Month of Characters: Top 10 Heroes I Wish I Were

Sometimes in games, we have power fantasies about the heroes we're playing.  We wish we could be him because he's so cool or we want to be strong like that one...it's escapist entertainment, so this is only normal.  For me though, I kind of respect certain heroes because I enjoy hearing their stories.  I don't want their stories to be my own.  However, other heroes I really wish I could be, just because their lives and their persona really gel with my own.  So, for those interested in power fantasy, here are the top 10 heroes I wish I could be.  Needless to say, there will be spoilers

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Kain (Legacy of Kain Series)

I love Kain.  He's a different kind of vampire who could just as easily be a villain instead of a hero, but his actions are carefully calculated to be of net gain to not only himself, but to the world.  Kain is arrogant, but wisely so.  He has enough power, wisdom, and foresight to allow himself to be a little confident.  What I love most about Kain is how Shakespearean he can be.  He is masterful with his language and very dramatic, using his words to great effect in both his musings and in arguing to justify his actions.  Having lived for thousands of years, he proves his intelligence not just through cunning but through philosophy, as he often waxes on what a king should do, condemn himself to death for the good of the world and in doing so destroy his race, or live, rule an empire in a dying world, and quietly await the end.  Kain believes that while fate may normally be immutable, there is always a better way, having long since set into motion a plan to cheat fate.  Kain is a vampiric messiah as well, being forever at odds with a being who aims to keep the world in an ignorant spiral of death and decay for his own profit.  Kain also never lies.  He can be cruel and wicked at times, as needs demand, but Kain will never go back on his word.  Those who betray him are damned by their own treachery, as Kain is still noble, at his core.  I wish I could be as commanding, confident, and intelligent as Kain.  Only someone truly amazing could aim to cheat fate and have both the courage and the audacity to move forward without hesitation.  Plus, he's a vampire.  That doesn't sparkle.  Bonus.

The Vampire has lived for countless ages.  He can afford arrogance, for it is juxtaposed by his cunning, his strength, and his drive.  Fate is his plaything.

Demi-Fiend (Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne)

The Demi-Fiend is an avatar for the human players in Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne.  He has his own look and powers and what have you, but he is mostly silent and his choices are made by the players.  Get used to those in this list.  So, why did I pick him?  Well, the Demi-Fiend is an amazing character.  He is caught up in the destruction and rebirth of the world and gets trapped in the inbetween world, partway between recreation, where a mysterious child implants a magatama, a demon worm, in him, transforming the normal school boy into a half human, half demon warrior.  His skin is grey and covered in pulsating tattoos and his eyes glow golden.  Only his shape even resembles human anymore.  Along with his new look, the Demi-Fiend is given new powers, such as breathing fire, causing great bursts of wind or ice to appear and the ability to heal and revive his friends.  Speaking of friends, the Demi-Fiend also gains the ability to talk to demons and by bargaining, begging, or threatening them, he can recruit them to fight for him.  This character would be amazing to be, for his insane level of power, quirky demon friends, and all the crazy sights he sees.  The Demi-Fiend travels around a Japan turned upside down by the end of the world, seeing its natural beauty turned horrific and fantastical.  An apartment complex turned into a demon prison?  Check.  A shopping mall inhabited by demons?  Check.  A palace to an unholy demon god?  Double check.  And all along the way the Demi-Fiend is hounded by fiends, monsters hunting him as a way of proving their mettle.  These include the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the whore of Babylon, and the trumpeter, among many others.  Once defeated, they can even serve the Demi-Fiend.  What I love perhaps most about the Demi-Fiend is he personifies choice.  With the world ended, he is given the choice of supporting some differing philosophies of how the world should be reborn, such as a world for each of us, survival of the fittest, or elitism.  Or, he can reject all these reasons and save the old world, recreating it just as it was before the cataclysm.  For all these reasons and more, I would love to be the Demi-Fiend.  Master of demons, who walks between two worlds, the chooser of destiny, he is the wild card planted in the middle of a battle between angels and demons.

The Halfbreed shows true power.  Not through strength or cunning, but through choice.  He holds the power to guide the world into a new age...or free it from its hidden oppressor. 

Dark Souls Hero (Dark Souls)

This is kinda cheating, if you think about it, but I like Dark Souls alot.  The fact that they let you make your own hero shouldn't be any room for its disqualification, because the reason I wish I was a hero in Dark Souls is based more around the world than the character.  First, there is the immortality.  Heroes in Dark Souls are undead and will always be reborn at a bonfire when they die.  While others may go insane, turn hollow, and attack people, as the hero, that will never happen to me.  Plus, I get to wield all sorts of amazing powers, from slinging spell bolts, tossing fireballs, and hurling lightning spears to healing myself, turning invisible, and casting clouds of poison out in front of me.  Perhaps the most attractive thing about Dark Souls though is it makes you feel like a hero.  Players face insurmountable odds, like dragons, gargoyles, giant demons, huge wolves, undead monsters, cursed spider women, etc. and these things can be many times our size.  But, the immortality, coupled with a few tricks discovered through experimentation, means we can inevitably find a way to win.  Nothing inflates your ego more than taking down a giant iron golem even after it's whooped your ass several times.  There are lots of beautiful places to visit and cool weapons to wield in Dark Souls.  It's kind of a fantasy for all of us who wish we could be Stallone or any other action hero.  In Dark Souls, we can be powerful.  It would be a lonely existence, but Dark Souls is a game about personal betterment and striving.  You can find friends if you so desire, but the goal is self improvement and making a choice to either cling to the past or move on to the future, and all the risks that entails.  Being a hero with all that power, all that potential, and immortality?  Sign me up!

The Undead face the world in abject despair, bereft of all hope...yet still they continue onwards.  Cursed with everlasting life, forever bound by pain, they will fell dragons and bring the gods low to find their destiny.

Link (LoZ Twilight Princess)

This might seem sort of like an odd choice, considering that Link is kind of another avatar for players, wears a green skirt, and spends alot of the game cleaning up a giant mess.  But Link is so much more than that, in my opinion.  Link is almost an adult, physically fit and attractive, has his own horse, and is gifted with lots of friends as a support group.  When twilight engulfs the land, rather than becoming a monster or being rendered helpless, he turns into a powerful wolf and meets Midna.  And right there are some huge reasons to want to be Link.  The wolf form is cool, but Midna really sells it.  Snarky and sarcastic, but also tender, helpful, and even vulnerable.  Midna's a friend like you seldom ever get in a Zelda game and I'd love to have a chance to be there for her.  But that aside, you also get a ton of cool tools to play with, from iron boots that magnetize to steel walls, to a skateboard like cog, to a rod which allows you to give life to ancient statues.  Link's amazingly versatile and also a master swordsman.  There's also the beautiful land of Hyrule to explore, with snow mountains for snow boarding, rivers for rafting, farms and mountains for sight seeing, and a bustling castle town, full of fun places to visit, like Agatha's bug palace, the local bar, and even a real life haunted house.  Games abound as well, such as hook shotting around a cage to collect rupees or holding onto a chicken as you use it to glide onto a platform.  Let's not forget that Link also gets to meet amazing people.  How many of you can say that you've sumo wrestled a goron or had hot pumpkin soup with a yeti?  Not many, I can bet.  Link himself is a great guy too, doing everything he can to help out his friends, especially Midna, since her kingdom was taken from her.  Who wouldn't want to be him?  A great world to explore, fun toys to play with, neat people to meet, and the best little side kick ever?  Yes, please!

The Hero never fights alone.  It is for his friends that he fights and it is his friends who give him the strength to battle.  The world is always more fun to explore with company.

Frederick Chopin (Eternal Sonata)

Eternal Sonata was an interesting title for featuring Frederick Francois Chopin in a fantasy dream world, which he created as he lay dying.  And honestly...that's kinda what I love about Frederick.  He knows who he is and where he is, but goes along with the dream anyway, since he has nothing else to do.  He sees amazing sights, meets people, makes friends, and shares his piano music with the world.  And when the time comes, he must fight his friends to give their world substance as he loses his hold on life.  In death, he is able to save one of his friends, Polka, and offer a brilliant epitaph in the form of his piano playing and words that postulate that life is what you make of it, just as a flower can be named for something depressing or something uplifting.  It is all about perception.  Frederick as a character doesn't go through much growth or leave too much of an impression, but I'd love to be him and explore the crazy, musical world he spends his last moments in.  His sacrifice and piano playing are especially moving and often I wish I could see the world as he came to.  Even in death, he found something beautiful worth believing in.  So beautiful, he asked the question, "Which of my worlds is real and which is truly the dream?"

The Dreamer revels in his fantasy.  Though he know the sun will rise and his dream fade, he clings to it...for it is beautiful and more real than any truth he could find in the world we know.

Hero (Dragon Quest 8)

Another hero who you have to give a name to.  I probably am cheating, seeing as a ton of these entries are silent protagonists, but the Hero of Dragon Quest 8 is someone I really wish I could be.  In a world where death basically means going back to the last church you stayed at with half your money, the Dragon Quest universe is just fun.  I'd be strong enough to fight monsters, but I might be too busy laughing as the Hero.  The monsters in this world are so smiley and happy and goofy.  Hero also loves and is loved by a cursed princess, who when cured is a knockout, and Hero frequently makes reliable friends.  He converts a bandit to be his vassal and cures a lecherous knight of his philandering ways...to a degree.  He's kind hearted and honest, loves his friends, his lord, his lady, and his pet mouse.  He's immune to curses of any kind and has supernatural powers...and he's also a dragon.  Did I forget to mention that?  The Hero is a bastard child born of a tryst between a female dragon and a prince.  He holds dragon's blood in his veins and is also a member of royalty.  Is there any reason to not want to be this guy?  Friends, safety, a beautiful world to explore, royalty, cool abilities...the Hero is someone I'd love to be.  And on top of all that, he's a great guy too.

The Knight holds the heart of a dragon and the soul of a saint, forever seeking sanctuary and solace for his lord and lady.  He does so with a smile and without need of thanks, for he is justice itself.

Rudy Roughknight (Wild Arms)

Rudy was one of my first big RPG characters and I loved his soft spoken demeanor, his skill with guns, called ARMS in the series, and how he did what was right, even if it meant that he was going to be ostracized or suffer for it.  It very much felt like Rudy and I were kindred.  Then it turned out Rudy was a cyborg.  So much for that.  Rudy, despite his differences, is beloved by his friends and plays the part of a true wild west gun slinging hero.  Perhaps one of the best scenes for me in the game is where he cuts off his own arm to prevent himself and his friends from being pulled into a death trap.  And this is how he's revealed to be a cyborg.  Rather than being freaked out, his friends pull out all the stops to find someone to help fix him and even the girl who liked him before still cares for him after knowing.  For being so somber and quiet, but so moving, strong, and stoic, I wish I could be Rudy.  I wish I could be a gun slinging hero with my friends close by my side.  Rudy was the outcast who was chased away for his power.  But despite that, he always held hope.  He went back and saved the people who hurt him, showing them what a true hero was, and when the final guardian of the world, the dragon Zephyr, the west wind of hope, was trapped, it was Rudy's artificial heart which saved him.  If I had even a fraction of Rudy's strength and hope, I could rule this world.  But I wouldn't.  Cause Rudy wouldn't.

The Gunslinger is ostracized for his beliefs and feared for his power.  Yet he never loses his pride or his principles.  His aim is sharp, his heart strong, and his spirit as free as the wind.

Adol Christian (Ys Series)

Adol Christian, or Adol the Red as he is sometimes called is quite possibly the ultimate adventurer.  He's saved the world eight times and each time he does, it seems like there's a beautiful maiden waiting for him to settle down and be her beloved.  But each time, Adol continues exploring, looking for new vistas to see and new challenges to face.  And a good thing to, since he's one of the few swordsmen who not only routinely battles gods and monsters seeking to destroy whole countries or the world, but who is also genuinely likable.  Despite being ruggedly attractive, Adol never comes off as a cheat or a player and there's an air of tragedy to his departing those who love him.  But part of his journey is knowing he can always come back to visit.  I'd love to be Adol.  Skilled with both blade and mind, a kind hearted soul, handsome to the point of ridiculousness, has an amazing roster of friends who will always look out for him, and gifted with wanderlust, which guarantees adventures for him for the foreseeable future, Adol Christian is the kind of wandering swordsman we all dreamed we could be since we were kids.  I adore Adol because he does all the things I'd want to do if I could just sling a sword on my back and head towards the horizon.

The Adventurer's greatest weakness is his wanderlust.  Forever seeking new quests and people to save, he is never still and always on the move.  Those he leaves behind mourn for his departure, but the adventure continues...and some day, he shall return.

Hyakkimaru (Blood Will Tell)

This is actually kind of an odd choice, all things considered.  Hyakkimaru has lived a terrible life, with his father selling his organs to demons before he was born.  He would have died as a babe if an advanced herbalist had not healed him, given him a new body, and installed weapons in his limbs to go hunt the demons who took his organs.  Hyakkimaru is the kind of bad ass we all wish we could be.  He's a Japanese samurai, in feudal era Japan, with detachable arms which hide blades, a machinegun in his elbow, a rocket launcher in his leg, and on top of all that, he's a master swordsman in his own right.  He takes down demons every day, some the size of mountains, and doesn't even blink.  What's more, though, is that Hyakkimaru is always experiencing new things.  His life starts out bad, but when he gets his eyes back, he sees the world for the first time.  When he gets his nose or ears, he can hear and smell.  When he gets his vocal cords, he marvels at the sounds he can make.  His life is always getting better.  Coupled with a rapscallion named Dororo who keeps him honest, Hyakkimaru is an interesting twist on the samurai archetype and one I wish I could be.  Also, interesting note, Dororo is actually a girl and full grown by the time the game ends.  What can a world weary samurai and his friend for years, now a full grown woman, do together, I wonder?

The Cripple is born without hope or a future.  His weakness shall become his strength as he plods forward against the tides of destiny.  He shall protect the weak and fight for his lost youth.  He shall be a samurai.

Sora (Kingdom Hearts)

Kingdom Hearts is a whimsical little series, where the magical world of Disney works hand in hand with the grittier, more mature Final Fantasy series.  At the heart of Kingdom Hearts is Sora.  This kid is like an adventurer's dream.  He grew up on a tropical island most of his life with his best friends, sought out adventure in a bigger world, and was gifted with the power to wield the Keyblade, the greatest weapon of all.  He is the bridge between worlds for other characters, a pure hearted, honest youth who's greatest goal is to save his friends, and despite all this, is one helluva fighter.  Whether soaring through space in a gummi ship or exploring the sands of the desert outside of Agrabah, Sora is like all our childhood dreams, fostered by movies and imagination, rolled together.  Partnered with the comedic pair of Donald Duck and Goofy, Sora is prepared for any situation, no matter how grim, because he knows he can count on his allies.  To the point where even if it goes against their mission, Donald and Goofy refuse to abandon their friend.  Sora's also extremely powerful, shown to not only be nimble enough to dodge around large enemies and use their strength and smaller foes to his advantage, but also strong enough to cleave through whole buildings with his Keyblade.  Face it, at one point in life we all wish we could pal around with the Disney gang and later on, gamers often wish they could meet the Final Fantasy crowd.  Sora gets to do all this and more.  To a child of any age seeking adventure, he's a dream come true.

The Keymaster holds the ultimate weapon.  He wields the key to the hearts of worlds.  He unlocks the hearts of his friends.  He restores the hearts of the fallen.  The true power he wields is kindness.

            And these are the power fantasies of a simple gamer.  Many of us wish to visit strange new worlds or take to the road with sword in hand and a song in our heart, but society has changed from the medieval settings or the wild west archetypes we see in movies.  You really can't get anywhere in the world without identification, money, and connections...it's not possible to really go wandering, as these heroes do.  Which is why they're so precious to me and why I'd like to be them.  I've lived my life vicariously through these heroes and would love a chance to see their worlds first hand.  If nothing else, these heroes and their worlds are just fun.  They're worth exploring more than once.  To me, that's the sign of a great game and a great character.  Someone we want to be in a world we can't help but revisit.

Diminutive Diatribes: Encyclopedia Moronica

I'm preparing something special for May and working on my novel at the moment, so free time is a bit sparse.  I will probably have another full post before April is out, until then, please enjoy another diminutive diatribe.

Diminutive Diatribes: Encyclopedia Moronica

            In-game encyclopedias.  They take many forms throughout the game industry, from a journal entry which tells players what's happened up till the present, to a bestiary in an RPG, to dozens of terms which need to be explained, which aren't properly explained in the story, which players need to understand in order to know what the hell is going on.

While sometimes a useful tool, these aren't necessary to play video games.  And they never should be.

            Encyclopedias in games aren't always a bad thing.  Bestiaries can make great tools, alchemy guides can be very useful, and references to controls that you've learned but might have forgotten are essential if you need to put a game down for a long period of time.  However, too often in this day and age, games are using encyclopedias as a crutch.  They think that there's no reason to sit down and explain what's going on or what have you because it's easier to just throw a term out there and let the players do the work themselves to try and understand it.  Or worse, they are repositories of information that is necessary to understand the story, but which the game couldn't bother to tell itself, due to budget problems, disrupting the flow of the game, or just general laziness.

Encyclopedia and tools like them are useful, but they should never be made mandatory.

            Developers, take notice.  If you drop a term like Fal cie, necrology, nethicite, etc. but don't properly explain what it is...then you're just going to confuse and annoy your players.  If this term is important, then don't shove its definition into an encyclopedia in-game.  We have wikis online if we really want to know more about it.  If it's important, explain it to us, the players.  If it's not, then that negates the entire point of including an encyclopedia, because if it's not important, why should we care?  Why should we do YOUR job in trying to figure out what a term means when we paid you for this game?  And if these terms are essential to a story and you just dump them in an encyclopedia and tell us to research on our own, then you, the developer, have failed at storytelling.  You have failed at your job of telling us a story or explaining a concept.  And last I checked, if someone fails to do their job, they get fired.

This look of horror?  Yeah, it's what gamers get when they realize their game has more required reading than their school work.

            Final Fantasy 13 is one of the most disgusting abusers of this principal.  It dumps huge blocks of terms from the game into an itemized list that takes hours to go through, slowing the game to even more of a crawl than it usually is.  Some biographies are included for characters, some with events we have seen and some which happened before the story, so if you want to understand everything then you have to read them all.  And some entries in this encyclopedia CHANGE over time, so you have to re-read them occasionally.  This is just a waste of time.  True, a number of these terms can be ignored, but some, like what a Fal Cie and a Lcie are can cripple the impact of the story if not explained.  The story tries to explain a few of the terms, but often times it leaves the player to discover who and what the gods of the world of Cocoon are and why they matter.  Who are the individual Fal Cie?  What impact do they have on the players or the world?  You'll never know unless you read!  And it is all explained in such a bland, annoying way, with a drab grey menu screen with nothing exciting about it at all.  This is the most moronic way to use an in-game encyclopedia.

Hope you enjoy grey menus and generic fonts.  Cause this datalog(encyclopedia) is going to take you hours to read.  And the reading is required.

            If you want an encyclopedia in a game, if you MUST include it, then take a lesson from Ni No Kuni.  Ni No Kuni's encyclopedia is set up like an ancient wizarding tome, with colorful illustrations, an old timey paper look to it, and above all else, no obligation to read it if you don't want to.  It has a bestiary, an alchemy recipe list, item lists, spell lists, and a world map for reference.  That is the key word.  REFERENCE.  You don't need to look at it to play the game, but perhaps you want to know what skills a monster can use or where to buy an item?  Then you have your encyclopedia.  There are stories included in the book that aren't told anywhere else, such as the source of an eye in the sky which causes a storm or why your companion Mr. Drippy has a lantern in his nose.  However none of them are required reading.  They add to the world, certainly, but you can get by fine without reading them.  These phenomena are explained in-game, while more is there if you want it.  Mr. Drippy is a fairy and has a lantern attached to his nose because...fairies, am I right?  The eye in the sky creates a storm and is controlled by the bad guy, it's ancient magic.  Simple.  Why is the eye in the sky?  Well, you don't need to know, but if you want to, there's a story for it.  That's how to use an encyclopedia in-game.  It follows the logic of older titles like Wild Arms, Ultima 7, and Final Fantasy 6.  There are stories waiting to be found all about the world, told by npcs, hidden in bookcases, or just as side events.  They help add to the world, they help build it, but they aren't required to understand and appreciate the story.  There's two weapons in Final Fantasy 6, both called Atma weapon.  Do I need to know what they are?  Not really.  Can I find out if I want to?  Certainly.  What happened to Blackthorne in the Ultima universe after Ultima 5?  Do I need to know?  Nope.  But if I want to, I can find out.  The remake of Wild Arms for the Playstation 2 even includes an entire novella with interesting characters, plot twists, and high stakes...none of it is connected to the game and you don't need to look at it at all to win the game.  But if you take an interest, it's there for you.

You want to include an encyclopedia?  Make it interesting, make it unique, and most importantly, make it unnecessary.  Ni No Kuni nails this principle.  The Wizard's Companion is gorgeous.

            If you're going to include extra details in a game, be it journal entries, audio logs, letters, or an entire encyclopedia on the world, ask yourself two questions.  1) is it necessary?  If yes, then ask yourself if it flows along with the game or just takes players out of the experience.  If it takes them out of the experience, then you have a problem.  2) Is it enjoyable/fun?  Do these entries add to the world?  Do they make the experience something more?  If not, then why include it at all?  Extra details in a game should add to it, not make it a slog.

Encyclopedia-esque references have been in gaming for decades and aren't going anywhere.  But only in the era of the PS3 and Xbox 360 did they become mandatory.  This beautiful image is from a reference in Chrono Cross for the PS1.  You never had to look at this through the whole game.  But aren't you glad you did?  It's a stunning image.

            On the whole, still not sold on the idea of encyclopedias in games, but I recognize that they can be harmless or at least offer extra details for inquisitive minds.  I prefer those details to be woven into the game world organically, like finding an old man with a legend to share or reading a random book on a book shelf to hear about an ancient and tertiary conflict, but there's no harm in adding extra bits in the form of an encyclopedia entry.  However, they should never, ever be mandatory.  Slowing a game to a crawl because you need to learn about what the hell a bio-static electro gauntlets or a gravity discharge bomb is will only annoy players.  And annoyed players are more likely to avoid or abandon the game.

HD Re-releases, Remakes, and Reimaginings: Quick Cash-ins VS Earnest Effort

            The recent slew of HD re-releases has got me a little upset.  Before I get started though, let me say this.  No, I don't have a problem with ports or re-releases.  I'm not a purist who thinks that games were best on the consoles they were released on.  Re-releases serve a valid purpose in exposing a new audience to old properties and in gathering together games spanning many different consoles and putting them in one easy to use package.  However, what I hate is the blatant cash grabbing, the lack of care brought to bear in the games being re-released, and above all else, laziness.

If a game series can be re-released, companies will re-release it.

            Let me try to explain.  I was a big fan of the Final Fantasy compilations on the Playstation.  Each one either improved the graphics of it's previous incarnation or included a game that had never been released outside of Japan.  Even Final Fantasy Chronicles, which was almost a straight port of Final Fantasy 4 and Chrono Trigger, returned Final Fantasy 4 to its original difficulty and gave Chrono Trigger a boatload of extras for players to unlock, including new cut scenes, musical tracks, and a way of keeping score of how many endings had been unlocked.  With each of these re-releases, there was effort put into the package, as new content or whole new games were released.  What made the originals unique was preserved and at times improved.  Now, compare that to recent fare.

A Final Fantasy re-release before Square started handing those out like tissue paper.  It actually offered a more difficult experience and a number of extras for both games.

            The Silent Hill HD collection gathered only two games together.  Two games from the same console generation.  Two games which were originally already backwards compatible with the Playstation 3 before that was removed due to corporate greed.  But, how were the remakes?  Atrocious.  The games worked fine in their original states, but the "HD improvements" introduced a ton of graphical and audio glitches, removed some of the atmosphere that the originals had created, and required patches from day one for decade old games.  My simple question has to be, if I could still find Silent Hill 2-4 in stores as of 2012, why did this even need to exist?  It was far poorer quality and did not gather any of the more wayward games, like Silent Hill: Origins from the PSP or the original Silent Hill from the Playstation.

An HDcollection released in 2012 botched so badly that it looks laughable compared to the original release over a decade earlier.

            Once again, compare that to a good collection.  The Mega Man Anniversary Ccollection on the Playstation 2 gathered over eight Mega Man games together, spanning three console generations, with some that were never released outside of Japan.  The games had no errors, played just as faithfully as they did on their home consoles, and were preserved graphically.  This kind of collection is what I love.  Something like the Devil May Cry Collection which only gathers three games from the same console generation...yeah, I can let that slide since it was an entire series at the time, but my question still remains.  If you won't add anything extra, won't gather together games from far apart, and can, in fact, make the properties poorer for it, why are you even re-releasing these games?  The simple answer is money.  Companies bank on nostalgia and word of mouth from older games to sell these re-releases which are relatively inexpensive to make compared to creating a whole new AAA game, and continually churn them out.  Look, I get it.  Companies need money to survive and I've already said before, use it or lose it when it comes to IP.  I'm still waiting for a Breath of Fire or Suikoden Collection.  But honestly, I think that we give collections a bit too much of a free pass.  Especially compared to remakes or reimaginings.

This is how a collection or re-release should be.  Check the box art.  10 games on 1 disc.

            That brings me to my second point in this discussion.  Remakes and reimaginings.  Often, they requires a thousand times the work of re-releasing a compilation set, but because they deviate from the previous game, they get a lot of flak.  Examples of this are the Wild Arms remake, Wild Arms: Alter Code F, the Lufia 2 remake, Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, the remake of the original Silent Hill.  Now, the big difference between a remake or a reimagining and an HD re-release is this.  A re-release may touch up the graphics or add extras and Easter eggs , but it doesn't change the game.  Sometimes, this can be for the best, as some games are classic.  However, too often, I think that gamers don't appreciate the sheer audacity and courage it takes to make changes to these properties, which are considered almost sacred by their fans.

Wild Arms, the original

Wild Arms remake.  Can you see the effort?

            The three games I just mentioned drastically altered how their respective games were played while still keeping true to the spirit of the original.  And this, I think, is the whole point.  Trying something new with a property while being faithful to fans in their own way or fixing what was broken with the property to begin with.  Ben "Yahtzee"Croshaw, from Zero Punctuation on the Escapist, put it best when he described Silent Hill: Shattered Memories as, "This is everything a reboot should be.  Something not afraid to fix shit that didn't work."

            Going in a different direction from the original with a remake is not necessarily a bad thing.  New story bits, a fresh take on game design, or just fixing problems that were in the original allows gamers to experience something more polished as well while giving the game a new coat of paint.  These design choices take effort and courage, as even slight deviations can be seen as betrayals.  One major point of contention in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was the lack of ability to defend oneself or the fact that enemies only appeared in certain sections of the game.  True, this may have deviated from the atmosphere of dread and constant danger that the original espoused, but it also allowed for a tighter, more focused psychological narrative.

Say what you want about the game changes to Silent Hill Shattered Memories, at least it made the effort to try something new.

            Of course, one doesn't have to rock the boat all that much to make a remake work.  The Dragon Quest games on the Nintendo DS are ports of their NES and SNES counterparts, only with better graphics.  However, a number of nagging issues have been addressed.  There is no longer a need to shut down the system while saving, there was additional content added to the games to help iron out story bits, and there is a better translation of the dialogue.  This is how a faithful remake can be done safely.  Keeping what fans know, I.E. the characters, story, and game design, while ironing out problems in the originals.

Dragon Quest 5 before remake

Dragon Quest 5 after remake.  It's the same game, just prettier and more polished.  As it should be.

            Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrels does the exact opposite.  It greatly alters the aesthetic, gameplay, puzzles, and changes the story somewhat, but manages to keep the characters, the villains and the overall feel of the game consistent with the original.  This allows gamers who have played the original to enjoy something new and fresh, while allowing easier access to the world of Lufia for fans who didn't get a chance to play the original.  It would have been simplicity to keep the same translation, same game design, and even the basic look of the game, making it just a straight port, but Neverland, the developers, decided to take a risk and offer the same familiar characters gamers loved in a fresh new adventure.  That took courage for the decision and a ton of effort, as the entire game was redesigned from scratch.

Lufia 2 in its original form

Lufia 2 remake.  It's like night and day.  A straight up RPG vs an action RPG.  Imagine the risk Neverland took in remaking this game.  That took courage.

            The point I am trying to make here is the difference between the worthwhile and the mundane.  I want gamers to understand the difference between earnest effort and a cheap cash in.  I give plenty of praise to remakes, but honestly, I love collections.  The Sega Genesis Collections on the PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360 have some of my favorite games of all times on them.  I got to play Megaman 5 and 6 for the first time with the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.  And the Capcom Classic Collections included some amazing old gems I'd never get a chance to play anywhere else.  But here's the thing.  Those collections had a large number of full games together at once, with additional functionality, Easter eggs, and secrets to unlock.  The Mega Man collection had about 10 games, some of which were unlockable.  The Capcom Classics Collections had over thirty games a piece, with trivia for each.  Even the Devil May Cry Collection gathered at least all three games in the series up to that point with the added content of Devil May Cry 3's Special Edition.  But look at recent releases.  Zone of the Enders, while great, has only two games on it and a demo of the new Metal Gear Solid.  Ico Collection, two games.  Silent Hill Collection, two games.  There were two God of War Collections, each with only two games.  Infamous collection, two games and a DLC code.  This is lazy.  The Infamous collection in particular offends me since there is no point to it.  Both games are still easy to find in stores and both can be bought online on the PSN.  It's a cash grab and a thinly veiled one at that.  If you're going to re-release, make it worth the player's wild.  The most recent God of War Collection, God of War Saga, includes all five games in the series, remastered.  That's five games from three different consoles.  Game companies KNOW how to re-release games.  They are merely seeing how cheap they can go and still make money.

Did we really need this remake?  The extra episode was released as DLC and doesn't even come on the disc.

            Now, look at the reimaginings or remakes released in recent years.  The most recent as of this date is DMC, which tries to reboot Devil May Cry.  While I don't much care for the tone, the combat is smooth and polished, the controls are acrobatic and make the player feel powerful, and it has multiple options for play.  Yet many fans still cry foul over it, to the point where they petitioned the government to have it banned.  I can understand being offended if a remake betrays the conventions of the original and I'm kind of in the camp that DMC's story does, but...it's a game.  It's meant to be fun.  If the effort was put in to make it enjoyable, then don't just shove it aside for a crappy re-release just because you disagree with minor bits.

Look, I hate the new Dante too, but c'mon...give the game credit.  This looks bad ass.

            Another one is the Final Fantasy 4 collection on the PSP.  This graphically enhances Final Fantasy 4, the somewhat panned Final Fantasy 4: After Years, and adds in a new scenario to bridge the games.  Whatever your opinion is on the near constant re-releasing and porting of Final Fantasy 4, give credit where credit is due.  The game's graphics are painstakingly gorgeous, with better sound, additional scenarios, and all the gameplay features of the original.

            Can you see what I am saying?  The game industry banks on nostalgia to make money.  They know it will.  However, if you KNOW something is going to sell, why bother to improve it?  That is the logic I see them working by, especially with re-releases like the Silent Hill collection.  My plea to gamers and the industry is this.  Recognize laziness or ineptitude and refrain from supporting it.  Either the industry will step up its game with these re-releases or they will stop abusing their properties and provide better experiences with their new games.  The truth is, players have the game industry by the short hairs.  If they refuse to buy a game, then they dictate with their money that ineptitude, laziness, and cash grabs will not fly and the industry will have to improve or it will crash again.

Can we not encourage the haphazard re-releasing?  These games weren't even half a decade old when this came out.

And a few years later we get ANOTHER re-release, with all the games on it.  This is what a God of War Collection SHOULD have been to begin with.

            Also, recognize effort.  Gamers, put aside your pride over a series you love and learn to love a remake for what it is.  It's a game and it's meant to have fun.  If it's poorly designed, then don't buy it, don't support it, but if it is good, just different from what you've expected, then don't try to destroy it out of some puritanical loyalty to the original.  The original was already made.  Give credit where credit is due to the new property.

            There is nothing wrong with nostalgia in gaming.  Often, the past is both enjoyable and can educate.  Collections, remakes, and reimaginings are our doorway to the past.  But take off your rose tinted glasses and recognize that sometimes you should demand better.  Just because something claims to be a re-release or an improvement does not automatically make it better.  Be informed and if the product is shoddy, don't support it.  So long as we remember the games we love, companies will continue to try and make money off them.  There will always  be another re-release.