Why Some Games Should Never Be Remade

3 August 2025

Let’s get one thing straight before we dive headfirst into this digital rabbit hole: not every video game needs a glow-up. I know—it’s shocking, right? In a world where everything is getting a remaster, a reboot, or a full-blown remake (looking at you, every movie ever), some games should be left exactly where they are—untouched, unpolished, and gloriously retro.

Before you grab your pitchforks and storm the comments section, hear me out. I'm not saying all remakes are garbage. Some of them? Magical. Final Fantasy VII Remake? Chef’s kiss. Resident Evil 2 (2019)? A beautiful reimagining. But then there are others that make you question whether some developer lost a bet at the water cooler.

So let's take a stroll down nostalgia lane and unpack why some classics should stay the way they were—forever preserved in their pixelated glory.

Because Nostalgia Works Like a Time Machine (And Nobody Asked for a Seat Upgrade)

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It's like that old hoodie you refuse to throw away even though it’s torn, faded, and smells a little weird. But it gives you comfort. The same goes for classic games. They don’t need 4K ray tracing or 60fps support—they need to stay wrapped in that warm, cozy haze of "back in the day" feels.

Games like GoldenEye 007, Chrono Trigger, or even EarthBound don’t crave some high-def facelift. They’re artifacts—time capsules that represent not just how games were made, but how we played. It’s the clunky controls, the slightly awkward animations, and the dorky dialogue that make the game. You remake it, and suddenly it’s polished, shiny, and… soulless.

The Risk of Turning Art Into iPhone Wallpaper

Can we talk about how modern remakes tend to slap a fresh coat of graphics over a classic and call it a day? It’s like repainting the Mona Lisa with a can of spray paint and saying it's an “update for modern tastes.”

Take Silent Hill 2. That game thrived because of its grainy visuals and eerie audio design. You clean it up too much, and guess what? You lose the creepy charm. Suddenly, it’s not scary—it’s just uncanny. And while you're busy marveling at every hair follicle on James’ head, the atmosphere that made your spine tingle in the original is MIA.

Some art is meant to stay gritty. Let it age. Embrace the jank. It’s beautiful in its own haunting way.

The Controls Were Weird for a Reason

Oh, controls. Let’s not forget those sweet, sweet tank-style controls of Resident Evil. You might call them clunky, but we call them immersive. That feeling of dread when you're cornered by zombies and your character turns like a confused Roomba? That’s tension, baby.

Developers back then didn't have the luxury of dual analog sticks or context-sensitive buttons. They made magic using what they had, and those limitations became part of the experience. Nowadays, everything has to be silky smooth. But smooth isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s just bland.

Let's be real: modern controls in old games are like using your iPhone to call your Tamagotchi. Just… why?

Legendary Bugs > Polished Bores

You haven’t truly lived until you’ve seen a Skyrim dragon flying backwards or Mario fall through the floor into the void. Bugs in classic games weren’t always glitches—they were featurettes. They gave the games character.

Game remakes often show up with their bugs squashed, their edges smoothed, and their quirks fixed. And in the process, they cut out the heart and soul. That weird thing that happened in Morrowind when you equipped the wrong item? Gone. That hilarious pathfinding in Half-Life? Vanished.

Bugs are like inside jokes between the game and the player. Remakes take those jokes out behind the barn and… well, you get the idea.

The Voice Acting Was Supposed to Be That Bad

Who could forget the melodramatic goldmine that was the original voice acting in games like Resident Evil? “You were almost a Jill sandwich!” Iconic. It was so bad, it looped back around to amazing.

Today's remakes bring Hollywood-quality performances, which is nice… I guess. But you lose the campy charm that made these games legendary. You don’t play Shenmue for award-winning dialogue. You play it to hear Ryo Hazuki awkwardly ask people, “Do you know where I can find some sailors?”

Why mess with perfection?

Original Soundtracks Are Untouchable. Period.

Music is half the mood, folks. Don't argue. You know it’s true. And the soundtrack of a classic game? That’s sacred space.

Whether it's the MIDI madness of Doom, the sweeping tunes of Final Fantasy VI, or the jazzy insanity of Katamari Damacy, these soundtracks were composed with the tools of their time—and they fit the game perfectly.

Modern orchestration sometimes tries to “enhance” these masterpieces. And while a few re-arrangements work, others sound like someone tried to remix Mozart with a kazoo and a dubstep converter.

Let the chiptunes live. Let them beep and boop with pride.

Who Are These Remakes Even For?

Let’s be honest for a second. Are these remakes for the fans? Or are they for the marketing team?

Because when fans beg for a remake, they want a loving homage. What they usually get is a shiny Frankenstein stitched together by developers trying to appeal to new markets.

Take Warcraft III: Reforged. Fans wanted a respectful, updated version of the classic RTS. What they got was a buggy, butchered shell of the original that made everyone quietly uninstall and return to the 2002 release. Oops.

Spoiler alert: pandering to everyone usually pleases no one. Remake at your own peril.

Innovation is Scary. Let's Remake Stuff Instead!

Here’s a controversial opinion: maybe instead of remaking everything, studios could try making—wait for it—new games. I know, revolutionary concept.

The remake trend sometimes reeks of creative bankruptcy. It’s like Hollywood saw the success of Marvel and went, “Cool, let’s remake RoboCop 17 times.” Gaming, unfortunately, has taken notes.

But instead of pouring millions into yet another remake of something that was already great, how about developers take risks and invent the next big thing? The next Chrono Trigger. The next Metal Gear Solid. A fresh idea feels riskier, but it’s how we got the classics in the first place.

You Can't Bottle Lightning Twice

There’s a reason the first time is always so memorable. It was unexpected, it was magical, and it hit you like a freight train fueled by imagination and Mountain Dew.

You can’t remake that moment. Not really.

Trying to recreate a legendary experience often ends up missing the point entirely. The context, the timing, the culture—everything that made a classic what it was—those things are impossible to duplicate because they existed in a specific moment in time.

You remake that game, and you’re not just changing the graphics—you’re rewriting history. And history remembers.

Exceptions Exist… But They're Rare Unicorns

Before we wrap up, let’s acknowledge the obvious: there ARE great remakes. Shadow of the Colossus (PS4), Resident Evil 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake—fantastic. But these are the unicorns of the gaming world. Most remakes are just a quick cash grab wearing nostalgia like a cheap cologne.

The rare good remakes are the ones made with heart, not just software updates. They respect the original. They build upon it. They don’t erase it.

Unfortunately, those are the exception, not the rule. And betting on your favorite game getting the royal treatment is like playing Russian roulette—with a chainsaw.

Final Thoughts: Let Sleeping Pixels Lie

At the end of the day, old games are more than their graphics. They’re memories, emotions, late nights, and sore thumbs. They’re broken save files and secret cheats scribbled in notebooks. They're you, just a few years younger with a lot less back pain.

So let’s stop trying to modernize every piece of our childhood. Not everything needs a remaster. Some things are perfect in their pixelated, poorly-translated, bug-riddled form.

And honestly? That’s what makes them legendary.