Clones, ripoffs and copies that were better than what they're copying

[shopkins]

I guess the primary example would be Ms. Pacman. What started as unofficial hack was even better than the original and eventually became an official game. With all of the other copying going on in the video game industry I'm sure there are a lot of examples like that, where someone releases an unofficial but better take on an established game. What are some examples you can think of and why are they better?

[kupomogli]

Dante's Inferno. God of War
Guadia Quest Retro Game Challenge. Dragon Warrior
Front Mission Gun Hazard. Cybernator
Dragon Warrior Monsters. Pokemon
Parasite Eve 2. Resident Evil series
Chocobo Racing. Mario Kart series
Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Super Metroid(debatable of being a clone)

Also there's Castlevania. Before all the, although good and a few better than SotN, Symphony of the Night clones came to be, KCEK developed Circle of the Moon. They borrowed the SotN exploration type structure yet kept the difficulty and large amounts of platforming in the game similar to the older games. My favorite in this style.

Castlevania Circle of the Moon. Castlevania Symphony of the Night

[Black_Tiger]

I know that some of these original games are considered holy by many who are unable to concede that they could ever be bested in any way. If you're one of them, don't take this as a pwning list, just understand that in some ways some people would consider many aspects improved upon by these "tributes".


Legend of Zelda - Neutopia I & II
Gauntlet - Dungeon Explorer I & II (I don't consider it a "clone", but many people do)
Famicom Wars - Nectaris/Military Madness & Neo Nectaris
Fire Emblem - Shining Force I, II, CD, GGs & IIIs
Dragon Warrior - TM/FEOE Ziria
Thunder Force III - Gate of Thunder
Phantasy Star II - Neo Metal Fantasy
Final Fantasy IV - TM/FEOE Fuun Kabuki Den
World Court Tennis - Final Lap Twin


Metrovania/Castletroids were plentiful during the 8-bit era, so SOTN isn't so original the way that so many people make it out to be and neither is Super Metroid. But I think that in a topic like this, it shouldn't matter how original a cloned source is so much as that it seems likely that the source game was an inspiration.



Also there's Castlevania. Before all the, although good and a few better than SotN, Symphony of the Night clones came to be, KCEK developed Circle of the Moon. They borrowed the SotN exploration type structure yet kept the difficulty and large amounts of platforming in the game similar to the older games. My favorite in this style.

Castlevania Circle of the Moon. Castlevania Symphony of the Night

I completely agree.

[Compute]

I'll go with Ladybug. Although I can only put it near Pac Man, not necessarily better.

[Gavica]

http://files.sharenator.com/polystation_open_Console_clones_and_rip_offs-s397x401-2949-580.jpg

[Gameguy]

Arkanoid was a pretty good Breakout clone, I still like the original but Arkanoid is pretty fun.

[diskoboy]

I'll go with Ladybug. Although I can only put it near Pac Man, not necessarily better.

I think the Pac-Man clone reached perfection with Exidy's Mouse Trap.

And Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast was better than the arcade version, which even in 1999, was still a pretty rare occurence. Oh, and the Japanese import of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 for Dreamcast was also better than the arcade versions, thanks to online play.

[Ro-J]

I'll respect anyone who disagrees, but I consider Mr. Do! superior to Dig Dug. I find it a lot more satisfying to angle balls at my enemies while digging through the dirt than trying to pump them full of air. Also, apples beat rocks. Plus I like how the designers borrowed from Pac-Man a little bit to give the player two different ways to clear any stage.

[Mike_Hawk]

Super Contra X: Ripoff of Operation C for Gameboy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCu6CF16KGo

[kedawa]

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is basically just a beefed up Baku Baku Animals.

[squirrel_king]

Super Contra X: Ripoff of Operation C for Gameboy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCu6CF16KGo

oh Super Contra X is terrible. I have it on a 6 in 1 multicart somewhere. Not a patch on Operation C.

talking of Game Boy Konami games though, I kinda prefer Rainbow Prince to the real GB Twinbee. but maybe that's just me.

[j_factor]

Master of Darkness (a.k.a. Vampire) is totally a Castlevania rip-off, but I liked it a lot more.

[Rickstilwell1]

Galaxian is a better ripoff of Space Invaders. Galaga is a better ripoff of Galaxian.

[Famidrive-16]

Dragon Warrior Monsters. Pokemon


I'd almost agree, if DQM didn't have a stupid amount of grinding required. That was the DS version though, maybe the earlier ones were better.

In a similar vein, I think Earthbound is better than all the DQ games I've played, considering that Itoi was heavily inspired by the series.

[DigitalSpace]

Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Super Metroid

This is wrong.

[Cryomancer]

Lots of people consider ALL sandbox games to be GTA clones (remember when all FPS were doom clones?), so by that logic, Saints Row and even moreso Saints Row 2 are superior clones. Hell, you could call San Andreas a superior clone to GTA VC, etc.

[Sabz5150]

Mig-29 Soviet Fighter: Top Gun

[kedawa]

Does anyone consider Miss World '96 (Nude) better than Qix?

[Nesmaster]

Lots of people consider ALL sandbox games to be GTA clones (remember when all FPS were doom clones?), so by that logic, Saints Row and even moreso Saints Row 2 are superior clones. Hell, you could call San Andreas a superior clone to GTA VC, etc.

Yes. Because Rockstar forgot how to make a fun game and instead tried to make a stupid interactive movie with GTA IV.

Never do that again Housers. We want fun in V. Not a movie.

[Az]

One of the Street Fighter II pirates on Famicom is much, much better than the official SFII' for Sega Master System.

[Zebbe]

Streets of Rage II > Final Fight

[Ed Oscuro]

oh Super Contra X is terrible. I have it on a 6 in 1 multicart somewhere. Not a patch on Operation C.
Thank you.

(I've played SCX and remember a bit of it - I'm thinking it's another game which is the Contra III "remake" complete with rotating sprites, right? Still not a candle to Op C.)

8. Again I fail to see how a game I cannot read is better than the game you are comparing it too.
Then learn to read!

Front Mission Gun Hazard. Cybernator
At least pick the not-censored Japanese original for Assault Suits Valken. (I don't like to pick favorites though - pretty sure I not only have both these games but I also have the original flyer for Valken!)

Reminds me I need to play Leynos II on Saturn.

[garagesaleking!!]

Ah man come on, Saints Row is porrly made game, GTA takes that crown by a longshot.

[kupomogli]

Ah man come on, Saints Row is porrly made game, GTA takes that crown by a longshot.

I agree with this. I bought Saint's Row 2 and while it's okay, it's only better than GTA3, Vice City, LCS, and VCS. San Andreas, GTA4, and Episodes From Liberty City are better.

The only thing this game has going for it is a good aiming system minus any sort of cover mechanic. The one zombie mini game is easy but in my opinion the best thing in the game.

[8bitgamer]

I'll respect anyone who disagrees, but I consider Mr. Do! superior to Dig Dug. I find it a lot more satisfying to angle balls at my enemies while digging through the dirt than trying to pump them full of air. Also, apples beat rocks. Plus I like how the designers borrowed from Pac-Man a little bit to give the player two different ways to clear any stage.


I agree wholeheartedly. I rated Mr. Do! for the SNES the Greatest Game of All Time when Game Informer used to have that column.

[kedawa]

Wasn't there a clone of Elite that was so good that it ended up becoming the official port of the game?
I think it was the Acorn Archimedes port maybe?

[Griking]

I'll respect anyone who disagrees, but I consider Mr. Do! superior to Dig Dug. I find it a lot more satisfying to angle balls at my enemies while digging through the dirt than trying to pump them full of air. Also, apples beat rocks. Plus I like how the designers borrowed from Pac-Man a little bit to give the player two different ways to clear any stage.


I agree. Mr Do is one of my all time favorite classic arcade games. On the other hand I really don't care much for Dig Dug. I think that the challenge of spelling EXTRA or SPECIAL adds a ton of game play to the game.

[Griking]

Galaxian is a better ripoff of Space Invaders. Galaga is a better ripoff of Galaxian.

While I agree that Galga is better than Galaxian Galga isn't really a ripoff, its more of a sequel. In fact many of the "rip-offs" in this thread aren't actually rip-offs.

[Arkhan]

Galaxian is a better ripoff of Space Invaders. Galaga is a better ripoff of Galaxian.

and then, every shmup since then is a better ripoff of Galaxian. :D




hey! I made a decent ripoff of Berzerk one time for the PCE/TG CD. I hear its pretty good!

[Push Upstairs]

Streets of Rage II > Final Fight

This.

[BetaWolf47]

Battle of Olympus for NES is much better than its inspiration: Zelda 2, Metroid, and other nonlinear adventures.

[Arkhan]

Battle of Olympus for NES is much better than its inspiration: Zelda 2, Metroid, and other nonlinear adventures.

damn fucking straight it is

[ScourDX]

3D Dot Game Heroes clone of Zelda
Alan Wake clone of Alone in the Dark

[kupomogli]

Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Super Metroid


This is wrong.

Depends on who you ask. Both are great games but SotN is better in my opinion.


Battle of Olympus for NES is much better than its inspiration: Zelda 2, Metroid, and other nonlinear adventures.

Other way around. Zelda 2 is much better than Battle of Olympus.

[pseudonym]

I agree. BoA is a better game than Zelda 2. Zelda 2 does have the name to fall back on, so it will always be more popular than less known titles for better or worse.

[ryborg]

I typically loathe anything Pokemon-related, but Pokemon Puzzle League is a vastly better game than Tetris Attack.

[Poofta!]

i cant believe anyone would say any of the saints row games are better than any of the 3d GTAs. i played them all, a lot, and all the gtas are far more polished, funnier, funner and just better built games. SR2 is especially hard to play, it feels like a carbon copy of GTA:SA but with all the soul sucked out of it.

i agree w/ battle of olympus >> zelda 2
Alan Wake >> Alone in the Dark (although honestly there havent been any goot AitD games for a veeeeeery long time, like since DOS)

saying Dante's Inferno is superior to GOW is just plain trolling.

i do enjoy the Shining (tactical) games more than Fire Emblem, FE games just have a dumbed down kiddie feel to them.

as for my 2 cents: i thought Terminal Velocity was much better than Descent (not sure if its an accurate comparison though)
and Rise of the Triad was the best "doom clone" of that generation, period. =D





oh and, Forza >>>>>>>> Gran Turismo
(runs away from the flame)

[The_Chosen_One]

Streets of Rage II > Final Fight

This again.

[dreamcaster]

Streets of Rage II > Final Fight

I think Final Fight has a bit more character and humour to it, but SoRII plays better.


oh and, Forza >>>>>>>> Gran Turismo
I'm a Gran Turismo veteran and I agree with this. Gran Turismo 4 was very old and stale, where as Forza - especially Forza 2 - came along and revived the console racing sim.

Gran Turismo 5 looks like it MAY swing things back in favour of GT, but for now, I would rate Forza as the better series.

[Cryomancer]

Does anyone consider Miss World '96 (Nude) better than Qix?

Not so much Miss World, but Kaneko's Gals Panic games are very good in comparison to Qix, even to the point where they actually did make a non-porn version and it's perfectly fun to play regardless.

[BetaWolf47]

I agree. BoA is a better game than Zelda 2. Zelda 2 does have the name to fall back on, so it will always be more popular than less known titles for better or worse.
Yeah that's true about it's name. But what's BoA?

[pseudonym]

Yeah that's true about it's name. But what's BoA?

Oops, I meant Battle of Olympus. :embarrassed:

[Lord_Magus]

(Symphony of the Night vs Super Metroid) Depends on who you ask. Both are great games but SotN is better in my opinion.

I disagree. The only thing I can attribute to preference in those two games (and this is a stretch) is that some may like the gothic/vampire style of Castlevania more than the sci-fi one of Metroid. But when it comes to level design, pacing, atmosphere and polish, I think Super Metroid is still in a league of its own :)

In many ways, it's sort of like comparing 3D Dot Game Heroes to the first Legend of Zelda. Sure, 3DDGH is slightly more complex and has more(?) stuff in general, but the way everything is put together feels somewhat lacking, like they were making stuff up as they went along and didn't really start out with a grand coherent vision. SotN felt exactly the same compared to Super Metroid for me.

Interesting topic btw :)

[Steven]

Arkanoid was a pretty good Breakout clone, I still like the original but Arkanoid is pretty fun.

I ABSOLUTELY love Arkanoid: Doh It Again! on SNES. Came out super late when SNES was dying, but was a fresh reminder of the good old days.

[Az]

Does anyone consider Miss World '96 (Nude) better than Qix?

And what of Miss Mister World '96?

[Arkhan]

Other way around. Zelda 2 is much better than Battle of Olympus.

on what grounds do we base this?


The music is a moot point. They both have some of the best NES music.

BoO is less vague, a bit more expansive, and alot less repetitive than Zelda II.

[Voliko]

I will always enjoy Shining Force more than Fire Emblem.

[NayusDante]

Anything that this guy (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html) makes... He's cloned the mechanics of well-known shmups and added his own minimalist art style, making for some of my favorite shooters.

[migo]

Wasn't there a clone of Elite that was so good that it ended up becoming the official port of the game?
I think it was the Acorn Archimedes port maybe?

For me it would be Escape Velocity. I still haven't come across a game in that category that's as good (Wing Commander Privateer is close, but it's also first person rather than top down).

A big one for me is Crystalis > Zelda. I really can't stand any of the early Zelda games and haven't given any later ones a second look. They're all tedious.