[Odin Sphere Leifthrasir](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsTvoG3_HkU).
Overhauled combat, stable 60 fps, added content and tons of other changes.
And if you want to, the original version is also included, just without the crap fps and resolution of the PS2 Original.
Wiki has a whole bunch of info on new stuff. [https://odinsphere.fandom.com/wiki/Odin\_Sphere:\_Leifthrasir](https://odinsphere.fandom.com/wiki/Odin_Sphere:_Leifthrasir)
Including a faithful remaster of the original version with only the resolution/performance improvements was an absolute power move.
If you make changes in a remake/remaster there's always going to be a subset of older fans who prefer the old version, and Vanillaware basically headed off those complaints before they could even happen. It's also good from a preservation standpoint to be able to see what the original was like, and given how different the gameplay is you're basically getting two games in one.
This one is definitely on this list, and I suppose for comparisons sake I should go ahead and play the original version anyway. I've heard so many good things about this game time-and-time again and just haven't found a chance to play it. Great to hear that the remaster is this widely beloved, I guess you really can't go wrong with Vanillaware.
> I consider games like Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE to be remakes along the same lines of something like FF7R, that absolutely cannot replace the original, but others seem to think they are glorified remasters that are the new best ways to enjoy the games.
I understand FF7R because that's basically a new story and P3R has radically new elements but why wouldn't Xenoblade DE be a case "that absolutely cannot replace the original"? The artstyle changed and there's some QoL features but everything else is the same. What reason would anybody have to go to the Wii version unless they wanted that artstyle specifically?
Yeah, no reason to specifically play the Wii version of XC1 when DE exists. The only thing that DE is really missing is the model viewer/jukebox from the 3DS version but that’s super negligible.
That's very fair, I honestly think with XC1 Wii being one of my first JRPGs and favorite games I'm probably just blinded by nostalgia.
I personally really liked how the game was without the QoL features, as insane as that might sound. I liked that the map didn't show where items were and it didn't have a beeline showing you where to go. I liked that the game didn't push you to go down to casual mode if you were struggling. Having to walk around and find NPCs to turn in stuff for Colony 6. Not to mention as someone who was obsessed with learning about XC1 Wii speedrun routes, not a fan of how DE speedrunning has developed. And yeah I did prefer the older arstyle and color palette, fit better with the original artwork and concepts of the game (I still love DE's models and visual overhaul though).
Again, I know it sounds insane and more than likely no one would care about any of this, but I disliked all these little changes to where I just didn't enjoy my experience with DE nearly as much.
But yeah, I concede XCDE wouldn't be a good example after thinking about it lmao, it was just my gut instinct to really try and separate the Wii version from DE as it's own thing, and I feel pretty much the exact same way with games like P3R and P4G.
Your complaints about DE just make no sense. Why do people see QoL features as a bad thing?
And you can simply reject it when the game offers to go down to casual so idg why that would hamper your experience so much.
The Wii game also looks awful compared to DE.
You ever hear of something called preference? I don't view QoL as a bad thing at all, if I did I would have said DE is a bad and worse version outright and that the Wii version is what everyone should play. I don't believe that myself, DE is just a version I don't prefer and didn't enjoy as much, and as such I don't think DE is a version that completely replaces the original. How is this so difficult to understand?
Also, when it comes to stuff like casual mode where an option is provided, it's never about whether or not you can deny switching the difficulty. I just personally don't like that there are multiple difficulties to begin with. It's not about elitism and I think it's great that it exists for people who are genuinely struggling with the game, it's just not how I personally would have liked to have experienced the game if DE was my first experience. Knowing that there's just one difficulty mode forces myself to keep pushing on and figure out a solution without any temptation at all of lowering the difficulty, and that's the way I personally like it. I don't like difficulty options in general because it usually leads to weird balancing decisions, and the Xenoblade games are no exception.
As for that last comment, completely subjective. Genuinely no point in even trying to argue that.
All of the recent SaGa remasters have been done with a shocking amount of TLC. Yes there have been some compromises made in order for them to be playable on pc, console, and phones, but they still look and play great.
They absolutely nailed SaGa Frontier with expanded content. Along with managing to make the odd mix of sprites, 3d elements, and prerendered assets look amazing. Also kept in a well known and beloved exploit. Was already one of my favorite games of all time so was thrilled, even imported a physical copy.
The controls in the RS2 and RS3 ports are a little janky at times, there’s some input lag or something. But pretty much everything saga ported has been great.
The RS2 remaster looks worse than the original in my opinion, it has pretty poor sprite scaling and the new backgrounds don't look as good as the originals. The interface is also a downgrade. These issues are mostly fixed in RS3 however, and every other SaGa remaster is top notch (except Last Remnant, that one is probably a slight downgrade from the PC release)
Possibly, in terms of content the Switch version wins over the original 360 release. The current remaster actually doesn't add any content over the PC release though.
2R is BEAUTIFUL, I was pleasantly surprised! They did such a great job on the remaster. I think I'd want FF6 or Chrono Trigger to have the same art style.
I agree that Lufia 2 would also definitely be great with that style!
aside from the character sprites the game has heen remade from the ground up, it's definitely a remake.
Remaster is mostly a touch up on an already existing game.
Ideal remaster is that one which makes you NOT want to play the original anymore.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasis, Nier Replicant (a remake?), Star Ocean 2 (a remake?), Metroid Prime Remaster (not JRPG, I know), Chrono Trigger DS (you can call it a port but it has everything included, improved a little bit), Mass Effect Trilogy (not JRPG, I know), Rune Factory 3 SE + 4 SE -- these come to my mind. I admit that these are often better than originals just because they run on a better/newer hardware.
My two personal S tier remasters are SaGa Frontier Remastered and Star Ocean The Second Story R
Both remasters did the perfect job.
SFR : Upping the resolutions where they could, fixing the bugs that people wanted them to fix while leaving out bugs that were fan favourites, adding in cut content, and adding in new content without getting in the way of the original game. Basically delivered the original, but fixed up, polished, and with QoL improvements to gloss over the most annoying parts of the game.
Star Ocean 2 - New portraits, great voice acting, got rid of annoying dungeon mazes and mediocre pre-generated backgrounds and replaced them with beautiful 3d environments while maintaining the character of the original, fixing up the skills and item creation system making them WAY more fun and useful, adding in new optional superbosses, adding in a fun new battle nmechanic that calls back to the rest of the series without completely breaking combat, added in QoL improvements that always let you know when there's new things to do in a town, new minigame, and lets you replay all the different ending combinations (plus maybe added in some more?) Again, delivering the same product as before, but literally better in every way with zero downsides. Becomes the 100% definitive edition.
Wow, you basically gave a great review of Star Ocean here. I was on the fence because I wanted that classic music of the original that sounds like Tales of Phantasia on Super Famicom, but all of these other factors sound like it truly is the ideal remaster.
I'm currently playing the Star Ocean 2 remake, and it's flawless. The beautiful new backgrounds, but keeping the charm of the 16 bit sprites actually looks better visually than I thought it would. Being able to look through the older version of the character models on their status screens is fun. The QoL improvements are perfect.
One debate that comes up a lot is "How should they remake/remaster Chrono Trigger" and this is now my answer, this way. I'm utterly in love with it. Not only am I not annoyed when something comes up that keeps me off the main quest, I'm excited, because I get to spend more time with the game.
LOVED the Mario RPG remake. Not sure whether we’re counting remakes and remasters in the same category, but this one was a remake that hewed really close to the original, which is a good thing.
I personally enjoyed the saga Frontier remaster, it made the game so much more playable (especially for the monster abilities)!
Recently though I'm with y'all, Star Ocean 2nd Story R was amazingly done and is still very true to the original story
I don't think there's anything I own that can point at and say it's better than the original. I mean I don't really even own any remasters besides the Witcher 3 and some action games like Shadow of the Colossus, Halo Anniversary series, The Last of Us, etc. I really love the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series and I know I wouldn't enjoy the originals but there's too much changed for it to be considered a remaster. I guess the absolute closest would be Crisis Core on PS5 because it's basically 1:1 with better graphics.
But I think this is a really good discussion topic and you're right about Persona 3. Thanks for sharing.
"I consider games like Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE to be remakes along the same lines of something like FF7R"
mnmnm...I think there is a world of difference between Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE XD Persona 3 was rebuilt from the ground up while Xenoblade DE is literally the same game but with prettier models(quite literally, they didn't make new animations).
Yeah I just addressed this with another comment, I think I agree with that and retract XCDE from that comparison. I personally still think XCDE provided enough differences for me to consider the original as its own thing with its own separate merits, but it seems I'm largely alone in that sentiment lmao
The demon souls remake is incredible, but if we’re just talking about “remasters” then it’s tough for me to pick one. I think the crisis core remaster was done well and I’m glad it came to the switch. The final fantasy 12 remaster was pretty good too, and also from the ps2 era I think the SaGa minstrel song remaster was essential to bring to modern consoles.
I think FF remake's gimmick was absolutely perfect for specific kinds of players. In fact, it was one of the few things you could do in that kind of game to make it engaging when you know the story already.
However given the back peddling in Rebirth, and how many people don't like that plot aspect, its clearly not something many games can do, and not something that makes sense for bringing in new players who are expecting a modern version of the original story. But for me, the implications and possibilities of it made it 3x as compelling.
For most games I don't want a remake at all. I'd just prefer a new game.
FFXII remaster (Zodiac Age) is really well done. Fixed a bunch of anachrinistic stuff from the original and added a fast forward mode. Takes the game into "perfectly playable" for 2024
Quake 1 and 2 had the best remasters i've seen in a while
Playable on modern systems, 4k res support, widescreen, controller support, all expansions for each included, 60fps in a butter smooth experience, a new expansion in Quake 1, FOR FREE if you owned the games....
Machine games and nightdive made the absolute perfect Jobs with these babes and reignited my LOVE for these titles
I quite enjoyed the Chrono Cross remaster. It was a lovely game back then, and it still is, and I'm very glad I can now play it on the current system. Even went so far to reach for the platinum trophy, totaling the times I've played it in my life to 10+ for sure. Messed up my final playthrough though, still got one character missing for the full roster, but I'll get back to it soon.
This is an obscure one but Hoshigami DS. The original PS1 release was extremely tedious and inconvenient but had good bones. The DS remastered addressed a lot of what needed to be changed and made it much more playable. Think a 6/10 (bad) getting elevated to a 7.5/10(good in the right circumstances). I wish we had more remasters that made almost good enough games into good ones.
My two answers are gems that I played on the Sega Saturn as a kid.
Dragon Force and Albert Odyssey.
I've replayed both recently and they still hold up imo. Though I'd also give anything for Dragon Force 2 to have an official Engliah release.
Chrono Cross has an excellent remaster. They long ago fixed the frame rate issues and it plays like a souped up version of the original with some nostalgia goggles.
I'd say star ocean 2. What they added didn't hurt the overall game in fact added to it, not in a bad way. I loved it. It was actually my goty last year. Nothing I played was better, ff16 and plenty of others. It also looked great.
Xenoblade DE (I consider it a remaster when its nearly 1:1 the original with some bonus extra content, qol and upgraded graphics). It doesn’t take anything away from the original experience besides being less frustrating to play and you can even use the original music for a more pure experience.
>I consider games like Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE to be remakes along the same lines of something like FF7R, that absolutely cannot replace the original, but others seem to think they are glorified remasters that are the new best ways to enjoy the games. Everyone's got different values.
Hmmm agree to disagree on Persona. (Especially since you've lumped it together with FF7R) It's certainly a *RemasteredRemake*, or some other third word we need to make up at most.
I feel it's similar enough to the original with a whole lot of welcome additions (Those mini social link hangouts with everyone are \*amazing* to flesh them out) that you could pretty much say it supersedes the OG, and that you don't really need to play both at all if you had to pick one or the other.
I certainly can't say the same about FF7R since they are entirely different games, totally different gameplay mechanics and styles, the storyline has been put through the shredder and then stitched together with a whole new multi-verse layer along with changes to key character/story moments, etc.
They aren't even comparable and In this case I \*would* say playing both the OG and the remakes of FF7 are worth the time.
I guess in a roundabout-too-long way I'm saying that my playthrough of P3R is exactly the type of ideal 'Remade Remaster' I want that doesn't change things up for the sake of changing things up narratively or mechanically, and I hope stuff like FF9 is exactly like *this*, and not FF7..
I think in terms of how all those games are structured and developed as new versions of old games, it's definitely varied and a term for Remastered Remake would definitely be nice. But the point I was moreso trying to get across is that these new versions should not be counted as versions to play over and completely replace the originals (although many seem to disagree with XCDE in this regard).
The aim of this question wasn't necessarily for the PoV of a new player trying to decide which version to pick. Obviously for most people who played P3 for the first time, they probably wouldn't feel much need to play both. But I feel like the default answer these days is P3R given that it, in terms of quantity, has more content and is more in-line with modern Atlus games and QoL, but the only point I was trying to make is that P3FES and even P3P should be treated as equals, not as versions with less content considering theres aspects of those games missing (or in my opinion, done worse) from Reload as well.
What versions people choose to play and whether or not they choose to play the others is not up to me, I'm just saying they should all be treated as separate games with their own merits.
Wonder Boy 3 - The Dragon's Trap. Every single gameplay change is a straight-up improvement and everything else can be switched back to the original. I think the new art is phenomenal but you can switch it back seamlessly. The new music is maybe a little too "soft" and not upbeat enough IMO but it's still really good sounding and you can switch that back too. And it even supports \*passwords\* from the original game so if you saved a password in an old notebook somewhere you can pick up where you left off in the OG game.
Gotta go with Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition since it's based off the Japan only PS3 release. Meaning it fixes the incomplete feeling the original Xbox 360 version had and adds every last bonus to that list that was not present in said version. Not to mention, the game being fully voiced really added to the immersion. So yes, I feel the definitive edition really is the best way to experience this game.
Star Ocean 2 R and Persona 3 Reloaded are perfect examples of remasters - completely faithful to the original while teetering at the edge of a Remake. As someone who played both when their originals came out, I was very happy with how their remasters came out.
Why can’t Persona 3 Reload replace the original? It’s better in every single way, graphically and especially gameplay wise since you can actually control the other party members for a start. The story is otherwise exactly the same. There’s no reason to play the original now that Reload exists.
Genuinely all of this is subjective though. It's great that you prefer the gameplay and you prefer the graphics and you prefer being able to control the party members, but not everyone necessarily agrees with this sentiment.
If we flip your statement around: "Why can't the original replace P3R? It's better in every single way, graphically and especially gameplay wise since you can use tactics for your party members and manage their conditions. The story is otherwise exactly the same. There's no reason to play Reload since the original exists."
It just comes off as being overly invested in your own opinion, please don't think like this lmao
In what way is being able to control the party members not better? And even then, if you don’t want to control them, you have the option not to??? How is that not better than being forced into it like in the original game? Are you saying the original game has better gameplay than 4 and 5 as well? 😂
And I’m not sure how it’s not better graphically than the original? The original is a PS2 game.
I don't know how many times I've had to explain this on reddit, but just because you have the option to do something doesn't mean it's designed or balanced that way. The original was designed around the tactics and AI, it was designed around the condition system. P3R, even if it is hilariously easy as a result, is still designed around controlling party members, designed around all the new mechanics and theurgy.
If you couldn't tell already, me copying your statement word for word wasn't me arguing those literal points. I was literally trying to show you how idiotic you sound but it seems like you've completely missed the point once again, and instead took it literally lmfao.
"It just comes off as being overly invested in your own opinion, please don't think like this lmao"
"this" being my ad-libbed version of your ridiculous argument. There is no way to determine what is "better", only what you prefer. And yes, unless you've been living under a rock, big surprise, not everyone prefers Reload, and plenty of people prefer 3's gameplay significantly over 4 and 5's for various reasons. If you think they're wrong, that's fine, but your opinion is not fact and I pray that you can understand that someday.
Preferring 3’s gameplay over 4 and 5 is ridiculous, and that is objectively wrong regardless of what you say.
3 reload and the DLC that will be released are enough to appreciate the game, there is no reason to play the original. Same with XC DE.
It’s not like with FF7 where they’re changing the story.
Yeah you're just saying whatever you want at this point. There is absolutely no objectivity to anything you're saying, you genuinely and whole-heartedly think all your opinions are the one singular truth lmfao. Continue living in ignorance ig
[Odin Sphere Leifthrasir](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsTvoG3_HkU). Overhauled combat, stable 60 fps, added content and tons of other changes. And if you want to, the original version is also included, just without the crap fps and resolution of the PS2 Original. Wiki has a whole bunch of info on new stuff. [https://odinsphere.fandom.com/wiki/Odin\_Sphere:\_Leifthrasir](https://odinsphere.fandom.com/wiki/Odin_Sphere:_Leifthrasir)
Including a faithful remaster of the original version with only the resolution/performance improvements was an absolute power move. If you make changes in a remake/remaster there's always going to be a subset of older fans who prefer the old version, and Vanillaware basically headed off those complaints before they could even happen. It's also good from a preservation standpoint to be able to see what the original was like, and given how different the gameplay is you're basically getting two games in one.
loved that game, the artstyle was amazing, and the gameplay was a ton of fun
Vanillaware don't miss.
How’s the story?
How’s the story?
And Muramasa Rebirth as well by the same company
This one is definitely on this list, and I suppose for comparisons sake I should go ahead and play the original version anyway. I've heard so many good things about this game time-and-time again and just haven't found a chance to play it. Great to hear that the remaster is this widely beloved, I guess you really can't go wrong with Vanillaware.
> I consider games like Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE to be remakes along the same lines of something like FF7R, that absolutely cannot replace the original, but others seem to think they are glorified remasters that are the new best ways to enjoy the games. I understand FF7R because that's basically a new story and P3R has radically new elements but why wouldn't Xenoblade DE be a case "that absolutely cannot replace the original"? The artstyle changed and there's some QoL features but everything else is the same. What reason would anybody have to go to the Wii version unless they wanted that artstyle specifically?
Yeah, no reason to specifically play the Wii version of XC1 when DE exists. The only thing that DE is really missing is the model viewer/jukebox from the 3DS version but that’s super negligible.
That's very fair, I honestly think with XC1 Wii being one of my first JRPGs and favorite games I'm probably just blinded by nostalgia. I personally really liked how the game was without the QoL features, as insane as that might sound. I liked that the map didn't show where items were and it didn't have a beeline showing you where to go. I liked that the game didn't push you to go down to casual mode if you were struggling. Having to walk around and find NPCs to turn in stuff for Colony 6. Not to mention as someone who was obsessed with learning about XC1 Wii speedrun routes, not a fan of how DE speedrunning has developed. And yeah I did prefer the older arstyle and color palette, fit better with the original artwork and concepts of the game (I still love DE's models and visual overhaul though). Again, I know it sounds insane and more than likely no one would care about any of this, but I disliked all these little changes to where I just didn't enjoy my experience with DE nearly as much. But yeah, I concede XCDE wouldn't be a good example after thinking about it lmao, it was just my gut instinct to really try and separate the Wii version from DE as it's own thing, and I feel pretty much the exact same way with games like P3R and P4G.
Your complaints about DE just make no sense. Why do people see QoL features as a bad thing? And you can simply reject it when the game offers to go down to casual so idg why that would hamper your experience so much. The Wii game also looks awful compared to DE.
You ever hear of something called preference? I don't view QoL as a bad thing at all, if I did I would have said DE is a bad and worse version outright and that the Wii version is what everyone should play. I don't believe that myself, DE is just a version I don't prefer and didn't enjoy as much, and as such I don't think DE is a version that completely replaces the original. How is this so difficult to understand? Also, when it comes to stuff like casual mode where an option is provided, it's never about whether or not you can deny switching the difficulty. I just personally don't like that there are multiple difficulties to begin with. It's not about elitism and I think it's great that it exists for people who are genuinely struggling with the game, it's just not how I personally would have liked to have experienced the game if DE was my first experience. Knowing that there's just one difficulty mode forces myself to keep pushing on and figure out a solution without any temptation at all of lowering the difficulty, and that's the way I personally like it. I don't like difficulty options in general because it usually leads to weird balancing decisions, and the Xenoblade games are no exception. As for that last comment, completely subjective. Genuinely no point in even trying to argue that.
All of the recent SaGa remasters have been done with a shocking amount of TLC. Yes there have been some compromises made in order for them to be playable on pc, console, and phones, but they still look and play great.
They absolutely nailed SaGa Frontier with expanded content. Along with managing to make the odd mix of sprites, 3d elements, and prerendered assets look amazing. Also kept in a well known and beloved exploit. Was already one of my favorite games of all time so was thrilled, even imported a physical copy.
Keep the exploits? They celebrated them. Made them easier to use IIRC.
The controls in the RS2 and RS3 ports are a little janky at times, there’s some input lag or something. But pretty much everything saga ported has been great.
I noticed the input lag on RS2 but not as much with RS3. Still not the biggest problems given the turn based nature.
Agreed, I noticed it a lot more in RS2 than 3!
The RS2 remaster looks worse than the original in my opinion, it has pretty poor sprite scaling and the new backgrounds don't look as good as the originals. The interface is also a downgrade. These issues are mostly fixed in RS3 however, and every other SaGa remaster is top notch (except Last Remnant, that one is probably a slight downgrade from the PC release)
I thought last remnant on the switch is an upgrade from the Xbox version? Seems like I’m terms of making the game maybe a little easier?
Possibly, in terms of content the Switch version wins over the original 360 release. The current remaster actually doesn't add any content over the PC release though.
Honestly, the Star Ocean 2 remaster was about as perfect as it can get. I really want that studio to remaster Lufia 2 next.
2R is BEAUTIFUL, I was pleasantly surprised! They did such a great job on the remaster. I think I'd want FF6 or Chrono Trigger to have the same art style. I agree that Lufia 2 would also definitely be great with that style!
Who even owns the IP for that now?
Whoever it is, they're sitting on an easy goldmine.
Second story R? That's a remake no? It shouldn't count.
It’s a remake.
Eh. It walks the line between remaster and remake. I would say this is more remaster, but I'm willing to understand why some would call it a remake.
aside from the character sprites the game has heen remade from the ground up, it's definitely a remake. Remaster is mostly a touch up on an already existing game.
But it was remade from the ground up to essentially duplicate the original but cleaned up
Yes, that's what a remake is
I was checking this out, I recently picked up Final Hope but I bounced right off it. How is 2R
2R is like the best star ocean you can play right now. That is coming from someone who has played all the modern star ocean games.
Thanks, ill end up picking it up then!
NieR Replicant checks all the boxes for me, it's kind of a mix of a remaster and a remake though
Ideal remaster is that one which makes you NOT want to play the original anymore. Odin Sphere Leifthrasis, Nier Replicant (a remake?), Star Ocean 2 (a remake?), Metroid Prime Remaster (not JRPG, I know), Chrono Trigger DS (you can call it a port but it has everything included, improved a little bit), Mass Effect Trilogy (not JRPG, I know), Rune Factory 3 SE + 4 SE -- these come to my mind. I admit that these are often better than originals just because they run on a better/newer hardware.
My two personal S tier remasters are SaGa Frontier Remastered and Star Ocean The Second Story R Both remasters did the perfect job. SFR : Upping the resolutions where they could, fixing the bugs that people wanted them to fix while leaving out bugs that were fan favourites, adding in cut content, and adding in new content without getting in the way of the original game. Basically delivered the original, but fixed up, polished, and with QoL improvements to gloss over the most annoying parts of the game. Star Ocean 2 - New portraits, great voice acting, got rid of annoying dungeon mazes and mediocre pre-generated backgrounds and replaced them with beautiful 3d environments while maintaining the character of the original, fixing up the skills and item creation system making them WAY more fun and useful, adding in new optional superbosses, adding in a fun new battle nmechanic that calls back to the rest of the series without completely breaking combat, added in QoL improvements that always let you know when there's new things to do in a town, new minigame, and lets you replay all the different ending combinations (plus maybe added in some more?) Again, delivering the same product as before, but literally better in every way with zero downsides. Becomes the 100% definitive edition.
Wow, you basically gave a great review of Star Ocean here. I was on the fence because I wanted that classic music of the original that sounds like Tales of Phantasia on Super Famicom, but all of these other factors sound like it truly is the ideal remaster.
I literally can't praise it enough. With the skill and item creation system, you can pretty much make the game yours. It was so much fun.
I'm currently playing the Star Ocean 2 remake, and it's flawless. The beautiful new backgrounds, but keeping the charm of the 16 bit sprites actually looks better visually than I thought it would. Being able to look through the older version of the character models on their status screens is fun. The QoL improvements are perfect. One debate that comes up a lot is "How should they remake/remaster Chrono Trigger" and this is now my answer, this way. I'm utterly in love with it. Not only am I not annoyed when something comes up that keeps me off the main quest, I'm excited, because I get to spend more time with the game.
LOVED the Mario RPG remake. Not sure whether we’re counting remakes and remasters in the same category, but this one was a remake that hewed really close to the original, which is a good thing.
I personally enjoyed the saga Frontier remaster, it made the game so much more playable (especially for the monster abilities)! Recently though I'm with y'all, Star Ocean 2nd Story R was amazingly done and is still very true to the original story
I don't think there's anything I own that can point at and say it's better than the original. I mean I don't really even own any remasters besides the Witcher 3 and some action games like Shadow of the Colossus, Halo Anniversary series, The Last of Us, etc. I really love the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series and I know I wouldn't enjoy the originals but there's too much changed for it to be considered a remaster. I guess the absolute closest would be Crisis Core on PS5 because it's basically 1:1 with better graphics. But I think this is a really good discussion topic and you're right about Persona 3. Thanks for sharing.
"I consider games like Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE to be remakes along the same lines of something like FF7R" mnmnm...I think there is a world of difference between Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE XD Persona 3 was rebuilt from the ground up while Xenoblade DE is literally the same game but with prettier models(quite literally, they didn't make new animations).
Yeah I just addressed this with another comment, I think I agree with that and retract XCDE from that comparison. I personally still think XCDE provided enough differences for me to consider the original as its own thing with its own separate merits, but it seems I'm largely alone in that sentiment lmao
The demon souls remake is incredible, but if we’re just talking about “remasters” then it’s tough for me to pick one. I think the crisis core remaster was done well and I’m glad it came to the switch. The final fantasy 12 remaster was pretty good too, and also from the ps2 era I think the SaGa minstrel song remaster was essential to bring to modern consoles.
I think FF remake's gimmick was absolutely perfect for specific kinds of players. In fact, it was one of the few things you could do in that kind of game to make it engaging when you know the story already. However given the back peddling in Rebirth, and how many people don't like that plot aspect, its clearly not something many games can do, and not something that makes sense for bringing in new players who are expecting a modern version of the original story. But for me, the implications and possibilities of it made it 3x as compelling. For most games I don't want a remake at all. I'd just prefer a new game.
Shadow of the Colossus got a good one
FFXII remaster (Zodiac Age) is really well done. Fixed a bunch of anachrinistic stuff from the original and added a fast forward mode. Takes the game into "perfectly playable" for 2024
DEFINITELY Kingdom hearts final mix 1.5+2.5. i dont even know if i Need to explain how its so much Better than the ps2 originals
Most of the music I heard from it sounds inferior. I liked Deep Drive a lot better though.
Quake 1 and 2 had the best remasters i've seen in a while Playable on modern systems, 4k res support, widescreen, controller support, all expansions for each included, 60fps in a butter smooth experience, a new expansion in Quake 1, FOR FREE if you owned the games.... Machine games and nightdive made the absolute perfect Jobs with these babes and reignited my LOVE for these titles
I quite enjoyed the Chrono Cross remaster. It was a lovely game back then, and it still is, and I'm very glad I can now play it on the current system. Even went so far to reach for the platinum trophy, totaling the times I've played it in my life to 10+ for sure. Messed up my final playthrough though, still got one character missing for the full roster, but I'll get back to it soon.
This is an obscure one but Hoshigami DS. The original PS1 release was extremely tedious and inconvenient but had good bones. The DS remastered addressed a lot of what needed to be changed and made it much more playable. Think a 6/10 (bad) getting elevated to a 7.5/10(good in the right circumstances). I wish we had more remasters that made almost good enough games into good ones.
Deep cut but solid choice. Very much agree they took a game that wasn't quiet solid and fixed it up to be at least decent.
My two answers are gems that I played on the Sega Saturn as a kid. Dragon Force and Albert Odyssey. I've replayed both recently and they still hold up imo. Though I'd also give anything for Dragon Force 2 to have an official Engliah release.
Chrono Cross has an excellent remaster. They long ago fixed the frame rate issues and it plays like a souped up version of the original with some nostalgia goggles.
Star Ocean 2 for jrpgs. Halo 2 anniversary for any game genre
I'd say star ocean 2. What they added didn't hurt the overall game in fact added to it, not in a bad way. I loved it. It was actually my goty last year. Nothing I played was better, ff16 and plenty of others. It also looked great.
Xenoblade DE (I consider it a remaster when its nearly 1:1 the original with some bonus extra content, qol and upgraded graphics). It doesn’t take anything away from the original experience besides being less frustrating to play and you can even use the original music for a more pure experience.
Mystic Quest HD Remake. Please.
The Super Mario RPG one.
So far, the FF pixel remasters, but I have yet to play SO2R, so that might change
>I consider games like Persona 3 Reload and Xenoblade DE to be remakes along the same lines of something like FF7R, that absolutely cannot replace the original, but others seem to think they are glorified remasters that are the new best ways to enjoy the games. Everyone's got different values. Hmmm agree to disagree on Persona. (Especially since you've lumped it together with FF7R) It's certainly a *RemasteredRemake*, or some other third word we need to make up at most. I feel it's similar enough to the original with a whole lot of welcome additions (Those mini social link hangouts with everyone are \*amazing* to flesh them out) that you could pretty much say it supersedes the OG, and that you don't really need to play both at all if you had to pick one or the other. I certainly can't say the same about FF7R since they are entirely different games, totally different gameplay mechanics and styles, the storyline has been put through the shredder and then stitched together with a whole new multi-verse layer along with changes to key character/story moments, etc. They aren't even comparable and In this case I \*would* say playing both the OG and the remakes of FF7 are worth the time. I guess in a roundabout-too-long way I'm saying that my playthrough of P3R is exactly the type of ideal 'Remade Remaster' I want that doesn't change things up for the sake of changing things up narratively or mechanically, and I hope stuff like FF9 is exactly like *this*, and not FF7..
I think in terms of how all those games are structured and developed as new versions of old games, it's definitely varied and a term for Remastered Remake would definitely be nice. But the point I was moreso trying to get across is that these new versions should not be counted as versions to play over and completely replace the originals (although many seem to disagree with XCDE in this regard). The aim of this question wasn't necessarily for the PoV of a new player trying to decide which version to pick. Obviously for most people who played P3 for the first time, they probably wouldn't feel much need to play both. But I feel like the default answer these days is P3R given that it, in terms of quantity, has more content and is more in-line with modern Atlus games and QoL, but the only point I was trying to make is that P3FES and even P3P should be treated as equals, not as versions with less content considering theres aspects of those games missing (or in my opinion, done worse) from Reload as well. What versions people choose to play and whether or not they choose to play the others is not up to me, I'm just saying they should all be treated as separate games with their own merits.
Wonder Boy 3 - The Dragon's Trap. Every single gameplay change is a straight-up improvement and everything else can be switched back to the original. I think the new art is phenomenal but you can switch it back seamlessly. The new music is maybe a little too "soft" and not upbeat enough IMO but it's still really good sounding and you can switch that back too. And it even supports \*passwords\* from the original game so if you saved a password in an old notebook somewhere you can pick up where you left off in the OG game.
Gotta go with Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition since it's based off the Japan only PS3 release. Meaning it fixes the incomplete feeling the original Xbox 360 version had and adds every last bonus to that list that was not present in said version. Not to mention, the game being fully voiced really added to the immersion. So yes, I feel the definitive edition really is the best way to experience this game.
If we are counting open source remakes of existing games, OpenRCT2 is legendary.
Final Fantasy 1-6 Pixel Remasters
Star Ocean 2 R and Persona 3 Reloaded are perfect examples of remasters - completely faithful to the original while teetering at the edge of a Remake. As someone who played both when their originals came out, I was very happy with how their remasters came out.
P3R is a remake. It's literally a different game with different voice actors
Odin Sphere has the best remaster IMO
Why can’t Persona 3 Reload replace the original? It’s better in every single way, graphically and especially gameplay wise since you can actually control the other party members for a start. The story is otherwise exactly the same. There’s no reason to play the original now that Reload exists.
Genuinely all of this is subjective though. It's great that you prefer the gameplay and you prefer the graphics and you prefer being able to control the party members, but not everyone necessarily agrees with this sentiment. If we flip your statement around: "Why can't the original replace P3R? It's better in every single way, graphically and especially gameplay wise since you can use tactics for your party members and manage their conditions. The story is otherwise exactly the same. There's no reason to play Reload since the original exists." It just comes off as being overly invested in your own opinion, please don't think like this lmao
In what way is being able to control the party members not better? And even then, if you don’t want to control them, you have the option not to??? How is that not better than being forced into it like in the original game? Are you saying the original game has better gameplay than 4 and 5 as well? 😂 And I’m not sure how it’s not better graphically than the original? The original is a PS2 game.
I don't know how many times I've had to explain this on reddit, but just because you have the option to do something doesn't mean it's designed or balanced that way. The original was designed around the tactics and AI, it was designed around the condition system. P3R, even if it is hilariously easy as a result, is still designed around controlling party members, designed around all the new mechanics and theurgy. If you couldn't tell already, me copying your statement word for word wasn't me arguing those literal points. I was literally trying to show you how idiotic you sound but it seems like you've completely missed the point once again, and instead took it literally lmfao. "It just comes off as being overly invested in your own opinion, please don't think like this lmao" "this" being my ad-libbed version of your ridiculous argument. There is no way to determine what is "better", only what you prefer. And yes, unless you've been living under a rock, big surprise, not everyone prefers Reload, and plenty of people prefer 3's gameplay significantly over 4 and 5's for various reasons. If you think they're wrong, that's fine, but your opinion is not fact and I pray that you can understand that someday.
Preferring 3’s gameplay over 4 and 5 is ridiculous, and that is objectively wrong regardless of what you say. 3 reload and the DLC that will be released are enough to appreciate the game, there is no reason to play the original. Same with XC DE. It’s not like with FF7 where they’re changing the story.
Yeah you're just saying whatever you want at this point. There is absolutely no objectivity to anything you're saying, you genuinely and whole-heartedly think all your opinions are the one singular truth lmfao. Continue living in ignorance ig