If GameSpot editor Brad Shoemaker can carry Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI in his pocket, he'll be happy. Yap at him about other portable classic games at [email protected].

　　I don't want classic games to go away. They deserve to be remembered, and even studied to understand what made them great. However, there's something about the way that they are being repackaged and redistributed that makes me pause. As much as I like many of the games that are being rereleased, I'm not going to buy them, call in sick, and burn through another 10-hour session. Their context makes them not only classic games, but classy games. They deserve the reverence that accompanies an aging war general. Respect and honor these games, but don't wake them from their nap to parade them around in fancy costumes for the benefit of their publishers.

　　Mario gone miniature! Take a classic game, shrink it down so you can take it with you, and it's worth buying all over again.

　　But what if a publisher revives a classic game or franchise with a twist, some essential new feature that makes it worth owning all over again? I've noticed one trend in particular regarding the rereleases of classic games that has really tickled my fancy: portability. It's one thing to give you a bunch of old games in a console compilation that forces you to sit in front of your television set when you want to relive those great games of yesteryear. But when advancing, miniaturized technology lets you take those games with you anywhere, they become that much more valuable.

　　Nintendo essentially started this trend with its Super Mario Advance series on the Game Boy Advance. Sure, those games are nearly identical in gameplay to their NES and SNES counterparts (Super Mario Brothers 2 and 3, and Super Mario World). Nintendo slapped a fresh coat of paint on them and tossed a bunch of new secrets into many of their levels, which made them a little fresher than their forebears. But frankly, the most appealing factor is simply the fact that you can keep a GBA and a couple of carts with you and immediately have access to some of the best platformers ever made, no matter where you are.

　　Metroid: Zero Mission is an even better example of this idea, since it's basically the first Metroid game on the NES, but with a complete mechanical overhaul that brings it in line with more recent 2D games in the series. The similarities between Metroid and Zero Mission are apparent to anyone who fondly remembers that seminal subterranean crawl through a mysterious alien planet. But Zero Mission is a classic game done right, re-created with modern gaming conventions, new play elements, and a surprise twist at the end that you don't even see coming. Technically, it's more akin to a remake than a retread, but Zero Mission is the best possible outcome in a classic-game-reprisal scenario.

　　Other publishers are getting into the act. Square Enix recently warmed my heart like I can't even describe by announcing the imminent release of Final Fantasy IV for the GBA. It's still undisputedly one of the best RPGs ever made, and I'm sure it holds a special place in far more hearts than just mine. I know for practical purposes the following statement is completely unviable, but if they were to release all three Super Famicom Final Fantasy games, including the never-released-on-cartridge-in-the-States V and the best-game-ever-so-shut-up-haters VI, I sort of feel like I could carry around a Game Boy Micro and those three games and never want for anything else.

　　Please, Square Enix, put this on the GBA. PLEASE.

　　Let's also not overlook the importance from a hardware maker's perspective of many fans' rampant, almost rabid nostalgia for certain franchises. I bet you could think of any number of old games that would drive system sales through the roof if they were released on the company's respective handheld. I sure can think of some, anyway. Final Fantasy VII on the PSP? I'd buy that. Who wouldn't buy that? The hardware is certainly powerful enough to handle the game, and considering UMDs boast much larger capacity than CDs, fitting it on one disc doesn't seem like much of a stretch. How about Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the DS? Sold.

　　Maybe you wouldn't pay for a "classics compilation" of these games on a modern console, but what if you could carry them around in your pocket? The thought of arming oneself with an array of proven hits that can be played anywhere at any time is a potently attractive one. I certainly don't mean to stifle creativity and originality in handheld development by calling for more ports and remakes of great old games--but I don't think we need to worry about that one bit. Gaming hardware is getting smaller and faster all the time, and that means the great games that used to sit under our televisions can now fit right in our pockets. That can't be a bad thing...can it?

　　Next Up: 12-Step Gaming by Cliff Hicks