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Thread: Great arcade games with terrible home conversions.

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    Kirby (Level 13) Buyatari's Avatar
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    Default Great arcade games with terrible home conversions.

    Some games are just not the same at home. Try as they might they barely mirror the originals. While Atari 2600 pacman has to be the worst ever this isn't what I'm looking for. There are several versions of Pacman which are very close to the mark.

    I'm looking for titles like Cyberball for which there isn't a single playable version on ANY system.

    Pinball games and those which feature pinball elements are out.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) cityside75's Avatar
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    ROBOTRON!

    Needs the dual sticks, and those awesome Williams sounds.

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    Well, the only one I can really comment on is Donkey Kong. Never a really proper arcade conversion for this game.

    Seriously though, are there any arcade machines that are completely superior to the home console versions? I'd love to know what machines to look out for that have never been properly converted outside of MAME (and possibly not even that).

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    Crono (Level 14) Sonicwolf's Avatar
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    I cant think of any totally terriblle conversions across all platforms but a couple really crappy ones come to mind. Pac-Man 2600, Donkey Kong 2600, Mortal Kombat SNES, Dragons Lair platformer on every console of the time.
    DERP

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheDomesticInstitution View Post
    I'd love to know what machines to look out for that have never been properly converted outside of MAME (and possibly not even that).
    Speed Buggy. Only a weak C64 version exists and it doesn't work in MAME.

    Answer to Adam's question: Juno First

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) Enigmus's Avatar
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    Hard Drivin'. The only one was a Tengen one for Genesis, and it only had two and a half levels and basically no music.

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    Crono (Level 14) Sonicwolf's Avatar
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    Come to think of it, Donkey Kong arcade, every home conversion, can be considered lame as they all dont have level 3...
    DERP

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    Authordreamweavervisionar yplusactor Arcade Antics's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sonicwolf View Post
    Come to think of it, Donkey Kong arcade, every home conversion, can be considered lame as they all dont have level 3...
    The Atari 8-bit version has all 4 levels.
    Selling collection, Atari through XBox. Send a PM with whatever games you're looking for.

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    Authordreamweavervisionar yplusactor Arcade Antics's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheDomesticInstitution View Post
    Seriously though, are there any arcade machines that are completely superior to the home console versions? I'd love to know what machines to look out for that have never been properly converted outside of MAME (and possibly not even that).
    List is too long to go through. It's easier to point out the few that were well done, e.g., ColecoVision Ladybug, Venture, Pepper II.

    OP's post - Have to go with the NES Punch-Out!! port. As arcade conversions go, it absolutely sucks. You could argue that it's a different yet playable game in its own right, but it still crapped all over the original arcade game experience.
    Selling collection, Atari through XBox. Send a PM with whatever games you're looking for.

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    Crono (Level 14) Sonicwolf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arcade Antics View Post
    The Atari 8-bit version has all 4 levels.
    8 bit computer version? Havnt played it. I stand corrected. Its just that the vast majority of them across most platforms since the first port was made lack the factory level.
    DERP

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    I'll throw a second mention in for Dragon's Lair

    Yeah, there are scads of commercial "home versions" ranging from as laughable as the C=64 version, to as surprisingly impressive as the Gameboy Color version ...

    A lot of the versions that use optical disc based media (CD Rom, DVD Rom, Blu Ray) come pretty damned close, but in just about every case - when the move triggering is right the graphics are usually off, and when the graphics are authentic looking, there's always some type of limitation that takes a skilled Dragon's Lair player out of the moment.

    Even the beautifully remastered Blu Ray version misses the mark by over-doing the re-mastering process. By stopping the natural subtle bob-and-weave by-product of of the traditional animation process there's something that just doesn't "feel" right about it. It looks beautiful, but it doesn't look like you're playing the authentic arcade version.

    not a single commercial home version of Dragon's Lair matches up with the "nuances" of the actual hardware.

    Thankfully the guys who put together the DAPHNE laserdisc arcade emulator nailed it. Anybody looking for the most authentic looking, feeling and playing version of Dragon's Lair, look no further. So, techincally there IS a "great" home version, but it's totally homebrewed.
    "And the book says: 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'"


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    Crono (Level 14) Sonicwolf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frankie_Says_Relax View Post
    not a single commercial home version of Dragon's Lair matches up with the "nuances" of the actual hardware.
    Did the arcade version have cues as to what buttons to press and when you were supposed to do something? I always found it frustrating in the home cd video console versions that you have no flipping clue as to what to press and when...
    Last edited by Sonicwolf; 06-13-2009 at 11:43 PM.
    DERP

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sonicwolf View Post
    Did the arcade version have cues as to what buttons to press and when you were supposed to do something? I always found it frustrating in the home cd video console versions that you have no flipping clue as to what to press and when...
    Some (not all) levels of Dragon's Lair have "cues" usually a highlighted section of the screen with a flash of light and an audible tone, and the game was cleverly designed with some stages having multiple cues, some being correct and others being instant death. (Actually, all deaths in DL are instant.)

    DL was built for users to fail A LOT during trial-and-error play throughs. Which arcade owners loved considering the 50 cent cost of admission - a first in that era of games.

    Once levels are mastered/memorized skilled players can play through on one credit.

    But, of course DL fans have over the years given the home versions a lot of slack considering that all of them find creative ways replicating things (even if imperfectly) that were only ever designed to function a certain way on VERY specific arcade laser-disc hardware.
    "And the book says: 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'"


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    Alex (Level 15) InsaneDavid's Avatar
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    Skull & Crossbones on the NES. I compared it against the arcade version in Retrogaming Times Monthly issue 22.

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    Kirby (Level 13) SegaAges's Avatar
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    Simpsons Arcade

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    Great Puma (Level 12) skaar's Avatar
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    Arcade to home...

    TMNT II for the NES was sad in comparison.

    Most of the DDR pads sucked unless you built yourself a proper pad - but that was a controller issue more than anything.

    Most of the SNK titles ported to SNES were a crime - even the DC/PS ports were usually pretty sad with loadtimes and all.

    Home vs. arcade

    Rygar - the NES version was way better I thought... didn't get into the arcade.

    Same with Strider - I liked it much more on the NES.
    <Sothy> its the internet <Sothy> who cares

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    Kirby (Level 13) Leo_A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kid Ice View Post
    Speed Buggy. Only a weak C64 version exists and it doesn't work in MAME.

    Answer to Adam's question: Juno First
    It got several other computer ports besides the C64 version. Also, it seems to work in MAME, there's YouTube videos of it obviousily being played through emulation, including some with MAME as a tagline.

    Quote Originally Posted by cityside75 View Post
    ROBOTRON!

    Needs the dual sticks, and those awesome Williams sounds.
    Its gotten nearly perfect to perfect home conversions for over a decade now, including plenty of releases that support the dual analog sticks of the last several console generations. What was wrong with the 5200 & 7800 ports and their dual stick options? They played just fine and were pretty good ports in my opinion.

    Quote Originally Posted by TheDomesticInstitution View Post
    Well, the only one I can really comment on is Donkey Kong. Never a really proper arcade conversion for this game.
    What's wrong with the N64 version? Seems just about perfect. Short of emulating the original code, I don't think it could've been done better.

    Quote Originally Posted by Enigmus View Post
    Hard Drivin'. The only one was a Tengen one for Genesis, and it only had two and a half levels and basically no music.
    Hard Drivin' got tons of home ports. 5 or 6 computer ports, a Atari Lynx release, and its included in emulated form on Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for last generation consoles.
    Last edited by Leo_A; 06-16-2009 at 01:46 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_Ames View Post
    It got several other computer ports besides the C64 version.
    OK. So are any of them any good?

    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_Ames View Post
    Also, it seems to work in MAME, there's YouTube videos of it obviousily being played through emulation, including some with MAME as a tagline.
    Heh. I'll have to check that out.

    edit: Good call! Apparently it is supported in MAME now. Time to update my MAME!
    Last edited by Kid Ice; 06-16-2009 at 04:35 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_Ames View Post
    What's wrong with the N64 version? Seems just about perfect. Short of emulating the original code, I don't think it could've been done better.
    I guess nothing if you don't mind: playing DK64 to unlock the original and using an N64 controller to play it. I personally haven't played this version, and currently have no plans to right now.

    Maybe I will some day, to see how well it stacks up to the original. Hopefully there's a game shark code, as I've never been a fan of DK games past the NES era.

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    Crono (Level 14) Sonicwolf's Avatar
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    Here is a pretty good thread about arcade-2600 ports that turned into complete shite.

    http://retro.ign.com/articles/860/860116p1.html
    DERP

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