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Enhanced port vs remaster vs remake

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Off-Kilter

Banned
The recent releases and announcements of these kind of games have blurred the line quite a bit, and confusing publisher PR talk has done little to sort things out. So I thought it would be nice if we have a de facto system to classify these games. Is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe an enhanced port or remaster? Is the Crash Bandicoot trilogy a remaster or remake? What about Shadow of the Colossus?
 
A remake to me is all new assets. Remaster would just be a port of the original with maybe some visual improvements such as frame rate, resolution, etc. Enhanced port is a remaster with new content in the game.

So from the examples you listed there it would be for me:

SOTC Remake
Crash Remake
Mario Kart Enhanced port
 
Enhanced port can be considered a remaster. Basically game is just ported to new platforms with additional changes and/or enhancements.

SOTC is remake. Remake not a port, its an entirely new game, new engine is used mostly and entire code is new. Only that it follows the original game closely and still might have some changes/deviations.
 
For me, remake and remaster are functionally synonyms. The debate over what Shadow of the Colossus is makes me laugh. It's trivial.
 
Here's how I understand each of those:
Enhanced port: Allows the game to be run on a different system than the original with some notable upgrades. Mario Kart 8 for the Switch is an example, where it generally looks and runs better.

Remaster: Upgrade the textures and resolution of a game, but generally leave the same assets and geometry in place. For example, Skyrim Definitive Edition or whatever that was called came out for PS4 and Xbox One.

Remake: Taking the overall story and mechanics of a game and create a completely new game with updated systems, graphics, assets, etc. that mimics the original. This is what I consider Crash Bandicoot Trilogy and Shadow of the Colossus to be.
 
^Said much better and in more depth above^

Enhanced port: GTAV, Mario Kart 8D
- just the same game, tarted up for more powerful hardware typically

Remaster: Uncharted Collection, Wipeout Omega
- when considerable effort is put into improving parts of the game using existing assets

Remake: Resident Evil REmake, Shadow of the Colossus
- when the same game or a slight variation thereof is rebuilt in a new engine or otherwise using new tech
 
A remaster has cleaned-up or improved aesthetics.

A remake has fully new content, or is entirely new.
 
ambar_hitman said:
Enhanced port can be considered a remaster. Basically game is just ported to new platforms with additional changes and/or enhancements.

SOTC is remake. Remake not a port, its an entirely new game, new engine is used mostly and entire code is new. Only that it follows the original game closely and still might have some changes/deviations.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is where I'm at. Enhanced Port, Remaster, and Definitive all seem to mean the same thing to me. Remake is can cover a game that is both similar or a reimagining of the original. SOTC seems to have completely new assets, it looks much different than the PS2 original did. Thus Remake.
 
I would say:

Enhanced port = Original Shadow of the Colossus/Ico HD release for the PS3

Remaster = Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD for Wii U

Remake = Ratchet & Clank 2016 for PS4

In this system, Shadow of the Colossus would be a conservative remaster (from what we currently know), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe would be a rather extreme example of an Enhanced port, and the Crash Trilogy would also be a remaster.
 
Remaster and enhanced port are the ones where the lines blur. Think of it as a Blu ray over DVD type of thing. It's the same movie with higher fidelity in visuals and sound, and it can also contain extra content.

A Remake is basically what it sounds like. They build the product again with current tools. They have the freedom to change the vision or whatever, but straying too far from the original product would turn it into a Reboot.

Crash Nsane Trilogy - Is a remake (wether they call it that or not)
Shadow of the Colossus - Remake
Resident Evil GC - Remake

Uncharted Collection - Remaster
The Last of Us PS4- Remaster
 
Merchandise said:
For me, remake and remaster are functionally synonyms. The debate over what Shadow of the Colossus is makes me laugh. It's trivial.
Click to expand...

It's not really trivial. SotC on PS3 is a remaster. They just up-res'd the PS2 version and cleaned up the image a bit. SotC on PS4 is built from the ground up with all new assets.
 
Triggerhappytel said:
^Said much better and in more depth above^

Enhanced port: GTAV, Mario Kart 8D
- just the same game, tarted up for more powerful hardware typically

Remaster: Uncharted Collection, Wipeout Omega
- when considerable effort is put into improving parts of the game using existing assets

Remake: Resident Evil REmake, Shadow of the Colossus
- when the same game or a slight variation thereof is rebuilt in a new engine or otherwise using new tech
Click to expand...

This

Easy peasy
 
I couldn't believe how many retro youtubers were livetweeting and doing react videos confused about whether SotC was an HD remaster or a remake.

remake =

Resident Evil on Gamecube
MGS Twin Snakes on Gamecube
Metroid Zero Mission on GBA
Ratchet & Clank on PS4
Oddworld: New N Tasty
Odin Sphere Leihftrasir
Dracula X Chronicles (2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood)
AM2R Metroid 2 fan remake
Flashback 2.5D remake
Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy soon

^that's what the new SotC is
 
I kind of dislike the word 'remaster'. It feels like a pretentious marketing term for what everyone just called a port until relatively recently.
 
I hate Crash calling itself a remaster. It´s more of a remake.
I also don´t like that FF VIIIR calls itself a remake, it´s a reboot in my book.

Tbh, just do like SotC is doing and don´t even bother renaming. It´s just Shadow of the Colossus.
 
Triggerhappytel said:
^Said much better and in more depth above^

Enhanced port: GTAV, Mario Kart 8D
- just the same game, tarted up for more powerful hardware typically

Remaster: Uncharted Collection, Wipeout Omega
- when considerable effort is put into improving parts of the game using existing assets

Remake: Resident Evil REmake, Shadow of the Colossus
- when the same game or a slight variation thereof is rebuilt in a new engine or otherwise using new tech
Click to expand...

This. I never understood the confusion. You can also add:

Reimagining: when a specific game/story is reworked and, well, reimagined for a new generation, with significant changes to both graphics and design: Tomb Raider Anniversary, Ratchet & Clank 2016.

Reboot: when a franchise is completely reset and started over with an entirely different story/campaign or premise: Ninja Gaiden 2004, Tomb Raider 2013, Killer Instinct 2013, Hitman 2016.
 
RSchmitz said:
I hate Crash calling itself a remaster. It´s more of a remake.
I also don´t like that FF VIIIR calls itself a remake, it´s a reboot in my book.

Tbh, just do like SotC is doing and don´t even bother renaming. It´s just Shadow of the Colossus.
Click to expand...

I think the difference between remake and reboot is that, in a reboot, you got the same fundation of the story but then it goes in another direction than the original.

So I don't think that FFVII Remake is a reboot.
 
Arrrammis said:
Here's how I understand each of those:
Enhanced port: Allows the game to be run on a different system than the original with some notable upgrades. Mario Kart 8 for the Switch is an example, where it generally looks and runs better.

Remaster: Upgrade the textures and resolution of a game, but generally leave the same assets and geometry in place. For example, Skyrim Definitive Edition or whatever that was called came out for PS4 and Xbox One.

Remake: Taking the overall story and mechanics of a game and create a completely new game with updated systems, graphics, assets, etc. that mimics the original. This is what I consider Crash Bandicoot Trilogy and Shadow of the Colossus to be.
Click to expand...

Triggerhappytel said:
^Said much better and in more depth above^

Enhanced port: GTAV, Mario Kart 8D
- just the same game, tarted up for more powerful hardware typically

Remaster: Uncharted Collection, Wipeout Omega
- when considerable effort is put into improving parts of the game using existing assets

Remake: Resident Evil REmake, Shadow of the Colossus
- when the same game or a slight variation thereof is rebuilt in a new engine or otherwise using new tech
Click to expand...
What would you class FFVII as then? It has new mechanics and likely new story added to it. Still a remake of a new imagining?
 
Enhanced Port is like a GOTY edition. Remaster is upresing a game for new technology but with largely the same assets.

A remake has completely new assets.

A "re-imagining" is straight up a different game (Silent Hill, Metroid Samus Returns)
 
If you're writing the game code from the ground up, it's a remake, even if it's a 1:1 remake.
If you're just porting the game to a new system and improving its visuals, but not changing anything gameplay or content-wise, then it's a remaster.
If you do the above plus fix or improve one of the game's systems or add content, it's an enhanced port.

At least that's how I see it.
 
Ein Bear said:
I kind of dislike the word 'remaster'. It feels like a pretentious marketing term for what everyone just called a port until relatively recently.
Click to expand...

I think it should ideally denote care taken to respectively restore, enhance and optimize something that's a little aged, wasn't all it could have been at the time (too much for the hardware), or even outright "lost" with the original source code... maybe even do things as extreme as turn 4:3 into 16:9 when applicable. Or just get them to where they're preservable instead of tied to bygone, unorthodox hardware. The remaster term began being applied because it sometimes was like making the jump from CRT to HD analogous to going from VHS to an 2K scan of a 35mm film. Even though these technical constraints created an "original" release that was meant to be seen how it was, I still think it fits even if it's not a 1:1 analogy.

Up until great results like MGS 2 & 3, Ico & Shadow the Colossus, ports were often just "get it running on the system, done" and that's how you end up with often shittier versions across consoles, or completely different versions. This is especially true in the arcade, 8 and 16 bit eras where port could result in 100% different games and ports become conversions.

That ideal and sense of Criterion collection reverence isn't always present though, and often just a port, hastily thrown together that may not even be a better rendition or definitive rendition of anything. That's when you get Silent Hill collection. Everything does devolve into marketing bullshit, but I do appreciate what it's intended to convey.
 
Off-Kilter said:
So I thought it would be nice if we have a de facto system to classify these games.
Click to expand...

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Remake is closer to a reboot IMO, a totally new game which is only somewhat based on the original.

Remaster is just an update of the assets and the engine, without touching the game's mechanics or story.

"Enhanced port" is a basically remaster. I also think that Sony is wrong when they call SoTC PS4 a remake as it is most likely just another remaster, only more thorough than the PS3 one.
 
Remaster - Gameplay and Story are the same as the original, possible bump in graphics and textures (Crash, SOTC?)

Remake - Gameplay is improved and Story is altered (Ratchet and Clank, FFVII)

Enhanced Port - Extra Content and Improved Graphics (Literally Everything Else)
 
dr_rus said:
Remake is closer to a reboot IMO, a totally new game which is only somewhat based on the original.

Remaster is just an update of the assets and the engine, without touching the game's mechanics or story.

"Enhanced port" is a basically a remaster. I also think that Sony is wrong when they call SoTC PS4 a remake as it is most likely just another, more thorough than the PS3 one remaster.
Click to expand...

This is how I see it too. So how does this make SotC a remake then? To me it's just another remaster. Adding in an alternative control scheme doesn't really update a game enough to be considered adding "new mechanics" either to the point in where it's a straight up different version of the game. Neither does using new assets to make it look prettier. If the game has the exact same level design, character design, encounter design and the gameplay is nearly identical...it's a remaster.
 
NinjamicWZ said:
I couldn't believe how many retro youtubers were livetweeting and doing react videos confused about whether SotC was an HD remaster or a remake.

remake =

Resident Evil on Gamecube
MGS Twin Snakes on Gamecube
Metroid Zero Mission on GBA
Ratchet & Clank on PS4
Oddworld: New N Tasty
Odin Sphere Leihftrasir
Dracula X Chronicles (2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood)
AM2R Metroid 2 fan remake
Flashback 2.5D remake
Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy soon

^that's what the new SotC is
Click to expand...

Pretty much this.
 
Merchandise said:
For me, remake and remaster are functionally synonyms. The debate over what Shadow of the Colossus is makes me laugh. It's trivial.
Click to expand...

Then you do not fully understand the difference.

Anyone can tell each apart and there are huge differences. Shadow on PS4 is a remake, plain and simple. If you want to know what a remaster is, look at the PS3 version.
 
I say they're synonyms because what word people say doesn't change what the game is. People have called this new SotC a remake and a remaster - doesn't change the fact that its new assets, engine, developer, etc.

Edit: Crash Wikipedia says the new game is a remaster. Seems other people just use the words interchangeably as well. I don't get so hung up on semantics.
 
Darknight said:
Then you do not fully understand the difference.

Anyone can tell each apart and there are huge differences. Shadow on PS4 is a remake, plain and simple. If you want to know what a remaster is, look at the PS3 version.
Click to expand...

Except it's not that simple. It's like taking a huge, graphical overhaul mod like the Cinematic mod for Half-Life 2 and then claiming that with it Half-Life 2 is now a "remake". To the layperson, it doesn't matter how they go about rereleasing the game if it looks exactly the same aside from visual upgrades.
 
Sanctuary said:
This is how I see it too. So how does this make SotC a remake then? To me it's just another remaster. Adding in an alternative control scheme doesn't really update a game enough to be considered adding "new mechanics" either to the point in where it's a straight up different version of the game. Neither does using new assets to make it look prettier. If the game has the exact same level design, character design, encounter design and the gameplay is nearly identical...it's a remaster.
Click to expand...

Nope. They're making SotC again with modern tools and new assets. It's the literal definition of "remake."
 
MattKeil said:
Nope. They're making SotC again with modern tools and new assets. It's the literal definition of "remake."
Click to expand...

The just released Wipeout Omega collection wasn't a remake, and they added in new assets too.

edit: Seriously, if this is supposed to be all from the ground up, then why did they decide to keep many of the low count polygons? It straight up looks like the PS3 version in many areas, but with the actual Colossi looking much better.
 
SOTC PS3 - remaster
SOTC PS4 - remake
Resident Evil GC - remake
Resident Evil PS4 - remaster


FF VII PS4 - is a reimagine (because it changes the game from the ground)
 
Son Of D said:
What would you class FFVII as then? It has new mechanics and likely new story added to it. Still a remake of a new imagining?
Click to expand...

We'll have to wait and see more info/gameplay before I can say what I think. I haven't heard very much in detail about it, but if they follow an episodic release like I heard at one point and completely change the battle system, then I wouldn't really even call it a remake. Probably more of a re-imagining as you and some other have put it.
 
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