RPGs are some of the most fun experiences available in gaming. They are often rich in story, characters, and mechanics. Many of the most popular modern RPGs take inspiration or traits from the many 2D RPGs from the past. These older RPGs were limited by the consoles and hardware they were released on. Despite their limitations, the RPGs of the past still managed to exceed expectations and blow gamers the world over away.
In recent years, there has been a trend of remaking many of gaming's classic RPGs in full 3D. A great example is the Trials of Mana remake, which offers visual, mechanical, and audio enhancements compared to the original. Such remakes allow fans of the original to experience the game they know and love in a brand-new light, with added detail and an expanded world. These remakes also allow these RPGs to have additional features like cut content, new animations, and even voice acting.
8 The World Ends with You - Final Remix
The World Ends with You - Final Remix is a port of the DS original for the Nintendo Switch console. The game is known for its dark and dramatic story, as well as its unique art style and character designs. Seeing the characters and world of The World Ends with You brought to life in full 3D would allow for some absolutely stunning screenshots.
Fans already got a taste of what these characters could look like in 3D thanks to Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which featured many of the characters from The World Ends with You throughout its first area. Being able to experience the game's unique combat in 3D would also be a treat. The World Ends with You may be on the newer side of RPGs, but it's definitely a fan favorite for many RPG fans around the world, so a 3D remake would likely attract both new and old players alike.
7 Octopath Traveler
Octopath Traveler is an award-winning RPG released for both Nintendo Switch and PC. The game features beautiful 2D sprite art set in a 3D world. Many might claim that this game doesn't need a 3D remake because many of its world elements are already in 3D.
This is true, but elements like the characters and battles are not in full 3D. Seeing the battle system in Octopath Traveler get the Dragon Quest 11 treatment, where the characters can move around in full 3D during battle while still maintaining that turned-base action, would be a delight.
6 Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is highly regarded as one of the best Fire Emblem games in the series. This is due to a combination of the game's story, characters, and combat mechanics. Sacred Stones was released back in 2004 for Japan and in 2005 for western audiences.
Sacred Stones made popular one of the most beloved mechanics found in all modern Fire Emblem games, the support/conversation system. Seeing this beloved game remade using modern 3D graphics accompanied by the voice talent the series has become known for would be a dream come true for many classic Fire Emblem fans the world over.
5 Dragon Quest 5
Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride was originally developed for the Super Famicom and later rerelease for the Sony Playstation and the Nintendo DS. The game has some fantastic sprite-based graphics that would transition perfectly to Dragon Quest 11's art style. In fact, Dragon Quest 11 would serve as a great base for this game's remake in terms of art style, sound direction, and combat.
Dragon Quest 5 is considered by many Dragon Quest fans to be the best game in the series. This makes it the prime candidate for a 3D remake over the previous games in the series. It also has one of the best stories in the entire series, so seeing moments and characters from this epic tale brought to life in full 3D with voice acting would be a great way of showing appreciation to fans of this long-running series.
4 Phantasy Star 1-4
This section includes all 4 of the classic Phantasy Star games released for the Sega Master System and Genesis. Each game in the series embodies the sci-fi fantasy setting in new ways. Each game also has a fairly mature and dramatic story for its time despite the hardware they were created for.
Considering the fact that each game in the Phantasy Star series adds to or continues the story from the others and the fact that these games are relatively small in size compared to other classic RPGs, it would be downright criminal to only remake one of these games and not the whole series.
If the massive popularity of the Phantasy Star Online series is anything to go on, this series still has a fairly big audience that would love to see the original games remade with combat and visuals similar to the Phantasy Star Online games.
3 Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 6 or Final Fantasy 3 in North America was first released on the Super Nintendo back in 1994 and is often considered to be one of the best JRPGs of all time. Between its legendary musical score by Nobuo Uematsu and its amazing character designer and concept artist Yoshitaka Amano, the game has a visual and auditory style that is unmatched to this day.
There are still many RPG fans who have yet to experience this classic, and that is a travesty that must be corrected. A 3D remake done in the same style as the Final Fantasy 7 remake would be exactly what this game needs to reach a wider audience. Seeing this epic story and timeless characters reborn in full 3D would bring a tear to many Final Fantasy fans' eyes.
2 Earthbound
Earthbound, or Mother 2, as it's known in Japan, is the second game in the Mother series. It was released in the west under the title of Earthbound for the Super Nintendo and continues to be a massively influential game for both eastern and western RPG developers alike. Earthbound, along with all of the other games in the Mother series, features characters and settings that are unlike anything else found in the genre.
The game's art style is colorful and charming, which contrasts the rather dark and dramatic elements of the game's world and story. Considering the series' fame and popularity, a 3D remake with 3D action RPG elements and characters would be a massive success for Nintendo and Hal Laboratory. Fans have gotten a taste of what a 3D Ness could look like thanks to the Super Smash Bros series, so only time will tell if the rest of the Earthbound cast will get a similar treatment.
1 Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger was originally released for the Super Nintendo all the way back in 1995. It has gone on to become one of gaming's most treasured video games of all time, topping many of the greatest video games of all time lists. The game's quality and fun transcend the barriers of the genre so that even those who generally dislike RPGs can find enjoyment in its unique story, charming and fun characters, and addictive gameplay.
Chrono Trigger has had a few rereleases on different platforms throughout the years, but its availability is still far more limited than it should be. Giving it a treatment similar to the Trials of Mana remake would allow so many new players to experience this legendary game for the first time with modern graphics and mechanics. Considering the fact that this game is often said to be Square's magnum-opus of JRPGs, no other RPG deserves a 3D remake quite as much as this one.