Q&A for Ben Judd's October 2018 BCB

My answers:

1) Rabi-Ribi is my fav indie Metroidvania
2) I'm fine with it as long they stay reasonbly priced
3) Breath of Fire 3 (It belongs to Capcom btw). I'd usually say Grandia 1 but that is already being done.

1) Hollow knight, even though I just started playing when it came out and never continued, i plan to do it soon, I like what I have seen until now.
2) I welcome remakes or HD versions of old very good games, but only if done right(Silent Hill 2 and 3 remakes were awful)
3) Silent Hill 1, Captain Claw

1. Ori and the Blind Forest, Guacamelee, & Sundered
2. I'm fine with remakes & re-masters in general as long as they aren't for games/series that came out less than 10 years ago (or one console generation ago)
3. That's a toughie cause there are a few non Square/Nintendo games I'd definitely like to see get remade such as Cold Fear, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Timesplitters, Dragon Spirit, and The Thing .....hmm I think I'm gonna go with Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare especially if they do it in the same vein as the RE 2 remake.

Your favorite Indie Metroidvanias: Does Faxanadu count? I'm saying Faxanadu.

How you feel about new remakes and HD titles coming out recently: I don't like buying the same game multiple times. That being said, if the game is over 15 years old I would like some of my games on a current system instead of trying to hook up an old system to a new TV.

If you could remake one non-Nintendo or SQ-EX game from PS2 or earlier, what would it be?: Summoner for the PS2. One of the best, underrated games I have ever played.

1)  Hard to say between Axiom Verge which I'm loving & Ori and the Blind Forest which I'm playing currently. Both games are so stylish in their own ways. 

2) I feel pretty good about HD remakes and re-releases, they bring a revamped experience to a new audience but I also feel they are a bit lazy. Zelda Twilight Princess HD could've been so much more.

3) That's kind of a hard question, I'm a pretty die hard Nintendo gamer so a ton of games I love are Nintendo. I'd have to say I'd love an HD remake of the game InFamous. That game was just so fun for me. Seeing it updated to modern hardware and across multiple platforms would be so sweet.

Q1: "Your favorite Indie Metroidvanias?"

Answer: Without a doubt; *Ori and the Blind Forest and *Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Cave Story and Salt & Sanctuary are also great.

Q2: "How do you feel about recent remakes and HD titles?"

Answer: So far, the only recent remakes/HD remasters I've played & enjoyed are DuckTales: Remastered, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, & Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology. The changes made to all four were perfectly alright with me, especially for the last [and most recent] one.
^
In fact, I'd even recommend that Ben Judd check out Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology if he hasn't already, especially if he didn't play the original game for DS. Just in-case, I'll include this link to a video review of the game for him to view if he wants to before playing it.

Q3: "And if you could remake one non-Nintendo or SQ-EX game from PS2 or earlier, what would it be?"

Answer: If I had the talent to program games, I'd choose to remake the PS2 game Eternal Poison. A hidden gem of an RPG game, in my opinion, which allows you to play through the story from the perspective of five different characters.

Thank you for your time, Ben, I know you're a very busy man and we appreciate it.

My question for Ben would be:
During the dawn of the HD generation Japanese companies were struggling to find their footing with few successes and many failures. But now the picture is very different with multiple recent worldwide triumphs like Monster Hunter World, Nier Automata, Nioh, Persona 5, Octopath Traveler, Dragonball FighterZ, Nintendo in general, and Dragon Quest XI marking the return of the series to home consoles and even embracing the PC!
What changed from the PS3 to the PS4 generation that influenced this positive change? Do you think we're seeing a Japanese game industry renaissance?



My answers to Ben's questions:

1) Favorite Indie Metroidvania
Guacamelee. I'm Mexican so my opinion is super biased. That game was a love letter to Mexico and I loved every second of it.

2) How I feel about new remakes and HD titles coming out recently,
Very excited and I'm a sucker for them. I am, however, let down by the Castlevania Requiem release since it only contains two Castlevanias and are two of the most readily available games in the series. Where's CV Bloodlines available other than a Genesis cartridge? They need to put some effort on these HD Collections for them to matter

3) If you could remake one non-Nintendo or SQ-EX game from PS2 or earlier, what would it be?
Konami's Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for N64. It was basically Zelda Ocarina of Time cross Japanese humor and folklore a year and a half before Zelda on N64 came out. Its an incredibly underrated game and my pick for the absolute best non-Nintendo non-Rare game on the console.

Your favorite Indie Metroidvanias:

Dark Souls
Axiom Verge, Ori and the Blind, Dead Cells, Hollowed Knight, Salt and Sanctuary.
Honorable mention: 'Dust: An Elysian Tale' had a fairly good story I enjoyed, however the exploration and combat was very mind numbing

How you feel about new remakes and HD titles coming out recently:
Both are fine, however, lately I'm finding that HD-Remasters are more or less becoming cash grabs for companies given the price they usually advertise them at (i.e., Dark Souls 1 remaster)

I feel Final Fantasy X/X-2 did a great/reasonable job with their HD-Remaster. They upscaled most graphics, increased geometry in some assets/resources, included additional content only available in the international release

I feel Shadow of the Colossus was a fantastic example of a remake staying true to the original.

FFVII Remake is certainly an example, however, I'm displeased with direction they are going, however, it's certainly a pre-mature judgement. I just feel it's a very risky decision to do as they are. I would have preferred a more HD-remake of the original content/concept/mechanics/gameplay, EVEN IF not the BEST of quality as the common AAA titles may have us expect/want. (but with my vision, it may then only appeal to the hardcore final fantasy fanbase.)

If you could remake one non-Nintendo or SQ-EX game from PS2 or earlier, what would it be?
Xenogears
I'm giving two three as my first one just came to me, however, it could be because I'm on this forum and in the mood:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
STILL 2D sprites, although I understand that with more pixels it can be harder to depict consistency between sprite work and varying artists on the team. But, this is what I'd want. AND have MORE music in the damn inverted castle. Keep the the crappy voice recording quality; for some reason, to me this added value to Alucard's voice. I'd personally even settle for same original resolution or perhaps just a little larger (widescreen obviously)

Or hell.... remake it like a dark souls games. Dark Souls is, to me, the true 3D castlevania game. Albeit, I don't think the battle mechanics of dark souls would really fit the Castlevania vibe. Soooo that'd be a challenge for sure.

Seriously Xenogears...
Metal Gear 1 and 2 (MSX)
They could make for a new incredible Metal Gear Game on modern hardware, however, I think we understand this is very unlikely to happen. #konami
Also David Hayter's voice is sooo sexy.

Alundra 1 and 2 (PS1)