There’s a hot take to be had from this generation of gaming, and that’s that the industry finally nailed what a remaster of a video game should be like: Shinier and stuffed to the gills with all of the DLC that we couldn’t be arsed enough to buy back when said game first came out. We’ve seen a heck of a lot of remasters over the last couple of years, some done well some done horribly (Just look at the Devil May Cry trilogy collection for an example here) and there’s no end in sight to them.
And that’s okay! There’s a certain joy in revisiting certain games, when you’re older and slightly wiser, savouring details that your lack of life experience may have made you miss the first tie you played them. Then there’s the video game remake, a project that requires an absurd amount of passion and resources to even contemplate, let alone tackle.
Final Fantasy VII Remake stands tall as the best of the lot, thanks to it getting so much right. It looks stunning, it plays brilliantly and while it might have too much padding for my tastes, the expanded storyline makes for gripping entertainment. So which game would you like to see given that remake treatment? What classic from yesteryear, do you think would draw in a whole new audience if it switched gameplay gears and attempted something new?
You have to wonder, just how much of a tonal shift you’d be willing to accept when it comes to a childhood classic. You’d need to also accept that the storyline of your most treasured game would most likely also be altered in certain areas, because it’s not 1995 anymore and the world has grown up a bit since then. On the plus side, seeing the video game that made you fall in love with the medium, running at full speed in a new visual engine and with character models that look better than the action figures you have of them on your desk.
Can you imagine a game given that treatment? Brad reckons Chrono Trigger deserves it, Capcom fans are clamouring for a Dino Crisis remake in the same vein as the recent Resident Evil 3 games and holy crap I’d sell all three of my testicles to see Final Fantasy 8 Remastered. Especially if it changes the story to make the Rinoa is Edea theory a canon part of the saga.
What about you? Which game deserves the remake treatment? And no, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance can’t be on that list because it’s impossible to remake something that’s already perfect. Sound off below, on what your dream revival would look like. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go pester Remedy Entertainment to make Alan Wake Reawakening Edition.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.
Last Updated: May 15, 2020
schitsophrenic-toothbrush
May 15, 2020 at 10:57
Silver! what a class game
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:03
Yeah the combat mechanics would need the most love though. Loved the game, but holy shit the way you attacked was clunky as hell.
HairyEwok
May 15, 2020 at 10:57
Contra
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:11
But not by Konami
Krabby Paddy
May 15, 2020 at 11:03
Deus Ex (2000)
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:11
Oh yes
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:13
Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Healthy dose of British humour, weird but interesting gameplay mechanics, and something that still stands as quite unique.
Krabby Paddy
May 15, 2020 at 11:21
Dark Earth
kiekers
May 15, 2020 at 11:27
Return fire, big red racing, havoc. For pure nostalgia. For real though, I’ll say what I said in the similiar post earlier: Soul Reaver and Sanity: Aikens Artifact and maybe sacrifice. Oh, and Clive Barker’s undying as well
Guz
May 15, 2020 at 12:19
Would say Baldur’s gate but we getting a new one soon
Skyblue
May 15, 2020 at 12:57
System Shock
Rygar – NES version
FIST II
Shadowrun – The newer ones aren’t great
Jungle Strike
Red Zone
Alien 3 – SNES version
AvP – 1st PC title
Rogue Trooper
Jbumi
May 15, 2020 at 13:22
I feel the new combat system in FFVII R would be better suited to a game with a single playable character rather than the party-based game they used in it. I also feel a remake is long overdue – Vagrant Story. How Square hasn’t thought of this themselves yet is beyond me!
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 15, 2020 at 14:34
Easy.
Caveshen Rajman
May 15, 2020 at 10:47
I opened this to comment Chrono Trigger but Brad has that behind-the-scenes advantage.
Wasn’t this question asked recently? In any case, I wouldn’t mind a full remake of Freelancer.
Lu
May 15, 2020 at 11:01
Ooooh Freelancer was amazeballs!
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:11
It was, Probably finished it 10 times back in the day.
schitsophrenic-toothbrush
May 15, 2020 at 11:08
Freelance or Wing Commander: Privateer either would be great
HvR
May 15, 2020 at 11:43
Chris Roberts is busy with it
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:11
Even Descent Freespace. Now with bigger and longer battles.
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:01
Question – is there a reason this is the same debate from a month ago?
https://www.criticalhit.net/gaming/friday-debate-which-game-would-you-like-to-see-given-the-final-fantasy-vii-remake-treatment/
The D
May 15, 2020 at 11:27
I literally forgot I did this already. LITERALLY FORGOT.
Krabby Paddy
May 15, 2020 at 11:32
The regulars get to have D jà vu
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 13:36
That’s comment of the week material. Clever bit of wordplay, bravo!
The D
May 15, 2020 at 14:27
I think I can split the award this week. That’s just pure genius right there.
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 13:33
What’s interesting is that some of the answers here are a bit different. Like Circus Charlie, the Crusader games. Hell I even thought of Black & White this time.
There are the obvious ones of course – Chrono Trigger and Freelancer.
Original Heretic
May 15, 2020 at 16:49
It’s a question that lingers long after an answer has been given.
Original Heretic
May 15, 2020 at 11:01
Duke Nukem needs some modernising love, he could be great again.
There was an old PC game I thought about recently. The Journeyman Project. I bloody loved those games.
Plus, I want a brand new Might and Magic game, one that’ll come to console and that’s gonna wow me the way they used to.
And then…AND THEN…I want a gorgeous remaster of Circus Charlie.
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:06
Isn’t this just the OG Flappy Bird?
HvR
May 15, 2020 at 11:42
You can not burn flappy birds balls off
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:48
No matter how much we all want to… :/
Guz
May 15, 2020 at 12:24
Is it weird that i can remember the theme music
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 12:37
Nope. We all can. decades later, we all can.
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:11
You might like this then
Krabby Paddy
May 15, 2020 at 11:06
Witcher 1
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 13:14
Thater 1
Krabby Paddy
May 15, 2020 at 13:18
I asked for that.
CodeDisQus
May 15, 2020 at 11:12
Hostile Water – Antaeus RIsing
Star War Republic Commando
Freedom Force
Ground Control
C&C Red Alert 2
Warhammer Dawn of War 2 (not that old)
Hitman Blood Money
Mass Effect (not that old)
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:16
And quite honestly, Black & White 1. Imagine what it could be today with the graphics and AI advances made in the last 22 years…
Iskape
May 15, 2020 at 12:14
I second Black and White as well!
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:16
Syndicate
System Shock
Crusader No Regret/No Remorse
Iskape
May 15, 2020 at 12:03
I second Syndicate!
Guz
May 15, 2020 at 12:14
All hail Shodan!
Skyblue
May 15, 2020 at 12:20
Preach it!
HvR
May 15, 2020 at 11:42
There that is the list, everybody else is wrong
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 13:21
Oh man those Crusader games were the bomb.
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 16:42
The Spiderbomb XD
Pariah
May 15, 2020 at 11:27
Ps, I love horror sonic in the header. Reminds me of Zoom. Probably is Zoom in an alternate universe.
The D
May 15, 2020 at 11:27
Sonic Hill, a Hideo Kojima game.
Hammersteyn
May 15, 2020 at 11:32
Look out, Eggman is pyramid shaped now!
kiekers
May 15, 2020 at 11:27
Return fire, big red racing, havoc. For pure nostalgia. For real though, I’ll say what I said in the similiar post earlier: Soul Reaver and Sanity: Aikens Artifact and maybe sacrifice. Oh, and Clive Barker’s undying as well
schitsophrenic-toothbrush
May 15, 2020 at 12:03
Clive Barker’s the Undying! this guy knows his shit! Loved it
kiekers
May 15, 2020 at 12:37
It was really scary back then, I’m sure it would not have aged well. But I remember it being really fun as well.
Skyblue
May 15, 2020 at 12:46
Soul Reaver and Undying!
BradeLunner
May 15, 2020 at 16:18
Fable would be good, or a new Sands of time
Jacques Young
May 15, 2020 at 18:19
Xenogears needs a remake the game felt incomplete to begin with but still fun also since xenogears is mentioned after a fashion in the og ff7
Armand du plessis
May 15, 2020 at 19:38
Another square Enix masterpiece crono cross
BradeLunner
May 15, 2020 at 16:18
Fable would be good, or a new Sands of time
Jacques Young
May 15, 2020 at 18:19
Xenogears needs a remake the game felt incomplete to begin with but still fun also since xenogears is mentioned after a fashion in the og ff7
Tbone187
May 16, 2020 at 21:26
I see they’ve done a new Shinobi! Classic arcade game that was. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6a01e05ddee8ba6ebd30c06016b78e6accd89de101b52efd082eb6f681e8d4d8.png
Ryan Bugg
May 17, 2020 at 09:46
Yo, I bet The Suffering or Manhunt would do well with the remake treatment… Both forgotten, and rather graphic horror titles from the PS2 Era, a game genre which the current gen is severely lacking.
Ryan Johnson
May 18, 2020 at 03:26
Final fantasy 1&2
Ryan Johnson
May 18, 2020 at 03:26
Legend of zelda
Ryan Johnson
May 18, 2020 at 03:23
Final fantasy IV
Ryan Johnson
May 18, 2020 at 03:28
Super mario RPG SNES
Ryan Johnson
May 18, 2020 at 03:31
Castlevania one two and three