With the release of 3D Classics Excitebike in North America, in addition to Xevious and Urban Champion in Japan, Nintendo has set quite the standard for their 3D NES remakes. That standard being near launch titles only! The NES library was filled with classics that helped shape the games industry as a whole and Nintendo, being Nintendo, will choose none of these for their 3D Classics series! Feel free to comment below with your predictions.
#5 Pinball
As a pretty decent NES launch title, Pinball was a fun but simple game of Pinball with a mini-game where you can control Mario. A 3D perspective would add little to the game, but Pinball is usually displayed on an angle so this is where Nintendo would do the most updating to the visuals. Hopefully a save feature will be added to keep your high scores. A motion controlled method for shaking the table would also be a rather welcome addition. Nintendo may choose this game as it is very simple, with only one table and one bonus stage. Since it is also available as e-reader cards, in Animal Crossing for Gamecube and on Wii’s Virtual Console, this game seems to be a favorite of Nintendo’s.
#4 Balloon Fight
This co-op arcade game featured some of Nintendo’s classic two player game-play wherein the players could help as well as harm each other in the quest to attain the highest scores. It also included a side scrolling Balloon Trip mode where you progressed through a maze of sparks and enemies in a one life survival mode to reach the best ranking. A 3DS remake could help Nintendo show off its wireless multi-player capability in a NES styled game. 3D, once again, wouldn’t add too much to the game-play but maybe an effect could be added to make higher players and enemies appear farther away. Balloon Fight was released many times such as Balloon Kid for Gameboy and the Japanese only Tingle’s Balloon Fight for the DS and various references to the game in the Warioware series of games. This is a game I'm sure Nintendo wouldn’t mind making one more time.
#3 Rad Racer
Rad Racer was a game developed by Square with the talents of Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu, two huge names in the games industry. The game featured two different looking identical cars and 8 levels to challenge the player. Nintendo would be wise to release this gem of a title to add some diversity to their 3D Classics lineup. The game was already in 3D using old style red and blue glasses so it would be nice to see this game as it was intended. While the 3DS is sadly incompatible with the Power Glove, maybe Nintendo could add motion controls so this game can be experienced as a true Wizard would.
#2 Baseball
Every retro revival game series needs at least one sports title and what better than America’s favorite pastime: Baseball. 3D would greatly improve the gameplay as one could see exactly where the ball is as the pitcher throws, improving already good pitching and batting controls. With six teams, there is plenty of choice for the player. This could be another game Nintendo could show off it’s wireless multi-player. Baseball seems to be another favorite of Nintendo’s since it also was released multiple times including e-reader cards and as a bonus game for Animal Crossing.
#1 Super Mario Brothers
The definitive NES platformer, SMB was an instant classic. Still challenging to this day with completely perfect controls, SMB would be a no-brainer purchase for 3DS. A 3D view could be attained by tilting the perspective of the level to a more isometric ¾ view, allowing the player to see further into the distance of the level. Even though this title has been remade many many times, it’s always worth another play through, especially if it’s been a while.
