• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Best "director's cut" version of a game?

SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
My nostalgia driven answer is Pokemon Yellow.

Pokemon_Yellow.png


I never bothered with the other third versions. Crystal, Emerald, Platinum, etc. didn't appeal to me because I had already played those games once. Back during the initial Pokemon craze, I had not yet registered in my childhood mind that the games and the show had a separate canon, so I was always trying to reconcile the two. Then Yellow came out and added several elements from the TV show - Jesse and James, Pikachu as a starter, etc. I also enjoyed the redone sprites. It was my first director's cut experience, and stands out as the most memorable to me because I was completely caught up in the entire extended Pokemon universe back then. Getting Yellow as a birthday present was pure unadulterated joy for me, and one of the few times that joy carried over from the opening of the box to the end of the game.

Honorable mention goes to Kingdom Hearts II for completely remaking the GBA game and adding the other Organization members as playable boss fights.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
3iYZWU4.jpg


The original was amazing but the director's cut of Tales of Destiny R was even better, allowing you to play as the best character in the game for even longer than before. Tons of new additions and improvements as well. One of my favourites ever. <3
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Prince of Persia SNES

Csdul0c.jpg


More levels, new enemies, new traps, music, better graphics and new boss fights.
If you don't count that (the snes version was not made by Mechner, though he was impressed by it), then the recent Shadowgate remake by Zojoi. Extra puzzles, new visuals and music are all great.
 
J

Jangowuzhere

Banned
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

They unfucked the camera

I remember playing the demo for MGS3 back in the day, and the camera was simply abhorrent. Subsistence just makes the game so much better.
 
S

Shin-chan

Member
I never played it but the additions to DmC in the HD version were pretty extensive. I'd definitely have bought it if the overall game had been more enjoyable and repayable.
 
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Shin-chan said:
I never played it but the additions to DmC in the HD version were pretty extensive. I'd definitely have bought it if the overall game had been more enjoyable and repayable.
Click to expand...
I got the game on Steam, and apparently the Definitive Edition changes weren't carried over to the PC release. I played the entire game thinking it was the director's cut, but it wasn't. Oops.
 
G

Garlador

Member
My personal favorite.
latest
Click to expand...

They addressed almost every issue of the original game, fixed up a ton of glitches, improved the graphics, added in two additional new characters and lengthy quests, improved the lock-on and camera, and generally improved upon the original Castlevania 64 in every single way.

I think it's a bit of a shame so few people played it and "ha ha, Castlevania 64 sucks" is the dominate impressions of the 3D games. It's not perfect, but it's a massive improvement over the original.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Garlador said:
My personal favorite.


They addressed almost every issue of the original game, fixed up a ton of glitches, improved the graphics, added in two additional new characters and lengthy quests, improved the lock-on and camera, and generally improved upon the original Castlevania 64 in every single way.

I think it's a bit of a shame so few people played it and "ha ha, Castlevania 64 sucks" is the dominate impressions of the 3D games. It's not perfect, but it's a massive improvement over the original.
Click to expand...

It's the most fun 3D vania imo
 
D

Doctor_Thomas

Member
Jangowuzhere said:
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

They unfucked the camera

I remember playing the demo for MGS3 back in the day, and the camera was simply abhorrent. Subsistence just makes the game so much better.
Click to expand...
This. Perfect Director's Cut and the additions outside the main game were also great.
 
K

Korigama

Member
SJRB said:
...wasn't performance of the DC a nightmare on PC?
Click to expand...
There's also the effect that incorporating The Missing Link into the main campaign has on the pacing (and efforts to go for Pacifist and Foxiest of the Hounds achievements), as well as the environments where the filter was removed looking worse because they were made with it in mind.
 
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Cool Guy Sami said:
I liked the new mechanics for Persona fusing but honestly I felt like all the new content was of lower quality than what was in the original.
Click to expand...
Marie was an awful character. Persona is usually a series that adds believable depth to its characters. Marie was a walking anime trope.

I never made it far enough to see the added winter or epilogue scenes. Someday I'll beat the game...
 
J

Jangowuzhere

Banned
ScientificPizza said:
This. It fixes the most frustrating parts of the original game and makes it a much better experience
Click to expand...

Honestly, I've only heard the opposite. I read online that the director's cut uses the unpatched version of the original game. So all the bugs that were cleaned up after release are there in the DC version. It also has tons of graphical issues now with the new graphical changes. Not to mention, the new lighting just doesn't look good, and it simply ruins the gold and black art of the original.

The only significant change in the DC version are the new boss fights. Yeah, that's cool and all, but we're talking about 10 min encounters in a 30-40 hour game. It's really not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

I decided to replay the original, and I have no regrets.
 
hikarutilmitt

hikarutilmitt

Member
I would probably put Ninja Gaiden 3 RE on the list, if only because it undid a lot of really weird design choices (and left a couple in the people seem to hate still) and made it far, far more of a NG game that vanilla was. And I'm one of the weirdos that thought NG3 vanilla was fine as a game.

Wild Arms Alter Code F is there for me, too. I have room in my heart for both the original and the remake, but the remake brought so much to the table, in particular making it feel like a Wild Arms game with the series tropes proper instead of an otherwise generic RPG from the SNES/early PSX era.

This concludes my post that many people will call BS on.
 
JohnnyFootball

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
Deus Ex Human Revolution gets a yes and a no from me.

Yes, in that it legitimately improved boss fights and added in NG+

But no, in that the improvements to the boss fights made little to no sense. The boss areas were very oddly designed and felt too video gamey. No biggie though.

Also, the way The Missing Link DLC was incorporated was a bit annoying and felt out of place. It could have used some more tweaking and gotten rid of forced respec.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
hikarutilmitt said:
Wild Arms Alter Code F is there for me, too. I have room in my heart for both the original and the remake, but the remake brought so much to the table, in particular making it feel like a Wild Arms game with the series tropes proper instead of an otherwise generic RPG from the SNES/early PSX era.

This concludes my post that many people will call BS on.
Click to expand...

Well...yeah. ACF added a few cool things, but it took away so much more. I have it but haven't played it since release. I just stick to the PSX version.

gerudoman said:
Link's Awakening DX coloring turned an already great game into a timeless classic.
Click to expand...

I actually prefer the monochrome version. Gives the game a more dreamlike feel lol
 
DryvBy

DryvBy

Member
P4G is my answer. Having played it first (first time ever playing Persona) and then going to P4 original later made it much more clear how P4G is a huge improvement.
 
Z

Zolo

Member
250px-Shin_Megami_Tensei_Nocturne_NA_cover.png
Click to expand...

While we got the director's cut from the start, SMT: Nocturne is technically a director's cut. A lot of the stuff people really love about the game was added in this edition. Copying and pasting the additions from the SMT wiki:

  • A new opening movie.
  • The addition of the Labyrinth of Amala and, hence, the addition of the Fiends.
  • A new "true demon" ending.
  • A bonus for keeping your first demon party member (Pixie).
  • Devil May Cry 2's Dante: you fight him, and you can have him in your party if certain conditions are met.
  • The option of allowing several previously infusible bosses to join your party.
  • The option to fight and later enlist the help of Beelzebub and Metatron.
  • Pierce was added as a new skill.
  • General game balance adjustments (lowered ambush attacks, lower instant death rates, etc.)
  • Selectable difficulty level from the on-set (Normal or Hard)
  • Elimination of the Debug Mode.
 
D

Dark_castle

Junior Member
Kyoufu said:
3iYZWU4.jpg


The original was amazing but the director's cut of Tales of Destiny R was even better, allowing you to play as the best character in the game for even longer than before. Tons of new additions and improvements as well. One of my favourites ever. <3
Click to expand...
This so much. Best video game remake ever. Turn a fairly poor gameplay to one of the best out there.
 
L

Lynx_7

Member
Zolo said:
While we got the director's cut from the start, SMT: Nocturne is technically a director's cut. A lot of the stuff people really love about the game was added in this edition. Copying and pasting the additions from the SMT wiki:

  • A new opening movie.
  • The addition of the Labyrinth of Amala and, hence, the addition of the Fiends.
  • A new "true demon" ending.
  • A bonus for keeping your first demon party member (Pixie).
  • Devil May Cry 2's Dante: you fight him, and you can have him in your party if certain conditions are met.
  • The option of allowing several previously infusible bosses to join your party.
  • The option to fight and later enlist the help of Beelzebub and Metatron.
  • Pierce was added as a new skill.
  • General game balance adjustments (lowered ambush attacks, lower instant death rates, etc.)
  • Selectable difficulty level from the on-set (Normal or Hard)
  • Elimination of the Debug Mode.
Click to expand...

Good call. Sometimes I forget our Nocturne is the maniax edition so I never think of it as a "director's cut" even though it is.

Atlus games in general are pretty good with this. Devil Survivour 1 added a bunch of new content and endings, and Devil Survivour 2 has pretty much a built-in sequel in the form of a new campaign.

I'll also give another shout out to MGS 3:Subsistence. The new camera makes it a completely different, superior experience. It's how the original game should've been like from the start, really.
 
J

jsnepo

Member
mgs3s_coverjap.jpg


* added 3D camera which felt like a new experience if you've played the vanilla first
* boss encounter select
* more snake vs monkey
* cutscene viewer
* online play
* MSX metal gear games
 
M

MadClacker

Member
Most director's cuts just include content that was left out for a reason. It negatively affected the pace of the game, tone, whatever.

However, in some cases they give the developer to include additional content that wasn't included due to time restrictions, or fix things that significantly limited the enjoyment of the original game (see Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and it's inclusion of a fully 3D camera) that radically changes the nature of the game.

I'll give it some thought regarding the better of these Director's Cuts, without trying to get them confused with re-releases.
 
hikarutilmitt

hikarutilmitt

Member
Sir_Crocodile said:
Well...yeah. ACF added a few cool things, but it took away so much more. I have it but haven't played it since release. I just stick to the PSX version.
Click to expand...

TBH I've only felt that with ACF they should have sped it up a bit since it doesn't keep pace with the original and is actually slower than 3 and 4 (even though it came out between them).

I feel like a number of items were actually fleshed out more, mostly for the better. It's also much better balanced gameplay-wise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Baldur's Gate 3 director meant to announce the Xbox version at The Game Awards, but completely forgot
Game Dev 2
96
6K
adamsapple replied
Jedi Survivor is the best SW game so far
48
2K
Synless replied
Sea of Thieves PS5 Impressions - Improvements Over the Xbox/PC Versions
2 3
110
8K
Havoc2049 replied
Guys help me out. The best game of each console and their respectively "best version".
0
820
Gp1 replied
Cord Cutting & Live TV: What's the best service?
23
806
RavageX replied
Top Bottom