The Generation 5 Pokémon games are undoubtedly the most likely titles in the franchise to receive remakes in the near future, but there are games that arguably deserve the same treatment more. Remakes allow Pokémon to both update older games to modern standards and give newcomers to the franchise the opportunity to play its earlier titles. Such releases play a valuable role in keeping these tiles accessible, but not every deserving title has received the same treatment.

There are plenty of reasons to believe that Pokémon spin-off deserves a remake just as much.

Pokémon Colosseum And Its Sequel Deserve New Versions

The Gen 3 Spin-Offs Have Been Overlooked For Far Too Long

Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, were released in 2004 (2003 in Japan) and 2005 respectively for the Nintendo GameCube, and offered an interesting twist on the standard formula of the franchise. Instead of merely catching wild Pokémon, progression revolves around effectively stealing other people's as well, albeit for their own good as it is the only way to purify Shadow Pokémon. The games also paired the basic gameplay of the Pokémon Stadium games with full stories that were notably darker than the average Pokémon title, making them particularly interesting additions to the franchise.

Despite this, however, neither title has seen a re-release since its debut, and as a result both have fallen into relative obscurity. This is a shame, as they clearly present some very cool ideas and could even teach Switch 2 Pokémon games some unique lessons. It seems clear to me that remakes of Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel, whether they simply update the originals or expand them with new material, have the potential to be very well-received. They would hold both a potent nostalgia factor and the appeal of near-totally inaccessible games becoming widely playable once more.

Only one Pokémon side game has enjoyed its own remake to date, in the form of 2020's Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX for the Nintendo Switch.

Both of these games are considered part of Pokémon's Gen 3, which makes their long absence even more notable. The now 20-year gap after their release means that the vast majority of people invested in the franchise today will have never had an opportunity to play the Pokémon Colosseum games. New versions of the games, which could be sold either separately or as a bundled package, would be able to correct this, and would almost certainly be very successful for doing so.

Pokémon Has Skipped Two Unique Remake Candidates

No Core Games Match The Tone Of Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD

The absence of the Pokémon Colosseum games in any form on the Nintendo Switch is particularly notable given that the Pokémon Stadium games are themselves available via Nintendo Switch Online. The fact that these games are missing from Nintendo Switch Online could be seen as evidence of planned remakes, but at the same time it could just as easily be the case that they have simply been ignored for some unknown reason. With remakes of the core Gen 4 games already existing, the most logical timing for remakes of these Gen 3 titles has arguably already come and gone.

Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness presented a notably darker view of the Pokémon world than usual, with its protagonists tasked with stealing tortured Pokémon away from their cruel trainers. Despite this, they have never enjoyed the remakes that they so clearly deserve, which would allow countless people play these unique games for the first time. Nevertheless, there is always the possibility that these two Pokémon games will finally be remade in the future, although the question of when is unfortunately a mystery.