season of Ice remade from the ground up with more capable hardware could tell a more engaging story and have gameplay much closer to what everyone loved from the original games.
Play Novel: Silent Hill
Play Novel: Silent Hill is a visual novel adaptation of the first Silent Hill but it was only released on the Game Boy Advance — and only in Japan. Konami has been quiet for a long time outside of Super Bomberman R and the recently announced GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon, and this would be the safest way for Konami to make some money off of the dormant series.
I love visual novels. It’s an extremely immersive genre with almost no barriers. There are likely millions of people that normally wouldn’t play a survival horror game but would throw money at a Silent Hill visual novel.
Konami shut down production of Silent Hills and hasn’t shown interest in the series outside of pachinko machines, but a remake of the GBA visual novel could pull in some huge cash for the financially focused company without any kind of sacrifice in creativity.
Horror works really well with limited technology too so Konami could even have the visuals resemble a PS2 game. If anything it would prevent technology from interfering with the aesthetic and art style of the older games, while also making it more likely to get approved by Konami.
Silent Hill games shouldn’t have stopped happening and the series needs to come back. This is probably the easiest way for us to get something new from the series besides Dead by Daylight DLC.
There are playthroughs of the entire game online that I’d recommend checking out. It’s a super neat game that I hope comes back in some kind of way. Nintendo should throw some money at Konami because a Switch remake would make everyone happy.
Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon
Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon is a bad video game but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a ‘space simulation’ game where players control the Millennium Falcon and fly through combat missions from the Star Wars universe. Some missions are from the movies and others are original.
Nintendo and Disney should partner up for a big budget remake instead of a Star Fox game, because it feels like we’re never going to get another entry in the series anyway. Disney can license Star Wars out to Nintendo and then spend years wrapping the Star Wars universe tightly around the Star Fox gameplay everyone already knows and loves.
I want a new Star Fox game too but have accepted the 3DS remake might end up being the only worthwhile game outside of the N64 classic. I’d love to play an arcade-style space-combat game again and using the ideas from Flight of the Falcon with way more money and development time would be rad. Disney and Nintendo could totally make that happen on the Switch.
The Game Boy Advance is one of my favorite systems. The handheld’s library is one of the best in gaming. Developers took risks and weren’t afraid to put their most creative ideas forward and publishers let them because of the lower development costs.
There were some really special games made for the system and I’d love for Nintendo to put as many of them as possible on the Nintendo Switch Online service. There are a few dozen GBA games that could be remade though.
Then they could surprise audiences and captivate them all over again. Let’s all hope Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot sells really well so we can dream of future GBA remakes reimagined and new once again.
