Let's Compare: Black Tiger

[TL]

Seen as it has just been released on XBLA here is the versions of Capcom's Black Tiger for the retro machines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COxxjG4wYzU

[TrekMD]

Only a few home versions of this game.  The ST and Amiga versions are the best from the lot. 

[TL]

I find it bizarre that the ST and Amiga versions have no in-game music though, yet the Amstrad version does! 

[onthinice]

I am shocked it was never ported to the Super Nintendo or Mega Drive.

[TL]

I am shocked it was never ported to the Super Nintendo or Mega Drive.

So I am I but even more so I was shocked there isn't a PC Engine version as the sequel Tiger Road is available on that and it looks like a perfect fit.

Must be one of the few Capcom games to not a get console port back in the day.

[onthinice]

I forgot about Tiger Road. Sometimes it is easy to forget that Capcom made other games. Not just Street Fighter II and its sequels.

[TL]

Review of the ST and Amiga versions from The One:

[Rogue Trooper]

Known as Black Dragon in Japan i believe.


NES port was planned (would have been cut down version?), but game canned.Beta versions said to exist (collectors items now though).

[TL]

NES port was planned (would have been cut down version?), but game canned. Beta versions said to exist (collectors items now though).

I found this 1 screenshot of it!

[Greyfox]

Yeah..black tiger / Black Dragon, was a cracking game, and is included in my Coin-op Guide book, but yes, it was very strange that there was no music in the ST or Amiga version, with what the Amiga version being a direct port from the ST anyways, and then reading that review in turn pissed me of with the mention that they could of done an Amiga exclusive version, but would of involved re-drawing the sprites in 32 colours? Pure laziness..yet most of the time the ST ports to the Amiga where £24.99 anyways, sounds like a rip to me?..but my memories are of the Amiga version, but kudos to the ST Version for producing such a fine arcade conversion all round to port from.

I actually thought this was total deserving of a 16-bit console release and a travesty there was no PC Engine  or Mega-drive or Snes port? very strange, Capcom can be out to lunch sometimes on stuff like this, maybe the game was they felt too old to do a port across to?, lets make home computers versions with limited hardware, and skip the next gen machines (Snes, Mega-Drive, Turbo Grafix)  at the time..they certainly dropped the ball on that one.. but today convert everything over to make a quick buck!

[Rogue Trooper]

Details taken from Capcom Countdown Feature from TGM:

Nov'97 London, US Gold offspring, only 3-months old, signs licence deal (costing GO! £1.2 Million) for 10 of Capcom's latest arcade games, contract states Capcom would develop C64/128 conversions of thier arcade games for the states and GO! could produce any further conversions it so wished.

GO! Imported the 1st 2 the USA had, Sidearms and Gunsmoke, but were not impressed (Gunsmoke not even getting released here, so article claims).


GO! gets new Project Manager, David Baxter, he enforces option to develop British Conversions in Parallel with Capcom's US games, 1st being Bionic Commando by Software Creations, he talks of how the UK brief for converting Street Fighter, was too make it as close to the arcade as possible, so large sprites, scrolling backdrops, where as US team went for static backgrounds and smaller sprites.

But after seeing likes of :Section Z get converted, along with LED Storm, Last Duel, Side Arms, Gunsmoke, Streetfighter etc, very odd not to see Black Tiger appear to get same degree of focus.

NES screen shot looks alright to be honest.

[Shadowrunner]

I'd never even heard of this game until it showed up on XBLA and PSN. Capcom gave the game away for free so I tried it a while ago, pretty cool game and of course you can't beat the price 

[Greyfox]

@RT
very informative stuff mate, I love to read the politics of these games back in the day, when like allot of people , where more or less only interested in the wonderful artwork advertisements that ran in magazines of the time to loading it up on your computers to discover than it was either a great arcade port or complete shite!

Kudos mate..kudos 

[Rogue Trooper]

Cheers bud, i was suckered into buying C64 Roadblasters on strength of a C+VG Preview, so since then kinda set out to find why games turned out the way they did.

Hence i guess why i'm so drawn to looking back through mags and love the fantastic interviews with folks this very site manages to seemingly pull out of thin air.

[Rogue Trooper]

Later issue of TGM, feature-Capcom:A Captive Audience, talked of how 'various difficulties with the programming placement of the project' meant home micro ports of Black Tiger had slipped way past the original release date and still awaited release despite coin-op being nearly 2 years old at the time.

US Gold saw way around such issues blighting future conversions by giving games to convert to 3 different teams:

Tiertex to do the Speccy+CPC versions.
Graham Lilley (ST+Amiga)
Softworx the C64 versions.