Over the last decade or so, HD ports and remasters of classic video games have become an increasingly common occurrence. The excitable children of the 1990s are now the nostalgia-obsessed consumers of today, and the sight of their favourite characters brought up to a modern standard brings a sparkle to their dimmed, cynical eyes.
Classics of the early 3D era such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Resident Evil 2 have recently been met with rapturous applause, and many are sure to follow suit. Hell, Okami seems to get a remaster for every single console generation.
While the 16-bit era at its best still holds up remarkably well and pixel art is enjoying a modern renaissance on the indie circuit, time hasn’t been so kind to early 3D. Characters of the PlayStation and N64 era frequently resemble assemblies of poorly painted cardboard boxes, and controls tend to range from clunky to controller-snappingly unplayable.
That’s not to say that these games aren’t still good – after all, they wouldn’t be classics if they weren’t. But with the all the benefits that current technology brings, it feels distressing to go back to an old favourite to find its controls so sticky and awkward.
Whether it’s for the benefit of appeasing our nostalgia or for introducing new gamers to seminal titles that might otherwise pass them by, let’s take a look at a handful of classic games that could sorely do with a full makeover.
