Games with multiple remakes
Today I learned that the industry really likes Tetris.
I'm not too heavily invested in the semantics so as a general rule of thumb, I will just list games here that are specifically listed by IGDB as being a "remake" of the original with some exceptions from other sources (unless someone wants to convince me in the comments that a game not fitting the above criteria should work, I'll hear you out). Also feel free to correct me if any listing within the notes isn't actually a remake.
I'll try to list every remake that I can find in the notes of each listing. Let me know if I'm missing any, and suggestions welcome for more entries!
I'm not too heavily invested in the semantics so as a general rule of thumb, I will just list games here that are specifically listed by IGDB as being a "remake" of the original with some exceptions from other sources (unless someone wants to convince me in the comments that a game not fitting the above criteria should work, I'll hear you out). Also feel free to correct me if any listing within the notes isn't actually a remake.
I'll try to list every remake that I can find in the notes of each listing. Let me know if I'm missing any, and suggestions welcome for more entries!
46 Games
33 Comments
Ghosts n' Goblins (Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins and Ghosts n' Goblins Resurrection)
Double Dragon (Double Dragon Advance, iOS Double Dragon, and Double Dragon Zeebo)
Broken Sword/Circle of Blood (The Director's Cut and the upcoming Reforged remake)
Persona 3 (Portable and the upcoming Reload remake)
Double Dragon (Double Dragon Advance, iOS Double Dragon, and Double Dragon Zeebo)
Broken Sword/Circle of Blood (The Director's Cut and the upcoming Reforged remake)
Persona 3 (Portable and the upcoming Reload remake)
@Pangburn @ZapRowsdower Thanks guys, added all the suggestions so far. Something tells me a lot more JRPGs are going to be added to the list soon...
We need an Ys expert in here to break that mess down for us
At the risk of coming across like this Ghosts 'n' Goblins Resurrection isn't actually a remake, it's a wholly original game that just draws heavy inspiration from the first game. Its subtitle isn't inappopriate considering it's a franchise revival, but I have noticed it causes a bit of confusion about this.
@ProudLittleSeal I'll take it off, thanks for the clarification.
metroid II, if you count unofficial remakes (which does make the criteria suddenly pretty broad so i wouldn't blame you for not counting it), but AM2R has been accepted by much of the metroid community as a way to experience the game
Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song Remastered (2022) is a remaster of
Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song (2005) is a remake of
Romancing Saga (1992)
Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song (2005) is a remake of
Romancing Saga (1992)
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil noticed you're counting some remasters
Resident Evil in the future
Resident Evil noticed you're counting some remasters
Resident Evil in the future
@theia Yeah just like you said, I think counting unofficial remakes would make the criteria pretty broad so for the purposes of simplicity, I'll keep the entries just to official remakes (which is also why I'm not including any bootlegs or leaks of cancelled remakes). I'd agree on AM2R as a great way to experience the game!
@rentheunclean: I think including remasters of remakes wouldn't quite fit the criteria of the list (which is why Resident Evil isn't here either), so I'll opt not to include Romancing Saga for the time being. I'm told that one of the versions of Final Fantasy VI included on here is a remake (and not just a remaster) of VI Advance which is why it's there on a sort of technicality, though again I could be convinced to remove that by someone who's more in-the-know of how the FF 6 versions work. Thanks for the suggestion nonetheless!
@rentheunclean: I think including remasters of remakes wouldn't quite fit the criteria of the list (which is why Resident Evil isn't here either), so I'll opt not to include Romancing Saga for the time being. I'm told that one of the versions of Final Fantasy VI included on here is a remake (and not just a remaster) of VI Advance which is why it's there on a sort of technicality, though again I could be convinced to remove that by someone who's more in-the-know of how the FF 6 versions work. Thanks for the suggestion nonetheless!
@Retro: It's strange isn't it? Wikipedia brings up that all those different versions of the FF games are remakes, and the IGDB descriptions themselves call those versions remake, even though the IGDB system lists them as remasters! But yeah, that's pretty much why Resident Evil and RE4 aren't on the list, though if someone more knowledgeable than I can elaborate upon the different versions of FF and we decide they're not remakes, I don't mind removing them from the list.
There are like a million generational updates of the same Carmen Sandiego games a la Oregon trail, not sure how/if you want to count that
@DJSCheddar Oregon Trail has a bunch of listings on IGDB that are listed as straight remakes, so I'd say that one is accounted for. I did look more into Carmen Sandiego, and funny enough I think it just barely fits the bill on the list thanks to the recent exactly titled game on Steam from 2020 and the 2011 remake on Facebook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_in_the_World_Is_Carmen_Sandiego%3F_(2011_video_game) ), so good call on that!
Could you count parappa 1 or is the PSP port not different enough to be a remake as well as the PS4 remake being an enhanced port of the PSP version i think
not sure why they did that tbh
not sure why they did that tbh
also hyperdimension neptunia 1 has been remade 3 times for some ungodly reason
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 (THPS2X, THPS HD, THPS1+2, and more arguably, the GBA THPS2)
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (Wii, Phantasy Reverie)
Cave Story (3D, Cave Story+)
GoldenEye 007 (Wii/Reloaded, XBLA)
There's a bunch of old arcade games with murky "remake" status. I don't know if things like Space Invaders DX and Pac-Man Arrangement would qualify as remakes or sequels, given the low bar for what qualified as a sequel in the early 80s. There's a bunch of those in different arcade compilations, not to mention the multiple home and handheld conversions.
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (Wii, Phantasy Reverie)
Cave Story (3D, Cave Story+)
GoldenEye 007 (Wii/Reloaded, XBLA)
There's a bunch of old arcade games with murky "remake" status. I don't know if things like Space Invaders DX and Pac-Man Arrangement would qualify as remakes or sequels, given the low bar for what qualified as a sequel in the early 80s. There's a bunch of those in different arcade compilations, not to mention the multiple home and handheld conversions.
King's Quest has a remake for the Master System with its own engine and interface (1989), a 1990 remake on the SCI engine and a 2001 fan remake.
Depending how you count it, the 1987 DOS version is a remake of the original 1984 IBM PCjr version.
Depending how you count it, the 1987 DOS version is a remake of the original 1984 IBM PCjr version.
@jtduckman: Looks like Parappa on PSP is marked as a remake according to the description but the PS4 version is marked as a straight remaster, so it's a bit confusing and I'm going to leave it off for now. I did add the other game, thanks.
@87th: The GBA Tony Hawk is marked as a port (since most console games of this time often had very different handheld versions), so I'll leave that off for now. I'll also leave off Goldeneye since every description I've read for XBLA's leaked version appears to characterize it as a port/remaster. I couldn't find enough "remakes" for Space Invaders outside of DX, but apparently there are two different games titled Pac-Man Arrangement (both listed as remakes) and Championship Edition is also marked as a remake, so I'll put it up in the meanwhile. And yeah, these old arcade games get pretty nebulous with the definitions; I recall running into a similar issue when looking up different Galaga versions.
@lpslucasps: I just added King's Quest, thanks. For some reason, the 1989 remake on Master System is listed as one of the versions on the original game (1984)'s page. Strange.
@87th: The GBA Tony Hawk is marked as a port (since most console games of this time often had very different handheld versions), so I'll leave that off for now. I'll also leave off Goldeneye since every description I've read for XBLA's leaked version appears to characterize it as a port/remaster. I couldn't find enough "remakes" for Space Invaders outside of DX, but apparently there are two different games titled Pac-Man Arrangement (both listed as remakes) and Championship Edition is also marked as a remake, so I'll put it up in the meanwhile. And yeah, these old arcade games get pretty nebulous with the definitions; I recall running into a similar issue when looking up different Galaga versions.
@lpslucasps: I just added King's Quest, thanks. For some reason, the 1989 remake on Master System is listed as one of the versions on the original game (1984)'s page. Strange.
Only slightly related, but just the other day I was thinking about how weird it is that Super Mario Bros. has only ever been remade once, as part of the All-Stars collection on SNES. Don't you think they'd want to remake that game more often? Dress it up in that New Sup style, or now like Wonder? It's ported all the time but never remade. Just feels strange to me.
I understand the PS4 PaRappa is straight up running the PSP version on the same emulator they use for other PSP games on PS4/5, but the visual filters complemented PaRappa more than most, and they saw it as a way to gauge interest in the series. Kind of shady, and it doesn't appear to have paid off.
@DJSCheddar: I'm gonna guess that the 1996 version you listed isn't on IGDB as a separate entry. They must have thrown in the release console with all the other release consoles on the 1985 game page. I'll chuck in a note of the 1996 version as a bonus and take the database's word that the expanded edition is merely just that and not a full remake for now...
@Funbil I actually never considered that but you're right, there are more reimaginings/remakes for Starfox than there are for the original Super Mario Bros. I wonder why.
@87th Yeah I'm inclined to agree that there's a kind of charm to the old 1996 presentation that's lost in the 4K versions. A shame that we might not hear anything from the franchise for years to come.
@Funbil I actually never considered that but you're right, there are more reimaginings/remakes for Starfox than there are for the original Super Mario Bros. I wonder why.
@87th Yeah I'm inclined to agree that there's a kind of charm to the old 1996 presentation that's lost in the 4K versions. A shame that we might not hear anything from the franchise for years to come.
Real Sandiegoheads know that the best one is the 1994 upgraded CD-ROM re-release of the 1992 remake (formerly called "Deluxe", but that was dropped for the revisions) because it had voice acting and better graphics but preceeded the game show so wasn't beholden to those dated aesthetics yet
Link's Awakening got a color remake in Link's Awakening DX, then a total remake and do-over with the 2019 game for the switch. I don't know if the color version of Link's Awakening is enough to be considered a remake, but it's up to you.
Another obscure one is Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom: The original game was for the PC-88 and MSX, it then had two pretty different remakes (the NES version under the same name, as well as a graphically modernized mobile version) source: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/princess-tomato-in-the-salad-kingdom/
@DizzySkullKid19 I'm going to err on the side of caution and leave Link's Awakening off for now, since it seems like everyone else characterizes DX as an expansion with the extra dungeon + color graphics. Good pull on Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom though, IGDB doesn't seem to have the mobile remake listed, nor does it seem to have a page for the original 1984 release for Famicom/NES. I'll make a note of that in the entry.
@Drax I did notice the same thing about the PC-88/MSX, etc. release not being listed on IGBD, maybe I can change that. I had no idea that a mobile release even existed because that was the only article I could find about it.
@DizzySkullKid19 Don't bother, I tried adding the original PC-88 version and it got rejected with no way for me to appeal. :P
@qbbyamiibo Dang, I have no idea why they would reject it, especially if it's the rare original game and has boxart? That kind of stinks. Thanks for the heads up, though.
@qbbyamiibo What reasoning did they give you? I think editing the main Salad Kingdom entry is the safer bet, but I'd like to at least try and pitch the PC versions via a separate submission first.
Pangburn
3 months ago