Remakes tend to be more exciting than remasters because the improvements often go beyond mere bumps in resolution or framerate. At best, studios reimagine classic experiences in exciting new ways, sand away rough edges, and somehow retain the intangible x-factors that made fans fall in love with these titles in the first place.
Some part of me feels that could just as easily be one of those mementos of Earth. That's because playing feels like stepping through time, which is neither a comment on the quality of its gameplay or its fidelity, both places in which it is no slouch. Rather, it's a comment on its essence.
Released in 1999, 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X is a sideways shoot-em-up about blasting mechanical space fiends. A competent enough shmup, what established as a cult classic in Japan was its lovingly-crafted send-ups of '70s anime, such as Getter Robo and. An ever escalating robo-opera divided between episodes, with mean robot bosses, increasingly absurd transformations and suffocatingly tight disco speedsuits.
Publisher Konami and developer Bloober Team confirmed Thursday on their social media channels that Silent Hill 2 remake had reached 5 million players. The number doesn't strictly represent unit sales as it includes players accessing the game through subscription services.
Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio recently released a new demo for Yakuza 3 Kiwami, an upcoming remake of the original PS3-era Yakuza 3. And a single alleyway in the demo has become the center of an online debate about whether Yakuza 3 Kiwami is a visual downgrade when compared to the OG game. On January 21, Sega released a demo for Yakuza 3 Kiwami for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC.
When a video game series goes on for a long time, it raises a question for newcomers: Just where is the best place to jump in? In the case of Dragon Quest, there are nearly a dozen mainline titles, not to mention copious spinoffs and ports that span four decades of history. Of late, though, publisher Square Enix has been releasing a number of remakes that serve as almost ideal entry points for beginners who are intimidated by all of that baggage.
Following the initial reveal last September, Nintendo has released a new trailer detailing which Virtual Boy games will be available to Switch Online subscribers starting on February 17th alongside revamped headsets, and which titles will launch later this year. The company also revealed some new features for the games, including the option to change the color of Virtual Boy titles which were notoriously limited to only bright red on the original hardware.
There were lots of good stuff in this week's Convergence Showcase too, including another peek at Mouse: P.I. for Hire as we get to see one of the game's bosses for the first time. This first-person shooter with rubber-hose animation is set to arrive on March 19. There were other welcome announcements for me in this showcase. First, there was a release date for the Zelda-inspired adventure Gecko Gods.
The woods in Reanimal are full of surprises. You will encounter human cadavers that slither like snakes, gigantic talking pigs, and, at one point, a forlorn, supersized whale who seems resigned to an agonizingly slow death. These variously monstrous beings inhabit a realm that, though it looks like our own, seems to defy spatial logic: the forest leads to an oceanic expanse, which segues into a decrepit, towering city. It's like Aesop's Fables meets the nightmare visions of both Lars von Trier and J.G. Ballard.