A few months ago I wrote a short list of games that especially deserve a digital re-release. The key word here is “short” because there’s many more games than I listed that deserve to be re-released on an online gaming distribution network like PSN, Steam, the Nintendo E-Shop, etc. Some, however, deserve to be re-released and therefore made much more available to players more than others. Most notably games that are harder (read: more rare/expensive) to obtain despite being well-loved, therefore making it difficult for both old and new fans to play them. As the gaming market starts to lean more and more toward digital releases, it’s important that these games don’t get left behind–which they currently are. So today, to remedy this, I’d like to draw your attention toward more games that especially deserve a digital re-release.

Super Smash Brothers Melee

via venturebeat.com

Go back to 2001 and Super Smash Brothers Melee was the talk of the town. Everyone had it, everyone loved it, everyone played it religiously. Today? Less people still have it even though everyone loves it and the competitive scene for Melee is still very much alive. This game is 15 years old, yet it’s still played at EVO.
Because it’s on the Gamecube, there’s no way to practice online for it–which really sucks for players wanting to play other players that aren’t in their fucking house–let alone hundreds if not thousands of miles away. Normally I wouldn’t call this such a big deal, but because the competitive scene for Melee is still very much alive it’ll definitely affect you if you can’t practice effectively.
This game is still incredibly beloved and widely played–both competitively and casually. In fact, that’s what’s made it so expensive these days–it’s not that it’s a rare game by any means, it’s the best selling game on the Gamecube, it’s just that nobody wants to give their copies up since it’s the staple of the Gamecube library. Considering that 3 Smash games–2 of them being very well received, no less– have come out since Melee and yet Melee is still arguably the most popular Smash game out there should speak in volumes. Nintendo would make buckets of money if they re-released it and gave it an online feature. No balance patches, just let us play it online. That’s all it needs.

Blood Will Tell

via hardcoregaming101.net

Often called a big hidden gem on the PS2, Blood Will Tell is a highly underrated game that definitely deserves a re-release. Have you ever heard of Osamu Tezuka? If you have, good. If you haven’t, have you ever heard of Astro Boy, Black Jack, or Metropolis (2001)? Then you’ve heard of Osamu Tezuka. Although Tezuka is well-known for being called the “god of manga” or “godfather of anime” what a lot of people tend to forget about him is that he also made a story for a video game, too: Blood Will Tell. The game is based on one of Tezuka’s manga, Dororo. For reasons that aren’t completely clear, it’s considered to be a somewhat rare game and prices tend to run in the $50 vicinity. Between the lack of accessibility interested players have, the fact that it was inspired by a Tezuka manga, and the fact that it’s a Sega game, it genuinely surprises me that this game hasn’t already been re-released in one way or another.

Ninja Five-O

via hardcoregaming101.net

If you know even the first thing about collecting rare GBA games then you know about Ninja Five-O. This game is, without a doubt, the most rare and expensive game on the GBA. For reasons that aren’t completely known, Konami didn’t distribute many copies of this game–very unfortunate for them because this game is constantly showered in praise from the lucky few who’ve had the opportunity to play it. To find even a cartridge of this game is an incredible find, but to find a copy complete in box in 2016 is almost unheard of. Especially in the midst of the tough times Konami’s been going through since the start of all the drama that erupted between them and Hideo Kojima, the cancellation of Silent Hills, and the exposure of their horrendous business practices, it makes me wonder why they haven’t bothered trying to get a re-release of this game on the Nintendo E-Shop yet–clearly it’s a well loved game that would sell just fine with lots of curious players who’d line up to play it.

Super Mario Sunshine

via youtube.com

This one kind of speaks for itself, honestly.

Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness

via gamefaqs.net

The year is 2005: The Pokemon 2000 movie is still fresh enough in everyone’s mind, Pokemon Emerald came out not too long ago, and what looks cooler to a young Pokemon fan than Shadow Lugia? I remember watching the commercial for it and desperately wishing I had a GameCube even if this was the only game I could play on it–it looked incredible. 11 years later and there still hasn’t been a Pokemon game quite like Gale of Darkness–by which I mean, an RPG. For that matter, there were no console Pokemon games for the Wii U, so it’s been a while since we’ve seen a Pokemon game on console. Like the other games on this list, it’s expensive (such are the highlights of the GameCube library) and loved by those who have played it–making it only harder for new fans to play it.

Especially in light of the recent surge of new Pokemon fans this year (from all the 20th Anniversary events and/or Pokemon Go) I definitely think there’s a lot of merit in re-releasing this game, both for old fans who want to relive it and new fans who are intrigued by it but don’t have $90 on hand to buy it–and that price is assuming, of course, that they already have a GameCube.

Hopefully when the Nintendo Switch arrives, a GameCube library in the Virtual Console will arrive with it. Especially considering how much more Nintendo-focused this list is compared to the last one, don’t forget to leave comments on games that you think especially deserve to be re-released. Like I said on the last list: The common thread in these games is that they’re hard to obtain physical copies of: They’re all rare, expensive, and at least 10 years old. If you have any other major reasons you’d like to see a certain game or a group of certain games getting  re-released for, be sure and let us know.