Your least favorite remasters/remakes?

[Ravl]

I wouldn't go that far. But they are clearly at a crisis point with Nomura at the helm. The series will continue to bank on nostalgia and self references until people stop caring about chocobos and moogles.

As much as I like making fun of Nomura, it's mostly Kitase's fault from what I've gathered.
Nomura wanted it to be more faithful ironically enough.

Interview: Final Fantasy VII Remake Producer and Co-Director on Development, Launch, and Being Grateful for the Fans

Returning to Midgar

www.pushsquare.com

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

As much as I like making fun of Nomura, it's mostly Kitase's fault from what I've gathered.
Nomura wanted it to be more faithful ironically enough.

Interview: Final Fantasy VII Remake Producer and Co-Director on Development, Launch, and Being Grateful for the Fans

Returning to Midgar

www.pushsquare.com

Its possible, although Kitase directed Final Fantasy VI and VII. I'd say with good directing and guidance, he can do superb work. Maybe he's washed, but it could be that he doesn't work well with Nomura and needs someone with more vision guiding him.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

It felt like it went waaay too long and it was clearly homophobic

it never struck me as particularly mean-spirited especially compared with the typical gay jokes in the west. There’s also considerable history with artistic crossdressing in Japan that gives it a bit of a different context for me. The wall market in general is giving me the same vibes as amusement districts like Osaka’s shinsekai, places that would have okama bars, lots of izakaya and maybe brothels, so I wouldn’t even necessarily connect the dress-up subplot with gay men at all.

I don’t know how it played out in the English translations as I only played the German one back in the day and the original Japanese a couple of years later. In the latter it’s definitely coming across as humorous but not necessarily dismissive of gender non-conformity. That’s just my own personal interpretation as a queer gnc individual myself, so feel free to disagree.

 

[Ravl]

This is an awful remake especially in comparison so a much superior but fan made remake.

A necessary evil, the same devs went on to make Dread which is great

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

it never struck me as particularly mean-spirited especially compared with the typical gay jokes in the west. There’s also considerable history with artistic crossdressing in Japan that gives it a bit of a different context for me. The wall market in general is giving me the same vibes as amusement districts like Osaka’s shinsekai, places that would have okama bars, lots of izakaya and maybe brothels, so I wouldn’t even necessarily connect the dress-up subplot with gay men at all.

I don’t know how it played out in the English translations as I only played the German one back in the day and the original Japanese a couple of years later. In the latter it’s definitely coming across as humorous but not necessarily dismissive of gender non-conformity. That’s just my own personal interpretation as a queer gnc individual myself, so feel free to disagree.

The part that was homophobic was the implication of unwanted sexual advances on Cloud because he was in a gay gym. It is played off as humorous but it is still homophobic. Playing into the stereotypical hetero fear of the gay men.

He even wakes up after going into the tub with four burly muscular (maybe gay) men. Implying that they knocked him out and did something to him. It is all played for laughs.

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

While we're on the subject, I mostly enjoy actually playing the FF7 remakes. The combat is honestly a good time, particularly in the second game. There's *too* many mini-games, but that was a problem with the original and I did find a bunch that were genuinely fun. It's gorgeous, the music is unsurprisingly wonderful, and it still has the underlying plot and characters.

It's the additions, the twists that are trying too hard to be mysterious when it isn't *that* deep. The first one is a metaphor for the challenges of re-making the game at all, with a kind of imposed fate on the cast and setting. The additional acting afforded by the technology - like the facial movements, cinematography, and voice acting - aren't always used well. They draw out parts of the game to the point of silliness, like Cloud's frequent static effect "filter" (I'm going to try to keep this spoiler-free) being used so often that you just can't imagine why the other characters aren't telling him to lay down and take an aspirin.

The real disappointment to me, though, is that they aren't actually taking chances. The first game eludes to the constraints, but ends with the declaration that Things Will Be Different, This Time.

....but they aren't? The second game still went through the same plot, they haven't taken any real chances. The ending is just another cliffhanger, and No Really The Next One *Might* Be Different.

I'm not saying it should be drastically different, but considering....hm, I'll put this in spoiler tags.

Spoiler: Just in case.

Considering that the games are going the route of Star Trek (2009) and invoking time-travel, like the original game materially happened (or will, I guess it might not be time-travel so much as someone can see the future that will be and is working to change it) and the remakes are more of a sequel than an actual re-telling. It's clear that they're having their cake and eating it too, though. It *is* still a remake, with few diversions; made to show off the leap in technology more than putting a twist on the material.

Personally, I wish they had more guts, but I can't pretend I didn't have fun playing Queen's Blood and the Battle Square.

That's a interesting perspective. Personally I wouldn't have been so annoyed by the alternate reality angle had it not been named FF7 Remake. Maybe if it was clearer about its intention. Like Evangelion: Rebuild.

I still think they went far too deep with the mini games, to an extent that didn't exist in the original. Also they butchered many of the original scenes, and of course Sepiroth is omnipresent in the game and a lot dumber and gayer for Cloud. They don't feel like the same characters.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

fun fact: It's only 80€ if you want it to be, the poor intern at Atlus forgot to add Denuvo when it released so you can easily find it "elsewhere".

Post automatically merged: Feb 21, 2025

Also I was really disappointed with the untold remakes: I do not like the grimoires, the new classes, the new balance changes and level design. The story is bad, but at least there's Classic (you still have to grind to compensate for those story only floors though)

Also, I hate how they spoiled the original's twist in Untold in the first 5 minutes

First off that's hilarious
Second off, DITTO. I'm surprised at how unpopular that opinion is. I haven't played Untold 2 but every time I hear someone talk about those boss fights I'm just like "what the hell happened, how do you make EO2 bosses WORSE?" And yeah fuck that spoiler, that's awful. EO1 already had a minimal story and they fucked it over.
There's also a litany of other things that make me want to say to a newcomer NOT to play them first and go for the HD games instead. Untold almost spoils you with some of it's mechanics and a newcomer is bound to get underwhelmed as soon as they try 3 onwards

EO1 HD is genuinely the best way to play the first game, updates from games as late as 5 and font that doesn't look like chickenscratch
(also side note I got EO2HD for free thanks to a friend lmao)

 

[Ravl]

The part that was homophobic was the implication of unwanted sexual advances on Cloud because he was in a gay gym. It is played off as humorous but it is still homophobic. Playing into the stereotypical hetero fear of the gay men.

I'll be frank with you, I ain't seeing none of this stuff, It's just buff gym dudes.

Now, if you really want to mention something at least talk about the Honey Bee Inn

 

[miguk]

Its the remake paradox, the games that need the remakes aren't popular enough to justify them from a sales perspective and the games that get the remakes don't need them.

That's true in many cases, but not all. I'm glad that Link's Awakening got a remake, as the GB's low resolution and weak sound chip are not ideal for gaming. A lot of games on the system just weren't as good as they could have been because of the limitations (especially fighting games).

And the same is true of a lot of games from the pre-DC/PS2/GC era. The higher resolution, better sound quality and QoL based on decades of game programming knowledge can revitalize games that are already good but could be even greater now. I liked Wonder Boy in the Dragon's Trap, but I love the remake. And I'd love it if more old school games got the same treatment. (And note that WB was a pretty obscure series outside of a few niche circles until this remake was made.)

(And even PS2 games sometimes get a good remake, as is the case for Dragon Quest VIII.)

Really, your argument is more so true for newer games, which are only missing textures and a little bit more polygons. But those are remasters, which are mostly pointless for anything other than a cash grab.

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

That's true in many cases, but not all. I'm glad that Link's Awakening got a remake, as the GB's low resolution and weak sound chip are not ideal for gaming. A lot of games on the system just weren't as good as they could have been because of the limitations (especially fighting games).

And the same is true of a lot of games from the pre-DC/PS2/GC era. The higher resolution, better sound quality and QoL based on decades of game programming knowledge can revitalize games that are already good but could be even greater now. I liked Wonder Boy in the Dragon's Trap, but I love the remake. And I'd love it if more old school games got the same treatment.

I don't really object to graphical remasters, but a lot of these projects are outsourced to studios of dubious quality and they botch what they were trying to accomplish. There are very few remake projects that are an earnest attempt to bring what was great about the original to a modern audience and not a cash grab or creatively compromised project.

 

[Ravl]

First off that's hilarious
Second off, DITTO. I'm surprised at how unpopular that opinion is. I haven't played Untold 2 but every time I hear someone talk about those boss fights I'm just like "what the hell happened, how do you make EO2 bosses WORSE?" And yeah fuck that spoiler, that's awful. EO1 already had a minimal story and they fucked it over.
There's also a litany of other things that make me want to say to a newcomer NOT to play them first and go for the HD games instead. Untold almost spoils you with some of it's mechanics and a newcomer is bound to get underwhelmed as soon as they try 3 onwards

Don't worry, as much I hate the "latest edition replaces the original" discourse, in this case it's a good thing, you hardly see people recommending untold these days; the fact that's it's stuck on 3ds and people still don't know how to hack that thing to sideload games is also a factor.

I liked Wonder Boy in the Dragon's Trap, but I love the remake. And I'd love it if more old school games got the same treatment.

That thing is so beautiful it makes me cry, It's not really a 1:1 remake but find me a single person on this planet who likes the charm system for shops

EO1 HD is genuinely the best way to play the first game, updates from games as late as 5 and font that doesn't look like chickenscratch

The hd ports are fine and they did fix some stupid shit (like the Beast defense stat not working in 2 when protecting an ally), but I prefer to play these on my ds, the 2d art just fits better for me.

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

(And even PS2 games sometimes get a good remake, as is the case for Dragon Quest VIII.)

It's missing the orchestral tracks and replaces them with subpar midi versions though, so that automatically makes it worse for me.
BUT
If you know your stuff you can actually replace the 3ds tracks with the Orchestral soundtrack by modding the game yourself. That's what I did

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

remake projects that are an earnest attempt to bring what was great about the original to a modern audience and not a cash grab or creatively compromised project.

Yes, it's extremely rare, I'd suggest you look at Tengo project's stuff: Ninja Saviours, Pocky and Rocky Reshrined and Shadow of the Ninja Reborn are absolutely amazing.
It's all the original devs also.

 

[ATenderLad]

That's a interesting perspective. Personally I wouldn't have been so annoyed by the alternate reality angle had it not been named FF7 Remake. Maybe if it was clearer about its intention. Like Evangelion: Rebuild.

I still think they went far too deep with the mini games, to an extent that didn't exist in the original. Also they butchered many of the original scenes, and of course Sepiroth is omnipresent in the game and a lot dumber and gayer for Cloud. They don't feel like the same characters.

I think that's them feeling clever, actually. It isn't FF7 Remake (noun), it's FF7 Remake (verb), like a description of what's actually happening.

Sephiroth is entirely too present though; it's kinda weird.

Spoiler: Spoilers again, don't mind me.

He's almost certainly the one instigating all of the change, like he perhaps identified that Cloud is the lynchpin to the whole she-bang and he's trying to manipulate him more directly. None of it's very interesting though, they're not very good at the whole "tell a story" thing and seem to have mixed up "secret plans and mystery" with "actual drama." Aerith is afflicted with all of this too, she *maybe* knew the future, and she's in on the new changes but just isn't telling anyone. They've kept it all so vague, it's hard not to get frustrated.

For the record, I think there are parts you would enjoy. (One example being music, the second one especially; there's like 200+ individual tracks and a lot of it is excellent.) The way they combined the ATB commands with the combat is pretty fun, and a lot of the voice acting is genuinely good, if in service of some real clunkers at times.

On the other hand, Yuffie gets more screen time than ever soooooooooooo

 

[miguk]

That thing is so beautiful it makes me cry, It's not really a 1:1 remake but find me a single person on this planet who likes the charm system for shops

I loved the fact that they not only fixed the worst aspect of the gameplay, but retooled it as an aspect of the bonus dungeons. It's so much more satisfying to play through without having to worry about a grind that exists only to lengthen the game artificially.

It's missing the orchestral tracks and replaces them with subpar midi versions though, so that automatically makes it worse for me.
BUT
If you know your stuff you can actually replace the 3ds tracks with the Orchestral soundtrack by modding the game yourself. That's what I did

That's how I played it. With the mod in place, all fan favorite characters playable, random battles replaced with visible enemies, and best wifu declaring her love at the end, I don't know how anyone could go back to the PS2 version.

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

I think that's them feeling clever, actually. It isn't FF7 Remake (noun), it's FF7 Remake (verb), like a description of what's actually happening.

Sephiroth is entirely too present though; it's kinda weird.

Spoiler: Spoilers again, don't mind me.

He's almost certainly the one instigating all of the change, like he perhaps identified that Cloud is the lynchpin to the whole she-bang and he's trying to manipulate him more directly. None of it's very interesting though, they're not very good at the whole "tell a story" thing and seem to have mixed up "secret plans and mystery" with "actual drama." Aerith is afflicted with all of this too, she *maybe* knew the future, and she's in on the new changes but just isn't telling anyone. They've kept it all so vague, it's hard not to get frustrated.

For the record, I think there are parts you would enjoy. (One example being music, the second one especially; there's like 200+ individual tracks and a lot of it is excellent.) The way they combined the ATB commands with the combat is pretty fun, and a lot of the voice acting is genuinely good, if in service of some real clunkers at times.

On the other hand, Yuffie gets more screen time than ever soooooooooooo

That's Nomura's shtick though. Keep things vague enough for the player to think the story might be profound and disappoint them in the end. I guess he still has a chance to fix it with Part 3 but his track record isn't good.

I'd probably enjoy Rebirth as much as I did FFXIII. It was a tough ride, both enjoying the gameplay but loathing the characters. I don't think an RPG can consider itself to be good if the player finds the characters annoying. And I don't like the voice acting direction for most Final Fantasy games aside from FFXII. I don't think imitating Japanese/anime mannerisms/affectations works in American English acting. I hated that about certain characters in FFXIII and from what I've seen from Yuffie in let's plays I doubt I'll like the voice acting here.

 

[ATenderLad]

I hated that about certain characters in FFXIII and from what I've seen from Yuffie in let's plays I doubt I'll like the voice acting here.

Defintiely, but I will say Cait Sith and his accent are *fantastic*.

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

Defintiely, but I will say Cait Sith and his accent are *fantastic*.

I did like Cait Sith from what I've seen. And Red and Barret were decent. Cloud I'm a bit iffy, he sounds like an generic American teenager, not what I imagined his voice to be like. Tifa also is pretty unremarkable. Aerith is fine but it feels like she's trying to hard too be the bubbly manic pixie girl and not quite landing it.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

A necessary evil, the same devs went on to make Dread which is great

Is that so? I haven't played Dread but I've heard good things.

 

[Retroviews]

Katamari Damacy REROLL on Steam

The beloved roll-em-up game returns with fully updated graphics, completely recreated cutscenes and in full HD!

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Save 50% on Princess Maker Refine on Steam

"Princess Maker" pioneered the raising simulation genre with its innovative "raising a daughter" system. The concept of taking in a 10-year-old girl and nurturing her into a mature woman through the player's love and care was groundbreaking at the time and remains popular today.

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Save 50% on Sonic Adventure 2 on Steam

Experience two unique adventures featuring both long-time heroes and new and returning villains as they battle for the fate of the world!

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I really enjoyed these games, so I overlooked a lot of their flaws, but I get why some people were disappointed.

The Katamari Damacy remaster is basically the same game in higher resolution.

Princess Maker Refine has plenty of issues—bad translation, random crashes… I even had to play some parts in windowed mode. What made it worth it is that it has such a unique concept. I wish there were a fan translation for the PS2 version; it would make things much easier.

And my experience with Sonic Adventure 2 got so much better after installing mods to improve performance and visuals, which really shouldn’t be necessary.

 

[Ravl]

Is that so? I haven't played Dread but I've heard good things.

Is great yes and strangely enough, it's the hardest Metroid game (so much that they later added a easy mode after people complained)

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

Princess Maker Refine has plenty of issues—bad translation, random crashes… I even had to play some parts in windowed mode. What made it worth it is that it has such a unique concept. I wish there were a fan translation for the PS2 version; it would make things much easier.

Was it censored? I doubt they kept that "secret code"

 

[BlissfulBandit]

Sigh, what did they do?

The real question is, what didn't they do? With that I mean they felt the need to "touch up" pretty much every single line of text. Also the censorship, the game is from the 90s so it was inevitable some stuff would get the cut.
Bellow are just a few examples I think are worth highlighting, I'll spoiler anything important.

--Prehistory chapter--

Spoiler: A pretty big one

Square in their infinte wisdom decided not to give this chapter english Voices, since its main gimmick is that the characters haven't learned how to speak yet. The sole exception is at the ending when the MC creates the first ever word: "love", however since this is a japanese game he says "ai" and the localizers had no choice but the translate it as he screaming "aieeeee", ruining the scene completely.

--Imperial China chapter--
The character Sammo was completely rewritten to stop being comedic relief and be more serious, guess fat jokes aren't allowed anymore. Lei also had some lines about her femininity changed.

--Wild West chapter--
The bourbon and cigars you could use to heal have been replaced with herbs and "miracle tonics", you could also steal a woman's nightgown originally, which was replaced by her diary. Both of these changes were also made in the japanese script funnily enough, so you can only experience them in the OG.

--Medieval chapter--
The entire chapter was rewritten in overly flowery Iambic Pentameter, and many of the names in the chapter were changed to be fancier? For example Alicia became Alethea and Straybow became Streighbough. I can't even begin to try and understand.

Spoiler: this one's weird

The boss Gynophobia was changed to Hygrophobia.

There are more, but if I listed every single one I'd probably hit the character limit. It's a shame really, this remake was the director's passion project and there's a lot of love he put into it, but you can only really feel that if you know japanese.

 

[Retroviews]

Was it censored? I doubt they kept that "secret code"

The "secret code" was in Princess Maker 2 but not in the first game. What was removed were the instances of nudity. The "secret ending" remains—it just doesn't trigger any achievements.

I'm not too concerned about that; what really bothered me were the bugs and having to adapt rather than playing my way.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

Is great yes and strangely enough, it's the hardest Metroid game (so much that they later added a easy mode after people complained)

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

Was it censored? I doubt they kept that "secret code"

That's a relief. My only complaint about the Metroid games is how easy they are.

 

[miguk]

The real question is, what didn't they do? With that I mean they felt the need to "touch up" pretty much every single line of text. Also the censorship, the game is from the 90s so it was inevitable some stuff would get the cut.
Bellow are just a few examples I think are worth highlighting, I'll spoiler anything important.

--Prehistory chapter--

Spoiler: A pretty big one

Square in their infinte wisdom decided not to give this chapter english Voices, since its main gimmick is that the characters haven't learned how to speak yet. The sole exception is at the ending when the MC creates the first ever word: "love", however since this is a japanese game he says "ai" and the localizers had no choice but the translate it as he screaming "aieeeee", ruining the scene completely.

--Imperial China chapter--
The character Sammo was completely rewritten to stop being comedic relief and be more serious, guess fat jokes aren't allowed anymore. Lei also had some lines about her femininity changed.

--Wild West chapter--
The bourbon and cigars you could use to heal have been replaced with herbs and "miracle tonics", you could also steal a woman's nightgown originally, which was replaced by her diary. Both of these changes were also made in the japanese script funnily enough, so you can only experience them in the OG.

--Medieval chapter--
The entire chapter was rewritten in overly flowery Iambic Pentameter, and many of the names in the chapter were changed to be fancier? For example Alicia became Alethea and Straybow became Streighbough. I can't even begin to try and understand.

Spoiler: this one's weird

The boss Gynophobia was changed to Hygrophobia.

There are more, but if I listed every single one I'd probably hit the character limit. It's a shame really, this remake was the director's passion project and there's a lot of love he put into it, but you can only really feel that if you know japanese.

Aside from the mistake in the Prehistoric era, I don't see what the big deal is. Outdated comedy doesn't work. The bourbon and cigars don't make logical sense, and got replaced with things that do (at least moreso). The rest don't seem to be much more than aesthetic changes. (The boss's name might not have been changed anyways, as I've only seen sources saying that the "original" was a fan translation choice, which tracks with the unfortunate tendencies of early fanslators.)

 

[Strategist's iconStrategist]

Aside from the mistake in the Prehistoric era, I don't see what the big deal is. Outdated comedy doesn't work. The bourbon and cigars don't make logical sense, and got replaced with things that do (at least moreso). The rest don't seem to be much more than aesthetic changes. (The boss's name might not have been changed anyways, as I've only seen sources saying that the "original" was a fan translation choice, which tracks with the unfortunate tendencies of early fanslators.)

Yeah, agreed. Like removing bourbon and cigars as healing items for miracle tonics seems like an improvement to me. People would sell those back in the wild west days. These all seem too minor to get upset about.

Massive changes to the story (as in FF7 Remake), those are things worth getting upset about, but you don't hear enough pushback about it.

 

[Ravl]

The real question is, what didn't they do? With that I mean they felt the need to "touch up" pretty much every single line of text. Also the censorship, the game is from the 90s so it was inevitable some stuff would get the cut.
Bellow are just a few examples I think are worth highlighting, I'll spoiler anything important.

--Prehistory chapter--

Spoiler: A pretty big one

Square in their infinte wisdom decided not to give this chapter english Voices, since its main gimmick is that the characters haven't learned how to speak yet. The sole exception is at the ending when the MC creates the first ever word: "love", however since this is a japanese game he says "ai" and the localizers had no choice but the translate it as he screaming "aieeeee", ruining the scene completely.

--Imperial China chapter--
The character Sammo was completely rewritten to stop being comedic relief and be more serious, guess fat jokes aren't allowed anymore. Lei also had some lines about her femininity changed.

--Wild West chapter--
The bourbon and cigars you could use to heal have been replaced with herbs and "miracle tonics", you could also steal a woman's nightgown originally, which was replaced by her diary. Both of these changes were also made in the japanese script funnily enough, so you can only experience them in the OG.

--Medieval chapter--
The entire chapter was rewritten in overly flowery Iambic Pentameter, and many of the names in the chapter were changed to be fancier? For example Alicia became Alethea and Straybow became Streighbough. I can't even begin to try and understand.

Spoiler: this one's weird

The boss Gynophobia was changed to Hygrophobia.

I see, It's more or less what i expected

but you can only really feel that if you know japanese.

Many such cases, I'd play the remake in japanese if it wasn't for the new graphics

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

Yeah, agreed. Like removing bourbon and cigars as healing items for miracle tonics seems like an improvement to me. People would sell those back in the wild west days. These all seem too minor to get upset about.

Yeah obviously it's minor and it doesn't matter but I do not like when they remove smokes and alchool in games. the 4kids-style censorship makes me feel like it's something made for kids, which it is but I just don't want to admit that I'm too old for this.

 

[Num]

people put way too much weight on a remakes faithfulness as if deviating from the original is some kind of artistic crime. strategist compared it to scribbling on the mona lisa but thats ridiculous the mona lisa is still hanging in the louvre untouched. its not defacing the original in the slightest its just someone taking a photo of the mona lisa editing it and posting it on deviantart. doesnt matter if the original creator is involved or if its considered "canon" or not a remake by definition is already a reintrepretation yet people insist on judging it by the same standards. i personally see no point to a remake unless its a "regimagining" i like it embracing new ideas whatever trainwreck of a game it turns out as would change nothing.
its been this trend for a while now to hold the original at the stand as if its some sort of irrefutable evidence and then performatively bash anything new so people can maintain their gamer credentials as a fan. it reminds me of how every new FF entry is treated once its released because its "not final fantasy" yet then grown to be appreciated and loved later down the line once the bias wears off. give it some years after the remakes completion and i bet the same voices parroting original better will start saying something like "well its no FF7 but actually FF7R was kinda good"
when you take a pre existing IP and make something with it comparisons are inevitable yes. it doesnt have to be that way but it seems the majority of people are allergic to trying to form more nuanced opinions so itll remain that way.