// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
How video game remakes tap the power of nostalgia
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is often rated as one of the greatest video games
The moment she saw footage from the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Kacey Doran picked up her phone. She had to tell her sister.
Nearly 30 years ago, a 10-year-old Doran had sat in front of her family's TV, reading out the dialogue on screen to her sister, a year younger, as they inched their way through the original Nintendo 64 game's sprawling, puzzle-filled dungeons. Ocarina's fantasy-like story, and beautiful music, enthralled them both.
It was also the first game Doran ever completed. Now, countless memories rushed back to her as she devoured clips of the fully redesigned version, due to arrive on the Switch 2 later this year.
Doran's sister messaged back: "I'm not tearing up… YOU'RE tearing up."
News of a video game remake bought back happy memories for Kacey Doran
This is the power of nostalgia – and a perfect example of how video games can trigger it. Doran now teaches an esports course at Rowan University in New Jersey. She says the original Ocarina of Time, released in 1998, had a "magical" quality that she hopes to rediscover, and also share with her sister's children.
The video games industry has long leaned on remakes. From Mario Kart to the Final Fantasy series, or even Pac-Man, some games just keep coming back in updated forms, as new generations of gamers emerge and as computer hardware improves, enabling more detailed graphics and increasingly expansive game worlds.
While the emotional hook may be the most significant draw, putting out a remake can be a double-edged sword. Some gamers are very protective of their favourite titles and new versions don't always meet certain fans' astronomically high expectations.
Nostalgia is an important but mixed emotion, says Tim Wulf, at the Centre of Advanced Internet Studies in Bochum, Germany. It has positive aspects but also a kind of sadness, too. Happiness in remembering things that were important to us, and also an awareness that that time is now gone.