Which 8/16 bit games could use an HD remake?

I was watching footage of a game called The Great Escape on ZX Spectrum where you have to dig a tunnel and it looked interesting as a game concept.

I think it would be great done in high resolution and full colour, soundtrack etc.

I wasn't impressed with the Flashback remake as they changed the gameplay completely and were unable to capture the movie-like quality of the cutscenes and level and sound design. So being faithful to the original vision is important I think.

Can anyway else think of an 8/16 bit game that would benefit from an HD remake?

First thing that pops up in my mind is the Megaman series.

I think of crossover between rogue-like genre platformers like dead cells, rogue legacy, binding of isaac and a megaman world.

With different upgrades, main bosses through the randomized levels, popping out enemies and various traps. That would be a good revival of the title

@gustie: Megaman had a recent remake by an original developer but changed the gameplay to be more simple ie not many platforms or complicated levels.

So sick of hearing about Rogue. Isn't there like 10,000 'clones' of that game already?

Is a hard question, I know.

I would like to see Ultima 4 redone which is a really old rpg.

Suppose I could go with Monkey Island 3. Regardless many classics got remakes/ or at least quite ports without people realising, in HD.

Take Ruff n' Tumble for example. It just got renamed Rad Rodgers for some reason_

Even as someone who dips into the retro space often. I find it more difficult to find games that didn't get the HD treatment, while also be worth playing.

@jackamomo: You're right on that. There are plenty of reskinned rogue games, using the same development tools for generation. It is the same with incremental games on kongregate or the web overall. It is hard to find the needle in a hay stack. When i suggest megaman, i believe they would not reskin anything and make it quite unique. I actually haven't heard about the remake, will look more into that, thank you.

Staying on Spectrum remakes I think Saboteur could be due for a remake.

@boycie Yeah Saboteur was good. for it's day, but it's still only a platformer.

But I am trying to think of different kinds of games to the norm.

I thought Road Rash 2 could be good with the exact same physics and levels but in 3d.

They don't make driving games like that any more. There was a motorbike game on the Dreamcast which sucked.

I got Moto Racer 4 on Steam and it sucks. Then they made Road Rage and it sucked.

I would play 3d Road Rash 2 all day long.

Vectorman could be rad

Top of my head: River City Ransom, a brawler with light RPG and open world elements in an 8 bit shell

Streets of Rage 2, the best brawler ever

SNES Shadowrun, because we can't really have enough sci-fantasy, can we?

and Snatcher, a Kojima original that I never got to play because it never made it stateside.

Isn't Road redemption basically Road Rash

To be fair I always found RR a bit one note and repetitive.

@boycie: Isn't Road redemption basically Road Rash

No.

Looks exactly the same to me.

Motorbikes - Check

Weapons - Check

GG Shinobi 1/2.

Keep the soundtrack.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake from the MSX with the old portraits intact and the soundtrack well emulated through the sound driver.

Sheesh, this one will be a good thread.. especially if visited by alot of people from that generation. I'll throw out 2 games that are oldies but goodies, that if given a face lift I think would do wonders. Can we say.. Contra. How about Excite Bike? Man that was true gaming when those came out.

Ohhh, I like the way you think.

How about Sword of the Samurai.

@mandzilla: Wow that game looks good! You know it's a quality game when it's being sold on Steam for £4.99 and it was made in 1989!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/327950/Sword_of_the_Samurai/

I think that most great games from the 8/16 bit generations still hold up very well and the remakes that we have already had of games from this era usually pale in comparison to the originals, so I would not focus on that era when it comes to remakes.

When it comes to remakes, I think the focus should be more on games from the PS1/N64 era. There were a lot of classic games from that era but the primitive 3D technology of the time has made them feel dated. Crash Bandicoot was an excellent remake and Resident Evil 2 looks like it is shaping up to be great as well. I would also love to see remakes of Silent Hill, Bushido Blade, Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007, and No Mercy.

Good choice.

First of all Super Mario, that legendary game, & then Contra & other games of the same time.

@jackamomo: It's just one of those timeless games that never stops being fun! You should definitely give it a go, so long as you don't mind retro graphics. :D

@mandzilla: so long as you don't mind retro graphics.

Well, not so much if it's a game I remember. But I will maybe have a go if I can find an emulated version because I'm cheap. But it would be a project for another day.

It is full VGA 16 colour so one better than EGA but I think the Spectrum game even looks better. :/ I will admit, it could be a bit of a hurdle they are kind of comical.

EDIT: Having said that, there are some cool pictures in it.

@jackamomo said:

@mandzilla: so long as you don't mind retro graphics.

Well, not so much if it's a game I remember. But I will maybe have a go if I can find an emulated version because I'm cheap. But it would be a project for another day.

It is full VGA 16 colour so one better than EGA but I think the Spectrum game even looks better. :/ I will admit, it could be a bit of a hurdle they are kind of comical.

EDIT: Having said that, there are some cool pictures in it.

Mhm, considering that it's a game from 1989, you have to go into it knowing that the sound and graphics are going to feel really dated. However, when it comes to actual gameplay and fun factor, it's brilliant. Certainly something to check out if you're interested in Japanese history.

Here's a gameplay video by a good Youtuber. Should give you an idea of whether or not it's something you think you'd enjoy anyway. ?

@mandzilla: Thanks for that. It looks a bit board game like for me, not enough action or things moving around and blinking lights.

I'm about to try and play Herzog Zwei, which could use a remake but maybe made a bit easier to understand what to do. This tutorial video was a necessity.

@jackamomo: Wow that looks so cool! ? Cheers for the recommendation and tutorial video, those are always handy lol.

Final Fight using the RE engine.

@mandzilla: I haven't actually played Herzog Zwei (longer than 5 minutes) so I can't recommend it yet! It could be a bit shallow and I'm hoping you can turn the music off as it gets irritating really quickly.

@warmblur: The Red Alert engine?

After seeing what Nintendo did with Samus Returns, I'd definitely be down for more Metroid remakes, even if they just used the same engine.

No the Resident Evil 7 engine.

The Road Rash series in general needs to come back. I still play the 1st on my sega mini every so often. Did you ever play the roller blade version of Road Rash, called Skitchin?

@heathen75: yeah Skitchin was rad. I rented it once. Engine was starting to look a bit tired by that point though.

Road Rash would be cool. I remember many years ago, we sat playing that game for hours, day in and day out. Then one day i agreed to go out to the cabin with my sisters dad. So we had to put the joystick down finally.. I really needed a break believe me..

When i came out there in the open quiet forest, all i could hear at the back of my head was Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (Motorbike sound from Road Rash). I almost went nuts out there in the woods. I could not shake that sound out of my head for HOURS!!

There was an unofficial sequel.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/300380/

Target Earth would be cool.

Actually, I just looked it up and this has already been done.

@uninspiredcup: There was an unofficial sequel.

They said it was the spiritual successor to Road Rash but it was a cesspool of Unity awfulness. Such false advertising.

Road Rash: Jaunty and fun 90's whimsy. Stellar soundtrack.

Road Rage: Insane ultraviolent 2010's post apocalyptic moooooooodynes. Crap gameplay.