Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Anson Mount as Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Streaming Services The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor in 'The Story & The Engine.'
Sci-Fi Shows Doctor Who season 2, episode 5 spoiler review: 'The Story & The Engine' is "one of the most original and ambitious episodes this show has produced in years"
Dante in Netflix's Devil May Cry
Animated Shows Netflix's outspoken Devil May Cry creator promises season 2 will be a "very different show" and Dante will become more of a badass after taking so many Ls in season 1
Maggie Q in Ballard
TV The 25 best shows on Amazon Prime Video to watch in July 2025
Dexter: Resurrection
Crime Shows Dexter: Resurrection unveils star-studded first trailer as Dexter Morgan meets New York's most lethal serial killers
Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor in a suit, tie, and bowler hat in Doctor Who's 'Wish World.'
Sci-Fi Shows Doctor Who season 2: All the Easter eggs, cameos, and references
Charlize Theron as Andy in The Old Guard 2.
Streaming Services The best new shows and movies streaming this week on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and more
  1. Games
  2. Action

Top 7... Dramatic (and superb) character reboots

Features
By Tom Goulter published 4 March 2013

Have a shave, drop the scowl, and smile at these

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Hope you like our new direction(s)

Hope you like our new direction(s)

"Reboot" is a rather dirty word for some. After a decade heavy with grim 'n' gritty relaunches, who could warm to the notion of your favorite character donning shades and stubble for an incongruously hard-edged outing?

But "revamp" doesn't have to mean "turn up the brightness and shoo the kids away before playing this." Many franchises have only grown from the decision to book the protagonist in for a timely makeover. Here's seven series that have gone back to the drawing board and returned stronger than ever.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
7. Dante (Devil May Cry/DmC)

7. Dante (Devil May Cry/DmC)

Then: Half-demon mercenary Dante seemed to spring fully formed from the imagination of Capcom's Hideki Kamiya, eager to branch out into a more flamboyant variation on the Resident Evil formula. Sporting white hair, huge blades, and a variety of extravagant red dusters, the character represents everything Kamiya thought was quintessentially cool.

Now: Courting fan-fury, Capcom announced in 2010 that Enslaved developer Ninja Theory (Westerners, mind you!) would be making-over Dante for the series' next instalment. The scrappier Dante might have upset purists--but as we highlighted in our DmC: Devil May Cry review, the character brought fresh excitement to a long-running series.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
6. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider 1996/2013)

6. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider 1996/2013)

Then: One of the most recognizable faces in video games, the angular Ms. Croft was an unavoidable fixture of the mid-to-late 1990s. Her shapely(?) visage adorned store shelves and magazine racks alike. Additionally, any article about sexism in gaming was bound by law to feature a scandalized shot or two of Lara's inelegantly prominent pyramids.

Now: Lara's come a long way from the wasp-waisted grave-robber seen on lists of ugly polygon "babes" of yesteryear. Besides now bearing a passable resemblance to an actual human woman, the new Croft's debut adventure plays up the character's growth and survival instinct to deliver one of the series' strongest entries--as you'll know from our Tomb Raider review.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
5. Needles Kane (Twisted Metal/Twisted Metal Black)

5. Needles Kane (Twisted Metal/Twisted Metal Black)

Then: Twisted Metal has been featuring Needles Kane as a de facto mascot since the series' first entry. Better known by the sobriquet Sweet Tooth (actually the title of his recurring, demonic ice cream truck), the character's frequent costume tweaks served as variants on the John Gacy-esque "evil clown" stereotype. And that's why coulrophobes all hate David Jaffe.

Now: It may have been last year's Twisted Metal that rebooted the franchise, but Needles Kane himself remained largely unaltered from his previous appearance in Twisted Metal: Black. That game remodeled the scary clown as a more recognizably human psychopath, resulting in a look and attitude that were dark highlights of the 2012 game.

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
4. Prince of Persia (PoP 1988/The Sands of Time/PoP 2008)

4. Prince of Persia (PoP 1988/The Sands of Time/PoP 2008)

Then: The original Prince of Persia famously bore a strong resemblance to David Mechner, brother of programmer Jordan--who used video footage of his younger sibling to rotoscope the game's hero. The resultant hero won acclaim and introduced players to the series' comparatively realistic take on platforming action.

Now: As of 2013, the Prince has been the subject of not one but two successful revamps: a faithful 3D rebirth in 2003's The Sands of Time, and a more magically-enabled reimagining in 2008's Prince of Persia. Well, when your series also includes one of the perennial entries on lists of Gaming's grittiest reboots, it's always nice to mix things up a little.

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
3. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Country)

3. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Country)

Then: Plus-sized antagonist to a royalty-obsessed carpenter named Mario. Devotees may remember that our boy went on to suffer under the cruel everyman's lash, until freed by Donkey Kong Jr. in the game of that name. True pros know nothing would stop DK Sr.'s reign of terror, short of a kill-screen.

Now: Donning a dapper necktie which he wears as a proud badge of reconciliation with the status quo, the newly-heroic DK's rage-fueled abduction rampages are long behind him. When he's not engaging in sporting competition with his old red-capped nemesis, Miyamoto's original villain can be seen headlining series like Donkey Konga and King of Swing but he still pulls the occasional heel-turn, as in the Mario vs Donkey Kong series.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
2. Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)

2. Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)

Then: Metal Gear is always good for fine-tuned gameplay, labyrinthine plot twists and the odd controller-hurling burst of frustration. Just ask players who got partway through the series' first PS2 iteration to find control shifting to this whiny, decidedly sub-Solid Snake longhair. Did you love the lengthy Codec angst-fests with his two-dimensional girlfriend? The openly stupid nude scenes? Oh, it was all gold.

Now: Eidos' Deus Ex: Human Revolution borrowed liberally from Metal Gear's stealth-action playbook, so it's only fair that the series steal a little bit back--such as turning to a lithe, cybernetically-enhanced badass for the protagonist of the latest installment, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Kitted out in extensive cyborg prostheses, the new Raiden expresses his limitless angst in the best way possible: through bouts of efficiently showy violence to put Solid Snake (or Adam Jensen) to shame.

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
1. Conker (Diddy Kong Racing/Conker's Bad Fur Day)

1. Conker (Diddy Kong Racing/Conker's Bad Fur Day)

Then: Apple-cheeked cutesy-pie, introduced in Rare's Diddy Kong Racing and set for wholesome adventures all his own. The slingshot-toting squirrel delighted(?) young audiences in the 1999 Game Boy Color adventure, Conker's Pocket Tales, and a full-fledged N64 outing, Twelve Tales: Conker 64, was on the way. "A Rare game about a cute little animal on a fetch-quest? Wonders never cease," we all sneered.

Now: "Screw it," said the ever-inventive Rare, "let's scrap this character and turn him into a foul-mouthed young lout on the hunt for girls and alcohol." The result, N64 classic Conker's Bad Fur Day, was heavy on pop-cultural callouts and bawdy humour. Advertised in Playboy instead of Nintendo Power--and, sure, lots of fun to play--the game reminded players that Nintendo/Rare were still capable of surprising you.

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Makeover!

Makeover!

Which character rebirths have impressed you? Which have fallen flat? Or, let's all talk about Bomberman Act: Zero in the comments.

While you're into new beginnings, have a look at 10 origin stories you didn't know you wanted. Or have a look forward at The 100 most anticipated games of 2013.

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Wii-u Nintendo PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms
PRODUCTS
DmC: Devil May Cry Tomb Raider Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Country Prince of Persia (next-gen) Twisted Metal (2012) Prince of Persia Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Conker's Bad Fur Day Twisted Metal Black Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Devil May Cry Tomb Raider Metal Gear Solid Diddy Kong Racing (N64)
Tom Goulter
See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Anson Mount as Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor in 'The Story & The Engine.'
Doctor Who season 2, episode 5 spoiler review: 'The Story & The Engine' is "one of the most original and ambitious episodes this show has produced in years"
Dante in Netflix's Devil May Cry
Netflix's outspoken Devil May Cry creator promises season 2 will be a "very different show" and Dante will become more of a badass after taking so many Ls in season 1
Maggie Q in Ballard
The 25 best shows on Amazon Prime Video to watch in July 2025
Dexter: Resurrection
Dexter: Resurrection unveils star-studded first trailer as Dexter Morgan meets New York's most lethal serial killers
Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor in a suit, tie, and bowler hat in Doctor Who's 'Wish World.'
Doctor Who season 2: All the Easter eggs, cameos, and references
Latest in Action
Link is in a barrel in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker on Nintendo Switch 2
Twink Link is being freed: Nintendo apparently backtracks, says you are allowed to call yourself Twink Link as it works to unban a Switch 2 it "flagged by accident"
Protagonist Jordan in a screenshot from the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Naughty Dog boss Neil Druckmann is leaving HBO's The Last of Us season 3 to turn his "complete focus" to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and the studio's "future projects"
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
Death Stranding 2 has a "completely hidden mechanic" that lets you fire lethal rounds, meaning voidouts are now inevitable
a robot being shot with a gatling gun but still approaching menacingly
Rockstar remembers Red Dead Online exists and puts out a new update trailer for the first time in 4 years, leaving fans hopeful it's not dead after all: "Are we back?"
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Nintendo Switch 2 could revolutionize Zelda technology: Tears of the Kingdom tinkerers confirm lasers are way deadlier now – "We always knew 60 fps would be insane, but I didn't expect it to be this insane"
Death Stranding 2 Sam touching Lou and Fragile
Hideo Kojima says he "kind of hates" the AI assistant in his phone, which is why Death Stranding 2's message is that people shouldn't just rely on technology
Latest in Features
Sam sits in a bike looking across at a city in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
70 hours in, Death Stranding 2 is one of few open world games that justifies having such a huge map
Nintendo Switch 2
I can't use the Switch 2's handheld mode, so I'm hoping a Lite is on the horizon
Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mister Miracle as the Justice Gang in Superman
The Justice Gang explained - The non-Justice League in James Gunn's Superman may be influenced by team of classic DC supervillains
Team Fortress 2 characters looking at a map
I have 464 games on my Steam wishlist, 23 games in my Steam Summer Sale shopping cart, and I can feel my already overstuffed library giving me the side-eye
Heavy Metal Death Can demo screenshot
I got a nicotine rush and set zombies on fire in this PS1-style survival horror demo, and it's basically Resident Evil on a submarine
A PSVR 2 review image next to the marketing reveal image of the Meta Quest 3S, separated by an orange line
Xbox finally has a VR headset, but it's not the PSVR 2 rival I was hoping for
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...