Remake, schmemake. 3 Perfect SNES Games

Hello to you and how you be… Dan Ryan here… you there. Thank you so much for checking out this post and if you like what you see please share. At the time of this writing we are about two months away from the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time remake. Now, Ocarina of Time is beloved, full stop. It was a system seller, a must play of the era, and has remained one of the biggest Zelda titles ever released. However, it was ugly. And that wasn’t its fault; most games from that era, PSX/N64, are just hard to look at. (in my opinion anyway) Sure there were some really good looking games released for those consoles and some that have a certain amount of charm to them but on the whole, it is the era of gaming that I return to the least. Because eww. So when Nintendo announced that they were going to remake Ocarina of Time, personally, I was thrilled. I have long wanted to love that game. I never owned a 64 and therefore missed out on Ocarina and Majora’s Mask. (I know there were the 3DS versions, I missed them too) In the time since I’ve gone back to play a lot of titles on the N64 that I completely skipped over and while I can’t say I finished many, any, of them, it’s not because of the gameplay. This remake is definitely for me and I cannot wait to get my hands on it in November. (take that GTA6!) After Kris and I broke down the Zelda Direct and Nintendo Direct on the pod, it got me thinking, with how hyped I am for this remake are there any games that don’t need a remake? More specifically, are there any Nintendo games that are perfect as they are? As much as I tried to find one from the 64 era I couldn’t. Every game released for that platform would benefit from a graphical overhaul so what next? The Super Nintendo? There’s definitely a few games released on that platform that lots of people consider perfect. But what if I had to limit it to 3? Submitted for your approval this is the 3 SNES games that DO NOT need a remake.

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Super Mario World - November 21st, 1990

It’s been well documented on the podcast that I am not, and have never been, the biggest fan of Mario games. That said, I believe that Super Mario World is about as close to perfect as a Mario game can get and that a remake would do absolutely nothing to benefit this game. Following up on the massive success that was Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World somehow had to be better than one of the best, most well loved games of all time. And it was! The save feature alone would have been enough honestly but SMW saw some big time improvements in gameplay. The spin jump and the cape gave Mario fun, useful new moves. The additional item box came in clutch more times than I care to remember. Yoshi! The world map with its secrets and the feeling it gave of this adventure being a massive interconnected story. All of them were a big deal that really showed off the power of the SNES. And that’s all before even mentioning the graphics which were a huge leap forward from the admittedly awesome SMB3. The soundtrack is an absolute classic. More important than any of that though is just how good the game feels to play. The weight of Mario, the inertia, the item placement throughout the levels, the level design, in my opinion it’s as good as it ever was in any Mario game. A remake of Super Mario World would bring nothing to the table the original was missing and would honestly run the risk of changing the core experience if only slightly. 

Super Metroid - March 19th, 1994

A heavily requested/wanted/rumored remake, Super Metroid is absolutely perfect the way that it is. Would I play a Super Metroid remake if MercurySteam made it? Obviously. They still shouldn’t. Fusion would be a much better candidate than Super due to the limitations of the GBA much in the same way that Metroid 2 was better off as Samus Returns. Super Metroid is a masterpiece of game design accomplishing a staggering amount of storytelling simply through gameplay. The silence, the atmosphere, the lighting, everything that makes Super Metroid what it is would be ruined by making it look nicer. And there is no doubt that a remake would look to add in lore/story, eliminating one of the main things that allows Super Metroid to stand out from the pack. There is a particularness to Samus in Super Metroid that feels unlike other titles. The control is weighty, precise, and perfectly suited to the game. The music is absolutely incredible and again, perfectly suited to the game. Everything about Super Metroid is so intrinsically SNES. A remake would feel like a just because thing and just isn’t needed.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - November 21st, 1991

I’ve spoken at great length, as has Kris, about Link to the Past. To me this was a sea change game. There were games before A Link to the Past, and games after. In my mind, when thinking about rating scales, a game that receives a 10 would be a game that absolutely everyone should play regardless of the types of games they typically enjoy. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past gets an 11 at least. Of the 3 games on this list that do not need a remake, LttP needs a remake the least. I cannot think of anything that would be enhanced by a remake of this game. To me it is perfection. The graphics, music, pacing, control, story, progression, secrets, literally everything is exactly as it should be. Could it have voice acting, sure. Does it need voice acting, no. A remake should be something that adds a spoke to the wheel; a missing piece in an otherwise flawless experience. A Link to the Past has every spoke accounted for. 

And that’s my list. To hear what Kris has to say make sure to check out the pod through whatever catcher you use or on our very own Youtube channel. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.