Technically, this game actually benefited from being on poor hardware. The inability to render things far away forced Konami to create the fog effect that would later become the signature of the series. You may not think that fog could have such a large effect on a game, but Silent Hill is pure survival-horror and the inability to see two feet away from you makes the game downright unnerving. Unfortunately, the rest of the game isn't up to snuff. Silent Hill falls victim to the fact that it's a first generation 3D game, so the lack of hardware power and skills with such new concept at the time of development leaves the game kind of unplayable today. The character models, including the enemies, are all horribly pixelated, turning the game into a bit of an eyesore. The same is true of the original Resident Evil, which is why it got a huge upgrade to great success and the great rejoicing of fans everywhere. Silent Hill deserves a remake too, not the least because it's a better game than Resident Evil, with a better story and more interesting ideas. What it lacks is the execution and it would be nice to see Silent Hill brought up to speed. Considering the absolute mess the series has become post-Silent Hill 3, a remake of the original would go a long way toward healing the wounds Konami left Silent Hill fans with their mismanagement of the license.
And yes, I am in fact aware of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. I just like to pretend it doesn't exist else my head will explode.
I've gushed about this game already, so I won't spend too much time going into the details of it. I feel that this game deserves a remake and it's kind of mind boggling to me that it hasn't had one just yet considering how badly the fans want one (and a sequel). The thing about Eternal Darkness is that the game had borderline N64 graphics because, as you probably already guessed, it began its development cycle on the Nintendo 64 and was then shifted for an early release on the Gamecube. The final product was terribly unpolished, but that wasn't really enough to keep the game down, which is a testament of just how amazing it is. The story is intricate and smartly told, even managing to get away with character switching through the narrative without falling apart. It also has this wonderful sense of mystery that compels you to keep going, which is something that I don't think any other console survival-horror game has ever been able to pull off quite as well.
The true beauty of this game though comes from the insanity effects, which basically turn the player's world upside down, sometimes quite literally. As you progress through the game you will have several bars that ebb and flow depending on the situation; the most ingenious one is the sanity bar which drops the more damage you take and the more you are exposed to even the sight of enemies. If the bar drops completely down to zero (or at least close to it), you will begin to experience all kinds of oddly cool shit, from your character's head randomly exploding to a Blue Screen of Death. Of course, none of these are actually happening in the game, which just makes it that much more awesome when your characters return to normal and act like nothing happened.
Eternal Darkness deserves a remake because a game so good with such an amazing story deserves a presentation to match. The impact would be doubled, and the insanity effects would be even more fascinating to see. There is also the fact that the game wasn't really a huge hit so it would be nice if it was introduced to a new generation of gamers that are sorely missing out on such a wonderful title. Get to it, Silicon Knights!
I admit I never played this one, and that's pretty much the reason it makes it to this top five. I think all the 2D Final Fantasy games should be remade for this generation and at the very least for the 3DS. But, Final Fantasy VI wins because I have watched my boyfriend play it and thought it looked spectacular, with my only gripe being that I simply cannot stand the graphics. It's not 2D graphics that bother me, it's that the graphics in all 2D Final Fantasy games were just not very good, even for their time. Games like Super Metroid and A Link to the Past manage to hold up really well even after the passing years. Final Fantasy? Not so much. Things look pretty pixelated and the beautiful art is sort of lost in translation, which is a damned shame.
Whenever I hear that fans want a Final Fantasy VII remake I cringe because there are many other games I would like see Square tackle (Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, for one). But it's no secret that Square-Enix has grown increasingly allergic to money and quality with the passing years, which is why this would never happen. I know I just crushed the dreams of many fans with that statement, but if I'm wrong, I'll eat my fuckin' hat! Even with all the fans that would likely break down and buy a console just to play FF VI in new generation graphical glory, Square probably won't be bothered. Presumably because they're too busy making shitty, broken, and infuriatingly difficult MMORPGs that nobody wants to play.
*Waves fist at Squeenix!*
The Zelda series is like a box of really delicious Popsicles: pretty much all the same with the only difference being the flavor each comes in. The "flavor" more or less comes down to the temple designs and the stories, and I think no other Zelda stands out as much in these departments as Majora's Mask does. There is something incredibly dark and beautiful about Majora's story and its setting, and I always felt that was reason alone to find Majora's Mask infinitely superior to Ocarina of Time. I think that Nintendo should take everything it learned since those games released and apply them to a really well done remake of Majora, with a new graphical engine that really shows off the edge this game has. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I would love to see Majora remade with a cel-shaded look, but one that is dark and twisted. I want to see this game remade with less Wind Waker and more Tim Burton.
Of course, we will see a remake considering Nintendo is releasing Ocarina of Time for the 3DS, but with the way that game is looking...yeah, I'm not holding my breath. The Ocarina of Time "remake" barely classifies as such, being more of a pseudo port than anything. Nintendo basically took the lazy route and I think I'd be pretty heartbroken if Majora's Mask got the same kind of shabby treatment. Majora doesn't just deserve to be remade, it deserves to be remade properly.
On second thought, maybe it shouldn't be remade...
Really, Nintendo? Really? You put both, Ness and Lucas into Smash BROS. and then just continue to pretend like Earthbound never happened. You have had countless chances to bring us a remake of this one or at least to finish the series in America. What exactly are you waiting for? Even Kid Icarus is getting a next gen treatment while Earthbound just sits there, completely forgotten. Earthbound is one of the best games ever made, with nerdy humor all around that takes a jab at ridiculous video game tropes years before Super Mario RPG ever did. It also happens to have really excellent gameplay that takes the tedium out of RPGs (seriously, how awesome is it being able to just touch and kill enemies if you're too high leveled?) and made the genre fun before it even started to get stale.
JRPGs are suffering, falling miserably flat on its face through the efforts of Square-Enix alone. Gamers everywhere want a good JRPG, one that doesn't take itself so painfully serious, and one that above all entertains. There has never been a better time than now to remake Earthbound for future generations to enjoy. I know it will never happen, but Earthbound deserves a second chance more than any other game I have ever played.
- Kharlo -
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