They call me grumpy, they call me cynic, they call me sceptic, always the same. Thats not my name, thats not my name, thats not my name, thats not my name! My name is, in fact, Ross Marrs and I feel obliged to share my thoughts on videogames. Therefore, here arrives Critical Hit, a monthly look at my various annoyances about the videogame industry.
This month Im concerned about the recent influx of 3DS owners campaigning for remakes on the system, as well as Nintendo staff also stating theyd like 3D remakes of Mario and Zelda titles. Back in June we received a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 3DS. Well, I say remake, but really it was more of an upgrade of the original, with improved visuals and the extra Master Quest gameplay mode added in. It was the first of two remakes from Nintendo for the system, the other being Star Fox 64 3D (though I still insist that its called Lylat Wars…), which comes out next month. With just two remakes coming from Nintendo, I wasnt really bothered, but in recent weeks, theres been a push for a Majoras Mask remake. Not really bothered still. But then add on top the idea Shigeru Miyamoto’s desire to remake The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, plus the recent comments from Super Mario Galaxy director Yoshiaki Koizumi stating that hed like to see 3D remakes of Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Sunshine and even more Zelda titles, and it becomes a bit too much.
Overdoing remakes just starts to get tedious to me, and in recent years Im very much for originality when it comes to videogames. Its actually one of key features I always look out for, when Im looking for new games to take my interest. Though they are, of course, not remakes, the yearly overdose of the Call of Duty and FIFA games similarly hold no interest for me – and for all I care, they might as well be the same thing over and over again. In fact, I struggle to comprehend why they do so well and it has led me to believe that the majority of videogame players would rather play something to fit in with their crowd of friends. Or perhaps they just dont like new experiences? Either way, I think its sad to see some of the most beautiful, unique games get neglected.
Still, thats another topic in itself, and I may talk about that another time. One of my other gripes about remakes is that some arent made with appropriate technology, or appropriate systems, in mind. For example, going back to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, I feel it would have been even more impressive to see Nintendo remake it on Wii U instead. Not only would it benefit from the power the system offers, but being able to play it on a large screen in HD, with better speakers and a comfortable controller to hold – as was originally intended, as a home console title – would have been nice. In fact, with the controllers touch-screen, they could have even made the inventory swapping more convenient, just like they did on the 3DS version – even the gyroscope usage would have transferred over well.
Changing an old game too much can ruin it for fans of the original version. In drastic cases, it can even result in parts of the new game literally being worse, whether that nostalgia factor is there or not. A recent example of this is in the Lylat Wars remake (sigh…Star Fox 64 3D…). The newly produced soundtrack sounds awful compared to the original, with the music on Venom sounding like a mixed up mess. The voice acting has also changed and theyre also worse than the original voice clips.
My main problem is that Id rather see developers creating original games, rather than putting their time into remakes. I have a concern that the Nintendo 3DS is going to have far too many remakes and that theyre not really offering much new in terms of content. Theres much more that could be added, but it just seems its all about remaking them in 3D – which I personally dont use much. Even Nintendo have been playing it down in their latest advertising…
Do you share Ross’ views on remakes? Let us know in the comments section below, and keep an eye out for more of Ross’ ravings in the not-so-distant future!
