Retro gaming is as big as it’s ever been right now, and it’s only going to get bigger as the video game industry continues to age. Every day brings us new and novel ways to experience pieces of video game history, whether it’s through preservation projects, fan remakes, or official re-releases.
It’s been wonderful to see gaming culture develop such a fervent interest in the history of the medium, but this does present a problem.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: you want to play an old game, something that came out more than thirty years ago. You do a quick search to see what platforms it’s available on, only to discover that there are multiple versions available: there’s the original game, but there are also multiple remakes and remasters that have been released over the past few decades. How do you decide which version to play?
Image Credit: Square Enix (via Reddit)
As with many hobbies, there is always going to be a crowd of hardcore enthusiasts gatekeeping your experience: “Oh, you need to play it on a CRT to get the real experience.” “Wait, you played the remake? Well, you didn’t actually play it then.” I’m here to tell you that the gates that these people keep are not real. There’s no objective best way to play a game, just like there’s no objective best way to watch a movie or read a book. It’s all going to be a matter of preference.
That doesn’t mean that you should just close your eyes and point. There are a few questions you can ask yourself that can help narrow down which version is the right one for you.
First, you should ask yourself why you want to play this game. If you’re interested in the game from a historical perspective or you just want to relive part of your childhood, then you would probably want to play the original release. On the other hand, if you’re just looking to check out an old classic that passed you by, or you want a new twist on something you’ve played dozens of times, you might want to try a remake or even look into mods and romhacks.
If you have trouble with that first question, another question you can ask is “what parts of this game are interesting or important to me?” Are you nostalgic for the original sights and sounds? Are you invested in the story and characters? Are you just playing for the vibes?
Would these important parts be changed by a graphical update or some quality of life improvements? Be careful with that last part – too many quality-of-life improvements can sand away a lot of a game’s personality, leaving you with a perfectly smooth and completely forgettable experience.
Note that the answers to these questions may change from game to game, or even just from day to day. Don’t limit yourself to just original releases or just remakes. Experiment! Change your mind! Find what works for you!
If all else fails and you still can’t decide on a version to play, just go with whatever version is most easily available to you. At the end of the day, the way that you enjoy your video games is your business, and it’s better to have played a so-called “inferior” version of a game than not to have played it at all.
What about you? Do you prefer originals or remakes? Are there any games that you would never try a different version of? Head on over to our Discord or sound off in the comments and join the conversation!
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