The Last Remnant
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
The Last Remnant was an overlooked JRPG on the Xbox 360 that featured an engaging battle system focused on multiple-squad combat. You play as Rush Sykes, a young man who finds himself embroiled in a worldwide conflict. The world in The Last Remnants focuses on powerful artifacts known as Remnants that are bound to people, granting them powers and abilities above their own.
While The Last Remnant certainly wasn’t the biggest or best RPG, it did feature an interesting story and fascinating combat system that had you grouping multiple characters together into squads. You could bring multiple squads into battle, resulting in some pretty massive conflicts. Unfortunately the game did have some issues, but they could easily be worked out with a remaster. First of all, technical issues like frame rate drops and pop in textures could easily be ironed out with a technical upgrade. At the same time, making some overhauls to the combat and leveling systems could cause things to be even more engaging, and a fast forward button feature could ease out some of the slower elements of the game. Final Fantasy XII was a pretty good game already, but The Last Remnant could truly stand to benefit from a similar update.
Chrono Cross
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
Chrono Cross, along with Chrono Trigger, is one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time, and for good reason. The story of Chrono Cross focuses on a young boy named Serge who inadvertently discovers a parallel world that sees him killed as a child. He sets out to discover the truth of these parallel worlds and what their links mean. The game uses standard turn based combat with a few twists, like an element system and stamina system that dictates the moves you can make. While Chrono Cross received nearly universal acclaim at launch, like many other PS1 RPGs, it hasn’t aged entirely well. It’s certainly still playable, but an update would work wonders for the game.
Simply providing Chrono Cross with a shiny new coat of paint would work wonders, but you could also make some modern improvements to the battle system to make things more engaging, upping the speed and adding maybe some more layers of strategy in. Even better would be hearing the game’s soundtrack completely re-orchestrated.
Vagrant Story
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
Vagrant Story would be an oddly fitting title to see get an update, considering the links it holds to both Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics. Although it’s not immediately obvious, Vagrant Story was later on retconned to be set in Ivalice. It makes sense considering the title is made by Yasumi Matsuno, the creator of both FFXII and Tactics.
Vagrant Story takes place in Valendia, a location that shares the name of a continent from Final Fantasy XII. It’s not really a Final Fantasy game, however, as it features semi real-time combat that has you selecting different moves and abilities. It takes place almost entirely in an underground catacomb, as the Riskbreaker Ashley Graham tries to stop a political plot. Vagrant Story remains a wholly unique title for both its storytelling and gameplay, but an HD update would be more than welcome. It would be great to see the title done more in the style of Final Fantasy XII, and receive some big gameplay updates to make things play smoother. Considering the links it holds to other games, it would only make sense to see it get an update at some point.
Final Fantasy VIII
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
Final Fantasy VIII has always been in a strange position, a bit of a divisive game wedged between the beloved Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX. That doesn’t mean VIII is bad in any regard, but it could certainly benefit from a few updates. There was a Steam version of the game released with some boosters like high-speed mode and battle assistance, but these updates would be appreciated on console as well. Final Fantasy VIII fell in a strange time of PS1 graphics, where it tried to emulate realistic character models instead of the more stylistic design of both VII and IX. Unfortunately this hasn’t age well, and the characters of VIII are quite blocky and ugly.
While Final Fantasy VIII’s story was top notch, its battle system was overly complicated resulting in absurd amounts of customization for each character, although each inevitably felt similar to the next. Besides a visual update, certain gameplay additions could be made to tighten up things like the Junction and equipment systems.
Radiata Stories
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
Radiata Stories is a bit of a unique game, feeling a bit like a Tales game and a bit like Suikoden. The game takes place in a land called Radiata, where humans and fairy creatures live together, at least until something happens that is. The title’s developed by Tri-Ace of Star Ocean fame, so the battle system closely matches that or a Tales game, letting you move the main character around a 3D space. Where Radiata Stories is unique, however, is in the 176 NPCs that you can recruit into your party. The game puts a big emphasis on its persistent world, with characters that have their own schedules and lives, all controlled by a day/night system. Each character has a different requirement to be put on Jack’s “Friend List,” but after that they can be included in the party at almost any time.
Radiata Stories would be the perfect title to bring to new consoles, and make available to a larger audience. It isn’t the deepest RPG but its fun whimsical style and characters are sure to appeal. The game’s cel-shaded art style would look stunning in HD, and you could even make some improvements to the combat system to give it a little more depth. Either way, Radiata Stories could find a home on PS4.
NieR
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
NieR is an odd game, one that released to lukewarm reception but developed a passionate cult following as the years went on. You play as NieR, a father trying to find a cure for his terminally ill daughter in a post-apocalypse world. The title has an odd blend of gameplay with 2D platforming, rail shooting elements, and even text-based gameplay. Yet everything works fairly well in NieR, and it’s a story that could only be told in the form of a video game.
With the recent phenomenal success of NieR: Automata, it seems like the original game would be right in line for a remaster. At the same time adding in some elements like a fast forward button would allow you to skip some of the slower elements of the game. Adding on more combat options or enhancing it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing either. NieR has only gotten better with age, and it’d be great for new fans of Automata to see where its inspirations came from.
Drakengard
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
NieR holds some interesting links to the Drakengard series, as they’re both directed by the eccentric Yoko Taro. Actually, NieR takes place in one timeline of the series, from an ending that slips off of Drakengard 2. The first title in the series was an early PS2 release and it’s aged about as well as you’d expect. It features an interesting mix of hack-and-slash, aerial combat, and RPG elements making the game incredibly varied, something we’d see again with NieR. Drakengard takes place in a dark medieval fantasy world known as Midgard, and has you playing as a deposed prince named Caim and his dragon named Angelus.
Drakengard could really stand to benefit from a visual overhaul, not just an upgrade. Improving the depth of field alone would drastically improve the game’s Dynasty Warriors-like battles. In addition, adding some modern control updates would smooth over combat and flying controls. While Drakengard 3 did make its way to PS3, it’d still be great to see this series come back, especially considering the original game is not easy to find these days.
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
RPGs That Deserve the Zodiac Age Treatment
Valkyrie Profile is another one of Square Enix’s lesser known series, but has still developed a cult following. The series has strong ties to Norse mythology, and Valkyrie Profile 2 is the perfect place for newcomers to start as it takes place hundreds of years before the first game. Silmeria focuses on two beings inhabiting the same body, Silmeria and Alicia, as they work to stop a catastrophe that could cause war between the humans and the gods.
Unlike the first game, Silmeria features a much more action-focused combat system that takes place on a 3D plane. You do have action points, however, that are taken up by attacking and dashing, and are restored over time. While the game’s story and combat felt fresh and exciting, it had a few issues that could easily be ironed out with a remaster. The difficulty spiked ridiculously at times, hampering your progress through the story, which could be fixed with rebalancing. At the same time the menus and interface are cluttered and confusing, something a redesign could improve for the modern age. It’s been years since we’ve seen a new Valkyrie game, outside of a mobile title, but re-releasing this PS2 classic could be a good way to gauge interest in another game.
