Daily Debate: Do Remakes Render the Originals Obsolete?

Remakes have been weighing heavily on the minds of Zelda fans lately. From those of use here at Zelda Informer who want to know if remakes are done too much, to our fellow gamers at Game Informer who can’t help but wonder what’s next after Majora’s Mask, all are curious about what game will be getting made over for a new system for another batch of fans waiting to experience it. It is, however, well-known that those who most fervently wish for remakes are those who love the originals, even over a decade after their releases. Does that love still remain once fans’ wishes for a fresh version of an old adventure come true?

Remakes, in essence, can be assumed to have a few key purposes: to appeal to older fans, to give new fans a way to experience games they may have missed, and to improve on the original games. This third point is the most important to both the parties addressed in the prior two, as this is where their interests overlap. Taking a personal aside, while I don’t consider myself a “new” fan, I have never played Majora’s Mask. Friends and co-workers have told me many a time that I am missing out by ignoring this entry, especially when I have access to it through the virtual console, not to mention myriad emulators, but I insisted on waiting until a remake – a more polished edition – came out. And with less than a month until release, here we are.

Now for those who consistently play the original games and the remakes. As I see it, there’s little reason to play the original with a remake on the way; Zelda games are simply too engrossing and time-consuming to play through an original and a remake as if they are totally dissimilar titles. This opinion, however, is highly dependent on time. It’s very understandable that those who experienced the originals at, or near, their releases would be both eager for an updated adventure, and content to enjoy their favorite titles yet again, exactly as they remember them. Additionally, those who put aside much of their free time to playing through older titles surely can go through both iterations of such entries.

There are surely other reasons to play through the original title instead of a remake. One that comes to mind is speedrunning; where would that sport be without glitches? For those of us outside those endeavors, however, I am curious at to what keeps people playing the source games as opposed to the remakes. Is it nostalgia? Is it the system? Do multiple elements come together and simply create a holistically different experience? Share your thoughts with us. Do remakes render the originals obsolete? Join the Daily Debate!