10 Games That are Worth Being Upgraded to Next-Gen Consoles

How many times have you played a game and thought, "This would be so much better with multiplayer," or "I wish the graphics looked just a bit better," or "Why won't Kinect just freaking work the way it's supposed to?"

A lot of games wind up being just slightly disappointing, and too often it's for technical reasons. Sometimes game console hardware just doesn't live up to a developer's vision, or time constraints cause them to cut content and corners.

But that doesn't make them bad. OK, sometimes it does—but just look at Wind Waker HD on Wii U. The original was wonderful, yet the unexpected next-gen version gained a lot from the upgrade anyway.

That's a great example of why these ten games might be worth porting to the Xbox One, PS4 or Wii U—but only if they're done right.

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Platform Destination: Wii U

The next-gen consoles have a greater focus on online than every before, including, for once, Nintendo's Wii U. Obviously the Metroid Prime trilogy has already been ported to the Wii, but just think of a version on Wii U that takes advantage of the tablet controller—and maybe even adds multiplayer.

The GamePad could be used for scanning and reading data entries, among other things, and multiplayer on Wii U would add shelf life. Plus playing Prime again could wash the melodramatic taste of Metroid: Other M from players' disappointed mouths.

Platform Destination: All of them, if publishers know what's good for them.

The Legacy of Kain series has been languishing for far too long. An HD reboot on next-gen consoles could give the series a shot of life by getting new players interested in it once again.

With a multiplayer game in the series, Nosgoth, already confirmed to be coming out, now would be the perfect time to port the originals.

Platform Destination: The halls of your crushed dreams.

Morrowind is a breathtaking, ocean-deep game, and many role-playing game fans regard it as the best in the series, even above the more popular Oblivion and Skyrim. But it's not the prettiest game ever made by far.

Fans spent years upgrading the PC version's graphics, and it looks fantastic, but installing a bunch of mods isn't ideal for casual players who just want to dive into Morrowind's deep world. Just imagine what an official next-gen Morrowind upgrade could be like—and then forget it, because it will never happen.

But a gamer can dream, right?

Platform Destination: Xbox One, if it recognizes Steel Battalion's existence.

Don't balk. Heavy Armor was an utter piece of crap on Xbox 360, yes. The Kinect controls were so broken that it took great patience just to get through the tutorial without hurling yourself from a high window.

But with the Xbox One's Kinect seemingly far more accurate, this too-ambitious title might actually work on the next-gen system. Maybe it wasn't actually that bad, but just ahead of its time?

Platform Destination: Whichever one EA wants to provide shoddy online service to.

Licensed games have a bad reputation, but Return of the King was actually pretty awesome. Too bad it came out on a generation of consoles on which online play was still fairly new; but a next-gen version on Xbox One and PS4 would be able to take advantage of many of the systems' new features.

Online multiplayer with dedicated servers is the most obvious, since the original had only couch co-op (except on PS2, but its servers have long been turned off anyway). A graphical overhaul wouldn't hurt, too.

Platform Destination: It's GTA, so everywhere (except PC).

Grand Theft Auto V is still spinning happily in many players' Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles, but for some it's probably the only reason they're still keeping the old boxes around.

GTA V is perfect for the next-gen upgrade treatment. It came out extremely late in the last consoles' lifespans, and its huge open world would look positively fucking gorgeous on the PS4 and Xbox One. Plus the new consoles' improved online capabilities, like better party chat and speeds, would help the Grand Theft Auto Online component.

In fact, Rockstar probably already has this in the works, though that's pure speculation.

Platform Destination: Whichever is suffering from a dearth of gore.

Just recently Doom creator John Carmack was playing around with porting the third game in the series to the head-hugging Oculus Rift, so we know it hasn't left his mind all these years.

Of course, the Xbox 360 and PS3 port came out not too long ago, but a next-gen version of Doom 3 on PS4 and Xbox One could do with some multiplayer, considering how big a focus it was for the original two games.

And a Wii U version could use the tablet controller in interesting ways, like ZombiU. The Xbox One and PS4 versions could even get in on that action with their tablet companion apps.

Platform Destination: Fuck it, Game Boy Advance.

Super Mario 64 has been ported and upgraded in the past, but the only version to actually be changed was the DS game, which in many ways was actually inferior to the original (controls being the main complaint).

Given the beautiful treatment that Wind Waker was given on Nintendo's HD Wii U, Mario 64 would likely benefit just as much, especially since it's an even older title. And with the Wii U GamePad's dual control sticks Nintendo could finally fix the camera controls.

Plus as great as Super Mario 3D World is, a lot of Nintendo fans still miss the more exploration-focused open levels of games like Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. In fact, while they're at it, Nintendo could port Sunshine over to the Wii U as well.

Platform Destination: Whichever masochists prefer.

Don't misconstrue this; there's nothing at all wrong with Dark Souls in its current form. OK, there are plenty of things wrong with it, but the good outweighs the bad a thousand fold.

Still, a next-gen port to Xbox One and PS4 would benefit from improved graphics and frame rate (which it desperately needs), superior online connectivity, party chat (sorely lacking in the original), and even tablet companion app integration (a map would be nice once in a while, and inventory management would be a snap!).

In fact, fingers everywhere are already crossed that From Software might have next-gen ports of the upcoming sequel Dark Souls 2 in mind.

Platform Destination: PS4 and and a decent iOS port would be ideal.

Final Fantasy VII is definitely one of the best role-playing games ever, but these days it can be hard for some modern gamers to take it seriously—mainly because the characters look like they were designed by a blind person who only vaguely remembers what humans actually look like.

Fans have been jonesing for an HD upgrade of FF7 for over a decade, and Square-Enix has always beat around the bush on whether it will ever actually happen. But with the PS4 out and in millions of homes, wouldn't this be the perfect time to do it?

Hopefully they'd be able to resist their urges to add real-time battles and really long, straight hallways.

What other games do you think would make great next-gen upgrades? Sound off in the comments below or on Twitter!