Remasters and Ports - A Good Thing?

[telekill]

** Preemptive Clarification ** - This topic is not about remakes like RE2 Remake or FF7 Remake.

Looking through my collection of PS4 games, it occurred to me that there was a significant number of ports and "remasters" from previous gens. Sure, the PS3/360 gen had it's share of "HD" ports. Then the PS4/X1 gen had a mass influx of remasters. Many on the various forums were complaining non-stop about it but we also got plenty of new content as well.

First off, I'm wondering what your thoughts are? Many on here are collectors and probably still have their older systems with their favorite games on those system. Hell, I still have some of my retro systems as well. That said, what are your thoughts on all the HD ports, remasters, and now Director's Cuts we're seeing releasing throughout the last decade or so? Is it a good thing?

For me, I sold off some of my older systems like my PS3, Gamecube and Dreamcast. There were quite a few games I absolutely loved on those systems and I regretted selling them at times. Then the ports and remasters started releasing on my PS4 and I was able to reclaim many of them.... maybe too many?

 - Burnout Paradise Remastered
 - Corpse Killer 25th Anniversary
 - Disney Afternoon Collection
 - Full Throttle Remastered
 - Heavy Rain / Beyond 2 Souls Collection
 - The Last of Us Remastered
 - Mass Effect Legendary Edition
 - NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered
 - Resident Evil 4, 5, 6, Origins Collection
 - Shenmue Collection
 - Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
 - Uncharted Collection

I guess I used ports and remasters as a way to consolidate my favorites into one collection. I still have some that I'd love to get in HD like the PS1 and PS2 era Tomb Raider games... though it seems Square has no intention of celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the series. I also still have PS2 versions of Dreamcast games on my wish list as I still have my PS2. Time will tell how many games continue to get ported... seems Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy are next up for PS5 and PC... but at least there's a silver lining to them.

[jdkw50]

I think there's a bit of good and bad depending on how you look at it. Maybe bad in the sense that the market like you said seems flooded by these endless list of remasters often of games people didn't really ask for. For example, I may insult some hardcore fans but I really didn't know a single person anywhere that was asking for a remaster of red faction guerilla or kingdoms of amaleur. But I guess at the end of the day, if you don't like it, you just don't buy it simple.

The good on the other hand is that it gives an opportunity for people like me to enjoy games or series that we've been priced out of or missed in the past. Ex: The 'Kingdom Hearts all for one' set gave a new player like me the opportunity to play the entire series in one go which I found very convenient. 

Also I know this is a long shot but it please me to no end if they remastered Xenosaga for PS2, and the Persona/Tales of Destiny series for PS1    One can only wish...

[sworddude]

The only negative that I can think of is that remasters and ports will delay actual brand new fresh games.

Or in the worst case you get a situation like GTA V 

[kamikazekeeg]

100% a good thing.  Not everyone keeps theirs consoles from past gens, so getting the chance to have those games again, sometimes with improvements and new features or even better performance is great.  Like I never got into the Castlevania games much as a kid, but with the collections, I've played a bunch of them at this point.  I don't collect as much old games as I use to, but most of the time I would still rather have new ports of those game rather than running on old hardware, as it's more affordable and most of the time the games run better or have cool features like rewind or save states.

[covfefe2020]

The only negative that I can think of is that remasters and ports will delay actual brand new fresh games.

Or in the worst case you get a situation like GTA V 

I would disagree, I think ports and remasters HELP with getting new games because they can show demand for a game series and introduce newcomers on the same level as veterans by having them play the same games. Think about Crash Banidcoot 4, I dont think that would have happened if N sane trilogy wasn't so popular.

[emporerdragon]

I'm typically fine with them as it gives the newer generations an easier chance at playing them and thanks to achievements, gives me an excuse to revisit them.

Where I don't like it is when it's a very lazy port and/or a cash grab. Great examples of this would be how when Square Enix brought the early Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger to PC, they were just half-assed ports of the mobile versions, even still using the mobile UI. Or ow when they brought the Angry Birds games to consoles, they were charging $40 bucks for them even though they changed practically nothing from the original $1 mobile game.

[burningdoom]

I like them. New additions and achievements give me an excuse to replay old favorites. And its nice to see a new coat of paint on them while doing it.

[vivigamer]

I'm all for HD Ports - I'm very eager to play the best version of games I like possible... All my current physical games on PS5 are on PS4, but I like having PS5 versions of them not just for the enhancements but to have a later release with all the updates on disc.

While one could grumble and wish that consoles were more focused on backwards compatibility - which I wish they were too! I'm still glad to get HD Revamps of PS3 games on PS4 which now also exist on PS5. Also, wit hthe help of HD ports, some gaming franchises have become more important to me within the last generation - most notably the Yakuza Series and Resident Evil. Both of them fracnhises are among my favouritrs and it's from having the pleasure of experiencing them through modern releases.

I still to this day don't have a decent way to play PS2 games, so sadly it is a generation which has been very neglected for the last 10+ years. I'd love to be able to play man yPS2 games but the console looks like trash on a HD set-up. I know there are devices like the Framemeister but they're very costly.

I actually prefer HD Ports to remakes. Give a game a resolution bump and widescreen boost and I'm happy. The problem I have with Remakes is that I don't settle with them co-existing with the originals. I'm often content with the original and see the remake as an indulgence, even if very decent like Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy VII R-1 they sort of don't feel canon to me.

[alligo]

It's good for those who couldn't know some games.

even if I don't "adhere" (I don't hate the approach but I find it quite lazy).
I would have liked to have the remaster of Ape Escape (a collection with the 3 games), Croc Legend of the Gobbos or diddy kong racing. (instead of chocobo GP  )

And I agree with the posts above, it's flooding the market.
especially since some games don't necessarily need to be remastered.

[sworddude]

It's good for those who couldn't know some games.

even if I don't "adhere" (I don't hate the approach but I find it quite lazy).
I would have liked to have the remaster of Ape Escape (a collection with the 3 games), Croc Legend of the Gobbos or diddy kong racing. (instead of chocobo GP  )

And I agree with the posts above, it's flooding the market.
especially since some games don't necessarily need to be remastered.

I don't think chocobo gp is a remaster. It's just a brand new entry in that series

Still remasters and ports flooding the markets ain't bad I'd say because it just means that pretty much anyone has very easy acces to it.

[covfefe2020]

I'm typically fine with them as it gives the newer generations an easier chance at playing them and thanks to achievements, gives me an excuse to revisit them.

Where I don't like it is when it's a very lazy port and/or a cash grab. Great examples of this would be how when Square Enix brought the early Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger to PC, they were just half-assed ports of the mobile versions, even still using the mobile UI. Or ow when they brought the Angry Birds games to consoles, they were charging $40 bucks for them even though they changed practically nothing from the original $1 mobile game.

you watch too much scott the woz

[bikingjahuty]

Accessibility is something I'm 110% for when it comes to video games; the more consoles a game is released on, the better. Naturally, I'm a massive fan of ports, especially of older games. As time marches on it gets harder and harder to play older games. For one, the consoles are no longer being made and you can't just walk into a Target and Best Buy and purchase one, and also with age these consoles are prone to more and more issues. And then there are the games themselves which if they were considered even halfway decent, the prices start to rise on them making them even more out of reach for most people.


Porting a game is an excellent way of not only preserving the legacy of that game, but also making it easy for anyone to enjoy it. Unfortunately sometimes liberties are taken with ports for the sake of modernizing them, but I find that this is more the exception and not the norm. Bu yeah, I'm all for ports and I feel like we need more and more of them, especially on games that haven't been readily available for a decade or longer.

[Flashback2012]

I grew up in the stone age of console gaming and it's easy to say that ports of games have come a LONG way. Back then, we had to make due with the hilariously horrible port of Pac-Man on the 2600. The port of Donkey Kong on the Colecovision was pretty accurate but we never had one of those growing up and it wouldn't be until the NES till we got to play a somewhat accurate port. Even then, that system it had it's own port failings like Kung Fu. 

Nowadays there's a HUGE amount of ports and remasters of older games and I couldn't be happier. The only frustration is that there are so many that it's sometimes hard to keep up with/afford them all! 

To be fair, I'm more into the compilations of older titles or updates/remakes. I just picked up a few Switch games in the last couple of weeks, Space Invaders Forever and Prinny Presents V1 which has Soul Nomad/Phantom Brave on it. The Space Invaders is a remake with some updated gameplay as well as a port of SE Extreme that was on DS. The games on the Prinny Presents I have on the PS2 already but what's nice about those is I don't have to unearth them from a tub or hook up my PS2 to play them if I wanted.

Anymore, I'm fully resigned to the idea that a killer title on the current gen is guaranteed a HD port on the next gen system. I was absolutely not surprised to see PS5 versions of Ghosts of Tsushima and Death Stranding. They've been doing these for years now so I don't see the trend ever stopping. I don't follow those as closely though. Now if they ever make a Namco Museum for PS5... 

[mrkonasoni]

I have no problems with remaster or port because sincerely the older I get, the most I have nostalgia for stuff from the 90s and 2000s, but also because in-some cases some classic games are just way too expensive and buy a copy because I want to scratch that feeling for play it.

Of course, a console can't survive with just old glories and new quality games are the most obviously reason for buy the newest hardware but still, quality ports for a good price are always welcome.

[telly]

I agree with most here: remasters and ports as a whole are not a problem at all. More ways for folks to experience great games is always a good thing!

I think it gets a little bit more of an issue when the game is changed in the process. Sometimes the changes are really good, like Wind Waker HD. Other times the game is completely butchered like the recent Crystal Chronicles remake or that god-awful Silent Hill HD collection.