What makes a remake worth playing? When should developers go back and change a game, and how much should they change? This week, the Triple Click crew tries to figure out when remakes work, when they don't work, and why. Plus: Kirk unveils his grand spectrum of Remakes, Remasters, and the Super Turbo Remake Plus.

Kirk’s Remake Spectrum*:

Re-release (The original game, playable on new hardware)
Remaster (visually enhanced version of the same game, same tech, etc.)
Remaster Plus (A visual remaster that makes some changes to the gameplay - e.g. Skyward Sword, ME Trilogy)
Remake (New engine/tech and new visuals, but makes a point of keeping the gameplay the same. E.g. SotC, Demon’s Souls, Diablo 2 Resurrected)
Remake Plus (New engine and actual new gameplay/mechanics/etc. E.g. Black Mesa, Tomb Raider Anniversary)
Reimagined Remake (Uses the original as a template to make major changes, e.g. Resident Evil 2 & 3 Remake)
Super Turbo Remake Plus (There is only one of these and it is Final Fantasy VII Remake)
Sequel or Reboot

*Note that these are stops along a continuous spectrum and not a series of discrete categorizations. Many games fall somewhere in between categories.

One More Thing:

Kirk: The White Lotus Reloaded

Maddy: Dark Souls

Jason: The Forgotten City

Links:

Mat Bradley-Tschirgi on why Final Fantasy shouldn’t be modernized: https://www.polygon.com/22648602/final-fantasy-original-ff1-retro-gaming-classic-pixel-version-steam-square-enix

Mike White’s New York interview about The White Lotus: https://www.vulture.com/article/the-white-lotus-finale-mike-white-interview-departures-ending.html

Slate’s Working podcast interview with White Lotus composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer:
https://slate.com/podcasts/working/2021/08/white-lotus-composer-cristobal-tapia-de-veer

Twenty Thousand Hertz episode about the Dies Irae (feat. Kirk): https://www.20k.org/episodes/diesirae

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Super Turbo Remake Plus