Remakes, if done correctly, can be a great thing for the industry. Bringing an old, seminal title to a modern audience is great for gaming culture and great for preservation.
In the case of Silent Hill however, the original director Keiichiro Toyama says any remake of the game would “have to rethink the concept to make it interesting to fans”.
Toyama discussed this feeling and his feelings around remakes in a recent interview with VGC. Toyama was asked about whether or not he believed Konami ought to follow in Capcom’s remake footsteps with the original Biohazard (aka Resident Evil) games.
“I think it would be harder to remake than Biohazard, because the gameplay as a concept is a little older. It’s not an action game where you can just refine the action as in Biohazard, to bring Silent Hill up to current standards or to polish up the graphics, fans wouldn’t be satisfied.
That’s not what it was about – how beautiful it was. I think you’d have to rethink the concept to make it interesting to fans.”
This doesn’t mean Toyama thinks they shouldn’t remake it. He recognizes the legacy that Silent Hill has left, and would be interested to see a new entry or remake and what effect it would have on the franchise.
In the case of Silent Hill though, Toyama does seem to make a great point. Silent Hill belongs to a category of games that used the hardware limitations of the time to its advantage, creating such a foreboding atmosphere that it left a mark on players.
Much like how Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition failed to understand that just upping the resolution wouldn’t work, it would be much worse were that to happen to Silent Hill.
Source – [VGC]