How video game remakes tap the power of nostalgia
Video games are good at triggering nostalgia, a key reason why classic games keep getting remade.
The moment she saw footage from the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Kacey Doran picked up her phone. She had to tell her sister.
Nearly 30 years ago, a 10-year-old Doran had sat in front of her family's TV, reading out the dialogue on screen to her sister, a year younger, as they inched their way through the original Nintendo 64 game's sprawling, puzzle-filled dungeons. Ocarina's fantasy-like story, and beautiful music, enthralled them both.
It was also the first game Doran ever completed. Now, countless memories rushed back to her as she devoured clips of the fully redesigned version, due to arrive on the Switch 2 later this year.
Clearly, nostalgia is not the only driver of interest in the remake, and today's audiences will expect a game that plays to today's standards.