Play It Again, Sam: The Purpose of Remakes and Remasters

Are trips down memory lane always needed?

The Last of Us Remastered, 2014

It's no secret that media can play an important role in our memories. Everyone has a favorite film and if you think really hard, I’m sure you can remember the first time you ever saw that movie, whether it was in the theater or curled up at home. You could also very easily recall the feeling that you had while you experienced it and the moments that made it your favorite. Video games can evoke the same emotion and much the same way everyone has a favorite movie, at some point in their lives everyone has probably had a favorite game.

But what happens when you can't play that game anymore? When copies are no longer sold, and the hardware becomes outdated, how do you have the opportunity to relive those memories if you so choose? It would seem the obvious answer would be to just keep original hardware on hand, but that can be easier said than done.

That's where remasters and remakes come in. Over the past several years, the gaming industry has developed a knack for rereleasing older games in a newer format. But is there truly a purpose to these newer versions other than to line the pockets of developers? This article aims to take a closer look at the different variations and explore both the good and the bad of this practice.

First, we need to understand the distinction between a remake and a remaster. A remake is a game that has been built from the ground up. New character models along with new motion capture and voiceover. These games are usually far more detailed than the older versions thanks to developments in technology. A remaster is the original game with updated lighting and graphics that has been tweaked to run on a different console.

Final Fantasy VII and some of the original Resident Evil games serve as examples of remakes, older titles that have been brought fresh into the 21st century. They contain improved character models, possible additional story content, and most likely new mechanics in regard to controls. Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch was originally a Game Boy title that was remade in a different art style and placed on Nintendo 's current console. It received widespread critical acclaim and allowed people who never had the original to experience a classic title.

The most recent controversial remake came in the form of The Last of Us. The game was completely rebuilt and offered improved lighting and frame rate. More specifically, it was released for the PlayStation 5, and was marketed as the definitive way to experience the title. Gamers had a few issues with this upgrade. Firstly, it was coming out around the same time as the HBO Max television adaptation. Anyone could see that was not a coincidence.

Secondly, you could already replay The Last of Us on PlayStation 5 through backwards compatibility. The Last of Us had already been remastered for the PlayStation 4. That particular remaster made a lot more sense considering that the game had been released in the twilight hours of the PS3 and this would allow gamers to experience one of the most popular games on their new hardware while also making it function better. However, if you could already play the game on your newer system, what was the point of buying a complete remake? Admittedly, the remake did allow players to experience features specifically associated with the PlayStation controller. But even though the graphics looked amazing on the new remake, the remastered graphics still didn't look terrible.

Perhaps the worst defense in this case was that the remake cost the full price of a brand-new game at $70. It should be noted that at this time you could find the original remastered version for around $20. Neither choice is a bad one, but I suppose it all comes down to budget and personal preference.

On the PlayStation Store, the PS5 remaster and PS4 remaster of the same title have vastly different prices.

Remasters are far more common in the gaming landscape. Since PS4 was not designed with backwards compatibility for PS3 titles, remasters became plentiful. The first one I specifically owned was Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. For the first week I owned my PS4, Uncharted 4: A Thief 's End was the only game I had. Shortly afterwards, I made my way to GameStop where I found The Nathan Drake Collection which consists of the first three Uncharted games remastered for PlayStation 4. I immediately snatched it up. Being able to play through the rest of the collection helped Uncharted to become one of my favorite gaming series while also allowing me to experience games that I had not had access to on other hardware.

This tended to be the case for a lot of major franchises that I was introduced to. Kingdom Hearts had two different remaster collections, Assassin's Creed has had multiple remastered versions of older games, and the Disney Classics Collection on Switch allowed me to play remastered versions of old NES and SNES games.

Although I'm sure some people considered remastered collections another attempt at a cash grab, they can be beneficial to people who have had no chance to play these games due to either not having the hardware or just feeling overwhelmed by a particular series.

One of the biggest criticisms that I have heard against remasters is that companies charge too much for older games. It's true that through copyright and legal reasons, some companies do tend to restrict the availability of older games in order to repackage them in newer collections. Most people who try and find a solution to this problem tend to go with emulation, where someone uploads the game files online and they are downloaded and ported to a different device in an attempt to trick the game into thinking it's running on original hardware. The major drawback to this method of playing games is that more often than not it falls under the umbrella of being illegal since the game files don't belong to the individuals.

Some companies used legal emulation, such as Nintendo offering older games through their online service that requires a paid subscription. It would also be unfair not to mention that most games being emulated are no longer available on typical markets or are stuck on a specific platform. Nevertheless, the emulation battle is best left to the hands of lawyers.

So, is there a true purpose to a remake, remaster, or we release other than to pad the bottom line? Personally, it would seem that remasters are best for people who have never experienced the games before or for individuals who no longer own original consoles. Remakes are for people who are nostalgic over the source material but can also serve as the definitive edition for new players in certain circumstances. The important thing is that players are allowed to experience games in the best way that works for them. You don't always need to be wary of remasters and remakes-they might lead you to discover your new favorite game.

This post was written by Vanessa Hart, creator of Deep Dive Gaming