Ever since I revealed my favorite game of all time to be the GBA remake of Yoshi's Island, I've spoken miles about how the remake improved the overall experience. Also given the fact that my Let's Plays of the DKC games have all been through the GBA ports, and it's pretty evident that I'm a huge fan of remakes and ports. So here's my top 10 list on the topic.
Before we get started, however, I should define what I mean by a remake. A remake is:
-A port of a game for a different console.
-NOT a reboot.
-Contains the same levels / areas as the original.
-May contain new content, whether it be new levels / game modes / bosses / skins / characters / etc.
-May contain different music or a different graphical style than the original so long as the game itself isn't altered.
Also, remember that this list is not based on how good the actual game is. This list is about how good the remake is compared to the original. So if you have a game like Donkey Kong Country that got a direct port to the GameBoy Color with no additions, then it's not going to be on the list. Some games that I've mentioned as not being anywhere near perfect might be on the list because of how much the remake improved on the original.
#10 - Persona 3 FES (PS2)
So many game developers think their games can't get better. Nowadays, in the age where DLC is almost mandatory for a game, developers generally just add bonus content rather than improving the game itself. Capcom started this mentality with its multiple adaptions of Street Fighter II, and ever since most remakes have followed the same formula: add new content.
The problem with this philosophy is particularly evident when the initial game is flawed on its own. That's not to say that the original Persona 3 was bad, but it is to say that the experience Atlus was looking for wasn't quite up to snuff. This makes sense, given how much was changed for Persona 3, but it wasn't until Atlus decided to remake the game that the good game really became great.
It added a new game mode, which generally threw people off, but it was a nice touch. The main improvements were added to the main game itself. Perfecting a lot of the strategy elements with the different personas, enhancing the game world, and adding cute little things like the Elizabeth dates, the dog walks, the secret videos, and probably most significantly the revised Chidori subplot all made the game as great as it truly is. It's a long game, and it's not as great as I made it out to be in my top 15 games ever made, but it is still a really great remake.
#9 - Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA)
The fact is, Super Mario Bros. 3 just never gets old. It's one of the best Mario games ever made, and some people even consider it to be the best game ever made. It lived up to be one of the best-selling video games ever made that didn't come bundled with its console.
Then they made this game called Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo, to introduce the next generation of gamers to the near-perfection of the first four Mario games. Enhanced graphics and sound made this a gem to be had. But that's not a port: it's a collection.
When the Game Boy Advance hit stores, Nintendo was determined to prove that its capabilities as a handheld surpassed the Super Nintendo's capabilities as a home console. And what better way to do it than to port some phenomenal Mario games over? And then the Super Mario Advance line of games was born.
Two out of four of the games were actually originally NES games. For the original Super Mario Advance and this game, they actually took the All-Stars version and touched it up a little to make it better. And that's exactly what they did here.
This game is a direct port of the All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3 with enhanced sounds, the Mario Bros. arcade game, and a unique feature with the e-Reader, a failed add-on for the GBA. I think that if the e-Reader was more successful in the USA this game would be higher up. It was supposed to be a way to add new levels and features into the game by means of buying cards. It was a very innovative feature, but unfortunately the launch of XBOX Live made the idea feel a bit primitave.
Other than that, however, it's still the best port you can find of an already great game, and despite how little was added from All-Stars, when compared to the original NES classic, it's simply fascinating.
#8 - Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)
I love Donkey Kong Country 2, and I think this port is phenomenal, despite a few problems.
See, the GBA really isn't better than the SNES, because DKC2 looks far better on the SNES than on the GBA. The fact is, however, that the new boss (who's amazing), the new minigames, the opening cutscene, and the time trial mode all make this a great remake.
#7 - Doom 3 BFG (PC)
Doom 3 always threw me for a loop. It wasn't Doom. It's just like how I believe Super Mario Land isn't a Mario game or how Kirby's Epic Yarn isn't a Kirby game. It doesn't have the same feel, despite how similar it may seem.
Even though the game wasn't that good, I can't ignore how great the remake is. Id not only enhanced the visuals and sound, but they looked over the whole game and made it better. They put the ammo and health refills in fairer places. They improved the lighting to make it less cheap when enemies appear. They even make the enemy explosions look cooler. And on top of all of that, you even get the original two Doom games in their full glory, and in what might be the best port of those games.
Even though this technically is a collection, it is dubbed as a Doom 3 remake, and the original Doom games weren't the focus of the game. It's more like how the Mario Bros. Arcade game was added to the Super Mario Advance games - an added bonus.
This is a phenomenal remake of a really bizzare game. It's still not Doom, but it's good.
#6 - Super Mario 64 DS
I never had a Nintendo 64, and I was too young to know of the magic that Super Mario had on his N64 debut. It was the first game of its kind, and just like the original it spawned a whole genre (the open-world 3D platformer). It isn't my favorite Mario game, and it really shouldn't have been on my top 15 video games ever made list, but it was extremely innovative and it isn't overrated by any means.
So it was smart of Nintendo to remake the game for its new handheld; not only to show how much better the DS is from the GBA and even the N64, but also to port an amazing game to show the people who haven't played it how great it is.
When I played this game, I played it with the mentality that it was a sequel to Super Mario Sunshine, since it came out after and I played Sunshine first. And, to be completely honest, I was blown away. While Sunshine felt a bit gimmicky and even cheap at times, Mario 64 DS felt so much more like a Mario game. It wasn't a vacation, it was a true quest to get the 150 stars.
And that's the first change right there. Thirty stars have been added to the game. I still don't know exactly where the stars were distributed, but thirty were added. In addition, Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario are new playable characters, and some neat touch-screen minigames were added just because they could be added.
The only real problem I have with this remake is that I think they pushed the touch capability on the player a bit too much. They expect you to use the stylus as your primary control method, which generally just feels awkward and makes it hard to use the face buttons to jump and punch and everything. I'd prefer a D-pad
to that any day. It still is a great port with tons of new content.
#5 - Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA)
I could tell the same story again, but I won't. Super Mario Advance was a GBA port of the All-Stars version of the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2, and despite how different it is from the other Mario games, I still love it.
The real difference here is that even though Super Mario Bros. 3 is undeniably a better game, Super Mario Advance works better as a remake than Super Mario Advance 4. Instead of adding very little, Super Mario Advance adds a lot. In addition to the even further enhance visuals and sound and the Mario Bros. Arcade game, the best addition is how much replayability was added to the game. 5 Ace Coins are hidden in each level, and when you beat the game, you unlock the Yoshi Egg challenge, a challenge to find Yoshi Eggs that are hidden in Subspace. It's an incredibly hard challenge, but despite the lack of reward, it feels rewarding to accomplish.
These simple additions make this remake a better remake.
#4 - Kirby: Nightmare In Dreamland (GBA)
The original Kirby's Adventure is the best Kirby game out there. It innovated with the copy abilities but didn't overcomplicate them like Super Star did. And its remake is even better. Its enhanced visuals, improved sound, and GBA exclusive minigames are only the beginning. You can even unlock Meta Knight as a playable character.
I'll say it again. You can unlock META KNIGHT as a playable character.
End of story.
#3 - Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA)
Remember, this is the best remakes. See, Yoshi's Island was already near-perfection, so despite the fact that Nintendo physically couldn't have done anything to make this game any better, I can't say it's the best remake because it only added come enhanced visual and sound, 6 levels, and the Mario Bros. Arcade game. It's my favorite game ever made, but that doesn't make it the best remake ever made.
#2 - Super Meat Boy (PC / XBLA)
As far as I know, Team Meat was the first company in all of gaming history to utilize the most genius porting strategy in all of gaming. See, when they released their phenomenal hard-as-balls platformer Super Meat Boy, they released a version for the PC and a version for the XBOX Live Arcade. The key is that the two versions have different features and additions that make both versions worth purchasing. It's absolutely genius.
You can get the XBLA version and enjoy the developer-made extra levels through "Teh Internetz" but then find out that you can get a level editor through the "Super Meat World" system on the PC. You can enjoy the characters like Gish that are unique to the XBLA port or characters like the Minecraft Man on the PC version.
If I had to pick a version, I'd go with the PC version, but to be fair, on release day they were just about even. Super Meat World didn't come out for a few months when Teh Internetz was out from the get-go.
Unlike every other port on this list, this port came out on the same day as the original game. Which one's the port and which one's the original? I don't even know.
#1 - Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
I've mentioned in the past how I always preferred Kirby's Adventure to Kirby Super Star. It's almost universally praised as the best Kirby, and while it has phenomenal music, unique bosses, and constantly fresh level design, I still think the NES classic is better. To be specific, the tower in the Great Cave Offensive is frustrating and the whole mode of Milky Way Wishes has generally forgettable stages.
Regardless, I still cannot ignore how well HAL Labs did when remaking this game for the Nintendo DS. Full-blown CGI cutscenes, a whopping 4 new subgames and 3 new touch-based minigames. Each of the new modes feels unique and fresh, and the old modes still feel as good as ever.
Out of all of them, my favorite is Meta-Knightmare, where you play through the entirety of the levels in Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes as Meta Knight, concluding in a fight to the death with Galacta Knight, who not only is the most badass boss in all of Kirby, but comes with a huge initial shock given that very little was changed in terms of level design when converted for Meta-Knightmare.
I know of no other remake that literally doubled in size when remade while not sacrificing quality in the original game or the whole game overall. Kirby Super Star Ultra, despite not being my favorite Kirby, will shine above all other remakes as being the best port of a game ever made.
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