Majora's Mask 3D remake: Five more video games that need to be remade

Remakes, remakes everywhere, as far as the eye I can see. Every week it seems a new classic or not-so-classic is being shipped with fresh lick of paint, angled to tickle our nostalgia glands in lieu of any new games to be excited about*.

If nostalgia were a physical product, say a drink, it would be a best seller the world over no matter how it tastes (I'm thinking... Play Doh and Frazzles). Instead nostalgia is peddled to us in the form of games we loved, and in a form that doesn't betray our fond memories.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, Resident Evil HD, The Last of Us: Remastered, Grand Theft Auto 5, Borderlands 2 - more games than ever are being sold back to an audience that simply cannot say no.

I know because I'm a member of that audience. A gamer's opinion on remakes varies from game to game: if you loved the game being remade, you'll probably be interested in the remake, if not you'll probably think it's a waste of time.

Like it or not they're here to stay, so here are five video games that need to be remade...

*Obviously there are loads of new games to be excited about. And more here.

Freedom Fighters

An all-American plumber hunkers down in a Soviet-run New York City to fight communist invaders and free his nation. It's not the most original story, but Freedom Fighters is one hell of a forgotten gem.

Way ahead of its time, IO Interactive's third person shooter put you in control of a squad of fellow freedom fighters as you travel across New York through its sewer system. The idea of a hero plumber using pipes to travel isn't lost on the game either, which carries itself with a self-aware charm that makes light of the many cultural stereotypes on both sides of the story.

A sequel was long sought-after, and I can't think of a time when one wouldn't have been a viable investment. The game should really have been the start of a hit series, but what the world got instead from IO was two Kane and Lynch games.

Dino Crisis

Last month Capcom released a spruced up version of the 2002 Resident Evil remake for GameCube. It was a big success of course, keeping hope alive that the horror series might return to its roots in future sequels.

Since the 1996 original, 23 Resident Evil games have been released. After two of those games Capcom released Dino Crisis, a dinosaur action game in the Resi mould which spawned two sequels - one successful, one panned.

Dinosaurs and video games have a storied history together, and it's a partnership many hope will return. What better way to usher in a new dinosaur age of games than with the return of Dino Crisis?

Be it a remake or reboot, it is clearly time for an action game with dinosaurs. Just look to Hollywood, which is ramping up for the return of the Jurassic Park series this summer. Now is the time.

Viewtiful Joe

There have been few games as raucously individual as Platinum Games' Viewtiful Joe. Even in the great company of that studio's back-catalogue (Vanquish, Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising) Viewtiful sticks out.

The side-scrolling beat-em-up was greeted with great reviews in 2002, with Eurogamer calling it "imaginative, beautiful, engaging and above all else entertaining" it did well at retail too, its low budget making up for its slightly lower than expected sales.

Despite an open ending the sequel two years later was never followed up. Ten years later a HD remake of the original cult classic would sell gang-busters.

Metal Gear (Solid?)

This year sees the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the series' second numbered prequel (Peace Walker on PSP was also a key entry in the series' canon) which will bridge the gap between Big Boss's origins in MGS 3 and his villainous status in the original Metal Gear.

Metal Gear was the precursor to Metal Gear Solid, and concerned the same set of characters. It's been my belief that MGS V may lead to a remake of 1987's Metal Gear, originally released for the MSX home computer.

It was the game that introduced the characters and concepts that found huge popularity in the MGS series, and it would be the good place to start all over again – should that be Konami and Hideo Kojima's long-term plan for the franchise. A full remake of MGS may also be a possibility.

Star Wars X-Wing & TIE Fighter

You may have heard but Star Wars is back this year, with JJ Abrams' The Force Awakens hitting cinemas in December. Joining it around the same time should be DICE's take on Star Wars: Battlefront, with publishers EA now in charge of the license.

Other studios under their umbrella are working on unannounced Star Wars games that could also take influence from past Star Wars favourites. Knights of the Old Republic and the Jedi Knight series are the more obvious routes for those titles to take – then there's X-Wing and TIE Fighter.

The two space combat simulators have held a place in the hearts of gamers for a long time. First released in the early 90s and recently re-released via GOG.com the cherished games might well enjoy a resurgence.

Failing that, a Rogue Squadron reboot would be boss.