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Games That Should Be Remade
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to Gamespot's new article on videogames that should be remade. This third article in an ongoing series starts with the statement that "..we feel like there are plenty of titles from the annals of gaming history that deserve another shot at the spotlight, and that's exactly why we assembled this list." It goes on to pinpoint titles such as The Bard's Tale (rumored to have a remake in development already), Bullfrog's classic Syndicate, APB, and even the original X-Com as being worthy of an update.
Personally, the game I've always wanted to see redone, more than pretty much any other, is M.U.L.E. Of course, with Bunten dead and EA being EA, I don't see that happening in the next, well, ever.
But it would be the greatest game ever if it happened.
Philip Sandifer's academic website
Nostalgia is a very strong force that sells alot of games. Case in point are all the remakes and ports for the GBA. They wouldnt sell nearly as much if nostalgia wasnt a factor (not to mention some of them are kickass games) A River City Ransom remake was announced for the GBA, and alot of folks are really pumped for it, because it was a great NES game, with excellent gameplay. Alot of games today are all flash and no substance, and developers are realizing that older games that have that substance are selling. Hopefully soon they will realize they are selling because they are fun, and not all flashy. Personally I would love to see remakes of Bionic Commando and Blaster Master, 2 great NES games that I still play on my DC via emu.
M.U.L.E. was in my opinion the best game ever, I would love to see it remeade with TCP/IP multiplayer and longer game times.
There is an Atari 400/800 emu called Atari800WinPlus that uses a server called kaillera to tie multiple peopel together so you can play the original atari version, tho kaillera seems to also be popular for MAME games.
I can understand certain games like APB which was a really fun arcade game back in the day that could tag along with the GTA "rage" that's been going on for a while but I see 2 that shouldn't be tainted:
Ultima V? Don't mess with the classics. please.
With a remake of this game, it would leave out what is missing with most games these days: imagination. 2D rpgs made me wonder how the lands really looked and made me think about the character personalities etc. (think about how Link from Zelda never speaks)
Out Of This World? Gamespot claims that it helped pioneer 3D but it in fact used 2D rotoscoped animation.. not true 3D. Speaking of which, a 3D remake would ruin the rugged look of the classic which can't be reproduced.
Many of those game in fact have been remade if you consider emulators. Although, when I think of remade, I think of remade with modern graphics etc. Many of the classic SNES Square/Enix RPGs would acquire a new audiance if they redid them in 3d. I'd love to play FF4 or 6 with the graphics of FF10. Not to mention Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Breath of Fire 1, Breath of Fire 2... *wanders off*
You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
I'll start with Volume 1:
Zelda - thanks but we've seen sequals to this one. I can't imagine the original being redone to make it any better.
Darklands - awesome game! I'd love to see a remake or something similar. I have fond memories of playing this on my 386. (=
ShadowRun - really needs to be remade. Now more than ever. There are too many fantasy rpg's/games and not enough near future/sci-fi ones.
The rest of the games in vol. 1 were pretty mediocre. I could do without remakes, thanks.
Volume 2:
Bionic Commando - Thank god they included this one. Ever since I played Quake with a grappling hook, BC was the first thing I thought of. "Man, they should redo Bionic Commando in 3D!" VERY cool game.
Strider - Seems like I remember hearing about a new version that came out recently...maybe for one of the consoles.
Volume 3:
Panzer Dragoon - zzZzZZzZzzz
A.P.B. - Just get GTA and steal a police car. It's more fun than this game was.
Out of this World - I was amazed by this game. The graphics were good (for back then) & the animations were very fluid. A remake is definitely needed.
Space Harrier - Come on, this game was not that cool. Not worth a remake.
Cyberball - I think sports games are boring. Add robots instead of real players and it's even less entertaining.
Final Fight - This doesn't need a remake because it WAS a remake. Can anyone say Double Dragon?
I'd like a good remake of Boulderdash on my PC. I've played some Boulderdash-like games but it's very hard to get the look and feel of the original C' 64 game. I like that game a lot.
-- Cheers!
All three of which are wildly deserving of remakes.
'jfb
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I should mention, it can be dangerously addictive. Maybe not PlanetSide-grade addictive, but getting there.
I'd love to see a remake of my all-time favorite, Sword of the Samurai. Or maybe not. Everything I loved about the game was dictated by the limited technology of the time. Low-res EGA graphics? Make all the game screens look like a Japanese wood-cut. Junky MIDI music? Hire a good composer to write simple drum and lute pieces, then hire a clever designer to integrate the music seemlessly with the game action. Wonderfully beautiful. But if they remade it, it would have high production values and the playability of burnt toast.
Two games that *have* been remade recently are Final Fantasy I and II, released here as 'Final Fantasy Origins.' I actually just finished playing both remakes myself, and they are *fantastic*. I think if there's a stellar example of how a remake should be done, everyone should look at FFO, as it takes all the good features of both games, and keeps them exactly the same. Furthermore, they even changed some of the 'annoying' things of both games. Such as the inability to auto-target if an enemy dies -- previously if you tried to target an enemy and then it died, you'd 'miss.' Of course, they put in an option to retain this behavior if that's what you'd like.
;)
:)
The remake brings both games up to approximately Final Fantasy VI standards, although the music far exceeds those standards. For me, the music is an important part of any game, and I was really impressed with how FFI and FFII's music was remixed. For those completionists out there, such as myself, FFO has some extra features that lets you keep track of how many enemies you've killed, what items you've picked up from the dungeons, and allows you to bring these stats along with you once you complete the game and start anew.
I was actually impressed that they released it for the PS1 as opposed for the PS2, because now it can be played on both systems (and, *cough*on some emulators too*cough*), and there's no reason graphically to have made it a PS2 exclusive. If you're a die-hard Final Fantasy fan like myself, this is definitely a 'must-have', it's great. It's even better for those of us who have a hard time tolerating the old NES graphics and analog music
And I agree with some of those posts above: M.U.L.E. *must* be remade eventually, it continues to be one of the best games ever. I still play it over and over on my various C64 emulators. It's great fun having three other friends over to play M.U.L.E. as silly as that sounds, the game is still great and has tons of life left in it
Take a look at Yoshi's Island (SNES) or Yoshi's Story (N64). Both have plenty of levels of 2D playforming and great graphics.
Do we really have no good new ideas?
Of course we do. The question is whether we have so many ideas better than these remakes that everyone making a game can have one, and whether there is some way to get all these ideas to the people making games. That we don't have.
Not the most accurate submarine sim ever, but sooo much fun. Granted, the whole 'Soviet Union' thing is a bit outdated now, but that's okay.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
There is a game that I have been saying Nintendo should remake for years... ...Maniac Mansion!
This is perhaps one of the best, yet least appreciated, NES games ever made. It was funny, clever, witty, innovative, original, and best of all, extremely fun. You could play through the game many, many different ways, adding a *lot* to the replay value.
I think that an updated GCN version of this would be awesome. I would definitely buy it.
Also, an updated version of Final Fantasy VI for the GCN would be the best idea ever. Keep the storyline, characters, plot and everything the same, just give it modern graphics. I would gladly pay $60+ for that.
X-com .... IMHO, Redo the whole series. X/C 1 was by far the best of the bunch and the rest went swiftly downhill.
Syndicate: I just found my install disks for this game not too long ago. I'd like to see it remade since I never did get closure on this game....that final mission on the oil platform (?) I could never complete....
My hope for remake is the soon to be orphaned High Heat franchise from now bankrupt 3DO. Last year's (HH 2003) had all the guts of a stats game and had a rather average set of graphics. With this year's game, they threw out everything that was good and tried to hide it with great graphics and no mouse support. Now that 3DO died a painful death, hopefully someone will scoop up the franchise and bring it back to greatness. For PCs, they're only competing with EA's yearly disapointment in its Triple Play/MVP franchise. Either that, or I can only hope that Sega ports WSB to the big box.
Every time I turn around it's another damn sequal or remake. Now I'm not sure if it's just been recently that everyone feels compelled to remake or rehash or make another sequal to their games, but I'm seriously having a hard time finding fresh games to play. I do understand that Doom3 and HL2 are probably going to push the limits of what we know as FPS games today, but what if all that talent and creative thought was focused elsewhere, what other games would we have? As for remakes and new sequals of old games, I used to be all for it, but then I realized I was getting tired of playing a new Lunar remake every 2 years of my life. I mean seriously, do we need to have Lunar on the saturn, redone and rereleased on the PS, then completely remade to be played on the GBA? I understand the ports of old SNES games, but I don't see the draw of remaking an old game 3 times. As for the article, I don't think Bard's Tale could be remade or Ultima V in ways that would present the games as fresh or appealing. Their ideas have been rehashed and redone in many other games as helped shaped computer RPGs as we play them today. Panzer Dragoon Saga could use a remake or at the very least a port, as barely anyone was able to play this gem. I can't say I enjoyed X-Com or Syndicate at all, and the low level of interactivity and stylized graphics that made Out of This World what it was back then would probably not survive in the market today if a true remake was done. Space Harrier... I have mixed feelings about it, as the frantic and addictive onrail shooter gameplay that it had was unique, and not many games today share the same style. I could understand a remake as this is definately an old arcade gem that not many people were able to play... then again Planet Hariers came out, but never really made it stateside. I can't vouch for Cyberball, but there's no reason I could ever think of for a final fight remake. I'm just tired of living it what seems to be such a big drought of new and innovative titles. Maybe it was always this way and I was just too young to recall. Or maybe it's this way due to the state of the industry. But whatever, I'm ready for something new to play, not just a rehash of a game that has been done and redone many times before in either sequals or spinoffs. Anyone else out there feel the same way?
Hey, it's my OPINION that dogs have eight legs and make a sound like a car horn every time they take a piss.
Well, I think we should add to the list, Shadow of the Beast, Stunt Car Racer, Racing Destruction Set, Marble Madness, Impossible Mission, and Frontier/Elite...
Now, there is work being done on a Shadow of the Beast 3D.
There is also work being done on...
Space Racer - Update of Stunt Car Racer
Trophy - looks real close to Racing Destruction Set
GLTron - one of many clones of the old tron cycles games
Vega Strike - Clone of Elite (I know there's an Elite 4 listed on Frontier Development's page, but judging from the copyright notice at the bottom, it hasn't been updated since some time in 2001)
TrackBalls - Clone of Marble Madness
and...
XArchon - Update of Archon
And they're all open source...which means that you can play current beta versions in most cases...
Steve Jackson's classic was clunky on the commodore 64, but would make a great MMORPG! Does anybody even remember this game? :)
I personally have a problem with emulators because they allow me to play old games from my childhood that I had fond memories of, and after playing again realize they really blow. Thanks emulators! I'm looking at you, Sword of Fargoal!
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for a remake or sequel to Master of Magic. I've been waiting almost 10 years already, and yes Age of Wonders was close but not quite the same.