Battle of the Ports

[Yakumo]

Battle Of The Ports - Golden Axe is now up on the official site for streaming and extra high quality download at 720p 30fps and 720p 60fps. - http://www.segagagadomain.com/botp/botp-menu1.htm

[Leon Retro]

I think a lot of dedicated gamers back in the day - despite being kids - could tell a good game from a bad game. Altered Beast on the Mega Drive was a game that I and many others, as kids, didn't think was very good. Much like Last Battle. On the other hand, I thought Golden Axe was a really nice conversion, as did my friends and people I knew.

All the talk about kids not having a clue about quality, is the same BS that says kids only like really cute licensed games. As a kid, me and my friends loved horror games and games with a dark edge to them. I didn't ever have much interest in Disney type of games aimed at little kiddies. I don't think many kids did but, of course, parents will always buy kids simple cutesy licensed games that are often crap quality. Of course, there are tons of great cute games, but I'm talking about the ones aimed at little kids with no regard for quality. It's easy to look back and see that kids often chose games that were well-designed and edgy, rather than sugar-coated fluff.

When it comes to arcade conversions, of course.. the X68000 managed amazing ports, because it was a highly expensive machine with perfect hardware for running the top arcade games of the day. The PC-Engine, SNES and Mega Drive can't be judged against it - as that wouldn't be a fair at all. I wouldn't even bother comparing the X68000 ports to what consoles achieved, as it's pointless.

[Yakumo]

Battle of the Ports - Out Run is now up on You Tube.

The 60fps version will be added to the official site within 2 weeks.

[samanosuke]

My memory did serve me correctly --- I always thought the PCE version to be the best and it certainly looks it from this if you exclude the later versions (Saturn etc).

Most disappointing were the MD and Amiga versions as these could have been so much better IMO, at least comparable to the PCE if not closer to the arcade still. This is especially applicable in the case of the Amiga when you look at what Gremlin did with Lotus 2 or Core with Jaguar XJ220.

Most downright sh!te version has to go to the CPC. That one looks turd.

[SUMIRE]

That got me thinking, we need the 3ds version now.

So, what is the closest to the arcade do we think from that lot?

[nakamura]

Do you know how large UMK3 was? I remember it coming out tail-end of Genesis' life for $99.99 (CAD) when by then the console basic set was the same price. Also VR but I know that had the SVP.

32 mb going by the 4MB unzipped rom.

[Nu-Eclipse]

So, what is the closest to the arcade do we think from that lot?

Better not ask that question - it might involve comparison on a thread about a YouTube series called Battle of the Ports!

[Yakumo]

I think the best home version of a classic looking Out Run has got to be the Saturn hands down. It's got a 60fps mode, arranged soundtrack if you're in to that (Not the EU or US version) and looks like the arcade apart from the car. But I also really like the PS2 version

The worst to play are the Amstrad CPC and the Amiga versions. Both of those are total ****e.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I think the best home version of a classic looking Out Run has got to be the Saturn hands down. It's got a 60fps mode, arranged soundtrack if you're in to that (Not the EU or US version) and looks like the arcade apart from the car. But I also really like the PS2 version

Would pretty much agree with this.

I do have a soft spot for PCE OutRun though - played it a lot back in the day. Completely shows up the MD version for the underwhelming port that it is.

That got me thinking, we need the 3ds version now.

Is correct.

['Press Start']

The worst to play are the Amstrad CPC and the Amiga versions. Both of those are total ****e.

YAY! Go Amiga! Yes I had the worst version again.

[sj33]

Surprised you liked the Sega Ages 2500 version, as it's pretty much universally regarded as rubbish (as are all of the Sega Ages 2500 games until Volume 14). It's rather tacky in my opinion!

The Saturn or Dreamcast versions are the way so go, especially the former. I'm not really so bothered about the fake Ferrari, but I can see it being a big deal for car enthusiasts!

It's worth remembering that while the Master System and PC Engine are both 8-bit machines, that's all they have in common. In fact, the PC Engine demonstrated how the amount of 'bits' a machine has was a bit of a distraction that had little to do with the capabilities of the console. The PC Engine was released over half a decade after the first Master System-based machines started to appear. The PC Engine is more comparable with the MegaDrive than the Master System.

[Baseley09]

Nothing wrong with Megadrive Outrun imo, plays a decent game and doesn't look too bad. Nice yellow box to boot!

It's true bits never meant anything, look at the disparity between CD32 and Playstation, both 32bit systems. It's all about the graphics hardware.

[Team Andromeda]

Nothing wrong with Megadrive Outrun imo, plays a decent game and doesn't look too bad. Nice yellow box to boot!

I'm sorry I found the Mega Drive version to be utter pants myself and far too easy . SEGA Japan should have done a lot better on their own machine and need a good kicking for not porting it to the Mega CD as well .

It's true bits never meant anything, look at the disparity between CD32 and Playstation, both 32bit systems

I think it made a difference but with the Amiga CD32 it never had support from the major developers in Japan and really used the hardware - Most games were just simple 16 bit Amiga ports

[Nu-Eclipse]

Nothing wrong with Megadrive Outrun imo, plays a decent game and doesn't look too bad. Nice yellow box to boot!

It doesn't play anything like the coin-op though! PCE version feels closer in gameplay terms.

[Yakumo]

Battle of the Ports - Galaxy Force II

The offcial site version of the OutRun video will be up tomorrow.