If you’ve got a stomach for an imagination, the word “remake” could very well mean stepping into a time machine and taking technology a good ten years back to see what it stirs up. This here, applies to those perfect formulas that backed some of the most sore thumb inducing games, only because we could play them through and through for years.
Who’s really “stepping into the time machine”, here are game publishers and developers who know how to appreciate an all time favorite every now and then and reinvent it, as a gentle reminder that it’s legacy will live on. Herein lies a risk of entirely ruining the same but the below mentioned 7 are what’s keeping us really optimistic about the trend:
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.
Publisher: Capcom.
Platform: PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade.
Developer: Backbone Entertainment.
Original on: Arcade, SNES.
Just how do you refresh the Street Fighter experience, a whole 15 years down the line when we’ve got arcade fanatics who know every blistering combo sequence to precede every obliterating special attack at the back of their D- pads? Capcom’s solution: Throw in the word ‘remix’ and boast all new move sets and attack enhancements, bringing back those that were ignored in the first place to the forefront. This is madness, this is Capcom and we have learnt the good wholesome versus beatdown way that they leave no room for gimmicks. Ryu’s faking fireballs, M. Bison is dishing out “psyche-out” sliding kicks and you can note down 17 uniquely powered character’s move sets in all that have been reworked and bundled in the “Remix Mode”. But we are steering way past the point which is the game being presented in truly awesome HD! Comic publisher UDON have made that very clear adding a crispy edge to the characters and animations, carefully escorting the game to new graphical realms and leaving its straightforward fighter spirit intact. For as long as you can tolerate words like “FIGHT” and “KO” bellowed by a rather enthusiastic announcer over a booming microphone, Capcom assures the Street Fighter series will never die.
Prince of Persia.
Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Gameloft.
Platform: PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade.
Original on: MS-DOS, Apple-2, NES, Atari ST, Mega CD, Mega Drive, GB, GBC.
Once upon a time, video games were plain difficult and brutally unforgiving, and that’s right about the time we were introduced to the first Prince. Remember the whole one-hour time limit, the mad rush to the end? Some like a challenge, some won’t stare at a Game Over screen more than twice before they realize rescuing a pixelated princess-in-distress is pretty overrated. So developer Gameloft souped up the remake, to serve the former with a different ending over the latter who would go way past the time limit to settle for the milder gaming course, due courtesy to the newly added checkpoint system. Everyone’s a winner, see, and when that’s settled you can stop and appreciate the brilliant use of slick graphics and tweaked game play, making for swift and lifelike movements within greatly defined backdrops and environments. Even that odd mess of a colour scheme mass for a prince has been given a solid makeover to resemble the prince from the newer games. While the game stays true to the traditional side scroller format (quick sliding doors, ready-to-drink-potions, deadly pitfalls, quick sword fights and the works), it makes up for the absence of an overly dramatic music score by actually using silence to its advantage. Executing that long jump is ten shades more terrifying when all you hear is the sound of prince barely grabbing the ledge and breathing heavily. The game would have been perfect if it included the original version as a bonus but there’s a good bet going that your computer technician has left the PC version lying somewhere around your hard drive if you’d bother to look.
Super Mario All Stars.
Publisher: Nintendo.
Developer: Nintendo EAD.
Platform: SNES.
Original on: NES.
For every two people that think the original Mario game is pure 8-bit gold and should be kept in a time capsule for preservation, there’s about ten that upload various versions online for free play. Then we shouldn’t make a fuss if Nintendo decided to tamper with it back then. Mind you, Nintendo knows like most of us, there’s no point changing what we love about one of the most timeless games in history so all they did is fill its skies with twinkling stars. No, literally, the backgrounds were given all that extra 16-bit charm and the characters sprung to liveliness with a few tweaks in the game engine. For that final touch, Super Mario Kart composer Soyo Oka recomposed the music replacing crude synthesis with brilliant orchestration via sampling and filling up even those portions of the game that were once condemned to an awkward silence in the process. Sparkling fresh.
Metal Gear Twin Snakes.
Publisher: Konami.
Developer: Silicon Nights.
Platform: Gamecube.
Original on: PSOne.
The first 1998 MGS stealth classic revolutionized the genre, which had deep roots in the more cinematic experience. This alone was enough to keep things fresh for the future of the series. Most would then, go right on to labeling this remake as a mere copy of a masterpiece. Well a copy is by all means is what it is, but Konami intended that impression on the surface whilst brilliantly upping the ante in a select few areas. While the game’s challenge aspect is just about right this time, the inclusion of a first person view to give headshot fanatics they are due, is what really showcases Konami’s ability to preserve a good games legacy and still make it an essential second run through for its religious fan base. If that doesn’t work for you then let me throw another fancy Japanese name at you, in this case, action film director Ryuhei Kitamura who directed some truly extreme cutscenes to take this game’s action quotient over the edge. For all its worth, this is just the well aging of another classic in gaming history.
Resident Evil.
Publisher: Capcom.
Developer: Capcom Production Studio 4.
Platform: GameCube.
Original on: PlayStation, Windows, Saturn.
When Resident Evil arrived at the shores of mainstream gaming entertainment bringing the entire survival/horror genre with it, it was a nothing short of a cluttered mess. Poorly rendered graphics aside the FMV sequences were amateur and awkward, perhaps in the true spirit of B-movie horror if you’d shed a little optimism, but inexcusable nevertheless. Seeing it as a shame to continue with the stellar sequels alone, the legendary game designer Shinji Mikami ran a rescue mission to pull the original from the cold grasp of mediocrity and bring it to the GameCube platform, and how. For the first time in this list comes a remake in truest sense of the word. While were talking words, what happens here in all brilliance, is the segregation of storytelling, where we get the same original story, but told to us on another level. To keep up with the modern script and photorealistic graphics that set the seriously dark tone for the series, the game is infested with all new puzzles, plots, subplots and environments. You bet Capcom threw in generous amounts of unlockables.
Mega Man Maverick Hunter X.
Publisher: Capcom.
Developer: Capcom.
Platform: PSP.
Original on: SNES, MS-DOS.
Only Capcom (who’s featured for the third time on this list because they are just that unavoidable) know how to make a little blue guy shooting bullets out of his hand a truly epic video game experience. It’s probably because the game featured the most memorable set of boss fights to ever grace the side scrolling blasters, or just the brilliant weapon and armor upgrade system for the time, but whatever it was it worked best with the original debut SNES format. Period. So it made perfect sense for X to go back to his roots with the latest addition to the PlayStation Portable system. Nostalgic value intact, the graphics were lifted to a more relevant 3D presentation and seamlessly at that. Every anime aficionado had their day made when the game went on to feature cutscenes straight out of Mega Man’s anime universe. Initial ones played out in bits to simply tell a story better, but the final sequence was a glorious 24-minute long running unlockable that dwelled on the back-story of the game. Also worth mentioning in the department of unlockables is Capcom’s famous “beat the game and play as your arch nemesis” bonus, in this case the relentless maverick hunter Vile you face off a number of times in the game. Thankfully, this isn’t just Mega Man with a fancy change of clothes but a whole new unique character gifted with a much larger arsenal of weaponry, and that wraps up the entire package.
Tomb Raider.
Publisher: Eidos Interactive.
Developer: Crystal Dynamics.
Platform: PS2, PSP, Windows.
Original on: PlayStation, Sega Saturn, MS-DOS.
All credit goes to Core Design for creating what the Guinness Record Books recognized as the “most successful human videogame heroine”. Sure Lara Croft did her fair share amongst a majority of testosterone driven lads found at any cross section of the gaming populous. But, you can’t help but notice the Derby-based developers fell right out of it at a certain point and more or less plagued their “claim to fame” status with the Tomb Raider series (Angel of Darkness maybe?). But that’s right where Crystal Dynamics lifted off from, firstly by re-imagining the beautiful miss Croft and secondly by pleasing the Gods of relentless adventure gaming with the breakthrough Tomb Raider: Legend. All that was left really was a need to celebrate Lara’s 10th anniversary and you bet the developers went back a whole ten years back to show Core how its done. Though released within the limits of the PS2, the game achieved graphical wizardry with its steep polygon count. Expect the lush environments from its Crystal Dynamic predecessor with a few additions to the design that directly target the hardcore fan base. The levels themselves present the player with multiple paths and the developers seem content keeping that thin line between familiarities with the original and a whole new world. They sure know how to treat a lady and as a consequence, gamers have learnt to respect the more realistic Lara Croft image as much as they will appreciate the next bold step in the evolution of the series
For a final note, let’s hope the industry keeps the trend locked to games that stand the test of time as much as the above mentioned seven and not every run of the mill title capable of producing a mild shock in sales. In a way, it’s a lot like a well-deserved plastic surgery minus the side effects. Facelifts? No. Remakes? Yes.
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