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[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

Modern reboots of 8 bit and 16 bit ips that *aren't* retro throwbacks, either 2D or 2.5D things, I'm talking when they would take an old ip and update it to try to be on par with modern games.

There were a lot of these in the 7th gen, think Golden Axe Beast Rider, Castlevania Lords of Shadow, stuff like that, most of them were mixed bags, but it was interesting to see devs try and the fact that this has vanished entirely now, save for series that never fully went away like FF, Ninja Gaiden, Zelda, Mario etc, is kind of a shame, instead the world has moved on to rebooting PS1 and even PS2 and GameCube stuff like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, which makes me feel old lol.

Am I crazy in kind of missing these? Fans didn't really like them at the time, fanbases still tend to ignore this era for these series, yet I still find it interesting to look back on, I honestly wish that there was more, like say Contra as a Gears of War type shooter (as much as that would have pissed everyone off at the time)

 

[jshackles]

They were definitely a product of their time. Like you said, now most of the stuff getting remade or having IPs resurrected are things that were already 3D to begin with. Or being remade into more modern 2D / 2.5D stuff.

But I'm with you, it was great seeing devs trying to transition older games and IPs to fully 3D games.

My favorite is probably still Mega Man Legends. What a bunch of dumb fucks that cancelled the third game.

 

[IAmRei]

Somewhat i understand.
Today is different, people have their options now, more than before. and kind of us is kinda niche.
and niche is somewhat limited the number of sales. and that's why company will try to stay relevant with their sales.
You are not crazy, some niche guys like me, still playing older games, and sometimes new games didn't amazed us.

but I'm in the middle, I like video games, whatever they are, as long as it is good or great, i will try it. of course good or bad, is my own opinion.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Hmmm, like Rygar on PS2? It was ultimately like a DMC/God of War clone.
Lords of Shadow was also more like God of War clone.
Can't say I enjoyed either of those games though.

Bionic Commando on 360 / PS3 comes to mind too. It was also a pretty shitty 3D game.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

They were definitely a product of their time. Like you said, now most of the stuff getting remade or having IPs resurrected are things that were already 3D to begin with. Or being remade into more modern 2D / 2.5D stuff.

But I'm with you, it was great seeing devs trying to transition older games and IPs to fully 3D games.

My favorite is probably still Mega Man Legends. What a bunch of dumb fucks that cancelled the third game.

They were a product of their time and I guess I can see why they wouldn't really have a place on the market today, but it makes me feel so old we've already moved on to the PS1/PS2 era and I'm like "wait, don't stop with 8 bit just yet!"

It also means something has really reached the end of an era when an ip of that era can only do the retro throwback instead of take it into somewhere fully modern and new, as cool as the recent throwbacks are (like the new Shinobi)

Hmmm, like Rygar on PS2? It was ultimately like a DMC/God of War clone.
Lords of Shadow was also more like God of War clone.
Can't say I enjoyed either of those games though.

Bionic Commando on 360 / PS3 comes to mind too. It was also a pretty shitty 3D game.

The PS2 Rygar came before God of War, but yeah, there was a wave of 8 bit revivals on the PS2 like Contra Shattered Solider and Shinobi, I fucking love them, but more specifically I was talking about the 7th gen ones.

Bionic Commando is a perfect example and I knew I was forgetting a big one, but while it got so much hate at the time, I feel like it's aged well in the sense that seeing an 8 bit ip updated like that is a huge novelty today and while it's really goofy, that goofiness feels appropriately in the spirit of the original game, it truly feels like a cross between an 8 bit game and the Xbox 360 era and that vibe is fascinating to me today, but you know you're getting old when updates of old things are themselves old and feel like as much retro games lol.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Hmmm, like Rygar on PS2? It was ultimately like a DMC/God of War clone.

Bro Rygar came out 3 years before GOW

OP I'm trying my best here to think of many examples to mention, but all I got is Hard Corps: Uprising and Space Invaders Infinity Gene lol.

 

[Alexios]

Those that were actually good have stuck around. Ie Zelda, Metroid Prime, Mario and so on. I guess most Nintendo efforts were successful in that, Kirby was one of the last stands maybe where it had 3D graphics but not 3D gameplay before the latest one. Maybe Donkey Kong as well, it got 3D alongside Mario but wasn't as successful as the Switch 2 attempt. The rest weren't so great (if not bad) and took whichever IP they used to the grave with them it seems, from Shinobi to Rygar. I guess some like Mega Man Legends and perhaps Ghosts n Goblins (Maximo PS2) were unfairly doomed as well though. Others kept trying despite failing, like Castlevania. It happens occasionally still, like Kid Icarus on 3DS but I guess that was a completely different formula rather than trying to do the classic game in a 3D reimagining and scope. I guess if it hasn't happened yet after all these years then the IP itself is forgotten, there are probably few exceptions where the IP is still alive and kicking but has yet to try to reinvent itself in full 3D. Maybe the latest examples are Square's Mana games (not much different to what Tales of series had already done) or even Dragon Quest (but the turn based gameplay of the latter doesn't radically change, much like Baldur's Gate III, it's mostly the exploration and visual splendor that are enhanced). Others were already technically 3D but still evolved greatly in a later transition, like Resident Evil with 4 (even after Code Veronica which was full 3D had kept the classic gameplay of the half-2D pre-rendered games).​

 

[Pasta la Vista]

I guess Bomberman Act Zero also? That one just plays like a bomberman game though with nearly the same perspective but the art direction they went for was really bad. It was like trying to look cool/edgy/gritty I think as an attempt to appeal to the western audience.

 

[Alexios]

I guess Bomberman Act Zero also? That one just plays like a bomberman game though with nearly the same perspective but the art direction they went for was really bad. It was like trying to look cool/edgy/gritty I think as an attempt to appeal to the western audience.

Haha, Silent Bomber did that a lot better than Act Zero! But also there are those spin offs that are actually solid, like Bomberman 64 and Bomberman Generation. But maybe there's just not much you can do to keep some classics of the sort true to the classic gameplay in any recognisable way, they just ape other 3D games using the IP/characters like Bomberman Hero or Pac-Man World. I guess that goes for Mega Man as well since Legends was almost more a Zelda than classic Mega Man...

 

[diffusionx]

They were made like this because the market wanted 3D, nowadays there is more acceptance of 2D, actually that shift started on XBLA, so you have something like Shinobi that is 2D and well done. Not as easy to get made back then, publishers wanted 3D.

And most of them were bad, panned, and quickly forgotten. Like the 32-bit Contra that was horrid.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Haha, Silent Bomber did that a lot better than Act Zero! But also there are those spin offs that are actually solid, like Bomberman 64 and Bomberman Generation. But maybe there's just not much you can do to keep some classics of the sort true to the classic gameplay in any recognisable way, they just ape other 3D games using the IP/characters like Bomerman Hero or Pac-Man World. I guess that goes for Mega Man as well since Legends was almost more Zelda than classic Mega Man then.

Ohhh Silent Bomber is an awesome game. Very rare to hear about that one.

The story and voice overs are hilarious. Not sure if that was intentional but the main character Utah just has the cheesiest lines and is like this emo, grimdark attitude.



Seriously though, great game, very unique. Cant think of any game that plays like it. There's even a versus mode where you can play as a pretty much all the different types of enemies or bosses.

 

[Cattlyst]

I guess it depends on how well known/fondly remembered the original game was. I could possibly see the appeal in Earthworm Jim being rebooted (again) as a modern 3D shooter with current gen visuals. Cool Spot or Dino Dudes though? But yes, I do get what OP means. Brand recognition and familiarity with older 8/16 bit franchises would be required for such reboots to be financially viable.

 

[f~N_CH_1:3:3:3_SushiBoat]

Earth Worm Jim, bitches.

Spoiler: Edit

And Eternal Champions

 

[Soodanim]

Castlevania:LoS was so boring that even on easy to just push through for the story I was bored half to death. Even on deep deep sale it was a waste of time. At least I didn't waste money on the sequel as well.

I only got it because I was planning to play them for the story. Lesson learned: just YouTube it instead.

 

[Crayon]

There were the spyhunter and defender games on PS2.
...
Did ninja gaiden become a whole different game and not count as much, or does it have enough ties to the original to be a legit adaptation?

 

[kiphalfton]

Hmmm, like Rygar on PS2? It was ultimately like a DMC/God of War clone.
Lords of Shadow was also more like God of War clone.
Can't say I enjoyed either of those games though.

Bionic Commando on 360 / PS3 comes to mind too. It was also a pretty shitty 3D game.

The first Lords of Shadow game was better than any of the God of War games.

Game was epic as hell.

Now the 3DS game wasn't bad, but I get why Metroidvania people hate it.

Regarding LoS2, I didn't make it very far, so can't really speak to it specifically.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I guess Bomberman Act Zero also? That one just plays like a bomberman game though with nearly the same perspective but the art direction they went for was really bad. It was like trying to look cool/edgy/gritty I think as an attempt to appeal to the western audience.

That's exactly the kind of thing people hated at the time, but imo now has a special charm to it, I've heard Capcom was doing a similar gritty version of Megaman which I wish had happened just for the lulz.

At least for me these games are more interesting because they now feel like old school games themselves, I realize now the 7th gen is legit getting old, it finished over a decade ago, something from 2009 basically feels as retro to me as say, something from 1989.

The rest weren't so great (if not bad) and took whichever IP they used to the grave with them it seems, from Shinobi to Rygar. I guess some like Mega Man Legends and perhaps Ghosts n Goblins (Maximo PS2)​

It is a shame it was the end of the road for many of these ips, I'm surprised Tecmo didn't try bringing back Rygar again as a more direct GOW just like they had their own Gears of War clones, in Shinobo's case, the new 2D title looks great, but the PS2's games formula was awesome I'd like to see come back as well.

And Maximo is another great example of the PS2 wave of revivals, even if it wasn't called G&G, I really wish Maximo would come back too or at least be better remembered, very unloved and forgotten, that series, despite being great.

There were the spyhunter and defender games on PS2.
...
Did ninja gaiden become a whole different game and not count as much, or does it have enough ties to the original to be a legit adaptation?

Yup, even beyond Japan there was a big wave of revivals on the PS2, including the arcade ones like Spyhunter, Defender, NARC and Area 51.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is what got me thinking about this, that game now counts as a triple throwback, to not just the 8 bit era, but also the 6th gen AND 7th gen.

 

[kevboard]

Hmmm, like Rygar on PS2? It was ultimately like a DMC/God of War clone.

Rygar is older than GoW. it was just a typical PS2 action game.
it was also actually not that bad tbh. not great, but still decent enough.

I just played the beginning of it again a few months ago.