Home versions you still play despite the obvious.....

[Baseley09]

.......the obvious being emulators & retro game packs.

Been thinking about picking up a few Megadrive titles at the moment, bought this subject to my attention.....

The sort of games I go for generally being conversions oe arcade action style games, I quandered why get the cut down home versions when I can play the emulated originals or complilation versions.....Thunderfox was the spur, I don't recall ever playing it, Megadrive or arcade.

Did they ever fix the sega hardware in MAME? Super Hang On is one I frequent on MD, it was fine when I first used mame but it, and Outrun in mame i remmeber went bad for some time. The tunes are good versions on MD, and besides the home version was desgined for pad use rather than shoehorned onto a mame pad, cant exactly use a handlebars controller in doors ehhe, havnt played the Sega Works version but hey.....its fine on Megadrive.

etc.......

[Kubrick]

Plenty. Inferior ports are awesome I personally really like checking them out since a lot of that stuff passed me by from the late '80s and early '90s, especially the 8bit stuff, so I'm always interested to see how well they were converted.

Super Hang-On like you've mentioned is a good example. The Shenmue/Yu Suzuki Gameworks version is just bog-standard Hang-On, not Super, so +1 for the MD game regardless of quality.

Street Fighter II, Golden Axe, Ghouls n' Ghosts, Strider, Rainbow Islands, Final Fight, Gradius, New Zealand Story, and many others are all perfectly good conversions on 8/16bit machines. For me, it's definitely more nostalgic to play these than some rom in a compilation/emulator. (although it is cool to have the option of the "perfect" version too).

I'd say the SNES version of Gradius III is actually superior to the original since the bastard-like difficulty is toned down, making it more playable, and I'm sure there's others like that.
Plus there's the fact that many of the ports are sometimes not exactly like the Arcade and often have different levels etc - The Gradius games on the FC/NES, Super R-Type etc...making them genuinely different experiences.

[Baseley09]

Ahh that right about Hang On, i'd have never known.......I play the Amiga SHO too, neat midi tunes.

New experiences is a goo point, your right some "home" games are quite re-arranged.......im sure most here are familiar with New Zealand Story on Megadrive being a fine example.

I gues if you played a home conversion in the day you are prone to go back to that version.

[sj33]

Saturn Sega Rally over the new PS2 port. But then, they did tighten the handling up in the Saturn game.

[Combination]

I rarely opt for ports but the aforementioned Gradius III is just a bitch. Unless of course your name is tviks and you can clock the game using only speed ups...

[Leon Retro]

I mostly stick to mame etc... but there are a few, that for whatever reason I prefer on a console.

1. Parodius: I just like it running on the snes, it just feels better. This could be down to me first playing the game on the snes and nostalgia, which probably has something to do with it!

2. Super Hang On: The Amiga version seems more fun for some reason, and the tunes are fantastic!

3. SSF2T: The ntsc 3DO version seems better imo. I know it lacks certain details, but I like the way things look and feel, plus the music is brilliant!

4. Final Fight: I wouldn't say it's better than the arcade, but I still like playing the snes japanese version!

5. Buggy Boy: Seeing I never get to play the arcade machine, or even emulate it, I think the Amiga version is a great game, and very very fun!


There are probably a few more, but I can't think of any right now!

[eastyy]

I have emulated stuff of most neo games Still i prefer the proper experience just does not feel right on a PC

Same with n64 stuff however for that emulation is not perfect and without the n64 joypad its very very hard to play some games

[Sketcz]

I find in some cases where I've played the home version first, going to arcade version is impossible. Just because I don't like it's "fuller" version.

Couple of examples:
Contra/Gryzor - The arcade version looks hideous compared to the FC version. Too many colours in places, and the flesh tones are off. Definately prefer the home game on the FC, visually it looks very nice.

Front Line - Whether it's on MAME, or the Taito arcade pack, I still prefer the home port to FC. They got rid of the mines, and the bloody fiddly controls. The tanks are also easier to control, though the little ones are now useless. It just feels more streamlined, especially since you don't have to manually aim in a seperate direction.

Just personal taste really. Might think differently if I'd played the arcade versions first.

[Kaladron]

I can't stand emulators. I use them for research purposes but would much rather play on the original console/computer/coin-op. I just don't beleive you're getting the true experience unless you play it exactly the same way it was intended.

[Klatrymadon]

Contra/Gryzor - The arcade version looks hideous compared to the FC version. Too many colours in places, and the flesh tones are off. Definately prefer the home game on the FC, visually it looks very nice.

Damn straight. I actually don't think anybody in the world disagrees with that, though.

Probotector II/Super C is better than the arcade effort, too. Another couple of Konami home conversions I prefer are the Salamander ones. The NES and MSX titles have both aged far better and feel more natural to control than the arcade one.

Like Kaladron, though, I play everything on its original machine, where possible. I find that emulators make 2D games look a bit cardboardy. I'm not sure what it is - maybe the layers of graphics don't blend together quite as well on the PC monitor - but it certainly isn't preferable.

[Mayhem]

5. Buggy Boy: Seeing I never get to play the arcade machine, or even emulate it, I think the Amiga version is a great game, and very very fun!

The C64 is even better imo. Still as said, it's a pity that has never been emulated. I recall playing it a few times one summer down on the coast just before the conversions came out the following Xmas...

[112]

i remember always wanting to plays TMNT on the arcade, but not getting very far. It has never really been released on anything else other than mame. The closest thing to it is probably TMNT - Turtles in Time on the snes, which i prefer so much more even to this day.

I still prefer the Saturn Daytona to every other incarnation bar the Arcade of course. The DC remake and the Saturn sequel jus didnt have the magic imho.

112

[Team Andromeda]

I agree about Saturn Daytona and Rally. AM#2 port had all the AI from the Arcades and that made all the diff with Daytona USA

Still play most of my Neo Geo CD and Mega CD stuff becasue they thend to sound better and some of the emu have sound files missing ect onthe Mega CD stuff . I still play a lot of MD games too if nothing esle thanks to that amazing 6 button pad Also still use the Powerbase to play my 3D and gun Master System games .

The 3D games onthe MS still to this day hold up

[Nu-Eclipse]

Super Pang (SNES/SFC) - Fine but flawed conversion of a fine and underrated coin-op

Parodius (PCE) - As close as you're going to get to the coin-op for me.

Raiden (PCE) - Again, as close as you'll get to the coin-op imo, even though 2P co-op is absent. Music is arguably better on this version than the coin-op

R-Type (PCE) - Need I say any more?

i remember always wanting to plays TMNT on the arcade, but not getting very far. It has never really been released on anything else other than mame. The closest thing to it is probably TMNT - Turtles in Time on the snes, which i prefer so much more even to this day.

I could have sworn that TMNT: Turtles In Time was originally a coin-op - the sequel to TMNT: The Arcade Game unless I'm severly mistaken, which would make the classic SNES/SFC version a port...?

[Mayhem]

Turtles in Time was an arcade, but the SNES version doesn't share that many similarities with it afaik apart from the time shifting concept.