The top ten worst arcade to home conversions

[figgler]

Brought to you by the ever-knowledgable and classic-appreciative "minds" at IGN.

 

Have a look. Why Final Fight is on this list is beyond me.

 

http://wii.ign.com/articles/715/715300p1.html

[8th lutz]

I disagreed with putting Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition on the list. Why isn't more fighting games for the genesis on the list. A good number of them like Mk1 needed the 6 button controller. Most of the fighting games can be played a 3 button controller, but those games were better to play on a 6 button controller.

 

They Should've mentioned Japanese only ports like Moon Cresta on Nichibutsu Arcade Classics.

 

I don't understand final fight being on their. I expected some arcade ports that were converted on the nes like 1942.

 

Another one should've been Defender on the 2600.

 

They should've mention Donkey Kong for the intellivision.

 

Why wasn't Double Dragon for the 2600 on that list?

 

I felt Virtua Fighter 2 for genesis should be on their list.

Edited June 28, 2006 by 8th lutz

[The_Laird]

SF2 on the Megadrive was much better than the SNES version, not only is the full version but also plays a hell of alot faster and with a better pad.

[Gabriel]

I agree with Final Fight being on the list. A huge part of the game was the idea of two player at once action. On top of leaving that out, they choped a whole character out of the game AND futzed around by changing one of the game's enemies.

 

I think SFII:CE for the Genesis being on the list is a case of sour grapes. Of course the game was unplayable with the stock controller. Of course you had to go out and buy a 6 button controller to play it. If they changed it enough to make it playable with a three button controller, there would just be complaints that they ruined the game by squeezing it in to a 3 button controller. The only thing that was bad about the whole thing was that Capcom stabbed Sega in the back by giving the SNES SF2 Turbo before the Genesis even got CE.

 

8th Lutz, Mortal Kombat 1 for the Genesis does not require a 6 button pad. In fact, it plays wonderfully with a 3 button pad. Thats how I always play it.

 

I'd put Double Dragon for the NES on the list. The game ripped out the two player at once action. The graphics looked like crap. The special moves were changed to only be accessible through some kind of advancement system. It basically took everything that made the arcade game cool and shat all over it.

[The_Laird]

Thats quite funny because I was gonna mention Double Dragon for NES!

 

Horrible flickering mess that it is!

[figgler]

I agree with Final Fight being on the list. A huge part of the game was the idea of two player at once action. On top of leaving that out, they choped a whole character out of the game AND futzed around by changing one of the game's enemies.

 

 

Yes I know this, but does that make it one of the top 10 worst ever? I don't think so. It's still a really great game on SNES. The lack of 2 player kind of sucks, but this isn't the first game that eliminated it.

Bad Dudes on NES, though I like it, is a much worse translation than Final Fight

[Vic George 2K3]

2600 Donkey Kong Jr. and Intellivision Donkey Kong both outdo 2600 Donkey Kong as far as the badness of arcade-to-home game translations go. Similarly, NES Dragon's Lair outdoes SNES Dragon's Lair in that respect.

[Classic Pac]

The worst translation I ever played was 10 Yard Fight NES and frankly I love the arcade version.

[NE146]

Personally I would have put Ninja Gaiden on there since I'm sure a lot of us who were into the arcade game were shocked when the NES version came out after looking forward to it for so long.

 

That being said, I'm sure Ninja Gaiden will never be in any worst list since it turned out to be a friggin awesome game in and of itself (a game I can still beat with east to this day). But a good arcade port (which we all expected) it wasn't

[jbanes]

That's a terrible list! Not only do they include several items that have no business being there (Mortal Kombat? SFII? Final Fight? Do they have something against Beat 'Em Ups?), but I simply don't understand their Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits complaint. I own the Joust/Defender cart for the Gameboy Color, and it plays just as well as the arcade versions. In fact, I've always found it kind of cool that Joust plays the same on the 7800 and the GBC.

 

Maybe they should have stuck to only 2600 games. There's plenty to rag on there. (Zaxxon anyone?)

[NE146]

but I simply don't understand their Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits complaint. I own the Joust/Defender cart for the Gameboy Color

 

That's because you're confused. You're playing Joust/Defender.. which is not "Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits" for the GBA.

 

Now Joust/Defender is an awesome cart. Nice ports. However, Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits for the GBA... is amazing poo

[jbanes]

That's because you're confused. You're playing Joust/Defender.. which is not "Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits" for the GBA.

Ah, I see. I wonder why they re-ported them instead of updating the existing ports? Seems like a waste of effort that (obviously) didn't pan out.

Edited June 28, 2006 by jbanes

[jetset]

I dont know from the NES version of Dragons Lair, but the SNES version needs to be on that list certainly. Other than the main character, and the color of his outfit, maybe a villan or two this game had nothing to do with the original. Totally unplayable too. I remember it being the biggest bitch to complete the game, hell even to complete all but the first few levels!

[NE146]

That's because you're confused. You're playing Joust/Defender.. which is not "Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits" for the GBA.

Ah, I see. I wonder why they re-ported them instead of updating the existing ports? Seems like a waste of effort that (obviously) didn't pan out.

 

I guess they were trying to take advantage of the more advanced hardware of the GBA which was pretty new at the time. But holy crap did they fail. That cart really is bad.. you outta try it. Download the rom or something

[+FujiSkunk]

For those wondering why Final Fight, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition made the list, it's not because of any technical lack, it's because of the politics and other artificial limitations that caused these ports to disappoint arguably as many fans as those where were put off by the crippled programming of Donkey Kong and Pac-Man.

 

That said, I still wouldn't add SF2 to the list, since, by the author's own admission, it was a great game as long as you had a 6-button gamepad. Smashing Drive is a bit of a cheap shot as well. If the arcade game was bad and the game port was equally bad, then it wasn't really that bad of a port, was it?

 

I would replace those with Zaxxon for either the 2600 or the Intellivision, and maybe the NES port of either Double Dragon or Ninja Gaiden.

 

I think I would also replace the SNES port of Dragon's Lair with one of the earlier ports, such as the C-64 edition. At least the SNES port has a passing resemblance to the arcade game.

Edited June 28, 2006 by skunkworx

[Gabriel]

It's interesting that the bashing of SNES Mortal Kombat complains solely about the blood. It makes me think the person writing the article definitely hasn't played the game. There's lots more to complain about besides the lack of blood.

 

The main problem is the control, or should I say lack thereof? There's a full second delay between the time you press something on the controller and the time it causes something to happen on screen. Special moves are an extreme chore to pull off. The game feels like playing in tar, nothing like the frenzied action of the arcade game.

 

But, I suppose it's easier to simply say "OMG! It haz no blud! teh suxxorZ!"

 

And despite that, it had enough advertising money behind it that all the game mags gave it stellar reviews back in the day.

[BrianC]

That's because you're confused. You're playing Joust/Defender.. which is not "Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits" for the GBA.

Ah, I see. I wonder why they re-ported them instead of updating the existing ports? Seems like a waste of effort that (obviously) didn't pan out.

 

I guess they were trying to take advantage of the more advanced hardware of the GBA which was pretty new at the time. But holy crap did they fail. That cart really is bad.. you outta try it. Download the rom or something

 

No, that's not it at all. The reason Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits turned out so poor is becuase Pocket Games (who I think was the developer of the Game.com version of it) designed it instead of the developers of the GBC Joust/Defender, Digital Eclipse. It annoyed me how Midway kept hiring crappy development teams for their GBA games.

 

I definatly didn't like that top 10 list. Most of those games aren't even close to the worst ports out there and many of the choices are very questionable. Dragon's Lair and Strider aren't even ports. Strider NES isn't based on the arcade game, it's based on a Japanese manga. Smashing Drive shouldn't be on there becuase it's a good port of an underwhelming game. Virtua Fighter for Saturn wasn't perfect, but it's not a bad port or even close to the worst. The list really confuses me becuase Craig Harris wrote it and he reviewed such filth as the horrid Marble Madness port in Marble Madness/Klax for GBA. Why that isn't in his top 10 list is beyond me.

 

Street Fighter 2 Special Champion Edition for the Genesis shouldn't be anywhere near a top ten worst list. That controller complaint is extremely weak. The start button switching is annoying, but at least they made an attempt to make the game playable on 3 button controllers. They could have gone with a more SNK like control scheme, but it still would be no replacement for the 6 button controllers, which the game was made for. The game itself is an extremely good translation from the arcade and I prefer it over the SNES version.

 

Also, the mention of the NES Double Dragon or Ninja Gaiden as being one of the worst ports puzzles me. The lack of two player and having to earn moves in Double Dragon is disappointing, but the new level design is quite good and the I found the game to be excellent in its own right. Ninja Gaiden isn't even a port. It's a completely different game. I also found it to be an excellent game in its own right.

Edited June 28, 2006 by BrianC

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah, that totally sucked. I'd put IGN on a list of my own... the top ten formerly awesome web sites that have become a shell of their former selves.

 

Final Fight was a VERY faithful conversion despite the lack of two player action. That shortcoming alone doesn't kill the translation, and neither does the absence of Guy (although let's be clear... he is dearly missed).

 

Street Fighter II' on the Genesis was fantastic as well. See, if you own a three button joypad and want to play fighting games on the Genesis, you buy a Sega Arcade Pad, the most awesome controller in the universe, and the problem's solved! With a SAG, the game actually plays better than the Super NES version. Sure, it's not quite as pretty, but when you can perform important attacks like fireballs and uppercuts on a regular basis, it hardly matters.

 

JR

[Jacob Rose]

I dont know from the NES version of Dragons Lair, but the SNES version needs to be on that list certainly. Other than the main character, and the color of his outfit, maybe a villan or two this game had nothing to do with the original. Totally unplayable too. I remember it being the biggest bitch to complete the game, hell even to complete all but the first few levels!

 

Sounds EXACTLY like the arcade game to me...

[8th lutz]

Smashing Drive is a bit of a cheap shot as well. If the arcade game was bad and the game port was equally bad, then it wasn't really that bad of a port, was it?

 

There was no logic with putting Smashing Drive on it. By that cheapshot on Smashing Drive, Time Killers Should've been on there. Timekillers was bad enough in the arcades. The genesis version was even worse. It had the graphics and the sound of a nes game with terrible control according to the reveiws I read on that stinker. I am going by those who played the arcade and the genesis

Edited June 28, 2006 by 8th lutz

[Vic George 2K3]

I dont know from the NES version of Dragons Lair, but the SNES version needs to be on that list certainly. Other than the main character, and the color of his outfit, maybe a villan or two this game had nothing to do with the original. Totally unplayable too. I remember it being the biggest b--ch to complete the game, hell even to complete all but the first few levels!

 

The control scheme of the SNES Dragon's Lair was more forgiveable than that of its NES counterpart. Part of why the NES version deserves the ranking more than the SNES version does.

[Artlover]

Well, there is no argument about 2600 pac-man tho, now is there?

[jbanes]

Well, there is no argument about 2600 pac-man tho, now is there?

Yet they didn't name Zaxxon.

 

As I said, they should have stuck with the 2600. Making such sweeping statements about ports was a lot easier there.

[jetset]

Well, there is no argument about 2600 pac-man tho, now is there?

Yet they didn't name Zaxxon.

 

 

We're talking 2600 here, not Colecovision.

[jbanes]

We're talking 2600 here, not Colecovision.

I'm not sure I follow your point. Zaxxon was a terrible, terrible port to the 2600. At least the Colecovision version maintained the 3/4 overhead view.