A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed. Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine several games that were remade for the worst.
Leave Well Enough Alone
It’s something to be said about the power of nostalgia. When people are presented with something such as a video game that checks all the right figurative boxes featuring stellar gameplay, impressive visuals, and/or a memorable story the feeling experienced is one players will search for when experiencing other games that follow. Developers & distribution companies eventually realize that the power of nostalgia can create grand financial opportunities. In an effort to cash-in on nostalgia, developers will reach into the past while hoping to adapt something created upwards of two-plus decades ago for the modern gamer; be it a gamer who was around to enjoy the original version or someone who only heard about game’s said greatness through the vocalized love from the prior. But sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone.
There are several samples of amazing remakes of classic gaming experiences like the “Twin Snakes” version of “Metal Gear Solid”, “Resident Evil 2” or the various Nintendo games redone throughout the years. But then there are the ones that not only fail at capturing the essence & overall fun of its inspiration, said remake actually forces players to question if the original version was actually great in the first place. A great example of failing to understand what made the original release so masterful was “Conker: Live & Reloaded”. First presented on the N64 shortly before gaming’s sixth generation was about to kick off, “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” was rude, crude, full of attitude & had a pretty good story to coincide with the stereotypical enjoyable gameplay known for titles made by developer Rare. “Bad Fur Day’s” remake mostly kept the gameplay, but lost the charm by updating the visuals and even censored some of the game’s more mature moments … in an M-Rated game.
The Kickstarter-funded “Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded” – a full remake of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards – suffered from the same issues of “Conker: Live & Reloaded” minus the fun gameplay. “Turtles in Time” is still considered one of the best co-op arcade games of all time; it’s remake…. Oh, uh, “Re-Shelled” version added online play & updated graphics without changing or adding to the gameplay options; leaving gamers with an outdated presentation that could be finished in barely an hour. On the opposite end of the spectrum in regards to gameplay changes compared to “Re-Shelled” was “GoldenEye 007: Reloaded” by utilizing a stealth system that proved barely functional. Even revolutionary games with critical flaws like “Secret of Mana” found itself the recipient of a bad remake showcasing terrible animations, inconsistent difficulty like what was seen in the original, and game-breaking glitches that were solely connected to the remake. And the less said about the HD collection of “Silent Hill” mostly due to Konami’s incompetence the better.
Trying to introduce or reintroduce gamers to a heralded or even forgotten experience may be admirable and potentially financially beneficial. Unfortunately most of the time it’s best to leave said greatness in the past to be fondly remembered by those who experienced it during the game’s original time in the spotlight.
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing bad remakes or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
