Nowadays, whenever i read "remake" I often associate the concept to something lazy with little effort. Thanks to the latest humble bundle i got Resident evil 1 hd remake and realized it was very different from what i saw of the Playstation 1 version. The gamecube port added Crimson Heads, the possibility to burn bodies to avoid spreading Crimson zombies, it really developpped the fight with sharks which was originally just a "press one button" thing... The amount of added content is rather impressive in my opinion. As someone who only played the Playstation version a bit, I feel that they really improved the game with the Gamecube remake. The removal of cutscences with black border lines is also a bless and makes events feel more spontaneous.
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Resident evil 1 remake was made with effort
- Thread starter fireflame
- Start date
peanutbutterlatte
Member
It is the remakes of remakes to be fair. I can't think of one that had more effort put into it and came out not only slavishly faithful and affectionate towards the original, but also wonderfully it's own thing.
Legend of Kay
I don't think that remakes like the recent Crash trilogy are low-effort simply because they are 1:1 remakes of the original games (putting aside for a moment the current issues with the small changes made to the controls and physics). It's a very naive view. And to be honest, I also prefer that kind of remakes. You can't really trust everyone to do such a great job as Capcom did with REmake when going for something more. What other precedents are there, really. There's a 50/50 chance you'll end up with The Twin Snakes, which had adhered more closely to the original would probably remain the most played version of the game instead of a completely redundant one.
Think about where we were 6 years ago. It is crazy. Diminishing returns are very much a thing despite how much may people struggle with the concept because they do see graphics progressing over time and think that by itself just nullifies the idea.
brickarts295
Member
What did think about last year's Ratchet and Clank? Since it's pretty much a remake of the first one. Although it is also a borderline movie based game as well, which is the only thing that held the game back in my opinion.
Succinct Verbosity
Member
It's not even that, since the other re remakes Nintendo received were just straight ports.
They weren't remakes though, just ports, like you said. Remakes of 2 and 3 were planned before they saw how REmake and 0 performed, though.
More budget, (probably) more time, more experience, more of an idea of what they were gonna do since they didn't have to figure out the game's entire concept, premise and every bit of gameplay beforehand. I don't think it's that crazy. Impressive, but not mindblowingly so.
DMC 2 to DMC3. Now that was mindblowing.
Ratchet and Clank and FF7R are both from the ground up. I don't recall there being that many more ground up remakes 10-15 years ago.
Alexander DeLarge
Member
"Remasters"/rereleases for newer consoles are the ones that can be shat out using the original PC assets by a skeleton crew in a couple weeks, possibly even less. Remakes inherently require a lot more effort.
What else would it mean? For publishers, effort and budget are the same thing.
i don't believe so. capcom just gave them sweetheart exclusives in the way of RE back then
In a thread about this stuff I think being pedantic is worthwhile to save from confusion.
Point being it isn't a port.
I hear what you're saying in context of today but it's funny in that REMake went from production start to release in about 18 months with a relatively small team for projects of its scale.
Publishers don't make games, developers make games. Making games requires effort, provisioning budgets does not.
Taking a risk does not mean putting a lot of effort in.
Edit: I just find fault with the idea of remasters being lazy when it could be 3 programmers smashing their heads against impossible odds and a severe deadline to ship a 1080p up res port.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
I still think it's the best video game remake to exist to date. There were a lot of factors that came into play to make it work out as it did.
It also blows my mind the relatively short time frame between release of the original and it, REmake released exactly six years after the original RE1. We went from this:
To this:
In the span of exactly six years.
EDIT: See I'm not the first one who's blown away by how much of a jump it was in various aspects, but not least of all graphically. But to add to all of this part of what helped REmake was that at the time most people who worked on RE1 were still at Capcom and RE1 they had to cut features and things they wanted to do, plus had a few years, response to the original game and series, and several sequels to think about how they might want to go back to the original game and improve it with technical advancements, a more experienced team, and a more solid artistic vision. I think all of these things fell into place to manage REmake being, in my humble opinion, a near perfect video game remake that keeps most of what people love about the original and improving it in nearly every single conceivable way but in ways that add to the game rather than take away (though there are some who prefer the original and that's fine, the original's cheesy voice acting is iconic at this point and while I prefer the music and graphics to the remake some like the retro feel or have nostalgia for the original, which is fine, but even they I don't think would argue that REmake is a fantastic video game remake).
It also blows my mind the relatively short time frame between release of the original and it, REmake released exactly six years after the original RE1. We went from this:
To this:
In the span of exactly six years.
EDIT: See I'm not the first one who's blown away by how much of a jump it was in various aspects, but not least of all graphically. But to add to all of this part of what helped REmake was that at the time most people who worked on RE1 were still at Capcom and RE1 they had to cut features and things they wanted to do, plus had a few years, response to the original game and series, and several sequels to think about how they might want to go back to the original game and improve it with technical advancements, a more experienced team, and a more solid artistic vision. I think all of these things fell into place to manage REmake being, in my humble opinion, a near perfect video game remake that keeps most of what people love about the original and improving it in nearly every single conceivable way but in ways that add to the game rather than take away (though there are some who prefer the original and that's fine, the original's cheesy voice acting is iconic at this point and while I prefer the music and graphics to the remake some like the retro feel or have nostalgia for the original, which is fine, but even they I don't think would argue that REmake is a fantastic video game remake).
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.
It is the remake to judge all other remakes by. Kept the feel of the original game. MASSIVE graphical improvement. Added in new things without changing the flow of the game too much; kept it fresh while not meddling with anything that was already there. Lisa Trevor fit in perfectly with the mansion's atmosphere - I don't think anyone will say she was a bad addition to the game.
Tied into the games released since the original better in a few places, too, IIRC.
I hope REmake 2 is the same.
Tied into the games released since the original better in a few places, too, IIRC.
I hope REmake 2 is the same.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
REmake 2 won't be the same by mere virtue of the situation, IE while people who worked on RE2 still work at Capcom and I figure they're working on the remake, it has been nearly 20 years and certainly not all who worked on RE2 are at the company anymore, so it's not as much the original team going back as much some of the original team and probably people who worked on RE7 and the like making a remake of 2.
I think it might come out fantastic, but I also think it might not be immediately what people want. But I think if done well it could turn out being what people didn't know they wanted, much in a similar way as RE7 recently. I do think the current RE team can make their own fantastic version of RE2, but unfortunately the situation for REmake 2 is completely different than the situation for the original, so I think by that alone it'll probably turn out differently. A lot of gamers are very apprehensive of difference to classics for understandable at times reasons, but I also think trying to limit what something can be can also be limiting and honestly I think RE2 itself has a ton of different directions it could be explored in potentially fantastic ways due to certain ways the game works. If I may, RE1 was always kind of a tighter experience than RE2, but RE2 arguably had higher highs than RE1 but was a lot bumpier (I think some people don't remember the sort of pacing and design flaws RE2 has, I could make a long post on it but RE2 is basically a good game with some great moments but with some borked design and pacing issues I think many have forgotten). However, I do have faith surprisingly enough the current Resident Evil team can produce something very good out of it, while a lot of people are down on Capcom I think the RE team has been showing they've been improving their game slowly with Revelations 2 and then Resident Evil 7 (different parts of the same team, and then factoring in the small part of the team that did the HD Remasters for REmake and Zero, but I think they're overall on an upswing).
shouamabane
Member
best remake
The RE remake STILL looks good and thanks to the pre-rendered background design, will always look good. The models are beginning to look a little basic but their art design is really good, so they will always retain a certain level of quality.
A really interesting thing they did with the game was, yeah they added new areas to the game, but even in the areas that were the same, they re-organised certain things. The first example I can think of is how in the original the famous dogs jumping in the windows scene happened on your first time through the hall, but in the remake, it happens on the way back and this is done specifically to throw off players who are familiar with the game. For a horror game, that's a really clever idea. Present something familiar, and change it just enough that the moment feels new again.
A really interesting thing they did with the game was, yeah they added new areas to the game, but even in the areas that were the same, they re-organised certain things. The first example I can think of is how in the original the famous dogs jumping in the windows scene happened on your first time through the hall, but in the remake, it happens on the way back and this is done specifically to throw off players who are familiar with the game. For a horror game, that's a really clever idea. Present something familiar, and change it just enough that the moment feels new again.
LiquidSolid
Member
lol no. If Nintendo had paid for REmake, Capcom wouldn't have been able to port it to the PS3, PS4, 360, Xbone or PC.
Anyway, cringeworthy thread title. Every remake or remaster was made with effort FFS, it's just that almost none of them have the brilliant team Mikami did at the time and are given the budget to pull something like REmake off.
I still sincerely hope that the RE2 remake isn't solely RE2 and includes RE3 Nemesis.
The timeline is convoluted, the scenarios overlap in some kind of odd ways and could use clarification. Otherwise, the two would make an excellent length game. If you started as Jill from her start until
, then picked up as Leon/Claire at the start of RE2, then used the time from the
to pick up with Jill until
I think it fits the 5 act model pretty well too.
Act 1 - Jill's escape until Train section
Act 2 - Clock Tower until boss fight
Act 3 - RE 2 Leon scenario
Act 4 - RE 2 Clair scenario
Act 5 - RE 3 Finale
Obviously each act would have it's own rising action, peak, and denouement too. Long overall game, the continuity and overlap could be cleaned up. Everyone wins.
The timeline is convoluted, the scenarios overlap in some kind of odd ways and could use clarification. Otherwise, the two would make an excellent length game. If you started as Jill from her start until
she's infected by Nemesis
train escape from RE2
the city gets nuked at the end of RE3.
I think it fits the 5 act model pretty well too.
Act 1 - Jill's escape until Train section
Act 2 - Clock Tower until boss fight
Act 3 - RE 2 Leon scenario
Act 4 - RE 2 Clair scenario
Act 5 - RE 3 Finale
Obviously each act would have it's own rising action, peak, and denouement too. Long overall game, the continuity and overlap could be cleaned up. Everyone wins.
Magicpaint
Member
Part of the reason is that the mindset going into it was not to make 'just' a remake that is faithful to the original, but it was positioned as the next major RE title signalling its switch (hur hur) to Gamecube. A truly superb effort and the game is amazing.
I can only hope the upcoming RE2 remake can live up to it.
I can only hope the upcoming RE2 remake can live up to it.
deadscreensky
Member
I'm not sure if REmake is a good example for diminishing returns, because being mostly prerendered it's fundamentally more an indicator of budget and experience over any actual hardware progress (or lack thereof). It's offline technology rather than a genuine demonstration of real-time possibilities.
You could make a prerendered game today that looks like a top end 2017 CG film. And then you could probably run it on your cellphone. It doesn't really mean much in terms of gaming hardware.
Soul of the Beast
Member
I am not gonna hold the same expection for RE2 Remake.
darkwing-buck
Member
Holy shit
Jangowuzhere
Banned
That's not exactly a high bar to achieve considering that there aren't a whole lot of video game remakes out there.
It's like saying Melee was developed in 11 months and Smash 4 took over 3 years.
It's just a reality of modern game development that it's more complicated now.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
I don't agree,
The style is what makes REmake hold up and look incredible.
Just compare REmake to other games in the series of the time.
Outbreak released a year later and doesn't look half as good, RE4 released like 3 years after and the characters look slightly better is about it.
SomedayTheFire
Member
port =/= remake =/= remaster.
just to put it in raw numbers:
PSX, original shipping console: 2MB of RAM, 360,000 polygons on a good day
GCN for REMake: 40MB of RAM, 12 million polygons on a good day
Dead Man Typing
Member
Straightening out the time line would be good. I actually thought they'd do this for REmake back in 2002 before I played it. Have Jill, Chris, Barry and Rebecca all sharing the same single story. But they didn't do it then, so I'll be surprised if they do it now.
Having the RE3 content as a third scenario would be cool. I could see them being scared to get rid of the zapping Leon scenario a/b stuff as it's pretty iconic and tied to RE2.
I'd prefer 3 separate characters to play as and you get to see the same story from the 3 perspectives.
To come back to the thread, I don't want a straight REmake of RE2. I want to have the same level of effort and fearlessness to change the game that REmake does.
That's a remaster not a remake.
Either way, this direction would give you the opportunity to make the best character/monster designs around.
Going by how OP uses the words remake and port for the same game, I'm gonna guess they judge remakes and remasters by the same standards which, well, yeah.
REmake /is/ amazing though. But I don't think its approach of reimagining the original game would necessarily work for all remake projects. It was the right decision in this case and in Metroid Zero Mission, but I think Crash Trilogy is better off being a 1:1 recreation for the most part... And I think even projects like that must be quite the arduous task.
This too.
REmake /is/ amazing though. But I don't think its approach of reimagining the original game would necessarily work for all remake projects. It was the right decision in this case and in Metroid Zero Mission, but I think Crash Trilogy is better off being a 1:1 recreation for the most part... And I think even projects like that must be quite the arduous task.
This too.
I tend to be confused myself with remaster/remakes(remaster is apparently only about graphics). I have checked this list, but it does not make distinction between remakes and remasters. What I mean is that on the spectrum of quality regarding attempts to improve a game, Resident Evil remake would be somewhere near the top, while at the bottom, you would have Silent hill Trilogy hd versions made by Konami.
Nowadays, when an already existing game gets either a remake or a remaster,it feels easy to assume that " a publisher looked for easy money so it pressed a button", while when you play Re1 remake, things seem planned and natural. The added content does not feel off-topic and is clever, and does not look like an easy cash-grab.They did not just add costume or optional stuff for fans, it is consistent and i read reactions of players who played the OG playstation game and were surprised that the game was longer on Gamecube.
Nowadays, when an already existing game gets either a remake or a remaster,it feels easy to assume that " a publisher looked for easy money so it pressed a button", while when you play Re1 remake, things seem planned and natural. The added content does not feel off-topic and is clever, and does not look like an easy cash-grab.They did not just add costume or optional stuff for fans, it is consistent and i read reactions of players who played the OG playstation game and were surprised that the game was longer on Gamecube.
Daffy Duck
Member
The one thing that disappoints with this REmake game is that it didn't retain the original FMV intro.
That is the only issue I have.
Other than that it's perfect.
That is the only issue I have.
Other than that it's perfect.
SinCityAssassin
Member
Sounds like you mostly mean remasters.
Fancy Clown
Member
This post fills me with dread. In my eyes there's no reason they can't make it in the REmake style, that's what everyone wants!
I really wouldn't like that. It would be bloated and messy in terms of length and pacing jumping around between characters and locations and getting rid of the tight pacing of each individual game. As Code Veronica has shown me, a longer game doesn't really mks more sense for this style of survival horror. Not to mention RE3 has its own unique identity and mechanics that I'd rather see reflected in a seperate remake of its own.
Tetsujin_MK
Member
Don't know if I would say always. Problem with pre-rendered is that they're stuck at whatever resolution they were rendered at back then. The HD ports upscaled many of them from SD and they don't look as good as they could have if they just had kept hi-res renders around.
I'd say the pre-rendered look definitely made it age better initially since those BGs made it look ahead of its time. But as we move on to higher resolutions and such, the upscaled and filtered low-res backgrounds are gonna hold up less.
No I'm saying that, even in like for like comparison for projects of its own era, REMake's development and production cycle was short.
Resident Evil 4 HD edition
Fancy Clown
Member
That's not a remake
