Today, I saw a fan-made teaser for The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask completely remastered in HD. After Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference left me wanting more, of course I turned to my digital soapbox to share my dread. Little did I know, a comment from our good friend, Devon, was about to evolve into a great little discussion about the validity of such remakes. Take notes, this is how to have a thoughtful discussion on the internet:

Javi: Why didn’t Nintendo have something like this ready? Just a trailer like this would’ve made EVERYONE lose their shit.

Devon: Except for me, because I wouldn’t lose my shit over a remake of a game that we’ve already played.

Javi: Das cool, I guess.

Devon:  I would just hope that, although maybe we should lower expectations because we’re talking about Nintendo here, we could hope for something a little bit more than a creatively bankrupt remake.

Javi:  “Creatively bankrupt” is a little extreme if they were to make a remake like that trailer. To reach that level of quality you have to push the developers to a point Nintendo has never come close to visually. That means artists, modelers, etc.

Devon:  Its taking a lot of effort does not automatically mean it’s creative. I’m talking the kind of creative that means they stop mining past releases and old characters for their games. When was the last big IP risk Nintendo took? Pikmin? 2001.

Javi:  In this case, the effort needed is linked to the creativity of the designers. You can’t just copy/paste the N64 assets and pretty them up. Everything in the game would have to be made from scratch, most likely by a new generation of artists with their own interpretation of what Majora’s Mask would look like today. While the source material wasn’t their creation, the remake would be filled with their own ideas. A lot is left to the imagination when you are translating something that simple. Their creativity fills those gaps. At least visually, saying that a remake with that much work behind it is”creatively bankrupt” is bullshit, and almost spits on the people who made this fake trailer’s work.

Remakes get shit on in all mediums, and I think it’s a little too easy to brush them off as lazy or not worth anyone’s time. Even in film, The Grudge is clearly a better movie than Ju On even though it’s the same film. The only difference is the production value and budget which made it look and sound better. There’s nothing wrong with taking a great idea and polishing it up, whether it’s a movie or any other form of entertainment.

A new IP is definitely long overdue, but that doesn’t mean sequels should be scoffed at as nothing new. Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy, were different enough from each other that they could have been IPs of their own with a little re-branding.

P.S.
I’m totally not mad. ♥ u Devon 🙂
Just defending something I feel strongly about.

Devon:  No, I like your argument. I think you have a valid perspective here. I think that there is a validity to releasing an HD remake of this caliber, especially with an under appreciated game like Majora’s Mask. I just wish that there was more to look forward to from this company than that kind of stuff. In a perfect world, we would see refresher games like this released alongside more bold new IPs. But right now…neither. Dissapointing.

Javi:  Word.

And there you have it! I know it’s a little strange to make an entire post out of a silly Facebook thread, but I feel like healthy back and forth discussions like this are hard to come by in this industry and I wanted to share it with you.  Of course, Gabe had different feelings about it.

“Totally Unpaid Intern” Gabe:  No, Devon. That’s not how it’s done. You’re supposed to call Javi a “fanboy” and piss on his ancestors. Have I taught you nothing?

How about you guys? Are remakes a mistake? Plead your case below!