In a world where bigger games with “better” graphics are seemingly in constant demand, demakes are an intriguing counterpoint. Such is the case with a recent Persona 4 Game Boy “demake,” created by SeanSS (@SeanSS_twt), that just released on itch.io.
the hit JRPG classic Persona 4… Is now coming to the Gameboy! Introducing Persona 4 GB: A Persona 4 Gameboy demake that works on actual gameboy hardware
(this game is just a demo, and not the full game on gameboy)#Persona4 #Gameboy #PERSONA #gamedevelopment pic.twitter.com/qExeuGzGTt
— SeanSS (gamer ver.) (@SeanSS_twt) February 2, 2022
SeanSS built the demake on the free GB Studio engine, and it is one of his “very first projects using the engine.” To play it, you can open it directly on your browser or you can download the file and use an emulator.
SeanSS got into demakes when he discovered the GB Studio engine on his itch.io page. “I was like, ‘Huh, I can make something cool with it,” SeanSS said to GameSpot. “I thought of making the full game of Persona 4, but then realized that it would probably take me years to port the whole game along with the social links and cutscenes and stuff.”
He also elaborated on the challenges behind demaking Persona 4 on Game Boy. “I think the hardest part for me was animating the cutscenes since GB Studio mainly uses a kind of block-based visual scripting, and it was kind of hard to make sure all of the individual parts worked properly,” he commented when talking about the process.
As for whether or not the Persona 4 demo demake will expand into a full version, SeanSS isn’t sure right now. “Most likely the project will stay a demo for now, until I decide to pick it up again,” he said, but added, “I might do other demakes with Persona 5 in GB Studio 3.0, but no promises for now.”
What is a demake? Demakes do the opposite of remasters, essentially, transporting a game into the past and what it might’ve looked like on an older platform. Game Boy has been a popular platform of choice for demake artists (though arguably there are more PlayStation demakes on the internet). Some cool ones to check out are a Demon Soul’s demake by Christopher Pariano and a Sea of Thieves’ demake by Voxy.
Earlier this week, Lilith Walter’s Bloodborne PSX demake went viral online. With CRTV grain and faithful (but creative) adaptation of the game, Bloodborne’s PSX’s demake is a delightful spin on the original bloody combat game.
Source: Gamespot
