Classic NES games that deserve a reboot

There was a new Aladdin movie. Why not a new Aladdin game? Surprisingly, this Super Nintendo game is much more than a film tie-in. It’s one of the more fun games to ever come out on the console. We’d love to see another game in this vein. If it felt like Disney’s Aladdin, we’d be into it.

Pilotwings 64 was supposed to be a big game for the Nintendo 64, but it didn’t land as they hoped. While they did make a third game in the series in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS, the series has been fallow for a while. Sure, there are other flight simulators, but this is one with a smaller scope to the flying and better potential visuals than anything in a plane cockpit.

Is American Gladiators currently on TV? No. Do we care? Not at all! There hasn’t been an American Gladiators game since the early ‘90s. Video game technology was so primitive then. Imagine competing in the Joust or Powerball with modern graphics capabilities. That would rule.

The last game in this fighting series, ClayFighter 63 1/3, was long-delayed and still didn’t feel fully formed when it landed. Indeed, they eventually released a “Sculptor’s Cut” for rentals that was spruced up a bit. There are a lot of fighting games, but this is the one that involves clay characters and uses stop-motion animation. Let’s see if they can do it better this time.

Domino’s decided to bring the Noid back. It’s time to give him another video game. Yo! Noid is one of the most difficult games for the NES. Hopefully, this one will be easier.

The F-Zero series never became what Nintendo wanted. They hoped the original game would be the Super Nintendo's big release, and Captain Falcon would be the face of the console. That didn’t quite work out, and there hasn’t been an F-Zero game since 2004, and that was for the Game Boy Advance. People know Captain Falcon from Super Smash Bros. now. A new racing game in the series could work.

They made a Home Improvement video game. It did not come with a manual because “real men don’t need instructions.” Look, we just think it would be funny if they made another Home Improvement game. Power Tool Pursuit is insane. Give us another jolt of that. If they have to make it a Last Man Standing game, that’s fine. Richard Karn better be involved, though.

Remember when the Crash Dummies were a thing? They were sentient crash test dummies (no relation to the band) that were also a toy line and stuff. The thing about crash test dummies is that you could make a “violent” game with them, but the violence is more palatable because they are dummies without blood and stuff. We could have our cake and eat it too, and they could reintroduce the characters to a new generation.

Joe & Mac, also known as Caveman Ninja, is about two cavemen who aren’t really ninjas. They use clubs and stone wheels but also boomerangs. In the original game, they are saving lady cavemen from another caveman tribe, which is a plot we don’t need again, but a couple of cavemen who use weapons and are hanging with dinosaurs and stuff? There has been talk of rebooting the series, but it hasn’t happened yet.

This is a super-fun basketball game. You choose two Looney Tunes characters for your teams, and there are special moves and power-ups and stuff. It’s very arcade-style basketball, but it’s fun even if you don’t love Looney Tunes. And yet, they only did one of these games, and it was before Space Jam. Why haven’t they don’t another one?

The original Ice Climber has been spruced up and re-released on some later consoles. However, we haven’t gotten a true sequel or reboot of the Nintendo original. There are Ice Climber characters in Smash Bros., though, so we know how they can look in a reboot. People are still fans of Ice Climber. Give them a chance to explore that space again.

Maybe Balloon Fight feels a little silly. After all, you play a character just known as “Balloon Fighter,” who has two balloons attached to a helmet. If enemies pop your balloons, you lose. You can play a version where you fight enemies and a version where you are on a side-scrolling adventure trying to avoid obstacles. Maybe if it were on a system more advanced than the NES, it would look silly, but we want to see them try.

Why did they never reboot Duck Hunt? People love that game as much as they hate that dog. And yet, it’s always been the same thing. They should do something different. Different environments, maybe different weaponry. Ideally, they could do it without the light gun these days.

This was one of the first games for the Famicom and actually didn’t get an American release until a version was dropped on the 3DS in 2014. However, a lot of Nintendo aficionados love The Mysterious Murasame Castle. It comes up when people talk about Nintendo reboots they would like to see. Why not give it a shot?

Do you wish Pokemon was just about the fights and not walking around talking to merchants or whatever? Then Pokemon Stadium is for you. They released two versions of the game for the Nintendo 64, but that was it. Pokemon Go was super popular, but what about people who want to chill at home and fight a Jigglypuff against a Psyduck? Give them another Pokemon Stadium.

Jet Force Gemini is a space-adventure game based on an original idea but clearly indebted to films like Aliens and classic ‘80s arcade games. It got good reviews and was a lot of fun, and it even sold quite a few copies. They had started thinking about a second game in the series, but it never happened. Why not revisit that now?

A puzzle-based action game, Blast Corps was critically loved at the time. It’s still considered one of the better Nintendo 64 games. The problem was it didn’t sell great. Would they want to make a sequel as a result? Maybe not, but it would be worth giving it a try. Perhaps it clicks this time.

Kid Icarus has a villain named “Eggplant Wizard.” Do we need to say anything more? Fine, the original is also one of the favorite NES games ever made. It got one Game Boy sequel in 1991, and it was brought back in 2012 for the 3DS. That was a decade ago, and the 3DS was not a major platform. We want a serious, real-deal return of Pit…and the Eggplant Wizard.

Known as “Mother” in Japan, the third game in the series, which would have been called EarthBound 64 in the United States, ended up a Japan-only release. It’s considered one of the big cancellations for the N64 console. Perhaps, all these years later, they could pick up the pieces and finally give us another EarthBound game.

Top Gun for Nintendo 64 is a really difficult game. If you are feeling the need for speed, you may be out of luck. Now, we got a long-gestating and massively successful sequel for Top Gun, the movie. How about a video game that can live up to the feeling of the film and isn’t just about trying to land a plane or refuel?