Many are hoping that the next-gen consoles PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett will leave remakes in the past, but there's no doubt that it has been an age of successful fan-favorite remakes. This is something that may very well continue into next-gen if new backward compatibility technologies don't somehow bring these older games up to date, that is. Until then, it seems likely that remakes continue to pop up, and one game that deserves an honest-to-goodness remake is Yugioh! the Duelist of the Roses.
For those who are unfamiliar with this title, it first released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2003 in North America and was named one of the PS2's greatest hits in 2006. Critics had a lot to say about the game, praising its story and graphic design, while criticizing its tedious gameplay and lack of a fair challenge. The game would essentially force players with weaker decks to duel more powerful AI opponents, but for fans of the franchise that loved this game, it wasn't a deal breaker, which was proven by its huge commercial success.
The story in this game is unique in the annals of Yugioh, as opposed to the canon story, it featured one loosely based on the real-world War of the Roses. Players were known as the "Rose Duelist" who was summoned to the year 1485 by a Lancaster Duelist, and they could side with the Lancastrians or the Yorkists, with the House of Lancaster led by Yugi Muto and the House of York by Seto Kaiba. Siding with the Lancastrians pitted players against the likes of Pegasus, Weevil, and Rex, whereas siding with the Yorks allowed players to duel characters like Joey, Tea, and even Yugi himself. The final duel brings the events of the game to a close at Stonehenge.
The gameplay used a unqiue grid that, while not everyone's favorite, was welcome and different from the standard card gameplay that has since dominated the franchise. While the gameplay certainly had its shortcomings, that's part of the game's charm alongside seeing Seto Kaiba and Yami Yugi facing off in a completely new setting, and gameplay concerns are something that could be addressed/updated in an official remake.
Another major detail that a remake could add to the game is online play. It has a nice single-player experience, but giving this unique game online play could be a huge selling point. Even if it weren't updated with more recent cards, bringing the classic into play with matchmaking and dueling opponents online would go a long way in making a remake of it worthwhile. While MTG: Arena and Hearthstone would be solid competitors to this move, they lack the unique gameplay and campaign of Yugioh's Duelist of the Roses, so fans of the genre would more than likely welcome it.
All things considered, this seems unlikely to happen, as the game is currently 16-years-old. But who knows? Yugioh is currently one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, and perhaps this will be reason enough to bring back Duelist of the Roses. We simply wouldn't hold our breath, though.
Yu-Gi-Oh! the Duelist of the Roses is only available on PS2.