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Post by JoeQ on Jan 12, 2017 16:10:12 GMT -5
Tomb Raider Anniversary was really good, though I still haven't played the original. Also liked Twin Snakes a lot, but some fans seem to hate it, mainly for the new cutscenes.
Other than that Metroid Zero Missions, R-Type Dimensions, Monkey Island 1&2 and Halo Anniversary are all great remakes. They also all included the original versions, which should be a mandatory feature for all remakes.
On the bad side, maybe Flashback? It got pretty bad reviews at least.
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Post by lurker on Jan 12, 2017 17:06:26 GMT -5
I enjoyed the Ducktales remake. I thought it was a nice bridge between the original game and the tv show. Granted they patched it so it's easier to avoid the dialog, but I thought it was nice hearing the old voices. Well most of them.
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Post by eatersthemanfool on Jan 13, 2017 3:09:41 GMT -5
I really liked New Zealand Story DS. Also I want to shout out to FF6 remake for GBA. Really liked that. Complete retranslation of the game.
Enjoying the Dragon Quest IV remake for NDS a lot.
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Post by wyrdwad on Jan 14, 2017 2:16:03 GMT -5
Surprised no one's mentioned Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion HD. That's easily one of the best remakes I've ever played, as it successfully captured all the magic and wonderment I felt when I played the Genesis original as a kid, but brought it all into the modern age with gorgeous 3D and a really clever approach to storytelling (a running narrator who sounds exactly like he belongs in a Disney movie). If you enjoyed the original game when you were younger, I can't see any situation in which you WOULDN'T enjoy the remake -- and if you never played the original, or played it too late to really "feel" it, the remake does a wonderful job of recreating what made Castle of Illusion so special way back when. Every stage and every boss is present, but all of them have been redone with tremendous care and attention. It's a lovely, lovely game, and I feel really bad for the studio that made it (since they were basically shut down almost immediately after it released).
Another underrated gem that I keep coming back to (which almost counts more as a sequel than a remake, but it's a bit of an edge case, so I think it's at least worth a mention) is Spelunker HD. I don't much care for the updated graphics, and the cheesy elevator background music isn't great either... but you can actually turn both of those things off, playing with 8-bit-styled graphics and NES-authentic (or close to it) 8-bit music. And since Spelunker HD introduced new enemies, new gameplay elements, new areas, and 9 new music tracks (in addition to the original classic Spelunker theme), this means that the creators may have drawn crappy 3D models and composed cheesy elevator jazz BGM, but they also created all-new 8-bit sprites and tiles, and composed all-new 8-bit BGM, all of which is really quite good! Add to that the one togglable option Spelunker desperately needed -- rope assist, which makes it so you can't fall off ropes to your doom anymore -- and you have yourself a really engaging 100-level Spelunker-fest that honestly doesn't get old at all. Every 10 levels introduces a new tileset, new music, new enemies, new obstacles and platforms, bosses, hidden collectibles, etc., keeping the experience fresh and fun the whole way through. It's a great example of taking a game that always teetered on the edge of kusoge, and tweaking it just enough to make it a legitimate classic.
-Tom
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Post by eatersthemanfool on Jan 14, 2017 2:45:25 GMT -5
I never played Castle of Illusion. I really should. That Spelunker remake sounds pretty good too.
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Post by GamerL on Jan 14, 2017 7:22:09 GMT -5
Tomb Raider Anniversary was really good, though I still haven't played the original. Also liked Twin Snakes a lot, but some fans seem to hate it, mainly for the new cutscenes. You can add me to the Twin Snakes hater list, beyond the ridiculous cutscenes you have the added gameplay features from MGS2 like first person aiming and hiding bodies which just gum up the works (being able to aim in first person flat out ruins the Revolver Ocelot bossfight, which is total BS), the new dub takes away the accents which just takes away the charm of the original dub and the graphics are only better in a technical sense, overall just looking kinda blah and washed out, the original has a more dramatic color palette and just overall manages to feel more atmospheric on lesser hardware, plus some of the character models just look weird and sorta off brand, like Sniper Wolf's, on top of all that the 'Cube's controller just doesn't work well with the game, lacking stuff like pressure sensitive buttons which can make the controls awkward (not to mention having to press two buttons just to answer the codec) The only way in which it is a improvement on the original is Meryl looks sexier when she's in her underwear, seriously, that's it. Anyway my pick for best remake of all time would have to be...REmake, it's the only one that renders the original totally obsolete, the only reason to even the PS1 Resident Evil is either for novelty or pure curiosity, me, I've never beaten it, I mostly just like to watch the cheesetastic live action intro.
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Post by akumajobelmont on Jan 14, 2017 8:01:43 GMT -5
I really wasn't fond of the Castle of Illusion remake. No butt pound, the music was the most boring possible interpretation of the original soundtrack that they could have done, and I don't know... it just didn't capture any of the magic for me. +1 to eatersthemanfool for the mention of the DS Dragon's Quest games. I really, really dug those!
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Post by windfisch on Jan 14, 2017 13:21:22 GMT -5
Also liked Twin Snakes a lot, but some fans seem to hate it, mainly for the new cutscenes. Other than that Metroid Zero Missions, R-Type Dimensions, Monkey Island 1&2 and Halo Anniversary are all great remakes. They also all included the original versions, which should be a mandatory feature for all remakes. Even as a fan of the PS1 original, I'm very fond of Twin Snakes. When it came out, I was a bit disappointed that it did not feature any new areas/modes or not even VR missions (I was hoping for it to be like the Integral/Substance/Subsistence version of the original). And yes, the new gameplay features make some segments, like the Ocelot fight, much easier. On the other hand there is the the improved AI for standard enemies, which adds a welcome challenge in my opinion. And I ADORE the new cutscenes. Sure, they are way over the top, but MGS itself has always been much larger than life, so I see them as a refreshing and fitting new element. It's also one of the sharpest looking and sounding games on the system. Also Zero Mission - definitely a great remake! However, I really don't like the new art in the first Monkey Island SE, especially the way Gybrush looks - that hair, that face *shudder*. And speaking of "new" art that looks worse than the original:
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Post by Snake on Jan 14, 2017 14:38:11 GMT -5
My problem with MGS Twin Snakes was that all the original music was changed out. It's not a bad update with more breadth of controls. The Japanese-style over the top action scenes, while exaggerated, are entertaining. But the changing of the ambient music, the encounter and duel boss tracks left it with a sour taste. The original music that cues as you descend to where Metal Gear Rex is being stored really captured the mood perfectly.
The Gameboy Advance releases of Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI were the best versions yet. Same for Chrono Trigger DS. They were given tasteful extra dungeons, armor, items, jobs, etc. Although, it would have been nice if they added new monster designs, rather than rehash and palette swap old ones for the new dungeons.
Castlevania Chronicles was one game I wish they had pumped in more extras. Getting a release of the x68000 Castlevania is great, but they could have easily included the MSX Akumajou Dracula and Haunted Castle arcade games into the mix.
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Post by akumajobelmont on Jan 14, 2017 17:25:20 GMT -5
And speaking of "new" art that looks worse than the original: Seriouly though, how does it look worse? I mean, it's just HD Remix rehashed in the visual department, but I still think HD Remix is gorgeous.
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Post by windfisch on Jan 14, 2017 18:55:53 GMT -5
And speaking of "new" art that looks worse than the original: Seriouly though, how does it look worse? I mean, it's just HD Remix rehashed in the visual department, but I still think HD Remix is gorgeous. Wasn't a fan of HD Remix: The characters and backgrounds look flat compared to the original and characters/objects in general have a bit of a cardboard cutout feel to them, since they don't mesh that well with the background art. Characters are too "angular" for my tastes, their proportions look a bit weird (the heads seem bigger now) and the animation also feels off sometimes. I know it's basically the old frames redrawn, but you can tell that the artists mainly work in the field of comics and probably don't have that much experience with animation (and no, motion comics are not the same kind of animation). The individual frames might work as stills, but not always as part of a continuous motion. It's not completely terrible, but the original art feels more elegant and much more alive. It's cool to finally see Violent Ken in a Capcom game, but I would have appreciated it, if they had completely redrawn the HD version.
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Post by GamerL on Jan 14, 2017 18:57:58 GMT -5
I just get really bothered by the idea of Twin Snakes being the first or even only version of MGS someone has played, it's fine to play it if you've already played the original to death and just want a different take on it, heck, even I'm tempted to replay Twin Snakes just out of curiosity, but people really need to start with the original and what's ironic is the original is the more readily available version anyway these days...
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Post by wyrdwad on Jan 14, 2017 22:06:31 GMT -5
I really wasn't fond of the Castle of Illusion remake. No butt pound, the music was the most boring possible interpretation of the original soundtrack that they could have done, and I don't know... it just didn't capture any of the magic for me. Awww. See, for me, the butt pound just represented an extra step that was unnecessary -- if you weren't holding down on the D-pad when you landed on an enemy, you took damage. If you were, you dealt damage. And there was no actual drawback to holding down on the D-pad, so I just... always did, every single time I jumped. I got used to it... but was glad that the remake removed it, because there's not really any reason you shouldn't ALWAYS damage enemies when you land on them, and it doesn't really make any difference to me if it's Mickey's butt or his feet that are dealing it, since it's functionally the same thing. And I really like the music remixes in Castle of Illusion HD -- they sound like they came straight out of Fantasia or something. They feel very "Disney," and are obviously recorded by an actual orchestra, which is usually a plus for me. There are a handful of tracks I don't think fared particularly well (the boss theme being the big one), but the majority of the soundtrack was just as charming here for me as it was in the original Genesis version, if not more so. Can't really offer any retort to it not capturing the magic for you, though. Definitely did for me, but if it didn't for you... well, then I stand corrected in my statement that anyone who liked the original game would certainly enjoy the HD remake too, I guess! -Tom
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Post by akumajobelmont on Jan 14, 2017 22:51:48 GMT -5
I really wasn't fond of the Castle of Illusion remake. No butt pound, the music was the most boring possible interpretation of the original soundtrack that they could have done, and I don't know... it just didn't capture any of the magic for me. Awww. See, for me, the butt pound just represented an extra step that was unnecessary -- if you weren't holding down on the D-pad when you landed on an enemy, you took damage. If you were, you dealt damage. And there was no actual drawback to holding down on the D-pad, so I just... always did, every single time I jumped. I got used to it... but was glad that the remake removed it, because there's not really any reason you shouldn't ALWAYS damage enemies when you land on them, and it doesn't really make any difference to me if it's Mickey's butt or his feet that are dealing it, since it's functionally the same thing. And I really like the music remixes in Castle of Illusion HD -- they sound like they came straight out of Fantasia or something. They feel very "Disney," and are obviously recorded by an actual orchestra, which is usually a plus for me. There are a handful of tracks I don't think fared particularly well (the boss theme being the big one), but the majority of the soundtrack was just as charming here for me as it was in the original Genesis version, if not more so. Can't really offer any retort to it not capturing the magic for you, though. Definitely did for me, but if it didn't for you... well, then I stand corrected in my statement that anyone who liked the original game would certainly enjoy the HD remake too, I guess! -Tom You could just hold down the jump button to butt bounce, I never used down on the d-pad Yeah, I didn't mean to rain on your parade at all. I was just really excited for the game pre-release, but it just fell really flat for me when I finally got it.
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