What system is that game better on?

[Smack2k]

Hey all,

Retro fan, but new to this site..and a big fan of the Roundup...

Anyway, didnt see this around and wanted to see if this list could be started...In my searches and reading about various retro games, I have seen and heard people mention "this game is best on the....system". The Roundup the guys did about the Top 100 games really gave me the want to start a list of as many games as possible and have a running list of what retro games are best played on what system? Not sure if this has been done on a large scale or not before...but could be a great reference for anyone going forward looking to play a game in its best format...Take a game like Phantasie or Might and Magic. Might and Magic looks WAY better on the NES but not sure if it plays as well or has as many options...so the goal would be to find hte BEST overall playability for each game.

Any takers in working on this?

[MidnightRider]

I'm pretty sure there is an older thread that tried to do the same thing.

I think a better question would be, are there any that, by being the worse, have been crippled to an unplayable state?

[Neb6]

I think this is a topic best opened up to the opinions of various users, rather than tackled by a single person. Mainly because very few people have played the full spectrum of retro platforms thoroughly enough. Then you can take their feedback, average it, and cross-reference it.

And the older similar forum topic is also worth taking a look at.


So on the topic of this thread, I was actually just thinking that Mr. Do on the ColecoVision is the closest experience that I've had to the arcade game. Mainly because it adheres to the rules set out on the coin-op. I noticed that other versions (like the ones on the Apple II and Tandy Color Computer) seem to deviate from the rules of the arcade game (apples breaking after falling only one level, non-Alpha Monster baddies eating apples, etc...).

The Amiga and Atari ST have nice versions of Marble Madness.

NES has an excellent version of Donkey Kong Junior.

Q*Bert is solid on NES and ColecoVision.

Space Harrier is pretty much exact on 32x.

Thexder seems to run best on the Tandy 1000. The Color Computer 3 and MSX versions are not quite as good.

Lode Runner is awesome on the Apple II (and pretty darned good on the PC).

The Killing Game Show, Rodland, Speedball II, Hired Guns, and Pinball Dreams appear to be best on the Amiga.

Impossible Mission is great on the C64.

Moon Patrol, Qix, and Crystal Castles - Tandy Color Computer (under slightly different names. Graphics are fair; gameplay is excellent)

Starblade is quite close to the arcade version on the 3DO

Omega Race runs nicely on the Vic-20

Mr. Do's Castle - so far I'm voting ColecoVision

R-Type - TG16

Scramble - Vectrex (looks different, but plays like a dream)

[sloan]

Highly prone to opinions, and as has been said, for a fair rating, the rater has to have played said game on ALL systems that saw a port. Otherwise, the ratings will be unfairly skewed.

For instance, the third post states, "Q*Bert is solid on NES and ColecoVision", but makes no mention of the VCS, 5200, PSX, or myriad other versions. How do I know that is a fair assessment of Q*Bert if the rater hasn't considered the other versions?

[Tron 2.0]

R-Type - TG16

I don't think R-type for the TG16 is a definite port of the game,mostly for how bad it suffers from flicker.For it's the time it was the best port of the game.Still i think R-types for the PS1 is closet to the arcade original.

[Jorpho]

Mr. Do's Castle - so far I'm voting ColecoVision

Surely the C64 version is superior, with the larger playfield and multicolored sprites?

[o.pwuaioc]

I'm pretty sure there is an older thread that tried to do the same thing.

I think a better question would be, are there any that, by being the worse, have been crippled to an unplayable state?

Yes, this one: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/show...-games-is-best

Except that one is primarily for 8 bit games, which makes sense since there was very little crossover in the 16 bit era and anything past PS2 doesn't belong in this thread.

[Rickstilwell1]

Spider-Man X-Men for SNES, Genesis, Game Boy and Game Gear is a catch 22. The portable ones are terrible, but with the console ones you have to choose what is more important to you. Being able to finish the game more easily or having better graphics and sounds.

The SNES version is by far more visually and audibly detailed, but when it comes to Gambit's 2nd boss, that battle is a nightmare that will have you trying over and over again.

The Genesis version is a bit more crippled in the audio and visual department, but it seems that Gambit's 2nd boss fight has its difficulty toned down quite a bit. Those fireballs and lasers that come flying at you follow a more concrete pattern allowing you to avoid the obstacles more easily and defeat the boss. It took me fewer tries to defeat her by a long shot.

[tom]

One would have to play ALL versions first to determine, otherwise it would be only guessing.

[BlastProcessing402]

WWF Royal Rumble on the Genesis took a bit of a hit on the graphics and sound, but had a number of roster changes from the SNES original, so for wrestling fanatics it was still somewhat worth playing.

Its predecessor Super Wrestlemania was like a totally different game between SNES and Gen, instead of just roster changes, they actually implemented finishing moves for the wrestlers, making it actually worth playing. Of course there were still downgrades in graphics and sound, and since it only supported the 3 button pad controls were less than optimal.

WWF Raw pretty much the only difference was the typical graphic and sound downgrade, almost no reason to go for the Gen version. However, they did put out a 32x port. It looked/sounded better than the Gen, but I'd still give the SNES one the nod for best. The roster was mostly unchanged, though they gave Lex Luger new music, and added a hidden extra wrestler. Supposedly it was Kwang, but the in game character model didn't look much like the real guy. Some of the timing on 32x is off as well (good luck pinning a guy after giving him a Razor's Edge finisher, he'll be on his feet almost instantly) so overall, I'd go for the SNES.

(there's also a WWF Raw game for Xbox, but it's an entirely different game put out years later, so not something to compare with the 16 bit versions, also it's absolute garbage)

[sloan]

One would have to play ALL versions first to determine, otherwise it would be only guessing.

Exactly.

[goldenband]

Spider-Man X-Men for SNES, Genesis, Game Boy and Game Gear is a catch 22. The portable ones are terrible, but with the console ones you have to choose what is more important to you. Being able to finish the game more easily or having better graphics and sounds.

The SNES version is by far more visually and audibly detailed, but when it comes to Gambit's 2nd boss, that battle is a nightmare that will have you trying over and over again.

The Genesis version is a bit more crippled in the audio and visual department, but it seems that Gambit's 2nd boss fight has its difficulty toned down quite a bit. Those fireballs and lasers that come flying at you follow a more concrete pattern allowing you to avoid the obstacles more easily and defeat the boss. It took me fewer tries to defeat her by a long shot.

Interesting, I don't remember having any more difficulty with the second Gambit boss in the SNES version (I've beaten both games).

To me, the music and controls are so much better in the SNES version that it's no contest. The Genesis version is certainly playable, but the soundtrack is kind of embarrassing by comparison (not to mention that several tunes have been cut) and it's got some weird bugs like being able to jump over the rolling ball in Gambit's first stage.

I've played the portable versions a tiny bit, but both of them seemed painfully cut-down.

BTW we had a pretty nice thread of super-systematic SNES vs. Genesis comparisons over on Sega-16, though we only got 10-12 entries before it fizzled out.