Disappointing remakes

[Cyhirae]

This has all happened to us older gamers at one point: We hear a game we adored is going to be brought out on one of the new platforms.

Cue the joyous nostalgia of playing the original and getting all fired up to play the remake...which logic dictates should be better, right? Better graphics, more room for the plot to actually be displayed....

Then we get let down when the so called new version completely fails to meet up with the original, and not do to any amount of nostalgic bias.

Case in this point: Crystalis

This game was made by SNK during the NES' glory days and was a fantastic game for its time. It was a fun adventure game- just the right level of challenging for all ages. The story was quite complex and thought out for its day (insofar as an 8 bit game could be) and it allowed for a great deal of creativity on the part of the player in figuring out how to get through an area. There were usually a couple different ways to get through an area barring the mandatory only-one-way to open the path moments.

Needless to say, I was a devoted fan of this game in its day and still have the cartridge, for all the battery's shot.

Then they announce that Crystalis will be released to the GBC. Happy day, right? ....So very wrong. They beyond dumbed the game down: hidden items you had to pay attention for are now in the open- everything has hints and signs posted all over it...the shops will even tell you what item you JUST picked up that's supposed to be unique and hidden for years does and who you're supposed to give it to. Even the areas such as the poisonous swamps and the like have been made easy to get through.

And worst of all: they've completely removed enemy immunities to certain elements. You can just mindlessly slash your way through the game with any of the four elemental swords, even when facing the four 'finest'- who used to be immune to all but one element.

Talk about completely defanging and declawing a game. I won't even go into the horrible replacement music they put in. The 8 bit track had more feeling to it.

As to the plot...ah, poor Crystalis. They pretty well butchered the plot of the 8 bit in favor of generic fantasy heroics including prophecies and so on and all heroic efforts on the part of a character named Mesia have been completely removed.

Way to butcher a game, Nintendo.

Sadly I know this isn't the first such game to be so badly butchered. Anyone else have any major game remake disappointments to share/warn others about?

[Inochi 命]

I think the GBC Cystalis was actually the first game made by that Nintendo development studio that worked on it. Well, it was either that or Ridge Racer 64, I think. Despite that, I've actually heard that it's an enjoyable, well made game... just not as good as the original. I'm guessing that's a rule with remakes. Maybe it'd be a slightly different story if you played the GBC version first? I haven't played either yet but I'm in the process of getting the original NES game from ebay.

I seem to mostly avoid playing remakes of old games... I actually don't think I have yet, good or bad. Sometimes ports or sequels feel like remakes but I guess those don't count here. If I remember one I'll post it.

Oh.. I did just remember one I've played: Metroid Zero Missions, but that was an awesome remake. Actually, it felt more like a completely new and different game than a remake, perhaps that was the better thing to do with it. Just "porting" an old game and updating the graphics and changing some other small things doesn't make a worth while remake.

[Cyhirae]

Trust me on this one, Inochi- even had I played the GBC one first, I'd put the original leagues past it. The characters of that li'l 8 bit game actually had more life in them than the GBC's and the plot was far more original than the generic prophesied hero who will save the world junk they give you in the GBC version. Which is just sad, really. I would've been happier with a direct 'unimproved' port after seeing what they gave us.

I just recalled one I was warned about that could match the Crystalis mauling, Atreyu. The Tales of Phantasia US port for one of the GBs. They butchered the names and the plot to hell and back, every bit as badly as Crystalis.

And so many folks over here had been looking forward to finally getting a chance to play the 'first' game in the Tales set.

Way to go, Nintendo. ;_;

[Lumi]

The Tales of Phantasia we got was less a snafu on the part of the port itself than it was on the so-called localization done on it, so I wouldn't actually call it a bad remake. Granted, I don't think Namco really NEEDED to remake the game AGAIN (nevermind they're doing a PSP version now, too). It's just a very sad thing that the localization we got on the Western front was so shoddy.

On the note of bad remakes though... how about remakes for a lousy purpose? Because while the games might not be bad, I'm starting to get a little annoyed with the way Square Enix is trying to milk the old school Final Fantasy cash cow dry.

[Adol.Christin]

Legend of Heroes 3,4,5 for PSP. although I still played them and they were entertaining, I now play the PC versions and the are so much better

[Falcom Director of Fanservice]

Oh man, why did you have to remind me about the Crystalis remake? Now I'm all pissed off again.

As for the some of the older FF ports, I have to say I actually like the GBA ones they've released, as they've added enough cool stuff to them to make me happy, and some of them (FFV in particularly) direly needed a retranslation anyways. FFV, in particular, got a lovely remake.

But how many versions of FFI do we have these days?

Also: I still don't know what I think about Sword of Mana ._.

[sagagadego'09]

the remake of rayman 64 aka ds watta crappy port/slash what ever.

[Slayne]

Glad I never got around to buying the remake Crystalis on ebay

[Ranzor]

I remember the remake of the Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the SNES. That was an absolutely crappy remake, much worse than the NES originals.

[zeomare]

yea i did not like the remakes of ninja gaiden it seemed the controls were horrible and were not responsive , there were many times where i had to push the button twice or more to get ryu to jump. it is a shame because if the controls worked better it would have been good to have a ninja gaiden 2 remake.


chris

[Slayne]

I keep hoping they'll remake Ninja Gaiden using the system they did for the xbox version. They made a prequel, why not go for the first part of the game next? Oh well.

[Razorclaw X]

Dear god, the GBC Crystalis is evil incarnate. I don't care how much people want to think that story was the 'original intended story' (the opening is actually mostly the same as the so-called story in the NES version's instruction manual, which also had absolutely nothing to do with what was going on in the actual game), it just made the whole thing dumber.

I never saw anything particularly wrong with the Tales of Phantasia port, but considering I never played the PSX version I have nothing to really complain about. It's pretty much just like I remember on the SFC (in the days where I used a Game Genie to get by the silly tabs on SFC carts), only in English this time. AND I CAN'T READ JAPANESE ALL THAT WELL.

Ninja Gaiden Trilogy for the SNES was terrible. Beside the fact they seriously de-fanged the last stage in Ninja Gaiden 3, they also re-arranged (or more like slapped them in random places) all the music in the Ninja Gaiden 3 stages and even removed one of the tracks. Nothing stupider than having two consecutive blocks with the same music (the last two blocks before the final boss).

I also wasn't particularly pleased with Dragon Quest I&II, but the revamps made in Dragon Quest III's remake were so spectacular I pretty much forget about the former.