remake or remaster?

[ELDEN LORD]

keep getting mixed answers. store page sais remaster but some other people are saying its a remake. is it like kinda both?

[RyuHazuki]

Feels more remaster to me. Graphics are completely new made with Unreal 5 but game under is same.

[Daikatan]

Obviously it's "remake" cause engine is new and assets like models or textures are also?

[Daikatan]

Originally posted by RyuHazuki:

Feels more remaster to me. Graphics are completely new made with Unreal 5 but game under is same.

What you tend to consider as "remake not remake" is "reimagination". "Remaster" is when you literally take old game and attach new fixes/patches like better resolution etc. "Remake" is when you redo it, even if it's as much close to original as you try.

At least that's how i view it

[ELDEN LORD]

Originally posted by Daikatan:

Originally posted by RyuHazuki:

Feels more remaster to me. Graphics are completely new made with Unreal 5 but game under is same.

What you tend to consider as "remake not remake" is "reimagination". "Remaster" is when you literally take old game and attach new fixes/patches like better resolution etc. "Remake" is when you redo it, even if it's as much close to original as you try.

At least that's how i view it

i was always told a remake is built from the ground up of a re-imagined game and finae tuned. like dead space remake for instance. i know on steam store page it sais remaster, but i have people swearing up and down its a remake. so ya idk. it dosnt matter to much i was just more or less curious. to me it sounds kinda lieka hybrid of both. the remasters i know of are usually just small graphical updates etc.

[Seagal]

Koei Tecmo refers to it as a remaster numerous times on the Steam page, so it's safe to say that's what they think it is. It's Ninja Gaiden 2 remastered in Unreal Engine 5.

[-Tr¡Ρ-]

Different engine and in-game assets means it's a remake. A remaster can be something as insignificant as increasing the resolution or framerate.

[Seagal]

Originally posted by -Tr¡Ρ-:

Different engine and in-game assets means it's a remake. A remaster can be something as insignificant as increasing the resolution or framerate.

And a remaster could also mean something as significant as being remastered in a new engine. It's remastered in Unreal Engine 5.

Again, Koei Tecmo is referring to it as a remaster only and did so numerous times. They know better than you do on the matter I would think.

[-Tr¡Ρ-]

Originally posted by Seagal:

Originally posted by -Tr¡Ρ-:

Different engine and in-game assets means it's a remake. A remaster can be something as insignificant as increasing the resolution or framerate.

And a remaster could also mean something as significant as being remastered in a new engine. It's remastered in Unreal Engine 5.

Again, Koei Tecmo is referring to it as a remaster only and did so numerous times. They know better than you do on the matter I would think.

No they don't. They're Japanese and don't know the difference between the words. New engine means remake, this isn't debateable.

[Seagal]

Originally posted by -Tr¡Ρ-:

No they don't. They're Japanese and don't know the difference between the words. New engine means remake, this isn't debateable.

Are you implying that they're stupid or don't understand the meaning of English words because they're Japanese?

Does Koei Tecmo refer to it as a remaster or not? Do they refer it as such numerous times?

Exactly. I'm not going to argue with you on the matter. You can call it whatever you want, but it's Ninja Gaiden 2 remastered in Unreal Engine 5.

[-Tr¡Ρ-]

Originally posted by Seagal:

Originally posted by -Tr¡Ρ-:

No they don't. They're Japanese and don't know the difference between the words. New engine means remake, this isn't debateable.

Are you implying that they're stupid or don't understand the meaning of English words because they're Japanese?

I'm implying they're ignorant, not stupid.

It's just like how the most recent versions Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls are remakes, not remasters.

[Marsson]

I see it as a remake since it's completely remade in a completely different engine. It's not a reimagining of the original title like Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth is.

[-Tr¡Ρ-]

Originally posted by Marsson:

I see it as a remake since it's completely remade in a completely different engine. It's not a reimagining of the original title like Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth is.

FF7R is more along the lines of a "reboot". But it's also kind of a sequel as far as the story goes.

[Apocryphox]

I can understand why the remake/remaster debate constantly causes confusion, especially since developers themselves often don't know the difference. Simply switching to a different engine doesn't automatically make a game a remake. A game only qualifies as a remake if significant elements like gameplay and graphics are completely redeveloped from scratch. Take System Shock, for example. It’s clear that this isn’t a remaster because the engine, gameplay, and graphics have all been completely overhauled, even though the core elements (plot, locations, characters) remain the same.

A remaster, on the other hand, retains the core gameplay and/or graphics largely unchanged. An example here would be Dead Rising: Deluxe Remastered. While the game was ported to a new engine, the gameplay remains almost identical to the original, as do the animations, among other elements.

Nowadays, it’s become increasingly difficult to differentiate between the two, as remakes and remasters are often lumped together—even by publishers and developers. In the case of Ninja Gaiden 2: Black, it’s clearly a remaster. Although the game was ported to a new engine and features some new assets, it remains largely identical to the original. If it were a remake, the developers would have completely rebuilt the game—new graphics, animations, cutscenes, possibly motion capture—while keeping the plot intact. Examples of this are Resident Evil 2, 3, 4 or Dead Space.

[Dokferr]

Re-master
- Need the "master" (source code of the original game)
- Improving the master (graphic can be just a simple resolution update or modern graphical overhaul with modern engine)
- Limited gameplay update
- Basically 1:1 with the original

Re-make
- Recreating everything from scratch, not just the graphic (no source code)
- Endless update possibilities to gameplay
- Can be faithful (Silent Hill 2 Remake) or reimagined

To make it simple
Remake : 0 to 1
Remaster : 1 to 1+

Is it simple enough?

[TheWay]

The biggest problem with this remake/remaster confusion is that even developers don't understand it sometimes (or is it marketing's fault? idk). A perfect example of this is "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2" (2020), that is very clearly a complete remake, but it's marketed as a "remaster".

So anyway, it's actually very simple.

Remaster: SAME old game, SAME code, New Graphics (sometimes slight overhaul, sometimes complete overhaul), better resolution.

Remake- COMPLETELY new game. Even if all the locations are the same, even if all the dialogue lines are exactly the same, it's still a completely new game.

There are also instances when they take this same old game and update certain aspects, such as combat or animations. This is something "CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION" (2022) did. This is still a remaster, because they aren't building up a completely new game; they are simply updating the old one.

"The Last of Us Part I" (2022) is a full remake in every aspect, except the voice acting.


List of some Remasters:

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (2011)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (2016)

Alan Wake Remastered (2021)

Crysis Remastered Trilogy (2021)

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Remastered (2022)


List of some Remakes:

Resident Evil (2002)

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017)

Spyro Reignited Trilogy (2018)

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020)

Demon's Souls (2020)

Dead Space (2023)

Resident Evil 4 (2023)