ELDEN RING De-Makes For Old Consoles Seem Even Harder

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Even after three years, Elden Ring continues to be a standout action RPG with a massive open world. Like all games directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, it features complex characters, a rich story told through its environments, and incredibly challenging bosses – Malenia and, later, Promised Consort Radahn in the DLC were particularly tough! Fortunately, the game is available on PlayStation 4 and 5, consoles known for being user-friendly. It makes you wonder how difficult the experience would be on older, less responsive consoles.

We’re excited to share three creative projects where players reimagined Elden Ring as if it were made for older gaming consoles. These ‘de-makes’ beautifully showcase the charm of those classic systems and offer a fun look at how incredibly challenging the game could have been.

Let’s start with a trailer showing what the game would have looked like on the original PlayStation. Created by user Hoolopee, the video highlights the PS1’s somewhat blurry graphics and simple character designs. The description also notes the game would have required eight CDs and run at an incredibly slow five frames per second.

Okay, so this video really takes me back! It’s done in that awesome 16-bit style of the Super Nintendo, and honestly, the sprites are beautiful. It reminds me a lot of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past with its overhead view. I mean, let’s be real, nothing on the SNES quite looked this good, but it’s a fantastic tribute. They show off some of the most memorable parts of the game – like the Radahn Festival, Malenia’s crazy Waterfowl Dance, and even Miriel, that huge tortoise who looks like the Pope!

Okay, so I just watched something incredible – someone actually recreated the beginning of Elden Ring on the original Game Boy! It’s shot handheld, and everything is beautifully pixelated with a cool green tint. You see the player wake up in the Castle of Anticipation, learn how to roll, cross a rope bridge, and then fight that creepy, multi-armed boss, the Grafted Scion. Honestly, I don’t even remember the Game Boy sound chip being capable of that good of a soundtrack. It’s seriously impressive!

No matter what you play on, Elden Ring remains one of the best games in the last ten years. We’d be playing it even more if there were more mods available, and it’s possible we’ll see them in the future. With Elden Ring Nightreign and the new Alex Garland movie on the way, we can expect more stories from the Lands Between soon.

Kyle Anderson is a Senior Editor at TopMob and the host of the weekly podcast, Laser Focus, where he dives deep into pop culture. He also writes film and TV reviews, and you can find him on Letterboxd.

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2025-12-31 01:03