According to a job posting on their website, Bandai Namco is reportedly working on a remastered Nintendo game. Since the title is unannounced, it’s only referred to as a “3D action game” or “3D background HD remaster.”
With a bevy of options available from the GameCube and Nintendo 64 line-ups, one must wonder if we’re finally going to see modern remakes of Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong 64, or countless other classics. Maybe the remastered Nintendo game is a console version of the 3DS’ Kid Icarus: Uprising?
To be honest, it could be anything. The job description is incredibly vague. It calls for the ability to perform HD remastering of deformed 3D backgrounds, has the experience and knowledge to create a deformed worldview, and perform HD remastering of the 3D background. Based on these tidbits, it’s likely that this remastered Nintendo game is a title that was already 3D but not developed in high definition.
Selfishly, I’d love to see a new F-Zero game finally, but it doesn’t make sense for Sega, who did the work on F-Zero GX, to not also work on the remaster.
If we look into the library of Bandai Namco developed Nintendo games, there are a couple of notable entries on the list: Baten Kaitos and Tales of Symphonia. Both are popular RPGs released in 2003, though Baten Kaitos is admittedly more niche. Both received sequels. A key difference, though, is that Baten Kaitos is turn-based. Tales of Symphonia, like the other entries in the Tales franchise, is an action RPG. One that, again, was released in 2003, which means it turns 20 next year.
Could the remastered Nintendo game be an HD re-release of Tales of Symphonia? I’m not saying it is, but I’d start there if I were a betting man.
Before you ask, yes, Nintendo published the original Tales of Symphonia release on GameCube.
