GAMETECH: Legendary games resurrected

IN THIS industry, when something comes back from the dead it’s usually a zombie or a Skyrim addiction. That wasn’t the case at E3, where long-deceased games rose from the grave looking fresher than a stiff breeze on the Cliffs of Moher.

Who would have thought we’d see Shenmue 3, Final Fantasy 7, and The Last Guardian brought back to life?

The odds on all three being reanimated at one E3 must have been astronomical, yet here we are — surrounded by a trio of returning legends, each of them long dismissed as dead and buried.

The case of Shenmue is especially incredible. The original game was a Dreamcast flop that cost $70m to make, sold poorly, and subsequently became a huge cult classic. The story ended in a cliffhanger and fans have been clamouring for the final chapter ever since.

It’s been 14 years. In that time, Microsoft has released three consoles, there have been 21 Assassin’s Creed games and Lara Croft has changed her cup size from ‘Kardashian’ to ‘acceptably human’.

What makes Shenmue 3 even more unbelievable, however, is the manner in which the game is being resurrected. It marks the first time a major player in the industry has turned to Kickstarter to fund a release.

As of writing, Shenmue 3 has raised $3.4m in just four days of crowdfunding, far surpassing its original goal of $2m. Sony claims that the Kickstarter exists to ‘gauge interest’ in the title, but Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki seems to think this drive will fund the entire game.

“I will say this,” Suzuki told Reddit, blinking his eyes in disbelief. “If we reach the $5m mark, one of the things I really want to do with Shenmue 3 will become a reality. At $10m, it will truly have the features of an open world.”

That quote should inspire an air of caution. The chances of the Shenmue Kickstarter raising $10m are very slim indeed, which means the game will likely be done on a smaller scale than its predecessors. Still, that’s not bad for a franchise once thought dead and buried.

A fate worse than death

Speaking of dead and buried, Aeris must be turning in her grave knowing that Final Fantasy VII is finally being remade.

The poor flower girl, ironically turning daises herself, suffered the most famous death in gaming at the hands of Sephiroth 18 years ago. Now she is being resurrected to face the same fate again. Or will she?

According to Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura, the much-anticipated remake will feature changes to the plot, due to the presence of writer Kazushige Nojima, who also scripted the original.

The game will be updated for ‘modern times’, according to Nomura. It’s easy to imagine that Nojima might choose to spare Aeris this time around, allowing Final Fantasy fanboys the chance to sleep soundly for the first time in almost two decades.

Then again, maybe Nojima will choose to kill Tifa instead.

Microsoft does 180° turn on Xbox

Finally, if you thought that your Xbox 360 games were dead to you, think again. Microsoft has announced backwards compatibility for the Xbox One, meaning your old 360 titles may soon be playable on the newer console.

The compatibility will be updated over time, with Microsoft holding a vote to see which titles should be added first. As befitting this resurrection process, a game with ‘dead’ in the title has taken the number one spot.

Rockstar’s western masterpiece Red Dead Redemption is in pole position, holding off two Call of Duty games, Skyrim and Halo Reach.

Digitally-purchased games will show up in your library automatically, while retail disks won’t work with an Xbox One, but will instead initiate a download of that game to your system for play.

This is a surprisingly consumer-friendly move by Microsoft and should be applauded, but don’t expect every 360 release to be made compatible.

“There are lots of 360 games I’d like to bring to Xbox One,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer said on Twitter, to a fan who asked about Fable Anniversary being released for Xbox One. “[I have] Only so much time and want to focus on making new games. Not easy tradeoffs.”

Fair enough, Phil. Anyway, there’s always Half-Life 3 to wait for.