When it comes to video game remakes, fans always have a number in the back of their minds that they want to come out. It took over a decade of waiting from random teases, but the Final Fantasy 7 remake project finally began in 2020 with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, followed by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and there is one more in the way. Also, rumors about Final Fantasy 9 getting remade next are flying around.
The point is, remasters and remakes, beyond Final Fantasy, are happening all of the time, and sometimes the choices made by publishers can be bizarre. For every Final Fantasy 7 Remake, there is something of odder quality. It doesn’t mean they’re bad, so much as they are confusing.
Until Dawn (2024)
Barely Noticeable
Until Dawn was originally released as a PS4 exclusive in 2015 as a thrilling horror adventure game. With every playable character, players could make choices that would affect the story, even leading to their deaths.
While cheesy, horror fans enjoyed it so much that it was “remade” in 2024 for the PS5 and PC. It’s marginally better than the original, visually, making it seem more like a remaster than a remake. With backwards compatibility between the PS4 and PS5, it wasn’t needed, plus the remake was a bit buggier upon release.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
A Degrade In Art
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was the start of a brand new RPG series with Mario teaming up with Luigi on the GBA in 2003. The A and B buttons controlled each plumber separately in battle and while exploring the world, making good use of the GBA’s limited layout. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions was released for the 3DS in 2017, and it changed the art style, tweaked the story, added some mechanics, and added a full secondary game mode.
The extra game mode is not good, and the graphics don’t look as pixel-perfect or as timeless as its GBA counterpart. The 3DS version itself is great, but it would have perhaps made more sense to wait and put it out on the Switch if anything, because going portable to portable is odd.
MediEvil (2019)
Remade Twice, Cared About Once
MediEvil was a weird little hack-and-slash PS1 game starring a reborn skeletal warrior that was released in 1998. It received a sequel, also on the PS1, and then it was remade not long after on the PSP in 2005, rebranded as MediEvil: Resurrection. Once more in 2019, the name went back to just MediEvil when it resurfaced on the PS4.
While none of these versions are bad, they’re just average action games that not many PlayStation fans think about. It’s just baffling to see it get remade twice when seemingly bigger PS1 games have never been touched up, including Syphon Filter, Twisted Metal, or any of the Jet Moto games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time Re-Shelled
An Arcade Port Would Have Been Preferred
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time was released in arcades in 1991, and anyone walking past an arcade in the mall during this era was guaranteed to hear “Cowabunga!” from both the machine and the kids playing it. Its 1992 SNES conversion is miraculously good for a port, and either version has great sprite work, music, and beat ‘em gameplay.
During the age of digital downloads and classic releases, it would have made sense for Ubisoft to just publish the arcade version on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2009. Instead, they remade it as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, and it’s not a good-looking remake, nor does it sound or play as good. Also, it was quickly delisted in 2011, so now it’s lost to time.
Adventures Of Mana
Honor Over Chances
Final Fantasy Adventure was the first game in the Mana series, although Westerners thought it was a Final Fantasy spinoff for the Game Boy in 1991. It was a top-down adventure akin to a Zelda game but with leveling up. The game was remade for the GBA, making it clearer that it belonged in the Mana series.
It was called Sword of Mana, and it added a few things, like choosing between a male or female protagonist, who also joined as a partner periodically. Then, once more, it was remade in 2016 for mobile devices and the PS Vita as Adventures of Mana, which was a more faithful adaptation of the Game Boy original. Like MediEvil, it’s wild that the game got remade two times and in two different ways, but always as top-down games.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
