Does playing Arcade ports make any sense?

[Anthony1]

I recently got MAME up and running on my XBOX, along with several thousand MAME roms.


After scrolling through all these old Arcade games, I came to the conclusion that I might as well play the real arcade version of arcade games, rather than console ports of the real arcade games.


For example: Why play Altered Beast on the Genesis, when you can play the real Altered Beast from the Arcade? Same thing with every other arcade port that you can think of. Why play Mortal Kombat on the Genesis, when I can play the real Arcade version of Mortal Kombat?


I'm sure that this topic has been brought up a million times before, but possibly not in the same context.

Consider this: The argument for playing the ports, instead of the real thing, has probably been, "I would rather play a arcade port on a video game system hooked up to a big TV from the comfort of my living room, rather than playing the real Arcade game on my PC monitor and a office chair".


Ah, yes, that is a good argument.

Except now that it is so freaking easy and convienent to play the Arcade games in your living room, on your big TV, on your XBOX.

So I think maybe this subject needs to be re-examined.

If you have the option of playing the real arcade game, rather than a port, with all things being equal, then why not play the real arcade game?

Before all things weren't equal, because you had to use a PC instead of a game system. Now, you don't need the PC anymore. The convience factor and ease factor, is no longer a huge concern.

I can't tell you how easy it is, to turn on my XBOX, go to the emulator section, go to the MAME section and then fire up a game. It takes like 3 seconds. I can get out of that game that I'm playing and into another game in a matter of seconds as well. So the pure convience is there.

[Pantechnicon]

I would say that, yes, it still makes sense to play ports for a multitude of reasons other than big comfy chairs (which isn't a bad argument in itself). Some of those reasons include:

1) When it comes to newer games anyway, there is very little differentiation in a lot of instances between the capabilities of the coin-op hardware and the modern consoles. A good example here is Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast, which many argue is actually a superior game to its coin-op predecessor. I imagine that, from a hardware and graphics standpoint, there is likewise little differentiaion between the home and arcade versions of SC2 as well.

2) Ports can contain some individual variations that make the game worth having and playing regardless of the system. I remember being really into Donkey Kong for the original Gameboy because there were a few additional levels of gameplay not to be had or seen in the coin-op classic.

3) There's something to be said about when and where one cut his teeth first when it comes to port vs. original. My first steady exposure to classics like Missile Command was on my old beloved Atari 2600. I can still rack up amazing scores on the home version, but if you put me in front of that dreaded trackball and three-buttoned control panel I promise you I'm going to suck. The home version of Missile Command was great, but it never exactly compelled me to get out of my big comfy chair and go downtown to play the coin-op.

3a) On this same note, if we take your reasoning to its logical extreme, then you yourself aren't truly playing your MAME roms the way they "ought" to be played with that little X-Box control pad. Where's your analog spinner for Tempest, hm?.

4) There's an issue of legality. Owning a home port means you have a legal right to use said program for personal use. Can the same be said for the "several thousand MAME roms" you're purporting to possess? I'll even admit that I'm the pot calling you a black kettle here. But for the sake of arguing in favor of home ports this issue has to be mentioned.

5) Two words: Pause button.

[Nature Boy]

I have a question: how many arcade games are ported to the consoles these days? I know that I don't personally buy ports of stuff anymore - the types of games I enjoy on the consoles don't make for good arcade games, and I don't ever go to the arcade.

I know there are still quite a few, but how does it compare to the 80s & 90s? Is it in decline as I suspect it is?

As far as *playing* the games - it doesn't matter what you play. What matters is that you *support* the industry by spending your dough on the games you like to play. At least, that's what matters to me personally.

[chrisbid]

academic reasons

its nice to see what a given system could do with source material.

[Kid Ice]

So, are you saying that without exception, playing emulated games on your X-box is a superior experience to playing any port?

One of the nice things about console ports is that the controller limitations are pre-defined. You can play Spy Hunter on your 2600 or Commodore 64 or NES because someone figured out a way to make the game work with the machines' standard controllers. Does it work as well as the arcade cab? Probably not for most. Does it work as well as the MAME version? Maybe, or maybe not, depending on which controllers YOU happen to have and the decisions YOU make about how to implement them.

One of the things I enjoy about MAME is the endless tinkering you can do with it. I actually like playing Pole Position using a trackball to steer and a joystick to hit the gas. But my friend who plays the Namco Museum version on his N64 would never go for that. And my other friend who has his own Pole Position cab laughs at me. It's all relative, you see.

And one of the beautiful things about classic gaming is that we have all these options at our disposal.

[Azazel]

Yes.

Some of the console ports added or changed things that are better than the orignal arcade versions.

[ManekiNeko]

I can think of two reasons to play ports of arcade games:

1. There's a certain beauty to taking an arcade game, running on powerful dedicated hardware, and bringing it to a home console with limited resources. For instance, I'm always amazed by the 2600 version of Crystal Castles... who thought that a system originally designed for Pong derivitives could do this much?

2. Home versions of arcade games sometimes have exclusive features not found in the originals. There's a new track in the Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi, and new missions in MERCS for the Genesis. These additions justify the shortcomings of these translations and give devoted fans of the arcade games justification for buying the home versions.

JR

[Raccoon Lad]

And sometimes the home port is vastly superior; IE - SMS Captain Silver (EU/JP versions) is a FAR better game than it's arcade predecessor.

Not to forget the additional 100 levels and 2 extra bosses SMS Bubble Bobble has over it's arcade counterpart.

[Daniel Thomas]

It may be hard to remember now, but arcade conversions were the bread and butter of consoles in the 8- and 16-bit eras. The true benchmark was how closely the systems could match their arcade cousins. Remember the thrill of those early Genesis games like Forgotten Worlds, Golden Axe, and Ghouls 'N Ghosts? SF2 on the Super NES? Roadblaster, STUN RUnner, Xenophobe on the Lynx?

Now, arcades are a small niche, and mostly surpassed by the consoles. It's never an issue anymore whether or not Metal Slug 3 on XBox is perfect; it's a given.

Of course, the great advantage of the home versions has always been price. It's better to play Rampart at home, on the couch, than pumping in quarter after quarter.

[NE146]

And one of the beautiful things about classic gaming is that we have all these options at our disposal.

Indeed and agreed :-P

[o2william]

The other posters make several good points. I'd have to say that usually, home ports are easier or less frustrating than their arcade counterparts, and depending on the game, this can be a good thing. Ghosts'n Goblins, Gradius, Gauntlet, and Super C jump to mind as tough arcade games whose NES ports are a bit have more manageable.

My favorite example of this is 2600 Crystal Castles. For some reason, I can't get a handle on the isometric angles in the arcade game and it's not fun for me. The more limited 2600 version, though, is a blast.

[portnoyd]

And sometimes the home port is vastly superior; IE - SMS Captain Silver (EU/JP versions) is a FAR better game than it's arcade predecessor.

Not to forget the additional 100 levels and 2 extra bosses SMS Bubble Bobble has over it's arcade counterpart.

And Bionic Commando and Castlevania (Haunted Castle). Hell, if you ask most people which system Contra came out on, they won't even remember the Arcade version!

dave

[Captain Wrong]

academic reasons

its nice to see what a given system could do with source material.


and



Some of the console ports added or changed things that are better than the orignal arcade versions.


As has been mentioned...DC Soul Calibur. Case in point on both counts.

[Duncan]

It may be hard to remember now, but arcade conversions were the bread and butter of consoles in the 8- and 16-bit eras. The true benchmark was how closely the systems could match their arcade cousins. Remember the thrill of those early Genesis games like Forgotten Worlds, Golden Axe, and Ghouls 'N Ghosts? SF2 on the Super NES? Roadblaster, STUN RUnner, Xenophobe on the Lynx?

Now, arcades are a small niche, and mostly surpassed by the consoles. It's never an issue anymore whether or not Metal Slug 3 on XBox is perfect; it's a given.

Of course, the great advantage of the home versions has always been price. It's better to play Rampart at home, on the couch, than pumping in quarter after quarter.

All good points, and I have just one more to add.

I would like to officially classify Street Fighter for the SNES as the game that began to destroy arcades forever. The game is dead-on-perfectly translated, mainly because Capcom did their damndest to make sure that it would be. By playing it with a SNES Advantage (or a similar joystick) on a 19-inch or larger television, you are basically guaranteed the entire arcade experience at home with very few reservations - unless you happen to like shoving more quarters into a machine.

That said, I like MAME for the fact that I can't just walk down the street and play any of those arcade games any more. It's also a lot of fun to dig way back in the history of video games and see the classics (Gunfight, Night Driver, Crossbow) that I was too young to ever know when they were new.

Of course, I don't have any MAME ROMs or anything. ;)

[thegreatescape]

Personally, I very rarely use mame because i dont get that satisfying sense of "ownership" i would when i buy a game.

That said, one of the advantages ports have is that they arent designed to take your money. Almost all arcade games are made so that when you run out of lives you have to put more money in to continue, thus reducing the amount of effort required to finish the game. I could go and finish wonderboy III on mame right now if i wanted to, but i doubt i could go off and finish the Mega Drive port without wasting half a day trying and getting better at it.

[Kid Ice]

I would like to officially classify Street Fighter for the SNES as the game that began to destroy arcades forever. The game is dead-on-perfectly translated, mainly because Capcom did their damndest to make sure that it would be. By playing it with a SNES Advantage (or a similar joystick) on a 19-inch or larger television, you are basically guaranteed the entire arcade experience at home with very few reservations - unless you happen to like shoving more quarters into a machine.


Absolutely. Up until that point it was only a question of how much worse the console port was going to be. Sure NES had close versions of Galaga and Q-Bert, but that was 5-8 years after the fact. SF2 for the SNES is the first near-perfect console port of an arcade game that was still current in the arcades.

[Dave Reinquest]

As a Street Fighter Collector, I just have to get in on this.


I generally play 8 and 16-bit ports of Sf2.

SFII' on SMS through my Mastergear.
SF2: SCE on Genesis
SSF2 on Genesis
SF2 on SNES
SF2 Turbo on SNES
SFII' on PC-Engine
SFII' on Gameboy
SSF2T Revival on GBA
Street Fighter Collection 2 on PSOne (SFII, SFII: CE, SFII: Hyper Fighting)

All of these games have subtle or blatant differences. For instance, in SFII on PSX, you can't handcuff reliably with Guile. On SMS, Ryu and Ken don't have Dragon Punches. On SNES, you have to deal with choppy animation in comparison to the arcade game. SFII' on Gameboy is more like ST, SSF2T:R on GBA has SFA3's screenpack. Not a single port is identical to another. But the minor diffferences are enough to justify playing on both console AND arcade versions. Especially when certsin consoles have advantageous extras...Like Shin Gouki on GBA. Or Akuma and Sawada and Blade on SF2: The Movie for PSX. It's worth it to try all the different ports, and see which one fits you best.

(P.S. I am looking for SF Pirate Famicom carts if anyone has any extras)