RPG Remasters We Would Love to See in 2026

The video game industry loves its remasters, especially when it comes to RPGs. Some of the greatest titles of all time launched many years ago, and are starting to show their age, meaning companies can make money sprucing them up and selling them on.

While the industry as a whole has done a great job of allowing classic games to be played on modern platforms, there are still some outliers that cannot be played easily or legally.

There are also classic RPGs on modern platforms that are incredible but are held back by antiquated design choices and are in dire need of QoL features alongside a graphical upgrade.

2026 is going to be the year Grand Theft Auto 6 strikes the industry like a meteor, but not everyone will be interested in stealing cars and shooting pedestrians. There’s a passionate audience for RPGs that need games to play in 2026, so it’s time to bring back old favorites.

10 EarthBound

Nintendo Should Capitalize on Deltarune’s Success

EarthBound was a game that was decades ahead of its time, inspiring an entire sub-genre of wacky indie RPGs. Unfortunately, the precognition of its developers didn’t extend to the gameplay, as EarthBound has some frustrating design choices that make it annoying to play.

EarthBound is currently available on Nintendo Switch Online, and that service offers features that make things easier, such as save states. These alleviate some of the problems, but EarthBound still has some annoying balance issues, as well as a lengthy early game where the player only controls a single character.

An EarthBound remaster could not only fix up the visuals but also iron out the balance problems and make it easier for an RPG newbie to play. The reason it’s so far down on this list is that a remaster would assume Nintendo remembers or cares about EarthBound.

9 Shin Megami Tensei 4 & Apocalypse

Atlus Needs To Look Into Its DS/3DS Library More

While Persona might have eclipsed Shin Megami Tensei in terms of popularity, there are plenty of Atlus diehards who love the company’s demon-summoning series.

It’s a shame, then, that the two best Shin Megami Tensei games are locked on the Nintendo 3DS. Shin Megami Tensei 4 and its sequel, Apocalypse, are easily the finest entries in the franchise and deserve a lot more love than they’ve been shown.

While a full 3D remake might feel more appropriate for the Shin Megami Tensei 4 duology, they actually just need some crisp HD sprites and a slightly nicer overworld. Throw in some bonus bosses and demons for the people who played the originals, and Atlus will have another hit on its hands.

8 Fallout & Fallout 2

Returning To The Wasteland That Started It All

What is Bethesda’s problem? How is it that the company doesn't have new Fallout games or remasters of classic titles ready to go whenever a new season of the TV show drops? Sorry, Todd, but a new expansion for Fallout 76 isn’t gonna cut it.

At least Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are fairly easy to play on modern consoles. The same can’t be said for the first two entries in the franchise, which have antiquated presentation and are a pain to play.

Fallout and Fallout 2 are long overdue for remasters that make the presentation much less painful on the eyes. While the series shifted lore and canonicity starting with Fallout 3, there’s still a ton of fun to be had in the original iteration of the Wasteland.

7 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Los Angeles Is A Lot More Fun Than Seattle

2025 marked the release of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, and boy, was it terrible. The fans who had waited nearly twenty years for a sequel were left disappointed by a game that was basically Dishonored-lite.

It's not exactly easy to play the original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, with the game needing fan-made mods to function. The game is long overdue for a proper remaster, one that updates all the visuals, adds proper controller support, and makes it available on consoles.

Then again, after the failure of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, the franchise might be deader than an actual vampire. This is a huge shame, as the original Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is an all-time classic, and more people need to experience it.

6 Panzer Dragoon Saga

Sega Needs To Start Acknowledging The Saturn

The Sega Saturn had some incredible games, but its failure to capture an audience has ensured that Sega never bothers to remaster or rerelease any of its content. No, Sega would rather put out the eight millionth port of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 than acknowledge Burning Rangers.

Panzer Dragoon Saga might be the most cruelly overlooked title on the platform, being one of the best 32-bit RPGs, yet trapped on a platform few people owned, and only receiving a limited release.

A Panzer Dragoon Saga port that updates the visuals and adds some difficulty modes would not only make one of the best RPGs ever made easier to play, but might finally drop the price of physical copies of the original, which currently commands outrageous prices online.

5 Parasite Eve

Someone Will Have To Google How Mitochondria Works

The PS1 helped birth the survival horror genre, with Resident Evil and Silent Hill being among the best games on the system. The original Parasite Eve can go toe-to-toe with the best of them, being an incredible title that is both terrifying to experience and fun to play.

The only problem with Parasite Eve is that the visuals have aged terribly. It uses muddy pre-rendered backgrounds mixed with ancient 3D sprites.

The gameplay in Parasite Eve has aged incredibly well and is still a blast to play in its current state. It’s just the aesthetics that need work, so hopefully Square Enix will give it the same treatment that the PS1 Final Fantasy remasters received.

4 Shadowrun

Never Make A Deal With A Dragon

The Shadowrun tabletop RPG has already received a trilogy of excellent RPGs in the modern era, all of which are well worth playing for those looking for something a bit different from their CRPGs.

What many people might not realize is that there was already an incredible Shadowrun RPG on the SNES, one that was many people’s introduction to its fantasy/sci-fi world.

A Shadowrun remaster would need to improve the visuals, as the sprites are small and can be hard to make out. It would also benefit from some difficulty options, as the game can be brutal in its opening hours, so a way to reduce the grind would be welcome.

3 Terranigma

The Mana Series Can’t Have All The Fun

While Square Enix might have been the king of the SNES RPGs back in the ‘90s, there were plenty of other companies producing amazing titles during that era. Quintet was one such studio, as it made Terranigma, possibly the best action RPG on the platform.

Terranigma is similar to the Mana series in its gameplay, with the player fighting through dungeons in real time. The game has an incredibly in-depth and oftentimes sad story, one that is still enjoyable to this day, even when told through tiny visuals.

One reason Terranigma might not get a remaster is that it never actually released in North America, only Japan and Europe. A remaster could finally introduce this classic to a new audience in a legal way.

2 Bahamut Lagoon

The Best SNES RPG That Never Left Japan Finally Needs An International Release

God bless the fan translation teams of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. If it weren’t for their tireless work, some of the best games on the Super Nintendo would be unplayable to those who don’t speak Japanese.

Bahamut Lagoon might be the most prominent example of a game that was cruelly locked to Japan. Originally called Final Fantasy Tactics, Bahamut Lagoon is a tactics RPG set across multiple floating islands, where teams of adventurers fight alongside dragons to stop an invading empire from taking over the world.

With incredible visuals and gameplay, Bahamut Lagoon is a lost gem from the SNES library that needs a remaster, not just for the graphics, but to make this classic available to as many people as possible.

1 Chrono Trigger

The Clock Is Ticking For Chrono Trigger

2025 marked the 30th anniversary of Chrono Trigger, and many fans were left disappointed. 2025 was the perfect time to announce a remaster or a remake, but the year came and went with no announcements.

Chrono Trigger is a candidate for the best RPG ever made, being an all-time classic that is still as fun to play now as it was back in the ‘90s. The game doesn’t need a remaster, to improve its visuals; it needs it to ensure people on modern platforms can more easily experience this GOAT title.

It doesn’t help that the existing Chrono Trigger remasters have been shoddy, save for the amazing DS version. Square Enix needs to give this amazing game the love it deserves, with a remaster that does it justice.