5 Fan-Made Video Game Remakes That Will Blow You Away

Chewing at the developer's heels over a franchise revival is one thing — but to actually tool up and build it for yourself? Now that's crazy talk, and pretty much something that can only be accomplished by the loyalist of fans. But it has been done, of course. Remakes have been made under a much smaller hammer, with some often going on to become far more superior than the original in fact. And that's an amazing thing, truly. A rare thing, for sure — but amazing nonetheless.

Fan-made video games don't always receive the attention they deserve, and that's both disheartening for the creator as well as it is for the players eager to test the waters. But when they do harness the honour they rightfully deserve after floating on the market, they often inspire others to follow suit. And the same goes for developers too, amazingly enough. Because the truth is, a well-crafted reboot from a devoted fan can occasionally reignite the flame of a dead franchise. Just take these five fan-made remakes for instance. Here lies true devotion to the art of gaming, plain as day.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Credit: CryZENx

A promising remaster that has been circling for what seems like an eternity now is, without a doubt, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And although the demand is most definitely there for a new and improved edition with all the added Switch functions — it still hasn't quite been built upon. At least not for newer hardware, anyway. A 3DS port, sure. But that was ten years ago. So, whether Nintendo like to agree or not — it's time to reboot one of the most-loved chapters in the series.

Anyway, getting back to the fan-made marvels out there in the wild — Hyrule has, in fact, already been rebuilt from the ground up. And not only that — but also an entire chunk of the Ocarina of Time script, with all the bells and whistles for old school followers to soak up. And let me tell you — it looks phenomenal. But truth be told, these words are meaningless when there's plenty of gameplay footage to drool over on CryZENx's official YouTube handle. Just take a look for yourself at the progress behind the ambitious project. You won't be disappointed.

4. The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Credit: reubs

Another old school favourite that's filled with a world amount of nostalgia and bliss is The Simpsons: Hit & Run, an absolute gem that launched for the PlayStation 2 era back in 2003. Since then, fans have pleaded with Radical Entertainment to return to their best-selling game in order to give it a new light. The only problem is, with the original devs being mostly laid off and syphoned out to Activision's long arm of tech teams back in 2014 — that hope has pretty much dwindled into an unlikely prospect.

Of course, there is good news to this whole layoff malarkey. The Simpsons: Hit & Run, although not returning under Radical's own tool kit — has, in fact, already seen the light of day. And the best part is — it took the loyal team of devs a mere week to string it all together, effectively putting the old Radical crew to shame entirely. But then, with the prominent YouTuber and talented developer “reubs” at the helm for the project, it comes as no surprise as to how picture-perfect the remake turned out from the original. So, kudos for that.

3. Dino Crisis

Credit: Team Arklay's

When it comes to Capcom's incredibly slender arm of survival horror works, Dino Crisis, among them, pretty much just wallows under the armpit, unseen and unheard from. Of course, that wouldn't be the case if Resident Evil hadn't have made such a splash in the revival world, and, chances are, we would've already received a Dino Crisis remake by now if they hadn't remained the flagship series for two decades. But unfortunately, it is what it is. Capcom just really don't feel too keen on remastering Dino Crisis, plain and simple.

However, although Capcom continues to neglect their old classic dino chapter, one team has, in fact, gone on to develop a fan-made remake for it. Celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2019, Team Arklay's made it their mission to rebuild Dino Crisis in its entirety, with enhanced graphics and mechanics, all constructed under the mighty Unreal Engine. Although the updates stopped rolling out on the project last May, it's believed that the team are still fighting tooth and nail to fast-forward it to fruition. So, best of luck to them. We could all use some Dino Crisis in our lives after three consecutive Resident Evil remakes, that's for sure.

2. The Last of Us (1998)

Credit: 98DEMAKE

It's one thing to blow the world away with mind-boggling visuals on the PlayStation 3 in 2013 — but to rewind the clock back to 1998 and transform that same work into a total PlayStation One block-fest? Now that's something. Unusual, for sure — but something. And yet, it just so happens that YouTuber 98DEMAKE has forged a habit out of throwing new games into the grinder and having them churn out like pixelated jewels from our past. One of these remakes, of course, was The Last of Us.

Although only showing off a few snippets and character models, mainly of Joel and Ellie, we do have to give props to the artist for capturing such a nostalgic feel to each minor detail. In ways, it's like breezing through the nineties, way back when we merrily plodded along thinking video games couldn't be any more realistic. And should The Last of Us actually have come out in 1998, chances are it would've been just as much of a global sensation as the actual 2013 entry. Too bad Crash Bandicoot practically stole all of Naughty Dog's time for the best part of 1998. The Last of Us on the first generation of PlayStation could've been rather beautiful, to be honest.

1. Super Mario 64 (Reimagined)

Credit: nimSony

As much as we'd honestly love to linger on the possibility of Nintendo eventually remaking Super Mario 64 for the Switch — the reality of the situation is, unfortunately, slightly less optimistic. In fact, with Nintendo so tied up with their other enchanting works, the chances of ever securing a reboot almost wavers on the brink of non-existent. And that's something we'll never really be able to change — no matter how hard we kick and scream over the idea.

Of course, the next best thing to an actual Switch port is probably a fan-made remake. And in this case, we're putting Nimso Ny in the spotlight, with his extraordinary portrayal of Super Mario 64 and all its juicy quirks. Because, not only did the army-of-one manage to recreate the entire kingdom in all of its glory — but also reimagine a great chunk of the levels and mechanics with a few added enhancements. The heartbreaking news to the project, however, is that Nintendo officially shut it down, meaning the chances of playing it for ourselves in 2021 are incredibly unlikely. But why, Nintendo? Why? We almost had it!

So, which of these five remakes impressed you the most? Let us know over on our socials here. Are there any remakes we should know about? Why not post a suggestion on our Facebook or Twitter handle? We'll be stepping back into the fan-made remake realm over the coming weeks. So, be sure to stick around for more lists and other gaming news.

Finished looking at remakes? Looking for more content? You could always take a look at one of these lists:

5 Most Outlandish Weapons in Video Game History