June 15, 2018|
SuperMarioT analyzes what makes a game a port, sequel or brand new title.
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I think we’ve reached the law of diminishing returns for gaming in general, were not experiencing these graphical leaps we saw when we transitioned from the NES To SNES to the N64 and so on. This is why games don’t look as good as their counterparts as we’re at the point where only small changes are going to be noticeable. Smash right now looks as good as I think it’s going to ever look, and it’s only going to graphically increase in smaller ways as the years go by. Which is why I think everyone thinks it’s a port
The problem is at the end of the day, modifying the graphics, bringing in a few new characters and doing some balance patches doesn’t make something a new game. Otherwise the likes of various Street Fighter II versions could be considered entirely new games when they really more like expansion packs/updated editions. The entire reason why every character and what seems to be every stage is coming back is because they took Smash Wii U’s engine, characters (models/moves/animations), stages and items and added new stuff onto it. Heck I wouldn’t even be surprised if instead of porting it over they just outright used Wii U as base to add stuff into instead.
I think we’re getting into really arbitrary definitions when we start giving different names for different ports. To me Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is no less of a port than Tropical Freeze is. One may have a bit more new content, but at the end of the day, it’s still a port. And Mario Kart 8 Deluxe didn’t even really add that much. Just five new characters and some Balloon Battle maps.
I wouldn’t say Smash Ultimate is a straight up port, and if I went by the multiple definitions you used I’d even say it’s an enchanced port rather than just a regular port, but this game is not built from the ground up in the slightest, and there’s a big difference from making something very different on the same engine (like the difference between Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time) and something that is the last game with balance patches, added characters and a new coat of paint.