Defender of the Crown - is there a "best" version?

[Razzie.P]

I've always loved Defender of the Crown, but have only owned/played it for NES.   Came across an article today talking about how the NES was pretty crappy compared to other versions, but then it only talked about graphics.   It praised the Amiga's graphics, but said the gameplay was inferior.  Found a couple of other articles doing comparisons, but they were all hung up on graphics as well.   So that got me kinda curious --  which version of Defender of the Crown do you guys feel is the best of the bunch, and why?

[youxia]

Defender Of The Crown II for CD32 is not really a sequel, but kind of "ultimate" version - it's supposed to  have all the features missing from the original (because it was rushed) which were present on the other platforms, plus has the best gfx/sfx. The next in line I think is Atari ST version, which has somewhat worse gfx/sfx than the early Amiga one, but more gameplay features.

[+wongojack]

I grew up envying the Amiga version, but discovered quickly that the C64 version had more gameplay options, and I prefer it to this day 

 

They also did a GBA version that I enjoy very much.

[Trebor]

Being one of my favorite computer games of all times, this was my experience in summary, BITD:

Amiga = Superior video and audio, inferior gameplay balance.

DOS (CGA-4 color) = Superior gameplay balance, inferior video and audio.

C64 = Better gameplay than Amiga, better graphics and sound than CGA DOS.

 

Years later, played the EGA version of Defender of the Crown for DOS, which brought the DOS port to a comparable C64 graphics level, but still inferior sound. Also learned of the Tandy version, which graphically was on par with the EGA (and C64) versions, but also features a 3-Voice sound chip. 

 

However, the widely distributed CGA and EGA cracked versions had broken Tandy compatibility. It wasn't until I acquired an original book disk image of the game was I able to experience the Tandy version in full glory.

 

IMHO, the Tandy version is best of all the 'classic' ports I have played, due to having the superior gameplay balance of the DOS port with graphics and sound rivaling the C64.

 

Also, the Remastered Edition for Windows circa 2002 is very good.  Gameplay better than Amiga, on par with the C64 balance.  I was part of the testing team during its development and was hoping the devs would have been able to leverage the source code of the DOS version for much of the gameplay, while adding graphics and sound superior to the Amiga. Sadly though, none of the original source code was present or known to still exist.

[PressureCooker2600]

I had the c64 Defender of the Crown as a kid. Fond memories of that game. I encourage you to try it.

[Tempest]

I grew up playing the CGA version which I feel is really good gameplay-wise.  How do you think the iigs version stacks up to the others?  I think it's on par with the ST at the very least.

[Tanooki]

I was wondering though where would the GBA game rate, barely see it brought up.  I know at least a couple more cinemaware games hit the thing too like Wings and I think Three Stooges.

[Tempest]

I actually like the NES version best for two reasons:

 

1. I can actually win at the tournament because they added a Morningstar event after the joust that was way easier and winning that won you the tournament (I think winning the joust got you more energy for the Morningstar event).

 

2. They added a crossbow castle defense screen that I was really good at.  I could defend a castle with only one guy against a giant army when I was in the zone.

[+davidcalgary29]

Any thoughts about the Intellivision port?

[PressureCooker2600]

13 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I was wondering though where would the GBA game rate, barely see it brought up.  I know at least a couple more cinemaware games hit the thing too like Wings and I think Three Stooges.

I have DoTC and Stooges for the GBA. Both are faithful ports. I enjoyed them both.

[+jgkspsx]

On 12/19/2021 at 12:28 PM, PressureCooker2600 said:

I have DoTC and Stooges for the GBA. Both are faithful ports. I enjoyed them both.

Wings is amazing on the GBA. Weird they ported these games but I’m sure glad they did!

[Tanooki]

They knew their market they were appealing to, and unlike the 8bit, they realized people were  sticking to what they loved and appealed to adults.  They're games made for not kids in the first place pretty much, and still the intent was there too.

[+wongojack]

GBA DOTC seems perfect to me, although I had forgotten about those extra tournament events in the NES version.  Usually at this point in the discussion, someone talks about how the ST version is superior to all, but I've never played it.

 

I've played GBA Wings a lot.  It's a love letter to the original game and adds the ability to play as the Central powers which is great.  They changed a lot but left a lot the same.  It is much better than Wings Remastered which came out for PC on the last decade.

 

The worst thing I can say about GBA Wings is that the flight sequences are a bit worse than the original game.  Just ignore all aerodynamics and move the cross hair over your target (you'll miss a lot).

[Trebor]

The GBA version of Cinemaware games are based upon the Remastered Edition line of titles from 2002/3. 

 

Personally, I make a distinction between the original games and their respect ports from the original company (Cinemaware Corp.) in the 1980's-90's, compared to the new Cinemaware (Cinemware Inc.) and the Remastered Editions that were developed during the 2000's. 

 

It's similar to the difference between original Pac-Man and Pac-Man Championship Edition.  Not stating necessarily one is 'better' than the other, both are excellent games in their own right, but significantly different from one another as well.

[Tanooki]

From what I've noticed is that the GBA stuff tends to be copies of the ST versions of games.  This even continued into the official but not (Eric Chahi the game designer worked on it) port of the AtariST version of Another World/Out of This World to the GBA.  The conversion on there is stunningly good.

[zzip]

On 12/18/2021 at 5:46 PM, Razzie.P said:

 It praised the Amiga's graphics, but said the gameplay was inferior.  Found a couple of other articles doing comparisons, but they were all hung up on graphics as well.   So that got me kinda curious --  which version of Defender of the Crown do you guys feel is the best of the bunch, and why?

This is one game Amiga owners used to brag about.   And the Amiga version does have animations that are missing from the ST version I used to play.

 

Gameplay-wise I always felt like something was off, at least on the ST version.   Never progressed far because I found it impossible to win a joust no matter where I aimed.   I still don't know what the trick is.

[Tempest]

8 minutes ago, zzip said:

Gameplay-wise I always felt like something was off, at least on the ST version.   Never progressed far because I found it impossible to win a joust no matter where I aimed.   I still don't know what the trick is.

I always thought you had to aim for the dead center of the shield.

[zzip]

8 minutes ago, Tempest said:

I always thought you had to aim for the dead center of the shield.

I thought so too,  or is there some trick like you have to click the mouse button at just the right moment?

[+wongojack]

On 12/23/2021 at 11:24 AM, Trebor said:

The GBA version of Cinemaware games are based upon the Remastered Edition line of titles from 2002/3. 

 

Personally, I make a distinction between the original games and their respect ports from the original company (Cinemaware Corp.) in the 1980's-90's, compared to the new Cinemaware (Cinemware Inc.) and the Remastered Editions that were developed during the 2000's. 

 

It's similar to the difference between original Pac-Man and Pac-Man Championship Edition.  Not stating necessarily one is 'better' than the other, both are excellent games in their own right, but significantly different from one another as well.

I've played both Wings GBA and Wings Remastered extensively and they are totally different.  Remastered almost isn't even worth launching while the GBA version adds tons of new game modes and features.

[Trebor]

13 hours ago, wongojack said:

I've played both Wings GBA and Wings Remastered extensively and they are totally different.  Remastered almost isn't even worth launching while the GBA version adds tons of new game modes and features.

Glad to read they improved upon the Remastered PC version for the GBA.