An idle look over various publishers' TGS schedules turned up something unexpected: Snow Bros. 2 Special, a 2024 PC/Switch sequel to Korean studio CRT Games' remake of Toaplan's fixed-screen arcade action game Snow Bros., which launched on Switch last year to a mostly-unimpressed audience. I wasn't shocked that it didn't go over well, as their remakes have that we-were-mobile-devs-six-months-ago look to them that nobody, least of all their target audience, seems to like, but I was surprised that so many of the reviews could be summed up as "this game sucked to begin with, why would anyone even bother remaking it"—this wasn't an unpopular game in its day, especially in certain parts of Europe, and yet nobody wanted to seem to go to bat for it at all.
There's not much info out there on this second remake right now, but CRT Games has outlined two big features: one, they're adding online co-op, and two, they're modernising the character designs/illustration style as depicted on the Japan-version game, flyers etc and bringing it more in line with the look of the original. Compare their new designs with the style seen on the original character select screen:
Now, compare those designs to those seen in the international version:
...d'ya see where I'm going with this? When there's a digitised edit-baby freak show on the table, go with the digitised edit-baby freak show, goddammit
“Snow Bros 2 With New Elves” is an iconic phrase of gaming to me. it’s why i will sometimes refer to playable characters in games as “elves”. i’ve never played it but its name is everything to me
