Who needs polygons? Video games died as soon as 3D was first introduced… right? Demake, as it name implies, is sort of the opposite of a remake: recreating something with less resources than it originally had, to make it look older and from the past. Swedish graphic designer Junkboy specializes in Pixel and Sprite art and, in one of the most creative twists we’ve ever seen, he decided that instead of modernizing a game, he would make the newer ones go old school. Imagine if most of the games you play on your Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Wii had come out for the SNES, Gameboy or Sega Genesis, what would they look like? Well, be ready to be impressed, here we go.
Brutal Legend
Brutal Legend was recreated as a graphic adventure. Hell, it’s main character looks a lot like the Full Throttle protagonist in this demake.
Batman: Arkham Assylum
Resident Evil 5
Old School beat them up with isometric perspective, or views from above remind us of Konami classics and arcades of the old days. Mash all the buttons and make your way to the next level!
Final Fantasy XIII
The menu and background are taken straight from the SNES classics, more specifically, from Final Fantasy VI (also known as Final Fantasy III, for those who played it on the SNES). We love how each sprite is limited to the bare minimum to keep the character recognizable and still aesthetically pleasing.
Mario Kart
Mario Kart was already 16 bit when it came out, but this sure feels like a whole different game.
Bioshock
This looks like a great companion to Super Metroid. It’s fantastic how Junkboy transferred the dark atmosphere of the modern game to just 16 bits.
Soul Calibur
If Soul Calibur had been released in the early 90’s, it would look like Samurai Shodown! That’s cool with us, as long as Sophitia remains awesome. Hell, most of these sprites look more expressive than their 3d counterparts.
Bayonetta
Bayonetta went from action/adventure to shooter in its demake, and while it doesn’t look as intense as, say, Mushihimesama, the colors and screen look fun enough and great to look at.
These recreations would impress anyone for re-imagining genres like that (Brutal Legend as a graphic adventure alla Monkey Island? Bayonetta as a shooter? That’s brilliant!) while others look straight up like their 90’s counterpart, but carrying the current characters. Final Fantasy XIII looks like it could afford to loose some polygons, and Mario Kart, although it started on the SNES and was 16 bit itself sure manages to feel a bit older. If you enjoyed these and want to see more old-school art, check out Super Mario Bros. Wedding Invitations and Video Game Decals, Large and Small.
