Should an Arcade-To-Home Game Use Extra Power?

[Aswald]

If an old game appears on a later system, should it be souped up, or left as it was in the arcade version? I'm thinking of games like Ms.Pac-Man for the Sega Genesis, or (of course!) the Ultra version of Gyruss for the NES.

Assume that "both" versions will not appear...otherwise, why not?


Myself, I don't. Given a choice between the two, the original version must prevail, simply because that's what I was attracted to in the arcade. That would be what I'd want at home. If the game is so easy that it would seem a waste of power, then why not just put more games on the cartridge (or whatever)?



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Actually, video games are an unusual aspect of pop culture. "Exact" as possible versions of most else existed all along when they did- for example, music was on records/cassettes/CDs, etc. Movies, on VHS. You get the idea.

But for years, this was not the case with arcade video games. Since home consoles could not match the arcade machines, you could rarely expect the same home quality you could with other forms of pop culture. Fact is, the 5200 could not completely bring home Zaxxon and Robotron: 2084. The CV could not truly bring home Zaxxon or Donkey Kong (although a complete version was possible).

This is why the turnaround is so interesting to someone my age. It is now 2010; even those fancy games of the 1990s can no doubt be completely brought home on a modern console, even enhanced. From unable to truly do this to being able to enhance the original; this is what made the NES Gyruss interesting to me. That games we once never imagined are now easy for a home console is something.

[Baloo]

In my personal opinion, it really depends on how much they mess with the game. It's one thing to take an arcade game and spruce up the graphics slightly a la Ms. Pac-Man for Genesis. It's another thing entirely to create the arcade game anew in a more modern style a la the Sega AGES 2500 series.

Personally, I don't mind the small graphical changes to make it look a bit nicer. But when you start messing with the soundtrack and SFX, and especially the gameplay, that's when I get a bit annoyed.

But that's all depending on really how much they change of course. And how they do it. It's also one thing to make a port of say, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker and replace Bad with a totally different song, and another thing if you're just going to replace it with the same song, but with CD quality music instead of the chiptune stuff found in the game.

[Compute]

To me it depends how easily I can get the 'original' in some shape or form. There are enough ports of Ms Pac Man in 'original' form that work well that a re-spin does not bother me. If the game gets re-spun too hard it can take away from the fun of it. In that case I don't mind so much when they throw in a port of the original to cover bases.

[123►Genei-Jin]

I like what SNK does, with KOF 94 rebout you get a graphically enhanced and slightly rebalanced game AND the original KOF94 as well, same with KOF98UM, you get a whole new game and the original KOF98 as well.
With current system's storage capacities there's no excuse to leave the original versions out.
I think this actually applies for older systems too since CDs had more than enough storage space to hold original and enhanced versions together.
It obviously becomes more complicated with cartridge based systems and with those I don't mind graphical enhancements but I like gameplay to be as close to the original as possible.

[Gameguy]

A close to perfect port should be included if possible, and other options would make it even better for added re-playability. It really depends on how old the game is too, if its a port of a recent game then a plain port would be fine, but if it's an old game that's been out for decades then it should have an option for something added.

[Julio III]

Yes, I agree, an "arcade-perfect" port and, if (and only if) it works, a version with souped up graphics. For example, the recent port of Mushihime-sama Futari to the Xbox 360. I don't agree with the original poster however, that home consoles can now replicate the arcade feel. To differentiate themselves nowadays, arcade machines typically feature peripherals/cases that can't be replicated at home well. A simple example is light-gun games, but then racing games with full force feedback and moving seats, and of course, the excellent arcade case of "Let's Go Jungle!" by Sega

[NE146]

I like how Golden Axe on the Genesis was about as arcade perfect (as they could make it) but yet added some additional stages. That's a great way to do it. :)

[Ed Oscuro]

I like how Golden Axe on the Genesis was about as arcade perfect (as they could make it) but yet added some additional stages. That's a great way to do it. :)
The Battle game mode is pretty entertaining.

I don't really mind older ports; the systems they were released for were often different enough that it's worthwhile playing the home versions just for the difference (Ghouls 'n' Ghosts SMS seems a good example of this; it's way different in some ways).

This being said, I often like ports that change things up from the arcade versions because the arcade versions are no longer unattainable for play at home.

[j_factor]

I can kind of go both ways on this. If they were to make a console version of Planet Harriers now, some graphical enhancements would be okay, or even preferable to an exact port, but I would not be happy if they totally changed the visual style, or made a bunch of changes to the gameplay (unless there's an "original" option). However, if Planet Harriers had come out on Dreamcast (and the port had been good), I wouldn't be worried about it if the new one was Planet Harriers Remix. On the other hand, a lot of remakes piss me off because they make me think they could've come out with a proper sequel instead.

Frogger for SNES kind of illustrates my dilemma. It's a bit graphically enhanced; the visuals are nice enough and don't detract from the game. The fact that it was enhanced isn't a negative for it, per se. [I haven't played it in a while and I'm not sure if it makes any minor gameplay alterations, but let's pretend it doesn't.] However, a visual enhancement doesn't add much to a game like Frogger, and there was already a million different versions of Frogger that worked fine, so it feels pointless. Hypothetically, if there had never been a home port of Frogger before (or no good ones), then a purely visual enhancement would be fine, but don't touch the gameplay.

[AB Positive]

Personally, I don't mind the small graphical changes to make it look a bit nicer. But when you start messing with the soundtrack and SFX, and especially the gameplay, that's when I get a bit annoyed.


Agreed, emphasis added by me.

Graphics I have no problem in updating within reason. Final fantasy remakes still seem great when 2D and GBA, but falter when upped to 3D on the DS (FF3 - looking straight at you).

But the soundtracks... I always miss the real beeps and bloops as opposed to the newer remixed stuff. It'd be one thing if you had the option of either or but grarg. I tried the GBA remake of Shining Force and it was hard to work through - all that great YM Genny music gone away. :(

[Aswald]

I'm wondering; could this in part be aged-based?

When I was a kid, look at some of the games we thought were supercoolawesome...Combat, Street Racer, Human Cannonball and Tic-Tac-Toe for the 2600. Since we were around from the time of Pong, we've quite literally "been there" from the very start. It's like when Star Wars came out back in 1977. The 1997 re-release didn't have that "new" feel to it.


But an 18 year old in 2010 would have been born in (oh, MAN!) 1992! Mortal Kombat, Sonic the Hedgehog on a HOME SYSTEM, etc. was what was there when such a person was born; by the time he was even 6, it would have been the late 1990s. The 32-Bit/CD/Internet Era.

Maybe the older games can be too simplistic or too primitive looking for many younger gamers? So if there was a poll asking this about, say, Galaxian, and the results were divided by age groups, it would be mainly older gamers who would usually say no, but younger gamers might more often say yes? Remember, I'm assuming for this post that it's one or the other, not both on a cartridge/CD/whatever.

[AbnormalMapping]

Space Invaders (2600) and Ninja Gaiden (NES) are great examples of improving an arcade game. What would the Jaguar be without Tempest 2000?

Tekken 1,2,&3 (PSX), Strider (Genesis), Soul Calibur (Dreamcast)...

By all means, improve the game if you can.

But take care, it's just as easy to break it...