Different games with the same name (Genesis and SNES)

[ubersaurus]

Just check out the SNES version. The Genesis version was horrendous.

Oh yeah. SNES one is a pretty good SF clone. The Genesis one is an abortion with a weird button configuration, weird cast, and poor gameplay. If I recall though it did have a better soundtrack...

[sebastiankirchoff]

I believe that Toy Story has different title music, but is essentially the same game.

[Samantha]

Hi, new person. The games I want to mention aren't VAST in difference, but enough to be noted. What about the Mortal Kombat series? The SNES version redid the fatalities for #1, the genesis version had codes the snes version didn't, etc. #2 approached closer.

I dunno if it counts as classic, but the n64/psx versions of trilogy had incredible differences.

[MachineGex]

Take a look at Pac-Man 2: The New Adventure.
Not sure if the main game is the same, but the SNES & Genesis have different unlockable games.

SNES has Pacman & Ms. Pacman, while the Genesis has Pacman & Pac Jr.. Note that Pac Jr. is different from the arcade game(in name and gameplay).

Also, someone was saying the Mickey Mouse games are different. I guess Mickey Mania is really different. There is a post on DP with a youtube review to the genesis versions. Check out that thread: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135009

[j_factor]

I believe that Toy Story has different title music, but is essentially the same game.

They're mostly the same, but a couple of levels are different. There's a first-person level exclusive to the Genesis version.

Prince of Persia is pretty different; the SNES version is almost twice as long, although half of it is essentially the same as the original (the Genesis version being a fairly straight port). They also have very different graphics and sound.

Not sure if this counts, but Dragon's Lair and Space Ace were both ported to Sega CD, with SNES games of the same title being completely different (and god-awful).

[A Black Falcon]

Here are list of games to check out.

- Bonkers
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
- Spider-Man
- Scooby-Doo Mystery
- Hardball III
- Street Racer

Here are same gameplay but slightly different in cast & stage

- Super Wrestlemania (both different cast of characters)
- Royal Rumble (both different cast of characters)
- Saturday Night Slam Master (No 2 player co-op in Genesis but added death match instead)

Of those...

Bonkers -- Completely different games. The Genesis one is a Kids Club game from Sega, and isn't that good (like all Kids Club games). The SNES one is one of Capcom's lesser-known Disney platformers on the system, and is okay.

Street Racer -- Different games. The basics of the games are the same -- characters, etc -- but the game engines and play are completely different. On SNES it's Mode 7 and looks like Mario Kart. On Genesis, it's a more standard 'fake 3d behind the vehicle' racing game (because Genesis doesn't have Mode 7). The graphics of the Genesis game are quite good for the platform though, so both are definitely worth checking out... though note that while the SNES one did get a US release, the Genesis one was Europe-only.

Spider-Man is a completely different game on both platforms. Sega on the Genesis, LJN on SNES.

TMNT: Tournament Fighters is completely different on NES, SNES, and Genesis. Unfortunately the NES and Genesis ones are horrible. The SNES game, though, is a classic, one of the system's best fighting games for sure.

Scooby-Doo Mystery -- Completely different games. It's a Lucasarts-style graphic adventure on Genesis, but a much more traditional platformer (with just a little bit of adventure elements) on SNES.

Hardball III -- The first console Hardball game, Hardball!, was released on the Genesis in 1991. It was decent, but had only password save. Genesis Hardball III is a straight port of the PC original of the same name, released in 1993. It's a fantastic game, my favorite sports game ever as I have said on either platform. It's got battery save for your season in progress and you can also save a game in process, whenever you want (a first in console baseball games, perhaps, and still something you don't always see I think!). It also added voiced commentary from Al Michaels. Same as Hardball!, it doesn't have the MLB license, though (the PC version got it later as an addon, but this version did not). It had two console-exclusive sequels, Hardball '94 and Hardball '95, released in the years of their titles. They both have the same save options as Hardball III, but '94 dropped the voiced announcer, something that hurt a lot. Both do have the real MLB players however, but even so I like Hardball III Genesis a lot more than '94. '95 is quite good though... Anyway, the SNES "Hardball III" came out in 1994, and is actually a port of Hardball '94, not Hardball III. However, there is one key difference between SNES Hardball III and Genesis Hardball '94 -- no save battery! On SNES, it's back to password only... and that's just for your season of course, forget about saving that game you're in the middle of. Don't bother!

I've been meaning to do a closer comparison, but I believe the are subtle differences in the two Lion King games. Level designs are similar, but there are variations (for instance the ostrich ride in "Can't Wait to be King" and the length of the Stampede in that level.

This is true. They're all the same game, but there are some slight differences in level design between most of the versions... (NES, SMS, GG, GB, SNES, PC, Genesis)

Not enough to make them really different games I think, because of how similar they are overall, but yes, they aren't identical.

I believe that Toy Story has different title music, but is essentially the same game.

I think... even the Game Boy version is mostly the same, aside from things like removing the FPS level and stuff. I'm not certain if there are Lion King-like differences between the SNES and Genesis versions though... not that I'm going to investigate, I always hated that game, really (particularly the Game Boy version that I bought after the movie came out. I thought it was one of the worst games I had ever played...).

As for the Mickey Mouse games, the only one with the same title on both platforms is The Great Circus Mystery, which is 99% identical on both systems.

Robocop vs Terminator is another one. I've only played the first 3 or 4 levels of both games, but from what I've seen they are fairly different. Both are the same style of sidescrolling platform/shooter game but the level design, weapons, graphics, music and some of the enemies are different. Also, the SNES version has comic book style cut scenes while the Genesis one doesn't.

Yeah, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Robocop vs. Terminator are all always different games on every single system they were on. Often similar, but never the same...

[Icarus Moonsight]

Yeah. Sparkster for the Genesis just sucks compared to RKA and SNES Sparkster.

Not really, they are both great games, just have strengths in different aspects. IMO, Genny version gets the nod for superior general playability (tighter controls, YMMV). SNES outdoes the Genny version on the sprite/effects front though. Both are equally high in desirability.

[ScourDX]

Add King of the Monsters 2 to the list. The SNES feature Beat-em up while Genesis is fighting game.

[A Black Falcon]

Add King of the Monsters 2 to the list. The SNES feature Beat-em up while Genesis is fighting game.

No, King of the Monsters 2 is the same basic game on both systems, as well as on the original Neo-Geo. The only differences between the three versions are which characters you can play as -- in the Neo-Geo and SNES versions you can only choose the three normal monsters, but on Genesis you can play as any of the six boss characters as well, which is pretty cool, but not enough to make it an entirely new game I think.

However, you're probably confusing the first and second games -- KotM 1 was a pure fighting-only game, while the second has beat 'em up sections as well as the fights. Both games were released on Neo-Geo, SNES, and Genesis; the second was on Neo-Geo CD as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

Not really, they are both great games, just have strengths in different aspects. IMO, Genny version gets the nod for superior general playability (tighter controls, YMMV). SNES outdoes the Genny version on the sprite/effects front though. Both are equally high in desirability.

You're aware he's not talking about Rocket Knight Adventures? Load up "Sparkster" for Genesis. Instead of the castle on fire, you're just bouncing around on some stones in a field. Here's a video (sorry about the crap framerate, couldn't find a smooth-playing one in a hurry and the other vid I found will make you go blind). There's just nothing going on in there, and on top of it the first boss has a glitch, yay.

No, King of the Monsters 2 is the same basic game on both systems, as well as on the original Neo-Geo.

No dude - he's right. The Genesis version of King of the Monsters 2 is a one-on-one versus fighter, whereas the SNES and Neo Geo incarnations are a scrolling beat-'em-up.

[A Black Falcon]

No dude - he's right. The Genesis version of King of the Monsters 2 is a one-on-one versus fighter, whereas the SNES and Neo Geo incarnations are a scrolling beat-'em-up.

Wow, you're right, the Genesis version doesn't have the beat 'em up parts, just the fights, like the first game... interesting.

I would say though, those beat 'em up parts (in the SNES version) are a bit disappointing. I mean, not in that they aren't good, but in that the second half of the game they get shorter and shorter until the last level is just a series of bossfights, no beat 'em up parts at all I think... it's like they got tired of the beat 'em up idea partway through and abandoned it or something. Oh well... awesome game anyway, on SNES at least. Evidently I'll need to play the Genesis version too and see how it is.

[Icarus Moonsight]

How does a youtube video demonstrate a flaw in my preference with Sparkster's controls in the Genesis game? I even stated that the SNES version was visually more stunning... Maybe I'm lost. We'll, one of us is.

Plus, I own all three carts. I don't need to 'load it up'. Rather, I can pop it in and have often.

[123►Genei-Jin]

Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu has 2 different versions on the 16bit consoles.
The SNES version is missing plane shifting altogether but looks closer to the Neo-Geo version in terms of graphics and sounds and has all the characters.
The Genesis version has plane shifting but it's missing 2 CPU characters (Hwai Jai & Billy Kane). Both versions are missing the arcade bonus rounds (the SNES version has some alternate ones)

Samurai Shodown is another case of bad Neo-Geo conversions. The Genesis version is terrible since lots of the normal attack animations were completely replaced with recycled animations from other moves and is also missing 1 character (Earthquake).
The SNES version has all the characters and moves and plays very closely to the original but the graphics are all zoomed out all the time. The Sega CD version (if you wanna count that one in) is also missing Earthquake but has better overall graphics than both the SNES and Genesis versions.

[Ed Oscuro]

How does a youtube video demonstrate a flaw in my preference with Sparkster's controls in the Genesis game?

I just saw a defense of the game which didn't really make sense - it's fine if you like the game, but there's good reasons Kupo said it was bad (in comparison, anyway). I didn't say boo about the controls, though I might as well. Both games have some slowdown. Charging on the SNES takes slightly longer (same as the first game), but the shoulder buttons are used for an air spin which is very useful. There's no waiting for a level two charge so you can do silly things like ram switches (why shouldn't you do that at level one?), which just slows down the Genesis version. You also still keep the flame-shooting sword of RKA in the SNES Sparkster; in the Genesis version it's gone for no apparent reason. So, on the controls front, the Genesis rev has some key controls from the very first game taken out entirely, and the only addition actually makes the game worse.

Here's why the controls make the game worse: I know what to do in the first stage (although it takes a while to figure out, in contrast to the easily grasped situations of the other Sparkster titles) but it drags on too long. You face either too little action and too much item collection (yawn) or finicky movement-based puzzles (same goes for the introduction fight) - that spinning plate-dropping machine (not the one with the screws, which is silly enough) is the dumbest thing I've seen in a Sparkster game so far - if you move or rocket bounce off to the left so you can no longer see it, the top two plates are no longer in place and just come down again. QUALITY. It does get a bit better, although dodging slimes that disable the jetpack (i.e. the whole reason for playing the game in the first place) is not my idea of good fun. The train stage would be a good level if it wasn't so hard just to fall down between two boxes (and also if that boss pattern could be understood).

The SNES Sparkster doesn't have bland maze levels and ridiculously inscrutable boss patterns, like the stupid tree miniboss, and even better yet the train boss as seen in the game demo. The bosses (I'm assuming there's more than one) that stick to the RKA formula, like the trampoline boss in the second stage, are far less difficult than others, mainly because they give better clues about how to be beaten.

The SNES Sparkster, instead, has far more interesting levels (I can't believe I'm calling a factory level more interesting than mossy castle ruins with windows nearly floating in space, and a castle made by Konami at that, but there you go) and an indispensable new move. The big drill-headed knight robot boss isn't easy, but I managed (just barely) to beat him the first time I reached him. The game does have instant death traps but I find them a lot more fun to deal with than the Genesis game.

It's a good thing the Genesis Sparkster got rid of the gigantic borderr on RKA, but the cost was apparently losing full-screen raster effects (i.e. the heat waves in RKA's castle, and similar effects seen in Castlevania Bloodlines), and large characters and background details are replaced by smaller ones.

It was obvious that they wanted the Genesis Sparkster to be far different from the other games, as they pulled the camera back (thus making everything smaller, but allowing us to see more of the world), but the balance between more stuff in the world and losing character is not so great.

[kupomogli]

About Sparkster on Genesis against RKA and Sparkster for SNES, like Ed says, the level design just isn't there. It's apparent on the very first stage and most of the stages later on in the game.

You really have no(or barely any) platformer elements other than using the jetpack. Now yes, the game is based on the jetpack, but does every single part you are required to jump need to utilize the jetpack? It just feels that on Sparkster Genesis you really do nothing but charge up, boost, charge up, boost, charge up, boost, etc. It just becomes overly repetitive.

I mean if you look at the other Sparkster and RKA, there are platform parts you can actually jump over without the use of the jetpack. Quite frequently actually. Your sword is also more useful and you'll probably use it more often than just boosting through enemies repeatedly.

Sparkster Genesis isn't a terrible game though, it just sucks compared to the others as well as any other platformer with decent level structure and balance between gameplay elements.

[BetaWolf47]

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Donkey Kong. The difference between the GB one and the Arcade one is tremendous.

There's also the games with confusing chronology:
Bubble Bobble 2, Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2, etc.

For the Sparkster games, I don't know if they count. One is surnamed Rocket Knight Adventure 2.

[Gameguy]

Sonic 2 for the Genesis is different than the Game Gear version. Elevator Action for Gameboy is way different than the NES or arcade version.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Of course Sparkster counts. They're completely different. Why else would three people be discussing those differences in this very thread?

Ok, Ed and Kupo. I understand where you're coming from, and mostly, I'd have to agree. This has made me want to sit down and play the games back to back and get a fresh perspective though.

[BetaWolf47]

Of course Sparkster counts. They're completely different. Why else would three people be discussing those differences in this very thread?

Their differences have nothing to do with my argument. This is about games with the same name. Sparkster and Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 are two different names.

[Icarus Moonsight]

And a rose by any other name... Damn it, it's Sparkster!