StarTropics: An Underrated Series We Plead for a Remake

When it comes to movies and TV series, remakes make fans sour to their tongues knowing it may not be such a great take on what was already a fantastic take on an original presentation. In the world of video gaming, mixed reactions are expressed over remakes but are usually favored and praised (all depends on the titles, series and the game's upgrades).

It's rare that folks under the presumption that remakes, sequels and prequels are a creative "safe zone" to producers and writers looking to bank in from a highly praised series, extending its concept and expressing the characters much further. Alright, cool, now try this: Remake the underrated series StarTropics. Perhaps you can develop a spinoff from StarTropics, like Mike's Adventures in Space Travel, or have a game that pairs him with Mica.

Those who aren't retro video gamers be like, "Wow Kris, what are you talking about?"

StarTropics holds a personal place in my heart (same with the Crash Bandicoot series), as it features baseball hero Mike fighting his way to save his uncle, a famous archaeologist, from aliens who abducted him. Such story may be simple but the gameplay is something to behold. Critics say it's a ripoff of the Zelda series, and while that may be a critique I respectfully accept, it's a fresh take with its own story and goal. The game sure plays like a Zelda game but it's not a complete imitation; It's more on the adventure and the challenges that lie ahead. Oh, and yeah, it's an old, 8-bit NES game. Because of the recent release of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Nintendo Switch—originally a game for the Nintendo Game Boy—we don't see why StarTropics can't be remade.

Are there enough fans to demand such HD, or 4K, remake of the game, along with its sequel?

Imagine how detailed, yet eerie and vicious, Zoda would look in the remake. Frightening, for sure.

Yes, another RPG we hope would get remade, though the fanbase for this series is small compared to, say, Final Fantasy VII. While we personally enjoy RPGs a lot (it's like reading a book, playing a video game and watching a movie all in one), this is one of those that we'd like to see enhanced by today's technological standards. If independent developers and programmers can upscale Nintendo GameCube games in 1080p and/or 4K resolution in razor-sharp quality rivaling even recent game releases for all consoles, we're optimistic about a fresh take on a StarTropics remake.

Frankly, since voiceovers are a thing in modern video games, we hope the man voicing Mike's character isn't too old nor too young; We say the same with voicing Mica—the approachable young girl whom Mike helped save. We're big fans of this rather short series, so we hope it's done right.

Graphics? Since it is a Nintendo game, and 4K is slowly creeping in to the households, either HD or 4K seem perfectly fine. Personally, as long as high motion movement could be properly handled and rendered by the console's, or computer's, graphics card and processor (if such remake were to be ported to the PC/Mac/Linux platforms), that's all we ask. Graphics are beautiful and nice to look at, but good graphics don't always make a great game—a debatable topic that has been discussed for many years.

The soundtrack of the series isn't too bad, but certainly not the repetitive "bleep-bloop" rhythm. We don't think a dedicated soundtrack CD may be necessary to accompany the remake but the music isn't something that should be ignored.

Personally, we have NEVER met a video gamer who knew about StarTropics, let alone played it nor became a big fan. That ought to tell you how little it is known, but the series has a dedicated fan base.

Have you played the StarTropics series? Was the first or second one, Zoda's Revenge, your favorite? Would you want to see a remake of this series? Let's talk about it in the comments below!

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he started blogging in late 2005. Currently self-publishing, from essays to poems, Kris enjoys reading and self-studying mathematics, quantum computing, and philosophy; he also enjoys old video/MS-DOS games, writing/journaling, numerology, digital video archiving, listening to sports/public radio and classical music. Earned his BA of Mathematics degree in 2025.

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