Nintendo Okie

Are we afraid of our games changing?  I keep hearing that Darksiders is the game Zelda fans have been waiting years for.  Nintendo admits that The Legend of Zelda franchise is due for a change.  What would the video game world do if Link rolled out on a motorcycle sporting a gold chain and a green mohawk?  I think that we would all cry as if our first pet died.  Innovation in games is important but is there a point where games are so set in their ways that they cannot change without destroying what makes the franchise great in the first place?

How often do we hear the words reimagining, remake or reboot in regards to long running games franchise?  I challenge you to go to any game store and find a shelf that doesn’t have an older game remade for modern consoles.   I’m not saying this is bad, but it does strike me as puzzling.  Usually these games are met with mixed reviews that either applaud the innovation or dismiss the game because it is too different from the original.  Take New Super Mario Bros. Wii for example.  You could almost draw a line down the middle of the gaming press.  I heard people complain that it was just an old game with a new look.  Then I turn around and someone else is saying it is exactly what they have been waiting for.  I guess you really can’t please everybody all the time.

I remember when I first heard that Metroid Prime was going to be from first person and not a side scroller.  The first thing I thought was. “well, they ruined Metroid.”  I figured there was no way that you could capture the same feeling of exploration from inside Samus’ helmet.  For months, whenever I heard any news about Metroid Prime, my outlook was jaded because there was no way it could be any good.  Then I played it.  I freaked a few people out in the electronics section of K-Mart that day.    When I shot the wave beam and shouted, “that is exactly how wave beam should look” people started staring at me as if I had two heads.  From that point on, I have tried to welcome change to my most beloved franchises.

Animal Crossing: City Folk is a game that divided the gaming community.  Most of the reviews that I read for the game spoke of how it was the exact same game as Wild World.  The main draw of the game, the city, contained shops that eventually moved into your town in Wild World.  I admit I was disappointed but what was I expecting?  Regardless of what the reviews said, I still played that game an unhealthy amount.  My 90 hour siren in Borderlands has nothing on my City Folk town.  If I started playing City Folk now, I would probably wake up two months later as if I had drank a bucket full on NyQuill.  So why was I disappointed?  Did I expect Tom Nook to build a Nookway on the moon?  The game did exactly what I wanted.  It captured the feel of Animal Crossing while adding a few new features to keep things feeling new and fresh.  Sure it didn’t reinvent the wheel but obviously it didn’t have to.

I heard the same complaints about Mario Kart Wii.  It is a racing game for crying out loud.  Nintendo added new tracks and cars, what more could they have done?  What about Madden?  How much can it change between year to year?  The basis of the game is always football.  You call plays and move the ball to the end zone.  Like other games, they add new features and tweak things to make them work better but in the end it is still football.  How come people don’t complain about that?  Does it get a free ride because one comes out every year?  Doesn’t that mean it should innovate more with each passing year to keep people interested?  EA must have this figured out because Madden is the best selling franchise in video game history.  I am not a fan of sport simulation games so maybe I just don’t get it.

Maybe it is a good idea to think of game development as a cookie recipe.  Nobody complains when you replace the chocolate chips with peanut butter.  Try to add fish heads to the dough and see how long it takes before the police show up.  More than anything, I believe people should be careful what they wish for.  You may think your favorite game could benefit from a ground up rebuild, but that could turn the game into something you don’t want to play.