Ign's worst 10 coin-up Conversions-bad list and reasoning

[7th lutz]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/715/715300p1.html
This link has their commits about each game

Ign's 10 games is the following with my thoughts about each game mentioned:

Donkey Kong-2600
While this version is easy to pick on, why the intellvision version isn't listed? The Intellivision is more powerful then the 2600 was and the ape has no mouth on the intellivision. The 2600 version was good to the fact I remembered there being no flicker and this isn't bad for a 4k version.
Final Fight-snes
Wtf? There is one character missing, the gameplay is still good. I expected zaxxon for the 2600 on the list

Moral Kombat-snes
Never played this version. The reasoning behing putting it here is childish. This is not 1993. Taking the violence out is not a good reason. If it is because of the gameplay then it makes sense. Based on ign's reasoning, I think Double dragon for the 2600 should replace it. I never played the 2600 version, but pulling most of the moves with one button with the graphics being off.

Street Fighter 2: Special Championship Edition -genesis
WTF? Just because It doesn't work on a 3 button controller. While Mk Series can be played with the 3 button, the 6 button controller is better for those games. Nes version of rampage should replace it. 2 characters are in the nes version and the graphics weren't the best.

Smashing Drive-Gamecube
WTF? I never played this game, but this is a cheapshot. A bad arcade game means it will be a bad console game. This like putting the Genesis version of timekillers on the list. The closest thing to exception to that rule is a good version of pit Fighter for the Genesis. Defender for the 2600 should replace it

Dragon's Liar-snes
never played it, but I am shocked that no other version on this game was mention like the nes version.

Midway's greatest arcade hits-gba
never played it, but can't argue with their reasoning.

Strider-nes
To my understanding this game was not based on the arcade game but the Japanese megna. There was no background check by ign if was attempted as an arcade port. Donkey Kong Jr for the 2600 should take its place.

Virtua Fighter-saturn
I thought this version was rushed like ign stated but, this version is not bad compare to Virtua Fighter 2 for the genesis. The Genesis Version of virtua Fighter 2 Was in 2d, the playable of the game stinks. When you do some moves, it feels like the game is in slow motion. Virtua fighter would of been better of not being on the genesis since the 32x was dead by then.

Pac-man -2600
One I can agree on

Seems like ign's list had little thought to decide what games should be listed with checking if the game was based on something else. Some of their reasons for their picks was bad.

[DreamTR]

Their list is really bad. They needed to specify it on gameplay.

Special Champion Edition for Genesis is not bad.

They needed to look along the lines of Pac-Man for 2600 instead of hitting on conversions that played well.

[chrisbid]

this list is ok, it spans all eras. you could easily pick 25 to 50 terrible arcade conversions on the 2600 alone, but craig harris is the only ign writer to have a clue about the classics and his targets are more than fair. i would only argue with SFII SCE.

[blissfulnoise]

I'd only argue with Strider as that wasn't a port at all but original content and was Capcom's intention.

That's like calling Shinobi (PS2) a port of Shinobi (Arcade) and bashing it because they're nothing alike despite the same name.

SFII:SCE on the Genesis did have some timing issues due to missing frames of animation, but overall it was an excellent port given the constraints.

The worst ports of all time, more than even Pac-Man on the 2600 are the ports onto the Game.com

Williams Arcade Collection? Sonic Jam? Mortal Kombat Trilogy? Fighters Megamix? Resident Evil?

Blargh.

[Kid Ice]

Yeah, bad list. Smashing Drive? Who was waiting for that one to come out. I don't care for the Genesis SF2 game, but it's not that bad. Intellivision Donkey Kong is actually pretty speedy for an INTV game. I haven't played the GBA Arcade Classics but the one on Genesis (the one with Missile Command and Centipede and Pong) was horrendous. I hear the Atari game for DS is pretty horrible too.

[idrougge]

They're saying that the MD version of SF2 is worse than the Amiga version? I'll belive it when I see it.

[7th lutz]

Yeah, bad list. Smashing Drive? Who was waiting for that one to come out. I don't care for the Genesis SF2 game, but it's not that bad. Intellivision Donkey Kong is actually pretty speedy for an INTV game. I haven't played the GBA Arcade Classics but the one on Genesis (the one with Missile Command and Centipede and Pong) was horrendous. I hear the Atari game for DS is pretty horrible too.

I forgot about Genesis version of Arcade Classics when ign did their list. I remembered Arcade Classics getting panned when it came out and never tried it. I don't know if the Atari game for the ds counts because it was modernized.

[The S]

It's not just one character removed from the SNES version of Final Fight. There's a whole level missing as well (Rolento's level).

[gepeto]

I am sorry they lost me on the Midway arcade classics. I must say I throughly enjoy robotron. Given the control limitations it gives me a great experiance playing that one.

I know the firing control is not like arcade but to me they capture the frantic spirit of the game with that one. It is great for bathroom play. I cannot get past wave 10.

I think those that love the arcade could be turned off but for me I have played robotron more on the gba/ds than on any of my psx/saturn ports.

7.99 used at gamestop to me worth ever penny.
matter of fact it is in the ds now. And the bright colors make it look all the better.

[GrandAmChandler]

I haven't played the GBA Arcade Classics but the one on Genesis (the one with Missile Command and Centipede and Pong) was horrendous.

I agree. Think you are a pro at Missile Command? Try that genny version. IMPOSSIBLE...

[Push Upstairs]

Let me first say that i hate IGN more than anything else on the internet.

But I must admit i have to agree with them on both "Final Fight" and "Mortal Kombat" (moreso with MK).

You can't take out the one thing that made the arcade game popular and expect it to be viewed as "a great conversion".

[Anthony1]

the Sega Saturn version of Virtua Fighter gets an awful lot of flak for being very glitchy and having various issues, but to be totally honest, I like it much better than the other virtua fighters on Saturn. Including Remix and Virtua Fighter 2. Despite all the glitchyness, and the occasional issues associated with it, I think it's the best version, because it's pure. Fuck texture mapping. I like the regular polygons without the texturing. And the Saturn isn't powerful enough to do VF2 properly. The original Virtua Fighter was the first Saturn game ever, and I'm sure they had to rush the development to get it ready for the Japanese launch in December of 1994, and to be totally honest, I can live with all the glitches and all that, I love that damn game!

[blissfulnoise]

And the Saturn isn't powerfully enough to do VF2 properly.

Seriously, the VF2 Saturn port is one of the best ports of all time for any system. Not only is the play nearly arcade perfect, the game was, and is, amazing looking. Easily dominating anything the PSX would do for some time to come.

[Anthony1]

Seriously, the VF2 Saturn port is one of the best ports of all time for any system. Not only is the play nearly arcade perfect, the game was, and is, amazing looking. Easily dominating anything the PSX would do for some time to come.



Well, to me, I was very pleased with what they were able to do, in trying to bring a game like VF2 to the Saturn with any kind of accuracy, but ultimately, to me it seemed like a game that was trying to work on a system that just really didn't have the power for it. Don't get it twisted..... What they actually achieved was pretty amazing, but I just don't think the Saturn could do VF2 justice. I got it the day it came out, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, it was very impressive, but ultimately, corners had to be cut to get the thing to run decently on the Saturn.

[bangtango]

The only reason "Final Fight" was missing levels was probably because it was a first-generation title. If they had brought it out later on in the SNES catalog, that missing level and boss might have probably been there. At the time, they needed to get an arcade conversion out the door and it was the best they could do at the time.

I can't imagine that "Final Fight" was anywhere near 16, 24 or 32 megs like some of those later Super Nintendo games. I'm pretty sure "Final Fight" was only somewhere between 4-8 megs. Someone care to post the number?

My opinion, though, is that "Final Fight" on Super NES is a good arcade conversion. IGN have made fools of themselves by listing this game in that countdown. The graphics, levels, music and characters that made it in the game are all well-done. The only bad part was the slowdown. Level missing? So what? The game was hard enough as it is, without that cheat code, particularly the final two levels. They modified the names and costumes of some enemies? Nobody really cares. If it makes people feel better, I am pretty sure Rolento made an appearance in "Final Fight 3." He did, right?

Guy was hardly the best character to play through the game with, anyway. Cody and Haggar were where it was at. They could actually do some damage with their moves and take some damage from enemies. The two-player simultaneous mode would have been nice but slowdown would have crippled it.

But again, if it had come out later on, the two-player mode and Guy would have both been in the game.

For what it is, though, still a good job by Capcom.

[Melf]

It was clearly a ploy to get people to flock to stores to buy the Genesis Six-button pad, to which the game turned from an unplayable mess to a great, if not nearly as good as the SNES, fighter for Genesis fans.

See, shit like this makes me LOL at IGN. If this is true, then how is the game a horrible conversion? None of the other games on this list can be magically made wonderful by switching controllers, so SFIISCE shouldn't even be listed here. x_x

[bangtango]

[quote='IGN's shit article']It was clearly a ploy to get people to flock to stores to buy the Genesis Six-button pad, to which the game turned from an unplayable mess to a great, if not nearly as good as the SNES, fighter for Genesis fans.

See, shit like this makes me LOL at IGN. If this is true, then how is the game a horrible conversion? None of the other games on this list can be magically made wonderful by switching controllers, so SFIISCE shouldn't even be listed here.

It isn't horrible. IGN doesn't make a single mention of all the other systems over the years that had to release "better" or "special" controls just for a person to be able to enjoy some games. Genesis was hardly the only system that had this problem.

It wasn't a ploy, either. I am willing to bet $100 cash that when the Genesis first hit stores, the last thing on Sega's mind was the fact that they would have to release a 6-button controller someday on account of two or three fighting games.

Why don't they pick on Sony for a change? No PS games on that list and I know for a FACT they had a bad conversion or two, because I have played them. 2D fighting games, eh? Not suggesting a conspiracy theory but you never see Sony making many of these "worst of all time" lists for anything. It is predominantly Nintendo or Atari first, followed by Sega.

[Melf]

Word. I'm wondering where the PS versions of SF Alpha II and Darkstalkers are. Hell, put any of Capcom's 2D fighters on that list (Marvel vs. Capcom anyone?).

[aaronpetrosky]

It's ign, what do you expect?

[badinsults]

You can't spell ignorance without IGN.

[Doonzmore]

I've never played the snes version of dragon's lair but i know its cousin space ace was terrible.

[lordnikon]

I am so tired of IGN's fanboy attitude. The only reason it sticks around is because the higher ups at IGN share this same pig headed outlook on games, and it filters down to their employees.

Problems with IGN's examples:

Mortal Kombat for the SNES is perfectly fine in the gameplay department. Is this all we want? Blood? How superficial. At the time the whole blood factor was a hot issue for 16-bit users. Mortal Kombat was at the epicenter of my game world back when it was released. The removal of fatalities and blood didn't break the SNES port of Mortal Kombat as a video game. If the game was never released in arcades, and came out on the SNES as a system exclusive it would have been praised as an amazing fighting game. At the time I was a Genesis user, and I still favor the Genesis version for it's tight gameplay, but the SNES version was no slouch. It had a graphical edge on the genesis version and it's levels were much more detailed.

Since I was a Genesis fan, I played Street Fighter II Special Championship Edition. My brother had an SNES, but he really didn't get into fighting games as much as I did. We had rented the SNES version, so I knew how good it was. After a long wait, the Genesis release of Street Fighter II finally came. I was really excited to get this game on my console. Was I dissapointed? No way. The game wasn't as polished as the SNES version, but it was still a very good arcade conversion of Street Fighter II. I play it with my friends and they didn't notice a thing. Also, the whole 6 button controller argument is stupid. If you play fighting games on the Genesis, and seriously enjoyed them you had no business playing these games with a 3 button controller. I remember at the time how easy it was to go out and buy either an arcade stick, or a 6 button controller. There is no excuse and using this to say that Street Figther II Special Championship Edition is a bad port, is moronic in every way. How could ANYONE get Street Fighter II to work any better with the 3 button controller. IGN talks as if Capcom forced users to press the start button to switch between kicks and punches. The controller had 3 buttons!!!!! How could another developer do any better than this!?!?

IGN gets another "thumbs down" from me. They are digging up old fanboy arguements. The only reason why someone says that MK on either system is crap, or that SF2 on the genesis is crap, is to reinforce their own preference. For some reason they are incapable of saying that one game is good and the other is very good. They have to say one is amazing and the other is complete crap.

Here are some games IGN should have had in their list:

Virtua Racing (Sega Saturn) - While Virtua Fighter could go either way, Virtua Racing is a travesty. This game got completly ruined, and when you have people urging you to buy the 32X version over the Saturn version, you know something is up. Virtua Racing Deluxe blows away the saturn version. Which is a mess.

Fatal Fury 3 (Sega Saturn) - This game was dissapointing. SNK opted not to use a RAM cart with this title. The game suffers from a choppy framerate and has missing animation frames. For shame.

View Point (Playstation) - This is not really a port per say but more of a remake. Taking View Point from 2D and turning it into 3D. This game is a nightmare on so many levels I can't even bring myself to play the game. I heard some reviews that it was bad, but I wanted to see for myself. This is one of the few shmups that I can definatly say needs to be lit on fire and thrown in the garbage. The game will get so sluggish and so choppy, as if a fat lady is sitting on your playstation. What's worse is that the choppiness isn't even consistant. So you will die over and over simply because the game will slowdown, speed up, slow down, speed up in short bursts as you are playing. If you don't believe me, break this game out for yourself and see.

[ClubNinja]

Eh, they look like morons before they even get started. These games are ports, no? Arcade "conversions" occur when an existing, physical arcade game is "converted" into another game, usually through swapping out the board, marquee, control panel, and artwork. I was expecting to see a list of hacked up Pac-Man cabinets with DDR in them. Ignorant.

[bangtango]

I am so tired of IGN's fanboy attitude. The only reason it sticks around is because the higher ups at IGN share this same pig headed outlook on games, and it filters down to their employees.

Problems with IGN's examples:

Mortal Kombat for the SNES is perfectly fine in the gameplay department. Is this all we want? Blood? How superficial. At the time the whole blood factor was a hot issue for 16-bit users. Mortal Kombat was at the epicenter of my game world back when it was released. The removal of fatalities and blood didn't break the SNES port of Mortal Kombat as a video game. If the game was never released in arcades, and came out on the SNES as a system exclusive it would have been praised as an amazing fighting game. At the time I was a Genesis user, and I still favor the Genesis version for it's tight gameplay, but the SNES version was no slouch. It had a graphical edge on the genesis version and it's levels were much more detailed.

Since I was a Genesis fan, I played Street Fighter II Special Championship Edition. My brother had an SNES, but he really didn't get into fighting games as much as I did. We had rented the SNES version, so I knew how good it was. After a long wait, the Genesis release of Street Fighter II finally came. I was really excited to get this game on my console. Was I dissapointed? No way. The game wasn't as polished as the SNES version, but it was still a very good arcade conversion of Street Fighter II. I play it with my friends and they didn't notice a thing. Also, the whole 6 button controller argument is stupid. If you play fighting games on the Genesis, and seriously enjoyed them you had no business playing these games with a 3 button controller. I remember at the time how easy it was to go out and buy either an arcade stick, or a 6 button controller. There is no excuse and using this to say that Street Figther II Special Championship Edition is a bad port, is moronic in every way. How could ANYONE get Street Fighter II to work any better with the 3 button controller. IGN talks as if Capcom forced users to press the start button to switch between kicks and punches. The controller had 3 buttons!!!!! How could another developer do any better than this!?!?

I didn't even mention Mortal Kombat! Seeing that I never played the arcade version, I wasn't attached to the blood or fatalities. I thought the Super NES version was great.

SF2:CE was also well-done. I can live with the laryngitis voices and slightly washed out graphics. Considering that series was built on gameplay, you got the same thing the arcade delivered on the Genesis. It is not like the SFII games had the best looking graphics in the arcade by any stretch of the imagination. Why does it make any difference how they look at home on a 16-bit console?

[exit]

The SNES Mortal Kombat is on the list? What the hell? Despite the lack of brutality, the game was great and people prefered it over the Genesis version. I remember the Genesis version not being that great control wise compares with the SNES, but it's better because it has all the violence? Ignorance.

Strider on NES was a classic in its own right, I actually prefer it over the ones released on Genesis.

There was nothing wrong at all with Final Fight. Guy was cool and all, but it was still a solid game without him. I could have sworn that you were able to play it 2 player tho, guess I might have confused it with something else.

Yet another "lets post it because we don't have anything else" article by IGN.

[fishsandwich]

That list stunk. I agree with a few of them (mostly the older games for the 2600 and such) but the inclusion of Smashing Drive really blew their credibility right out the door. I mean, the whole article is about games that started out in arcades that took a big hit when they went to home consoles. To say that Smashing Drive belongs on the list because the arcade game sucked the first time around makes no sense and defeats the entire purpose of the article. Stoopid.


And for the record... Virtua Fighter 2 for the Saturn is phenominal. I mean, it's playing on very complicated hardware that still wasn't well understood at the time the game was released (late 1995!) AND they were rushing to get it out the door in time for the holidays. Take a look at the Saturn Shenmue video and tell me that Saturn wasn't powerful enough to do an even better port of VF2, even more amazing that the one it got. Well, you could certainly SAY it but you'd have about as much credibility as that IGN article has.

[nebrazca78]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/715/715300p1.html
This link has their commits about each game

Ign's 10 games is the following with my thoughts about each game mentioned:

Moral Kombat-snes
Never played this version. The reasoning behing putting it here is childish. This is not 1993. Taking the violence out is not a good reason. If it is because of the gameplay then it makes sense. Based on ign's reasoning, I think Double dragon for the 2600 should replace it. I never played the 2600 version, but pulling most of the moves with one button with the graphics being off.


Taking the blood out was a huge thing for me at the time. Mortal Kombat was *so cool* after SFII because it was so visceral. Watching and hearing people's spines get ripped out was groundbreaking and exciting. The gameplay was never a big draw - but the moves were cool and the powerful ones rained blood across the screen. Even now I would never play the SNES version because of the lack of blood. But does that make it one of the 10 worst ports? Not hardly.



Street Fighter 2: Special Championship Edition -genesis
WTF? Just because It doesn't work on a 3 button controller. While Mk Series can be played with the 3 button, the 6 button controller is better for those games. Nes version of rampage should replace it. 2 characters are in the nes version and the graphics weren't the best.


Absolutely ludicrous. The whole 6-button issue is unbelievable. The author doesn't seem to be a real gamer anyway. This is the kind of list that can be made by anyone using internet research. It's vaguely on point in some places but overall an insult even to noobs.

SFII:SCE is an excellent game. How good of a port is it? A great port. But nothing like the accuracy of even the original SFII for SNES. That would be on the list of best ports ever. But the Genesis game, while not an excellent port is still an excellent game. The timing is a little different, but it's fine once you get used to it. It's not bad, just slightly different. Yeah, the graphics are the low spot in comparison to the other versions but as a standalone Genesis game it looks great. The sound is decidedly mediccre but it seems they didn't have much ROM space left. It's not like the Genesis couldn't have done those sounds and effects much better. Plus, the 6-button controller has the proper arcade configuration! Almost all SNES controllers suck for fighters and I don't like joysticks. I do have a 3rd party SNES controller with the proper arcade configuration but it's the only one I've ever seen.




Virtua Fighter-saturn
I thought this version was rushed like ign stated but, this version is not bad compare to Virtua Fighter 2 for the genesis. The Genesis Version of virtua Fighter 2 Was in 2d, the playable of the game stinks. When you do some moves, it feels like the game is in slow motion. Virtua fighter would of been better of not being on the genesis since the 32x was dead by then.


Graphics = shoddy. Gameplay = good. Top 10 worst port? Of course not.



Pac-man -2600
One I can agree on


Yeah, that one is garbage. At least they got near the ballpark on this one.


Seems like ign's list had little thought to decide what games should be listed with checking if the game was based on something else. Some of their reasons for their picks was bad.

I swear to God that article was not written by a gamer...

[klausien]

Word. I'm wondering where the PS versions of SF Alpha II and Darkstalkers are. Hell, put any of Capcom's 2D fighters on that list (Marvel vs. Capcom anyone?).

GOOD CALL! Just look at the PSX version of X-Men Vs. SF compared to the Saturn version. Yes, the RAM limitation is the issue, but that is a ridiculous oversight.

The individual who wrote the article might be one of the more worldly (in a gaming sense) writers at IGN, but this list is a bit ridiculous. There are way too many games on the list that don't belong there (as everyone has masterfully highlighted already). SFII SCE, Smashing Drive (which is a near perfect conversion (!?!?)), Virtua Fighter & Strider are all not good choices. When comparing to the Coleco or NES versions, the 2600 version of DK is weak, but it too isn't that bad. Pac Man remains a travesty.

Honestly, one could probably substitute either of the Saturn Daytonas for the VF port, though the original played great while looking like ass. CCE was a missed opportunity and no longer a true port. As we all know, the only thing that really hurts the Genesis SFII is the voices. Needing to buy a new pad for a game is something quite accepted at this point (anyone with the SFII Anniversary pads can understand this).

You really could put any 8-bit arcade conversion on this list using his "criteria". Here is my knee-jerk list in no particular order (using some of his, and limited to US titles):

Final Fight (SNES) - No explanation needed. He got this one right.

Mortal Kombat (SNES) - For the reasons he outlined. It looked and sounded way better than the Genny version, but, as we all know, the gore is why one plays MK.

Pac Man (Atari 2600) - I'll give him this one too. Still makes me shudder.

Fatal Fury (SNES) - Talk about a port that destroys any love you may have had for the original. Nigh unplayable. Keeping bad Neo Geo ports to a minimum, and this is by far the worst of the lot (yes, even worse than the PSX "upgrade" of Viewpoint).

Cruis'n USA (N64) - Considering that they originally touted this as evidence of the power of the yet to be finalized Ultra 64 hardware, the actual home port we got is horrible. The draw distance is so close that it ruins the experience. It is also one of those games where you feel like they really could have done better, especially considering how well the SF Rush games turned out, despite their ubiquitous fogging.

Outrunners (Genesis) - Considering how wonderful the arcade game is, this doesn't even belong in the same sentence. Turbo OutRun would have given this a run for its money had it been released in the US. (Someone needs to throw together a REAL Sega Ages that includes true versions of both of these games and Rad Mobile already!!!)

Raiden Trad (SNES) - By far the worst port of this game outside of the Lynx version which wasn't widely released.

Revolution X (all systems) - Not a great game in the first place, but NONE of the conversions had light gun support (when they could and should have), and the 32-Bit versions unnecessarily looked and sounded as bad as the 16-Bit games. Any of the ports could have at least been a nice diversion with a gun. Revolution X is WAAAAY worse than Smashing Drive ever was.

X-Men Vs. SF (PSX) - As outlined above, this game removes the very reason to play the arcade original. All of the PSX Capcom fighter ports suffered in some way, but this one was the first that was a true disappointment on all levels.

Virtua Racing (Saturn) - The worst version of them all. Time Warner Interactive got the graphics right for the most part, and added a slew of extras that had the potential to be pretty fun, but the control SUCKS. A real disappointment for me when I bought it back in the day.

Now, I left out Steel Talons and Hard Drivin' on all systems due to the fact that they shouldn't have even tried considering the technology at the time. Left out Fighting Street for the TG-16 CD because it is actually a good port of near uncontrollable source material. I also tried to be fair, and stuck to the most egregious offenders. Leaving out Japanese titles meant that I had to drop the PCE CD version of Altered Beast that is so bad it's comical.

It really is tough to narrow this down, but this list was a total joke. I am all for giving the benefit of the doubt to someone, but talk about not even scratching the surface of an issue! What a waste of time.

[Push Upstairs]

Cruis'n USA (N64) - Considering that they originally touted this as evidence of the power of the yet to be finalized Ultra 64 hardware, the actual home port we got is horrible. The draw distance is so close that it ruins the experience. It is also one of those games where you feel like they really could have done better, especially considering how well the SF Rush games turned out, despite their ubiquitous fogging.

Count me as one who thought this port was shit. I loved the arcade game but this port made me weep. (and not because i dislike the N64).


Outrunners (Genesis) - Considering how wonderful the arcade game is, this doesn't even belong in the same sentence. Turbo OutRun would have given this a run for its money had it been released in the US. (Someone needs to throw together a REAL Sega Ages that includes true versions of both of these games and Rad Mobile already!!!)

AMEN! Sega needs to put a fire under thier ass and bring out the goods.

"Outrunners" (GEN) was choppy and too damn easy. I'd like to play the actual arcade version one day (without that friggin 2nd player taking up half the screen!)

[bangtango]

Come on, I am begging you. The Super NES Final Fight has some faults, but it doesn't belong on any top 10 list of worst arcade conversions.

Let's face it. The character who got axed, Guy, sucks. No reach and his moves are the weakest. The only thing he has over Cody is that his outfit is cooler. Capcom probably had to make a decision between cutting Cody or Guy and they made the right choice. Even Cody is only good for using his punches to stop the arrows fired by the final boss at the very end of the first game. That and he is a little better at throwing enemies into one another than Haggar but that is it.

Everyone knows the only character worth using in a Final Fight game, any of the three, is Haggar, anyway. I don't even like using Guy in Final Fight 3. There was a legitimate reason that Haggar was the only one to appear in all three of the Super NES games and it is not just because the storylines always center around him.

Joe's review below sums up all you need to know about Final Fight. The game isn't perfect but it doesn't belong on the list, either. When it first appeared on Super NES, it had the best graphics and biggest characters ever seen in a beat-em up on a major home console at that time. This fact is airtight and there is no way around it. This is the final and definitive word on the merits of Final Fight.

Here is the link:

http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/finlfite.htm

[Push Upstairs]

I find it a bad conversion because Capcom ripped out 2-player play.

If i can grab a buddy to bust heads in the arcade i should damn well be able to do it with my "arcade conversion" in my own home.

The only time i had fun playing any FF game was when i had a buddy to play along...but thats another story for another time.

[bangtango]

I find it a bad conversion because Capcom ripped out 2-player play.

If i can grab a buddy to bust heads in the arcade i should damn well be able to do it with my "arcade conversion" in my own home.

The only time i had fun playing any FF game was when i had a buddy to play along...but thats another story for another time.

If that is the case, how come Double Dragon on NES never gets listed on any of those countdowns? :D

[idrougge]

Eh, they look like morons before they even get started. These games are ports, no? Arcade "conversions" occur when an existing, physical arcade game is "converted" into another game, usually through swapping out the board, marquee, control panel, and artwork. I was expecting to see a list of hacked up Pac-Man cabinets with DDR in them. Ignorant.

Don't make yourself look like a fool picking nits. It is a list of arcade conversion, even if it isn't in your own little world.

[idrougge]

They also missed U.S. Gold's Out Run conversions. All of them. It's an inexplicable oversight.

[Melf]

The SNES Mortal Kombat is on the list? What the hell? Despite the lack of brutality, the game was great and people prefered it over the Genesis version. I remember the Genesis version not being that great control wise compares with the SNES, but it's better because it has all the violence? Ignorance.

The Genesis version of MK outsold the SNES one by almost 3 to 1. That's why MK2 on the SNES was allowed to be released intact.

[evildead2099]

I find it a bad conversion because Capcom ripped out 2-player play.

If i can grab a buddy to bust heads in the arcade i should damn well be able to do it with my "arcade conversion" in my own home.

The only time i had fun playing any FF game was when i had a buddy to play along...but thats another story for another time.

If that is the case, how come Double Dragon on NES never gets listed on any of those countdowns? :D

Good question. But let's not forget that Double Dragon for the NES did include a 2-player 'versus' mode.

Personally, I love the single-player experience of Double Dragon on the NES. Conversely, I can't stand playing Final Fight (1) in single player mode.

[bangtango]

I find it a bad conversion because Capcom ripped out 2-player play.

If i can grab a buddy to bust heads in the arcade i should damn well be able to do it with my "arcade conversion" in my own home.

The only time i had fun playing any FF game was when i had a buddy to play along...but thats another story for another time.

If that is the case, how come Double Dragon on NES never gets listed on any of those countdowns? :D

Good question. But let's not forget that Double Dragon for the NES did include a 2-player 'versus' mode.

Personally, I love the single-player experience of Double Dragon on the NES. Conversely, I can't stand playing Final Fight (1) in single player mode.

I may be in the minority but I never enjoyed two-player simultaneous games, particularly beat-em ups. I mean I like the games but most of the time I would rather play them alone. The only exception would be family members, who I never pass up an opportunity to team up with.

The reason is that nine out of ten times, I am a better player than the person I am playing with. It gets aggravating since a lot of games have the two players sharing lives, credits or attributes.

I just don't like having lives or continues eaten up by dead weight when I could get further playing on my own @_@ Especially when you are in a game where the two players teaming up can hurt each other.

[j_factor]

While I can agree that the gore is why people play Mortal Kombat, the SNES version has no place on that list. It's not even the worst port of Mortal Kombat. Ever played the Game Boy version? It lacks gore and it lacks any playability whatsoever!

That controller argument for Genesis is retarded as well. Why would Capcom make their game a "ploy" to sell 6-button controllers when they didn't even make one themselves? Who the hell actually played fighters on Genesis with a 3-button pad anyway? Anybody who played fighting games had a 6-button controller.

Strider for NES and Dragon's Lair for SNES aren't at all ports of the arcade games. Wtf?

[bangtango]

If the standard is strictly games that fail to match the arcade version, whether or not they are still fun, then Ninja Gaiden (NES) might as well be on there. It had virtually nothing to do with the arcade game. We all know how ridiculous that sounds. However, they seem to believe a game that isn't a 100% match in every way belongs on the list.

All I have to say to the guy who made the list is, "Back to the drawing board. Better luck next time. Feel free to rewrite or delete that abomination like it never existed."

[Sardius]

Favorite quote: "Pac-Man, a game that's literally taken the world by storm, is one of the hottest names in popular culture."

AWESOME. Pac-Man himself has entered our dimension and has LITERALLY taken us over by using the power of storm, raining death upon us all from his chariot made of thunder.

[Push Upstairs]

If that is the case, how come Double Dragon on NES never gets listed on any of those countdowns? :D

I dunno, but i don't like FF or DD for that reason and control purposes. Neither game (IMO) had the smoothest of controls and that really scores it low points.


But we can all agree thier reasoning for the Genesis SF game is the weakest argument in the history of man. They shoved thier arm far up thier ass to fpull out that lame ass excuse.

[ClubNinja]

Eh, they look like morons before they even get started. These games are ports, no? Arcade "conversions" occur when an existing, physical arcade game is "converted" into another game, usually through swapping out the board, marquee, control panel, and artwork. I was expecting to see a list of hacked up Pac-Man cabinets with DDR in them. Ignorant.

Don't make yourself look like a fool picking nits. It is a list of arcade conversion, even if it isn't in your own little world.

Better to pick nits than zits.

And who are you, anyway?

[fishsandwich]

Favorite quote: "Pac-Man, a game that's literally taken the world by storm, is one of the hottest names in popular culture."

AWESOME. Pac-Man himself has entered our dimension and has LITERALLY taken us over by using the power of storm, raining death upon us all from his chariot made of thunder.


LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

Good point. Yet another example that you shouldn't use the word "literally" unless you actually know what it means.

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

[MarioMania]

The only reason "Final Fight" was missing levels was probably because it was a first-generation title. If they had brought it out later on in the SNES catalog, that missing level and boss might have probably been there. At the time, they needed to get an arcade conversion out the door and it was the best they could do at the time.

I can't imagine that "Final Fight" was anywhere near 16, 24 or 32 megs like some of those later Super Nintendo games. I'm pretty sure "Final Fight" was only somewhere between 4-8 megs. Someone care to post the number?

My opinion, though, is that "Final Fight" on Super NES is a good arcade conversion. IGN have made fools of themselves by listing this game in that countdown. The graphics, levels, music and characters that made it in the game are all well-done. The only bad part was the slowdown. Level missing? So what? The game was hard enough as it is, without that cheat code, particularly the final two levels. They modified the names and costumes of some enemies? Nobody really cares. If it makes people feel better, I am pretty sure Rolento made an appearance in "Final Fight 3." He did, right?

Guy was hardly the best character to play through the game with, anyway. Cody and Haggar were where it was at. They could actually do some damage with their moves and take some damage from enemies. The two-player simultaneous mode would have been nice but slowdown would have crippled it.

But again, if it had come out later on, the two-player mode and Guy would have both been in the game.

For what it is, though, still a good job by Capcom.

That is true, Capcom didn't know the SNES Hardware way back in ,91, Look at Final Fight 2 & 3 ..The reason way the Rolento level was taken out because of it was to hard...

[Ed Oscuro]

I imagine everybody and their brother is contacting the poor tool.

Ha, and I checked out his blog to see if he listed this article. No, but he does mention that IGN has an Ultracade machine (http://blogs.ign.com/craig-ign/). Haha! (two thumbs up, four down)

The NES Strider mention really is the last straw.

I'm not going to contact him because I don't think people like this deserve to have me do their goddamned research for them. Hopefully he gets kicked out of the business and replaced with somebody competent - along with the rest of the people who vetted this article.

What a retard.

[Ed Oscuro]

That is true, Capcom didn't know the SNES Hardware way back in ,91, Look at Final Fight 2 & 3 ..The reason way the Rolento level was taken out because of it was to hard...
I think it's also a matter of the game using the original low-capacity LoROM cartridges.

[lordnikon]

Nobody is denying that the lack of 2 player play in Final Fight (snes) and the lack of Blood in MK1 (snes) are problems.

The real issue, is that these games just arn't the worst arcade conversions. There are games that are much much worse, some completly broken and unplayable.

It shows how amateur IGN is in terms of video game knowledge. Even still, this lack of awareness shouldn't be a problem. In the field of journalism accurate research is generally required before an article reaches the public.

OH wait, silly me what was I thinking. This is the internets! Where fact checking is optional. Where news sites are now converting to a "blog" environment. Where tabloid information and innaccurate claims run rampant!

All IGN had to do was ask anyone with a solid knowledge base of the video game hobby to learn that their list is flawed. Is this so hard? I guess for IGN it was...

You can't spell ignor-- er hell I'm tired of saying it.

[Niku-Sama]

The Super NES had a rocky start, what with programmers learning how to cram all those sprites and colors into a system with a main processor slower than what's in your coffee maker.

uhh...the way they say this is like they are trying to make it out to be slower than the NES...what douche wrote this?

atleast to me it seems like that.

i agree with most of them, especially strider, mortal combat is kinda iffy, i didnt play the game sube one.

pac-man on 2600 is not a good conversion but its a good 2600 game, Ms.Pac-Man is closer to a conversion

[roushimsx]

man, Strider on the NES kicked ass. Didn't someone recently uncover evidence that indicated that Strider was going to be a Famicom game first but wound up getting delayed until after the arcade release?

The NES was awesome for "original ports" so to speak because many developers realized that they couldn't do a proper arcade port, so they'd create an original game on the license. Look at Rygar and Bionic Commando, for instance.

I could pick apart large chunks of that list...but yea... I just wanted to defend one of my favorite NES games right quick :(

[Zigfried]

Final Fight on SNES had problems beyond missing Guy, missing a level, and slowdown. It can still be a fun game.

[zerohero]

What the HELL is MK doing on the list?

[bangtango]

Final Fight on SNES had problems beyond missing Guy, missing a level, and slowdown. It also had the women removed and replaced by other generic punks. The number of onscreen enemies was reduced (along with adjusted checkpoints to make sure you never faced too many people at once). And it's one-player instead of two-player.

It can still be kind of a fun game, but it's a pretty awful port for anyone who was already a fan. It fails to emulate the arcade... and instead of adding features, it subtracts them. Some of those features (2-player) are a big part of why it was even a popular arcade game. So I agree with Final Fight's inclusion on the list. There are worse games, but they usually started out worse //Zig

I don't give up that easily! ;)

You know, the women and the modified character names didn't faze me much. Pounding "Thrasher" is just as fun as pounding "Damnd". I didn't mind those character alterations as much as most people, and yes I did play the arcade original often enough that I knew I would buy any home version that came out.

If you ask me, there were other reasons the game became popular in the arcade:

-Huge on-screen characters for a beat-em up in that era, which translated fairly well to the Super NES, all things considered.
-Personally, I thought seeing the energy level for your enemies was nice. I'm sure some other games in the genre did it before Final Fight in the arcade, but this feature alone was a step-up above Double Dragon games where you had to guess when an enemy was ready to perish.
-Cody and Guy were fairly generic, but the Haggar character had moves nobody else was doing in this type of game at the time. I love playing as him.

Those features, minus Guy, all made it onto the Super NES game. Call me petty but I'm just trying to defend the first game I ever owned for the system, aside from Mario. I played the arcade version, read gaming magazine teasers with SNES screenshots for months and then finally got my copy. I was very happy with it and still am.

It is arguably my favorite SNES title, even today. I may have been more disappointed if I actually liked playing as Guy but everybody I knew who played the arcade game agreed with me that he was weak :evil:

Oh, I just found this comment on the women in the arcade version:

"According to the book Game Over by David Sheff, when a Capcom USA playtester reviewed the contents of the game and objected to the presence of female gang members in the game, one of the designers pointed that "there are no female enemies" in the game and that Poison and Roxy were actually transvestites."

[lordnikon]

So I agree with Final Fight's inclusion on the list. There are worse games, but they usually started out worse.
A ton of examples were already given of games that were worse ports than the snes version of Final Fight. And they didn't start out as bad games.

Fatal Fury (snes)
Fatal Fury 3 (saturn)
View Point (PS1)
Virtua Racing (saturn)

Final Fight on the snes might be a subpar port of the arcade game, but it's not in the top 10 worst arcade ports of all time.

[Zigfried]

Well, I would say that View Point and Fatal Fury 3 were never good, but that's not really important.

[Masked Avenger]

I don't quite get the bad rap Genesis Viewpoint gets. Sure, it wasn't as pretty as the Neo Geo original, but it played largely the same. Isn't it what matters?

[bangtango]

So I agree with Final Fight's inclusion on the list. There are worse games, but they usually started out worse.
A ton of examples were already given of games that were worse ports than the snes version of Final Fight. And they didn't start out as bad games.

Fatal Fury (snes)
Fatal Fury 3 (saturn)
View Point (PS1)
Virtua Racing (saturn)

Final Fight on the snes might be a subpar port of the arcade game, but it's not in the top 10 worst arcade ports of all time.

Finally, the voice of reason! Although I could do without the subpar comment.

As for the people saying Final Fight deserves to be on that list.........I'm right and you're wrong :evil:

[MegaDrive20XX]

Final Fight SNES? Too obvious

SF2 SCE for Genesis? Kiss my ass IGN, apparently you're so boned over a 6 button controller that you forgot it still has the original Arcade intro, unlike the SNES games. Plus the game feels smoother with the 6 pad over the SNES four + 2 shoulder buttons or a lovely ascii 6 button arcade stick, besides this is 2006, if you cant find this and a 6 button controller for under $4, you should slap yourself.

Virtua Fighter Saturn? Kiss my ass IGN x 2, this was the reason I wanted a Saturn

Mortal Kombat SNES? No blood, but a damn good port graphically...

Strider NES? Kiss my ass IGN x 3, I loved this quirky port, gave it a whole new look and feel. Remember Bionic Commando? It too was an arcade port, but was completely different on the NES, yet we love it to death..

[starsoldier1]

I agree with Mortal Kombat (glitchy) Final Fight (missing too much) and Pac Man (just crap) but definitely not Street Fighter Special Championship Edition and Virtua Fighter. Those games were still very playable.

[lordnikon]

I don't quite get the bad rap Genesis Viewpoint gets. Sure, it wasn't as pretty as the Neo Geo original, but it played largely the same. Isn't it what matters?
I was refering to the PS1 version. The Genesis port is QUITE good. The PS1 version was modeled in 3D and is terrible. The game gets crippled by horrible framerates. It is flat out broken and unplayable. The framerate causes you to die. This isn't like the traditional slowdown in a shooter. The slowdown in viewpoint causes the game to variate rapidly while playing. It's as if your friend comes up behind you and starts shaking you by your shoulders as you are playing.

[RegSNES]

Wow that list did indeed blow.

Yes, Final Fight on the SNES was far from perfect but it was still fun and looked freaking awesome.

Mortla Kombat on the SNES was sanitized but it was still a lot of fun to play. Thinking of Scorpion removing his mask and breathing fire on his opponent, turning them into a skeleton brings a grin to my face.

Why isn't the PSX version of X-Men vs. Street Fighter on that list? Didn't that game suck massive goat balls? Just look at screens of that game hurts my eyes.

[sabre2922]

Mortal Kombat SNES? No blood, but a damn good port graphically...



Agreed

I luved the SNES ports of Mortal Kombat ESPECIALLY Mortal Kombat 2 wich was as close to arcade perfect as it got back then.

The Genesis port of Streetfighter 2 was good but far from great, I personally could not stand the washed out colors and the absolutely HORRID voices O_O of the Genny version.

and once the Snes port of turbo hyper fighting was released THAT was the version to have bar NONE IMO.


I dont hate on IGN but those kids that write these so called "retrospectives" for them obviously werent old enough to remember the way it was back in the NES or especially the 2600 days.

I agree with what many have stated about the fact that many of the NES "ports" of classic arcade games ala STRIDER were not intended to be spot-on arcade ports and were made to take advantage of the home console experience and what the console (back then either the NES or Master System) could actually handle.

Yeah Strider on NES was a good game but it wasnt an official arcade port and was never intended to be.

NOW on to Final Fight on Snes.

I remember seeing those LARGE COLORFUL sprites in gamepro and EGM back before the Snes was Finally released in the U.S. and I have to tell you that those shots of both Final Fight and Fzero sold the system to both me and my geek friends, even though one of them had both a Genesis and Turbographix and I had a Genesis at the time.

Sure they cut a LOT of stuff from the arcade version when capcom ported it to the Snes, but what some dont seem to remember is that Final Fight 1 was released on the Snes way before the excellent Streetfighter 2 port and it was very impressive with its arcade quality colors and sprites at the time.

I do agree with IGN on a few points:

Pac Man on the 2600 - I was still very young when my cousin had a new 2600 before I got my own and I first saw Pacman on it even at that young age I said to my cousin something along the lines of " THIS SUCKS THIS ISNT PACMAN lol I was like what the HELL is this ?

I also agree with the shoddy PSone ports of Xmen vs. Streetfighter and especially Streetfighter Alpaha 2 ( I LUVED THE SATURN VERSION THOUGH).

Especially since Streetfigher Alpha 3 on PSone/PSX proved that it was possible to bring a more accurate arcade port of the then-powerhouse capcom arcade fighters to Sonys RAM limited Playstation.

Although I liked Darkstalkers on the PSX even though it doesnt compare to Nightstalkers on Saturn (especially with a Ram cart) I still thought the PSone version was good.

[Sothy]

IGN pfft...

[bangtango]

FACT: Final Fight does not belong on that list with the Atari 2600 Pac Man.

Regardless of some missing features, Final Fight on Super NES at least looked, sounded and played like the arcade game. Pac Man missed in all of those areas. For that reason, FF shouldn't even be lumped in with that Pac Man game.

At the very worst, you could only reasonably argue as low as a 6 or 7 (out of 10) if you are doing a game review for the Super NES port of Final Fight. Anything lower than that 6 or 7 would be illogical. That score is not indicative of a game belonging on a top 10 list of "worst" games in any category.

Cold, hard facts!

[SirDrexl]

I'm not sure if it would be considered a pure port, but isn't Mortal Kombat Advance supposed to be terrible?

[sharp]

Complete trash the list.

I loved SFIISCE on my Megadrive back then, as it played so much better then the snes version thanks to the 6 button controller.

Virtua Fighter also has nothing to search in the list. The game plays great and it made me buy a Saturn when it was released in Europe. Personally I prefer VF over VF Remix.

Games I miss are:

Virtua Racing for Saturn as mentioned earlier as the gameplay sucks, why didn't Sega just release the 32X version for the Saturn which was great.

Metal Slug PSone, worst of the SNK Neo-Geo conversions for the PSone. Not that the others are worth you're money (only MSX was reasonable) but the animation is bad and the loading is horrible.

Power Drift on PC-Engine was also a shame.

[B - Mark]

Their list is really bad. They needed to specify it on gameplay.

Special Champion Edition for Genesis is not bad.

They needed to look along the lines of Pac-Man for 2600 instead of hitting on conversions that played well.

I agree with you about Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition for Genesis.

I´d like this game, but is recomended plays with 6-button pad to play this game.

Because plays SF II Special Champion Edition with 3-button pad isn´t good.

[idrougge]

"According to the book Game Over by David Sheff, when a Capcom USA playtester reviewed the contents of the game and objected to the presence of female gang members in the game, one of the designers pointed that "there are no female enemies" in the game and that Poison and Roxy were actually transvestites."

Didn't someone on this forum say a while back that Final Fight was a gay game, whereas Chôaniki was not?

[The Manimal]

It's not just one character removed from the SNES version of Final Fight. There's a whole level missing as well (Rolento's level).


Doesn't make it a bad game. Overall it's pretty similar to the arcade. Much moreso than most NES 'arcade' conversions..

[Poofta!]

You can't spell ignorance without IGN.





LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL