It is becoming ever more profitable for companies to releases chunks of my childhood through the forms of digital content.  That which was once a popular game when I was younger can now resold fairly easily with the single bullet-point of "new content" on the back of the box.  The problem is twofold, my undiagnosed cause of gaming ADD and that I never really play these games for more than two weeks due to them being stupidly long and hard.

So let's talk about some games that are, or are about to be remastered/released:

Chrono Trigger:

What was it: Probably the single greatest reason that Square is still around after deciding to release almost nothing in America for almost a full console cycle.  The story basically involves you saving the world from a giant space alien that wants to eat the planet and then lay its eggs in the still warm magma.  Heroes that really aren't that heroic, bad guys that are just doing everything for their lost sister, the game pretty much was the definition of "having it all".

How was it remastered: It isn't going to be, at all.  Square is simply throwing everything that they have on the DS and expecting people to pay good money, which we will.  Most likely a throw back to when Square was releasing all of their older Final Fantasies on the GBA and when the iterations on the DS started outselling the then almost dead GBA it was most definitely seen as a good idea to just do a straight port over.  

Why I paid for it:  It is probably one of the best games that has ever come out on any platform ever, and even though I know that I will be paying roughly 20 more dollars than it is worth to carry that game around with me this is sadly the one franchise that I want Square to continue working on, even though they won't. 

Why won't I play it:  Because the memory of being able to beat the game in any of 15 different fashions with that many endings is only good if I forget that it took 30 hours before I saw the first one, and another 10 before I was ready to get anyone of them whenever I wanted.  This being roughly more than 40 hours longer than I want to invest in a handheld game I am probably going to ignore it after purchase.

Final Fantasy IV:

What was it: The first real Final Fantasy that had a plot or main character.   Also the first Final Fantasy that was released stateside after the noticeable drought throughout the NES lifecycle.  Known for having one of the most butchered localizations this side of Working Designs;  mainly for having large chunks of the plot containing all characterization for several key people but also because other "deaths" were downplayed to the point of them "taking naps".

How was it remastered: On the GBA only with a couple of extra "extreme dungeons" that players could work through post-game.  On the DS we got updated graphics, new voice acting, and a 10 dollar tax for buying on a "prettier" system.

Why I paid for it: Sans the extra dungeons from the GBA game, the game hasn't really changed since it was first released but this is the first time that the game plays the way that it was supposed to.  It is also the best Final Fantasy in the series.  I never bought the GBA port because Square managed to let slip that they were working on the DS on as well and I would only have to wait one short year.

Why didn't I play it: Primarily because the game is way harder in its true version than it ever was when it was first released stateside.  Grinding levels for an hour just to be able to make it through a dungeon is bad enough, but having to grind in the dungeon for another two to three hours just seems stupid to beat a boss.

Metroid:

What was it: A free roaming side-scrolling shooter that inspired later Castlevanias and probably the most ambitious game released on the NES.  Also it holds up really, really well when played again, unlike most other games on the NES (Kid Icuras, Bionic Commando).

How was it remastered: On the Gameboy Advance we got an upgraded, 16-bit journey through the entire first game.  In standard GBA release mindset it added an entirely new dungeon at the end of the game designed to make the player feel like they just forgot how to play the game that they had just invested an entire month into "beating". 

Why I paid for it: Nintendo released Metroid Fusion months before they let this game into the wild, hinting that this game was kind of easy to make with the left over bits of the engine they had laying around, and also that the last dungeon might have been something that was supposed to be in Fusion but got cut for some unknown reason.

Why didn't I play it: After having just played through Fusion from start to finish this seemed like a much better idea than it ever was.  Two Metroids in a row is just way more Samus than any one person should ever really consider investing in.

Zelda:

 What was it: The reason that I bought a NES back in the day.  The game that inspired so many RPG's and adventure games into being, and it did so by explaining nothing and expecting the player to figure the crap out on their own.  Probably the first game that needed a guide to make any progress in the game, thus starting an entire generation of slackers too lazy to figure crap out on their own and thus Gamefaqs.

How was it remastered:  Besides every other Zelda being fundamentally the same game, with the exceptions of Wind Waker and Zelda II: WTF? Really?!, it has pretty much been released dozens of times throughout the ages.  The only true "rerelease" was during the height of the GBA shovel-ware nostalgia we went through a couple of years ago.  Upon being released it cost exactly as much as any other newly released GBA game, but then again so did Donkey Kong and Excite Bike.

Why did I paid for it: Even though every single Zelda game is exactly the same as every other one of them, it is always nice to have a game that you don't hate to carry around and play at work.  Also I found it at Wal-Mart on clearance for 10 dollars which falls well within my impulse buying guidelines.

 Why didn't I play it: Around the same time that the first game was released the SNES Zelda was as well, as was Zelda: Four Swords.  If Metroid games was more than one person can take three Zeldas is more than any one universe should be able to ever handle at one time.  My mind melted and I started playing Suikoden instead.