What needs a remake?

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What needs a remake?

Postby Thoul » Sat Feb 9, '08, 8:20 am

Out of all the great classic games, which one do you think most deserves a modern remake? I'm talking about a full on, 3D version with new added content while still being faithful to the original. Essentially a top of the line game, as they're made today.

Oh, and let's exclude the Phantasy Star games from this, since otherwise we'll all be saying PSIII or such. :lol:
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Postby Reno » Sat Feb 9, '08, 8:55 am

I had to stop and consider this for a bit, but in the end, I chose "Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles"


What was the Original like?
Originally for the Mega Drive/Genesis, it's considered to be the Sonic series' best and rightly so; Twelve full levels, (about, don't remember exactly...) with the job of not only finding the Chaos Emeralds as in the previous games, but also finding all the Super Emeralds.

The levels were expansive and deep, and one of the best features was the newly introduced save option that allowed you to save your file.

Once you completed the game, you were able to replay all the levels again which was a great addition back then. Also, it wasn't over after the first play through, as there are three very different characters with three very different controls to select from.

My only problem with the original was that, after you unlock the level select and you want to go back and redo levels for time attack, you have to be very mindful not to accidentally go into a Super/Hyper form as that voids any real competitive time attack score. It would have been far better to include a separate time attack mode as well as the level select so you could have both the Super/Hyper form fun and competitive time attack.

Why a remake?
The Sonic series has been in shambles for quite a while now. Sega apparently feels that by introducing a new character for every new game they put out, that they're keeping the series fresh and new... This is so not the case. If anything, that's whats destroying the series, as one new character after another, with one new gameplay option after another coming into the scene, the actual core of the Sonic games, the high-speed Sonic gameplay, has been put to the side, in favour of the new instead. By remaking the most expansive and greatest Sonic game ever created, one that, for its time, contained loads of extra content already, they, (Sonic Team and Sega) could potentially have something that could save them and Sonic from this long-standing deteriorative rut they've been in since going third-party. IF they keep it true to the original and, for the love of god, absolutely NO new characters!!!
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Postby Thoul » Sat Feb 9, '08, 10:19 am

Excellent answer. :) A new game focusing much more on the speed aspect would be a huge hit. Poor Sonic just seems to keep getting slower and slower.

Sega apparently feels that by introducing a new character for every new game they put out, that they're keeping the series fresh and new... This is so not the case.


Haven't they always done that with the series, though? I mean, I agree that they have more than enough characters and it wouldn't hurt to reign things in a bit on that department in favor of highlighting the existing characters. But looking back, Sonic 2 brought in Tails, Sonic 3 brought in Knuckles... so it's almost a series tradition. Maybe that's why they keep on doing it.
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Postby Reno » Sun Feb 10, '08, 6:55 pm

Now that you mention it, they really have! I'll try to make a list of all the non-GG/spinoff sonic games and at least one new character they added in that game.

First Party yo!
Sonic the Hedgehog--------------------Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2------------------Miles (Tails) Prower
Sonic CD-----------------------------------Amy Rose
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knukles-----Knuckles
Sonic 3D Blast ---------------------------The Flickies
Knuckles Chaotix------------------------Chaotix crew
Sonic R------------------------------------ Tails Doll
Sonic Adventure------------------------- Big the Cat
Sonic Adventure 2-----------------------Shadow the Hedgehog

Third Party yo!

Sonic Heroes-----------------------------Omega
Sonic the Hedgehog '06----------------Silver the Hedgehog
Sonic Rush---------------------------------Blaze the Cat
Sonic Rush Adventure-------------------Marine the Raccoon
Sonic & the Secret Rings----------------Erazor

Just a basic list, I know there are many more titles I didn't think of, but the point is, Sega has an enormous roster of characters to do things with, but instead of going back and building on what they've presented they toss them aside and introduce more, and you know what more characters mean, it means more gameplay options! And less and less of Sonic's simple, highly addictive gameplay being present in future releases.
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Postby Celeith » Sun Feb 10, '08, 10:34 pm

One of my all time favorite games that needs a remake would have to be Secret of the Stars.

The story begins with you "Ray" waking up from and leaving your aunts house to search for clues on what happened to your parents. By leaving the house you walk east on the island you live on until you arrive in a small town. There you discover a man called David, who fought alongside your father. David is a Kustera, the name given to those that fight alongside the Aqutallions, the chosen ones who shall save the world from darkness. Well from here you basically get where the story goes, you seek out the Crest of the Stars, you find your 4 fellow Aqutallions (Well 3 Aqutallions and a Wise Man) and vanquish the evil. The quest is fun and the story is interesting for its day.

Gameplay was slow due to limited things a SNES game could do at the time. The battle system was great for its time. Its like old style games where you do not see you're characters but only the enemy. By chosing what you do in battle you can either do normal attacks or by using the powers of the 4 aqutallions you can combine their magic to make powerful combination spells. The attack sprites are what made the battle good. When its your turn to attack your character runs from off screen into the battle and does a series of swings or casts a spell, and just appears when they're being hit. This game I think was the first game to ever make the "Build your town system" its not as advanced as other games. You go out and find a carpenter and he begins building the town. During the course of your journey you find people whether it be due to quests or main events they will move to your town and increase it in size. After awhile you will be able to name the town and something real cool happens near the end. Overall I think this game could use a major remake to improve the greatness it has already.
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Postby Shinuzzo » Mon Feb 11, '08, 12:33 am

No, Dragon Quest 3 had building a town and that came out 5 years earlier. Secret of the Stars had some good ideas, but they were trapped in a medicore game. Kind of like Phantasy Star 3 in that regard. Except Secret of the Stars didn't have a name to live up to.
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Postby DrkTr14ce » Mon Feb 11, '08, 7:58 pm

I think I'll go and steal Reno's structuring style for this. Well, not steal, but...you know what I mean.

Game of Choice: Zombies Ate my Neighbors

(Some of you have probably seen how much I love the game already. If not, here's a good taste of it.)

What was the original like?
The plot...oh, who am I kidding? There was no real plot to it. But here's the idea: You play as either Zeke or Julie, two kids who really love their horror films, and you must make an attempt to save your neighbors (Among other random people) from getting killed by a large cast of monsters, including the obvious Zombies.

Getting down to gameplay. The camera took a Bird's Eye perspective (Or whatever the hell they call that camera angle) and saw you, Zeke/Julie, running around a location attempting to save 10 Victims from their usually comical deaths. Thankfully, the Controls still don't seem too bad, though the age is settling in. Your weapons at hand do come quite in handy, especially your Bazooka, which can be used to destroy hedges and locked doors. (Yes, I am aware how unreal it is. Which is why it's done that way. XP) The earlier levels can be completed easily enough, with most of the victims either close enough to where you can grab them, or they're unreachable by any monster. (Those in locked rooms are usually safe. Two Victims that are seemingly unreachable are the man in the pool floatie, who can be killed if the level contains Sea Monsters, and the girl on the trampoline, who I believe is truely untouchable. With her on the level, you're guranteed to move on.)

And for the reason why it's still good: IT'S FUNNY. Maybe it's just the silly design of everything. Maybe it's the names of the levels that tend to make a person chuckle. Or maybe it's that fact that the game overall screams 'B-Movie!' over and over again in a comical form, and then ups the ante by tossing in rediculous weapons that serve a purpose. I mean, when is the last time you heard of a man killing a giant purple tentacle with a twin popsicle? (The tentacle coming from Day of the Tentacle, sequel to Maniac Mansion, and all three games coming from LucasArts. Go figure, eh?)

Why a remake?*

I think it deserves it, after getting such a poor 'sequel'. (Go Google Ghoul Patrol. Yeah, you'll wish you hadn't.) Well, that, and the fact that not many people cared about it in the first place. So it's fallen under the same category as Okami and Psyconauts.('Good, but no one cared.')

So here's the plan. First off: I'm sorry Thoul, I'm breaking the Guidelines a bit here. I think it would be difficult to re-imagine it in 3-D, so I'd like it to be in HD-2D. (High Definition Two Dimensional) Secondly, and this could be rather important, it needs Online Co-Op straight from the box. There should be no excuses as to why we can't have that in this day and age. Third....well, it definately needs more variation. And animation. So, create a few more enemies, a lot more Victims. (And make them match the level a bit more. Why the hell is there a Cheerleader in a pyramid, anyways?) The levels themselves should get a good coat of paint on them, and maybe decorated and look a little more...alive, I guess. For new content, they could have the remake of it, the original, and then Ultimate Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a mod that has brand new levels for the game with a slightly harder difficulty, presented in both the original and a remade form. Over 100 levels would be that bad. And then market it on Xbox Live/PlayStation Network or on a disc for a reasonable amount of money. ($20-$30, maybe?)

There, I think I've gotten everything covered. Now to wait for responses.

Once again, I shall apologize to Thoul for not following the Guidelines exactly. I shall bow underneath you and your highly detailed picture of Dr. Doom!

* Ok, for those of you who do your reading, ZAMN has gotten a 'remake' of sorts in the form of Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia. It wasn't by LucasArts, but the team who made it said that it was a major source of inspiration. Which makes sense, because the gameplay looks about as weird and funny as ZAMN. Haven't played it yet, but I heard it was fair, on the grounds that it seemed a bit too stuck in the past. It sounds perfect for me. XD
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Postby Thoul » Mon Feb 11, '08, 11:02 pm

DrkTr14ce wrote:Once again, I shall apologize to Thoul for not following the Guidelines exactly. I shall bow underneath you and your highly detailed picture of Dr. Doom!


All shall bow before Doom! :lol:

No apology needed here. I think you got the gist of what I was aiming for just right. :) Some game ideas just don't work all that great in 3D, so we really shouldn't rule out 2D if that works best for the idea.

Zombies Ate my Neighbors sounds like a game that would be great for a remake. I never played the original, but the way you've described it, I'd say it's one of those games that would have a huge cult following if it was remade.

Reno wrote:Now that you mention it, they really have! I'll try to make a list of all the non-GG/spinoff sonic games and at least one new character they added in that game.


Wow, that's quite a list. There are quite a few characters on it that I've honestly never heard of before. Tails, Knuckles, and Amy have all become fairly "mainstream" parts of the Sonic mythos I would say, but the rest are mostly unknown to me. With that many characters, Sega really does need to get their act together and focus on one or two exist of throwing more on the pile.

Kaloes wrote:One of my all time favorite games that needs a remake would have to be Secret of the Stars.


That's a great pick. I vaguely remember playing it on the SNES. I remember it as being a very fun game, much in the same way I remember PSIII being really enjoyable. If I remember right, Secret of the Stars was made by Temco. It was probably their first RPG and a very good beginning considering that.
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Postby Shinuzzo » Sat Mar 1, '08, 8:18 pm

I just thought of a game I'm surprised that hasn't been remade yet, Simon's Quest. Considering almost all the new 2-D Castlevanias since Symphony of the Night been Metvanias why not re-do the game that inspired them all. I think it would be possible for Konami to turn into a great game with some streamlining.
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Postby DrkTr14ce » Mon Mar 3, '08, 5:18 am

Shinuzzo wrote:I just thought of a game I'm surprised that hasn't been remade yet, Simon's Quest. Considering almost all the new 2-D Castlevanias since Symphony of the Night been Metvanias why not re-do the game that inspired them all. I think it would be possible for Konami to turn into a great game with some streamlining.


I wouldn't mind playing a remake of it. (Especially if it was along the lines of Super Castlevania 4. Man, I miss that one.) How it would be accepted in today's gaming world would not be good, I believe. Partially because of the fact that, like The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, it drifted a bit away from the original, a bit too much for most of the fan's tastes.
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