5 Classic Arcade Games Remade for the PS1
First you put the quarter in the machine, but then you put a CD in the machine? What's the deal with that? *audience laughter
All we get nowadays are remakes, remasters and rehashes. It’s enough to drive you mad. Can’t these developers come up with anything new? I wish I could go back to the old days where everything was a fresh new concept.
Here are five arcade games remade for the PlayStation One.
1. Centipede (1999)
Centipede was an arcade game where you shot a moving set of blobs that someone suggested was a centipede. It skitters down the screen changing direction every time you shoot off one of its segments. You also get attacked by bugs and spiders.
The remake
You play as Wally Gudmunzsun, a glasses-wearing dork who is chosen by magic to be the one to destroy The Legend. The Legend is a giant centipede that awakens with its insect horde every 100 years to destroy humans.
This is you, the huge nerd
Along with the new story there are also new mechanics. You can move around 360 degrees as you traverse through the standard video game levels, such as the grass world and the ice world. New enemies, new power ups and the inexplicable ability to jump.
Now you can do some very rudimentary platforming. The player’s ship is very quick and responsive and the controls are overall good. Except for these platforming sections. The ship carries no momentum, so if you stop moving while jumping you stop in mid air. The perspective makes it hard to measure your jumps. The game really didn’t need it.
Is it a good remake?
I don’t think so. It adds a story and new environments, but at the end of the day it’s still Centipede. That’s not a bad thing. Centipede is a fun arcade game, but that’s what it is: an arcade game. It’s fun for a bit to try to get the high score. When you stretch the gameplay out through multiple levels it starts to get repetitive.
Each level is made up of sections where you fight hordes of centipedes and bugs, and that’s pretty much it. It’s always centipedes. They change up their color scheme, and add a few extra objectives like protecting some crystals or rescuing people, but it’s always shooting the same type of enemy over and over again. Level one and level 100 are essentially the same.
It has the same addictive gameplay loop of the original, but the levels are too long to keep your attention. The endurance aspect of the arcade game is lost in the adventure mode.
If you really love centipede, just play the original, which is included in the remake.
What did the critics say?
They hated it.
Whoever thought of taking the premise behind the classic Centipede arcade blaster and thrusting it into the 3D world should be shot
It scored 3/10, 5/10, 4/10, 58%. Critics were pretty unanimous in their disdain for the game. The overall consensus is that the game is boring. I completely agree. It’s a very one-note game. Not even Wally’s hunky charisma is enough to carry this. It’s 30 minutes of gameplay stretched over several hours. I would have loved it as a kid, but I was pretty stupid. Now in my older years, I’m still pretty stupid, but I can’t find much fun in this. The framerate stinks, too.
2. Asteroids (1998)
Asteroids is an arcade game from 1979. In it you fly around space shooting asteroids. These asteroids split off into smaller asteroids which then have to be shot, too. Once all the rocks are gone, the level ends and the next one begins. Every now and then a UFO flies across the screen for bonus points.
What made this one interesting is that the ship has momentum. You accelerate and build up speed in one direction, and when you let go of the thruster you ship sails across the screen as if it were really in space. If you need to turn, you have to face another direction and accelerate, carrying the momentum from earlier. It makes for a control scheme that takes some time to get used to, which adds to the challenge.
The Remake
The remake doesn’t add a fancy story, it’s just asteroids on your new-fangled 3D console. The game isn’t in 3D. It’s still the same 2D gameplay but with fancier graphics. The action still takes place on a single screen which you wrap around at the edges, and you still shoot space rocks.
This time you have different power ups, like homing missiles and a plasma drill. You also get a shield you can activate to protect yourself from the debris. The remake also adds new types of asteroids to shoot, such as a crystal asteroid that regenerates from its small fragments if it’s not destroyed quick enough. There are also new enemy types and even stage hazards. The new changes are welcome additions.
The soundtrack deserves a mention. Instead of going for upbeat techno like the other remakes on this list, it goes for electronic ambient instead. It really helps to create a strangely lonely atmosphere like you’re out in the vacuum of space.
Hanging out by the giant Hell portal
It’s a great remake. It keeps the core of the original and expands on it in ways that make sense. It’s still pretty repetitive, since all you’re doing is shooting rocks, but the different levels and hazards keep it fresh.
I used to play it all the time as a kid. I still think it’s pretty fun today, though I don’t see myself beating it in one weekend like I did back in the day, but it’s still a nice game.
What did the critics say?
They liked it. Scoring 8s and 7s. They thought it was a good remake and seemed to be pleased with it as well.
Up to now, it’s the best remake of these I’ve seen (but we’ve only seen two)
3. Space Invaders (1999)
In the original Space Invaders you shoot waves of aliens that are slowly descending to the earth. Every time you kill an alien, the swarm gets a little faster until at the end when there are two or three remaining they zoom across the screen. If they get to the bottom, you lose. As they descend they shoot at you, which can also kill you. To protect yourself you have some shields you can hide behind that eventually get destroyed if they take too much damage. It’s a simple arcade game that vacuumed up a ton of quarters back in the day.
The remake
The remake is pretty much the same, but it adds a completely new mechanic: Shoot down four aliens of the same type in a row and you get a special shot. Each alien gives you a different shot. The red ones give you a vertical shot that blasts through everything in a straight vertical line, the blue ones give you a rocket that flies to the right after hitting a target and the yellow ones give you a shot that splits off into two. There are a lot of different aliens and they all give you a different power.
These shots can be chained. If you use one of these missiles to take out 4 aliens, you get their power. It turns Space Invaders into almost a kind of puzzle game where you plan out which aliens you want to take out in what order for the most efficient chain. You can also play the game like normal and shoot the aliens one by one. You could also play Mario Kart without items, or go to a bar and order water.
It also adds bosses. Each world is capped off by a huge alien, and to the game’s credit they aren’t just enlarged versions of the regular enemies or giant swarms. They’re actual bosses with unique designs and attack patterns. They are a blast to fight and really switch the game up. Except for the third boss. It dies really quick. Fast enough to be noticeable.
Thing is, the bosses are more fun than the regular stages. The added puzzle element makes them more interesting than the original, but the aliens themselves are pretty easy. They don’t really pose a threat and are there to be shot at more than to provide any resistance. The slow fire rate and presentation don’t help much, either.
The presentation is worth mentioning here, for worse. It looks like a browser game. Not like those soulful flash games from Newgrounds like back in the day. This game is like those weird overproduced 3D browser games that looked really fancy but lifeless at the same time. Same thing with this game. The aliens and everything look okay, but the backgrounds are completely static JPEGs. It’s like playing a game in front of a desktop wallpaper.
The backgrounds aren’t even that interesting. Just some vaguely spacey sci-fi looking illustration thrown behind the gameplay. No animations, no special effects, nothing. That along with the generic, farty techno music it makes the game feel completely lifeless.
Hey look. It’s Uranus.
What did the critics say?
They seemed to enjoy it. Sevens and eights. They praised the addictive gameplay and that it kept the same charm from the original. Not many mention the presentation, which I think is detrimental to the experience. Asteroids, as mentioned previously, has animated backgrounds and an interesting soundtrack. It does a lot to add to the experience.
It’s a worthy remake, just know you’re in for a visually unappealing time. It includes the original game, but you have to beat the remake’s arcade mode to unlock it.
4. Galaga: Destination Earth (2000)
In the original from 1981 you are a ship at the bottom of the screen. Your job is to defeat a swarm of aliens that appears above you by shooting them down. The aliens dive at you in different patterns and you have to kill them or dodge them.
The remake
The remake stays pretty much the same, but with fancier graphics. It doesn’t have an elaborate story like Centipede, but it starts with a great looking cutscene. It has cutscenes to introduce each level and they still look nice. The gameplay is untouched and now you go through themed levels, which is the thing to do with these remakes. Galaga is a classic for a reason, it’s easy to understand and very addictive, but you didn’t get a brand-new PS1 to play Galaga.
Welcome to the future, Dillweed
What is this? We get a whole new dimension to play with? It took four remakes and we’ve finally gone FULL 3D. That’s right! After two waves in the first level the game shows its hand and surprises you with the wonders of technology. It’s a surprise if you didn’t look at the back of the box, that is. It’s still pretty neat to see.
The game also throws in some sidescrolling 2D sections. You have the classic top down, the brand-new 3D and the side-on sections. Three different types of shooter in one. Absolutely mind-blowing. Now THIS is a remake. I can’t wait to see what else this game has to offer.
I’m still waiting. Other than the neat perspective changes this game doesn’t do anything too different. There are no power ups, no different ships. From the first level to the last you are playing as the same ship with the same gun against the same aliens doing the same things. There are special objectives in each stage but they are either collecting things or destroying others. There are turret sections every now and then but that’s it. You know things are dire when a turret section is something to take note of.
Is it a bad game? I honestly don’t know. I loved it as a kid. This was one of my favorite PS1 games. I think it’s still pretty fun, but it has a lot of downsides that cannot be ignored. One of them is the complete lack of save function. This isn’t a short game, but you have to complete it in one sitting. You have to replay the first level every time you boot up the game. The original Galaga is completely missing here, too.
What did the critics say?
Moby Games says 5/10 across the board. Gamespot gave it a 4/10, stating that it’s the most uninspired of the remakes. They also complain about aliens popping out of the fog and being hard to avoid. All game guide said it takes the spirit of Galaga and crushes it beneath 3D mission-oriented levels.
I don’t quite agree with the reviews. The game itself is good, even if it is incredibly simple. I don’t think it does away with the spirit of Galaga. In fact, I think it sticks too close to the original formula. The camera perspective changes often every level but the gameplay is exactly the same. The aliens come in, they loop around and get into formation. Then they shoot at you and dive. It’s the same in all three perspectives. It’s worse in the 3D view, since the aliens keep their 2D movement patterns and it’s a bit hard to aim at such a small, fast target in 3D space. There aren’t even any bosses, just giant waves at the end of each level, and they don’t add any new enemy types.
When I was a kid it was the only shmup I played along with the original Galaga and Starfox 64. I thought they were all great, but now that I am old and full of mold and have played way more video games than I should I see that Destination Earth is very basic. Whenever it shifts to the side-on perspective I’m left thinking of R-type, Einhander, X-multiply or even Harmful Park. Sidescrolling shooters on the PS1 that do a lot more interesting things and are over all more enjoyable.
A positive I should mention about this game is the soundtrack. It’s very good. You can listen to it here:
I’ve had the Neptune track stuck in my head since I was 10.
This is a case of looking at something without the nostalgia glasses. The core is good, but there’s really nothing more there. It’s like a really solid house with no furniture. The lack of a save feature really bugs me.
5. Robotron X (1996)
The original Robotron: 2048 is a top-down twin-stick shooter. It’s the grand daddy of all twin-stick shooters. In it you run around a square arena shooting robots and rescuing the last human family. It’s a typical endurance arcade game where you try to survive and get a high score.
The Remake
Let’s pop this sucker into my completely legit PlayStation one and give it a whirl-
OH MY GOD
What a nightmare. Everything is constantly blinking; the floor, the pick ups, your shots. EVERYTHING. I haven’t seen so much flashing since they held the pervert convention during Mardi Gras. Every frame is a new sin against the eyes. It’s like they made a game to spread awareness about epilepsy by causing it. It’s like satan trying to communicate via Morse code.
Imagine everything is flashing and the room is spinning.
Forget Polybius, this is the real deal. This isn’t a game, it’s a CIA interrogation technique. When you finish a level you suddenly feel compelled to confess to crimes you didn’t commit. This is an MK-Ultra activation phrase on a disk. I used to think video games didn’t cause violence, but after playing this for a few minutes I suddenly feel like overthrowing the government of a middle-eastern nation on shoddy pretenses. The black vans outside my house finally make sense.
I’m glad I never played this as a kid. My eyesight is bad enough as it is already. If I had subjected myself to this during my formative years I’d be wearing telescopes instead of glasses. My parents would have been arrested for child abuse if the cops knew they let me play this. Playing this game feels like that one scene from Invader Zim with the eyes.
You know the one
What did the critics say?
It got 6s across the board, proving that this is satanic. A reviewer from Gamepro said “The revamped visuals are nice”. He probably said that just before his eyes leapt out of his skull in protest. EGM rated it a 25 out of 40 and said “it’s a good one”. Good? Where? A 25/40 is 63%. That’s a D. You can’t pass a class with a D. If I brought home a test with a D and told my parents “it’s a good one” they would have locked me in the closet.
I don’t even know if I agree with the critics, I didn’t get far enough to form an opinion. I was on level two when I suddenly blacked out and woke up somewhere in Yemen with an M16 in hand.
This doesn’t even include the original. If you want to play a good sensory overload twin-stick shooter try Nex Machina.
Those were 5 PS1 remakes of old arcade games. What was the point of that, other than doing irreparable damage to my corneas? To prove that remakes have always been a thing. Every fifteen to twenty years a beloved classic will get remade thanks to the cycle of nostalgia. Kids who played and loved a game when they were young grow up to work on a new version of it. They will keep happening, too.
Out of all the games I looked at, I think Asteroids would have to be my favorite, with Space Invaders a close second, but Space Invader’s sleep-inducing presentation is a real drag. Centipede had fun gameplay and a really cute colorful style, but it was so repetitive and thin that I really couldn’t stand it for more than an hour.
In terms of gameplay, I’d give it to Space Invaders. It stays very close to the original while adding in some great new gimmicks that expand the gameplay and keep it fresh. For best presentation, I think it should go to Asteroids or Galaga. They both have great visuals, good atmosphere and memorable soundtracks. Out of the five, I’d say Asteroids is the best remake. Like Space Invaders, it builds on the original and adds just enough to make it fresh and adds new things each level to make it interesting, and it shows that a lot of work went into its presentation. It’s a good game.
As we’ve seen, remakes can be good, like Asteroids, where they keep the central idea of the game and what made it work but they add something that expands the gameplay in a way that makes sense. Nowadays a lot of remakes just remove content or soul from the original.
With the way video game preservation is, remakes are sometimes the only way to play certain games (legally, at least) since game companies insist on not re-releasing their old stuff, like Nintendo. Sometimes they pull a Ninja Gaiden Black and lose the game’s source code. Because of course you’d spend years and thousands of man-hours working on something just to sell it once and then throw it away.
If you take anything away from this article, it should be that remakes are not always bad… and that Robotron X should go to prison.