30 Years of Crystal Dynamics Documentary

[Gian Carlo]

Originally Posted by VictorXD

plenty of other companies at the time (and most of all today) had already proven you can remake a game and improve on all aspects of it without taking away such massive amounts of content.

I disagree. I can't think of any remakes at the time except for Resident Evil back in 2002. They weren't even a thing back then.

[redfox45]

And even the RE1 remake (in my uncommon opinion) screwed up/removed several iconic aspects of the game like the dialouge, enemies and soundtrack.

[jeffrey van oort]

Originally Posted by redfox45

And even the RE1 remake (in my uncommon opinion) screwed up/removed several iconic aspects of the game like the dialouge, enemies and soundtrack.

Every room, including the puzzles have been rebuilt for the Resident Evil 1 Remake. They couldn't leave out pieces of the human brain. (Which is what the mansion is modelled after). Even the dialogue is similar. They've added additional rooms, and puzzles to the Resident Evil 1 Remake, making the Resident Evil 1 Remake probably the best one on one remake videogame history has seen so far. What iconic aspects are you talking about?

[charmedangelin]

Originally Posted by redfox45

And even the RE1 remake (in my uncommon opinion) screwed up/removed several iconic aspects of the game like the dialouge, enemies and soundtrack.

I'd say your the only person on the planet with this opinion which is factually beyond wrong.

[Vaskito]

Originally Posted by VictorXD

Please don't take this as a personal insult or me trying to be condescending, I'm just saying why I think to you TRA feels like a better remake than it is.

But you ARE being condescending, weather it's intentionally or not it's up to you, but firstly because of how you're reacting to a simple question if you missed the context, because you've made a post implying they cut content just because, and secondly for this:

Originally Posted by VictorXD

Well yeah, I'm sorry but you have a rather superficial view of what made TR good back in the 90's,

Please elaborate. I don't even recall having a conversation about this with you.

Originally Posted by VictorXD

and it's hardly a secret how you don't see what the fuss about TR1 is about. You've said that you don't see the difference between TRA and Nicobass' TR2 remake, and that alone speaks volumes about how you put much more weight in the similar visual than the actual gameplay differences between them, and how Nicobass' fine tuning when it comes to gameplay made a massive difference, even though animations and moves were extremely close.

IDK why you're so pissed and suddenly making a whole post about me. I get TRA was not what YOU wanted to be, but you also don't hold the voice for the whole fandom. I don't expect a 1:1 when games are being remade, and no game is flawless. Every game has filler stuff which can easily be removed in remakes. If I wanted a remaster, that'd be a different conversation. In the end, any of us will have our own preferences about how we want remakes and I've simply expressed mine. I think TRA is a great remake, and I think it improves on TR1

As for Nicobass, it's literally an expansion of what was made with TRA. You can twist it to make it better than what it actually is (and I'm NOT saying it's bad) but it's basically the TRA of TR2, with prettier graphics and without the white paint. Is it an impressive project? ABSOLUTELY, especially considering it was not made by a company, so all props to that. You're welcome to disagree without making a fuss about it and poiting fingers at me.

[VictorXD]

Originally Posted by Gian Carlo

I disagree. I can't think of any remakes at the time except for Resident Evil back in 2002. They weren't even a thing back then.

Good thing google is your friend https://www.thegamer.com/best-game-r...-2000s-ranked/

Just because remakes weren't a thing like they are today, doesn't mean people weren't making them or that the general public wasn't aware of it back in the 2000's.

Originally Posted by Vaskito

But you ARE being condescending, weather it's intentionally or not it's up to you, but firstly because of how you're reacting to a simple question if you missed the context, because you've made a post implying they cut content just because, and secondly for this:

I didn't.

Read my post again. I never said that they removed things just because. I said that when you remake something, the first thing you need to know is get to know your product, everything that worked and didn't. In a game, that includes it's length. They literally had to remove a massive amount of side rooms because of time. They bit off more than they could chew and they were honest about it.

And besides, remakes should be expanding the original and removing stuff that either didn't work or doesn't suit the remake the devs are trying to make. CD removed so much stuff that they had to merge two levels together to create one. This alone speaks volumes.

Please elaborate. I don't even recall having a conversation about this with you.

We didn't have that conversation, indeed. I just remember it's something you said on at least two occasions, just not aimed at me.

IDK why you're so pissed and suddenly making a whole post about me.

I'm not? Of all the stuff I posted, only one paragraph was regarding you. And it's not even you as a person, just the way you view the classics.

I'm also not sure were you got the impression I'm pissed as well. I haven't called you names, been shady or anything remotely similar. I'm as calm as the summer sea.

I get TRA was not what YOU wanted to be, but you also don't hold the voice for the whole fandom.

I never said I did??

And my views and what I posted on this thread go way beyond just TRA. When I say "a remake should know it's original product intimately to create a good remake" it's not a standard I only hold up for TR. Hell it doesn't even necessarily come from a player perspective, it's something I hold true as a game dev myself.

If I were to remake a game, I wouldn't make a "X game but in a nutshell" where I take only what I consider good or memorable and just connect the "most iconic" areas lazily with some corridors.

I don't expect a 1:1 when games are being remade, and no game is flawless.

Never said anyone should expect a 1:1 remake. In fact I like it when remakes swap rooms around and change the order of the gameplay. But I personally think that, if you are going to remove a room/challange from a remake, you should pad out its absence with content that is just as good. Which, in TRA's case, I feel like worked 50% of the time only.

And I also never said that no game is flawless.

Every game has filler stuff which can easily be removed in remakes.

That's precisely the problem here. You fail to see the subtlety of how little things, when summed up, can change your experience of a game entirely.

And I really don't mind when remakes remove some filler stuff here and there. But the point I'm trying to make, which ironically you are failing to see, is that I'm saying TRA went overboard with it. They crossed the line of "filler" and walked right into "essential" territory. I mean, look at Palace Midas All it retained of the original were the puzzle rooms. There is no intricate and layered level design, some of the most iconic areas (like the aqueduct room) are missing too, the sense of getting lost exploring this huge complex is gone as well. And once again, I'll give you the example of merging The Cistern and Tomb of Qualopec together. Even if TOQ is a short level in the original, that's what's great about remakes, you can expand the original level and adjust it's length.

When it comes to removing stuff, there always needs to be some fine tuning. And that fine tuning is exactly where TRA fails horribly in my opinion both as a fan and as someone who hopes to direct their own games in due time.

As for Nicobass, it's literally an expansion of what was made with TRA. You can twist it to make it better than what it actually is (and I'm NOT saying it's bad) but it's basically the TRA of TR2, with prettier graphics and without the white paint.

And greatly expanded moveset, a single level that has more colour and atmosphere than TRA in its entirety, it doesn't remove rooms without adding something else to make up for it, it has a much higher difficulty, the platforming is much more creative too, it manages to incorporate things more organically, both visually and gameplay wise. Also a big shout out to Nico for making climbable things that don't even lead anywhere, it greatly improves exploration, because you don't just jump to the closest ledge/pole you can see, you have to actually analyse your environment and try to map out your route. Level design isn't sacrificed in order to make the game fast paced too. And since you mentioned it, the lack of white paint makes a HUGE difference in and of itself.


So with all that in mind, I really can't agree that TR2's remake is anything like TRA other than visually. The HUD is similar, Lara looks similar, and the move set is clearly trying to imitate TRU, but other than that... The slightly different approaches on how to rebuild the original game make a HUGE difference in the end experience. It's not a good remake simply because it's impressive being a one man's work, it's a good remake because it understood what made the original work and Nico acted accordingly.

You're welcome to disagree without making a fuss about it and poiting fingers at me.

No one is making a fuss here.

[Vaskito]

Originally Posted by VictorXD

We didn't have that conversation, indeed. I just remember it's something you said on at least two occasions, just not aimed at me.
I'm not? Of all the stuff I posted, only one paragraph was regarding you. And it's not even you as a person, just the way you view the classics

I'm still waiting for you to elaborate on this please, cuz I'm pretty sure you're mixing something up here or you're trying to pull something out of context for arguing sake and nothing else.
Or is this simply because I've said I can't seem to find myself enjoying playing the classics nowadays anymore?

[.snake.]

This entire back and forth started with Vaskito saying to Victor: “Did you misunderstand the context?” which is condescending enough in and of itself since it implies the other person might be stupid. Then Victor responded and Vaskito tried to spin it as if he was the victim of condescension. If anyone was being condescending and once again going into attack mode because someone dared question Crystal, it was Vaskito. But that shouldn’t be surprising anymore.

[Gian Carlo]

Originally Posted by VictorXD

Good thing google is your friend https://www.thegamer.com/best-game-r...-2000s-ranked/

Just because remakes weren't a thing like they are today, doesn't mean people weren't making them or that the general public wasn't aware of it back in the 2000's.

99% of that list are ports and remasters lol

[VictorXD]

^ Still doesn't mean remakes were unheard of back then. They were rare, but they still existed. And even if it wasn't so, the concept of a remake is something that has existed in movies for decades already anyway.

Originally Posted by Vaskito

I'm still waiting for you to elaborate on this please, cuz I'm pretty sure you're mixing something up here or you're trying to pull something out of context for arguing sake and nothing else.

What exactly am I mixing up though? I said that you have previously mentioned you don't see the big difference between TRA and DOX, which you have agreed to in your previous post. It is something you've mentioned in other discussions in replies to other people.

I just said that you expressed a certain view before, which you agreed to and said again in the current discussion.

And highlighted part of your post is extremely condescending tbh. I've been nothing but clear with what I'm saying here, it really doesn't make sense to say I'm pulling something out of thin air for the sake of argument when I took the time to explain everything I meant.

Or is this simply because I've said I can't seem to find myself enjoying playing the classics nowadays anymore?

I didn't even know you've said that. Not surprising considering your views of TRA, but it has nothing to do with what I said in this thread. This whole discussion about what CD messed up when remaking TR1, not about your personal opinion on the PS1 era classics.