When an original game is excellent, it often gets cleared for a sequel. With the same people behind the project (or not, in some cases) another sequel gets made, leading to a trilogy. There have been many classic gaming trilogies over the years that people love. The Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid and Halo franchises each dramatically improved their mechanics in just three games.
Because of how good some game trilogies are, many of them receive bundled remakes. Games like Spyro: Reignited Trilogy are released as modern imaginings of old classics. That said, there are still plenty of video game trilogies that have yet to be remade, so we're exploring 10 of them that deserve a remake.
10 JAK AND DAXTER
Jak and Daxter was the next franchise that Naughty Dog created after Crash Bandicoot. Needless to say, these open-world games were excellent, priding themselves on having no loading screens and taking players to new and interesting worlds. The games have been re-released on newer hardware (with some technical issues), but never remade from the ground up.
Seeing the first game on modern hardware alone would be more than enough reason to remake this trilogy. Because the series has been on a hiatus for so long, it may be high time to give these two another chance at gaming fame.
9 SUPER MARIO BROS.
There are a lot of Super Mario Bros. games, but it's amazing that we don't have proper remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros 2., and Super Mario Bros. 3 from the NES. Even today, these three games are held in high regard as some of the best platformers ever made.
Nintendo has revived the franchise in the form of New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Maker, but there isn't a comprehensive package of the original three built with modern hardware. It seems like a big missed opportunity. That said, we would hope that Nintendo wouldn't just use the New Super Mario Bros. style to do it.
8 RATCHET AND CLANK
Insomniac has done a lot of work with each of their franchises, but none more so than Ratchet and Clank. Despite there being numerous games in the franchise, many will still argue that the first three were the best. These three were given an HD remaster on PS3, but there were plenty of graphical glitches to leave people unsatisfied with them.
Insomniac recently remade the first one with a new story and assets, but even that was a bit on the underwhelming side for fans. Instead, the developers could pay respects to the original by recreating the first three with the graphics and engine from the PS4 remake, to have the best of both worlds.
7 METROID PRIME
The Metroid Prime trilogy is something that people are still desperately wanting on Nintendo Switch. With Metroid Prime 4 now quite a distance away, it only makes sense that Nintendo would finally re-release the other three on current hardware.
However, the Metroid Prime games are still running on Gamecube/Wii hardware (which are very similar). With the upgrade to HD and the surprising power of the Switch, Nintendo could take the time to remake these games and make each one properly stand out with modern tech. It would be a brilliant way to tide over Metroid fans until the fourth game finally comes out.
6 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Sonic the Hedgehog is a big franchise, with all sorts of wonderful games to its name. Sega even put new twists on classic levels, but the company hasn't remade older games in the series. With so many games taking the series in a different direction, many regard the first three as some of the best ever made.
Because people seem to love the classic games so much, it strikes us as odd that they've never been remade. At the very least, Sega could take the visual style of the classic levels in Sonic Generations and use that to rebuild the first three games. They certainly deserve it.
5 SLY COOPER
Sly Cooper was another popular trilogy on PS2 that got an HD remaster on PS3. Apart from cleaning up textures and supporting widescreen, though, the games remained untouched. With Sly Cooper getting a fourth game on PS3 and then seemingly dying out, now might be a good time to take those original three titles and give them the remakes they deserve.
Whether it used the engine from Thieves in Time or went in its own direction, there was a lot of charm within the franchise that deserves to be continued through modern consoles. Perhaps we could see it on the PS5?
4 KIRBY'S DREAM LAND
The Kirby franchise has grown a lot since its days on the Game Boy. As a result, the series seems far removed from the Kirby's Dream Land trilogy, which took place on the Game Boy and SNES respectively. A lot of those games' mechanics haven't been used in newer games, leading them to feel a little forgotten.
Kirby fans would collectively lose their minds if Nintendo moved forward with a remake of all three Kirby's Dream Land games, though. They could all be done in a uniform style, yet perhaps with the crayon look of Kirby's Dream Land 3 to preserve the spirit of the original.
3 APE ESCAPE
There's a lot of charm in a series like Ape Escape. Released back on the PS1, it revolved around players using creative tools and skills to capture a bunch of eccentric monkeys. It was essentially a collect-a-thon similar to Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, but the collectibles had behavior patterns of their very own.
This led to the series gaining a lot of momentum back in the day, though it has since died down a lot. With a lot of PS1 classic games getting remade, Ape Escape seems to be the next franchise down the list. Fans are anxiously waiting to see if Sony ever pays this series any more attention.
2 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY
Donkey Kong Country got a proper revival in the form of Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. That said, neither of those games pay any mind to the Kremlings or even King K. Rool, going for their own settings and villains instead.
A lot of people grew up attached to Donkey Kong Country and its gorgeous graphics. With the Switch in full force, Nintendo could continue the series by looking to the past. Remaking the first three games with modern graphics (though that would have to be done very carefully) would surely get a lot of people excited. It would be nice to see all the animal buddies return as well.
1 GOLDEN SUN
Golden Sun is a franchise you've probably heard of from the people who want to get Isaac into Super Smash Bros. Golden Sun is an RPG that bucks a lot of tropes, leading to a cult classic series that easily got fans hooked.
In total, the franchise had three releases: two on the GBA and one on the DS. While Golden Sun was never big enough to get major attention from Nintendo, the games are so well-designed that a remake would be justifiable. It would also be a way for Nintendo to gauge interest in the series. If the remakes sold well, then the franchise could possibly continue.