Everything Old is New Again
The video game industry is taking a cue from movie studios and remaking its most memorable classics. It used to be that merely rereleasing old games was enough. Indeed, they did exactly that during the last three generations of consoles. However, the well there has essentially gone dry. With some exceptions, every memorable title that came out before 1995 is available for download on either the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, or all three. So now they've taken on a new tactic -- revamping old arcade classics for the age of high definition TVs and broadband Internet.
Although remakes have been going on since 1993's Super Mario All-Stars, I'd say the current trend really took off with the announcement of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Fortunately the ridiculously-long-name trend didn't catch on. Both games updated the graphics for HD displays and incorporated online play, with little lag time to boot. SSF2T HD even went the extra mile with remixed music and more balanced fighters. Capcom had us all drooling at the mouth with Mega Man 9, which used the NES graphics for a whole new adventure.
Even before those, Namco surprised everyone with Pac-Man Championship Edition. The addictive update felt refreshing thanks to a morphing play screen and a demanding time limit. I've wasted many a night trying to best my high score. The company failed to recapture the same feeling in Space Invaders Extreme, which just felt bland and looked kind of ugly. There's also last year's Galaga Legions, which plays completely different from the original. It feels more like Gradius than the bug-fighting arcade classic.
Speaking of Gradius, Konami has jumped on the bandwagon, but not like you might hope. Instead of new graphics and gameplay, Konami's given us Gradius: Rebirth and Contra: Rebirth, essentially remixed levels taken from the SNES games. No HD graphics, gameplay tweaks, just a lot of recycled sprites. Weak. But Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles makeover at the end of the month is shaping up nicely.
Nintendo's gotten in on the action too, with Dr Mario Rx, an online-capable version of the old puzzle game. One could argue that New Super Mario Bros. and the Wii edition of Punch-Out are remakes, although I'd say there's enough new content and gameplay tweaks to be distinguishable from their older versions.
What's my take on all this? Well I don't mind a good remake as long as it brings something new and refreshing to the table, or at least some good visuals and online functionality. It's impressive that a few gameplay tweaks managed to make Pac-Man: CE feel both new and nostalgic at the same time. Online play alone justified the rerelease of Puzzle Fighter and SSF2T, the HD visuals was icing on the cake.
What I do not like is using old assets (game engines, art, and the like) and repackaging it. It smacks of laziness and easy money. As much as I enjoyed Mega Man 9, it'd be exciting to see the series revived in 2D with HD visuals and hand-drawn sprites. Of course, if the extra cash means more original and riskier games, it's worth the tradeoff.
Although remakes have been going on since 1993's Super Mario All-Stars, I'd say the current trend really took off with the announcement of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Fortunately the ridiculously-long-name trend didn't catch on. Both games updated the graphics for HD displays and incorporated online play, with little lag time to boot. SSF2T HD even went the extra mile with remixed music and more balanced fighters. Capcom had us all drooling at the mouth with Mega Man 9, which used the NES graphics for a whole new adventure.
Even before those, Namco surprised everyone with Pac-Man Championship Edition. The addictive update felt refreshing thanks to a morphing play screen and a demanding time limit. I've wasted many a night trying to best my high score. The company failed to recapture the same feeling in Space Invaders Extreme, which just felt bland and looked kind of ugly. There's also last year's Galaga Legions, which plays completely different from the original. It feels more like Gradius than the bug-fighting arcade classic.
Speaking of Gradius, Konami has jumped on the bandwagon, but not like you might hope. Instead of new graphics and gameplay, Konami's given us Gradius: Rebirth and Contra: Rebirth, essentially remixed levels taken from the SNES games. No HD graphics, gameplay tweaks, just a lot of recycled sprites. Weak. But Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles makeover at the end of the month is shaping up nicely.
Nintendo's gotten in on the action too, with Dr Mario Rx, an online-capable version of the old puzzle game. One could argue that New Super Mario Bros. and the Wii edition of Punch-Out are remakes, although I'd say there's enough new content and gameplay tweaks to be distinguishable from their older versions.
What's my take on all this? Well I don't mind a good remake as long as it brings something new and refreshing to the table, or at least some good visuals and online functionality. It's impressive that a few gameplay tweaks managed to make Pac-Man: CE feel both new and nostalgic at the same time. Online play alone justified the rerelease of Puzzle Fighter and SSF2T, the HD visuals was icing on the cake.
What I do not like is using old assets (game engines, art, and the like) and repackaging it. It smacks of laziness and easy money. As much as I enjoyed Mega Man 9, it'd be exciting to see the series revived in 2D with HD visuals and hand-drawn sprites. Of course, if the extra cash means more original and riskier games, it's worth the tradeoff.
Labels: pure dorkiness, video games
posted by Antonio at 9:33 PM
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