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Remakes - Yay or Nay? [roundtable]
Time and time again, I see people discuss how they'd love to see their favorite games remade. Final Fantasy VII. Resident Evil 2. Ocarina of Time. Usually the argument is that the original game was good for its time, but technological advances made since its release have made certain aspects (often the graphics) outdated in today's market, so the idea is that remaking it would make the game relevant to today's market/audience. In some ways this may be true, but I believe that if a game was good once, it'll always be good. Some games will require more of an adjustment to get the hang of depending on where you're coming from as a player, but I don't believe that a game's quality actually "degrades" over time, thanks to advances made in the medium since its original release. I disagree with that notion.

Some remakes turn out to be quite good (the Resident Evil remake, for instance, is very well-regarded), but despite this I don't wish to see every game I've ever loved be remade by current-gen standards. I'd rather companies focus on new games, as opposed to remaking every game out there. This is part of why I find a number of announced 3DS ports to be underwhelming (I'm not interested in Star Fox 64, Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid 3, etc.). I don't think that they shouldn't be made at all; it's always a good idea to expose these games to a new audience, but it seems to me at times that some would prefer to keep having all their favorite experiences remade time and time again, rather than give new games a chance. I find this sort of idea disappointing.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you welcome remakes of games (whether you've played the originals or not), or do you wish companies would focus on developing new games instead? If you like to have games remade, why? Is it so you can play newer versions of your favorites, or experience modern-styled versions of older games you've never played before?

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Posted: 01/30/11, 12:03:20
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Not all games need to be remade, but when you have a jump in technology as significant as what the 3DS is bringing, it's kind of hard for me not to want see some remakes on the system. Personally, I'll be all over Ocarina Of Time when I get my 3DS and that's a game I've beaten six times. If Nintendo does a 3-D remake of Majora's Mask, I'll be all over that too. I've never played Starfox 64 so I'll be getting that one as well. Probably not Snake Eater right away since I haven't played the PS2 version and I'd rather play the console version of it first.

I avoided the SNES ports on the GBA like the plague, but I will shamelessly buy a good 3-D remake of any of my favorite SNES & N64 games.

Perfect Dark
Goldeneye 007
Banjo Kazooie
Banjo Tooie
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Ocarina Of Time
Majora's Mask
Super Mario 64
The Donkey Kong Country trilogy
Super Metroid
A Link To The Past
Any of the 2-D Super Mario platformers

What I don't want to see is games constantly being remade. I don't think a game needs to be remade more than once. If you can't get it right after one remake, then you're either incompetent or you're just milking the game for more money.
Posted: 01/30/11, 12:45:52  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 13:54:15
I'm really leery of them, because when I really love a game, I know I'm going to inevitably be against changes that are made to it. Twin Snakes is a good example... even though it sounded good on paper, when I went to play through it, I was bothered by so many things.

I feel like a classic game doesn't usually need to be messed with, so it's a waste of resources.

But then, they are interesting every now and then. I think it would be cool to see Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger, for example, recreated faithfully with modern day production values.

Then there are some games that people might call remakes that I would look at as upgraded ports. Something like Ocarina of Time on 3DS would fall under this category. It's the same game with a facelift and improved interface. Cool, but don't expect me to pay full price for it.
Posted: 01/30/11, 12:47:21  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 12:48:50
I'll go yay. Conditionally.

-Any game thats so far out of date that it's a bitch to play anymore (maybe you no longer own the system it was on or your copy no longer works etc etc). However the better option here is to release as a downloadable, like Rare's stuff on XBLA.

-Any game that they can really add something new. Best example I can think of is Metroid:Zero Mission. I love that game.

-Keeping the classics alive for new players.

It's all good. As long as things aren't milked, I'm happy.
Posted: 01/30/11, 13:05:24
Hell ya. If they're good, and based on good games, what's the harm?

More games like REmake? A biiiig HELL YAY!!!
Posted: 01/30/11, 14:27:17
Depends on the game. Other than FF7, I really don't have any desires for any other game to be remade. Even with FF7, I have some doubts that the remake would be as good as the original. Basically, I only want to see the graphics upgraded, meaning I don't want voiceovers added to the game and I don't want anything else changed, like the scenery, the flow of the game, ect.

If a FF7 game was remade, I would want it to be exactly like the first game, such as how the game progresses, the music, ect, ect. No other changes other than graphical. If they ended up changing alot in the game, then I probably would not buy it. Again, I do not want voices. I know alot of people complain about the Zelda game not having voices, I have no problem with reading text in those games. Its hard to have good voices in a game cause everyone has a different opinion of how they think that character might sound. I'd rather hear them talking in my head.
Posted: 01/30/11, 17:22:13
Ah, I wanted to make a similar topic, but I was beaten... by my own laziness.

Yeah, personally I tend to avoid remakes of games that I have already played, and I too would prefer for resources to be poured into new games.

I guess I just don't understand why the people who want to replay the same game over and over again... don't replay the same game over and over again. Plug in your old console and play it! Why buy it again?

Alright, okay, people looking for remakes have at least upgrades to look forward to. But then I hear game journalists talk on podcasts talk about how they bought Plants VS Zombies or Peggle on PC, then XBLA, then iPhone... wtf is wrong with those people? Always replaying the same (boring) game, and completely ignoring everything Wiiware, for instance?

To me, an important part of gaming is to discover something new. That's why I am less and less interested in sequels as time goes on, let alone ports and remakes!
Posted: 01/30/11, 17:53:40  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 17:55:29
I don't mind remakes, providing I didn't play the heck out of them originally or never played them at all (believe it or not, Ocarina of Time is a game I have not gotten into yet).

In the end though, I prefer new games that are built for the platform.
Posted: 01/30/11, 18:13:58

I'm with you. And, just to add, I'd much rather have a remake than a straight up port. Like you said, remakes can breathe new life into a game that hasn't aged well. I'm all for it as long as they put effort into it and don't milk it.
Posted: 01/30/11, 18:29:27  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 18:29:40
Top 10 Most Necessary Remakes.

Thought this video was relevant to this conversation.
Posted: 01/30/11, 18:46:31
Nay. I much prefer to see resources put into a sequel/new IP than a remake.
Posted: 01/30/11, 18:49:35

I understand there is some confusion as to how to embed videos now, but it's really not complicated. Simply click on the "video" button, and inside the tags type "gametrailers=709845"

The number comes from the url:http://www.gametrailers.com/video/top-10-gt-countdown/709845

See? Easy!
Posted: 01/30/11, 19:19:29  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 19:22:11
@Pandareus Heh, I had the same thought a while back too, to make post this topic (after hearing a good discussion on RFN), but laziness hit me!

Anyway, I'm completely 'yay' for remakes and 're-imaginings.' A re-imagining would be like Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, where the original game is taken and made into almost different kind of game.

But there should be a good balance of new games vs. remakes in the game industry.

@GameDadGrant Cool video, though I didn't like that they didn't bother to mention Silent Hill was sort of remake, in a sense, with Shattered Memories. But stuff like Battletoads and Panzer Dragoon Saga would make great remakes IMO.

Also, Resident Evil remake for GCN was probably one of my favorites. Good stuff there my friends.
Posted: 01/30/11, 19:26:08  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 19:27:06
I don't mind the idea of remakes that change so much they feel new... Zero Mission for instance, or even Resident Evil remake (though I never played the original so I don't know how big of a leap that is.) I'm kind of interested in checking out the Lufia II remake, which I hear is a lot different.

But I'd much rather developers just stick to new stuff. I definitely don't get too excited over the idea of remakes.

As for the 3DS remakes... are they even remakes? They seem like ports with 3D thrown in to me. Have we actually heard anything about any significant new content?

Now, one thing I don't mind is remakes of games from platforms I never owned, albeit it's not like developers have a list of platforms I never owned and are making their decisions based off of this. I also like the idea of remakes of games that never left Japan, although these seem rare.
Posted: 01/30/11, 21:36:47  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 21:37:52
@Hinph Yeah, the games Nintendo is releasing may well be more like upgraded ports than remakes. I think if I had to choose between an upgraded port or a remake, I'd side with an upgraded port more often than not (for example, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition). It's still the same basic game, but perhaps with some new features. If I were looking back on games and their historical importance I'd still consider the original version (in this case the Gamecube version), but upgraded ports can be nice.

On the downloadable side (or not, as the case may be), I prefer for games as they were to be brought to modern platforms, rather than remade. For instance, I prefer the XBLA ports of games like the original TMNT or X-men games over remakes such as Turtles in Time: Reshelled. The former has new features of course (such as online play), but by and large the games themselves are intact.
Posted: 01/30/11, 22:53:48

I have this same instinct of going for the original when a remake comes out, and that goes for movies as well. Although I didn't do that for True Grit, back when The Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington came out, I really wanted to see the original first. And then I read the book. ;-p They're all great, BTW, highly recommended to anyone who loves a good conspiracy.

The DQ V and VI remakes on the DS were way more appealing than IV simply because they were never available in North American before.
Posted: 01/30/11, 23:08:24  - Edited by 
 on: 01/30/11, 23:09:28
The only remake I actively pine for is LoZ: aLttP. That is my favorite, and I think the best Zelda, and the one that I think set the design for most mainline Zelda games since. It would be nice to go back to re-visit that story in a fully realized, 3d remake. I actually think it would be an awesome way to usher in the next gen Nintendo console.
Posted: 01/31/11, 00:39:41

I agree. Games should only be remade if we remember them as being awesome, but they've aged poorly. Either that or if they can completely reimagine it, like if Link's Awakening were to be remade in (regular) 3D with Wind Waker graphics.
Posted: 01/31/11, 02:31:49

Link's Awakening is already perfect, a reimagining would necessarily be worse. They already remade it once and it wasn't as good as the original.
Posted: 01/31/11, 08:51:30
Personally, I'm all for the HD remakes. There are so many great games from the past that I never got a chance to play. I appreciate getting a chance to play the same game with a modern-day facelift. God of War Collection springs to mind. Never had a PS2, and was glad to get to play an up-rezzed version on the PS3. If it had come without the modest facelift, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.
Posted: 01/31/11, 20:59:55
You haven't played RE1? And you call yourself a GAMER?


Seriously though, please play that game. It's a masterpiece that still holds up today IMO. It's just as good as REmake but for different reasons of course. And of course you'd have to take into consideration that it released in like, 1996 and blew people the hell away at that time. I was about 10 or 11 when I played it and it scared the shit out of me, to the point where I'd think about the game and wanna turn all the lights on (when I wasn't playing) going to the bathroom n stuff.
Posted: 01/31/11, 21:03:47  - Edited by 
 on: 01/31/11, 21:07:23
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