In the 90’s Nintendo tried something new and innovative with the Satellaview add on. It was a way to bring new games through satellite broadcasts, and brought new versions of several games like The Legend of Zelda and F- Zero. However, these could only be played during the broadcast time , and afterwards they were gone for good.
The most well known of these games as the Satellaview Zelda games, which are remakes of the first game and A Link to the Past, complete with new content and stories. In effect these are the Zelda games that were never released outside Japan and that we never got a chance to play. Zelda wasn’t the only series to get this treatment however, as there was also a Satellaview version of Excitebike which had a lot of new content and had a special change to it where the racers were replaced by Mario characters. The game also included a “SUPER” mode where the player has unlimited turbo, as well as the addition of coins. The coins are spread out on the courses and increase top speed. In other words, there was a Mario Kart-like Excitebike game made years ago that we never received in the west.
In addition, as mentioned above, there were F-zero sequels made for the Satellaview. These games had new tracks and vehicles, but more importantly, they included a track editor if you were bored of what was offered already. It was way ahead of its time and yet, unless you look online for a rom dump, the game is seemingly gone forever.
Then there are the Mario Paint games, Super Mario Bros, Wario’s Woods, Wizardry, Super E.D.F., Kirby, Harvest Moon and more. All these games had something new to them and we never got to experience them outside Japan. Games like Dragon Quest 1 got a SNES remake this way but again, only for Japan. Fast forward several years however, and fans outside Japan have learned of these games and a following has developed. We want these games here but they are seemingly lost forever….or are they?
If the games’ source codes still exist, why can’t Nintendo bring them back now? Obviously for some games this would require localization and may not be worth it, but for a series like Zelda, there would definitely be a market. The Chrono Trigger games brought to Satellaview would definitely be big sellers for Square Enix, along with Dragon Quest. Then there are games like the F-Zero sequels and Excitebike, which have some great new content that we never got, and that fans would love to play. If these games could be brought over to the Nintendo Switch eShop they would be some of the top selling games.
VS Excitebike and The Mysterious Mursame Castle were big sellers when they were brought to the Wii U and 3DS eshops respectively, proving there is indeed a market for the games here and a precedent for doing so. This is something Nintendo truly needs to consider, because not only would gamers in the west be thrilled to finally play these games, but it would also open up new fandoms and generate new interest. It would be labour intensive, but the payoff would be worth it.
Disclaimer: The above was the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of ROG or its staff.