Video games on multiple formats that look (almost) nothing alike

[zzip]

2600 Pole Position - While this is a nice-looking driving game by 2600 standards,  it doesn't feel much like Pole Position to me.  No billboards to crash in to, no "prepare to qualify" blimp,  hell you can't even see where the finish line is

 

 

 

Crystal Castles -  At least this plays like the arcade game, even if it looks nothing like it.   Like many isometric games, it gets a different perspective on the 2600 to allow for screen mirroring

[Tempest]

19 minutes ago, zzip said:

Crystal Castles -  At least this plays like the arcade game, even if it looks nothing like it.   Like many isometric games, it gets a different perspective on the 2600 to allow for screen mirroring

It may not look as pretty but I always thought CC on the 2600 played better than its arcade counterpart.

[Lostdragon]

Stretching it I know but.. 

 

 

I was never keen on the redesigned main sprite for Dropzone on the Sega Game Gear. 

 

 

[Leeroy ST]

While not really too different, I always find the SMS version if Pitfall II to hilariously stand out.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Leeroy ST

[carlsson]

How could I forget Congo Bongo on the SG-1000 vs Congo Bongo on everything else? In particular as the arcade was by Sega.

 

[zzip]

16 minutes ago, carlsson said:

How could I forget Congo Bongo on the SG-1000 vs Congo Bongo on everything else? In particular as the arcade was by Sega.

 

Congo Bongo has a lot of horrible-looking versions.   I think I actually prefer the flat version on the left to the muddy looking C64 version on the right.

 

The weirdest thing is the C64 has two versions of Congo Bongo,  the one above and the one below which looks a lot closer to the arcade version than most.  Both published by Sega, I believe?

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by zzip

[carlsson]

Yup, the later version was disk based and published on C64, Apple II and IBM PC from what I can tell. It contains all four of the arcade levels, compared to the 16K cartridge versions for various systems that only tend to contain levels 1+4 (except Colecovision which has three of them).

 

The SG-1000 version also only has two levels, and the second one even less matches either of the arcade levels...

[Flojomojo]

Just musing … the “battle of the ports” is all but a thing of the past now that arcade games are gone, and home computers, consoles, and mobile devices are so powerful. Being able to play something like Skyrim or Witcher 3 on what is basically a $200 tablet with joysticks and buttons (Switch Lite) still blows my mind. 

 

I can’t believe you started this thread with Coleco Zaxxon for 2600 @carlsson — that’s what came to mind when I saw your thread topic.

I still love to see the differences between systems, and recommend “Battle of the Ports” of you somehow haven’t seen it. 

 

 

[Lostdragon]

Syndicate 

 

 

https://youtu.be/6oO-_3ib2gk

 

 

 

 

 

I'd seen interviews with Peter Molyneux, slagging off the SNES and MD as toys, he'd be glad when they were gone, didn't stop them seeing a conversion of his work though, did it? 

 

 

Hated the look of the 16-bit cartridge based console versions ?

 

[Tanooki]

Petey is also an industry wide joke of a man outside of the few who still believe in and or suck up to the guy for some odd reason.  He got lucky early on, rode it far too long, and had that never happened, no one would even know his name or remember it either.  Syndicate on the SNES/Genesis were finely done conversions within the scope of the hardware.  I love hearing Guru Larry take a shot at that simp every time he does a new video, always has some slight pause if not outright dig depending on the content, and it's on point.

[+Black_Tiger]

On 9/22/2021 at 2:12 PM, CapitanClassic said:

Another NES anomaly (arguably for the best), Bionic Commando. Instead of linear stages like the arcade, the game displayed a map and you chose your next conflict area (with enemy trucks/helicopters) can interrupt your progress. Additionally, it played more like an adventure game, requiring you to find Communication Rooms to intercept communications, acquire new weapons/tools, etc. There are many other differences (including localization and better Europe c64 ports over USA C64), but it is too much to cover. See here instead

http://frgcb.blogspot.com/2014/05/bionic-commando-capcom-19871988.html?m=1

 

 

NES (USA)

 

C64 (Europe)

NES Bionic Commando is a case of a foreign publisher dropping the title distrinction during localization.

 

The Japanese titles of the arcade and Famicom versions of Bionic Commando are "Top Secret" and "Ressurection of Hitler : Top Secret".

[Lostdragon]

War In Middle Earth. 

 

Amiga and C64. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same plot, same aim of the game., but due to the lower hardware abilities of the C64, it went the strategy game route over the more arcade style Amiga offering.