Question: Which game has been remade the most often?

[Unkillable Cat]

This is a question that struck me the other day - what game has seen the most remakes through the years?

I'm not looking for the annually released sport titles like Championship Manager XXXX or FIFA 'XX, etc. I'm not looking for "GOTY" or "Gold" editions of games either that only really add extra content (maybe bugfixes at the best). I'm talking about games that have been subjected to a decent makeover, or received a major GUI update. And obviously, online games don't count.

Example: "The Secret of Monkey Island" was originally released on floppies in 1991, then re-released on CD-ROM (1993?) with a better soundtrack and upgraded UI, then re-released in 2009 as the Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition, which we all know and loathe. That's 2 remakes.

I've done a little looking around and the current front runner seems to be "Softporn Adventure". Originally released in 1981, a graphical adaptation of the game was released in 1987 under the name "Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards", which then got a VGA remake in 1991, and finally the "Reloaded!" re-release in 2012. That's 3 remakes.

Some people will probably object to that one, as Softporn Adventures doesn't star Larry Laffer and is a noticeable departure, not to mention having a different developer than the Larry games. But both games are also identical in many areas (Lefty's bar, for example) and Softporn Adventure is featured on the LSL Collector's Edition CD, by special request of Al Lowe.

But anyway, is anyone out there who knows of a game that's been through more facelifts than 3?

 

[cvv]

Example: "The Secret of Monkey Island" was re-released in 2009 as the Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition, which we all loathe.

We do?

Anyway I think Myst would be pretty hard to beat. Not only it was rerelased like five times it was also probably the most multi-platform game evah.

 

[Akratus]

We do?

Anyway I think Myst would be pretty hard to beat. Not only it was rerelased like five times it was also probably the most multi-platform game evah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Force_Unleashed

Platform(s)
PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3, Wii,Xbox 360, iOS,mobile phone, N-Gage,Nintendo DS,PlayStation Portable,Microsoft Windows,Mac OS X

 

[made]

Prolly Tetris or Pong and such like.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition
Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition

 

[Perkel]

DNF it was literally remade every few years without even releasing it.

Can't top that.

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

chess

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Myst had 3 remakes, which ties it to Softporn Adventure.

If we wanted to discuss which title is the most multiplatform ever, it's very hard to beat Tetris. It would have to be some other similar arcade behemoth like Pac-Man, Asteroids or Defender to beat Tetris. But yeah, another discussion.

Street Fighter 2! How could I forget this one! Yeah, I counted 4 remakes before running into a problem that fucks up my query a little bit: Platform consistency.

My example of The Secret of Monkey Island goes totally for the PC, even though the game also saw releases on other platforms (dunno if the game was remade on those platforms, though). The same applies for Myst, those different versions are all on the PC, but when it comes to Softporn Adventure the problems start in earnest. It was originally released on the Apple II, and a PC version wasn't made until 10 years later by a fan who ported the original all by himself. So the original was only available on the PC retroactively, and the fifth remake of Street Fighter II was only added to the arcades retroactively as well after having been released on home systems first.

But yeah, nitpicking aside, Street Fighter 2 is the clear winner so far with 5 remakes on the same platform, and a sixth on the X360 and PS3.

 

[Lilura]

I don't think you know what a remake is.

 

[Jick Magger]

Yeah, think we're playing a bit fast and loose here with the definition of 'remake' here.

 

[AMG]

Whatever game Vogel is remaking right now.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition
Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition

That falls under the "GOTY or Gold versions" category. Put them side by side and only fans will see any difference.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

The first prince of persia has a lot of ports and remakes.

Concerning monkey island for PC, there was floopies both in EGA and VGA, both with a word inventory. The CD had monkey 2 UI and was a 2nd VGA version.

Microsoft Flight simulator series were actually remakes at each version.

Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition
Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition

You forgot this:

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

 

[Nutmeg]

Final fantasy 4 is a contender.

 

[sser]

I dunno, it depends on the definition. For example:

Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia 3D
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Prince of Persia


There are also a lot of games that could be considered 'remakes', but a clever use of numbers vis a vis pretending they're actual sequels fools people.

 

[FuriousGamer87]

Xcom?

 

[potatojohn]

Final Fantasy

 

[dunno lah]

Castlevania (NES)
Vampire Killer (MSX)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
Castlevania X68000 (X68000)

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Yeah, I freely admit I rushed in a bit there, but at the same time I notice how no one else seems to be stepping up and stating what a remake is. Anyone care to take a shot?

 

[JarlFrank]

Yeah, I freely admit I rushed in a bit there, but at the same time I notice how no one else seems to be stepping up and stating what a remake is. Anyone care to take a shot?

Let's try:

I consider a remake anything that takes the original game's content and remakes it with new technology years later. Simple ports to other platforms are not remakes, no matter the technical differences, even if the porting is done a year later. They're merely different versions. Nobody would think of the Playstation version of Deus Ex as a remake, it's just a port despite some things being different.

Usually, remakes are advertised as either true remakes or as reboots, which can give us a hint whether the game in question actually is one. I think the most important part about a remake is this: technology has progressed, some devs think it would be cool to have their old game updated with new technology, so they decide to remake it. Good examples for actual remakes are most old Sierra adventures that got a VGA remake: Quest for Glory, Space Quest, King's Quest. Graphics quality was increased significantly, the interface was changed from parser to point and click, but the content stayed practically the same without any major changes. Same thing with Monkey Island and the MI Special Edition we got a few years ago. Same with Maniac Mansion and the fan remake done by a couple of Germans who decided to update the graphics and use a newer engine. Or all those AGS remakes of older Sierra titles, like King's Quest 2: Romancing the Stones (which DOES change the content in some major ways though, and is more of a reinterpretation of the original than a straight remake) or the QfG2 fan remake.

What all these have in common is: content is (almost) the same, but there are significant changes to the engine, the graphics and the interface. The technology used to create a remake is significantly more advanced compared to the original, which is the whole reason why the remake is made: to bring the original game, which has enjoyable content, up to date because some elements of it have become dated.

Simple re-releases are not remakes. Ports aren't, either. If a game recieves no major updates, it's not really a remake, more of an "enhanced edition". Like, say, a company makes a game in 1998 and it's p. good and well-loved by the community, but then some time later people notice it doesn't work on Windows XP. The developer patch the game, make it work on XP, and while they're at it add some new content and improve the interface slightly. However, the engine it runs on is still the same, and the graphics aren't given a complete overhaul from the ground up either. This is not a remake, merely an improved re-release.

Same thing with Monkey Island 1. First, it had an EGA version, yes, but the VGA version doesn't count as a remake as it uses the same engine and is released only a short time later. It merely was an updated version making use of higher hardware capabilities. The Special Edition, however, is a remake, having been made over a decade after the original, in a new engine, with support for modern hardware and OS that has issues with running the original, and improved (from a purely technical standpoint, I tink they look butt-ugly) graphics. It was the attempt to bring an old and (technologically) outdated game back, therefore it was a remake.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

Yeah, I freely admit I rushed in a bit there, but at the same time I notice how no one else seems to be stepping up and stating what a remake is. Anyone care to take a shot?

You should be the one to do it, since you're the OP.

But regarding the examples mentioned here, I would consider a remake being a game redone with new assets from scratch - although it can use the same engine - and are not necessarily stuck to only one platform, and that it's made in a somewhat long period after the original release. Also, there's a fine line beteween a remake and a port, specially with old games, which were all diferent between 8 bit and 16 bit platforms, and many of those were aways considered ports.

Castlevania, the first NES game had various sequels, but some of the games are considered remakes, though they're all on diferent platforms, like dunno lah mentioned. they´re not considered ports. But the prince of persia game (the 1st one) had various ports, but some of them have so many diferences visually, even though the gameplay is the same, and the're considered ports, not remakes, even though the SNES version is a bigger/longer game. Again, the other entries in prince of persia series are sequels, and the 2008 prince of persia is a reboot, not a remake. there's a remake of the 1st prince which uses models from the sands of time game, that would be a remake. And the SNES version, though not considered as a remake, could be since it's a whole new game.

The monkey island 1 has many ports (amiga, sega-cd), and the pc had an EGA, a VGA and a VGA cd. Since the ega and vga were released about the same time, i wouldn't consider the VGA a remake of the EGA. The CD had CD audio and a new UI, and it could be considered somewhat a kind of remake, but in the end, the game is just the same, it looks just an update. I believe it's like the director's cut of Deus Ex HR and sleeping dogs, and metro 2033 series redux. But the special edition had new work done, new graphics, voices, redone soundtrack, that is a remake.

The street fighter 2 case would almost fall in the FIFA XX category, but even though the HD edition only was released for PS3 and X360 (and it's the first entry labelled as an HD remake) means that a platform shouldn't be a excluding criteria. Like the gamecube remakes of ps1 games, resident evil 1 and metal gear solid.

EDIT:

I've read JarlFranks post, and it's mostly that.

But why one can't say that the mac version of prince of persia is not a remake of the apple 2 version? I believe it's because that game was released to close to the original release, to the point that the development cycle in the PoP first release was not finished yet. There was licensing, Jordan mechner was still involved etc.

The same with japanese action-rpg series Ys, which had a lot of ports of the first game and some remakes. But there´s the case of Ys IV, which had two different versions, released by different companies, and they're different ports, maybe because the involvement of the parent company was present in the development cycle.

A Remake is when the development cycle of the original is ended, the developers move on to something else. By that logic, myst m,asterpiece edition wouldn't count as a remake, and only realmyst is the remake.

I mentioned that engine change is not necessary, since the release of monkey special edition could be done with an updated version of a SCUMM engine, and in any case, it's engine is compatible with the original monkey island, since the vga version is actually running behind.

Oh and a remake can be different than the original release, concerning additions to fix storyelements and new gameplay elements, to fit new modern standards, like the aforementioned VGA fan-remake of kings quest 2, and tomb raider annyversary, which follows the timeline of tomb raider legend and underworld (which are in a new timeline) but is a faithful remake of the original game.

Ports nowadays means no difference, because all games are essentially the same on consoles and pc.

 

[Akratus]

chess