5 Excellent Gaming Remasters That Became the Definitive Version to Play

When it comes to a remaster or remake of a great game, there are certain expectations players have about its quality. Too often, a remaster can lose the identity of what made a game great, sometimes by smoothing out an art style that had intention in its ruggedness or by changing beloved gameplay into something that fits “modern” standards. However, the best remasters tend to not only keep all the qualities of a game players enjoyed, but also enhance them with smart refinements that only build upon what was already there.

A great remaster is also an opportunity for older games to become more available to players, usually after a long period where they were hard to find. A good gaming series might have an entry that is somewhat dated or only existed on an older platform, meaning that obtaining it was expensive and difficult. With good remaster bundles or collections, some forgotten titles can come back into the light, and be played definitively by players looking to explore a series through each of its projects.

5. Spyro Reignited Trilogy

One of the best examples of a definitive remaster is the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, which brought back the original 1998 series to modern systems for everyone to try. Spyro the Dragon and its sequels were developed by Insomniac Games for the original PlayStation, making interesting and open-ended 3D platformers that were fairly advanced for the time. Yet, the environments and character models for the game quickly became dated over the years, especially as other PlayStation series started experimenting more with realistic graphics in the early and late 2000’s.

The blocky and heavy polygons of Spyro‘s 3D world was meant to be explorative, with gameplay mechanics tied around the titular dragon Spyro’s flight and other abilities. With Spyro Reignited Trilogy, all the gameplay systems pioneered in the first three games were upgraded from the ground up, reflecting how platformers had evolved over the last two decades. Everything about the Reignited Trilogy is an improvement, especially the graphics, which completely re-designed all character models used for each memorable figure from all three games. A new soundtrack also enhanced the games, adding dynamic music that changed based on how players controlled Spyro’s actions.

Moving around increased bass and percussion sounds, while music faded out and changed to something more atmospheric if Spyro stood still. This was just the tip of the iceberg for how Spyro Reignited Trilogy improved upon the original platformers, as other elements like game menus, the in-game camera, gameplay controls, and even cheat codes were updated to make the trilogy feel like a brand-new release. All the worst, clunky parts of Spyro‘s original games were taken away, replaced or refined to fix issues that had been around for years. With new cutscenes for a cinematic flair too, this game is a great example of a title that truly fits the term “remaster.”

4. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is easily the best place to play all the Halo games from the Xbox and Xbox 360 eras, especially if you’re a fan who doesn’t like the series’ direction from Halo 5: Guardians onward. At first, this 2014 game released for the Xbox One was meant to be a place for the first four Halo games, including a never-before-seen remaster of Halo 2, a title once only available for the first Xbox console. The rarity of Halo 2 made this remaster an excellent reason to get the collection, especially since its cutscenes were fully redone to achieve movie-level quality thanks to animation studio Blur.

However, over time, this collection became even more impressive, adding even the Halo spin-offs from developer Bungie as it grew with new updates. Each game in the bundle was not a lesser version of itself either, as eventually, all the Halo titles in The Master Chief Collection would receive character customization options and full multiplayer support with varying ways to play. As it stands right now, players can experience the full breadth of the following Halo games through the collection alone:

• Halo: Combat Evolved (both classic and 10-Year Anniversary Edition)
• Halo 2 Remastered (also has classic graphic options)
• Halo 3
• Halo 3: ODST
• Halo 4
• Halo: Reach

This six-in-one remaster is perhaps the greatest single way any player can get into the Halo series as a whole, instead of getting the recently released Halo: Campaign Evolved. Various cosmetics and an impossibly long achievement list are combined with campaign playlists and Skull modifiers for every game, allowing players to do pretty much whatever they want. Although not every mode from each Halo game made it into the collection, the remastered maps it has for some titles like Halo 2 make it almost a better experience than the originals.

3. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Much like Spyro Reignited Trilogy, the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is an Insomniac remaster that aims to become the main version of the games it upgraded. In the same way as Spyro, this trilogy combines three series games into a bundle with massively improved graphics meant to give players a far better understanding of the platforming present. Mechanics in the N. Sane Trilogy are completely modernized, fixing many of the problems of the original Crash Bandicoot games, but not taking away the fun quirkiness of those titles that made the platforming enjoyable.

All the most aggravating platforming segments of the Crash Bandicoot games remain in its remasters, keeping the spirit of the series alive with a fresh coat of paint. Yet, new features give players more ways to interact with the game too, such as modern save systems and difficulty adjustments to make the trilogy more approachable. A new playable character and new items like the Speed Shoes also improves what came before, with a few new levels also making the experience feel like an evolution rather than a total re-invention.

2. Dead Space

The first Metroid Prime was released on the GameCube in 2002, but its remaster came out in 2023 for the Nintendo Switch to prepare fans for another installment in the first-person series. For the most part, there aren’t too many changes between the two games, unless you look deeply into how its presentation was adjusted to somehow improve an already stellar sci-fi adventure. The visuals are the first thing players will notice, as the Switch version of the game obviously has improved the graphics for Samus and all the environments she explores.

However, an underrated aspect of the remaster is how the new HD visuals also extend to sounds, with completely updated environments and noises within them. The controls are also reworked to better fit a modern controller layout, once again making this remaster more accessible than other versions of the game. The modern changes to gameplay are small at the same time, so players can still experience the unique quality of Metroid Prime compared to other titles in that (usually 2D side scrolling) franchise. New color assist options, a character gallery, and unlockable content not in the original also helps this remaster stand out as a definitive way to play Metroid Prime for the first time.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Invalice Chronicles

When it comes to praised remasters, there are many that commit to great quality-of-life changes to transform an older game into something modern audiences can pick up. That being said, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Invalice Chronicles is not a typical remaster, as it does not change much of its original gameplay to fit modern standards. Instead, this game focuses on giving players more options to engage with its multi-layered strategy experience, with extra features that simply weren’t in the original. The best example of this is through the adjustable difficulty system, which lets players select distinct ratings of challenges that best suits how hard they want their journey to be.

Whether players go into a Squire, Knight, or Tactician story, the game scales enemy damage and tunes their behavior to match that choice. Furthermore, fans of the original Final Fantasy Tactics don’t even have to trade out their nostalgia, as they can choose to go into Classic Mode that doesn’t change anything from the War of the Lions translation of the game. The Enhanced Mode improves graphics and even adds voice acting to the game for the first time, improving visuals with an HD look and giving well-known characters from Final Fantasy Tactics a voice for the first time.

UI/UX changes are also huge here, with better damage prediction previews and distinct turn orders displayed with far more clarity. New auto-save features mid-battle and turn reset options give players more flexibility to correct mistakes by turning back the clock, making crucial errors something they can fix. Progression is easier to understand in the remaster too, making it easier to plan out paths for your favorite characters. With pre-battle deployment screens adding new layers to strategy the original game simply couldn’t do, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Invalice Chronicles is a remaster that makes its source material a relic of the past.

What is your favorite remaster of a classic game? Leave a comment below to let us know!

5 Best Remasters to Play On Nintendo Switch