Great arcade games with bad console ports - your thoughts! [Archive]

Geddon_jt

12-31-2005, 04:23 PM

Hey guys - tried to search out a topic in this vein, but I was unable to find one.
Had an idea for a topic today. I thought we could try naming some great arcade games that received console ports that never quite hit the mark of the original. We all know of some great ones - ie, Soul Calibur DC port, R-Type Turbografx port.

For me, the first that comes to mind would be Gauntlet. I loved this game as a kid and tried the NES version, the LYNX version, the commodore version, and none of them seemed to match or come close to the arcade experience (perhaps one of the reasons its such a great addition to the Xbox live arcade!)

Same goes for Rastan. The SMS port never did it for me, and as far as I recall, that was really the only one available back in the day.

Anyone think of any others?

hbkprm

12-31-2005, 04:46 PM

contra
super c(ontra)
after burner
narc

i can go on forever

Gamereviewgod

12-31-2005, 04:56 PM

contra
[i]super c(ontra)

@_@

The arcade versions are killed by the NES port, or are you thinking of a different port?

Ed Oscuro

12-31-2005, 05:42 PM

After Burner got some great ports...I recently read somebody on 1up saying "gee maybe we'll get After Burner III!" Well, there was an After Burner III...on the FM Towns. :D

Anyhow, Contra and Super C on home consoles were great. The Super C intro in arcades was really the best thing about the game lacking from the home version...other than that it was a poorly animated, generally ugly title that got a huge improvement in the home release. Same goes for Contra.

One game that didn't fare too well was Galaxy Force II. There are some great ports - FM Towns and Saturn (Japan only on both of 'em), but here in the states you were stuck with the Genesis port...which really isn't too good.

pragmatic insanester

12-31-2005, 05:54 PM

final fight (snes)

Arcade Antics

12-31-2005, 06:04 PM

For me, the first that comes to mind would be Gauntlet. I loved this game as a kid and tried the NES version, the LYNX version, the commodore version, and none of them seemed to match or come close to the arcade experience (perhaps one of the reasons its such a great addition to the Xbox live arcade!)
You must have missed Gauntlet (IV) for the Genesis. It's outstanding.

I agree that the NES "port" sucks though. It just isn't Gauntlet.

In the same vein, I'll defend the coin-op versions of Contra and Super Contra as well. The NES games are indeed excellent, but they're not really the same as their original coin counterparts. For that reason, they lose points in my book (I really have a book) for their failure to properly match the original games.

Anyhoo, yeah, there are too many bad ports to even mention. So I'll quit while I'm ahead. LOL

Arcade Antics

12-31-2005, 06:05 PM

After Burner got some great ports...I recently read somebody on 1up saying "gee maybe we'll get After Burner III!" Well, there was an After Burner III...on the FM Towns. :D
It's on Sega CD too. :)

Ed Oscuro

12-31-2005, 06:14 PM

Edit: oops, misread that as Galaxy Force II.

I didn't know about that one, though. Probably a fair port.

Edit2: Just beat Mission 1 of Galaxy Force II in MAME without any deaths, yay! Don't have a joystick for my PC at the moment, so the mouse had to do.

evildead2099

12-31-2005, 07:39 PM

Konami's THE SIMPSONS - a beat-em up - was ported to MS DOS, and sucks. The game was also ported to the C64, but I haven't tried that port.

The Atari 2600 port of PAC MAN is horrendous.

The Genesis port of TIME KILLERS somehow managed to turn out worse than the coin-op edition of that game!

The SNES port of WRESTLEMANIA: THE ARCADE GAME sucks, especially when compared to the Genny port. It lacks the game's 2 largest grapplers: Bam Bam Bigelow and Yokozuna.

The SNES port of FINAL FIGHT sucks, due to slowdown, censorship, and the lack of multiplayer action.

The SNES port of MORTAL KOMBAT 1 is terrible. Although it looks better than the Genny port, its control scheme was altered and is very slugish. SNES censorship detracted from MK1's key attraction: its gore and fatalities.

The Gameboy port of MORTAL KOMBAT 1 is awful, although the MK2 port is considerably better.

REVOLUTION X was never effectively ported, to my knowedge. I own the Genny and PC ports, have tried the SNES port, and have read reviews regarding the Saturn and PS1 ports: none of them turned out very great. The PC port plays fairly well, but looks inexcusably terrible due to excessive pixelation.

atomicthumbs

12-31-2005, 07:43 PM

Pac-Man - VCS (though I can't help but love it)

NE146

12-31-2005, 08:52 PM

The Atari 2600 port of PAC MAN is horrendous.

The 2600 port of Amidar is worse :)

2600 Pacman is bad, but at least it has been rectified in so many ways as of late on the 2600 with lots of Pacmans for it now.

Ed Oscuro

12-31-2005, 09:09 PM

evildead2099

12-31-2005, 09:35 PM

The Atari 2600 port of DOUBLE DRAGON is (predictably) awful. I dislike the Sega Master System port of that game as well; although it 1-ups the NES port by including 2-player simultaneous play in story mode, the SMS port is sluggish and features poor control.

Although the NES port of BURGER TIME plays really well, it's unnecessarily inferior to the arcade game in the sense that Data East tweaked the game's difficulty to a ridiculous extent!

evildead2099

12-31-2005, 09:37 PM

Konami's THE SIMPSONS - a beat-em up - was ported to MS DOS, and sucks. The game was also ported to the C64, but I haven't tried that port.
For the life of me, I hate to think why Konami secured rights to create so many great arcade games and then didn't obtain console rights. Bucky O' Hare got an NES port...but what about Aliens, GI Joe, even Metamorphic Force and Dadandarn (aka Beast Brawlers, I think)?

Mystic Warriors also needed a port...

I agree with you; I was always looking forward to playing Aliens on the NES or perhaps the Genesis...

There were 2 GI Joe games on the NES, but both were from Capcom (as opposed to Konami). I didn't know that there was a GI Joe arcade game. How does it compare?

davidbrit2

12-31-2005, 10:37 PM

After Burner got some great ports...I recently read somebody on 1up saying "gee maybe we'll get After Burner III!" Well, there was an After Burner III...on the FM Towns. :D

There's a new After Burner coming out for Sega's Lindbergh arcade hardware.
http://sega.jp/arcade/lindbergh/title_ab.html

Okay, games with lousy home ports...
Turbo Outrun
Outrunners

There are ports of Turbo Outrun for the FM Towns and DOS PCs, but I haven't played either of those. Hopefully they're better than the Genesis version.

And of course, with Sega, it's much easier to fill volumes with the games that didn't get any home conversion, rather than just getting a crappy one. Where's my Dreamcast Sega Super GT and Daytona 2, bitches???

Ed Oscuro

12-31-2005, 11:09 PM

After Burner got some great ports...I recently read somebody on 1up saying "gee maybe we'll get After Burner III!" Well, there was an After Burner III...on the FM Towns. :D

There's a new After Burner coming out for Sega's Lindbergh arcade hardware.
http://sega.jp/arcade/lindbergh/title_ab.html
A fighting shooter on hardware named after a pacifist?

I see they dropped the regular naming convention in favor of a name based system...probably would help the confusion. I guess that makes sense because the newest Space Harrier didn't use the simple numeric scheme, either.

evildead2099

12-31-2005, 11:37 PM

Where's my Dreamcast Sega Super GT and Daytona 2, bitches???

O_O :eek 2:

Eternal Champion

01-01-2006, 09:02 AM

I agree that Gauntlet IV on Genesis kicks ass; probably the best home port of it. I admit I enjoyed the NES version back in the day, despite the cheesy graphics and horrible slow-down.

I also liked the SNES Final Fight despite its shortcomings, as it looked so good for its time.

Jumpman Jr.

01-01-2006, 09:04 AM

I think the worst one that comes to mind is Burgertime on the NES. Its virtually unplayable with the hellishly sticky controlls that they set it up with. Its a fun port on the Intellivision, but not the NES.

icbrkr

01-01-2006, 10:10 AM

Konami's THE SIMPSONS - a beat-em up - was ported to MS DOS, and sucks. The game was also ported to the C64, but I haven't tried that port.

Definetly try the C64 port - it's very surprising on how well it's done.

http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=2314

pragmatic insanester

01-01-2006, 11:35 AM

the nes bucky o'hare was a platformer or a shooter. not a beat 'em up.

Predatorxs

01-01-2006, 11:50 AM

NewZealand Story (Nes).. Didn't have the arcade feel and there were things/items missing, that made it feel a poor port, i waited in vein for a snes port, yes.... and wait i did! :/

I agree MK on the snes was not the best, but i did like final might, final fight guy wasn't bad.. althou it was only Guy that was added lol.

And who could forget Street fighter II Championship Ed on the Genesis/Megadrive.. terrible!!

evildead2099

01-01-2006, 12:19 PM

And who could forget Street fighter II Championship Ed on the Genesis/Megadrive.. terrible!!

I completely disagree with you. Just what was it about SFII: Special Champion Edition for the Genny that you didn't like? I feel that it was as fine a port as Capcom could've managed for the Genesis.

The only circumstance under which I could relate to your opinion would be if I HAD to play that port using the 3-button Genesis controller (as opposed to the 6-button one, whose layout is more efficient for fighting games than is the SNES controller's).

LAGO

01-01-2006, 12:34 PM

Well while it's a great NES game Ninja Gaiden is completely different in the arcade compared to the home release ...

segagamer4life

01-01-2006, 12:45 PM

the snes port of KILLER INSTINCT... SUCKED.. imo

Xexyz

01-01-2006, 12:46 PM

evildead2099

01-01-2006, 02:01 PM

Well while it's a great NES game Ninja Gaiden is completely different in the arcade compared to the home release ...

... Right... Therefore, it's not a port.

By the way, am I the only one who played the NES version of Ninja Gaiden before discovering arcade version - the genesis of the series?

evildead2099

01-01-2006, 02:03 PM

Geddon_jt

01-01-2006, 02:36 PM

Well while it's a great NES game Ninja Gaiden is completely different in the arcade compared to the home release ...

Yep. Another one that comes to mind in that vein is Rygar (previously mentioned in this thread, methinks). I always prefered the NES versions of both games!

Sanriostar

01-01-2006, 02:53 PM

Syvalion.

I haven't played the SNES version (only the Taito Memories one) but you just cannot play this game the way it was intended to be played on a D-pad or analog stick. You need a damn trackball, which was only on the arcade machines.

Ah, but what about all the console ports of CENTIPEDE?

I've always felt that the coin-op was far superior to the console ports on account of the trackball.

Give the 5200 Centipede a spin with that consoles trac-ball. Wonderful.

On a related note:
Tempest. you can play it on the PS with the PS Trac-Ball, but it's still missing something; and that's the spinner.

Wizard of Wor is another game that's never had everything done right; you either get the voice but not the music, the music but not the voice, and never both at the same time. I'm just gonna have to get a full-size machine...

Push Upstairs

01-01-2006, 04:08 PM

"Cruzin' USA"

Terrible N64 port (and i'm not saying that because i hate the N64).

I know that no home console can ever have the same amount of power/RAM that a arcade game can but...ugh...this was watered down and not all that fun either.

Retsudo

01-01-2006, 08:00 PM

Intellivision- Donkey Kong and Zaxxon come to mind

Canadian Psycho

01-02-2006, 01:09 AM

I know it's the total opposite of what this topic is about, but the numerous compilation discs released recently made me realize how much some home conversions were MUCH better than their arcade counterpart, something I couldn't even fathom when I was a kid. The obvious example being Bionic Commando, but Gun.Smoke (because of the insane difficulty and the terrible music compared to the awesomeness of the NES bgm), Ninja Gaiden and a bunch of others are much more interesting on the home consoles.