HD Remakes

[Banjodorf]

So I'm one of those people that really loves to see older, classic games re-imagined graphically, to propel certain games into the hands of newer generations. Sometimes, the opinion of HD remakes is that they take the place of new games that could be made, but I'm not really sure that's often the case.

Either way, I'm pretty interested to see what people's general opinions are on HD remakes in general.

I kind of have a view of good vs. bad remakes, where good involves a tremendous graphical upgrade, that generally enhances the beauty of the product.

Examples:

Wind Waker HD (Seriously, it looks crazy)
Duck Tales HD (Recent announcement, it's on my mind, and looks pretty great)
Budokai 3 HD (New OST, and it just looks pretty)

Of course, there are some remakes I feel don't really add anything to the original product, but I'll just not name any names, and really just want to see the general opinion on remakes like those I listed. I'll also post comparisons at some point.

 

[Jon Farron]

The Kingdom hearts and FFX remakes were a little too soon IMO. The graphics aren't that big of a leap forward, but at least we're getting international versions! Notable remakes that were good I thought was FF3 and 4 for the DS. Yeah the 3D isn't the best, but going from pixels to 3D is always a step forward in reimagining things. Let's not forget those beautiful Zelda titles.

 

[finalark]

DMC HD Collection is alright. It doesn't really fix the awkward controls from the first game, the sword is still ****ing useless in the second game, and the third game is fine. I can't think of anything in it that was in dire need of fixing.

 

[ndayday]

I'm neutral to remakes. In some ways, recreating or reusing a successful game can be kind of lackluster, but when it's done right it offers a chance for people who never played the original to play it in a remastered way and gives those that played it already an experience that's worth going through again. The only remake I've played that I have to give a 5/5 on this is Heartgold and Soulsilver. They really nailed it by adding things, changing up the story a bit to incorporate Crystal, and being conscious of the fact that it's a remake -- GB Sounds (essentially an item you can turn on to play the original Gold/Silver soundtrack) is incredible. It also helps that it's Pokemon, but I'll ignore that.

I honestly don't play too many remakes, but ones that I feel don't really add much too make it worth it for old fans are Ocarina of Time 3D and Mighty Switch Force! HD. OoT3D is a great game and the redone environments looked amazing but other than that it doesn't justify a $40 purchase imo. MSF!HD is a bit of a weird situation in that it does add 2x the levels and has redrawn graphics, but if you played the original you're really just getting a remix of stages you've already beat. I don't regret either of those purchases but the remakes are just "good" to me instead of HG/SS where I would call it "great."

 

[RespawningJesus]

It depends, really. If the remake is just another HD makeover that does nothing to improve upon the original, then it is lazy. If they decide to go that extra mile to improve some aspects, then it is acceptable.

 

[TheKalmarKing]

I enjoy remakes either when they really are nicer on the eye (OoT 3D being a prime example) or when they allow me to get a bunch of games which I missed. Other than that, I'm pretty indifferent.

 

[Jimnymebob]

You enjoyed Budokai 3 HD?
It looked prettier, but that was about all it had going for it in my opinion. The PS2 version trumps it by a mile, it was such a poorly thought out HD collection.

The God of War games (I've only played the 1st collection) shine in HD. They looked good, especially the 2nd game, and they feel smoother than a lot of PS3 titles I've played. Heart Gold was a brilliant remake, and OoT 3D looked pretty nice from what I've seen of it, but I dislike the game too much to actually give it another chance. Okami HD is another nice one, I just wished they'd have added a snap camera behind button when using the move controls. The Jak and Daxter Trilogy is great, but it did feature some graphical bugs.

Monkey Island 2 SE was probably my favourite Remake though, it took one of my favourite games and just made it amazing.

I enjoy HD remakes if only for the lack of backwards compatibility in consoles nowadays, and the fact it allow me to play games that I missed out on.

 

[Astraea31]

can't wait to play okami HD

 

[finalark]

You enjoyed Budokai 3 HD?
It looked prettier, but that was about all it had going for it in my opinion. The PS2 version trumps it by a mile, it was such a poorly thought out HD collection.

A friend of mine just got the Budokai collection. While the game play on both titles is fine IMO they most notably messed up on the music. I don't know if the rights to the original soundtrack expired or what because all of the songs have been replaced with music from Tenkaichi 2.

Which lead to the inside joke "Raditz crushes Goku's rib cage while Budokai HD plays unfitting music."

 

[Jimnymebob]

A friend of mine just got the Budokai collection. While the game play on both titles is fine IMO they most notably messed up on the music. I don't know if the rights to the original soundtrack expired or what because all of the songs have been replaced with music from Tenkaichi 2.

Which lead to the inside joke "Raditz crushes Goku's rib cage while Budokai HD plays unfitting music."

Yeah, there was apparently some big thing were the person who made the music basically stole the music from some band that I can't remember at this time; something like Staravia but not because that's a Pokemon. Stratorvarius maybe?

My main problem with Budokai HD, 3 at least, is that they basically made it widescreen but it still plays in 4:3, so the health bars are oddly centred, and when you backdash for flight you sort of hit the edge of the 'screen' rather than the edge of the television, if that makes sense. That white glow around the characters is annoying too. The gameplay is fine itself, it just seems lazily put together, with 4:3 menus and no online. Does the password service for custom characters still work lol?

 

[finalark]

Yeah, there was apparently some big thing were the person who made the music basically stole the music from some band that I can't remember at this time; something like Staravia but not because that's a Pokemon. Stratorvarius maybe?

Stratovarius is actually one of my favorite bands.

A sample of their stuff for reference and comparison:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2l8KtdQ7Ek

But for Budokai 1 that doesn't make any sense because most of the music is from the Japanese Anime's OST.

My main problem with Budokai HD, 3 at least, is that they basically made it widescreen but it still plays in 4:3, so the health bars are oddly centred, and when you backdash for flight you sort of hit the edge of the 'screen' rather than the edge of the television, if that makes sense. That white glow around the characters is annoying too. The gameplay is fine itself, it just seems lazily put together, with 4:3 menus and no online. Does the password service for custom characters still work lol?

I really didn't notice the backdash thing, but the lack of an online option (especially given that they kept in the passwords) is really confusing. I will agree it could have been better, but it's not as bad as some of Konami's HD collections.

 

[Jimnymebob]

I never actually played the original Budokai, so I'm not sure about the music from that. Budokai 2 and 3 had really catchy music though.
Don't get why they took out Kageyama's opening theme from 3 though, surely that wasn't from Stratovarius?

 

[finalark]

I never actually played the original Budokai, so I'm not sure about the music from that. Budokai 2 and 3 had really catchy music though.
Don't get why they took out Kageyama's opening theme from 3 though, surely that wasn't from Stratovarius?

I'll have to sit down and listen to it again. I know for a fact that the change in the music for Budokai 1 was useless, though.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Here you go lol.
I preferred Budokai 2's theme, but this was pretty good too.

 

[finalark]

It doesn't really sound like any Stratovarius song I know.

No idea why they removed it then.

EDIT:

Here's a list of music that was ripped off from other sources in Budokai 3.

EDIT EDIT: It's not even a completely list, there's still more.

 

[Minato]

The Kingdom hearts and FFX remakes were a little too soon IMO. The graphics aren't that big of a leap forward, but at least we're getting international versions! Notable remakes that were good I thought was FF3 and 4 for the DS. Yeah the 3D isn't the best, but going from pixels to 3D is always a step forward in reimagining things. Let's not forget those beautiful Zelda titles.

KH and FFX (and OoT3D) are more along the lines of remasters and enhanced ports for me. There haven't been many games that I'd consider real remakes.