Knock-offs by Nintendo

[Nz17]

Let's compile the games which aren't "poor Nintendo getting cloned," but rather "greedy Nintendo ripping off the other guy." I notice that this was much more prevalent back in their early arcade days. For the sake of the list, games with slight differences still count as long as someone else made a game like it significantly earlier. The smaller the difference, the "badder!"

Space Fever - clone of Space Invaders
Alleyway - close of Breakout
Radar Mission - Battleship
Donkey Kong - Carpenter's Union #406

[ccovell]

F-1 Race - Pole Position
Balloon Fight - Joust
Devil World - Pac-Man

[schtolteheim]

The Legend of Zelda - Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress

It's not all too close, but it has a similar look and the secret weapons used against foes remind one of Dodongo-dislikes-smoke.
It's a brilliant computer game really.

[Atariguy]

The Legend of Zelda - Alcazar the Forgotten Fortress

It's not all too close, but it has a similar look and the secret weapons used against foes remind one of Dodongo-dislikes-smoke.
It's a brilliant computer game really.

Interesting. I'd never heard of this game before. However, it came out in 1985, and I'm pretty sure Miyamoto began work on Zelda right after Super Mario Bros. was finished in that year, so this may in fact be coincidence. Would be nice if I could find info on whether this was released in Japan (there was an MSX version, so there's a good chance) and when. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the main influences on Zelda outside of this were Hydlide (for the whole open world traversed one screen at a time thing) and Tower of Druaga (for the secrets, some of the action elements). It should be noted that regardless of how this effects your opinion of how original Zelda was, it was a far, far better game than either of those.

It's worth noting that I think I remember reading that the guys who made Pac-Land always considered Super Mario Bros. to be a ripoff of their game.


Edit: And I remember reading that Metroid was clearly influenced by an obscure arcade game whose name escapes me now. If I remember correctly involved exploring a nonlinear sci fi setting, with guns that could shoot sideways and upwards, some Metroid like enemies, and even a "surprise, you're a girl" ending. I really wish I could find info on that game again.

[Cryomancer]

Do you mean Baraduke?

[Mayhem]

Tower of Druaga probably inspired Alcazar, if anything. Also to add to the list, Space Firebird is either Galaxian or Phoenix, can't quite make up its mind...

[Baloo]

Radar Scope is basically Galaxian with a slightly different angle.

[kupomogli]

Pokemon is based off Shin Megami Tensei. Not a blatant ripoff, but the entire idea was pulled from SMT. From the SMT series, each monster has whatever type, what they're weak against, etc. Just to make clear, weaknesses, fusions, and transformations weren't available until SMT2, but still where Pokemon took the idea from.

[hellraiser]

I don't know the story but always wondered about the whole Rollin thunder vs. Code name viper thing?

[sisko]

Legend of Zelda - Star Tropics (does that count?)

[SparTonberry]

No mention of Radarscope, the Galaxian ripoff that tanked so hard they had to have then-unknown Miyamoto "fix" it by inventing Donkey Kong?

Metroid like?

Maybe Cosmo Police Galivan? It's certainly obscure, and it was a side-scroller with multiple paths to each boss, made by Nichibutsu in 1985.
Perhaps some of you have heard of the fan-translated Famicom game?
(there was also a Super Famicom game, but that was just a robotic beat-em-up)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hJzI-oBOrM

[A Black Falcon]

Pokemon is based off Shin Megami Tensei. Not a blatant ripoff, but the entire idea was pulled from SMT. From the SMT series, each monster has whatever type, what they're weak against, etc. Just to make clear, weaknesses, fusions, and transformations weren't available until SMT2, but still where Pokemon took the idea from.

Even though Pokemon started development in the late '80s? Pokemon started development well before SMT released. Megami Tensei predates its development, but not SMT... does Megami Tensei have that stuff?

[Koa Zo]

Pokemon was done by GameFreak and published by Nintendo.
GameFreak also did games for Sega such as Pulseman.

[Baloo]

No mention of Radarscope, the Galaxian ripoff that tanked so hard they had to have then-unknown Miyamoto "fix" it by inventing Donkey Kong?

Radar Scope is basically Galaxian with a slightly different angle.

Scroll a few posts up from your own, hahaha!

[j_factor]

Custom Robo is awfully similar to Robo Pit, and Battalion Wars recalls games like General Chaos, though it's not an exact ripoff of any one game. I know Battalion Wars is technically a sequel to their other "Wars" games, but it's a deviation for the series. Speaking of the Wars series, even Famicom Wars was predated by games like Rebelstar.

[Atariguy]

Do you mean Baraduke?

I think this was it. Looks like I was misremembering it a bit, or perhaps the thing read on it exaggerated. Still, it looks like it definitely does the "Surprise, the dude in a space suit you've been playing as is really a girl" thing.

[Zebbe]

Star Fox is a ripoff of Space Harrier, except it's slow and ugly.

[dendawg]

3-D World Runner is a ripoff of Space Harrier, except it's slow and ugly.

Fixed. Thanks for playing, please try again.

[kupomogli]

Unless there's anything earlier, I think Star Fox is a rip off of Star Wars the Arcade Game. Although a lot of other games came earlier than Star Fox, so there were other ideas to pull from so it's not really fair to call it a ripoff.

Even though Pokemon started development in the late '80s? Pokemon started development well before SMT released. Megami Tensei predates its development, but not SMT... does Megami Tensei have that stuff?

Rarely does anything other than the release year get mentioned in game, but when you start up Pokemon Red/Blue, it's listed as '95, '96, and '98. The game wasn't released in Japan until late '96, and '98 is the US release, so I'm assuming '95 is when most, if not all the work was done to develop the game while some could have been developed in '96. If they're going to put the amount of time that they worked on the game on the title screen, then why would they only put a single year?

Potentially the game was being developed while the creator of Pokemon was a kid as looking up Wikipedia it states that he enjoyed bug collecting and that was his idea with Pokemon. However, concepts of a game are entirely different from the final product. The final product released in 1996 is sure to have borrowed more than some elements from SMT.

Anyways. I just looked into the first two Megami Tensei games. Just like the rest of the games in the series you talk monsters into joining you and can also fuse them. Also inaccurate information from me on the first SMT. There aren't any apparent weaknesses(apparent since I haven't played it in a long time and don't there is, but also looking it up I still can't find any information on weaknesses being in game,) but you can still fuse monsters.

[residualgenius]

Legend of Zelda - Star Tropics (does that count?)

Star tropics looks a lot like chrono trigger to me. I have never played star tropics, but just from first glance at a game play video. Of course ripping off yourself is ok I guess.