After years of begging and pleading with BioWare and EA, the Mass Effect trilogy is finally receiving a proper re-release on modern consoles with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. This seems to be the first step in bringing the franchise back into gaming’s good graces, since an entirely new chapter in the saga is currently in development.
The way a save file carries over between games means this trilogy begs to be all in one spot. While almost none of the ten trilogies below have such a synergy, they also need a re-release on modern platforms, if only just to be more easily accessible on modern hardware.
10 Resident Evil PS1 Trilogy
While remakes of these games are all available on PS4 and Xbox, the original incarnations deserve preservation. It is not just for historical reasons, either. Resident Evil 2 in particular holds up almost perfectly, even with the existence of the stellar remake. It was the first game directed by Hideki Kamiya, who would go on to direct classics like Devil May Cry, Okami, and Bayonetta. While some complain about the control scheme and fixed camera angles, it helps the games age more gracefully.
9 The Witcher
CD Projekt Red’s reputation has taken a nosedive thanks to Cyberpunk 2077’s disastrous reception. If the company wanted to get back in fans’ good graces, it could do a lot worse than re-releasing The Witcher trilogy. The first game, which is still only available on PC, would admittedly need some reworking to keep up with the times, but it would at least be interesting to dive into as a curiosity.
8 Max Payne
The saddest protagonist in all of gaming, the first Max Payne put Remedy Entertainment, who would go on to make supernatural thrillers like Alan Wake and Control, on the map. The second game did not sell as well but is a tighter third-person shooter. Rockstar Games took over for the third game, which came out nine years later in 2012. Not only do the first two titles need to be updated, but Max Payne 3 deserves to be played at the highest graphical fidelity at 60 frames per second, something the PS3 and Xbox 360 could not hope to achieve.
7 God Of War
It is possible to play the first God of War trilogy on PS3 thanks to HD remaster from Bluepoint Games, but this does not do PS4 and PS5 owners any good.
The three games tell a complete story, and knowing Kratos’ original tale heightens appreciation of 2018’s God of War. The fixed camera angles are certainly a mark of an older game, but the combat still feels as visceral as ever.
6 Phantasy Star
While four Phantasy Star games exist across the Sega Master System and Sega Genesis, Phantasy Star 3 is such an outlier, it almost feels like a spin-off. These turn-based RPGs are considered some of the best of their time, and Phantasy Star 4 in particular is a retro JRPG masterpiece. With Phantasy Star Online 2 finally out in the west, perhaps it is time to bring the older titles back into the light.
5 Dragon Age
Dragon Age: Origins and its sequel were popular, but Dragon Age: Inquisition managed to be one of the most celebrated games of 2014. Unfortunately, understanding much of the third game’s plot and conclusion hinges upon playing the first two games. With a fourth game off in the distance, now would be as good a time as ever to put the whole trilogy into one package for fans to revisit and newcomers to discover. BioWare is already doing it with Mass Effect, after all.
4 Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime successfully brought Samus into the 3D space. While the whole trilogy is available on the Nintendo Wii, a port to the Nintendo Switch is certainly in order. Fans speculate a remaster’s announcement once more information on the fourth game comes to light, but there is no evidence to back this up.
The environmental storytelling and focus on exploration served as an inspiration for Respawn Entertainment when making Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
3 Silent Hill
The Silent Hill HD Collection on PS3 and Xbox 360 is considered one of the worst remasters of all time. Both titles look and run significantly worse than on the PS2. The series deserves a second chance, and Konami owes it to fans to make the perfect HD remaster of these timeless survival horror classics. Throw in the first game for the original PlayStation, and you have a nearly perfect trilogy of psychological terror.
2 Grand Theft Auto’s PS2 Trilogy
The early aughts were a great time to be a Grand Theft Auto fan. The third numbered entry revolutionized gaming as a whole, and it was quickly followed by two more titles set in different time periods and cities across the series’ fictional United States. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City stands out for how well it captures the 1980s vibe. The games are already thankfully playable on PS4, but a couple of issues prevent these emulated versions from shining the way they should. Bringing them to 60 frames per second would be a dream.
1 Xenosaga
Believe it or not, Xenosaga was supposed to be six games before being chopped in half. With Monolith Software’s increased relevance due to the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise and its work on Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild, it seems like a good time to bring back Xenosaga, letting fans of the developer who missed it the first time around experience these cult classics. Throw the PS1 game Xenogears in the package as an added bonus.
