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Video game remakes and remasters of older fan-favorite franchises bring the titles to newer audiences. Released for current generation consoles, these video games, with their polished graphics and nostalgic narratives, are generally well-received and perform quite successfully.
The development of remakes and remasters, though, can be tricky as the company must strike a good balance between respecting the source material and introducing new elements. Thus, studios often have to tackle a number of hurdles in order to churn out the best product and appease the fans.
Sometimes, a video game gets stuck in a long and troubled developmental period, often years from the game’s initial announcement. Here are five video remakes and remasters that have had a troubled development period.
Note: This article reflects the writer's opinion.
5 video game remakes and remasters that suffered through problems during development
5) Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The remake of Final Fantasy VII was a massive hit with both fans and critics alike. The story kept in touch with the original video game, but offered up quite the twist towards its second half. Balancing the perfect level of nostalgia and innovation, this game is an ideal that all remakes should strive for.
However, this remake's development did not have a smooth ride, and it is largely in part due to when it was first announced. In the early 2000s, Square Enix reported that they were remaking the original video game for the PlayStation 2 alongside developing FF VIII and FF IX.
These plans were ultimately scrapped, as developing the game on new hardware proved to be difficult and would have resulted in cutting some content. This remained the case for many years, despite the increasing demands for a remake.
It was only sometime in 2015 when the creators of the original game decided that the project had to be attempted. The remake was developed from the ground up and released in 2020.
4) Warcraft III: Reforged
This remaster of the original Warcraft III video game was poorly received. Blizzard had promised a number of changes in the new remake, most of which were absent from the game when it was eventually launched.
Classic Games, the team working on the remaster, reportedly wanted to fulfill their promises. However, publisher Activision did not believe that remasters would fare better than original games, which resulted in them pulling funds from the project. Classic Games was also affected by the layoff across Activision Blizzard in 2019, further disrupting development.
The remaster would have been canceled at this point, but as pre-orders had already begun, that was not a viable option. Ultimately, this resulted in a game that was largely unfinished. Classic Games was soon disbanded thereafter, and fans stopped hoping for updates and new content.
3) Silent Hill HD Collection
Silent Hill HD Collection is a compilation of two games from the series, which have been remastered and released for PS4 and Xbox 360. Featuring high-definiton ports of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, this collection has had one of the most tumultuous development periods to date.
The video game’s environmental rendering and technical issues resulted in the audience widely criticizing this remaster. The problems, however, had started during development itself. Developer Hijinx Studios was left to create a remaster from a broken version of the original game code, as the final version had been lost by Konami.
This resulted in Hijinx having to deal with new technical issues that came from porting the games onto a new console, alongside ones that were part of the original video games. Despite the developer's best attempts, much of the game remained broken even after its release.
Silent Hill HD collection now stands as an example of what not to do when making a remaster.
2) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2003 action-adventure video game from Ubisoft. The original games are remembered quite fondly, as they set the precedent for the Prince’s now-iconic look.
A remake of The Sands of Time was announced in 2020, although the project has had quite a tough time recently.
The video game remake, originally set to release on January 21, 2021, was in the hands of Ubisoft Mumbai and Ubisoft Pune. However, after some criticisms resulting from a gameplay trailer debuting lackluster graphics, the game was postponed by two months.
The game was later indefinitely delayed, as the developers wanted to make a fresh remake while remaining faithful to the original. Eventually, Ubisoft Montreal took over development. Though the title was initially targeting a release within the 2022-23 fiscal year, it is still indefinitely delayed.
1) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic was an RPG from developer BioWare. Set in the Star Wars universe, it was met with a warm reception during its release on July 15, 2003. In terms of narrative, it still remains a great game.
The announcement of the title's remake came in September 2021. With developer Aspyr at the helm, the remake was set to be released for PlayStation and Windows PCs.
However, in July 2022, it was reported that the video game was delayed and Aspyr had fired its art and design directors. Seemingly, the higher-ups at Sony and Lucasfilm who were not satisfied with the quality of the demo. Currently, the game has a targeted release date of 2025.
