Games that were remastered for a next-gen console; Crap or Super Crap?

[outofkeyslightly]

There's still a thread going very similar to this, but I'm not including arcade games and widening the field a bit. We all know about Super Mario All-Stars, but many other games got the Super treatment with lackluster results. Here's a few I own that come to mind...

Double Dragon (Nes + Genesis)

For the Nes, this game plays very well, and has justly sustained a level of popularity over the years that I need not go into. The genesis version does look a lot better than the nes, but something important was lost in the translation. It's almost impossible to line up a clear shot of the many enemies unless you commit to staying at the very top or very bottom of the screen. Everything in between is a no man's land of bad hit detection. It also seems harder than the Nes version, and the addition of a jump button adds very little to the equation. Oh, and the hud blocks a significant portion of the action for no discernible reason. Fail.

Battletoads (Nes + Genesis)

Thank god Battletoads fared a little better. The genesis version plays pretty much identically to the Nes game, but with improved graphics. It seems a little easier somehow as well, although I'm still not man enough to conquer the fzsdfsdfsding hover board portion, so ymmv. The intro in the Nes version is better than the Genesis' lack of one, but that's not too big of a deal. Slight upgrade.

Action 52 (Nes + Genesis)

Okay, I admit this game sucks no matter which system you happen to play it on, but let me finish. I would argue that the genesis version's games suck 1% less than the nes version's. Having said that, the most redeemable part of the Nes game imo is the intro. The genesis' intro doesn't even come close. Where the hell is the Rob Base? The closest Sega owners would come to incredibly bad intros would be Awesome Possum and Tempo for the 32x. The latter of whom regrettably makes it funky, and is good to go. Fail X 52.

[EX-Soldier]

bionic commando on the xbox live arcade, wish i could comment further but i never played) the original or the remake =(

[Drixxel]

Ninja Gaiden Trilogy springs quickly to mind, although it's a compilation I've not put sufficient time towards to really pass judgment. However, the common sentiment is that it is at best an underwhelming effort and at worst total crap.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars is another.. this one I have gone through, and while it's solid, the changes to the feel of the control make it play awkwardly compared to the NES originals. The pronounced stickiness when beginning to move really is uncool and takes some getting used to.

There are some questionable remastered/remade versions of Atari arcade games, and other compilations of remade content like the Sega Classics Collection which seem to piss people off a touch. All I can think of now, though, are wholly successful remakes, of which there are numerous.

[retrogarden]

I never really liked the Game Boy Advanced remastering of Bubble Bobble. Don't get me wrong, it was accurate, but you couldn't see the whole screen at once, making it difficult to judge when to drop through the holes in the level, reappearing at the top.

[klausien]

Ninja Gaiden Trilogy springs quickly to mind, although it's a compilation I've not put sufficient time towards to really pass judgment. However, the common sentiment is that it is at best an underwhelming effort and at worst total crap.

Perfect example. The NES games are much better and much, much cheaper. The graphics are just barely improved and the remixed music is inferior to the NES tunes. Also, the buttons you have to use are B & A rather than the SNES standard Y & B. Not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice to have the option. Finally, it uses passwords. Sure, it's nice to be able to return to where you were rather than having to finish the games in one sitting, but they could have put a battery in there!

The only really good "remastered" versions of classics were those found on Super Mario All-Stars, and even those are better on the NES. Though you could argue that SMB 2 & 3 are better than the originals as the graphical upgrade is very nice, and they play much more accurately than SMB & The Lost Levels.

[chrisbid]

what make NES double dragon so great? it has little to do with the arcade original and there is no 2-player mode. genesis double dragon is more like the arcade, but it is too difficult (like the arcade).

neither game is highly rated in my book

[dao2]

Not super old-school but

Skies of Arcadia Ported to the gamecube, while the sound quality did take a hit it wasn't outright noticeable to anyone and the game added a few new things (like 20 more discoveries, the piastol storyline, the 3 secrets, bounty battles, and the dlc was included) and a couple gameplay changes were made. Random battles were decreased (to everyones joy ;p yet people still complain) and it became much harder to become Vyse the Legend which is a good thing in my opinion.

I thought it was easier but that might be because I already knew all the tricks cause my friends still had troubles with it. All in all, a good port.

[Smashed Brother]

Well, we could probably fit "Sega Smash Pack Vol. 1" (DC) into this thread. I wonder how many innocent children died because of the awful sound emulation in this compilation?

Sonic the Hedgehog's music is way off. It's lacking the extra instruments that give it that 'punch'. The sound effects are pretty curious, too. But, Streets of Rage 2 is absolutely infuriating. The awesome music of the Genesis version was completely butchered here. Stage 2's emulated music -will- drive you to madness and make you pull your ears off, guaranteed..... and the sound effects; just.... wow. If a thrown weapon (knife or pipe) connects with an enemy, it makes the exact same sound effect as Sonic jumping. Kind of like a high-pitched laser gun, or something...

[Kitsune Sniper]

Well, we could probably fit "Sega Smash Pack Vol. 1" (DC) into this thread. I wonder how many innocent children died because of the awful sound emulation in this compilation?

Sonic the Hedgehog's music is way off. It's lacking the extra instruments that give it that 'punch'. The sound effects are pretty curious, too. But, Streets of Rage 2 is absolutely infuriating. The awesome music of the Genesis version was completely butchered here. Stage 2's emulated music -will- drive you to madness and make you pull your ears off, guaranteed..... and the sound effects; just.... wow. If a thrown weapon (knife or pipe) connects with an enemy, it makes the exact same sound effect as Sonic jumping. Kind of like a high-pitched laser gun, or something...

Are we counting emulated games here? I think this thread is more for reprogrammed and ported games, not emulated versions.

And yeah, the DC Super Smash Pack is playable but the audio is godawful. And don't get me started on SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1...

[CelticJobber]

I've heard bad things about the Sonic the Hedgehog remake for Game Boy Advance.

[E Nice]

Batman Return of the Joker for the NES was playable, had good music and graphics, but when it was ported to the Genesis as Revenge of the Joker it was awful. Character control handled worse than the NES version. That really ruined playing of the game. It didn't look quite as good either, it lost that bright, colorful look and became more darker and gritty looking. I don't really recall the music anymore but I somehow doubt it fared any better as my impressions at the time of playing the game was that it paled in comparison to the NES version.

[EX-Soldier]

oooooooo just remembered one, killer 7 on the ps2, they severely gimped that game, shitty graphics on a shotty port, not to mention the censorship...the irony, a game born on the ever conservative nintendos, last gen baby being watered down for its transition to the ps2, exclusive home to grand theft auto franchise

re4 gets an honorable mention for while having a significant chunk of gameplay added, it did take a hit in the graphics department

[outofkeyslightly]

That's too bad about Batman:RotJ. I still have that game on my list to buy and was hoping it didn't suck. I think someone mentioned Roadblasters in the other thread, but its worth mentioning that the Genesis version is actually pretty fun. I had the Nes version growing up, but I'm sticking with Sega. Paperboy is the opposite story. I also had the nes one growing up, like a lot of kids, but only recently bought the Genesis version. What a steaming pile of crap. Playable, yes, but sped up to a point where navigating the already difficult road becomes all but impossible. Why is it so fast? There's no need to add blast processing to my bike sim. The graphics for the Genesis version are much closer to the arcade, but who cares when its not fun? My fiancée played it once, bless her heart, but has since sworn it off in favor of the Nes version too.

Ms. Pac-Man for the Genesis is probably my favorite version of pac-man, if for no other reason than two player co-op. I haven't tried Pac-Man Vs. yet, though. In my mind its only downside is the necessary scrolling of the maze. Championship Pro-am seems pretty good, but I'm not terribly familiar with RC-Pro-Am. I kinda suck at it. Plus there's no Ozzy to cheer me on. Sonic for the Gameboy Advance is pretty bad. There's a lot of slow-down in general, and the sound is kinda screwed up. It is less blurry than playing it on the nomad, so that's a plus.

[exit]

While I'm not sure this counts, but the NES port of Maniac Mansion is probably the best version of the game. They may have censored a few things, but in return they added an awesome soundtrack and each characters theme really helped add something to their otherwise non existent personality.

It still remains my favorite soundtrack for any NES game.

[7th lutz]

There's still a thread going very similar to this, but I'm not including arcade games and widening the field a bit. We all know about Super Mario All-Stars, but many other games got the Super treatment with lackluster results. Here's a few I own that come to mind...

Double Dragon (Nes + Genesis)

For the Nes, this game plays very well, and has justly sustained a level of popularity over the years that I need not go into. The genesis version does look a lot better than the nes, but something important was lost in the translation. It's almost impossible to line up a clear shot of the many enemies unless you commit to staying at the very top or very bottom of the screen. Everything in between is a no man's land of bad hit detection. It also seems harder than the Nes version, and the addition of a jump button adds very little to the equation. Oh, and the hud blocks a significant portion of the action for no discernible reason. Fail.

The Genesis version of Double Dragon was not a remaster. It was an Arcade port. I played the arcade game at difference places back in the 1990's as a teen.The Genesis Version was hard also like the arcade version was. The Nes version is way different than all the versions of Double Dragon one I played.

The Genesis version was closer to the arcade game than the Nes version was. There are major differences between the Nes version and the arcade version and there are levels, and two player.

Double Dragon for the Nes was a good game though.