It seems like we’re getting more remakes and remasters than ever before. These projects allow developers to bring old and sometimes outdated games to modern audiences, adapting the story with updated gameplay and graphics for fans, new and old, to experience.
However, this always leaves the original game in a tricky spot, especially in the months or years leading up to the remake’s release. Sometimes, a remake makes the original obsolete, while in other cases, both exist on their own merits at the same time. That said, if you’re looking to play any of the games below, you may want to wait for a bit for their upcoming remake.
If you have yet to begin this massive, sprawling JRPG series, it may be worth waiting a few more months to play the remake of the first game in the story, Trails in the Sky. This remake melds the updated gameplay of newer games in the Trails series with the beloved story that begins the whole series.
Trails in the Sky is the ultimate comfy JRPG, with relatively low stakes early on that ramp into a conspiracy threatening the main characters' homeland. There are tons of dialogue and side quests to experience, which all serve to flesh out and develop the massive world that is further expanded upon in later titles in the series.
The original Gothic is a cult classic RPG that has inspired many games that have come after. However, not every cult classic has aged well, and Gothic in particular is hard to go back to in 2025 due to its clunky combat; it was even considered clunky at the time of its release in 2001.
Luckily, a Gothic remake should be coming out later this year or next year, so you can experience this title without having to suffer through the original’s combat.
After the success of the 2D-HD remake of Dragon Quest 3, Square Enix is also releasing similar remakes for Dragon Quest 1 and 2 in 2025. Dragon Quest 3 is the narrative beginning of the Erdrick Trilogy, which then continues into DQ1 and 2, so it’s definitely the best place to start if you want to have the full continuity.
All three of these gameswill play similarly, but keep in mind that they are JRPGs in the truest sense of the word. For the most part, they’ll play similarly to their original counterparts, but the remakes offer quality of life improvements and the beautiful 2D-HD art style, so it’s worth waiting to play them just for that.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is being fully remade as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which will pair the emotion and depth of the original story with modern graphics to match. MGS3 is the chronological starting point of the franchise, following Naked Snake on a mission in Soviet territory during the height of the Cold War.
Remade in Unreal Engine 5, Delta looks absolutely incredible, and it’s coming out next month, so it’s in your best interest to hold off on playing the original. That said, the original Metal Gear Solid 3 is one of the most celebrated games of our time, so it’s worth going back and playing that one eventually, too.
Persona 4 is receiving its second remake/remaster withPersona 4 Revival. This project seeks to update the game similarly to Persona 3 Reload, with updated graphics, modernized gameplay, and refreshed voice acting.
If you’ve played any of Atlus’s newer JRPGs, like Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 Reload, or Metaphor, you’re going to love Persona 4 Revival. The small town vibes, murder mystery, and characters are all some of the best the series has to offer, and this remake will elevate all of these aspects to perfection.
In general, it’s always a good idea to wait to play Atlus games, as there’s almost always a ‘complete’ or ‘expanded’ version released a few years after the base game, as is the case with Persona 5 or Shin Megami Tensei 5.
It seems that Nihon Falcom is taking a page out of Atlus' book and releasing an expanded version of the latest game in the Ys series, Ys 10: Nordics, called Ys 10: Proud Nordics. This version will include additional content and gameplay, but will be primarily the same game. Not necessarily a remake or remaster, but still worth waiting to play.
The Ys series has been around forever, with each entry following a different point of Adol Christin’s journey. Nordics tells the story of one of Adol’s earliest adventures, and has some of the most satisfying action combat you can find in any JRPG.
Believe it or not,the Witcher 3is not the only game in the series. Despite being the most popular, by far, two games came before it, each iterating on the previous to eventually give us the masterpiece of the Witcher 3 that we have today.
The original game hasn’t aged well, which is why most people interested in the franchise skip straight to the third one, and it’s definitely valid to do so. The upcoming Witcher remake, however, will be the perfect time to experience the beginning of the trilogy with updated gameplay and graphics.
