The Best Remastered Games On Xbox Series X|S

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 22, 2024 3 Views 15 Min Read
The Best Remastered Games On Xbox Series X|S

If you primarily use Xbox, odds are you love playing older games. One of the biggest selling points of the Xbox ecosystem is that all your digital purchases from the Xbox 360 era and up are carried over; thus, you are entitled to backward compatibility versions of these games if they’re available.

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Some of The Best Xbox Series X|S Games Of All Time

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The Best Xbox Series X|S Games Of All Time

Since its launch in 2020, the Xbox Series X & S have amassed a library of games readily available – these ones are the best of the bunch.

PlayStation really doesn’t have that, besides select PS1 classics on PS3 and PS5. Since Xbox Series X|S has such a big catalog of games throughout four generations, you bet there are many stellar remasters to play, both old and new. Some games might even have two remasters, but only one can get in.

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Banjo-Kazooie

One Of The Best Remasters Of All Time

4J Studios developed three key remasters of Rare games on the Xbox 360, and the first one was Banjo-Kazooie. It’s everything you could ask for in a remaster, especially for series fans. First off, if played on Series X, the game looks and plays the best it has ever been in 4K HDR. Second, the massive improvements.

The notes are all saved here, unlike the original, where you needed to grab them all in one life. Stop ‘n’ Swop is properly included with integration with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and the remaster of Banjo-Tooie, finally solving the series’ biggest mystery. The Xbox remaster of Banjo-Kazooie feels like the intended vision of the original dev team if the N64’s technological limitations were removed.

9

GoldenEye 007

The Definitive Version Of This N64 Classic

For quite a long time, GoldenEye 007 was one of those games people say have aged badly, largely due to the controls. GoldenEye was stuck on the N64 for so long but finally received a remaster in 2023 for Xbox as well as a release on the Switch. Sure, there’s no online play, a feature absent in many Xbox retro FPS games, but it looks and plays the best it’s ever been.

GoldenEye with dual-stick controls plays perfectly, and this change makes the game hold up, unlike the original N64 version. The framerate’s solid as well compared to the notoriously poor performance in the classic game, and unless you’re a hardcore speedrunner, you’re never going back to the OG.

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Perfect Dark

A Stellar Remaster Of One Of The Best FPS Games Ever

4J Studios’ last remaster on the Xbox 360 was Perfect Dark. All the positives from the 2023 Xbox version of GoldenEye 007 translate to Perfect Dark with incredible performance and dual-stick controls that allow so many people to enjoy this FPS masterpiece.

Unlike GoldenEye, most of the models are redone here, making Perfect Dark feel more like an enhanced remaster than a typical one. To boot, it runs at 4K on Xbox Series X and supports online multiplayer. This game is an absolute must-play for any Series X|S owner.

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Doom + Doom 2

Easily The Best Console Version Of Doom

There was already an incredible version of Doom and Doom 2 on modern consoles with the 2019 editions, but Bethesda topped themselves because the new 2024 console versions once again feel like you can never go back. Running on the Kex Engine and can be played at 4K 120fps, this version plays like a dream.

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It really is a big difference from the 2019 edition. If you go back to that version, you can feel the sluggish movement and notice the poorer visuals. What really makes this version the console Doom GOAT has to be the mod support. Finally, you can play 30 years of stellar community-created WADs on console, including Nuts, Alien Vendetta, Memento Mori, and so much more.

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Serious Sam Collection

The Best FPS Games You Probably Haven’t Played

The Serious Sam Collection is a port of Serious Sam Fusion on PC, which was a remastered experience retooling The First Encounter, The Second Encounter, 3, and all DLC into one ultimate package. Since this collection was a late 2020 release, it’s Xbox One X Enhanced, meaning it looks and runs much better than earlier FPS remasters of the era.

Comparing the Serious Sam Collection to the older editions of Serious Sam HD on Xbox 360 is a no contest. The auto-aim is a bit ridiculous; you have terrible performance, nasty bugs, and bad visuals. Besides a few remaining bugs, Serious Sam Collection on Series X fixes all those issues, plus you get all the updates of the Fusion PC version, including new secrets and Serious mode changes in the third game.

5

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour

A Remaster That Still Holds Its Own In Today’s Age

It’s stunning that an old 2016 remaster does one exceptional thing that most retro FPS remasters today don’t. Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour is an all-around fantastic package with a new fifth episode, a new secret level in episode one, developer commentary, and new Duke lines, but one aspect remains unique.

That is the True 3D rendering mode option, which makes the level backgrounds fit to scale. This had to be the most dated element of these Build engine FPS titles, and it’s so jarring today it can give you motion sickness. True 3D mode fixes all that. Look at Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, developed by Nightdive Studios, known for making stellar remasters. The default settings make vertical aiming a headache, which is a nonproblem for Duke 3D World Tour.

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Sonic X Shadow Generations

Sega Redeemed Themselves

After the poorly received remaster of Sonic Colors, Sega had a lot to live up to regarding a remaster of the greatest 3D Sonic game ever made, Sonic Generations. Despite Sonic Generations already being awesome on Series X through backward compatibility, this remaster tops it. Sure, there are some story changes, but it plays the best it’s ever been, with solid gameplay tweaks like removing the lives system.

Plus, you get what’s essentially an expansion pack in Shadow Generations, adding even more awesome levels to play. If you switch between the 360 version and this remaster on Series X, there’s a notable difference that makes Sonic X Shadow Generations worth buying, even if you already own the original.

3

Shenmue 1 And 2

Way Better Than It Has Any Right To Be

Despite Shenmue 1 and 2 being some of the most poorly aged games of all time, D3T killed it with this remaster. On the surface, it might not seem very good because it still runs at 30fps, and many parts are still in 4:3 aspect ratio. However, updating to 60fps would completely screw up the game because many aspects are tied to the framerate.

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The remaster makes up for this in other areas. Obviously, the graphics are the best they’ve ever looked. More appealingly, you can switch between Japanese and English voices for the first time in the West, the Dreamcast save file transfer mechanic returns, and previously censored parts of the game are now restored, like the gay cross-dressing character Yuan.

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Zone Of The Enders HD Collection

A Perfect Example Of Why The Xbox Series X Is Great

There are some Xbox 360 games that might as well be a completely different game if you play them on Series X. Titles like Ninja Gaiden 2 and Zone of the Enders HD Collection run pretty badly on base 360 hardware, but thanks to the brute forcing on Series X, they run perfectly.

The Zone of the Enders HD Collection on Series X is the best package for those who want to play the whole series. ZoE 1 and 2 play fantastically, but it is worth noting that if you just want to play the second game, you’re best off getting the Mars remaster on PS4.

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection

The Best Xbox Remaster

Few remasters can claim they’re a legitimate replacement for the original titles, but Halo: The Master Chief Collection is one of them. Containing Halo Anniversary and the new Halo 2 Anniversary, you already have two of the greatest remasters right there, but you also get Halo 3, ODST, Reach, and 4, with challenges, playlists, amazing multiplayer, and 700 achievements to earn.

The amount of content here is wild, and there are many bonus extras in the terminals that Halo fans will eat up. What really tells the whole story is that Microsoft never ever bothered to make OG Halo 1 and 2 backward compatible because there’s literally no point when you have the Anniversary editions, and you can play with the older graphics anyway.

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10 Best Original Xbox FPS Games

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