PC Classic or Updated versions?

[C-Puff]

Honestly I'm mainly making this post because, although I am still neck deep in Baldur's Gate 3, I picked up Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2 when they were 90% off because I'd never played them before. (I wasn't into PC games outside of Morrowind as a teen). The first Divininity: Original Sin comes with both the "classic" and the "Updated" version (I forget what they called it exactly) and I'm unsure which version would be best to play for the first time.

I was thinking how nowadays there is 0 reasons to recommend the original releases of the Mass Effect trilogy when the Legendary Edition exists. But also how, even tho it's far better than expected, I would still recommend people play the original Silent Hill 2 first, despite the remake being much more readily available to play whereas the original SH2 can only be played through emulation or buying it 2nd hand. (and it's one of those games that goes for $200 on ebay).

So yes, this is mainly me asking for advice as a first time player of Divinity, but also I thought it could open a general discussion about which games you'd recommend play the original and which games the remake is just the obvious choice.

 

[Xdqwerty]

Depends on the game, for example I wouldnt recommend Sonic adventure dx over the original Dreamcast version

 

[RustySK]

Depends on the game, for example I wouldnt recommend Sonic adventure dx over the original Dreamcast version

I concur. When it comes to full-on remakes there's usually enough of a difference between the two games to justify at least checking out both - and sometimes you'll even end up with something like REmake, if you're lucky - but with content updates these days you'll more often than not end up with a better experience in my mind.

There are exceptions though of course.
I'll always prefer Persona 4 over Golden for example, since the added story content in that game drags the overall tone into a direction I do not like.
Persona 5 vanilla meanwhile was vastly improved by Royal.

Oh, or Strange Journey Redux! God I hated that remake. Replaced the Kazuma Kaneko art with the most generic stuff ever and added tons and tons of non-sequitur bloat to an almost perfect DRPG.

 

[Xdqwerty]

Depends on the game, for example I wouldnt recommend Sonic adventure dx over the original Dreamcast version

Same with the bowser's inside story remake

 

[Cheela]

Apparently for Divinity is just some enhancements too make it more compatibility with newer hardware and apparently better balance. I don't have the experience though bc is still on my backlog of games (but thanks for bring it up this topic)

Also yeah it really depends in a game to game basis. I remember things like the Half life source "remake" that really wasn't an upgrade compared to the original.

 

[Cu-Neo]

I always try to play the original version then later play the remaster/new version and be like "huh so that's what they changed". Right now I am doing that with Tales of Vesperia, Soul sacrifice and Diablo 3 on console (yes I am a psychopath). Also If you still have doubts with Divinity's a lot of people recommend the enhanced edition and I don't blame them, it has a lot of QOL features like control support, glitch fixes, widescreen support and more balanced gameplay.

 

[Clippy]

https://divinity.fandom.com/wiki/Differences_in_Divinity:_Original_Sin_Enhanced_Edition

 

[Waffles]

I play the originals first and foremost because most remakes/remasters/re-releases... focus on the wrong thing. Eye-candy for a thirty-year-old game sounds awfully excessive and even pointless, and a lot of changes made are so trivial as to defeat the purpose. That said, I have been greatly and pleasantly surprised by a couple of things I have seen around.

 

[fake-kun]

I usually recommend people to play the original Mega Man X before playing its remake Maverick Hunter X. Each game has its own pros and cons, so it's best to decide for yourself which is "better."

 

[YuriSukiSan]

Depends on the game, when it comes to Divinity the enhanced edition it isn't some egregious bastardization that disrespects the original, I think you would benefit from playing that version just because of the improved encounters alone! The original is great for it's time but the enchanced edition polishes a lot under the hood that makes it a better game over all, and this is coming from someone that hates remasters typically! It's less a remaster more a general improvement that goes back to fix bugs and update the game to work properly on a modern OS, I would argue. It's not a game that deserves to be a crowbcat video, that's for sure.

Generally I avoid remasters' because you can always emulate the original but Divinity Original Sin Enhanced Edition is one of those rare exceptions to the rule, it's not like a bluepoint remake, what toys for bob did to poor Spyro or how Capcom fundamentally changed RE4, and god forbid even something horrendous like WC3 reforged. DO:EE is what a remaster is meant to be! My only complaint is the voice acting.. Most of the time it sucks.

 

[tenkai star]

The enhanced editions are more like massive updates rather than remasters. I think it’s the best way to play since the story and endings are expanded on.

I am curious if you’ll like them after playing BG3. I played the 3 games in release order and when playing the newest game, the previous felt like a janky beta in comparison. It’s crazy how much larian improved every new game.

 

[moonbits]

If it's easy to setup the original version then I go with that. If it's a hassle or hard to find I go with the updated one.

 

[Xdqwerty]

Depends on the game, for example I wouldnt recommend Sonic adventure dx over the original Dreamcast version

@dropsmegamega what's so funny?

 

[dropsmegamega]

I honestly always go with the original version, emulating games its so easy nowadays I don't get why people want remaster/ports so bad. When its a pc game that has a retro-ish setting option I always turn it on. Postal 2 retro loading screens are much better imo

@dropsmegamega what's so funny?

It's funny because sega messed up so bad Sonic Adventure DX that it is always mentioned asap when people are discussing bad updated versions

 

[Xdqwerty]

I honestly always go with the original version, emulating games its so easy nowadays I don't get why people want remaster/ports so bad. When its a pc game that has a retro-ish setting option I always turn it on. Postal 2 retro loading screens are much better imo

A native port might run better than emulating the original version

 

[Hikari.EXE]

Again, depends on the game. SMT Strange Journey og is better than Redux, but Devil Survivor Overclocked is better than og, it does varie from game to game, but one thing I can recommend are the "Legacy" editions of the Megaman games... Altough, they are more akin to collections over updates, now that I think about it.

 

[dropsmegamega]

A native port might run better than emulating the original version

Considering these modern ports are usually done in unity and unreal. Nah.

 

[Hikari.EXE]

I always try to play the original version then later play the remaster/new version and be like "huh so that's what they changed". Right now I am doing that with Tales of Vesperia, Soul sacrifice and Diablo 3 on console (yes I am a psychopath).

Fuuuuck you're playing Soul Sacrifice og and not Delta? There really is no reason, it's like playing Monster Hunter (any numbered entry) before playing the Ultimate version just because.

 

[Cu-Neo]

Fuuuuck you're playing Soul Sacrifice og and not Delta? There really is no reason, it's like playing Monster Hunter (any numbered entry) before playing the Ultimate version just because.

Achievement Psychopath, remember? I want to get both platinums. And I really love the game so is isn't a problem at all

 

[bjork]

Seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I'd always recommend original Metroid over Zero Mission. Not that Zero Mission isn't really great, because it is. But even with the whole energy/missile farming and the lack of a map that people generally point to as downsides of the original, it just has a better atmosphere and feel despite having less visual flair and doesn't hold your hand as much.

 

[Hikari.EXE]

Achievement Psychopath, remember? I want to get both platinums. And I really love the game so is isn't a problem at all

Ok, fair enough I suppose...

 

[C-Puff]

Thanks for the tip, guys! I'll go with the updated one then.

That being said, yeah I agree it does very much depend on the game. I gave an example of Mass Effect and Silent Hill 2, but I think it also depends what exactly it is the remake or update of a game does. With Mass Effect LE, the changes were almost entirely cosmetic with some slight adjustments here and there. I heard the Mako was adjusted to control better but I haven't bothered to compare. The AI in the first game is still awful tho. But even so, I don't consider the LE to be different from the original other than looking way better, having all the DLC, and removing the forced multiplayer from the 3rd game which can only be a positive.

Whereas the remake of SH2 I feel although it is a very good game, there is something lost from the original only because certain specific things in the original can never be duplicated. I find the atmosphere in the remake to be good... but completely different to the one in the PS2 game. I prefer the PS2's atmosphere but that's just based on taste. But I feel if someone wants to play Silent Hill 2, then I would tell them to play the OG first unless there is something specific about its gameplay style they struggle with. (no shade. I suck at anything rhythm related in games). But I think Angela's voice acting and model were a big upgrade from the original, whereas Laura is a massive downgrade in both acting and model. (the PS2 model was jank but the new character model looks too old for her character)

I bought the Halo collection for Black Friday as I had never played them before. (Xbox wasn't available in my country and PC gamers were more interested in RPGs and Strategy games.... and Quake III). I know there is an updated version in that one as well but if I remember correctly I think that one is also just a cosmetic change. And as I have 0 nostalgia for the xbox in any capacity I'll probably go with that one. Whereas if I were to ever buy the Lara Croft remasters, I'd stick with the PS1 graphics.

I am unsure how I feel about remakes of games like the recent System Shock tho. I don't know if I would ever be able to play the original System Shock just because I did not grow up with that generation of FPS games so I would probably struggle with the way the UI functions a lot.

Also... I am a diehard Morrowind for life person. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see if Skywind ever actually gets off the ground. I've often said I wanted Bethesda to remake Morrowind as a modern game but er.... that was a few years ago and having learned more about the current writers and directors.. ...I don't want Bethesda to make a remake any more