More of the Same

The year is 1998. You've bought this game pictured above, and after finally finishing it a couple months later, you're pretty sure it's one of the best games you've ever played.

Fast forward to 2011, and we have this:

Um, guys? Did Disney suddenly get a hold of Nintendo, somehow get permission on one of the greatest games ever, and do with it the same thing they did The Lion King?

All joking aside, I'm very much enjoying my 3DS and Ocarina of Time 3D even moreso, but I have just the slightest feeling of uneasiness lingering in the back of my mind. Yes, the 3D, while it is a bit of a gimmick, is cool without the glasses, and the game still lives up to its original form, I'm getting a hunch that I'm being fooled in a way. Is my nostalgia worth the $35 graphical update, 3D features, touch screen inventory, and possible other minor features?

This is something that major game developers seem to want to do to make a quick buck off of us. I don't really agree with the entire notion overall, yet here I am, wanting to pay $40 for Halo: Anniversary. Either nostalgia is seriously this powerful, or we just aren't looking deep enough into this, because one-too-many-a-time we have been fooled by this trickery.

Of course some of these kinds of remakes are definitely worth it. The aforementioned Ocarina of Time move to the 3DS wasn't that bad, as it is heralded by gamers as one of the greatest games ever made, and having it back looking better than ever after 13 years is not only refreshing but fun too. The upcoming Jak and Daxter Collection on the Playstation 3 contains all three games of the main series: Jak and Daxter, Jak II, and Jak 3, all remade with the high definition graphics that the console is known for. Personally, I loved the hell out of Jak II, and while I had never played Jak and Daxter or Jak 3, if I owned a Playstation 3 I would definitely pick this up, being eager to find out how the other games of the series played. I'm sure something situational could happen like this to anyone for any kind of remake for a game or series.

It isn't all good and pretty though when it comes to remakes of course. Tomb Raider: Anniversary was made  in 2007 as a remake of the first game, having come out in 1996. While many things were right about the game, it was critiqued pretty heavily for eliminating a lot of bugs from the original, but not all of them. The recent Halo: Anniversary looks to be a great adventure from the outside as well, but for $40 there really isn't anything new there except new maps to play online and an archive of Halo timeline information, along with the new look given to the original campaign from 10 years ago.

Both of these games and probably many others might have gotten a graphical update and some new features, and while in the end it is the same game, what ultimately determines the worth of what you are paying for? I suppose it varies per person on which game remake you're buying honestly. Some are definitely better than others just at a glance, but if you're willing to throw money around for that game you really liked, whatever then I guess.

It's a little strange though, because instead of the game being judged on the gameplay within (which is assumed to be the same as it was before the remake), it's judged on whatever else it brings to the table first, like features and graphics. This is all fine and dandy if the gameplay were absolutely flawless, but seeing as that's so rarely the case, we're just supposed to accept the game as it is, throwing our hands in the air at the issue and saying "PFFFT WHATEVER THE GAME IS STILL GOOD HURR DURR".

I'm probably just being nitpicky though to be honest. Most of the time, remakes of classic console games are remade with a lot of attention paid to it and a lot of detail given with the extra features and graphics, and that alone is usually enough to sway people, including me. They are usually just as good if not better than their originals, and the games that are chosen for remakes are usually deserving of them in the first place.

Then there's the Nintendo Wii and 3DS shops. We get our childhood gaming memories sold back to us from years past? There's no way I'm falling for tha-...Where'd all of my money go?

...Oh.