I Love Game Remakes
So I guess this is a hot take now, but I love game remakes.
Over the past few years I’ve seen the notion of “the gaming industry is soulless, everything is just remakes now” becoming more and more popular. And this take confuses me for two reasons.
The first is, gaming remakes have been around since basically the beginning! Many arcade games were literally remade for consoles. But for a more 1-to-1 comparison, in 1993 Nintendo released Super Mario All-Stars, which was a compilation of three remakes of the NES Super Mario Bros games. Also in 1993, as a Japan exclusive, the original Castlevania was remade! In 1995 the same thing happened with the Ninja Gaiden trilogy, except it wasn’t as good. The only reason we got Resident Evil in 1996 is because the team at Capcom originally tried to remake Sweet Home, a Famicom game. Speaking of Resident Evil, it got remade six years later on the GameCube, and it’s widely considered one of the best remakes of all time. Metal Gear Solid got remade on GameCube as well, as the Twin Snakes, only five years after the original! In 2004 Super Mario 64 got remade for the DS.
Okay that’s enough examples. That should be proof enough that gaming remakes are nothing new.
The other reason I find this attitude confusing is the popularity of “Games aren’t fun anymore.” Every week I see a new YouTube video or tweet go viral that basically says “Does anyone remember the PS2? Games were so much better back then.” Okay, so by basic logic, doesn’t that mean you should be happy that tons of games from back then are being remade? Why are you complaining?
I honestly think a lot of people who complain about remakes haven’t gone back to these classics they so adamantly adore. I’m sure I’ll get some backlash for this but, the GTA trilogy on PS2 controls horrendously. Regardless, they’re legendary games. In order for them to become future-proof, which games like this deserve to be- they need proper remakes. It makes the Definitive Editions all the more tragic. I’m somebody who can stomach old stiff controls and long load times. I have a huge collection of PS1 games and play them regularly. I love old janky games. But there comes a point where it’s almost a Stockholm Syndrome thing where people convince themselves that “the shitty controls are part of the fun”.
I know a lot of people hate on the Majora’s Mask remake, but one aspect I loved about it is, on the New 3DS XL, you could control the camera with the right stick. It’s nice to have one of the N64 Zelda’s not being limited to Z-targeting. But again, that’s not stopping me from playing the classics. I literally just replayed the entirety of Majora’s Mask on the N64 over this past summer.
I do believe that limitations breed creativity, so it makes sense that many of the greatest games of all time were made when technology was much more limited. And it’s nice to see those ideas be freed from those shackles to look better and play better.
The worst part is, the same people complaining about the “lack of new ideas” never fully support them. Alan Wake II hasn’t made a profit yet after a year on the market, and Kinitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess didn’t meet Capcom’s expectations.
I look around me and see many interesting and new games, but also some fantastic remakes like last years Resident Evil 4. And I really can’t complain!
