What’s Old Is New Again - A Rant
We at Homestyle live by our motto of “serving tasty slices” of classic and indie games, but the difficulty in that living lies in the blur between a classic and a modern game. It seems to be the trend to reboot old franchises, luring in the younger crowd while keeping a stranglehold on people who look at everything with the Mortal Kombat logo emblazened on it through rose-tinted glasses. Bionic Commando, Street Fighter, Spy Hunter…all classic games, all with updated graphics, gameplay, and mentality. Are they fun? Two of those haven’t been released yet, but the other wasn’t as good as the original, but then again, it might be these rose-tinted glasses I’m wearing.
There’s just something about playing an old game that feels good, but that might be because I grew up with them. Playing an old game is like being a kid again. It’s almost like stepping into an old library to read a book instead of reading a digital copy - the feeling surrounds you while you play, almost like a presence. Playing an old game is like going home, to when you were worried about 1-ups and getting to the next level. Sure, remakes serve a purpose, but sometimes they’re not really in the spirit of the original, which is why Doom 3 will never beat Doom in my eyes, no matter how many monster closets you put in the game. It just sometimes feel that games try to capitalize on our memories to make a quick buck and wind up screwing over fans.
There are exceptions, though. Capcom did right by Mega Man fans with Mega Man 9. I want to take a moment to acknowledge them for that (despite the fact that hundreds upon hundreds of others already have). First of all, remember when games were difficult and required skill? I don’t mean it took a long time to complete them, but they made you work at completing them and you felt good about being able to destroy Tyson in the first round, or defeated Ganon? Mega Man brings that level of difficulty back, with the same visual appeal and aesthetic as the original NES versions. It’s been a long time since I’d been so happy to have a game beat me mercilessly.
This isn’t to say that remade/updated classics are universally terrible. Grand Theft Auto’s update to the 3rd dimension totally redefined sandbox gameplay and helped to make the PS2 the phenomenon it was. And where would gaming be today with Super Mario’s jump to 3D in Super Mario 64? It’s a necessary transition, given the shift of focus from gameplay to storytelling, but let’s not forget that people play games, not watch them (I’m looking at you, Metal Gear), and given the graphical capabilities available these days, developers and publishers seem more interested in the cinematic qualities of their product rather than the interactivity.
Where am I going with this? Honestly, I have no idea. I’m just throwing a bunch of ideas onto the posting wall and seeing what sticks and what you, the readers, think. Any concerns regarding classic remakes? Any feelings? Feel free to share them.
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CK010 January 14th
Although I’m not a big fan of remakes, because it would usually takes away the ‘feeling’ of games, there are two games that I’d like to see being remade from Top-Down view to 3D view.
1: The Legend of Zelda - With both worlds
2: Legend of Zelda - Link to the Past
But that’s humble lil’ me and my feelings towards games. And as stupid as this might sound: I hated the updated Zelda LttP version for the GBA.
odd people.. odd choices.. odd me..
Draconis January 14th
I still play classic titles on emulators and on my Gp2x. I think the videogame industry is going through the same growing pains the animation industry is with the whole 3D fascination and throwing out the classic 2d baby out with the bathwater. Both mediums are valid and require massive degrees of skill to create anything impressive within the genre. I think this is what people are coming to realize now that the shiny new car smell of 3d is finally trailing off. Thankfully, handhelds and other portable devices have kept 2d alive as well as a few hardcore enthusiasts, but like you said, everything old is new again and I’m sure we’re going to be due for a resurgance of classicly animated 2d titles in the near future.
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