Video games: They’re serious business! Except when they’re not serious at all. Each week on Triple Click, video game experts Kirk Hamilton, Maddy Myers, and Jason Schreier journey into the fascinating world of games. They’ll explore hot topics in video game news and culture, answer burning listener questions, debate the pros and cons of the biggest new games, and replay old classics together.
https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/triple-click/
episode 70: Super Turbo Remake Plus
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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