POLL: Is something inherently lacking from a remake/remaster review if critic hasn't completed the original?

[coolbeans]

JWeinCom said:

No. Definitely not. Absolutely not.

Reviews offer different perspectives. And, as a reader, if you're trying to figure out if something is worth your money, you have to find the perspective that works for you. If I'm considering something like Live A Live where I haven't played the original, what I really want is the perspective of someone who is coming to the game fresh like I am. If it's something like Skyward Sword HD, I'm going to want to see if the game is worth it to someone who played the originals. So, its good to have reviews from multiple perspectives.

That being said from an editorial/professionalism standpoint, you should make sure reviews match up with the expectations of your audience, and the target audience of the developers. For instance, something like Mario 3D World is probably going for a pretty broad audience, and the Wii U sold so poorly that a lot of people are not going to have played it, so it makes more sense to review it as if it were something new and not pay too much attention to the Wii U version. On the other hand, something like the upcoming Mega Man Battle Network Collection is clearly targeting the nostalgia crowd most keenly, so it wouldn't make too sense to have the review done by someone who hadn't played any of the originals.

So, to put it another way, there's no ding against a newbie's/semi-newbie's professionalism to review a remake so long as the situation harmonizes with the dev's implicit goals.  It's just on me (or any reviewer) to do a good job explaining their pros/cons from the overall experience.  

My interpretation of DS Remake: "We're still using the skeleton that Visceral made over a decade ago (location, aliens, atmosphere), but refashioning it in exciting ways.  We're gutting out and re-doing certain areas, Isaac isn't a buckethead, yada yada yada.  We respect the source material, but this is also an EA Motive game open for old fans & newcomers."

Conversely, if I had an obvious bias against all pre-90's gaming it'd be wildly unfair to handle the Atari 50th Collection.

EDIT: Fair interpretation, broadly speaking?

Last edited by coolbeans - on 25 December 2022