Forgotten SNES RPGs That Deserve a Modern Remake

The JRPG as we know it debuted during the third console generation with iconic titles like 1986's Dragon Quest and 1987's Final Fantasy, but it wouldn't be until the arrival of the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the onset of the fourth console generation that the genre would really come into its own. The SNES library is packed with definitive role-playing games that helped to define the console's library, but several of the best ones seem to have been lost to the annals of history, especially when it comes to potential projects for modern-era remakes of beloved classics. Rather than focusing on the likely candidates for remake consideration, like Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy VI, several underappreciated and mostly forgotten SNES RPGs are deserving of a modern remake to bring them to a wider audience.

• Release Date — January 29, 1994
• Developer — Produce!
• Publisher — Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)

When it comes to criminally underrated and overlooked RPGs in the SNES library, it'd be impossible not to mention Brain Lord, which is about as close as we ever got to a decent Zelda clone from another developer on the console. Released as one of several Enix-published role-playing games for the system, Brain Lord is a very solid action RPG that is far more puzzle-heavy than most of the other games in the genre, giving its adventure a unique feel and flow that's worthy of revisiting in a modern remake. Looking at how successful the HD-2D remakes of the Dragon Quest games have been, you could easily see Brain Lord going over well with fans after getting a similar treatment.

• Release Date — October 17, 1995
• Developer — Square USA
• Publisher — Square Soft
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)

To be fair, Secret of Evermore isn't necessarily "forgotten" among fans of the genre, but it is one of the more infrequently brought up titles in Square's legendary SNES catalog. Part of Secret of Evermore's place as a "black sheep" in the Square library comes from its place of being one of the only games to be developed by Square's US-based development studio, which gives the game a distinctly different feel and vibe from the other Japanese-developed titles (something that was an intentional move to appeal more directly to a Western audience). But underneath its atypical setting, characters, and visuals, Secret of Evermore is a great action RPG that deserves a second shot at attaining an audience via a modern remake.

• Release Date — October 1992
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Review Aggregate Score — 67% (Mixed or Average)

A lot of players look at Final Fantasy Mystic Quest as a spin-off barely worthy of the series' name, but that perspective fails to acknowledge that, if you put aside its name, Mystic Quest is a great little game that works well as a "my first RPG" experience. Players can more easily come to grips with concepts like following quest structure and being strategic in turn-based battles than they can in the mainline games, and while Mystic Quest's story is nothing to write home about, it is pretty charming and backed up with one of the all-time greatest soundtracks of any SNES RPG. A modern remake of Mystic Quest that adds a bit more depth to the mechanics while updating the visuals and still retaining its lighthearted spirit could serve as a great genre introduction for younger players.

• Release Date — November 27, 1993
• Developer — Quintet
• Publisher — Enix, Nintendo
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)

It's maybe a bit of a stretch to say that Illusion of Gaia is a "forgotten" SNES RPG, but it's seemingly been left by the wayside in favor of focusing on remakes of other Enix-published titles of the era. The middle game in Quintet's legendary trilogy of titles on the SNES (all of which happen to be included in this list), Illusion of Gaia is arguably the easiest and most accessible of the three and a strong third-place contender behind A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana as one of the best action RPG games in the SNES library. Instead of an old-school HD-2D remake, we'd love to see a developer tackle a modern, full-3D reimagining of this action-adventure classic and bring it to a brand-new audience.

• Release Date — January 31, 1992
• Developer — Quintet
• Publisher — Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)

Square Enix has already produced a modern remake of Quintet's ActRaiser with ActRaiser: Renaissance, so it only makes sense for them to follow suit with that game's spiritual successor, Soul Blazer. Soul Blazer is similar to ActRaiser in many respects, including mixing action hack-and-slash combat with city-building elements, but it ditches the level-based, side-scrolling structure of ActRaiser for a sprawling, top-down adventure set in an intriguing open-ended map. Soul Blazer went criminally underappreciated during its time, and the love that players retrospectively have for games like ActRaiser makes it a perfect candidate for a modern remake that delivers on its unique blend of simulation gameplay and action RPG exploration and combat.

• Release Date — February 9, 1996
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)

Square's Bahamut Lagoon has never gotten an official release outside of Japan, which makes it a perfect contender for a modern remake. One need look no further than Square Enix's recent remake of Live-A-Live, another former Japan-exclusive JRPG, to see that Bahamut Lagoon could really shine with a new HD-2D makeover that keeps most of the core gameplay intact while updating the visuals and injecting a few modern quality of life tweaks. Interestingly enough, Bahamut Lagoon actually uses a similar combat system as Live-A-Live, delivering tactical turn-based encounters on a grid from a traditional side-facing camera view. If a remake could work for Live-A-Live, it could certainly work for Bahamut Lagoon.

• Release Date — February 24, 1995
• Developer — Neverland
• Publisher — Taito
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)

Both of the Lufia games are surprisingly underrated when it comes to the SNES' RPG library, but that's not to say that die-hard fans of the genre aren't well acquainted with both Lufia and Lufia II. While the original Lufia is great, it's actually Lufia II that's perhaps most deserving of a remake, if for no other reason than it features some truly memorable characters and an excellent adventure that shines just slightly better than its predecessor. In a perfect world, we'd get some kind of remake or remaster package that included both Lufia and Lufia II, similar to what Konami did last year with the first two Suikoden games. It's about time that these titles got the recognition they deserve, and that would likely be the best way to ensure it.

• Release Date — December 2, 1994
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)

Capcom has sadly all but abandoned its excellent Breath of Fire series, which is a real shame considering how great the initial 4 games are. If you were going to just pick one and give it a full-blown modern remake in the same style as, say, Capcom's turn-based Monster Hunter Stories games, Breath of Fire II would probably be the best and most obvious choice, as it's held in high regard both from the players who grew up with it and from RPG enthusiasts who have gone back and unearthed it like the hidden gem it is. The Breath of Fire games take on a bit of a snappier pacing than most of the Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games of the era, but they still deliver satisfying "Hero's Journey"-style tales and some great combat mechanics.

• Release Date — March 12, 1993
• Developer — Quest Corporation
• Publisher — Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)

With 2024's Unicorn Overlord, we kind of already got a modern remake of Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, but that doesn't mean we couldn't use more great SRPG gameplay in our lives. As much as MotBQ clearly influenced Vanillaware's Unicorn Overlord, the genuine artifact still stands alone in the SNES library as one of the most underappreciated RPGs on the system, making it a prime candidate for either a remaster or a full-blown modern remake. We'd love to see Square Enix tackle an HD-2D pixel art remake of Ogre Battle that remains as faithful to the original's gameplay and story as possible, which should give players who enjoyed Unicorn Overlord something to dive into as we wait for a possible sequel (fingers crossed).

• Release Date — October 20, 1995
• Developer — Quintet
• Publisher — Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)

The final game in Quintet's SNES trilogy, Terranigma, is another title in the system's library that never got a proper North American release outside of some ROM dumps, which makes it perfect fodder for a remake or remaster. Gameplay-wise, Terranigma is more of what you'd expect given Quintet's work on Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia, blending real-time action RPG combat and dungeon-crawling with a world-rebuilding meta game that involves some simulation aspects. But in terms of its narrative, Terranigma might be the single most profound game in the SNES library for the lessons it conveys about the meaning of life and death. It's about time that its story got the audience it deserves, which would be readily facilitated by a modern remake and re-release.