10 Video Games With The Most Re-Releases
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today, we're reliving the past again, and again, and again,
00:06 with video games that have seen more re-releases than the likes of Skyrim and Resident Evil 4.
00:12 "A mud crab scuttles towards you." "Fus Ro Dah!"
00:14 "I didn't catch that." "Fus Ro Dah!"
00:17 "I didn't quite catch that." "Fus Ro Dah!"
00:20 "Your shout echoes all the way to Sovngarde."
00:22 Minecraft.
00:24 A game that took the world by storm and became a cultural icon,
00:28 fans have no shortage of options to explore the endlessly procedurally generated world and all of its user creations.
00:35 The simple premise of exploring the world at your leisure makes it easy to pick up and play,
00:41 and the low-poly textures have made it easy for developer Mojang to publish the game on almost every modern-day gaming system with a graphics card.
00:49 Even over ten years later, the Minecraft community is still going strong, and some of their creations are truly the stuff of legend.
00:58 The easy access to the game no matter where you are is undoubtedly a driving factor in the game's ongoing success.
01:11 Bubble Bobble.
01:18 Of all the things to come from the 80s boom of video games,
01:21 you wouldn't think a game about a pair of dragons blowing spit bubble traps at enemies would be the one to stand out.
01:27 But here we are.
01:29 A runaway success in its original arcade incarnation,
01:32 the Bubble Bobble dragons soon found themselves blowing up and popping onto home consoles and handhelds.
01:39 It has become so synonymous with Nintendo, many fans don't even know it started in the arcades.
01:45 And some version of the game has been released on nearly every Nintendo console to date.
01:51 With numerous sequels, spin-offs, and clones, this is one bubble that seems unlikely to ever burst.
01:58 Dragon's Lair.
02:14 One of the original arcade coin munchers,
02:17 Dragon's Lair became an arcade hit due to its style that made players part of an animated adventure.
02:23 The game was ported to numerous other platforms shortly after to varying successes.
02:29 But it's also seen playable versions on DVD players and, more recently, cell phones and tablets.
02:35 Dirk the Daring's adventure still holds up visually today thanks to Don Bluth's striking color palette and character designs,
02:42 even if its on-rails gameplay might not be for everyone.
02:46 There have been numerous sequels as well as remakes,
02:49 but none have managed to recapture the original game's spirit,
02:53 which is why Dirk has even found himself on modern consoles.
02:57 Final Fantasy.
03:04 [Final Fantasy IV theme]
03:06 The title that launched a franchise that is still going strong over three decades later,
03:17 Square's last-ditch effort at a hit video game is also the most readily available for fans to play.
03:24 It's been re-released as a standalone title over the years as well as in many collections.
03:29 The various updated versions have made the original Final Fantasy not only a landmark title in gaming,
03:35 but also one of the most re-released games in Square's extensive catalog.
03:40 With recent re-releases on everything from tablets to smartphones and the newest consoles,
03:45 it would seem that Square has just as much nostalgia for the title that saved its legacy as gamers do.
03:51 Doom.
03:57 [Doom sounds]
04:02 The joke "Can it run Doom?" came from somewhere,
04:06 and it was most likely due to the sheer ridiculous number of times id Software's classic shooter has been re-released over the years.
04:14 The genre-defining title has appeared on nearly every console in one form or another since its original release,
04:20 and it's responsible for the popular Doom clone craze we're still experiencing today.
04:26 With people even managing to get Doom to run on everything from pregnancy tests to refrigerators,
04:31 and even going so far as to build a working version of the shooter in Minecraft,
04:36 the official number of re-releases is dwarfed by the fan community's unofficial endless imagination and resourcefulness.
04:43 [Doom sounds]
04:49 Street Fighter II.
04:51 Arguably responsible for revolutionizing the fighting genre because of a bug,
04:56 Street Fighter II is not only the most recognizable Street Fighter game,
05:00 it's also the best-selling entry in the entire series.
05:04 That's likely due in no small part to the game's numerous re-releases and updated versions.
05:09 With no fewer than six separate versions of the game at the time of writing,
05:14 Capcom has seen fit to release one version or another of their classic fighter on everything from the Amiga to, most recently, the Nintendo Switch.
05:23 Managing to outshine even its most recent entries for many die-hard fans,
05:27 Street Fighter II has yet to encounter a console it wasn't ready to throw down on.
05:32 Pac-Man.
05:34 [Pac-Man sounds]
05:39 Back in the 80s, there wasn't a child alive who didn't suffer from Pac-Man fever.
05:45 The little yellow pizza man waka-waka'd his way through children's allowances just like the little pellets he devours while running from his demons.
05:52 Widely regarded as one of the most important video games ever created,
05:57 Pac-Man has managed to munch himself onto nearly every gaming device known to man in one form or another.
06:03 We just don't talk about the Atari 2600 version.
06:06 With countless updates to the classic formula, even a battle royale of all things,
06:11 the secret formula to Pac-Man's success was its simplicity.
06:15 Any player of any skill level could take up a joystick and have a great time running the mazes with Pac-Man and four of his closest ghostly friends.
06:24 Even over four decades later, the Pac-Man fever is still going strong.
06:29 [Pac-Man sounds]
06:36 Sonic the Hedgehog.
06:38 [Sonic the Hedgehog theme]
06:44 The blue blur burst onto the scene on the Sega Genesis and instantly became an icon for the freshly minted console coming for Nintendo's crown.
06:52 While Sonic has yet to reach the same heights as his dazzling debut in the years since,
06:57 and even with almost 200 games in his repertoire,
07:01 few, if any, have managed to recapture the magic of the first time Sonic's sneakers hit the Green Hill Zone.
07:07 It seems Sega is very aware of the importance of the Hedgehog's first outing,
07:12 as it wasn't long before Sonic was racing his way onto not only more of Sega's consoles, but their competitors as well.
07:19 These days, you can find Sonic racing on nearly every console generation since Sega bowed out of the console wars,
07:26 and even take him on the go with your preferred mobile device.
07:29 [Sonic the Hedgehog theme]
07:36 Super Mario Bros.
07:38 [Super Mario Bros. theme]
07:45 Super Mario Bros. is undeniably responsible for saving the entire fledgling video game industry,
07:52 but it also put Nintendo, formerly mostly known for making toys, on the world stage as the new premier gaming system developers.
08:00 More than his arcade outings, it helped Mario become a mascot and launched an entire franchise that is stronger today than ever before.
08:09 Not one to leave their legacy behind, Nintendo has re-released the original Super Mario Bros. as standalone downloads on nearly every one of its consoles.
08:18 The game has also been packaged with other popular entries in the Plumber's extensive catalog.
08:23 It could even be played in the original GameCube release of Animal Crossing.
08:28 Everything about its pitch-perfect design also makes it one of the most replayable titles in Nintendo's history,
08:34 and the game's iconic music is recognizable to even the most casual gamer.
08:39 [Mario Bros. theme]
08:50 Tetris
08:51 [Tetris theme]
08:58 Without question, Tetris is one of the most recognizable and popular puzzle games ever created.
09:05 The simple design of clearing multi-shaped blocks as they fall faster and faster is infinitely addicting,
09:11 and is arguably responsible for the gaming trope of "just one more game."
09:16 Tetris launched not only a series of copycats, but also an endless stream of re-releases and ports as well as updates to the addictive gameplay.
09:25 It became a worldwide phenomenon and remains one that is played and studied even to this day.
09:31 Most recently, the University of Oxford found that playing Tetris helps those suffering from PTSD symptoms recover faster.
09:39 Yay, video games!
09:41 The game was even so popular upon release that many would recall seeing falling blocks in their dreams.
09:47 Given its ongoing popularity, as well as new iterations, future generations will continue playing Tetris well after the complicated story of its origins is long forgotten.
09:58 "It's poetry, art, and math all working in magical synchronicity. It's...
10:03 It's the perfect game."
10:07 How many times have you repurchased the same game? And which titles will you always rebuy?
10:12 Let us know which favorites you'll always have in your collection in the comments down below.
10:17 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips for mojo plays, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
10:26 [outro music]