Thoughts on Ports and HD Remakes?

[-Blue-]

I forgot to comment here about one game that Nintendo lazily ported. Miitopia. I didn't do research ahead of time and bought it for the Switch. It's basically the same thing, except you get a horse now.

But that I don't care about (since I lost the 3ds game) what bothers me is that they don't have any way to share the Mii's you can create to the public. In the original 3ds Miitopia you could check on everyone's huge list of Mii's and pick some of their creations to use for your characters instead of being forced to make all of your own.

The problem is that it does have a library of ones that people made during 2016 when the game was made for the 3ds. So the entire library is full of outdated Mii's from that time period. So 2016 memes and nothing more. It's such an oversight on Nintendo and just proves that they pushed it out just for the monies. Yeah all games are like that, but at least they make it worth everyone's time by showing they cared enough.

I feel like ever since Reggie left and Iwata passed away that Nintendo was left in the hands of Mr. Krabs. I wouldn't be surprised if Reggie left because he saw what NoJ was becoming and since the direction of the main branch was focusing more on money and less on ideology his hand was forced on leaving before he was burnt out by this negativity or becoming part of the problem and not having a voice in it.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I might as well make a comment on my favorite game Kingdom Hearts and oh boy even as a fan I am annoyed with some of the choices they made to port these games on the system. First they did the 1.5 remix on the PS3 (Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain of Memories, and 358/2 days). Then they came out with a 2.5 remix on the same system (Kingdom Hearts 2, Birth by Sleep, and ReCoded). As if that wasn't ridiculous they re-released these games again on the PS4 but calling it the "1.5-2.5 Remix) that contains all of the games. Then I remember them releasing a 2.8 remix which features Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, Kingdom Hearts Unchained X, and Final Chapter Prologue.

If this all sounds confusing trust me I know there is. When Square Enix did all these ports they really wanted people to play these games before Kingdom Hearts 3 came out. Then they did something pretty insulting for Switch users where they ported Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 remix yet again but this time its cloud version? May I ask why? That is the WORST version ever because it requires Internet to make it play and I heard people say that they had trouble playing it because of the lag. This would be better if they just did physical copies but they didn't. Kingdom Hearts has really had too many ports and I can see why many got confused of which version was better.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

I might as well make a comment on my favorite game Kingdom Hearts and oh boy even as a fan I am annoyed with some of the choices they made to port these games on the system. First they did the 1.5 remix on the PS3 (Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain of Memories, and 358/2 days). Then they came out with a 2.5 remix on the same system (Kingdom Hearts 2, Birth by Sleep, and ReCoded). As if that wasn't ridiculous they re-released these games again on the PS4 but calling it the "1.5-2.5 Remix) that contains all of the games. Then I remember them releasing a 2.8 remix which features Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, Kingdom Hearts Unchained X, and Final Chapter Prologue.

If this all sounds confusing trust me I know there is. When Square Enix did all these ports they really wanted people to play these games before Kingdom Hearts 3 came out. Then they did something pretty insulting for Switch users where they ported Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 remix yet again but this time its cloud version? May I ask why? That is the WORST version ever because it requires Internet to make it play and I heard people say that they had trouble playing it because of the lag. This would be better if they just did physical copies but they didn't. Kingdom Hearts has really had too many ports and I can see why many got confused of which version was better.

I heard from someone who watched an interview that they wouldn't have even ported the games if they couldn't do a cloud version. Too much resources apparently. That doesn't excuse the port because it is pretty terrible. I think I would rather have them not do it at that point.

 

[Corrie]

It depends on the port and remake.

Some ports were great and allowed others to play older games they may not have had the console for. For me it was the older Sonic games, Sonic Adventure 2, Mario 64, Yoshi's Island, and older Kirby games as some examples.

Remakes are nice too if they take the original game and upgrade it to current gaming standards. I'm not talking about just graphics either, I mean adding QoL features as well. Something where playing the remake almost makes the older game not worth to touch anymore. I like those.

What sucks is when companies use ports and remakes as a money grabbing scheme. Especially with how expensive games are these days. Those I boycott.

 

[Alyx]

I enjoy remakes more than ports, but I don't mind ports if there's been improvements (I was really excited about Super Mario Sunshine. I was not disappointed). There are games that I would like to see remastered or even continued as a sequel for the Switch, such as Trauma Center and Trauma Team (they were so underrated - they're so good and so many people don't even know they were a thing).

 

[Tao]

Ports/remasters I think are a good way to make older games more accessible and convenient on newer hardware as well as often becoming the definitive way to play the game. I've bought Wii U ports just because it's more convenient to have them on the Switch rather than a console which is only still in my house because Xenoblade Chronicles X hasn't been ported yet. I've bought remasters of old PS2 games because they "look like how I remember them" and don't require me to set up dated hardware with dated component cables to play the original. Bonus points if originally cut or regional content is all available in that version.

Remakes? I like them more in theory than in practice most of the time. Remakes should be a way to reinvasion the game, sort out some problems, polish it to perfection and make that game the best version of that game it can be...In reality we usually just get as close an approximation to the original game with modern graphics but all the old issues. Remasters often do a better job sorting old issues than remakes do.

On paper I like the idea of remakes more than ports or remasters but in reality, I'm less disappointed with most ports and remasters as they did exactly what I expected them to.

 

[Robi]

I don't mind them. At the end of the day I don't have to buy it but people who couldn't buy it before can now. It's more people enjoying the game

 

[Matt0106]

I'm personally fine with them! For example, I know some people were annoyed with Skyward Sword HD being full price, but they did make a lot of fixes, it looks and runs amazingly, and I also never really got to play that game, so I thought it was more than worth it. It was practically a new game for me.

With how hard some games are to come by, I think ports could be crucial in preserving certain games. There are some obvious exceptions like Skyrim (I love that game so much but even I can admit that they're just milking it now), but then there are games like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wind Waker that had ports on the Wii U and didn't sell too well due to a low audience; bringing those two games to Switch would be awesome, especially since I don't have a Wii U anymore and each of them can cost $100+ CAD for a used copy.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I'm personally fine with them! For example, I know some people were annoyed with Skyward Sword HD being full price, but they did make a lot of fixes, it looks and runs amazingly, and I also never really got to play that game, so I thought it was more than worth it. It was practically a new game for me.

With how hard some games are to come by, I think ports could be crucial in preserving certain games. There are some obvious exceptions like Skyrim (I love that game so much but even I can admit that they're just milking it now), but then there are games like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wind Waker that had ports on the Wii U and didn't sell too well due to a low audience; bringing those two games to Switch would be awesome, especially since I don't have a Wii U anymore and each of them can cost $100+ CAD for a used copy.

Well I had a change of heart on remasters. I recently bought GTA Trilogy The Definitive Edition on PS4 since it was on sale for like $40.00 on the PS store.

 

[~Kilza~]

Generally I like them, though they can be a bit overdone at times (see: Skyrim, GTA V). Ports/remakes do often give people (myself included) the chance to pick up and play games they never had the chance to play before, or did play in the past but weren't able to own. Sometimes there will be times where I get the port/remake even though I already own the game since there has been a lot of major improvements, or I just want a more modern/easier way of playing that game again. There are even times where I do hope that a game gets a port/remake, especially if it's never gotten one before but I feel it deserves one, and if it did get a port/remake I would instantly buy it. I do feel like usually the ports/remakes hold up just as well or better than their original version, though they can definitely receive a fair amount of notoriety at times and look just like cash grabs (Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition being a recent example of this).

Of course, all that said, I won't always buy ports/remakes. Like any video game, whether or not I decide to buy it is it just decided on a case-by-case basis.

 

[-Mars-]

-

 

[VanitasFan26]

But for some games nothing really got improved so I don't really know why it got a remake.

Yeah GTA 5 when it got ported (yet again for the 4th time) on the PS5 and Xbox Series X really didn't get much "improvement" though I suppose the Performance upgrade is better I guess, but everything else is still the same and they haven't really changed much about it.

 

[BluebearL]

I love having some ports and remakes available on newer consoles, especially if they are games I never got to play when they were in their original form. I would like it if Nintendo put a little more effort into some of them, maybe streamlined the game a bit for a smoother experience. I also think that it should only be done for the obvious big seller games such as your Mario’s and Zelda games. I think that ports and remakes can be cash grabs, produced too often and sold at far too high of a price. I really don’t like the Nintendo switch online premium thing or whatever it is called, there should be a more affordable way to play old 64 games, but that’s just my opinion.

 

[QueenCobra]

As far as remakes go, I think one recent title that did well was Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy. It compiled the first three games together in a new way, but the way they did it made it feel loyal to the original ones. As long as remakes try to recreate that nostalgia and appeal to new players at the same time, I have no problem.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I love having some ports and remakes available on newer consoles, especially if they are games I never got to play when they were in their original form. I would like it if Nintendo put a little more effort into some of them, maybe streamlined the game a bit for a smoother experience. I also think that it should only be done for the obvious big seller games such as your Mario’s and Zelda games. I think that ports and remakes can be cash grabs, produced too often and sold at far too high of a price. I really don’t like the Nintendo switch online premium thing or whatever it is called, there should be a more affordable way to play old 64 games, but that’s just my opinion.

I was planning to get the N64 games but the fact that you have to pay more money just to upgrade your Nintendo Switch Online membership just to get it was a complete turn off for me. Not to mentioned I seen glitches in some of the N64 games. I mean seriously they released this back in 2021 and they don't know how to properly make an old game run better? I was so disappointed.

 

[Chris]

I'm actually a huge fan of them.

HD remakes have made it so that I'm able to play older games that I physically am unable to anymore. Spyro the Dragon was my favourite game growing up and in my late teens I lost the ability to play it when I started experiencing motion sickness when I played certain games (a lot of older games mainly, but I also can't play many newer games with first-person POV). I was begging for that remake years before it was ever announced.

Ports are also great because consoles don't last forever and I've gone through a lot of house moves, and no matter how carefully you pack your belongings some things still get broken. My Wii U kicked the bucket about a year after the Switch came out - and I'm unsurprised really because that thing was constantly being hauled back and forth to both my friends houses and my parents house throughout my first degree as well as surviving moving house 3-4 times. I was pleased to see some of my favourite games re-released!

 

[Neb]

I appreciate them, as long as they’re reasonably priced. I skipped most of the Wii U ports since they’re still $60 and because I’ve already played half of them anyway. They’re great for people who missed out on the originals though. Collecting for older systems can be really expensive, so having them accessible on modern hardware gives new people a chance to try them out. It also gives games with lukewarm sales a second chance.

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

the resident evil remakes are solid and they set the standard on what a remake should be.