Ideally, a remaster would only improve an already excellent classic video game. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. In fact, some remasters don't just make an otherwise good game bad, they ruin their previously good reputations.
A good example is the Grand Theft Auto trilogy. These open-world titles are some of the most beloved games from the PlayStation 2 era, but their remasters in The Definitive Edition cast the games in a negative light.
10 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition Tainted The Classic Games' Legacies
The Grand Theft Auto trilogy had a significant impact on the culture and medium of video games. Adding in the nostalgia the games inspire, a remaster of GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas wasn't just highly anticipated; it was also important. Unfortunately, The Definitive Edition is so bad that it tarnished the legacies of classic open-world games.
At best, The Definitive Edition felt last-gen due to its slow performance and lazily upscaled graphics. Worse were the bugs and missing licensed songs due to copyright disputes. To add insult to injury, the trilogy replaced the games' previous digital releases, forcing newcomers to buy lackluster remasters if they wanted to revisit GTA's past.
9 Halo: The Master Chief Collection's Multiplayer Had A Rocky Start
Xbox wouldn't be where it is today without Halo, which is considered one of the most beloved and influential First-Person Shooter franchises ever made. Conceptually, Halo: The Master Chief Collection was a great way to reintroduce Master Chief, as it remastered everything from Halo to Halo 4. Unfortunately, the collection did Master Chief's legacy a disservice.
Multiplayer is an essential part of the Halo experience, but The Master Chief Collection's online play and matchmaking barely functioned at launch. Things got so bad that 343 Industries issued an apology and gave players freebies as compensation. Fortunately, the issues were eventually patched, and the games now play smoothly.
8 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition Went Online-Only For No Good Reason
For the longest time, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was a nostalgic favorite that many curious gamers couldn't play because it was a GameCube exclusive. This issue was finally addressed in 2020 when the popular multiplayer Final Fantasy spin-off was given a multiplatform remaster. For some reason, however, the game didn't come complete multiplayer.
Specifically, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition didn't have local multiplayer like the original did. The available always-online play was decent but lacked customization and flexibility. Not helping were the game's now outdated gameplay and mechanics, and their age was only emphasized by the clunky remaster.
7 Crysis Remastered Had Less Content Than The Original Game
Crysis was one of the most state-of-the-art games of 2007, which is why its 2020 remaster was so baffling. To say that Crysis Remastered was a step down is an understatement. Besides the graphics and gameplay barely being improved, the remaster was an upscaled version of the first game's ports, not the better-optimized PC version.
As a result, the graphics were second-rate at best and suffered from frame rate drops. Worse, the PC-exclusive level "Ascension" where players piloted a VTOL was absent, alongside the multiplayer. Despite its shinier graphics and presentation, Crysis Remastered had even less to offer than its last-gen predecessor.
6 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD Was The Franchise's Death Knell
There was a time when Tony Hawk games dominated consoles, but they slowly fell out of favor thanks to a torrent of increasingly subpar entries. The final nail on the series' coffin was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, which was meant to be an exciting collection of fans' favorite levels from the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games.
Instead, fans got a threadbare retread. Even if it was just a greatest hits compilation, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD only had a scant seven classic levels at launch. Worse, the games' beloved customization and multiplayer were absent. One of the few new features was a next-gen physics engine, which caused hilarious glitches instead of sick flips.
5 Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection Looked Last-Gen On Next-Gen Consoles
While their gameplay may be slightly dated by modern standards, Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations are still some of the franchise's best-received entries. The three comprise of what fans refer to as The Ezio Trilogy since they focus on the fan-favorite assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Naturally, they were compiled in The Ezio Collection.
Unfortunately, Ezio's eponymous collection didn't do his legacy justice. The Ezio Collection suffered from poor performance, most notoriously its frame rate cap being 30 fps despite being a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One port. Not helping was the lack of multiplayer and the fact that the only thing that seems to have been improved were some textures.
4 Silent Hill HD Collection Was Incomplete In Many Ways
Half of the horror of the Silent Hill games comes from their oppressive atmosphere accomplished through grimy graphics and harsh sound design. Hijinx Studios, on the other hand, seemingly misunderstood these specific creative choices and smoothened everything to the point where the edge and fog were now gone in their remastered collection.
The graphics were just the beginning, though, as Silent Hill HD Collection didn't even live up to its name. The collection only contained Silent Hill 2 and 3, leaving out the original and Silent Hill 4: The Room, which has yet to see a remaster or re-release. For fans, however, the worst offense was the unnecessarily re-recorded dialogue.
3 Super Mario 3D All-Stars Wasn't Worth Its Hefty Price Tag
Objectively speaking, Super Mario 3D All-Stars was a decent rework of three of Mario's most well-received 3D games. Specifically, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy were reworked for the Nintendo Switch. However, what made this one of the worst remasters ever released was how it was sold.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars was only available from September 2020 to March 2021, after which it was delisted forever. For $60, players got a competent enhancement of three old Mario games and little else. While the gameplay was praised by players, many called Nintendo out for what they perceived to be a clear case of manufactured scarcity and value.
2 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered Prioritized DLCs & Microtransactions Over Everything Else
While Call Of Duty may be somewhat polarizing among gamers, many agree that the first Modern Warfare is a modern FPS classic. News of a remastered Modern Warfare sparked excitement in the fanbase. While it delivered in terms of graphics and gameplay, outside matters soured the nostalgic revelry.
Modern Warfare Remastered was initially sold exclusively with Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare, forcing nostalgic gamers to buy a lackluster title to play the game they actually wanted. When it was finally availible on its own, extra content like missions and maps were sold separately as DLCs. Excitement turned into frustration, as disgruntled fans equated the remaster to a scam.
1 Warcraft III: Reforged Replaced A Beloved Classic With A Controversial Disaster
If Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos is one of the most revered Real-Time Strategy games ever made, its remaster Warcraft III: Reforged is one of the most hated. Essentially, it was a low-quality replacement nobody wanted. Reforged launched with most of its promised features missing, while the graphics were nowhere near as next-gen as the trailers showed.
However, what really made Reforged despised was its red tape. Blizzard Entertainment declared all fanmade content to be their property, and Reforged replaced all digital copies of Reign Of Chaos. Worst of all, Blizzard played hardball with refunds until the public pressure was too large to ignore. Blizzard has been on a decline, but Reforged was horrible even by their standards.
0 Comments