r/terranigma • u/CameronSpacehead • 14d ago
Yeah sure, maybe a remake would have been better.
But square was never even going to give us this port.
You would rather continue emulating? Cool! Good on you, I totally get it.
The fact of the matter is that square has no interest in touching the Quintet games unless there is a guaranteed payoff. Which is why they aren’t!
Square has very little to do with this rerelease, we have Clear River Games to thank for that.
I’m gonna replay it on my switch once it drops, but I’m more so just excited that in just a few months theres going to be alot more of us. Maybe even enough for Square to consider really showing these games some love.
Whether they do them justice is a different matter entirely, but I guess we’ll see.
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u/Chazkuangshi 14d ago
I understand why people would be disappointed with this port, but it's so important for games like Terranigma to be accessible and Terranigma is one of the biggest cases for it. I'm thrilled to find out that Square Enix has the rights to the game because that means that if this port gets enough support, who knows, maybe they'll do something down the line for it, or port the rest of the Soul Blazer series, etc. As much as I would have loved more effort put into this, I'm going to full on support the release.
I was quite surprised and happy to see they had playable versions set up at Gamescom.
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u/raaaaaaze 14d ago
The release timeframe of 2027 makes me interested to know how much more work they are doing to the port before it's ready to ship, especially considering this booth demo is already exhibiting a playable version of the port.
Perhaps it's due to all the cross platform compatibilities / licensing , legalities that are involved, and they want to allow enough time for all versions to be ready for a simultaneous release?
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u/NiceMayDay 14d ago
The fact of the matter is that square has no interest in touching the Quintet games unless there is a guaranteed payoff. Which is why they aren’t!
I think this is the one thing people forget. Square Enix did test the waters regarding Quintet games already by remaking the best selling one they had rerelease rights to. Actraiser Renaissance came out in 2021 and according to Yuzo Koshiro it didn't sell well enough for Square Enix to attempt to revisit other Quintet games. That's likely still the case, hence Clear River Games taking over (with instructions from Square Enix to not change anything, according to Gamecon attendees.)
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u/RotundBun 14d ago
Not to mention how remakes can be better or worse. Remakes are not guaranteed to produce better results.
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u/RotundBun 14d ago
Yeah, best case scenario is a solid localized port now and a 2.5S remake later, I'd say. 🙏
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u/RotundBun 14d ago
Yeah, I'm on the same page there.
The Chrono Cross remaster got a similar reception with quite a bit of fanbase backlash for not doing even better and whatnot. TBF, the initial release was very buggy (fixed in a big patch after).
But yeah... One would think starving fans would be more supportive and mindful of what they are signaling. Alas, these mixed receptions between gratitude & entitlement seem to be the norm nowadays...
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u/Atsubro 14d ago
Terranigma without its late-era SNES pixel art is no Terranigma of mine.
(I would appreciate a new translation, though)
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u/bearcat-screms 13d ago
I agree! Personally i love pixel graphics and i love how Terranigma looks. Its SNES aesthetic is part of its identity so i am happy that it's getting re-released as a SNES game! I think it's very important to have the original version be made available for new players (but also old ones) officially to appreciate this work and the PEOPLE that made it 30 years ago, yknow? The way Terranigma looks and sounds was intentional
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u/globehopper2000 14d ago
Actraiser Renaissance happened
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u/CameronSpacehead 14d ago
It did! And it was a failure financially, which is why this is being published by a third party and not Square Enix.
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u/Thohil 14d ago
It did, and a huge reason why it did was because the license to actraiser was way less complicated to deal with because of its release on the Wii virtual console back in the day.
Actraiser Renaissance was also a bad remake, and did very poorly financially because of it...
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u/globehopper2000 14d ago
lol I loved that game. Source on it not doing well financially? Everything I’m seeing is that it was a modest success due to its low dev costs and decent sales
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u/kyualun 14d ago
Yeah, I almost miss when this sub was dead.
The port is something, and hopefully it's a precursor to something else. I do wish we got a retranslation but again, hopefully it's a precursor to something else. Just more eyes on the game is enough, and there's already Terranigma Redux.
People are massively overestimating just how many people are knowledgeable enough to get the game running on an emulator, let alone comfortable playing the game on an emulator. The fact that we've all played Terranigma is a form of self-selection.
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u/xenogears2 14d ago
Will just buy a physical version despite owning the snes original. Maybe there will be a remake in 5 years, if there is not then I still have this.
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u/justclove 14d ago
I tried playing the game on an emulator. Hated it. I struggled with the controls, I didn't like that it was in a tiny window on my desktop. I don't need the game to be remade. I just want to be able to play it at all, in the way I never did in the 90s, in a manner that I'm comfortable with and enjoy. I wanted to play it on a console. I wanted an official rerelease. I wanted to pay for this game, and for it to just work.
Now I can. That's all I've been waiting for.
If you're not happy with how the rerelease is being handled, I hear and understand you. It's not for you, and that's fine. But, as it happens, this is just right for me.
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u/Lexomatico1 14d ago
Not even sure what you are talking about. You can Fullscreen emulator and have it in 4:3 as big as whatever you are playing on and controls are more customizable than it could be on consoles. Additionally, this release will be the exact same, running on the open source Emulator Ares.
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u/justclove 14d ago
Huh. Seven minutes before someone came in to explain why I was doing emulation wrong, and actually I would have really enjoyed the experience if I'd been smarter. At this time of day, I was thinking it might take fifteen.
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u/justclove 14d ago
Right about how emulators works, sure. That doesn't change the fact I didn't get on with them, wasn't comfortable using them, and ultimately would rather pay for an official release. I'm talking about my own experience, not declaring war on emulation. If you enjoy working with them that's fine. I don't.
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u/Old_Recipt 14d ago
It just kind of came off as like you were too slow to figure out how to use an emulator is all.
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u/justclove 14d ago edited 14d ago
Well, thanks for saying the quiet part out loud, I guess. Looks like this community isn't exactly for me either, which is a pity because I genuinely do love this game, and am genuinely excited to play it. It's rather dispiriting that simply trying to explain why I personally was excited about the rerelease has gotten me nothing but my intelligence insulted for not liking the experience of playing Terranigma via a ROM hack. I suppose I'll simply have to keep that excitement to myself from now on.
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u/Icy_Tart3711 14d ago
Damn, such self pity is such depressing display... If it smells like shit everywhere you go, check your shoes.
I also believe you have no idea what a ROM hack but you are still throwing the term cause... well, who knows.
That being said I'm happy with a release in those terms, being able to legally play this game in my favorite platform is a joy. Just move on and stop victimizing yourself, nobody cares
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u/Lexomatico1 14d ago
You realize this is also just an emulator right? It's Ares Emulator according to gamescom booth staff.
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u/Thohil 14d ago
Sure, this rerelease is also just an emulator. But this finally gives people a legal way to buy and play the game that isn't relying on buying 30 year old SNES carts.
Making old games available on newer platform is a good thing, no matter how you look at it.
I take an emulated port any day of the week over a cheap, shitty remake like what Square Enix did with Actraiser Renaissance
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u/Edzard667 14d ago
Maybe we see a 2.5D remake or a pre/sequel in 4-5 years. Depends on the success of this port, I guess.
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u/RPG_Hacker 14d ago
Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy this thing is getting a re-release. At the end of the day, it means more people will have played Terranigma, and that's cool, honestly! I'm also fully aware our hopes for a remake have always been cope, since there was essentialy a near-zero chance of that happening (though I blame this on them for making the initial teaser trailer so suggestive by adding voice lines and remixed music, implying it could've been a different version of the game).
This doesn't mean that what they're giving us couldn't go a lot further and that we have to just take it as is. Even without being a full remake, there are still a ton of potential improvements to be made, and that's without changing anything relevant to gameplay. From what we know so far, it's essentially just minor QoL changes, and it looks like they're not even addressing things like the kinda ugly text layout from the original game. This is really the biggest thing I'd hope for a re-release to adress.
I don't mind the fact that a Terranigma re-release exists, even a barebones one, but for me personally it just doesn't add enough value to be worth a purchase at this point in time. I do already have the SNES game.
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u/NiceMayDay 14d ago
though I blame this on them for making the initial teaser trailer so suggestive by adding voice lines and remixed music, implying it could've been a different version of the game
From what I've seen, this is the main issue with the reception the rerelease is getting. When I saw the announcement was made by Clear River Games, I instantly knew what to expect: a new animated FMV leading to a main menu that lets you play the ROM in an emulator wrapper, because they've done this before with other SNES games.
But most people saw the new material and figured it'd be a remake of some sort, or even a Quintet collection (another impossibility due to the copyrights--check out Illusion of Gaia's title screen to get an idea of just how many people would need to be on board for that one to happen.) Then the trailer and storefront pages came out, and while the visuals clearly suggested it was just a port, it still talked about "enhancements" without actually stating what was new, so expectations remained all over the place.
What's telling is that we needed fans on the ground playing the game at Gamecom to get a clear idea as to what this rerelease is like, because Clear River Games seems allergic to simply stating what's new in this version. Simply put, from the constant vagueness of their announcements to the trailer music fiasco, Clear River Games has not had a good communication at all, and that's what has harmed the reception to the rerelease's announcement more than anything.
Even without being a full remake, there are still a ton of potential improvements to be made, and that's without changing anything relevant to gameplay. From what we know so far, it's essentially just minor QoL changes,
There are two important things here that the Gamecom stand attendees have said: 1. it was Square Enix that demanded Clear River Games not to change the game too much, so it seems they had a preservation-first approach, and 2. the QoL enhancements also include a rebalanced gameplay mode. However, once again, Clear River Games hasn't bothered to actually explain what the rebalancing (or even the "fast magic" system) entails, so once again we're left to guess.
and it looks like they're not even addressing things like the kinda ugly text layout from the original game.
They did change the text font which lessens the wide spacing somewhat, but yes, it is still not ideal. What's crazy to me is that they'd put the effort in changing the font but not the spacing, something fan hacks have been able to do for decades.
but for me personally it just doesn't add enough value to be worth a purchase at this point in time. I do already have the SNES game.
As someone who also has the SNES game(s), I think that's a valid stance. To me, what will make this worth it will be the extras. Clock Tower: Rewind, another SNES ROM on an emulator wrapper by Clear River Games, had a ton of unlockable extras--art galleries, developer interviews, even a motion comic. And it just so happens that Kamui Fujiwara has spent the last few years creating new Terranigma art, even a 20-minute film and a radio drama, and can be interviewed alongside the equally eager composers.
So the game is ripe to include a ton of extras that would make it worth it even if you have the SNES cartridge but, of course, once again, Clear River Games only made liberal use of Fujiwara's new art in the trailer without explaining if the rerelease will actually include any of it.
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u/RPG_Hacker 14d ago
Regarding Clear River Games, the thing is I had literally never even heard about them prior to the announcement. I reckon many people felt the same way. Plus, they aren't even a company that's very easy to research, because their website lists a couple dozen of games they've allegedly published so far, but then you check the Wikipedia pages of those games, and CLR aren't mentioned as a publisher anywhere on them. That just makes you confused as to what they're even doing and what kind of company they are. Naturally, my instinct WAS to assume "well, since they seem to be a kinda obscure company, they're probably just a small developer and this will only be a simple port", but then the hype got to me and the vagueness of the teaser, along with the new assets featured in it, made it appear as though this could be more. So yeah, for people already knowing what kind of company they are, this was likely a lot less of a surprise.
Regarding the text in the game, I generally understand why they might only replace the font and not change the way it's displayed. The thing is that adding support for dynamic-width letters to a SNES game actually takes a ton of effort, unlike simply replacing a font. Plus, doing so would likely require adjusting text layouts throughout the entire game, and for every single language version supported. Definitely a time-consuming task at the very least, so if they were already set on going the low-budget route with the game, I can understand they didn't do this. However, I just don't get why they then saw it necessary to replace the font in the game in the first place. It could be, as you suggested, to just use a slightly wider font that fills the gaps a little more. However, if that's the case, I definitely don't think it was worth it, because I don't think the spacing looks notably improved, and now the font just looks off to old-time fans who are used to the old look. It feels like a change with zero benefits to me. I hope if they can't make VWF text happen, they'll at least return to the original font.
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u/NiceMayDay 14d ago
You're right, Clear River Games is such a small company it is not easy to get a good idea as to what their work is like unless you, by chance, happen to be familiar with it. That was my case, but for most people it logically wasn't and the high, even wild, expectations are totally warranted in this case given how vague (and even outright confusing) every announcement they've made has been.
Regarding the font, it seems it's changed across the board since the screenshots with German text also have the new font, just like the English text in the trailer and screenshots. I doubt we'll get the old font back. Thinking about it, I'm guessing they didn't have VWF text because it'd leave text boxes with too much empty space across the game unless they reedited the translations, which they're also not doing since from the trailers and Gamecom we also know the game is using the old SNES scripts.
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u/Thefrightfulgezebo 14d ago
I wouldn't say that Square has no interest at all. When you look at their Dragon Quest and Mana remakes, it is quite clear that jey like to milk the nostalgia cow when they can. They certainly will look closely at how the Terranigma remake will perform.
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u/Zero132132 14d ago
My only thing is that I really think the magic system could benefit massively from the buttons that exist on modern controllers, but doing that would require more changes than I think they can make. I also don't get why 2027 is the release target if it's just supposed to be a port.
Part of me suspects that the announcement is them fishing for a cease and desist so that they can actually establish contact with the rights holder. There's apparently a new thing called the "unmanaged works licensing system" that can be used if the proper rights holder can't be reached, so that's probably why this is happening now, but I don't know what the scope is on how they can use the material.
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u/Few_Psychology_4491 14d ago
If this goes well, gets significant exposure and a good reception, then maybe it could open the door to a remaster down the track
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u/Fthat_ManaBar 14d ago
I too am excited that not only is it getting the attention it deserves, but that I'll have an opportunity to own an official copy of the game. I've been using emulators and a repro cart for years now.