Zelda remake highlights nostalgia's power and risk in video games

Kacey Doran, who teaches an esports course at Rowan University in New Jersey, was so moved by footage of the forthcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that she messaged her sister. The game is due to arrive on the Switch 2 later this year.

Nearly 30 years ago, when Doran was 10, she read the on-screen dialogue to her younger sister as they worked through the original Nintendo 64 title's dungeons. Ocarina of Time, released in 1998, was the first game she completed. She recalls its fantasy story and music as 'magical,' and hopes to share the remake with her sister's children.

The industry has long relied on remakes, from Mario Kart and Final Fantasy to Pac-Man, as hardware improves and new players arrive. But updated classics can be a double-edged sword. Some fans are very protective of favourite titles, and new versions do not always match expectations.

Nostalgia is important but mixed, says Tim Wulf of the Centre of Advanced Internet Studies in Bochum, Germany. It brings happiness at remembering what mattered, along with sadness that the time has passed. It is social, he says, because nostalgic memories are tied to other people, and it can lift self-esteem while underlining key bonds.

Games are especially good at triggering nostalgia because players can 'jump into the same environment,' Wulf says, making them emotional time machines that can feel stabilising in a changing world. Doran adds that returning to an old favourite is satisfying because you already know what to do and are winning again.

Nostalgia is not the only draw. Today's audiences expect games that meet modern standards, and Wulf says companies must keep innovating. Although he was a fan of the original, he has no interest in the Ocarina remake: 'I want a new game – I don't want to play an old game,' he says.

Critics often highlight tension over which version is definitive. In 2021, Square Enix released Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., a remaster of a game first published in 2010. One reviewer said the result was two nearly identical Niers competing to be the true one. Fans can react badly if a remake fails to do justice to the source material, and angry reactions can be serious.

Stephanie Ijoma, chief executive and founder of the consultancy and creative agency NNESAGA, says there will always be fans who nit-pick. Developers must balance appealing to fans with creative freedom, she adds: 'You can't make art in fear, you can't create in fear.'

She points to Final Fantasy VII, first released in 1997 and remade in 2020. Ijoma played it in the late 1990s and was thrilled to share it with younger players. Remakes make such sharing possible because old hardware and consoles are not accessible to everyone.

Niklas Hallin, a solo indie developer who runs Neckbolt, says he tried several times to play Silent Hill 2 but found it difficult to get into; the remake, by contrast, runs smoothly on modern hardware. Nostalgia is not a big motivator for him, but he includes subtle references to classic games because players respond to them. Indie developers often use retro aesthetics because they are popular and easier to achieve than billion-dollar AAA graphics.

A final question is whether remakes will remain worthwhile as visual differences between games shrink. Harding-Rolls predicts companies will keep connecting new audiences with classic titles through updates, with remakes becoming less about graphics and more about editorial changes, reinterpretations or added content.

Source: BBC Technology.