Like many people out there, I am eagerly awaiting the release of Elite: Dangerous, the glorious modern update of the classic Elite. I’m also eagerly awaiting a leprechaun to appear out of nowhere and give me a new PC to play it on, but that’s a problem for another day.

Everybody’s pal Jeff Minter posted on Twitter today saying that Elite: Dangerous is the game that was playing in our heads when we played the original on our Commodore 64s, and it got me thinking about other classic games that would work really well with a modern lick of paint. Recent reworkings of games like X-COM, Donkey Kong Country and Great Giana Sisters prove it can be done right. Here’s some of my suggestions:

Turrican: This giant, sprawling sci-fi shooter was a big-budget spectacle when it first appeared, and I think it would work well as a modern game. Imagine Gears of War with brighter visuals, an open world to explore and giant bosses that are as crazy as they huge. How cool would it be to throw that lightning bolt around a 3D environment, and shoot a giant fish with it?

Stunt Car Racer: This fantastic rollercoaster-like racing game deserves a modern remake with online leaderboards, multiplayer, tournaments and all the regular bells and whistles that games of its ilk take for granted. But Stunt Car Racer isn’t just any racing game, and I think updated video hardware can really make you feel like you’re driving off a cliff like nothing else seen yet. If any game on this list deserves a modern remake, it’s this one.

Magic Carpet: I contend that you really don’t need to update the gameplay in this one at all to make it work on modern systems. You fly around a huge environment, shooting fantasy creatures, collecting the objects they drop and using the energy of those objects to build bases and upgrade spells – it’s a solid formula. The flying still works, changing the shape of the terrain in real time would still turn heads, and how amazing would this all be on something like the Oculus Rift? Just writing this makes me mad it doesn’t exist already.

Wizball: My favourite game ever would make for a trippy handheld shooter. On the 3DS, the environments would look great with depth and perspective added, and can you just imagine how vibrant and vivid the color mixing could look on the Vita’s sublime screen?

The Sentinel: It’s The Sentinel, but with you wearing a VR helmet. THAT’S IT. BOOM CASH MONEY IDEA COME ON NOW.

Parodius: It’s been way too long since we’ve had an all-out silly shoot ‘em up, and Konami’s Gradius-themed effort is a good as choice as any. Don’t you think a game parodying the new wave of shmups would be a real laugh?

Tetris Battle Gaiden: This was the secret best Tetris game ever, especially in two player mode, and I pretty much don’t want to change anything about it for a re-release. It just deserves a wider audience, and I’d love a version with online play so I wouldn’t have to go outside and make friends to play it again.

Blast Corps: GOD HELP ME I WANT A NEW BLAST CORPS SO BAD. It’s got everything that you want from a video game – giant vehicles, tons of secrets to explore and wanton destruction. It’s maddening that Microsoft haven’t remade this in some fashion. Heck, I’d even take an XBLA remake in the same vein of the remakes of Banjo Kazooie and Perfect Dark. Come on Microsoft MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

Joust: I think the games that would be best served in a modern update are the ones that have a good core gameplay mechanic to begin with, and there aren’t many better examples of this than Joust. If you could solve the camera issues, I think Joust would work well as a 3D competitive arena game. I can see eight human players all flying around dazzling landscapes trying to topple each other out of the skies and into the lava below and it brings a tear to my eye I tells ya, a God damn tear.

Alter Ego: I’ve always had a soft spot for this incredibly ambitious life simulation. You start off as a baby and are presented with a series of multiple choice scenarios that shape the course of your whole life, and the scope is just breathtaking. I’m not really sure what could be changed, but at the very least there’s the potential to introduce new scenarios over time.

Not every game would update well, of course. As much as I love something like, say, Bubble Bobble back in the day I don’t think there’s much there to work with for a modern update, gameplay-wise. I mean how could you even improve Bubble Bobble? Bubble Bobble is perfect in every way as it is.

Now it’s your turn! What classic game from your collection would you pay good money to see a new version of? And what would it be like?