Some will argue that the practice of making changes to classic video games is a barbaric one. That, like all of the wonders found throughout our world, these specimens that are so emblematic of their eras should be left untouched; preserved in time for future generations to behold and admire. Others, on the other hand, would instead assert that that’s all a load of nonsense. For the latter group, 2020 has been a very, very good year.
2020 has been a lot of things to a lot of people, but, for gamers, it has arguably been the year of the remake. Over the past twelve months, some of the biggest and best games from gaming’s past have been reborn onto modern systems – ready to be enjoyed again by a whole new generation of gamers. They haven’t all been perfect, but, generally, the standard has been rather high.
10 Panzer Dragoon (63)
The original Panzer Dragoon titles were some of the standout titles on the Sega Saturn. The first released in 1995 and was considered by many to be a masterpiece, with the average critic scoring it nine out of ten. Five more titles followed, with the last arriving on the original Xbox back in 2002.
The remake was first announced in late 2018 and was first released for the Switch at the beginning of 2020. Despite a huge visual upgrade though, the game received average reviews, with some critics bemoaning a lack of innovation. Whether or not this will affect plans to remake the game’s sequel remains to be seen.
9 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (68)
The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games first released on the Gameboy Advance and the Nintendo DS back in 2005 and allowed players to control up to six Pokémon in a roguelike adventure. The games sold more than five million copies, although received mixed reviews, with the DS version scoring particularly poorly with some gaming publications.
Fifteen years later and the remake, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, didn’t fare much better. While its 68 rating on Metacritic is far from bad, it falls well short of the standards set by mainline Pokémon games. The title does offer quite a big visual upgrade though and incorporates mechanics from later entries in the series. With that in mind, fans of the original should be fairly happy with it.
8 Destroy All Humans! (70)
Prior to the release of Destroy All Humans! earlier this year, it had been 12 years since the last entry in the series. The very first, however, came in 2005 and saw players controlling an alien race known as the Furons and harvesting human DNA. It received fairly positive reviews in general and sold over a million copies.
The remake, which shares a name with the original game, performed a little worse with critics despite it looking and controlling much better than the original. Reviews were mixed, although sales still exceeded the publisher’s expectations. Whether or not the game’s sequels will also be remade remains to be seen.
7 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (71)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom first released in late 2003 and featured some fairly impressive visuals for the era. The game sold more than three million copies, although review scores were typically in the low seventies. It was far from the worst SpongeBob game ever made, but some way off the best.
Sadly, the remake didn’t perform much better with critics, with some condemning the developer’s failure to modernize the title. In spite of this, the Rehydrated edition still sold more than a million copies within the first two months of its release and was the 19th best selling game in North America during the month of June.
6 Trials Of Mana (78)
When it comes to remaking its classic titles, one complaint that can’t be levied against Square Enix is that it’s a company of half-measures. As with Secret of Mana in 2018, Trials Of Mana has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. The remake switches the perspective from 2D to 3D and also includes a number of quality of life updates.
Unfortunately, however, like Secret of Mana before it, review scores for the remake were incredibly underwhelming when compared to the original game. Given that the latter is one of the best JRPGs on the SNES, this perhaps should not have come as too big a surprise. There were some positives, but not nearly enough to justify the wholesale changes.
5 Mafia (79)
The Mafia series is one of the better GTA clones from the turn of the century and has slowly but surely evolved into its own entity throughout the course of its lifetime. The first entry released in 2002 to critical acclaim and two sequels followed over the coming years. While the definition editions of the sequels were merely remasters though, Hangar 13 completely remade the original from the ground up.
Mafia: Definitive Edition features improved visuals, a brand new voice cast and an original score which together help to bring the experience much closer to modern games in the genre. It didn’t review quite as well as the PC version of the original, but, one the whole, reviews for the remake were generally positive.
4 Resident Evil 3 (84)
After the overwhelming success of the Resident Evil 2 remake, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Capcom began work on remaking the sequel. Given that the original game first released for the PlayStation back in 1999, they certainly had their work cut out for them. Just like last time though, the developer was more than capable of delivering.
While not quite as groundbreaking as 2019’s Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 marks a dramatic improvement over the original and looks fantastic throughout. Some felt that the team could have been a bit more ambitious with the project, but reviews and sales were mostly positive nonetheless.
3 Final Fantasy VII (87)
Although the Final Fantasy series has always been popular in the West, it was not until the release of its seventh entry that it became a household name. It revolutionized the JRPG genre and went on to spawn a number of spinoffs in a variety of different mediums. While fans were happy with all the extra content, what they really wanted was a remake. After more than two decades of waiting, they finally got one this year.
As with earlier Square Enix remakes, the game was built from the ground up and, visually, is almost unrecognizable due to the huge increase in graphical fidelity. That said, the heart and soul of the original remain very much intact even if a few creative liberties have been taken here and there. Final Fantasy VII Remake was both a critical and commercial success, with part two expected to release in the coming years.
2 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (89)
Over the years there have been plenty of extreme sports games, but none have come close to having the same impact as the Tony Hawk’s series. The first two games released in 1999 and 2000 respectively and are considered by many to be the series’ finest entries. They were incredibly enjoyable to play and featured a wonderful punk-rock soundtrack that really got players in the mood for skating.
Sadly, the series slowly slipped into mediocrity with its rock bottom finally arriving in 2015 in the form of the unforgivable Pro Skater 5. Many had considered the series dead and buried after that, but, following a surprise announcement back in May, it returned from the brink with the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. The game was a big hit with critics and once again has fans dreaming of a good new entry in the series.
1 Demon’s Souls (92)
The PS5 didn’t have too many standout new launch titles when it went on sale in early November. What it did have though, was Demon’s Souls. Fans were both surprised and delighted when the remake was first announced in June and it didn’t disappoint when it arrived a few months later.
Although Bluepoint Games haven’t made too many changes to the game’s mechanics, it looks and sounds incredible and is one of very few games that comes close to living up to its “Next-Gen” billing. It’s certainly not without its flaws, but, as far as launch titles go, they don’t come too much better than this.
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