Games you suspect had the license tacked on

[Wavelflack]

I've wondered for some time how many older "licensed" games (ie; based on a movie/ tv show/ comic book) were something already in development that simply had the licensed material shoehorned in.

For instance, "Yo Noid!" for NES certainly has this feel to it. Practically nothing in the game has any relevance to pizza, Dominoes, or even the Noid. It seems like maybe it was another game Capcom had in the works, and when the license came through, they just used the existing game, made some changes, and called it good. Back to the Future (NES) is another one. The (endlessly repeating) stage music has no relevance to any of the 'famous" BttF soundtrack, the movie featured no bees or birds, no men moving plate glass windows, and no bowling balls. Your character isn't even drawn or colored to resemble McFly (you would think maybe an orange vest?).

As I started going through the Nester DC disc, I was interested to see that there are more than a few licensed games that have this "fake" feel to them.

What games do you suspect were intended to be something other than the licensed title they were released as? Are there any confirmed suspicions?

[Porksta]

I believe one of the Pirates of the Caribbean games was supposed to be the sequel to some game, then were given the PoTC license and so just changed a few things.

[Bratwurst]

http://www.nesplayer.com/yonoid/hanamaru.htm

[Push Upstairs]

I believe one of the Pirates of the Caribbean games was supposed to be the sequel to some game, then were given the PoTC license and so just changed a few things.

I believe that would be the series "Sea Dogs".

Which the third game is back to being "PotC-less".

[dreamcaster]

Super Mario Bros. 2 :D

[sayin999]

well thats the most obivous one.

[Jehuty]

Krustys funhouse and all of the Mickey/Bugs Bunny crazy castle games.

[Graham Mitchell]

I suspect that Goonies II was something else before Konami plunked the Goonies into it. It's too good to be purely a product made to appease the movie studios. But it's tough to say because it does contain elements from the Goonies (FC/Vs system), so maybe you could suspect the same thing from the original Goonies as well.

[VACRMH]

Krustys funhouse and all of the Mickey/Bugs Bunny crazy castle games.

Crazy Castle was indeed Rodger Rabbit for the FDS :D

[Speedy_NES]

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was also completely altered to fit the movie license. IIRC, prototypes of the game have been found where the game is very different with many more RPG elements.

[crazyjackcsa]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Star Fox Adventures on the Gamecube. That's a pretty famous one.

[Neo Rasa]

That's not exactly a "suspected" one though, I mean it was blatantly Dinosaur Planet for a while.

The biggest one to me has to be Contra Force on the NES.

[Iron Draggon]

what about games that you suspect were changed because they didn't get a license? I have a few like that too... can't think of any offhand that I suspect had the license added at the last minute, but Room Zoom comes to mind as one that was either meant to be a Hot Wheels game, or a very blatant ripoff of a Hot Wheels game... all of the cars in it have a very Hot Wheels style to them that could be the result of slight model changes after they failed to get the Hot Wheels license... maybe this is just the style that they were going for with this game, but it could be an example...

[TheRedEye]

James Bond Jr. on the NES originally starred a unique character, the license was tacked on by its publisher.

[TurboGenesis]

what about games that you suspect were changed because they didn't get a license?

I beleive Journey to Silius on NES was supposed to be the Terminator license but something didn't work out.

[GarrettCRW]

I suspect that Goonies II was something else before Konami plunked the Goonies into it. It's too good to be purely a product made to appease the movie studios. But it's tough to say because it does contain elements from the Goonies (FC/Vs system), so maybe you could suspect the same thing from the original Goonies as well.

Given Konami's track record with licensed properties (i.e., the TMNT and Simpsons arcade games), I'm inclined to believe that Konami was just a good developer/publisher who didn't want to do a half-ass job just because the game in question was assured of a high level of sales.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

what about games that you suspect were changed because they didn't get a license?
Ever played Outlander on the Genesis or SNES? I don't know if the game was ever actually meant to have the Mad Max license or if it's just a rip off. Definitely Mad Max, though, and it would actually be a really cool game if the driving sections weren't so choppy and the side-scrolling sections weren't so stiff. Unfortunatly the former ar eindeed choppy and the latter are indeed stiff, so it sort of sucks.


...word is bondage...

[Garry Silljo]

Batman Return of Joker feels this way. Why would some one make a Batman game and decide the character only used gun attacks? Because he wasn't originally Batman that's why. I think Sunsoft did this a lot. Journey to Silius was already mentioned, and although it never got released Sunman was rumored to be a Superman game.

[Iron Draggon]

what about games that you suspect were changed because they didn't get a license?
Ever played Outlander on the Genesis or SNES? I don't know if the game was ever actually meant to have the Mad Max license or if it's just a rip off. Definitely Mad Max, though, and it would actually be a really cool game if the driving sections weren't so choppy and the side-scrolling sections weren't so stiff. Unfortunatly the former ar eindeed choppy and the latter are indeed stiff, so it sort of sucks.


...word is bondage...

yep, a blatant ripoff, or another example... how about Crystal's Pony Tale for the Genesis... could it have been a My Little Pony license that got rejected, or was it just a blatant attempt to make money off My Little Pony fans?

[vintagegamecrazy]

What game was Contra Force before it had the license thrown onto it?

I don't know if it had the license tacked onto it or if it was an american name change but Dragonball was released in Europe and had generic game with a license on it.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

yep, a blatant ripoff, or another example... how about Crystal's Pony Tale for the Genesis... could it have been a My Little Pony license that got rejected, or was it just a blatant attempt to make money off My Little Pony fans?
Wow, it never even occured to me that that *WASN'T* a licensed My Little Pony game. I even used to own the thing and I just never even thought about the fact that it didn't say "My Little Pony" anywhere on it. Well, I'll admit that I didn't spend too much time thinking about the game at all, in fact.

I did beat it, however, in a marathon 15 minute session.


...word is bondage...

[Graham Mitchell]

what about games that you suspect were changed because they didn't get a license?
Ever played Outlander on the Genesis or SNES? I don't know if the game was ever actually meant to have the Mad Max license or if it's just a rip off. Definitely Mad Max, though, and it would actually be a really cool game if the driving sections weren't so choppy and the side-scrolling sections weren't so stiff. Unfortunatly the former ar eindeed choppy and the latter are indeed stiff, so it sort of sucks.


...word is bondage...

I actually really like that game (the SNES version, anyway. I've never played the Genesis one.) The music is what saves it. But yeah, it's a blatant Mad Max derivative. And the driving sequences are also lifted from Spy Hunter II--they play very similarly. (Except for the lack of power-ups, I'd actually say Outlander is an improvement on Spy Hunter II, though.)

[Neo Rasa]

what about games that you suspect were changed because they didn't get a license? I have a few like that too... can't think of any offhand that I suspect had the license added at the last minute, but Room Zoom comes to mind as one that was either meant to be a Hot Wheels game, or a very blatant ripoff of a Hot Wheels game... all of the cars in it have a very Hot Wheels style to them that could be the result of slight model changes after they failed to get the Hot Wheels license... maybe this is just the style that they were going for with this game, but it could be an example...

Biggest one ever has to be RASTAN. There's no way that was just a ripoff.

TurboGenesis: That's a shame about Journey to Silius, as it's a pretty cool game, it plays far better than both actual NES Terminator games.

[Graham Mitchell]

Biggest one ever has to be RASTAN. There's no way that was just a ripoff.



What was Rastan a ripoff of?

[Neo Rasa]

Biggest one ever has to be RASTAN. There's no way that was just a ripoff.



What was Rastan a ripoff of?

Conan the Barbarian. The intro screen is a shot of an older Rastan sitting on a throne with the text "I used to be a thief and a murderer, otherwise I could not have survived in such hard times." Then he beckons for you to come and "listen to my tale of high adventure."

[Push Upstairs]

I actually really like that game (the SNES version, anyway. I've never played the Genesis one.) The music is what saves it. But yeah, it's a blatant Mad Max derivative. And the driving sequences are also lifted from Spy Hunter II--they play very similarly. (Except for the lack of power-ups, I'd actually say Outlander is an improvement on Spy Hunter II, though.)

I kinda liked the "inside the car" view of the Genesis version over the "outside car" view of the SNES.

But no matter what version you play, it was far from a perfect title.

[Dangerboy]

How about the reverse of it?

Like how GunHed (a Japanese Manga / Anime / Live Action) became simply Blazing Lazers in the US?

Or, back to the original thread...how could NO ONE name the most obviuos one....Universal Soldier?! Scratch out the name, and a sad Turrican peeks thru!

Does Midway's Nagano Hockey count? It was literally just Gretzky Hockey 64 with a different outfits...

Does Street Fighter the Movie graphics being slapped onto SSF2T count? ;D

[Neo Rasa]

I actually really like that game (the SNES version, anyway. I've never played the Genesis one.) The music is what saves it. But yeah, it's a blatant Mad Max derivative. And the driving sequences are also lifted from Spy Hunter II--they play very similarly. (Except for the lack of power-ups, I'd actually say Outlander is an improvement on Spy Hunter II, though.)

I kinda liked the "inside the car" view of the Genesis version over the "outside car" view of the SNES.

But no matter what version you play, it was far from a perfect title.

This probably was going to be an actual Mad Max/Road Warrior game, as it was developed and published by Mindscape, same makers of the official NES Mad Max along with many other movie licensed games.

They were also responsible for the PC game Road Warrior (not officially based on the movie, but, well, you drive around the wasteland making deals to get more resources...) as well as it's AWESOME predecessor, Quarantine (basically Escape from New York: The Game).

[JPeeples]

I remember reading that Outlander WAS a Mad Max game, then the publisher lost the license, and they just published the game anyway while making as few changes as humanly (and legally) possible.

[bangtango]

Double Dragon II on Game Boy, as seen on:

http://doubledragon.classicgaming.gamespy.com/games/dd2/rdd2gb.html

They took a totally different game and threw the Double Dragon name on it. I'm surprised they didn't even make a weak attempt to port the NES or arcade version.

I recently picked this one up (thanks Shawn) and it isn't so bad. Just another Game Boy side scroller 8-)