There have been countless video games made in the industry's half-century of commercial existence. In that time, there have been a handful of titles that have stood out above the rest as some of the greatest games of all time. Naturally, many of these classics are the first games developers look to when developing remakes of a game.
Remakes have the beneficiary of taking something that already works and bringing it to the modern age. Each remake comes with more than just a fresh coat of paint, too. Characters that use to not have voice acting now do; aspects of the original that are now dated by today's standards now receive quality-of-life updates to make the game more accessible to newer players; and more. Remakes are not perfect, however, as some carry with them flaws that the original game was criticized for.
10 Resident Evil: Tank Controls & Inventory Management Are Still A Bother
One of the first major remakes of a video game classic came from Capcom's horror series Resident Evil, which was remade for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 before eventually being remastered for modern consoles. Capcom would use the framework of this remake to create prequel Resident Evil 0, a previously-cancelled Nintendo 64 title that they finally revived and finished.
The Resident Evil remake is to date one of the most faithful video game remakes. However, this comes at a price as the game's tank controls give movement a big learning curve while the inventory system adds a lot of needless item management and backtracking. While many fans believe this adds to the horror experience, it can be a bother for those trying to get started in the series.
9 Oddworld - New 'N' Tasty: Controls Still Make The Game Frustrating
The Oddworld series is well known for its bizarre style, colorful characters, and hilarious writing. After Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath in 2005, the series would go dormant until 2014 when the original game, Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey, would receive a remake in the form of New 'n' Tasty. The remake would also serve as a reboot as the series' latest title, Soulstorm, acts as a reimaging of the series' second game, Abe's Exoddus.
Abe's Odyssey was heavily criticized for its high level of difficulty, which was something New 'n' Tasty tried to improve on through added checkpoints and camera angles. However, the game's controls and trial & error nature still mostly remain, giving continued frustrations despite an easier experience as a whole.
8 The Legend Of Zelda - Majora's Mask 3D: The Game's Time Mechanics Still Have A Big Learning Curve
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is one of the most divisive games in the Zelda series. It follows in the footsteps of the iconic Ocarina of Time and centers around a time mechanic where Link will have to constantly go back in time and relive the three days leading up to the destruction of Clock Town. This mechanic would divide the Zelda fanbase as many thought it was too stressful while others praised it for differentiating it from others in the series.
Majora's Mask 3D would release in 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS and would leave the time mechanic intact. The developer of the remake, Grezzo, would include the Bomber's Notebook making it easier for players to organize and manage their to-do lists. But it still wasn't enough to win over many of the players who weren't a fan of Majora's Mask in the first place.
7 Resident Evil 3: The Game Is Still Too Short
Nearly two decades after the original Resident Evil was remade, Capcom began remaking other titles in the Resident Evil series. The first of which was Resident Evil 2, which was widely praised and considered by many as the greatest video game remake of all time. Capcom would follow that up a year later with the release of Resident Evil 3, which remakes RE: Nemesis.
The Resident Evil 3 remake still suffers from the original game's biggest issue, which was its length. Resident Evil 3 is a short game, clocking in at around six hours. It doesn't help that Capcom removed the church section of the game, which would've gone a long way to increasing playtime.
6 Shadow Of The Colossus: Despite A New Scheme, Controls & Camera Still Get In The Way
Team Ico games have long been pointed to as examples of how video games are indeed an art form, and the game from the developer that most justified that belief was Shadow of the Colossus. The premise of Shadow of the Colossus is simple: The player must travel the world and destroy sixteen giant colossi in order to revive a girl by the name of Mono.
Shadow of the Colossus would receive a remake by Bluepoint Games in 2018. While Bluepoint Games introduced a new and improved control scheme, other issues of the game remained, most of which centering around the game's camera and riding on top of Agro, the Wanderer's trusty steed.
5 Link’s Awakening: The Game's Visual Style Still Poses Some Problems
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is notable for being the first Zelda game playable on the go. Originally released on the Game Boy in 1993, it would actually receive two remakes. The first was Link's Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color that added color, additional features, and a new dungeon to the original; and the second was a from-the-ground-up remake for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.
One of the few criticisms of the original Link's Awakening was its monochromatic visuals making it difficult to fully visualize what was happening on screen. While each remake is in color, the recent remake was also criticized for its visuals. The reasons are twofold. First, the visual style itself where the bordering area of the screen is blurred. And second, the game's struggle to maintain a consistent framerate.
4 Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver: These Remakes Still Have The Sharp Level Curve After Johto
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver are considered by many Pokémon fans as the best games in the series. Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal are the second generation of Pokémon games and brings players to the Johto region. Upon beating the Elite Four, players were met with a surprise when they were allowed to return to the original region of Kanto and pursue the Gym Badges there, which carried over into the remakes.
However, these remakes don't solve the biggest criticism for the Johto games by retaining the game's difficulty curve once the player moves onto Kanto. It's still difficult to properly level up the game's party. To make matter's worse, Red's party boasts higher levels than in the original Johto games.
3 Super Mario 64 DS: The Controls & Camera Flaws Are Amplified
Super Mario 64 is often considered one of the greatest video games ever made. The game paved the way for numerous 3D platformers that took the gaming world by storm in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Retroactively, the game receives criticism for its control scheme, namely the camera. These two in conjunction make it difficult to land those perfect jumps.
Likewise, 2004's Super Mario 64 DS runs into similar issues. However, many of these issues come from the limitations of the Nintendo DS itself. The Nintendo DS doesn't have a joystick, and players will need to use the touchscreen to adjust the camera. While Super Mario 64 DS does add plenty of new things, such as new playable characters, it also brings with it the biggest flaws of the original.
2 Final Fantasy III: The 3D Remake Brings With It The Simple Story & High Difficulty Of The Original
Final Fantasy III— the actual FFIII, not the name given to the original North American localization of Final Fantasy VI— was for the longest time the "missing" Final Fantasy game. While every other mainline Final Fantasy game had been released outside of Japan, Final Fantasy III was left behind. That changed with the Nintendo DS remake in 2006. The remake would later be ported to other portable consoles, mobile devices, and PC, giving even more American players a chance to finally play it.
The remake boasts new 3D visuals along with an expanded story and job system. However, the game's story remains simplistic compared to its predecessor and successor. The game also retains its frustrating difficulty, particularly in the game's final dungeon.
1 Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire: Too Much HM Use...And Too Much Water
Yes, "Too Much Water" has become a recurring meme within the Pokémon fandom. The meme was even referenced in later Pokémon games. However, water is still a major issue in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and one that wasn't remedied in their remakes, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
The island Hoenn region still relies heavily on water Pokémon making it difficult to build a varied party and to combat water Pokémon players will come up against. On top of that, these remakes still requires the use of HMs, mostly notably water-centric ones such as Dive. Memes aside, these remakes should've done a better job balancing around water Pokémon.