Great games with bad licenses.

[Crush Crawfish]

Well, we've all heard about crappy games based on great licenses. Be it Batman, Superman, Dragonball Z, or whatever, There's a good chance that an opprtunity for a great game was wasted.

Now let's take a look at the other end of the spectrum. A game that rocks, but has a unfortnate licensing tie-in. You know, the kind of game you'd pass right by with out even giving a second glance to.

For example:

MC Kids for NES: No one in their right mind would think a game based on the Mcdonalds chain of Fast Food restaurants could be any good, right? WRONG!!! Not only does this game not suck, it's easily one of the best platformers ever. It plays sort of like Super Mario bros. 2, as you have to pick up blocks and throw them at your enemies to kill them. The game just oozes quality. It's got excellent graphics and music, and what suprised me most is the fact that this game was not dumbed down at all for its target audience! As a matter of fact, It's incredibly difficult , not to mention very long with no saves whatsoever. Anyone who owns an NES should give this game a shot.

So, what other games have fallen victim to bad licensing?

[Wavelflack]

Well, I certainly didn't think Goldeneye was that great of a movie. Still probably a good license, though.

[-hellvin-]

Chronicles Of Riddick?

[Dahne]

Oh man, I remembered an old McDonald's game that I thought was really fun when I was little. I thought I was just looking through the veil of childhood at what couldn't possibly have actually been a good game.

I also remember the Tiny Toons and Felix the Cat NES games being really fun.

[Iron Draggon]

Well obviously, the spiritual sequel to MC Kids, Global Gladiators for Genesis. Treasureland Adventure for Genesis is pretty good too, created by Treasure. I guess there's just something about the McDonald's license. You just can't make a crap game for it. Ronald will just hunt you down and zap you into the game before you can release it, then destroy the ROM, along with you in it!

[linlhutz]

Chronicles Of Riddick?


Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

[thegreatescape]

I also remember the Tiny Toons and Felix the Cat NES games being really fun.

Woah there, are you saying you honestly dont like the Felix OR Tiny Toons shows ? X_x
I hear the Biker Mice from mars game is ok, particularly considering what a crap show it was..

[Half Japanese]

I thought the Riddick license was pretty cool. I can't stand Vin Diesel, but Pitch Black was fucking great, although the second flick was pretty mediocre. Either way, the game is indeed excellent, relying not on the license but standalone kick-assnes.

[Crush Crawfish]

I also remember the Tiny Toons and Felix the Cat NES games being really fun.

Yeah! Both of those games rule!!! But Felix and Tiny Toons certainly don't qualify as bad licenses. I loved both of those shows.

[Mayhem]

Navy Seals (Ocean cart) for C64. Crap film, brilliant tactical shooter game though.

[Escape•From•Jenny•Island]

Double Dragon... the Movie Game. Not really "Great", but it was a pretty solid fighter and it didn't really play on the horrible Movie much at all.

[Dahne]

Not that the shows were bad. Just that any game based on a kids' show tends to already have the odds stacked against it.

[Ed Oscuro]

"Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa" (coin-op version by Konami) is definitely a contender.

[DigitalSpace]

I hear the Biker Mice from mars game is ok, particularly considering what a crap show it was..

This was the game that came to mind when I read the first post. It's best described as Rock N' Roll Racing meets Super Mario Kart. One of the best racing games on the SNES, imo.

[jerkov]

How about Lone Ranger for NES? Not exactly a "crap" license, but quite a bizarre one. "Hey, let's make a game based on a show that hasn't aired in 30 years that won't appeal to kids at all!!!!"

License notwithstanding, it's a typical awesome Konami release. Lots of variety in the gameplay, too.

[GarrettCRW]

How about Lone Ranger for NES? Not exactly a "crap" license, but quite a bizarre one. "Hey, let's make a game based on a show that hasn't aired in 30 years that won't appeal to kids at all!!!!"

*puts geek hat on* Actually, it had only been about a decade since the excellent Filmation series and the horrid live-action movie, but it was still quite an odd license, particularly for a late-life NES release.

[Fuyukaze]

Golgo 13 could posibly apply. While I loved the games, the anime for it was aparently not that popular (i liked it though)

[eightbitonline]

NES untouchables has amazing shoot-out levels (the side-scrolling however, is not so hot).

again, this is another NES game made off of a license that didn't exactly appeal to the NES demographic.

[GarrettCRW]

Golgo 13 could posibly apply. While I loved the games, the anime for it was aparently not that popular (i liked it though)

How about Hudson's Adventure Island? Apparently that's a mere name change (Takahashi Mejin, IIRC) from being based on a Japanese series, and apparently Doki Doki Panic and Dragon Ball (in the guise of the first NES game) weren't strong enough licenses to bring to the States.



*glances at topic name* Oh, we wanted *good* games. Well, scratch Dragon Ball/Power. :D

[Fuyukaze]

Actualy, in hindsight I think the DB games get a very bad rap for their assosiation with the DBZ popularity. While few (if any) of them would be considerd solid fighting games, not all were junk. The first DBZ game released domesticly for the PS1 I found to be a nice suprise. While there was plenty of cheese to it, for an anime based game it had plenty of moves, combos, and power ups. I dont know about the later bandai and atari releases as I have no desire to touch the series anymore. There was atlest one that made it for the nes if im not mistaken that was relased under a different name. As I remember, it was fun as well.

PS, if the nes game in question has already been mentioned, please understand its hard to scroll up and down to re-read when your useing a dreamcast. Everything looks so BIG!!'x_x'

[GarrettCRW]

Certainly the DBZ fanboy syndrome affects people's opinion of the games (anyone who ever frequented tsr's NES Archive has seen not only tsr's dislike for the show, but a few examples where Famicom accessories have been more expensive because of an image of Goku on), but in the NES days the license was held by *Bandai*. Not the best licensee by any stretch of the imagination. And DB license or not, that first NES game was *garbage*.