While many video game developers and publishers enjoy remaking titles from their back catalogs with state-of-the-art technology (see: the Resident Evil 2 remake), a popular pastime among fans of longstanding video game franchises is to “demake” modern installments into something that more closely resembles its roots. A popular example of this is the original “Classic” Mega Man series, which has for the most part maintained the style originally formed on the Nintendo Entertainment System, save for a few outliers; dedicated fans have remade installments such as Mega Man 7 for the Super NES and Mega Man 8 for the PlayStation to more seamlessly blend with the rest of the first ten entries (and if there’s interest, perhaps we can talk about those some other time).
With all the recent hype surrounding Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch, it was only a matter of time before someone tried their hand at creating a demake of some sort based around it. In this case, the folks over at Nintendo Wire recreated the opening cinematic for the game’s Adventure Mode, “World of Light,” as it might appear if it were released on the Game Boy Color:
What makes this even more interesting is that a significant number of characters featured herein have actually starred or appeared in games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, which makes comparing their appearances here all the more interesting. These include (based on first appearances on the platform; some like Mario would keep us here all day otherwise):
- Mario (Super Mario Land)
- Kirby (Kirby’s Dream Land)
- Mega Man (Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge)
- Link (albeit not this version, who hails from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening)
- Pikachu, Mewtwo, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, and Pokémon Trainer/Red (Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow)
- Pit and Palutena (Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters)
- Princess Zelda (again, not this version from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds; The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons)
- Samus (Metroid II: Return of Samus)
- Bowser (Game & Watch Gallery)
- Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid/Metal Gear: Ghost Babel)
- Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong Land)
In addition, different “bystanders” from the original version get zapped away here, such as BunBun from Super Mario Land. How many do you recognize from their original Game Boy/Game Boy Color appearances?
Lover of fine foods and felines, as well as comics, toys, and... oh yeah, video games. David Oxford has written about the latter for years, including for Nintendo Power, Nintendo Force, Mega Visions, and he even wrote the book on Mega Man!
