Retro Video Gamer

Is there a "worst conversions" thread?

Remember playing arcade games then buying the same for my home console/computer and feeling SO let down!

There is now! 

Quote from: "Big Phil"Remember playing arcade games then buying the same for my home console/computer and feeling SO let down!

I was a c64 owner when I first experienced a similar feeling of disappointment. Probably with Outrun or King Fu Master. Neither were the worst games I'd ever played, but my hopes were high and often unrealistic.  Still, there were numerous naughty publishers using screenshots of 16 bit versions of the same games on the backs of 8 bit cases to give the illusion of amazing graphics. Dubious practice indeed!

I think one of the worst offenders has to be this horror, Double Dragon on the Spectrum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOikNErJUN8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOikNErJUN8)

I have a couple and one should be no surprise.

Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 was a total let down for me because it didn't even try to look like the arcade.

Mr. Do! for the Atari 2600 because of that stupid green bar at the bottom of the screen taking out screen space that could have been part of the "dirt."  Compared to Dig Dug, it was just disappointing.

The one I'm thinking of is Jackal: -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackal_(video_game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackal_(video_game))

I purchased it for my Amstrad CPC464.....Dear Lord....

I was a big fan of the arcade game Renegade. I bought the NES version of it and boy was I let down.

(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSD9RgQVMZ1YVqyvtYMh162SCM_3Tn-1AzzP6dnmdvCe2DDK2_s)
                     NES

            (http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcStWkOYFvFmsj7eFBLDbFqzui5ZNupx_KQJrCTHrLc_eYM99UnCRQ)
                 Arcade
 

Pang on the C64.

Pang is actually a stunning conversion of the arcade game but my tiny young brain couldn't fathom that it wouldn't be as good. When I got it home I was utterly crushed.

Once over that I played it for hours. Amazing.

Here is another one for you all, this time its on the Amstrad CPC - Outrun. The game is so slow it would be quicker to get out and walk!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYGCti-t5co (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYGCti-t5co)

To be fair all the home computer versions are pretty bad. Actually I am also going to post the Amiga version too as that is equally as horrendous, this time the sound effects are the worst offender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gH4sQi29-s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gH4sQi29-s)

Here is one of the worst conversions ever on a home system:  Donkey Kong for the Intellivision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R115WkI9lI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R115WkI9lI)

Here's the arcade, not anyone here wouldn't know what that is like. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhFV5-qbbIw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhFV5-qbbIw)

Here is another one from the Spectrum library - Tengen's STUN Runner

Why oh why did they even attempt this on the humble Speccy? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKCY-_pRmi4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKCY-_pRmi4)

As a C64 owner, Hard Driving-like that was ever going to work on the C64.

Roadblasters-gutted with this one, i bought based on a C+VG preview and must have played all of 5 times, forget who did the conversion, but they needed an arse kicking, C64 was capable of better...

Chase HQ-After seeing the amazing Speccy conversion, hopes were high, then dashed to pieces.

They do look pretty bad! Especially Hard Drivin' that is a total joke! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEz4o5eq7k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEz4o5eq7k)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqLXXD0pVH0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqLXXD0pVH0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcTvuXsrpjE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcTvuXsrpjE)

Oh, hey, Mortal Kombat 3, how are you and your new GBA port doi --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJV9k0oo3Z8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJV9k0oo3Z8)

Oh... oh dear.

Quote from: "The Laird"They do look pretty bad! Especially Hard Drivin' that is a total joke! 

The really sad thing is that in fact all home versions of Hard Drivin' are a joke. The C64 one may be the worst, buteven on Lynx and Mega Drive you can count the frames while playing.^^

Quote from: "Bobinator"Oh, hey, Mortal Kombat 3, how are you and your new GBA port doi --

Oh... oh dear.

I can beat that, oh yeah...

With Mortal Kombat 3 on the Master System!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmDMwOBhdaM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmDMwOBhdaM)

It's kind of sad, really. Starting off with a respectable port of part 1 the developers managed to make it worse with each of the two subsequent games.

I just glanced at the title and thought it said "Worst conversations".

LOL! I was thinking the same thing. It must be getting late somewhere in the world.

Pit-Fighter got some terrible conversions to home consoles and computers.

Here is the arcade game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNwY_5gj1k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNwY_5gj1k)

Now please explain to me how these conversions are the same game? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1I82SmRgEo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1I82SmRgEo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmLy-S5KKCg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmLy-S5KKCg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2AD2t31yk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2AD2t31yk)

If you squint really hard it looks like Pitfall. I mean Pit-Fighter.

Another worthy contender, Road Riot on the SNES:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5KbgyQIELg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5KbgyQIELg)

Here is the original arcade version so you can compare it properly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpY_MLlbtWY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpY_MLlbtWY)

I wonder what is their excuse for this.  It's not as if the SNES couldn't do a proper port of the arcade.

Quote from: "TrekMD"I wonder what is their excuse for this.  It's not as if the SNES couldn't do a proper port of the arcade.

Shit programmers, THQ did it IIRC and their 16-bit games were well known for being utterly terrible.

Just look at how good the Lynx version is of this game.

The first attempt at Defender on the 2600 was a big disappointment for me. The above average flickering was annoying but almost forgivable - it was the fact that when you fired your spaceship disappeared....the game code must use the same hardware sprite for the ship and the gunfire - heartbreaking.....

However I played it a fair old bit - clocked the score (999,999) and clocked the wave counter too (99) so it couldn't have been that bad!!  Play wise it was quite good but I couldn't play it now.

Defender 2 blows it away and Chopper Command by Activision is a decent alternative

Some great comparisons. Keep them coming 

Here is the most extreme one I have ever seen! Space Harrier got some bad conversions but this one for the Sharp MZ-700 takes the biscuit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-4Zu0DN2g (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-4Zu0DN2g)

To be fair, given the MZ-700's weak capabilities (//http) this was probably more an exercise in trying to create something that was even vaguely recognisable as Space Harrier than something anyone would genuinely play for fun.

Quote from: "The Laird"Here is the most extreme one I have ever seen! Space Harrier got some bad conversions but this one for the Sharp MZ-700 takes the biscuit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-4Zu0DN2g (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs-4Zu0DN2g)

This is honestly interesting, if only as an experiment to see how much you can break down a game and still have it look vaguely like the original title.

I'm an Atari ST fan and always have been so I've been on the receiving end of more than my fair share of bad conversions.

The ones that spring to mind right now are Street Fighter 2 (I'd played it on the arcade and SNES by this point, was so excited that it was coming to the ST, I even upgraded to 1MB of RAM to play it. It wasn't too bad if you like muddy visuals that move at about 2fps and a stunted move set completely inaccessible due to unresponsive controls) and ESWAT (I thought this game was awesome on my friend's Megadrive, but I don't think the ST was built for this kind of thing :D

Although it's by no means a terrible game, I've always hated the Speccy version of Nemesis. They managed to suck all the playability out of the game.

Actually Konami did a pretty lousy job of converting all their games to the Spectrum - Jackal and Jailbreak were pretty pants too. Should have left it to Imagine.

Have to post this horrendous mess too:

Kung Fu Master on the Spectrum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7qQO43SDN0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7qQO43SDN0)

Arcade version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgO4HtWIJjQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgO4HtWIJjQ)

As a C64 owner, my how i suffered at times.

Stun Runner-Never should have been attempted.

Street Fighter-as above, 2 versions USA+UK, both awful.

Enduro Racer.

And IF we can mention 16 Bit to 8 Bit conversions:

Carrier Command:Top down 2D on C64

I just thought of another great one! Check out Altered Beast on the NES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VwmcQw9NRI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VwmcQw9NRI)

Arcade version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqHpyHR1P0I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqHpyHR1P0I)

Wow, I've never played the NES version of Altered Beast and by the looks of it I'm not missing much! I realize the arcade game is much more advanced then the NES but they still should have been able to do better then that!

Quote from: "Shadowrunner"Wow, I've never played the NES version of Altered Beast and by the looks of it I'm not missing much! I realize the arcade game is much more advanced then the NES but they still should have been able to do better then that!

Yeah it's really bad, especially when you also compare it to the Sega Master System version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv0_qMA4Cj8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv0_qMA4Cj8)

Scores awarded to home micro conversions of Hard Drivin by C+VG:

CPC 72%
ST 77%
C64 49%
Speccy 70%
Amiga 79%

UPDATE:

C+VG Scores for Stun Runner:

Speccy Overal 24%
C64 Overall 20%
Amiga Overall 38%

As for MD Hard Drivin:


Graphics 81%
Sound 49%
Value 29%
Playability 60%
Overall 52%

Richard Leadbetter reviews it saying it's the AMIGA version, not Arcade version that's been converted, suffers same bugs, but far worse sound.

Got to mention the port of Street Fighter 2 for the Amiga.  Apart from coming on a million disks(well, okay 4!) and not being HD installable(it might have been a nice option, it had several problems with it.  Washed out colours - thanks to using just the 32 colours option - maybe using Extra Half Brite mode might have made it better.  Animation was weird and slightly jerky.  What the hell happened to the music as well?  Tinny and awful!  Then there is the small matter of the control method - okay, using a one buttoned system is perhaps not as bad as it was made out to be, but it still sometimes required a lot of guesswork for the special moves!  It would have been nice to have a two buttoned option as well. 

I accept that SF2 was always going to push the original Amiga some what, but I do think that sometimes US Gold didn't put enough effort into their conversions.  Even Final Fight on the Amiga - whilst flawed - is a much better implementation that was on show from SF2.

Take a look for yourself :- 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qvF6fVTzZ0 (//http)

It could be a lot lot worse Katz!!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0YVz9MaHGM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0YVz9MaHGM)

I was devastated when I played outrun on my CPC, dreadful attempt. I was really disappointed with nemesis too, especially the twin mountains on level one. In the arcade version they spat out rocks, in the CPC version they spat out peas which moved slower than slugs.

Quote from: "Crusto"I was devastated when I played outrun on my CPC, dreadful attempt. I was really disappointed with nemesis too, especially the twin mountains on level one. In the arcade version they spat out rocks, in the CPC version they spat out peas which moved slower than slugs.

We already looked at OutRun so I guess we better look at Nemesis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvbxey_OBJQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvbxey_OBJQ)]

It doesn't look that bad, very empty at times though.

Sure, it could have been worse. I just loved the original too much to accept playing anything different, I was gutted how vic viper didn't animate either. C64 version looks far superior iirc.

I was really disappointed with double dragon too (SMS).nothing particularly wrong with it, just too far removed from the original.

Quote from: "Crusto"Sure, it could have been worse. I just loved the original too much to accept playing anything different, I was gutted how vic viper didn't animate either. C64 version looks far superior iirc.

I was really disappointed with double dragon too (SMS).nothing particularly wrong with it, just too far removed from the original.

SMS Double Dragon is a flicker fest which makes it near unplayable, still better than the NES version though!

Was'nt sure where best to put this, but PSWs review of Midway Arcade Treasures:Vol III (PS2), talks of Stun Runner as being one of the ugliest games ever created and there being better looking games on the ZX Spectrum when it was doing the rounds in the arcades. Bang out of order and yet more proof of how poor Retro comps were often treated by the more lads mags type UK games press.

This blocky mess of crapness on the Sega Saturn, there really no excuse for this horror with such powerful hardware:

T-8107H-50 - Revolution X - Music is the Weapon EUR Saturn (//http)

To make it worse this game isn't even light gun compatible 

So, the reason this looks like it does has nothing to do with the resolution of the video.  That's what image quality is like for the game?

Quote from: "TrekMD"So, the reason this looks like it does has nothing to do with the resolution of the video.  That's what image quality is like for the game?

Yes, it really is that bad! 

Quote from: "The Laird"

Quote from: "TrekMD"So, the reason this looks like it does has nothing to do with the resolution of the video.  That's what image quality is like for the game?

Yes, it really is that bad!  :29:

All I can say to this is why?

Virtua Fighter 2 [Mega Drive] [Longplay] (//http)

The foreground looks a little mode 7 esque if you ask me. Could be that im pissed though.

Quote from: "Crusto"The foreground looks a little mode 7 esque if you ask me. Could be that im pissed though.

It's am impressive looking game but its not VF2 if it's not 3D!