Having the PC-98 games get a remake

[SeroVich]

We know the reason(s) that ZUN can't able to re-release PC-98 games because one; he doesn't care, but also two; he would be in deep legal trouble, since he made copyright infringements of other series for Touhou like the background of Makai Stage 16-19, Ellen being the copy-and-paste of a manga character, some programming codes from other games, etc. So what is he going to do to not have legal issues? Well... change some stuff of course, like changing the backgrounds, remove some references, add a new character as a substitute for Ellen, change the code to be more original and etc.

That's what I think, if he wants to re-release them for the current fanbase.

[CyberAngel]

PC-98 games already had most of their bullet pattern, character, setting and gameplay ideas reused in later games. It's clear ZUN used them as sketchbooks and never cared about them as products.

That and he probably has neither source codes nor master copies of them. Japanese developers are notorious for their total lack of backup practices.

[nintendonut888]

My honest take on rereleasing the PC-98 games is that ZUN should just officially make them freeware, maybe slightly editing them to account for some youthful transgressions like the lifted graphical assets and uncredited SPRITE 16 in PoDD. I think most of the stuff he did wrong back then is easily fixable, but it would be in bad taste to use Ellen as a character now as a big creator, so I think that's the best way to handle things while also making them playable. But given ZUN's view on the old games, as well as his philosophy on Touhou in general, I can see him thinking they should just exist as they are, in the sphere they now exist. He is very against the idea of editing a completed work past the initial patching period, and even the balance patch for UDoALG was unprecedented, so the idea of an outright remake is simply not going to happen.

[NovaDelta]

One of my fantasy projects that I'd do if I knew any code or how to model or do much of anything related to game dev stuff is to recreate the PC-98 games with a late-N64 art style. Mostly as a love letter to that era. I'd flesh out some of the details here and there, add a gameplay mode that matches more modern danmaku standards (aka make TH02 more fun and TH01   playable   ), maybe have like bonus levels to go with the unused tracks, and of course, remaster the music and graphics.

So, basically what Jynx did, but a little more and in the N64 style.

[SeroVich]

...but it would be in bad taste to use Ellen as a character now as a big creator,...

Speaking of Ellen, if he have to replace her, what character do you think can be in her place? (or probably make an OC as the replacement of her...)

[nintendonut888]

That's the just the thing, I cannot picture ZUN possibly doing that. Using Ellen was a goofy thing he did back when he released games that sold 100-200 copies and wasn't really out of character for doujin games of the time (I mean there's a Multi reference in one of the endings and he later contributed music to a game that's just an unlicensed fangame for another series), but nevertheless it is part of the game and its identity. The idea that ZUN would make a new character just to be relegated to PC-98 and never mentioned again just doesn't make sense to me, and I think any rerelease of the game would have to take her presence in mind. At best I could see him getting permission from the creator.

[Velociraptor]

I believe the reason he doesn't distribute the PC 98 games for free is because of infringement worries. Probably he wishes they'd just fade into obscurity by now and be forgotten about along with the mistakes made during that time? It's quite unfortunate though since they have some of the best music tracks in the series!

If the games were remade now all the assets would be recreated using the current art style to match with the modern series, so infringement wouldn't be a problem, but I understand the feeling of just wanting to move on from old projects. I'm sure everyone who makes stuff at work or as a hobby has had the experiences of wanting to just be done with something and never touch it again.

[FamilyTeam]

I'm happy with the PC98 games as they are. They re finally managing to get a little bit of footing in this community even in spite of the laundry of false starts it has had in this franchise over the last two decade. The chance of him re-releasing them is exactly 0, unchanged or not.
ZUN just seems like he is completely uninterested in his older works in general and that doesn't encompass just PC98. He barely seems to acknowledge Windows Generation 1 either at this point if it's not Youmu and very occasionally Sakuya; that or stringing people along for (very) occasional fanservice.

[SeroVich]

...I'm sure everyone who makes stuff at work or as a hobby has had the experiences of wanting to just be done with something and never touch it again.

Lmao that's the same for me with the fanfics I made.
So based on the posts here, I think that it's for the best that ZUN just never touches them ever again, due to the obvious fact that he's not really interested in them (and based on what FamilyTeam here, maybe even the 1st Generation of Touhou Window games, so no Letty Whiterock huh..,? (/ _\) ), and plus even if he does remake them and release them to the public, there'll be some things changed to accommodate the modern Touhou lore and logic and remove the stuff that are copyright infringement, which to some people removes the charm of the PC-98 games in the first place.

I think I start to agree with you guys here, maybe it's for the best for ZUN that he denies its existence and enjoy making new Touhou materials in the present day. 

[williewillus]

Even disregarding PC98, ZUN has mentioned multiple times that he hates lingering on old works and usually prefers going right to something new. Which makes sense given the environment he grew up in -- back in that time once you shipped a game off to the arcade pcb makers, the CD printers, etc. that was it. There's a sense of "ok, it's done".
It's also why you rarely see him patch his games lol. UDoALG 1.10c was the latest he's ever patched a game after release by a huge margin, and it was probably done as a holdover for the lack of a 19.5 in 2024.

[Velociraptor]

Many fangames (Touhou or not) use characters/sprites/music from other franchises, sometimes with straight up ripped assets, soundtracks or characters but few seem to mind because these games simply get held to a different standard. Zun developed them as fun projects which would also help in finding work at a game studio. Despite the borrowed assets producing multiple games of that scale with that amount of polish and testing (as there's only a handful of bugs) is a monumental task proves dedication and discipline to studios and employers. Judging by the fact Zun was hired to work at Taito corporation, I'd say these games were actually pretty successful at that.
Countless game projects get abandoned because their developers lack dedication to see things through to release and get distracted by other ideas, or get caught up in scope creep and become too big to realistically finish from a lack of discipline. Surely we can all think of several promising indie games that ended up like that!

The problem is that the massively successful nature of Touhou as a series has retroactively 'raised the bar' on these older games that were never meant to be held to such scrutiny. Given their flaws and with the franchise becoming more and more commercialized it's actually surprising that Team Shanghai Alice isn't officially distancing from the PC 98 games, with them still being advertised and playable at the official Touhou event booths. Now most likely the music is what's keeping these games around, after all the soundtrack contains Bad Apple, the best known song in the series. Countless fans found Touhou from hearing the song in memes, music videos, covers, demos etc. it's practically self-marketing!
The most legally feasible outcome for PC 98 that's realistic in terms of effort required would be releasing an official soundtrack CD and otherwise officially closing the books on them.

[CyberAngel]

The most legally feasible outcome for PC 98 that's realistic in terms of effort required would be releasing an official soundtrack CD and otherwise officially closing the books on them.

https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Akyu%27s_Untouched_Score

[Velociraptor]

Huh, thanks! The name makes it unintuitive to find online, searching for touhou pc 98 soundtrack just leads to endless youtube videos and covers. At this point I'm even more surprised they still keep and promote the games at events.

[williewillus]

advertised and playable

Are they really? ZUN stopped selling them a long, long time ago (like, when EOSD came out). Whatever setup they have is I believe is just Mario or some other people on zunteam bringing it out for fun.