Why Classic Video Game Revamps Must Disappoint

An anonymous reader writes "Somehow my brain, so addled by pop-culture and videogames, drew a link between the alteration of the game-play mechanics in a 20-year-old series, and growing up. I want things to be how they were. I want to play the games I played when I was a child, only I want them to be new. Naturally, this just can't happen. Things will never be the way they used to be. Summer days are no longer spent running around outside before collapsing on a sofa to try to beat Labyrinth Zone; instead they're spent in a sweltering office full of morons who watch The Apprentice. Life has changed. Circumstances have changed. Even if the perfect 2D Sonic game were released tomorrow, it still wouldn't feel right, because I'm no longer the person who played those games.'"

Comments

Really?

[Haeleth]

And yet when I go back and play classic games, often in emulators -- games made at least 15 years ago, and in a few cases over 25 years ago! -- I sure feel like I'm enjoying them.

And it's not purely nostalgia; I have enjoyed games from that era that I did not play at the time.

Re:Really?

[Hatta]

As an avid retro gamer I don't think there's much more to be said. Maybe he forgot how to have fun. The rest of us enjoy classic game play.

Personally though, I don't see the point in retro remakes. I'd rather play the original, in almost every circumstance. Developers should spend their time making new games in the classic genres.

Re:Really?

[10101001 10101001]

Metroid Zero Mission is fantastic. other than nostalgia, I can't see a reason to play the old one. it really feels clunky and you're getting nearly the same experience with zero mission (plus epilogue)

As an avid Metroid fan, I'd have to say you perhaps missed the point of the original Metroid? It didn't involve hand-coddling, story-driven direction. It threw you in a sandbox with a vague notion of your mission, then let you discover in a 2D platform adventure just where you were supposed to go and what you were supposed to do; ie, it in many ways was the platform adventure equivalent of the Legend of Zelda, which isn't that surprising.

Now, having said all that, I agree that the original Metroid was clunky (limited direction of fire and no ability to crouch, off-hand). But, in some ways Metroid Zero Mission really missed the mark, IMO, in trying too hard to tell people what to do. Thankfully, yes, they put in enough hidden blocks so people could work around some of that.

However, clearly the atmosphere in Metroid Zero Mission tries too hard to tell the player exactly where to go and what to do. In short, it simply feels too heavy handed. In some ways, I'd place Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow as better Metroid games in spirit, as they don't try to push plot as a means to direct you on where to go or what to do; the point of an adventure and an adventurer is to figure that stuff out on your own. And yes, that means that the original Metroid, with all its many clear flaws, still has something to offer that I just don't see Metroid Zero Misson offering...except, you know, in that it includes Metroid as an unlockable. :)

PS - Please don't mistake this for me saying Metroid Zero Mission is a bad game. It is quite good, just like Metroid Fusion. Truthfully, almost all the Metroid games pretty badly break the original Metroid formula, be it through progressively lowering acid, one-way gates, locked doors, or translation decoder locks. A major part of the fun of Metroid has resulted in simply bypassing the developer induced barriers in unexpected ways. Because of how glitchy the original Metroid is, it's actually one of the best in the series for that sort of fun. I mean, who wants to wait to get the Varia when it just requires some well timed bombing or luring a Waver up to freeze?

Really?

[WrongSizeGlass]

I want to play the games I played when I was a child, only I want them to be new. Naturally, this just can't happen. Things will never be the way they used to be.

You can substitute just about anything for 'play the games I played' and that statement would hold true. The times (and games and people) are a changin'.

Summary:

[humphrm]

What a drag it is growing old.

Sonic may not be the best example

[Hahnsoo]

Sonic the Hedgehog may be a poor example for this topic. The gameplay consisted mostly of running and jumping really fast while grabbing rings. It took advantage of the console technology of the time to provide smooth framerates with no tearing, which allowed the backgrounds to zoom by quickly, giving the illusion of speed. But that was the gimmick. Sonic the Hedgehog, as a series, wasn't known for being difficult (like Mega Man) or innovative (like Marathon). It doesn't even have that much of a compelling story (like RPGs). The same gameplay 20 years later may appeal to some people, but most gamers who played Sonic back then are different people now and are looking for more than just running and jumping really fast while grabbing rings (which is one of the laments of the article).

A better example of a classic revamp would be the Bionic Commando Rearmed or the most recent Mega Man game. Bionic Commando Rearmed adds a lot of modern features to the original game, like big boss battles, hacking mini-games, and the ability to swap weapons within the stage, but the basic mechanic of swinging and shooting is still challenging. The most recent Mega Man was pretty popular, despite (or perhaps because) it staying true to the 8-bit Mega Man graphics and gameplay, mostly because it still maintained the same level of challenge.

Of course, many classic games are getting a cloning vats treatment on the iPhone/iPad/iFranchise and Android market. If anything, the older 8-bit, 16-bit, and PS1 era games (or clones of those games) are seeing a bit of a renaissance on those platforms.

Comcast! AT&T!

[earls]

Someone throttle this pirate!

Re:Comcast! AT&T!

[tepples]

smaller in size

Doesn't matter. It only has to be big enough to be original. George Harrison lost a million dollar lawsuit for copying nine notes from "He's So Fine" into his song "My Sweet Lord".

WoW sucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

...Sorry, couldn't resist the snipe.

But I reached this conclusion after being bored this past winter, and searching for a decent MMO. There aren't any. (EVE, of course, but I'm sorry - anything that requires complex spreadsheets that would make economics majors cringe isn't a game. It's not even a hobby. :P)

I started reflecting upon the sad state of affairs that is the MMO genre, and I realized something. Part of what made MMOs attractive in the first place was the fact that they were, pardon the pun, game-changing. Sure, there were text-based MUDs aplenty - the golden age was just starting to wind down. Sure, there was UO, but at the risk of annoying legions of UO fans - well, come on, it was UO. Not even close to the same level as that horrible monstrosity and destroyer of lives, careers, marriages and time - EverQuest.

There was something unique about EverQuest, that no other MMO has ever been able to capture, no matter how hard they've tried or what improvements they made. It was the 'newness'. Just a brief time earlier, there was nothing out there like it. But suddenly - bam - the future was here, and holy shit. A massive, 3D world, with ungodly amounts of players. It was the stuff of science fiction back when I was a kid, having to deal with mere 8-bit game consoles - but there it was, finally. The future(tm)! Woo!

Now? Anyone can make an MMO. And it isn't exciting. Because it isn't new. You can change the names of classes; you can add cheesy mechanics, but that initial moment of awe-inspiring potential - stepping into a massive, virtual world for the first time and simply being astounded by the potential - can never come again. ...Also, no moment in gaming will ever be as awesome as getting to the end of Bionic Commando and seeing Hitler, in 8-bit glory. :(

Tempest, Battlezone, Missile Command are the worst

[Quila]

Tempest can't be played correctly without a potentiometer (the round dial), Missile Command can't be played correctly without a big trackball, and Battlezone can't be played without the two sticks that mirror real-life tracked vehicle driving (which I've done).

However good the graphics and mechanics are recreated, it doesn't work without the controllers the games were designed for.

For the nostalgic power players of old

[wjcofkc]

Funny for this just get posted. A few hours ago I was introduced to "Super Mario Bros. Crossover (Hacked!)" - I suggest the nostalgic among us give it a whirl. It's the original Super Mario Bros. except that you can play through the game as other 8 - bit Nintendo characters such Samus, Mega Man, and several others. The people who put this together did a bang up job. I blew through level 1-1 -> 7-4 in about an hour with one of the Contra guys. You get all of there weapons and attributes, the in game music even changes to accommodate the character. Anyway, I think Link and Contra guy are the most fun. If your missing the past, as I do, this is a fantastic way to relive it. It's free on the google chrome store. (I originally posted this as an AC - I've been posting enough the last couple years I decided I might as well log in)

I guess

[gaderael]

I've had just as much fun with Donkey Kong Returns as I had with the SNES series. Great game. Same goes for Mega Man 9 on the Wii Store. Bionic Commando Rearmed was good fun as well. It is possible to make games like they used to. You just have to look at the plethora of indie titles that are available on the Wii Store, XBLA, etc. Super Meat Boy anyone? That's Nintendo hard.

Nope nope nope

[Anonymous Coward]

Remakes suck because the designers remove things that made the original great.

Persona was remade on the PSP, so they gutted the original soundtrack (one of the most memorable ones in a videogame) and replaced the entire thing with J-Rock/J-Hip-Hop. This was done out of some misguided sentiment of making the game more hip and youth friendly. People were disappointed across the board. Now with a sequel coming out, they held a press announcement _just_ to tell people the original soundtrack would be included.

Or look at the Silent Hill 2/3 HD remake. They are canning all the original voice work and re-hiring new voice actors because Konami is too cheap to pay the original VAs for re-using their work.

Contra 4 on DS came close to being a good remake, but had such excessive difficulty that it was impossible for anyone to enjoy even on the easiest setting. All the original Contra games were challenging but not hard for the sake of frustrating the player.

The biggest problem with remakes is that frequently nobody from the original teams are involved, and they are made by people new to the industry with almost zero experience. So you get people with good intentions but no guidance and no real skill. Compare this to the original games that were all made by industry veterans with years under their belt.

That's why remakes suck.

Re:Idiocy...

[Hatta]

And there are a great many modern game designs that don't have enough meat on them because the content/quality bar has been pushed so low to appeal to the lowest common denominator. That seems to be the prevalent trend. e.g. where are the turn based RPGs where you make your own party? What happened to FPSs with maps of any degree of complexity?

If anything modern games have fewer novel ideas, simply because it's all been tried before. Back in the 80s and early 90s there was so much new ground to tread. People tried things they wouldn't today. New games rehash (a banal subset of) old ideas, and throw a new coat of paint over it. Hell with that, I'd rather play something classic.

Rebuttal in 5 Words: New Super Mario Bros Wii

[UriahZ]

Seriously, that game is exactly the game we all remembered, except better, and with epicly fun co-op.