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What's a remake and what's a remaster?

mαrkαsscoρ

Mr. SidleInYourDMs
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American Wasteland
I've been thinking of this a lot lately (since you know...same games keep coming out), but what exactly is the difference between a remake and a remaster?

Initially I thought a remake was something like Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snake, where they pretty much redid everything about the original game to where it's like a different experience, even though its the same game.
Then with something like Twilight Princess HD where it seems more akin to a remaster, people are still calling it a remake. Were the recent redone Zelda games really remakes or could they be considered remasters? I'm sure Pokemon ORAS falls into remakes but what about something like Star Fox 64 3d? If the only difference is a visual upgrade, is that really enough to call it a remake? Even if it plays and feels exactly the same?
 
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So as far as remakes go, I think of games that are completely redone. Not just in graphics or engine, but in gameplay. As I said in the other thread, a good example is Tomb Raider Anniversary. The core game is the same, but the gameplay was completely redone, cutscenes and dialogue were added, the puzzles were replaced with newer ones, etc.

None of the Zelda games have been given this treatment. Every remaster or port that Nintendo has done or commissioned has kept the gameplay and story exactly the same, changes to dialogue were absolutely minimal, while significantly upgrading the graphics. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask had a TINY bit of extra content, whereas Wind Waker HD actually removed a small amount of content.

I can't imagine that the new Twilight Princess game will add much in terms of content, but I'd love to play it with cleaned up graphics. I played it again last spring, and while I still love it as a game, the Wii did some rather cheap things for transparencies that really stick out on newer, bigger TVs. (Dithering, for example.)
 
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I'd say the Zelda remakes over the past few years would qualify as such because they've enhanced the gameplay mechanics. TPHD will no doubt incorporate the game pad in a similar way to WWHD, in which case I'll consider it a remake. That being said I was never really on board for a Twilight Princess remake, but I'm sure I'll end up getting it anyway; it'll be nice to be able to play it on the Wii U.
 
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The way I see it, a remake gives a complete overhaul in a game's visuals as well as gameplay improvements and extra content. Just changing the control scheme to fit a new controller (like the gyro aiming on WWHD) doesn't count as a remake for me. Something that drastically improved the graphics and/or added content (like OoT 3D and MM3D) would count as remakes in my eyes.
 
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So as far as remakes go, I think of games that are completely redone. Not just in graphics or engine, but in gameplay. As I said in the other thread, a good example is Tomb Raider Anniversary. The core game is the same, but the gameplay was completely redone, cutscenes and dialogue were added, the puzzles were replaced with newer ones, etc.

None of the Zelda games have been given this treatment. Every remaster or port that Nintendo has done or commissioned has kept the gameplay and story exactly the same, changes to dialogue were absolutely minimal, while significantly upgrading the graphics. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask had a TINY bit of extra content, whereas Wind Waker HD actually removed a small amount of content.

I can't imagine that the new Twilight Princess game will add much in terms of content, but I'd love to play it with cleaned up graphics. I played it again last spring, and while I still love it as a game, the Wii did some rather cheap things for transparencies that really stick out on newer, bigger TVs. (Dithering, for example.)
This is exactly what I was about to say really. +1
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
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A reboot creates a new canon and does a new and fresh take on a series. E.g Tomb Raider

A remake I would say would take an old game, refine the gameplay if necessary, add new gameplay elements, cutscenes, story. It will add new character models if required and update the graphics to modern standards. E.g Halo 2 Anniversary, Gears of War 2015

A remaster cleans up the old game, makes minimal changes to the gameplay, it does not generally replace any character models or increase polygons. E.g Resident evil HD Remaster
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
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The terms remake and remaster are interchangeable to me. Basically, if it's a new release of a game that's been released previously, then I call it a remake no matter what kind of remake it is. Unless it's something like Hyrule Warriors Legends That is a spin-off. (a spin-off of a spin-off)
 

2MooglesGaming

More fun than a bag of Kupo Nuts!
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We've actually talked about this a bit before, and we look at remake as keeping the same characters and story intact and updating the graphics and some mechanics to keep with current computing power. A remaster is much less comprehensive, just updating the graphics. It's very interesting to look at all the different processes for this and see how different developers handle it.
 

DARK MASTER

The Emperor
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Apr 29, 2010
Hmmm? I don't really like using the term "remaster" and in my experience people use "remake" and "remaster" interchangeably, but I don't have a strong opinion. What matters is to convey meaning.
 
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Remake = Resident Evil Remake (1) (GameCube). Not exactly the same, all new models and textures etc.

Final Fantasy VII will be an actual Remake, not a remaster. Remaster doesn't really alter the game, just smooths out the graphics and typically uses most of the old assets.
 

ihateghirahim

The Fierce Deity
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Remaster is touching up some combination of the graphics, controls, and audio, like any given HD collection. Some bonus levels may be added but the original game experience is intact. Example- Link's Awakening DX
Remake seriously alters in game dialogue, level design, in addition to updating it for modern hardware. Examples- REmake and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes.
 

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