- Published
The moment she saw footage from the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Kacey Doran picked up her phone.
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Doran → publish → phone
She had to tell her sister.
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She → have → sister
"Have you seen this?" messaged Doran, excitedly.
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Doran → see → this
Nearly 30 years ago, a 10-year-old Doran had sat in front of her family's TV, reading out the dialogue on screen to her sister, a year younger, as they inched their way through the original Nintendo 64 game's sprawling, puzzle-filled dungeons.
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they → sit → dungeons
Ocarina's fantasy-like story, and beautiful music, enthralled them both.
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story → enthral → them
It was also the first game Doran ever completed.
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Doran → complete → ?
Now, countless memories rushed back to her as she devoured clips of the fully redesigned version, due to arrive on the Switch 2 later this year.
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she → rush → Switch
Doran's sister messaged back: "I'm not tearing up… YOU'RE tearing up."
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I → message → ?
This is the power of nostalgia – and a perfect example of how video games can trigger it.
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games → trigger → it
Doran now teaches an esports course at Rowan University in New Jersey.
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Doran → teach → Jersey
She says the original Ocarina of Time, released in 1998, had a "magical" quality that she hopes to rediscover, and also share with her sister's children.
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she → say → children
The video games industry has long leaned on remakes.
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industry → lean → remakes
From Mario Kart to the Final Fantasy series, or even Pac-Man, some games just keep coming back in updated forms, as new generations of gamers emerge and as computer hardware improves, enabling more detailed graphics and increasingly expansive game worlds.
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hardware → keep → graphics
While the emotional hook may be the most significant draw, putting out a remake can be a double-edged sword.
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putting → put → remake
Some gamers are very protective of their favourite titles and new versions don't always meet certain fans' astronomically high expectations.
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versions → meet → expectations
Nostalgia is an important but mixed emotion, says Tim Wulf, at the Centre of Advanced Internet Studies in Bochum, Germany.
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Wulf → say → Bochum
It has positive aspects but also a kind of sadness, too.
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It → have → sadness
Happiness in remembering things that were important to us, and also an awareness that that time is now gone.
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time → remember → us
"It's a social emotion because memories that induce nostalgia for us are connected to other people," he explains, adding that nostalgia can boost our self-esteem while highlighting key social bonds.
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nostalgia → induce → bonds
Video games, says Wulf, are notoriously good at triggering nostalgia because gamers can "jump into the same environment".
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gamers → say → environment
In other words, games are like time machines for our emotions, and returning to fondly remembered places can feel stabilising or reassuring in an ever-changing world.
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returning → return → world
Doran, for one, notes that when you return to a favourite old game, there's something satisfying about deploying previously learned skills.
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you → note → skills
You know what to do here, you're winning again.
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you → know → what
Putting out remasters and remakes has been a "really successful" strategy for the games industry, says Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at Ampere Analysis.
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Rolls → put → Analysis
"Tying in with established audiences and building on existing content is quite a safe route for a lot of companies," he adds.
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he → tie → companies
In many cases, it is cheaper to update an existing game rather than create a new title from scratch.
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it → update → scratch
Among other remakes that have found big audiences recently are those of Resident Evil 4 and Assassin's Creed Black Flag.
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those → find → Evil
But Ocarina of Time perhaps stands out because, ever since its original release, it has been considered by many as one of the greatest games ever made.
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it → stand → games
"The interest from all the Gen Zs that I work with is really high," says Harding-Rolls.
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Rolls → work → that
Clearly, nostalgia is not the only driver of interest in the remake, and today's audiences will expect a game that plays to today's standards.
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that → expect → standards
Games companies must keep innovating when linking contemporary audiences to the past, says Wulf, in order satisfy their desire for fresh experiences.
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Wulf → keep → experiences
And although Wulf himself was a big fan of the original, he has no personal interest in the Ocarina of Time remake.
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he → have → remake
"I want a new game – I don't want to play an old game," he says.
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he → want → game
Plus, critics often highlight a tension between originals and remakes.
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critics → highlight → originals
In 2021, Square Enix released the bizarrely titled Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139... – a remaster of a game first published in 2010.
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Enix → release → 2010
One reviewer wrote, external, "What we're left with is two nearly identical Niers each vying to be the true Nier."
Fans may react badly should a remaster or remake fail to do justice to the source material.
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remaster → write → material
"There's always going to be that fan base or group of people that are going to nit-pick," says Stephanie Ijoma, chief executive and founder of NNESAGA, a consultancy and creative agency.
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Ijoma → be → NNESAGA
Ultimately, games developers working on remakes have to "find the right balance" between appealing to fans and allowing themselves to be creative with the material, she adds.
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she → work → material
"You can't make art in fear, you can't create in fear."
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you → make → fear
Ijoma gives the example of Final Fantasy VII.
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Ijoma → give → VII
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
