Turtles In Time Re-Shelled: Why update the graphics?

I’m sure by now most everyone is aware of the fact ScrewAttack.com’s No. 1 Beat ‘em Up of all time, TMNT: Turtles in Time, is making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade on July 22nd. 18 years after its original release on the arcade and 17 after it’s birth on the SNES, the game is getting a whole new, High Definition, 3D, make over.

That’s what I don’t like.

Officially titled TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, Ubisoft has taken over the original Konami classic updating the graphics to make them look more “Next-Gen” approved (just like Lode Runner). I honestly do not get the reasoning for this. One of the reasons for re-releasing this game was for the sheer sake of online co-op just like TMNT: The Arcade Game, which is still one of the top selling titles on the Xbox Live Arcade and it didn’t change the graphics one bit... When I play it today I feel like I did as a little kid, teaming up with my buddies at Chuck-E Cheese beating up the Footclan.

Is the 3D “re-shelling” really necessary? To me, updating the graphics, in its own special way, is making it another game. To my knowledge there have been no additional levels added to the gameplay, just a complete re-skin of a classic. I’m just still trying to figure this one out. I understood the Street Fighter II: HD Remix, that was totally fine. If Ubisoft wanted to follow Capcom’s lead on this where the graphics would be less pixilated, I’d be all for that. That’s not the case.

To the younger generation being introduced to this game for the first time, they might not notice anything at all. But to my generation, the one who grew up on Nintendo systems, we’ll buy this game with our Microsoft Points, but it won’t hold its weight like TMNT: The Arcade Game still does.