Square Enix Prepares More HD-2D Remakes of 16-bit Hits
The remakes of Live A Live and Dragon Quest III will not be the end. Square Enix wants to refresh other 16-bit games in HD-2D style.
We have good news for fans of old jRPGs. Square Enix made it known that we can expect more remakes of classic games from the genre made in HD-2D technology.
What is HD-2D?
The HD-2D style was popularized by Octopath Traveler from 2018. Games of this type combine 2D characters with retro 3D backgrounds and modern visual effects. Not all such productions can be described by this term. Square Enix means a specific use of this technique, which gives the end result that is an idealized image of 16-bit productions.
Examples of Square Enix HD-2D games
All of these games bear the Square Enix logo, but other productions, such as Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, use a similar style.
What games Square Enix wants to refresh
Information about Square Enix's plans comes from the company's official stream featuring developers working on Triangle Strategy. This is a new game, but it also uses the HD-2D style. During the conversation, the developers revealed that CEO Yosuka Matsuda has plans for many remakes in this convention. So, the company's employees prepared a list of classic productions from the 16-bit SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) console.
The developers organized a presentation during which they argued that the best candidate for an HD-2D remake is Live A Live. The president agreed and a refreshed version of this project was announced two weeks ago during Nintendo Direct.
In second place was ActRaiser. This game also got a refreshed version in the form of Actraiser Renaissance, released last year on Nintendo Switch, but in this case the HD-2D style was not used.
From the stream it seems that Live A Live will not be an isolated case and in the future we can expect the announcement of more remakes of this type.
