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Who asked for these?
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00:00Many factors have to be taken into consideration before remaking a video game.
00:04Of course, the most important to ask is also the simplest, is there demand?
00:08Some games that are given the modern rework are painfully obvious choices, others, well, you have to ask the question
00:12why.
00:13With that in mind, I'm Sy, This Is What Culture, and these are 10 video game remakes no one asked
00:20for.
00:2010. GoldenEye 007
00:23It's hard to comprehend how impactful GoldenEye was, thanks to its accessible controls for the time.
00:29Mission-based gameplay, perfect soundtrack, flawlessly structured levels, and masterful multiplayer, it revolutionized the first-person shooter, and proved movie
00:37tie-in games could be top quality.
00:39It also made everyone develop an unbridled hatred for Oddjob.
00:42As a result, Bond enthusiasts were giddy with excitement upon learning that GoldenEye 007 was being remade.
00:48Sadly, that elation turned to confusion when it became apparent that 2010's GoldenEye 007 was a remake in name only.
00:55Daniel Craig was portraying James Bond in the films at the time, so it was decided the martini-guzzling secret
01:01agent would be moulded off of him instead of Piers Brosnan.
01:04To further emulate the modern Bond era, this revision removed the banter with Q and Moneypenny prior to missions, since
01:10the characters hadn't appeared in the on-screen reboot at the time.
01:14Bond's relationship with the main villain Alec Trevelyan was completely rewritten, distancing the plot from the source material once again.
01:20Anyone intending to give this GoldenEye 007 a go purely to scratch the nostalgic itch were shocked to learn that
01:26the levels had been redesigned from the ground up,
01:29so basically this reboot had little resemblance to its N64 counterpart.
01:34Ironically, the game itself was pretty solid, but it was so divorced from what came before it seemed disingenuous to
01:40call it a GoldenEye remake.
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01:58Number 9. The House of the Dead Remake
02:00House of the Dead stood out amongst other light gun titles during the late 90s and not just because of
02:05the gore.
02:06Sega's creepy FPS was praised for focusing on destructible environments, saving survivors and targeting enemies' weak points.
02:13The game also had tons of replayability thanks to various branching paths.
02:17Unexpectedly, MegaPixel Studio announced a remake was coming in 2022.
02:22Whilst the game had been sadly stuck on the Sega Saturn until that point,
02:25there were concerns how modern consoles would accommodate the gameplay without light guns.
02:30The answer was, badly. Simply put, the zombie rail shooter doesn't work nearly as well with analogue sticks or buttons.
02:38Although there are multiple control options, including the Nintendo Switch, they proved to be largely wonky, overly sensitive or imprecise.
02:45Also, one integral part of the original was how you had to fire away from the screen to reload.
02:49Everyone remembers, shoot outside of the screen, leaving yourself momentarily vulnerable.
02:54Unfortunately, the tension in the remake is heavily diminished since you can reload with the press of a button.
02:59The brainless splashy does have never looked better, but House of the Dead isn't the same without the traditional control
03:04scheme,
03:04having missed the boat that the second and third games got on board with their Wii ports.
03:09In hindsight, if anything, it would have been better if the 97 version was re-released for preservation purposes, at
03:15least.
03:158. Horizon Zero Dawn
03:17There's been a greater push recently to release remastered games several years after the original launched.
03:22Rather than waiting a decade or two like the olden days, gaming execs will slap a lick of paint on
03:27a recent game
03:28before churning it out at full price solely to make a little extra cash.
03:32One game that demonstrates this growing issue is 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn.
03:37Even though the graphics haven't aged today, and the futuristic RPG plays better than most titles nowadays,
03:43it got the remaster treatment seven years later.
03:45In fact, this was technically its second remaster in a sense since the game already got a PlayStation 5 upgrade.
03:51Now, to be fair, a ton of work was put into the 2024 version, including 10 hours of re-recorded
03:56mo-cap and a deluge of graphical improvements.
03:59Whilst tech analysts have said that the amount of work behind the curtain is enough that it's basically a remake
04:04rather than a remaster,
04:05on the surface the tweaks are so slight it's challenging to distinguish the difference between either version.
04:11Horizon Zero Dawn is by no means the first game to have a rushed remaster, but it might be the
04:15straw that breaks the camel's back.
04:17Steam shows that the original has been outperforming the recent incarnation since its release,
04:22indicating players have grown tired of this money-grabbing gimmick.
04:25Also, the fact that the classic version was delisted on the Epic Games Store and Steam,
04:29purely to boost the remaster sales, came across desperate and manipulative.
04:33We love you, Horizon Zero Dawn, but come on.
04:367. 13
04:38It may have its defenders, but 2003's 13 had a plethora of problems.
04:43Yes, it looks gorgeous and its voice acting was ahead of its time,
04:46but Ubisoft's comic-based shooter was bogged down by aimless combat, poorly structured levels,
04:51witless AI and an imbalanced weapons system.
04:54Due to 13's divisive reception, it was strange when Playmagic agreed to launch a remake.
04:59It was more puzzling when the 2020 incarnation proved to be one of the worst games of the decade.
05:04The new 13 came across as unfinished, rife with bugs, technical issues and audio inconsistencies.
05:11Despite the fact the original graphics were praised highly and were probably the most memorable thing
05:15about the game, the self-shaded look was inexplicably scaled back, making this 13 look like just another
05:21generic shoot-em-up.
05:22Ironically, the atrocious reception triggered a sales increase in the original 13,
05:27allowing the 17-year-old game to outsell its remake in its opening week in the UK.
05:32Due to how badly 13 was mishandled, the publishers couldn't trust Playmagic to fix it,
05:37urging them instead to hire Tower 5 to remedy the issues, which honestly hasn't gone all that well either.
05:43And worst of all, this debacle has left 13's reputation in tatters,
05:47making the likelihood of another revival virtually non-existent.
05:516.
05:52Bomberman Act Zero
05:53The bulk of Bomberman's gameplay involves cornering enemies and blowing them up with
05:57high-powered explosives.
05:58That premise may sound dark out of context, but Hudson Soft's pioneering franchise is renowned
06:03for its light-hearted vibe and cutesy aesthetic.
06:06That's why it was nonsensical when the adorable Maze Adventure title received a gritty reboot in 2006.
06:12Bomberman Act Zero did away with the kiddy design, replacing it with realistic brown and grey.
06:18Rather than playing as the cheerful and upbeat hero we're all familiar with, you took control
06:22of a futuristic soldier who's trying to escape from a labyrinth-like dystopia.
06:26To the surprise of nobody, Act Zero was lambasted for its forced edginess and failing miserably
06:32to capture the spirit of its predecessor.
06:34Not only that, there's no diversity in the gameplay whatsoever since every level is identical.
06:40Not only was Act Zero absolute drivel, it highlighted that Bomberman doesn't need to be rebooted.
06:46Like Tetris or Pac-Man, every remake, reimagining, and reboot of Bomberman has failed to improve
06:52on the original concept, which Hudson Soft perfected when the franchise was still in its infancy.
06:57Though companies keep attempting to revitalize the addictive brand, Bomberman was at its best
07:01in the good old days.
07:05There was a time when Contra was the best run and gun in the business, but for one reason
07:10or another, the later sequels never recaptured that spark, causing Konami's bullet hell adventure
07:15to fizzle out.
07:16Considering Contra hasn't been at the top of its game for 30 years, it didn't generate
07:20much buzz when a remake of the original was announced in 2024.
07:24Contra Operation Gallagher has a few notable improvements, but doesn't come close to matching
07:28the 1987 version for a number of reasons.
07:32Firstly, it's too hard.
07:33That might sound redundant, since Contra is renowned for being tough as nails, however
07:37Operation Gallagher is nightmarishly difficult, even on the easiest mode, to the point where
07:43the later levels are unplayable unless you've memorised every enemy's attack pattern and
07:47have the reflexes of a fly.
07:49The gameplay is constantly interrupted by banter between the heroes, which is badly written,
07:54poorly delivered, and pointless.
07:55The classic game didn't have Oscar-winning dialogue either, but the cutscenes here draw
07:59attention to how one note the ensemble are.
08:02On top of that, the graphical overhaul was woefully minimalistic.
08:06In fact, Operation Gallagher would have benefited by going back to its roots and embracing its
08:10pixelated design like Shovel Knight or Mega Man 9.
08:13Anybody still keen on playing Contra should download the first game, rather than wasting
08:17time on this lazy rehash.
08:194.
08:20Secret of Mana
08:21Secret of Mana was among the most beloved of Super Nintendo games, thanks to its real-time
08:26battle mechanics, beautiful soundtrack, charming characters and intricate story.
08:30For this reason, roleplaying lovers were down for a three-dimensional reimagining of the Square
08:34Classic with modern graphics akin to, say, Final Fantasy VII Remake.
08:38Although Q Studios released a 3D remake in 2018, it was anything but modern.
08:43The graphical upgrade is so mild, Secret of Mana 3D wouldn't look out of place on the PlayStation
08:482.
08:48There were a couple of improvements, including an on-screen map, more accessible save points
08:53and improved companion AI, but Secret of Mana 3D still felt like a minimal effort collectively.
08:58Players will be tempted to mute the cutscenes due to the monotonous and stilted voice acting.
09:03Although the fight system was great in the 90s, it feels dated now.
09:07Overall, this version didn't smooth out any issues the original suffered, including the
09:11glitches and difficulty spikes.
09:12Now, that's not suggesting that there isn't demand for a Secret of Mana reimagining, but
09:16if this was all they were going to do, then a simple port of the original would have been
09:20much more cost-effective and time-effective.
09:233.
09:23Until Dawn
09:24In Supermassive Games' interactive horror, you need to rely on a butterfly effect mechanic
09:29to help your party survive the night.
09:31Until Dawn was a decent title and contained a few cool features, but it wasn't exactly
09:35screaming for a remake.
09:37Nevertheless, Ballistic Moon tossed out a new version less than a decade later, with all the
09:41bells and whistles you'd expect, including additional interactions, extra modes and new
09:45camera mechanics.
09:47Slapping a nine-year-old game with a full price tag was cheeky enough, but until Dawn version
09:512 could have gotten away with it if the developers actually bothered to bring their A game.
09:55But with the shoddy gameplay, clunky controls, blatant glitches and 30 frames a second locked
10:01performance, any changes were for the worse, especially the diluted music score and the additions
10:06like the Totem minigame didn't even bother to justify their own existence.
10:10Also, the exaggerated facial expressions might be triggering for anyone who played pre-patch
10:15Assassin's Creed Unity.
10:16With a peak concurrent player count of 2,600 on Steam, 2024's Until Dawn sold almost as
10:22badly as Concord.
10:232.
10:24Ape Escape on the Loose
10:25The PS1 had such a stacked catalogue, there were bound to be a few games that went under-celebrated,
10:30and sadly one of the sorry few that fell between the cracks largely was Ape Escape.
10:35It may look like a generic platformer on the surface, but Ape Escape was revolutionary since
10:39it was the first game to make use of the PlayStation's DualShock controller, who used one analogue
10:44stick to move the protagonist Spike, while the other controlled the direction he faced.
10:48It's a simple idea, but crucial since Spike needs to be precise in his movements to grab
10:52the cheeky chimps.
10:53Basically, the gameplay wouldn't be the same without the double analogue sticks, which is
10:57why it was nonsensical when Ape Escape was remade for the PSP, a handheld that contains
11:02a singular analogue stick.
11:04Ape Escape on the Loose tried to replicate the classic gameplay by substituting the face
11:08buttons for the second stick, but unfortunately the four blocky buttons didn't have the same
11:13finesse, making the gameplay tedious and imprecise.
11:16There's nothing wrong with an Ape Escape revisit in principle, but the developers should
11:20have made On the Loose available on a system that can utilise its specific control scheme.
11:241.
11:25Warcraft 3 Reforged
11:27Warcraft 3 Reforged perfectly encapsulates the phrase, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
11:32The original Warcraft 3 Reign of Chaos set a new standard for online gaming, becoming
11:37the most influential RTS ever almost overnight.
11:41After winning countless accolades and raking in sales, the smartest thing Blizzard could
11:45have done was leave it alone.
11:47But in 2020 they released a so-called enhanced version called Warcraft 3 Reforged.
11:52This abomination had a myriad of technical issues, downgraded graphics and an unplayable
11:58multiplayer suite.
11:59Not only did it remove most of the best mechanics, it excluded many promoted features such as the
12:04cinematic cutscenes.
12:06Of course, Reforged would have earned a place on this list for that.
12:09It's noticeably worse than the first version.
12:11However, the reason that it's number one is because it did something else that was unforgivable.
12:16Reforged famously wasn't just the new version of Warcraft 3, it replaced the original game.
12:22Once this dud was released, Reign of Chaos no longer existed.
12:25If players wanted to keep playing, they had to settle for this crappy version, which was
12:29like a dagger through the heart for those who had been with Warcraft 3 from the beginning.
12:33Have a wonderful day.
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