One of the best parts about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is how it mainly improves areas of the original, rather than altering it to the point where it losses the feeling the 1998 classic invoked. Unlike something like Halo: Campaign Evolved, the Ocarina of Time remake retains many of the story beats, puzzles, dungeon designs, and other features players loved from the first game, seeking to instead enhance visuals or introduce quality-of-life changes. There are quite a number of titles that have taken this same approach for their remakes, creating strong versions of already fantastic games.
Many players were concerned that the Ocarina of Time remake would be too different from the revered original, as the game added several features that weren’t there before. For example, players could now sprint and jump as Link, as well as move the camera freely rather than having to pivot it frequently. However, this came with some streamlined changes to UI/UX to make the most dated parts of the original much better to play, a strategy also used by the best remakes of celebrated titles.
A great example of a remake that didn’t transform its source material nearly at all is 2023’s Dead Space, an almost 1:1 recreation of the 2008 sci-fi survival horror title. The visuals are the primary focus of the remake, turning classic levels and areas into more detailed spaces to call back to the best parts of Dead Space. Enemies are far scarier in an atmospheric environment that has way more lighting, sound, and visual nuances than what was possible 18 years ago. This is all thanks to the Frostbite engine, which has a laundry list of technical upgrades for Dead Space to be improved in almost every way from a mechanical angle.
That being said, the changes actually present in the Dead Space remake only seek to improve the original experience, much like the Switch 2 Ocarina of Time. For starters, the USG Ishimura is now an interconnected space, reducing loading screens and making players able to backtrack to areas. In the original title, some areas were locked off forever when you progressed in the story, representing more linear and restricted area exploration. At the same time, weapons are easier to find naturally in the world rather than only existing through shops. Other less-liked sections from the first Dead Space have also been adjusted, such as the zero-g levels that were difficult to navigate.
Free-flight systems from Dead Space 2 were integrated into the 2023 remake, but gameplay wasn’t the biggest area of change players noticed. The most notable change was the Dead Space (2023) added voice acting for protagonist Issac, making him voiced for the first time. While controversial at first, the voice acting quality in this game is high due to the A.L.I.V.E. system, which adjusts Issac’s heart rate, breathing, and voice lines based on his oxygen levels, health, or other stressors. This dynamic feature combines with new randomized enemy encounters to make the remake feel like an evolution of the original, rather than a transformed imitation of the first game.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Invalice Chronicles is already a great remake for allowing players to choose between both an Enhanced edition of the original game and a Classic version in different modes. The Classic mode is just the first Final Fantasy Tactics with nothing new, but the Enhanced edition follows the same points as Dead Space (2023) — adding voice acting and improving visuals significantly. The Enhanced mode also widens the screen during gameplay, making tactical battlefields easier for players to see throughout their adventure.
The voice acting adds a greater level of cinematic quality to the game, but there are no changes to the actual story of Final Fantasy Tactics in the remake. New difficulty options are combined with quality-of-life details, such as mid-battle autosaves and damage prediction displays. At the same time, players now have a way to redo turns, giving them chances to correct mistakes as they play. The remake also gives players access to a full turn order display, letting them know which character is about to act, whether they are an ally or enemy. Re-balances to jobs also makes gameplay more streamlined, and easier to understand for new players.
Similar to the Ocarina of Time remake, The Invalice Chronicles only introduces gameplay additions rather than taking away what players were used to. While some bonus content from the PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics aren’t available in the remake, other features are simply expanding upon what made the game appealing in the first place. Having three unique difficulty options is the pinnacle of that strategy in this remake, as it creates layers of accessibility to a game that was once considered “too hard” for its focus on strategy.
One of the most controversial remakes on this List was 2024’s Silent Hill 2, an overhaul of a renowned classic in the world of horror games. The original Silent Hill 2 is on the Mount Rushmore of psychological horror titles, featuring a harrowing, mature story that redefined what survival horror could represent within gaming as a whole. Everything, from the intentional cinematic lighting of certain cutscenes to the cadence of voice actors in different story moments were considered sacred, and scrutinized over many years since the first Silent Hill 2‘s 2001 launch.
This mirrors the beloved status of Ocarina of Time, another game that fans initially thought would fail to live up to lofty expectations set by the original. Thankfully, both the Nintendo classic and the Silent Hill 2 remake lived up to what players wanted, mainly by not changing too much of what made their source material so loved. 2024’s Silent Hill 2 overhauled almost all of the original’s gameplay, turning it into a traditional third-person survival horror experience much like Resident Evil. However, this worked in the remake’s favor, as it fixed the dated fixed camera angles of the original, whose in-game visuals and controls are quite hard to adapt to.
While it is likely the most changed remake here, Silent Hill 2 (2024) had adjustments that were desperately needed, such as a mini-map to prevent players from getting lost. Although cinematic angles were changed in cutscenes, the original story of the game remained, almost acting as a “modern” re-telling rather than an adaptation. New endings also elevate this remake, giving players more reasons to experience the psychological horror than they may have had all those years ago.
There honestly isn’t too much to say about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, as it holds so much reverence for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in nearly every facet of its creation. This is another remake of a highly respected title, once again reflecting expectations potential remakes can set, as seen by Ocarina of Time this year. Obviously, the graphics of Metal Gear Solid Delta are a huge improvement, creating realistic environments and visuals rather than the muddied colors of the original. The admittedly over-the-top story is never sacrificed either, keeping everything fans would want to see.
The gameplay features of the first Snake Eater were already extremely innovative, so Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t waste time trying to re-invent the wheel. Instead, it focuses on quality-of-life that retains the immersion of the stealth action title, letting conversations between Snake and other characters feel more organic during gameplay. At the same time, controls are more straightforward and the game is easier to save and pause, letting players engage with it at their own pace. For the most part, this remake is pretty much Metal Gear Solid 3 all over again, even going so far as to use original voice lines in remastered moments.
The gold standard of classic game remakes will always be 2018’s Shadow of the Colossus, developed by the now closed Bluepoint Games. This studio was also responsible for the remake of Demon’s Souls for the launch of the PS5, but Shadow of the Colossus will continue to be their magnum opus for a clear reason, as it completely retains everything that was so special about the original game. Shadow of the Colossus is something of a cult-classic, where players have to track down and kill several huge creatures around a haunting semi open-world, with gorgeous landscapes and atmospheric music solidifying the title as a memorable one.
Yet, the biggest problem with the first Shadow of the Colossus was how obtuse it was to control, leading to it becoming dated quickly after its 2005 release. That PlayStation 2 era was filled with so many excellent and innovative titles, that Shadow of the Colossus was praised, but not played as much by widespread audiences. With the 2018 remake, Shadow of the Colossus was able to fix these issues, while also gaining a significant graphical improvement that still make it one of the most visually impressive games of the PS4 era. Performance upgrades also made the game far more accessible to players, in ways it was never able to reach before.
UI/UX enhancements go along with overhauls to lightning, sound, and gameplay, almost making this version of Shadow of the Colossus better than the original in some ways. This is what defines a truly spectacular remake, as it evokes all of the same feelings that made the original special, while still changing enough to be considered a “remake” rather than a simple “remaster.” The Ocarina of Time remake follows this formula well, and hopefully signals other classic games to receive the same treatment as more are chosen to be brought back.
What are your favorite gaming remakes that don’t introduce too many changes? Let us know in the comments below!
