Most Wanted: HD Remakes

by Brandon Sultana, Harry Sheridan and Corey McCrea

November 2nd, 2015

 

Rumor has it that Nintendo are remaking Twilight Princess in HD on Wii U (another Zelda remake who saw that coming) and that got us thinking as to what games WE would like to see remade in glorious HD.

(Also apparantly we really like Mario)

 

Bran’s Pick

Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine is my favorite 3D Mario game in the series. It was a big risk to go in such a drastically different direction after the phenomenal Mario 64, and I think it paid off, giving us one of the most unique Mario experiences out there. The gameplay mechanics with FLUDD where genius, the worlds were pretty open, the setting was great, and the game was full of charm. While I would definitely prefer a follow up to this game, rather than a remake, I would still GLADLY accept a new and improved version of the original game, as it’s definitely not a perfect game. Visually, Sunshine still holds up, but I know that an HD touch-up could really benefit the game. The water effects back then were already pretty impressive, but with better hardware, the effects could look outstanding. And the brightly colored locales could look great in HD, just imagine Sirena Beach’s Sunset, or the views atop the cliffs of Noki Bay. The biggest area where the game can improve however, is the game engine. Slope detection is incredibly wonky, the physics are pretty exploitable, and the camera is far from perfect. There are several missions that are completely ruined by these issues, such as the SandBird and the dreaded Pachinko Machine. Fixing those things could give the game a bit more polish and make those really aggravating levels more in line with the rest of the game’s difficulty. With this being said however, I don’t want them to change too much. I know a lot of people don’t like Blue Coins, while they are far from perfect, I would rather they return, with perhaps a couple tweaks. Perhaps, give us a way of keeping track of which ones have been collected with some sort of journal would make it much easier to collect all 240 of them. Some clues would be useful as well, as a lot of them are collected by just spraying arbitrary places. Having certain NPCs supply hints for some of them could make collection easier, while still maintaining the challenge and exploration aspect of the game. I also hope they don’t get rid of the stuff that made the game unique, such as the voice acting. I know a lot of people didn’t like it, but it really made the game stand out. Above all though, don’t try to “linearize” the game. I could easily see them change level design around just a tad to funnel players into a set path, rather than letting us explore freely. Lastly, some sort of payoff needs to be put in place for 100% completing the game. While I don’t mind collecting all 120 shines and 240 blue coins since I love the game, I can’t deny that the reward for getting everything is pretty terrible. Sunshine isn’t exactly desperately in need of an HD touch up, but it’s by far the most divisive game in its series. Improving upon the rough edges while still maintaining what people like myself loved about the original could do wonders for the game’s reputation.

 

But the number 1, most absolutely necessary HD Remake is the original Star Fox. I’m not talking about the N64 game either, they already remade that remake. I’m talking about the clearly inferior Super Nintendo game. It has to be done. I don’t care if it’d be the 5th time that we’d see that story told, it needs to happen. I need to live in the Star Fox glory days for all of eternity.

 

 

Harry’s Pick

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Not going to lie, choosing a game that I’d like to see get an HD remake was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be. I thought looking to my favorite games might be a good place to start, but they were all either relatively new (Shovel Knight, Undertale), totally unrealistic (EarthBound), or had already received the HD treatment (LoZ Wind Waker, Pokemon Gold). While I would SERIOUSLY love it if EarthBound got some sort of remake or trilogy collection (Mother 3 pls), I have very low expectations of Nintendo in regards to ever actually doing that and don’t want to get my hopes up by writing about it. Once all of my favorite games were off the table, I decided to look specifically towards the Gamecube era of Nintendo games. After all, those are the games that I believe are most likely to receive some sort of remastering. So, what Gamecube game did I end up picking? Is it Star Fox Adventures? Do I want Melee HD? Or is it perhaps SONIC ADVENTURE: SPECIAL BIG THE CAT HD EDITION???? Sorry to get your hopes up, but no, it’s none of those. In fact, it’s something that’s EVEN BETTER. The game I’d like to see receive an HD remake is none other than the classic Gamecube RPG, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Sure, it’d be nice if Nintendo gave us a true sequel to this game that isn’t a platformer and doesn’t have stupid sticker-related mechanics, but I’ve pretty much given up hoping for that SO AN HD REMAKE WILL HAVE TO DO. Joking aside, I really would love to see TYD get an HD remake for a number of reasons, chief among them being that this is an all-around fantastic game. TYD is filled to the brim with charm, featuring plenty of memorable characters, witty dialogue, and a wonderful story (especially for a Mario game). Sure, TYD is a game that, visually, you wouldn’t think would even need a remastering. Paper Mario’s visuals have aged very well compared to some of its contemporaries (even the original N64 game still looks great), thanks to their simple, timeless art style. Honestly, though, thinking about how great this game looked on the Gamecube makes me want an HD version even more. I mean, just IMAGINE how gorgeous that game would be! Seriously, we’ve already seen Wind Waker (another game whose visuals aged well thanks to its unique art style) receive the HD treatment and just look at how great that turned out!

Gameplay-wise, I don’t really think Nintendo would really need to change anything up. Maybe it could use a few fine tunings here and there, but otherwise I really don’t think this game needs any improvements in that department (although, it would be really awesome if they added some extra content, such as a few new side quests). Overall, I think Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door would be a great game for Nintendo to give the HD treatment. It’s a phenomenal game to begin with that can only stand to get better if given the chance. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see HD Madame Flurrie in all her HD splendor?

 

 

Corey’s Pick

Super Mario 64 (pls)

Don’t worry it’s not an indie game this time. I’m following the pack here when it comes to game titles (*cough* nintendo nerds *cough*). All jokes aside Nintendo really knows how to make games and I need an HD remake of Super Mario 64. This game was my go-to video game as a child. The game has aged very well over the ages but it’s definitely well past its time. To see this game remastered in HD would absolutely be a dream come true. So much about the game is still loveable today, the story is timeless, the soundtrack is beautiful, the characters are the same old lovable characters, the controls...well. Improving the look of the game (and controls) would make this game a nostalgic masterpiece. Just imagine playing this game in 1080p! Just think about the smooth 60fps! The flat screen glory! I would buy a Wii U just to own this game again in HD.

Much like Brandon’s review Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario 64 could use many of the same upgrades. The water mechanics in the game could change from 3D sine wave graphs into actual splashing! And the colors, oh baby, moving from the 64’s limited color palette to the Wii U would give us some very nice images. All put together with the increased polygon count on the models...Mmh *kisses fingers like italian chief* That’s a good-a game!

Now, in an attempt to make my essay look as long and impressive as Brandon’s and Harry’s I’m going to take a paragraph to geek out and talk about the things I’m most looking forward to seeing in HD (Hopefully Harry and Bran will overlook this section and think of me as a very serious, knowledgeable and educated person). *Ahem* Remember how cool it was swimming under water!? Just imagine how tropical and awesome looking it would be! Maybe there would be that cool light effect when light travels through the surface of water! Remember those worlds in the sky!? Maybe we’d be able to see other lands from up in the air! Like, in the distant haze. That would be so cool! And the clouds would be so realistic looking too! What if the weather changed in the game too? Like when you played a world that was outside there was a chance that it might be snowing, or raining, or sunny, or hazy? I’d love that! Also image the lava texture of the Hot Lands! I know, it would be pretty neat! And classic looking Bowser! Imagine that boss fight but with a highly textured bowser! I want it so bad HHGNNNH.

With all these ideals in mind this game would make a fine HD remake. I presume Nintendo would benefit greatly from making HD remasters of older games. People love to relive the games of their childhood and would pay a pretty penny to buy an upgraded version of their childhood. I know I would.