FF7 Rebirth may be dethroned as my favorite video game remake this year

I have to give Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Credit where it’s due – it’s undoubtedly one of the most ambitious video game remakes ever made. While many remakes focus on rebuilding a game in a new engine with a few tweaks here and there, FF7 Rebirth Goes all out as part of a trilogy project trying to redefine the FF7 Experience. The game goes back over all the core events from the middle of the story, but it also overhauls the gameplay, changes key story and character concepts, and supplements everything with new mini-games, quests and encounters.

It’s no surprise that FF7 Rebirth is a game of the year front-runner for many peopleAnd I’m glad so many people have enjoyed the experience. Although it is not my number one title of 2024 (an honor that now goes to Lorelei and the Laser Eyes), I enjoyed the experience a lot. It turns out another remake that I really liked more, however, even if it is not revising a classic of the same magnitude and approaching it with the same great aspirations to provide a transformative adventure.

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed would be my ideal remake

A flawless experience that I absolutely love

Amidst a flurry of high-profile video game remakes in 2024, which have ranged from Paper Mario: The thousand-year door to Persona 3 ReloadOne that isn’t generating the same sweeping level of excitement is Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. The crux of the problem, of course, is that Epic Mickey is not a classic. It’s a popular Wii game that ended up in many households, but with some awkward camera controls, a variety of bugs, and a morality system that was criticized for being shallow, it didn’t win hearts as Super Mario Galaxy Or Xenoblade Chronicles did.

Epic Mickey However, this is a genuine contender for my favorite game on the Wii. I was essentially the perfect audience, having grown up on old Disney animated shorts and comics. My loyalties lie mainly with Donald and Scrooge, but the scrappy Mickey who causes mayhem in cartoons and solves mysteries in newspaper strips is a much more interesting character than the insipid corporate mascot he mostly is today, and Epic Mickey Embraces the classic ideals while pursuing an ink-drenched twist of its own.

I have never been much bothered by the common gripes about Epic Mickey. While the default camera movement can be terrible, it’s freely controllable on the D-pad, so adjusting it during gameplay eventually becomes second nature. I can’t remember bugs ever seriously inhibiting my experience, and I actually had a lot of figuring out a stupid exploit for a boss fight on my own. The morality system is cartoonish, but it’s also reasonably charming, and I don’t think comparing the morality system of a glorified 3D platformer to adult-oriented RPGs is particularly fair or worthwhile.

Even to take them in stride, it is nevertheless difficult to deny that Epic Mickey Has its fair share of critics, but that’s exactly why it’s such a perfect candidate for a remake. It’s a game with fantastic strengths, from the consistently rich atmosphere of a decaying, idiosyncratic park to the fundamental joy of wielding a paintbrush as a weapon. Epic Mickey: Rebrushed Is primed to connect the sticking points to put the emphasis on the highlightsAnd based on reviews so far, it seems to generally do so.

FF7 Rebirth can’t improve on an all-time great RPG

Creative changes do not beat the classic experience

FF7 Rebirth And Epic Mickey: Rebrushed are games with very different goals, and There is something to celebrate in the audacity Rebirths willingness to remix a time-honored story. I don’t think it ultimately rivals the original game, and its sometimes spectacular presentation doesn’t quite make up for frustrations like flattening the world of Gaia into a checklist structure. For me, the attempt to honor the classic story and add a new layer completely falls apart FF7 Rebirths climax, reaffirming where my loyalties ultimately lie.

I will still be venturing out in FF7 remake part 3 Along with everyone else, however If I could only have the original or the remake trilogy, I’d take the original any day of the week. This is not a judgment of FF7 RebirthWhich is still an incredibly impressive game, just a reflection of the uphill battle of remaking something without much room for improvement. Most remakes never even come close FF7 Rebirth In this regard, often trading charm, atmosphere and unique identity for generic graphical upgrades and quality-of-life upgrades that can flatten interesting design choices.

Remakes of masterpieces just not that interesting

There is more to lose than to win

FF7 Rebirth is mostly worth mentioning because it stands out above competitors, and The gap between my interest in Epic Mickey: Rebrushed And other 2024 remakes and remasters is much more. The Silent Hill 2 Remake Seems set to lose a huge portion of what made the original game special, and The last of us part 2 Remastered Feels ridiculously unnecessary. I can appreciate something like Paper Mario: The thousand-year door for bringing a classic back to store shelves, but it’s more of a fix for availability than it is for any major deficiency in the original experience.

I obviously can’t explain Epic Mickey: Rebrushed My favorite remake of the year until I actually play through the game, and there’s always a possibility that it won’t capture what I love so much about the original. Even if it doesn’t live up to my expectations, it’s still a model for the kind of remakes I want to see. Revisiting masterpieces will always attract the most attention and sales, but revisiting games that fall a little short gives you a real chance to surpass what came before, and that’s something that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Just can not do in my eyes.