To celebrate its 30th anniversary, SEGA kicked off its 3D Classics series on the Nintendo 3DS eShop last year. Developed by M2, these revamped video games are an impressive showcase of the handheld console’s stereoscopic 3D and the graphical wizardry of SEGA’s past. This relationship is best illustrated by the “Super Scaler” games of the 80s: Space Harrier, After Burner II, and Galaxy Force II. These games were made to appear three-dimensional – now that they actually are, they’re amazing.

Last October, Sega CS3’s producer, Yosuke Okunari asked fans to let them know what they would like to see next. “The things staff members wanted to express in the past but couldn’t,” Okunari said, “are now possible with today’s technology. And we’d like to share that joy. For our next line-up, it will depend on all of your voices, so please continue to support us.”The developers at M2 have shown a mixture of reverence and bravery – faithfully reproducing the source material while adding modes and control options to suit modern audiences and the 3DS hardware. As a 3DS owner and a SEGA fan from way back, these are the games I would like to see get the M2 treatment.

1 Jet Set Radio Future

Jet Set Radio Future is in every way a refinement of its predecessor. Its cel-shaded graphical style and quirky soundtrack are as brilliant today as they were in 2002. The controls are tight and simple, allowing players to skate and spray the urban sprawl of Tokyo with speed and style.In Jet Set Radio Future, you can create your own graffiti designs to use in the game, but it’s difficult to draw with an Xbox controller. Imagine if you could draw them with your 3DS stylus.Now imagine you can share your artwork with friends via StreetPass, or rate them and share them online.

2 Gain Ground

It ain’t pretty, but it’s got it where it counts. Gain Ground controls like a top-down shooter, but it thinks like a strategy game. It brings together time’s greatest warriors, each with different weapons and specialties, in a battle through time. You can add new characters to your roster if you rescue and escort them to the exit without dying. If you don’t defeat every enemy before the timer runs out, any character that hasn’t been evacuated gets left behind. It’s a great gameplay conceit, and it hasn’t been repeated since. I picked up the Mega Drive/Genesis version from a bargain bin for five bucks, and I still play it to this day.The long display of the arcade original really lends itself to dual screens. The “pop” of stereoscopic 3D could really help players perceive height on the battlefield too, which is important when they’re trying to choose the best character for the job.The home console versions of Gain Ground settled for two-player co-operative play, but with Wi-Fi friends could enjoy the three-player arcade experience, and with less clutter on the heads-up display. Throw in the ten extra levels from the home versions, and you’ve got yourself the definitive version of the game.

3 Panzer Dragoon II Zwei

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei is without a doubt the finest rail shooter to ever exist. It is a cinematic dragon ride set in a fully-realised world of ancient hi-tech weapons and beautiful, terrible monsters. Team Andromeda even devised a hybrid language specifically for this game. Its soundtrack is otherworldly. Its gameplay is snappy and satisfying. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei is practically perfect in every way.It’s the spiritual descendent of Space Harrier and Afterburner II, and both of these games have made spectacular transitions to the 3DS.Each level has alternative paths – it would be great if the second screen could show a course map so you know when a fork in the road is coming up.

4 Seaman

It’s a virtual pet simulator in which a fish with a man’s face is really rude to you, and it’s narrated by Leonard Nimoy. Need I say more?Seaman requires a microphone to play, and the 3DS has a built-in microphone. What? Do you really need more reasons?Ummm…I don’t know – can they put in more Leonard Nimoy?

5 Nights Into Dreams …

Loading

NiGHTS into Dreams is an arcade racer in fantasy land. Its art style is timeless and beautiful, with side-scrolling courses strewn throughout expansive three-dimensional dreamscapes. Nights flies like a ballerina and dashes like a shooting star, and the game’s controls are slick and smooth to match. Players are judged on their ability to chain as many “links” as they can within the time limit, lending NiGHTS incredible replay value.For some reason, the PlayStation 2 re-release could not quite capture the fluidity of the original game’s controls. The 3DS’ circle pad seems a lot closer to the analogue stick on the Saturn 3D Controller NiGHTS was packaged with.Christmas NiGHTS was a two-level demo of NiGHTS that used the Saturn’s internal clock to change the levels based on the date and time. From November to January, NiGHTS is a winter wonderland. In December, Christmas NiGHTS proper is activated, filling the levels with Christmas presents, elf costumes, and Christmas music. The game changes further on New Year’s Day and Halloween, and on April Fool’s Day players control Nights’ evil doppelganger, Reala. Does any of this sound familiar?I’d love to see Christmas NiGHTS taken to its logical conclusion: a NiGHTS for all seasons, like Animal Crossing. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring, and other festivals like Easter and St. Patrick’s Day would be fantastic to see in-game, and would change things up enough to keep players checking back. Of course, in the meantime you can always play the excellent PC, PSN and XBLA HD re-release from 2012. This is a game that holds up really well... and there are few things like it.

So there you have it: my wish list for Sega’s third run of 3D Classics for the 3DS eShop. Most of these candidates would be a departure from M2’s work thus far, which has focused mainly on the Mega Drive’s catalogue; and some of these “tweaks” are more like vast, sweeping changes demanding months of programming; but hey, we can dream, can’t we?Which classic Sega games would you love to see on the 3DS? Let us know in the comments below!

Adam Redsell is a freelance writer from Brisbane, Australia. He can’t wait to turn 3D, just like a real boy. Follow him on Twitter and IGN