“Put it on Switch.” That was the cry fans shouted for years after Nintendo’s new console launched in 2017. This handheld console hybrid sold like hotcakes and everyone wanted a piece of it. The portability is what made it so attractive as players could continue gaming with high-quality console titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the go.
There were numerous ports, collections, and remasters released for it. The Switch now has an impressive library of original and classic titles that have amassed over these six years. Of the many on there, here are some choice full-on remakes to look into.
8 ActRaiser: Renaissance
ActRaiser was released in 1991 in North America on the SNES. It combined action RPGs with simulation games. Players would have to help culture a land as a benevolent god while sending warriors to the surface to fight the forces of evil face to face.
The game got a sequel, ActRaiser 2, in 1993 on the SNES and then the series died out. Then, decades later, the original game was remade in 2021 as ActRaiser: Renaissance.
7 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Crash Bandicoot was Sony’s answer to Mario when it came to the PS1. The first game in the series would launch in 1996 followed by two sequels also on the PS1. The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collects those three games into one package with a full remake of all three games.
This was released in 2017 and in 2019, the racing spinoffs were collected into the Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled package. For a good time, both of these collections are great on Switch.
6 Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was the first sequel/spinoff to one of the most bizarre crossover games of all time. It was released on the Game Boy Advance originally in 2004. In 2008, in North America, it was remade on PS2 as Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.
Now, Nintendo fans can’t buy that game separately. It is instead part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX remastered collection, which is Cloud-based only. It’s a massive collection of fine RPGs but only players with solid internet connections should snag this one. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories is the only full remake collection other than some remade movies of games fans can't even play.
5 Trials Of Mana
Trials of Mana was originally released as Seiken Densetsu 3 in 1995 as a Japan exclusive for the SNES. In 2019, after many years of waiting, the West finally got its hands on the action RPG, which was rebranded as Trials of Mana.
It was part of the Collection of Mana on Switch. That was not the only treat Mana series fans got. In 2020 Square Enix released a full-on 3D remake that was also just called Trials of Mana and it was more involved than the Secret of Mana remake.
4 Pokemon Brilliant Diamond And Pokemon Shining Pearl
Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl were the first two mainline Pokemon games in the series released on the DS. This was a year after the portable launched in 2005. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl were the two remakes the games got in 2021.
They weren’t as lavishly remade, unlike Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee which were remakes of Pokemon Yellow. Still, as the most recent remakes in the series, they are satisfying games to play in the franchise.
3 Resident Evil
The Resident Evil series began in 1996 on the PS1. In 2002, the first game was remade as a GameCube exclusive under the same title. It quickly became the template for how remakes should be remade thanks to the graphical and mechanical improvements.
Over two decades later, the game still looks great natively on the GameCube but the HD version on Switch is technically better. For hungry Resident Evil series fans, the remakes of the second and third games are also available on Switch, but as cloud-based games.
2 Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Crash Bandicoot is not the only PS1 mascot now available on Switch. The same remake team also put out Spyro Reignited Trilogy in 2018. This was twenty years after the first Spyro game hit the PS1 in 1998. It’s a great trilogy of games, especially for those that like platformers with collectibles akin to Banjo-Kazooie.
There was no follow-up collection to this though, as Spyro and his dragon pals never got a karting spinoff, but given that Spyro can fly, that's okay. Maybe he should have gotten a plane game akin to Diddy Kong Racing.
1 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening gave Game Boy players a portable Zelda experience unlike no other in 1993. Everything console players loved was there. The open world, kooky characters, dungeons, unique weapons, and so much more.
Besides the Game Boy Color “remake,” a more proper edition was released on the Switch in 2019. The art style was changed to make it look like a bunch of toy models. It’s an attractive art style that may help it stand the test of time.
