Is Changing a Video Game a Smart Idea?

That is a question that has boggled many gamers for a long time now. Now when I say changing people can interpret that many different ways. Some people might see it as updating the video game and giving it better higher quality graphics. That’s okay. But what I mean by changing is really changing it. Almost to the point of being unrecognizable and it upsets many gamers. Let’s look at an example…

This is Spyro the Dragon:

Spyro the Dragon debuted in September of 1998 and was developed by Insomniac and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. He was a small, cute purple dragon who was sent on an adventure to save the dragons from a spell cast by Gnasty Gnorc. Spyro was in the homes of many children during the late 90’s and early 2000’s. He had two more successful sequels released on the Playstation; Spyro the Dragon: Ripto’s Rage, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. In 2002, Insomniac decided to let go of Spryo and develop more new games while Universal Interactive continued with the series. 10 games and too many publishers and developers later, Spyro the Dragon was a destroyed series. He seemed to have lost his touch after Insomniac gave him up.

This year it was announced that Spyro would come back to the more recent consoles in a brand new game, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. This video game introduces a new way of gaming. Players will have to buy different action figures of the characters, “Skylanders”, they want to play (there are 32 in all). Players will place the skylander on a dock and that character will show up on the screen and play.

Along with a brand new of playing comes brand new character design! Meet the new Spyro the Dragon:

So many people were upset with the new design. This new Spyro looks so much more ferocious than what 90’s kids grew up with. So why change the game? Why change something when it is already a known fact that the original worked? Perhaps it’s because developers and publishers want to try a new demographic. In the 90’s people that were playing this game were probably young, around the age of maybe 7-10. As the game went on further the original fans went along with it. When developers saw that the fans were not taking to the newer games for the PS2 and GBA, they decided a new tactic. Let’s add toys to our game. By adding collectible figures that are needed to get through the game it focuses it’s appeal on younger kids of this generation. Perhaps the developers are expecting to gain a whole new following of fans this way and there games will sell once again. I am 21 years old and a die hard Spyro fan. I am not impressed with the new concept. My brother, who is 8 years old, is super excited about this game because of the new action figures. See, it’s already working. This is just a theory. It has not been proven or researched even. There isn’t any article online where this comes from. This is just my straightforward opinion and observation. I guess for children of the 90’s it is time to let go of Spyro the Dragon. We had our fun with him and it’s time to let others have their turn.

There have been plenty of other video games that have went through a major character change. Not all have upset fans. Some were for the better (Cloud Strife), but some were for the worst. Examples include:

Dante from Devil May Cry

Ethan Thomas from the Condemned series

Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider

A quick note about Lara Croft’s change. The one on the left is supposed to be her at a younger age therefore the game is set a bit of time before any of the other games. However, in the trailer Lara has a smartphone as well as Beats by Dr. Dre earbuds which were not sold until 2009. In this game Lara is supposed to be 21 years old. She was born in 1968 meaning that the year is at least 1989 when she is supposed to be in this game however she has a smartphone and technologically advanced earbuds. So this timeline has now been severely shattered.  If you’re going to change a game, at least try to do it in the right span of time…

Kingdom Hearts – A Quick Review

In 2002, the world of gaming was introduced to an all-new video game series the would capture the hearts of many. That game was Kingdom Hearts. It was marked to be new and innovative because the video game developer and publisher Square Enix paired up the characters of the ever popular characters from the Final Fantasy games, our favorite Disney characters that we know and love, as well as original characters of their own. It was new, it was refreshing, it was something we hadn’t seen before.

Kingdom Hearts is the story of a young boy named Sora who was chosen to wield the Keyblade to fight evil. The evil are called the Heartless and they are led by a man named Ansem. Ansem released the Heartless across the many different Disney worlds. Sora, paired with Donald and Goofy who he meets along the way, must fight against this power and save the worlds from being corrupted, and find his friends, Riku and Kairi.

The game features many recognizable characters which makes it even more enjoyable to play. Sora will meet characters such as Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Aladdin, Ariel, Simba, and more from the Disney movies, along with characters such as Tifa, Cloud, and Sephiroth  from the Final Fantasy series. Sora will even travel to different Disney worlds such as Halloween Town from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and into Monstro’s belly from Pinocchio.

So you might be thinking, “How serious can I take a game that has Disney characters in it? Won’t that make it all safe and childish?” I don’t blame you for thinking that, but it in fact doesn’t. All these characters can fight alongside you and send you out on dangerous missions to complete. It is so much fun to get chase after the bad guys while on a magic carpet ride. Disney made a good call in pairing up with Square Enix.

The games are of the RPG genre. Players will get to choose which attacks they want Sora to use, and will get to make other decisions such as where to go and what to say. At first the fighting style seemed slightly confusing because players can change keyblades, gain the ability to perform different magic, use potions and ethers, and summon other characters to help fight during battle. But it is actually quick to learn and players can use shortcuts for the different spells and items. Players will gain other abilities such as different fighting abilities. There is also a section of the game devoted to the Gummi Ship. It is what Sora and his friends will use to travel from world to world. While on the Gummi Ship players must fight against Heartless who try to stop them from getting through. Players can also customize their Gummi Ship to look and function different ways by collecting gummi blocks. In my opinion, don’t waste time on it. You can get through the level and the game with the Gummi Ship you’ve been given.

Overall, the story, characters, design, colors, everything is just amazing about this game series. As you progress to other games their will be a more developed plotline, more characters, and more fighting styles. They are super fun and extensive plays. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes RPGs. Actually you don’t even have to like RPGs to play this game. I played it based on the sole fact that I’m a HUGE Disney fan. So there are so many different reasons to play these games. Check it out because there are other games such as Kingdom Hearts 2, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep as well as the many others that are to be developed and released.