Good morning students. I hope you had a good holiday. By holiday, I mean absence from my column. To be truthful, obviously it isn’t your absence from me, but mine from you. Yes, I have an excuse prepared.
Originally, today’s column was intended to be extended coverage, featuring my highly regarded and frankly, superior opinions on the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale beta. Having being promised a key by SuperBot Entertainment, I couldn’t wait to jump into the masterful mash-up of Sony (and some third party) characters and worlds. This however, has not happened. I have been let down. So blame SuperBot.
I have decided instead to provide you with everything you need regarding HD remakes. Why they are bad and, sometimes, why they are acceptable. I figured that given the recent release of the remastered Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio, and upcoming titles such as Okami being re-released in HD, this would be an appropriate subject. Once again, you may not agree with what I have to offer you, which is fine, you can live with your own mistakes. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not completely resent the idea of HD rehash.. I mean remakes, but I’m not exactly going to snuggle up to them with a nice hot cup of cocoa and cradle them to sleep lovingly in my arms.
Jet Set Radio. Shadow of the Colossus. ICO. Metal Gear Solid. All of these games are unmistakably excellent titles. Most were released to spectacular reception, and remembered by many as fantastic experiences. And that is the key word here; remembered. Past tense. One of the main gripes I have with HD remakes/collections, whatever you want to name them, is that they are re-releases of games that were enjoyed years ago. The issue that arises here is that these games were great for the time. Jet Set Radio had a fairly distinct art style, as did Shadow of the Colossus, which arguably stands to this day. Arguably. Many years have gone by since these games were released, and particularly focussing on Jet Set Radio, many other cel-shaded games have been released since then. Regardless of whether a game has been updated with a HD resolution, the actual art direction of the title can often still feel dated.
Speaking of dated. With the progression of each console generation, there inevitably are changes, or even complete revolutions in terms of gameplay. Kinect, Wiimotes, touch screens; whether you love them or hate them, one cannot deny that they are key gameplay elements that have evolved to be a major part of this generation of consoles. Even things that are minor, including new game engines that allow more believable physics, or increase the fluidity of character control are all built upon over time. When the player is presented with a HD remake of a game that was released on the PlayStation 2 or Dreamcast, the gameplay mechanics often feel like they are: dated. Characters are clunky and awkward to control, and the overall experience feels stale. If it isn’t the dated control systems and old-fashioned game mechanics that make the experience feel stale, it’s probably the fact that we have already played the game before. And we’re paying for it again.
Are you people mugs? I’m sorry, that was rude. Are you people mentally challenged? That was better. Why any one would be prepared to pay just shy of the price of a full retail game; a game that could potentially offer a new experience on every level, for a game that they played five years ago is beyond me. Is nostalgia really worth that much? I loved Shadow of the Colossus. It is quite possibly in my top ten titles. However, the idea that I would have to pay an extortionate amount to download and play it in HD when I could dig out my PS2 and play it for a couple of quid makes me vomit.
Well that’s dramatic, but still. I think I am missing one of the major benefits of HD remakes though. They allow those that missed out on awesome titles such as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty a chance to experience them in an updated (visually, at least) version. Even I have to admit, despite my pessimism, that this is great. Players who were too young, or could not afford to pay for titles at retail release can pick them up now on their modern consoles. But, (yes, there is a but, even on a positive note), this makes me feel sorry for those that weren’t able to experience them for the first time around. It’s really hard to put a finger on it, but I can’t help but feel that the initial experience was the one that counted. In some weird way this makes sense, inside my head at least. I wish I could elaborate for you, but my mind is a complex entity that if I struggle to understand, you certainly won’t. No offence. Well, a bit offence.
Overall, I can’t help but feel that game developers know that you all are suckers. They can give their aged titles a fresh lick of paint, ship them out, and you’ll lap it up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m probably going to buy Okami when it is released. I missed out on it, but things got in the way of me purchasing it at the time of release. Maybe this undermines everything that I’ve said and if so, then you should have realised two columns ago that I am a hypocrite. However I will leave you with one question:
Is nostalgia really worth the price tag?
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for HD re-releases. What I like best about them, is that some of these visual spectacles can be replayed in portable form. For me, that means that buying Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for the PS Vita is worth the money.
Having two full length games right there in my pocket whenever I feel like being the badass Big Boss is amazing. The same goes for anyone who has The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D on their 3DS. Is it not insane that we can play these games in portable form now?
I think that the appeal goes beyond that too. Steven did raise some good points, a lot of remakes are definitely there just to milk people of their money.
But, I think that there are some other things too. I think there are cases like Steven said where people didn’t play the game and want to. There are also cases where people want to own the game again because they don’t have the original anymore. They may not have it because they got rid of it, or like me, my PS2 stopped working. I don’t think a lot of people hang on to consoles, or someone like their parents got rid of them, like we probably have.
Oops, one more thing to add. I think there are some cool HD remakes out there that actually add stuff like the Baldur’s Gate remake, which actually added some content. That is really cool, but rare.
I love that Sony is being a pal and helping me out. I was able to experience the Sly Cooper and Jak & Daxter series because of their collections (not all of them are HD, of course).
I’m one of those people who keeps EVERYTHING they have ever owned. I still have the Nintendo strategy guide for Pokemon Blue & Red. Yes, I’m that person. I don’t really see the point in re-purchasing a game I already own.
The only problem here is with the reviewer; he’s a moron. I agree that paying full whack for a game that was originally released ages ago can be silly unless you’re a die-hard fan, but calling people mentally challenged because of it is just a controversial cry for attention.
Jet Set Radio was a great game—great enough for me to consider buying it again since it’s been a decade now since my last playthrough, and that’s what I did. Not only is it in HD, but it has also been ported to the PC through Steam. I can see the original 480p Dreamcast version of Jet Set Radio for £4 delivered on eBay. It cost me £6 on Steam, and thanks to the cel-shaded graphics of Jet Set Radio it looks fantastic at full HD resolution. It also has some bonus content, fan-submitted graffiti, leaderboards and achievements.
Long story short: sit down and shut up. Yes, HD releases/remakes are being released perhaps too often, with some (*cough* Silent Hill *cough*) not worth buying, but give those of us who just want to enjoy those brilliant games of the nineties and noughties a break. I’d rather buy HD remakes of classics than cookie-cutter games of today.
Hello Mantis, I’m glad to see that you’ve paid close attention to what I have written. If you would take a second look at the article, I did not call anybody mentally challenged.
I’m sorry to hear that you would like me to ‘sit down and shut up.’ I was I’m fact sat down throughout whilst writing the article, and my position on this website requires that I do the opposite of shutting up.
All comments are welcome, and I am well aware of the changes and additions of the HD release of Jet Set Radio, however I was merely pointing out that HD re-releases lack the initial impact they had on a player who played them at their time of release. I was not attacking those who purchase HD remakes, in fact I did actually note the benefits, although you seemed to have misread or skipped over that section of the article.
Long story short, pay more attention to the content you are reading before you formulate a response.
Kind regards,
Steven Wilcock
Well HD remakes can also open up games that were difficult to obtain/play for whatever reason to a wider audience. I myself always had an eye on Jet Set Radio but alas I don’t have a Dreamcast. After I heard it was coming onto Steam, I bought it and didn’t regret my purchase. I would definitely buy Jet Set Radio Future if it got a HD remake too.