

It’s an expertly crafted modernization of one of Nintendo’s best mascot series that still holds up to this day as not only one of the best Metroid games, but also one of the best remakes as well. Rather than opting for a 100% faithful remake with a couple of modernization tweaks, Metroid: Zero Mission is instead a game rebuilt from the ground up that uses the original Metroid as more of a blueprint for its story and level design, and instead draws its gameplay inspirations from the more modern 2D Metroids, like Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. Fortunately, Metroid: Zero Mission exists.

The original Metroid for the NES was a groundbreaking game for the time, but when looked at through a modern lens, it’s hard to argue that it holds up. While the development team at Silicon Knights may have gone a little too hard on some of the cutscene action, The Twin Snakes not only provides a spectacular graphical overhaul - look, Snake has eyes now! - but also redesigned the entire game to feature the mechanics from Metal Gear Solid 2.Īdding abilities like being able to hang off of ledges, peek around corners, and – perhaps most importantly – shoot in first-person offered players far more flexibility to navigate an area, and coupled with the enhanced enemy AI, even veterans of the PSX version got a fresh look at Snake's first 3D adventure. The 2004 remake of 1998's Metal Gear Solid took the PS1 masterpiece and modernized it for the GameCube. Spyro's had an interesting journey since his original trilogy, but this remake collection has proven there's plenty of fire left in that adorable purple dragon. And Toys for Bob keeps the core of Spyro's fun platforming and collecting intact, not wanting to mess with a good thing, while adding much-appreciated quality of life updates to help make things feel modern. And it’s an exceedingly great thing that Valve never shut this one down, because Half-Life Black Mesa is hands-down the best way to experience one of the most important and landmark first-person-shooters in all of video games.Įach of the three remade games are brimming with personality just not possible back on the original PlayStation, with tiny environmental details and character updates that bring Spyro's world to life in rich, beautiful ways. Half-Life Black Mesa is an interesting remake in that, it’s the rare example of a fan remake that was officially supported by the original developers. The enhanced DS remakes which released 10 years later, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, only improve upon Pokemon Gold and Silver, and are still referenced as a favorite, if not the best, of all Pokemon games by many. That meant two "end-game" challenges to conquer, two sets of Legendary Pokemon to collect, sixteen different gym leaders to defeat, and more. Pokemon Gold and Silver, though only the second in the long-running Pokemon RPG series, are the only entries that allowed players to travel across two different regions and collect 16 badges instead of the standard eight. More than anything though, the Switch remake introduced a brand new generation to one of Link’s earliest adventures in a way befitting of the classic series. Link’s Awakening is one of the most beloved Zelda adventures, one that takes the classic Zelda formula and takes it fully into the realm of dreamlike fantasy, which is something that is enhanced beautifully by the remake’s toy-like art style. Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is not a perfect remake, suffering from some framerate hitching problems in the overworld and some dated design issues that could have used a bit of an update, but those issues seem relatively insignificant when you consider just how gorgeous and joyful this Switch remake is.
