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Original VS Remake: Final Fantasy IV

Archive — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 22:09:00 +0000

With the unexpected rise in the number of HD re-releases and remakes of certain games, it got me thinking about one of my favorite games for the SNES and how many re-releases and enhanced ports it had over the years. The game I'm referring to is Final Fantasy IV, one of the better games in the series. One particular remastering of it especially stood out due to how much effort was put into it, so I'll point out the differences from the original release on the SNES and its updated remake on the Nintendo DS and see which one is better worth your hard earned cash.

Graphics

When the game was first released on the SNES back in 1991, it was considered quite the step up from the previous Final Fantasy game(s) released on the NES a year (or so) prior. It had a great art style that really set the tone for how the game was going to play, how the story would play out, and the overall feel and color of the environments that you would traverse. It was quite impressive for a 16-bit game that could only display around 256 colors at a time.

Now the DS version released in late 2007 was much different as it has fully polygonal characters, enemies, and environments which made everything feel much more alive and vibrant. Plus it allowed for much more detailed character animation which was shown quite prominently from the game's many dancers scattered around the world's many towns and kingdoms (I'm quite partial to the City of Troia myself). Overall, the DS version a much better visual treat than the SNES version.

Music

If Final Fantasy's spinoff series Theatrhythm has shown anything, then the music is just as iconic as everything else in the game. The music in the SNES version is especially good, ranging from atmospheric, to intense, to melancholy and even climactic. It certainly does its job considering the hardware limitations imposed by the console's specifications.

The DS version however is honestly not much different. Aside from having some slightly better audio files for the game's midi tracks, the music is virtually identical. There are a couple of songs in the game where the music is noticeably higher quality than its SNES counterpart (Most noticeably Fabul Castle) which is I guess a pretty nice bonus if you happen to remember what the orginal sounded like. All in all, I'd say the DS version wins this category, but not by much.

Translation

Because of the SNES's strict hardware limitations, some corners were cut when this Japanese RPG was translated into English. As such, many lines of dialog had to be simplified, changed or even censored before it was released for a western audience. One such censored line was, "You spoony bard!" which was spoken by the sage, Tellah when he was trying to kill the bard, Edward. This line had reached an unusually high amount of fan support and had survived even into the many remakes of the game.

Now because the DS had a much more memory, a more accurate and faithful translation of the original story could be used in the game allowing for a much better understanding of the plot which was also accompanied by cut-scenes with stellar voice acting. In addition to this, more of the story that had been left on the cutting room floor during the SNES version's development period was able to be re-added allowing for even more back story to be told on the game's antagonist, Golbez. Gonna have to give the scoring point to the DS version here.

Gameplay

As with most Final Fantasy games, gameplay is mostly just customization, strategizing your attacks and memorizing how certain enemies react to certain actions. However, when the game was released in other territories for the first time, the difficulty was dumbed down to make it more accessible for American and European audiences. Many items and pieces of equipment were boosted in strength and several enemies had their power cut so they would be easier to defeat. It worked, but it also made the strategy kind of dull and uninspired.

Now if you want a REAL challenge, the DS version is where it's at. The enemies are much more threatening and items and characters can actually be customized further to better suit your needs. The boss battles are also require much more thought involved as well as many of them either counter half of what you throw at them, or they they are immune to everything else. Also, exclusive to the DS version are special side missions with Namingway, and a special little Eidolon that you can also customize and have fight in place of your summoner, Rydia. This Eidolon can be trained to become stronger through minigames that are played with the touch screen and can also be used in a special one-on-one battle mode with another player a la Pokemon. The DS version is definitely the way to go here.

Overall

The DS version is hands down the winner of this contest. It just has so much more to offer than the original and it really shows. While the SNES version has a special place in my heart, it just can't hold a candle to this exceptionally well made remake. Plus, since it is a DS game, it can be played on 3DS systems without any problem. Don't have a 3DS either? Well there is also a PC version available that is basically the same version as the DS one, minus the special Eidolon and the associated minigames. Not really a big loss, but I like to have my games with as much content as possible. Maybe you do too, who knows? But until then, I'll see you next time.

SNES Score:

DS Score:

System Shock (1994) vs System Shock (Remake)

Archive — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 09:23:00 +0000

System Shock fans haven't been this fortunate since 1999. Not only did we get the announcement of the long awaited sequel to System Shock 2, but we also get a chance to see a complete re-imagining of the 1994 cult classic, System Shock. On June 28th, Night Dive Studios launched a Kickstarter to help fund the System Shock remake. In a move that was nothing short of genius, Night Dive Studios released a Pre-Alpha Demo on Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle as a proof of concept to both Kickstarter backers and potential backers. The Pre-Alpha demo showcased the opening areas of System Shock completely remade from the ground up in Unity with new and improved gameplay mechanics. Here are a few comparison screenshots of the 1994 classic and the Pre-Alpha demo. And, of course, everything represented in the remake demo is subject to change.

Not only does the remake seem to be incredibly faithful to its source material, but it's also downright impressive just how far Night Dive Studios pushed Unity graphically. The System Shock remake also has the support of industry veterans such as Warren Spector (Deus Ex, Thief: The Dark Project), Paul Neurath (Thief II: The Metal Age, System Shock 2), and Brian Fargo (Fallout, Wasteland 2). Night Dive Studios have also contracted Chris Avellone (Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II) to help better translate the narrative of System Shock for the modern industry. If all that wasn't enough for you, Night Dive Studios have also employed Robb Waters, the original concept artist for System Shock (1994) and the BioShock series, to re-imagine his own work from 22 years ago.

If you are interested in trying this re-imagining of System Shock for yourself, you can download the Pre-Alpha demo for free from Steam, GOG, or Humble Bundle. If you are interested in checking out the Kickstarter campaign, or even backing it, it can be found here.

Review: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Archive — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 11:47:00 +0000

Being a product of the 90's I had very few options when it came to video games, and being poor did not help matters. As such if I was lucky, I could really only go for the cheapest gaming system and games on the market at the time. Case in point: the PlayStation 1 was the very first gaming console that I bought with my own money, which in and of itself was quite the accomplishment for nine-year-old me. You'd think that being the Nintendo fanboy that I am I would've gone for the Nintendo 64, but no; I was seduced by the high quality audio and CD medium. It was well worth it though; because of that small break away from my comfort zone I became familiar with one of my favorite non-Mario platforming games: Crash Bandicoot, so you can imagine that the recent remake known as the N. Sane Trilogy was a day one purchase for me. But as much I was excited for the first three games being remade, did Vicarious Visions do the originals justice?

Now each one of the first three Crash Bandicoot games are a very specific type of platforming game that I like to call "Tunnel Platformers," because they're basically what would happen if you placed the field of view behind the player's avatar instead of to the side of it (like in Super Mario Bros); This was partly what made Crash Bandicoot so unique. The other part were the numerous and humorous death animations. Luckily these gameplay focuses remain wholly intact, but with a new coat of paint and some minor tweaks and alterations were made here and there to bring the earlier games (1 & 2) closer in style to the later entries (2 & 3 respectively). With the exception of colored gems, you no longer have to do a perfect run of a stage in Crash 1 to get the level's gem. Also in Crash 1, bonus rounds don't permanently vanish after they're completed. In Crash 2, after you unlock your first secret stage entrance you can access it whenever you want by going to the warp room's basement. And finally, all games allow you to do time trials (with online leaderboards) and let you play as Crash's younger sister Coco (after you beat the first boss).

Now all of these additions are very nice indeed, but because this a full-on remake (from the ground up no less) and not a remastering like what the trend has become nowadays, there are bound to be a few things here and there that aren't exactly how they were in the originals. For instance: Crash's crawling speed is slightly reduced, there is a bit of control lag when getting from a standing pose into a crouch after walking or jumping, the ice physics are a bit slipperier than I remember, and Crash's hitbox is tiny bit bigger than what it used to be which makes getting past fire traps all the more difficult. All in all the problems that were fixed causes some new problems to arise thus keeping the games' difficulty around the same as what it used to be.

All in all my time with the game was a lucrative experience. It's not a perfect 1-to-1 recreation of the classic games, but this collection is a damn fine attempt. The gameplay physics are more or less exactly the same as I remember them, the new voice actors do a pretty good job at replicating the feel of the original characters' VA's with some even going above and beyond for selling the role they played, and the new features that were added to Crash 1 and 2 are a great way to breathe life back into a couple of games that were likely played to death. One could even say that this is the Super Mario All-Stars of the Crash Bandicoot franchise. All we need now is a classic Spyro the Dragon trilogy remake, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score