Castle of Illusion remake incoming

[Krejlooc]

A comparison of the door screens from all 3 games:

Sega Master System:


Genesis:


HD Remake:


Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see, but it seems much more in line with the SMS version's level select screen than the Genesis version's level intro screen.

[BurningDoom]

A comparison of the door screens from all 3 games:

Sega Master System:


Genesis:


HD Remake:


Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see, but it seems much more in line with the SMS version's level select screen than the Genesis version's level intro screen.

I'm not seeing it. It looks completely different than both, to me.

Apparently members of the original Castle of Illusion team are being brought back to work on this remake.

That's fucking awesome!

Indeed!

[Krejlooc]

So now that there have been a string of impressive DD-efforts from Sega for the past several years now (ranging from Daytona USA and Afterburner Climax to stuff like Monster World IV being translated and the arcade version of Wonderboy in Monster Land being released in the US for the first time ever to the built-from-the-ground up Sonic CD, 1, and 2 re-releases, to new DD content like Sonic 4 episode 2 and Castle of Illusion HD - perhaps it would be a good time to talk about just how well Sega's digital focus is paying off?

For those who wrote off the company around 2008, Sega has changed massively in the last 5 years. Following Sonic Unleashed's poor reception, Sega of Japan hired a marketing analysis firm to find out why the game didn't do well. The marketing firm decided to monitor internet forum behavior surrounding the game for about 3/4 of a year and compiled a report that shocked Sega of Japan. This was the the first time many of the commonly repeated complaints had been seen directly by the heads of Sega, and Sega found the information so useful that they set up an entire new division in the company dedicated to internet community interaction. This is why, following Sonic Unleashed, you began to see Sega themselves referencing the Sonic Cycle in internet advertising.

in 2008, the community position was a tiny one in North America, but Sega has slowly begun to shift focus, conceding the high-end console market likely not viable. rather, Sega has embraced digital distribution - an avenue that allows them to pump out smaller, more arcade-like titles that can be riskier and still turn profits. Sega actually shut down Sega of America and built Sega Networks in its place - an entire 1/3 of the company focused entirely on internet communication and digital distribution.

This has coincided with Sega's focus on computer gaming, as well. Digital distribution and computer gaming seemingly go hand in hand today, and Sega has made significant gains as a PC power. They are no simultaneously a powerhouse PC developer and a PC publisher, having acquired The Creative Assembly and more recently Relic. In a crazy twist that few probably saw coming, Sega has effectively become the entire RTS market outside of Blizaard. Sega is now currently Blizzard's main rival.

This is all cool because the new Sega Networks is granted way more freedom than Sega of America was. The president of Sega Networks is Haruki Satomi, son of Hajime Satomi - the majority shareholder of Sega Sammy and the founder of Sammy. Sega's DD push was Haruki's idea primarily, and he is granted incredible linency with regards to what portions of Sega's library his division can touch and explore. Going back to the establishment of an online community presence, this has lead to an outpouring of grass roots games suggestions. The Sonic CD rewrite, for example, was supported by an enormous fan push to get the game to Sega's community leader's attention, who managed to parlay it into a full release. This is why you've seen sega revisiting more obscure areas of their history, like NiGHTS and Jet Set Radio and now Castle of Illusion.

Of course, none of this would mean anything if the venture hasn't been successful. Luckily, it appears Sega's DD focus has become a boon for the company. Sega's backlog is filled with games that are perfect for DD, and at low price points they can still turn a profit. Sega has stepped their DD release efforts up, as well. No longer do they release simple rompacks done by Backbone. Now, M2 releases high quality emulation efforts with tons of bonuses, like sound tests or 3D TV support in Super Hang On. Every "rom" release sega has done for the last few years have been notable in one way or another. Their Dreamcast ports have improved in quality, and their original digital efforts look to have been steadily improving since Sonic 4 episode 2 to Sonic 4 episode 2 to now this.

I'd say all these factors have made Sega probably the biggest DD company around, outside of Valve. Even other top competition from companies like Capcom just don't measure up to Sega's efforts recently. I think this position will serve them well going into the future.

[3703]

.

[CFFJR]

I'm curious about the specifics of that report. It must be an interesting read.

Great post though SonicRetard. I've been happy with Sega's output the past few years. If I have a complaint as a fan right now, it would simply be that I want more, and that's a good problem to have.

[ZeroAX]

Bleh. Another quick cash in. They could have rereleased the original game, which is a classic and great the way it is. But that way they couldn't charge the 10-15$ they are going to charge now.

They could have made a game inspired by it, a true sequel if you will, but they were probably afraid they would mess it up, because developers have forgoten how to make good 2D platformers.


Mind you, if this was a Sonic HD remake I would probably buy it, so it's probably targeted at the HARDCORE fans of the game who are just looking for an excuse to replay their favorite classic, and for younger people who wouldn't touch the game in its original form.

I understand the business logic behind it, it's just that I personally am not excited for this as I was for the "spiritual successor" it got on the 3DS last year.

[AppleQueso]

Bleh. Another quick cash in. They could have rereleased the original game, which is a classic and great the way it is. But that way they couldn't charge the 10-15$ they are going to charge now.

Wait wait wait, are you implying that it's cheaper for them to do a full on 3D redo than it would be to just re-release the original?



Based on what I've seen, this looks to be more of a 're-imagining' than a straight up remake. I don't think we'll be getting carbon copies of the original levels.

[ZeroAX]

Wait wait wait, are you implying that it's cheaper for them to do a full on 3D redo than it would be to just re-release the original?



Based on what I've seen, this looks to be more of a 're-imagining' than a straight up remake. I don't think we'll be getting carbon copies of the original levels.

haha no. I just meant that because the original has aged so well, it didn't need an "HD remake" for people to be able to appreciate it, and that they only needed to remake it so it gets more hype, can be sold at a higher price, and more people think it's worth buying it.


As I said, it's a totally sound business decision, but artistically uneeded.

And if that's the case, fair enough, but we'll have to wait and see.

[Retronomy]

So now that there have been a string of impressive DD-efforts from Sega for the past several years now (ranging from Daytona USA and Afterburner Climax to stuff like Monster World IV being translated and the arcade version of Wonderboy in Monster Land being released in the US for the first time ever to the built-from-the-ground up Sonic CD, 1, and 2 re-releases, to new DD content like Sonic 4 episode 2 and Castle of Illusion HD - perhaps it would be a good time to talk about just how well Sega's digital focus is paying off?

For those who wrote off the company around 2008, Sega has changed massively in the last 5 years. Following Sonic Unleashed's poor reception, Sega of Japan hired a marketing analysis firm to find out why the game didn't do well. The marketing firm decided to monitor internet forum behavior surrounding the game for about 3/4 of a year and compiled a report that shocked Sega of Japan. This was the the first time many of the commonly repeated complaints had been seen directly by the heads of Sega, and Sega found the information so useful that they set up an entire new division in the company dedicated to internet community interaction. This is why, following Sonic Unleashed, you began to see Sega themselves referencing the Sonic Cycle in internet advertising.

in 2008, the community position was a tiny one in North America, but Sega has slowly begun to shift focus, conceding the high-end console market likely not viable. rather, Sega has embraced digital distribution - an avenue that allows them to pump out smaller, more arcade-like titles that can be riskier and still turn profits. Sega actually shut down Sega of America and built Sega Networks in its place - an entire 1/3 of the company focused entirely on internet communication and digital distribution.

This has coincided with Sega's focus on computer gaming, as well. Digital distribution and computer gaming seemingly go hand in hand today, and Sega has made significant gains as a PC power. They are no simultaneously a powerhouse PC developer and a PC publisher, having acquired The Creative Assembly and more recently Relic. In a crazy twist that few probably saw coming, Sega has effectively become the entire RTS market outside of Blizaard. Sega is now currently Blizzard's main rival.

This is all cool because the new Sega Networks is granted way more freedom than Sega of America was. The president of Sega Networks is Haruki Satomi, son of Hajime Satomi - the majority shareholder of Sega Sammy and the founder of Sammy. Sega's DD push was Haruki's idea primarily, and he is granted incredible linency with regards to what portions of Sega's library his division can touch and explore. Going back to the establishment of an online community presence, this has lead to an outpouring of grass roots games suggestions. The Sonic CD rewrite, for example, was supported by an enormous fan push to get the game to Sega's community leader's attention, who managed to parlay it into a full release. This is why you've seen sega revisiting more obscure areas of their history, like NiGHTS and Jet Set Radio and now Castle of Illusion.

Of course, none of this would mean anything if the venture hasn't been successful. Luckily, it appears Sega's DD focus has become a boon for the company. Sega's backlog is filled with games that are perfect for DD, and at low price points they can still turn a profit. Sega has stepped their DD release efforts up, as well. No longer do they release simple rompacks done by Backbone. Now, M2 releases high quality emulation efforts with tons of bonuses, like sound tests or 3D TV support in Super Hang On. Every "rom" release sega has done for the last few years have been notable in one way or another. Their Dreamcast ports have improved in quality, and their original digital efforts look to have been steadily improving since Sonic 4 episode 2 to Sonic 4 episode 2 to now this.

I'd say all these factors have made Sega probably the biggest DD company around, outside of Valve. Even other top competition from companies like Capcom just don't measure up to Sega's efforts recently. I think this position will serve them well going into the future.

I'm actually quite happy with Sega embracing the digital distribution. It's obvious that it's working well for them considering just how much they've released over the past few years. With their new retro engine we could soon be seeing other awesome games with better framerates and additions. Image Vectorman at a full 60 FPS, or even Comix Zone.

However, their made for mobile releases do leave something to be desired. Sonic Jump is gross. Sonic Dash could actually be pretty good if they tweaked the formula a bit to have more goals than just "GO FAST" and perhaps some changes in scenery. As it stands the entire game is a mach speed segment.

[jinx]

I'm actually quite happy with Sega embracing the digital distribution. It's obvious that it's working well for them considering just how much they've released over the past few years. With their new retro engine we could soon be seeing other awesome games with better framerates and additions. Image Vectorman at a full 60 FPS, or even Comix Zone.

However, their made for mobile releases do leave something to be desired. Sonic Jump is gross. Sonic Dash could actually be pretty good if they tweaked the formula a bit to have more goals than just "GO FAST" and perhaps some changes in scenery. As it stands the entire game is a mach speed segment.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.
I've seen complaints from the fan-base for years to "bring back the classics". When they started messing with the formula, they got a lot of flak. I actually liked Sonic the Hedgehog 4, but there were a lot of people that wanted the old classic feel back. Ever since, it seems like they're actually listening and sticking to "What works". I'm looking forward to seeing more of Sega's digital releases, and will shell out any money I can to support them, as long as they continue on this same trend.