The Port/Remake That Blows The Original... (game edition)

[Vludi]

Gauntlet 4, Slap Fight and Snow Bros for the MD are really great ports, tons of extra content.

Also i agree with Chelnov for the MD, it's a big improvement in graphics and music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQjy1e4_93Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1I-RAeIV68

[copy-paster]

GTA V "Definitive" (PS4, Xbox One, PC).

It adds features that the previous version couldn't, yet I'm glad the PC version is the definitive.

[BIL]

I agree that Life Force is a tad bit better than Salamander, but the PCE Salamander is so much better than both it should be considered its own game. Such a vast improvement over the unpolished, rushed arcade games! Other console ports of arcade shmups I consider to be better/at least equal/great in a different way: Cotton (PCE CD), Darius II (MD), Dragon Saber (PCE HuCard), Detana!! TwinBee (PCE HuCard), Forgotten Worlds (PCE CD), Gradius (PCE HuCard, but also the Famicom version, really), Gradius II (PCE CD), Gradius III (SFC), Gyruss (Famicom Disk System/NES), Kyuukyoku Tiger (MD), Parodius Da! (SFC), Side Arms (PCE - HuCard).

A big chunk of my past year's shooter pickups right there. (Gyruss excepted, but only for lack of a NES!) PCE Salamander was my surprise killer HuCard app. I expected a typically sound Konami port, but it's such an upgrade it feels like it should've been included on the 32-bit Deluxe Pack.

I went on a limb with Gokujou Paro (SFC) and was glad for it, too. Enable revival start, crank the difficulty to max and select Dracula-kun - whoa, it's Axelay 2! Kinda... sorta! ;3 Hideo Ueda didn't go by the alias "Axelay" in Dracula X68k's staff roll for nothing, it seems.

There's a few I want to mention that might not blow the originals off the stage, per se, but are extremely competitive and well-done regardless.

Balloon Fight (FC) "Balloon Trip" mode is exclusive to the FC version. Since Balloon Trip is among the purest distillations of sidescrolling peril known to man, the earlier AC version does not trouble me.

Double Dragon II (FC) The most vicious brawling you'll ever see with two onscreen enemies max. Technical, violent, satisfying. Not to be confused with the much easier NES version.

Bionic Commando (GB) Greatly expanded remake of the classic FC entry. Grappling engine and stage designs are quantum leaps in respective finesse and peril.

Final Fight CD (MCD) Time Attack mode is pure arcade crack, even moreso with company.

The Ninja Warriors Again (SFC) Brings developed combo, guard and grapple mechanics to the single-plane brawler in a game that hit the subgenre so goddamn hard, I think it may have unfortunately killed it. Worth it, though. As with Famicom DDII above, not to be confused with the slightly hobbled SNES version (hamfistedly chops out a "too sexy" enemy and replaces it with more of another, hurting the crowd mixups).

[OmegaFlareX]

Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection on PSP. Substantial art upgrade, plus all the bonus content from the GBA port, plus After Years (if that's your thing) and an interlude to tie the two together. Worth getting a PSP for.

[Stevens]

Surprised no one has mentioned Ninja Gaiden yet. It may have started as a mediocre arcade beat em' up, but it turned into a damn fine platformer on the NES.

Also all this talk made me buy the Strider/Bionic Commando HG 101 book.

[Satan]

Playing Rez HD on a 50" TV with surround sound makes a little bit of cum fill the tip of my foreskin.

[Perikles]

I went on a limb with Gokujou Paro (SFC) and was glad for it, too. Enable revival start, crank the difficulty to max and select Dracula-kun - whoa, it's Axelay 2! Kinda... sorta! ;3 Hideo Ueda didn't go by the alias "Axelay" in Dracula X68k's staff roll for nothing, it seems.

Oh yes, Gokujou Parodius on the SFC is very similar to Gradius III on the same system: drastically toned down in difficulty and unfortunately plagued by slowdown (additionally, if you play with Dracula-kun: flicker!), but a highly enjoyable port regardless. Speaking of Parodius: the unmistakeably best way to play the first game which stemmed from the MSX is via the overhauled PSP version - I don't hold it in high regards in absolute terms, but it is better than the choppy mess of an original by several orders of magnitude. The 32-bit ports of Jikkyo(u) Oshaberi Parodius are also much better than the (still good!) SFC game: they got rid of the crippling slowdowns (which are massive in this one, Gradius III and Gokujou Parodius are nothing compared to it), reworked a lot of the stages/bosses (mainly the high speed stage), altered the extend scheme and the rank system (the 32-bit rendition is actually easier than the SFC game, but in a good way, particularly on high loops) and spruced the game up (including a beautiful CD soundtrack!). While I think that the SFC game is probably among the best 15 SFC shooters or so I would always add the 32-bit version in every top 10 of the best console-exclusive shooters, it's magnificent.

Battletoads & Double Dragon also came to mind. While I think that the original NES Battletoad only got worse on other platforms I prefer the SNES BT & DB over the other versions, both regarding the controls/gameplay and audio-visual presentation. Love that they used the greatest track in the game for the final stage here! Don't like the MD port much at all to be frank. And I hastily admit that this game is somewhat of a guilty pleasure in general, but I like Battletoads, dammit!

[BrianC]

Battletoads & Double Dragon also came to mind. While I think that the original NES Battletoad only got worse on other platforms I prefer the SNES BT & DB over the other versions, both regarding the controls/gameplay and audio-visual presentation. Love that they used the greatest track in the game for the final stage here! Don't like the MD port much at all to be frank. And I hastily admit that this game is somewhat of a guilty pleasure in general, but I like Battletoads, dammit!

As far as I know, the only port of the NES Battletoads Rare was involved with was Battletoads in Ragnarok's World for GB. Even that one turned out inferior due to trying too hard to keep the detail of the NES and removing a few levels. At least the first GB Battletoads was good, though Rare's track record with GB was fairly weak.

I haven't played much of the Genesis BT & Double Dragon, though Rare did that version themselves. One thing I do know about it is that it seems easier to get stuck on ladders than in other versions.

[Vludi]

Balloon Fight (FC) "Balloon Trip" mode is exclusive to the FC version. Since Balloon Trip is among the purest distillations of sidescrolling peril known to man, the earlier AC version does not trouble me.

Double Dragon II (FC) The most vicious brawling you'll ever see with two onscreen enemies max. Technical, violent, satisfying. Not to be confused with the much easier NES version.

Bionic Commando (GB) Greatly expanded remake of the classic FC entry. Grappling engine and stage designs are quantum leaps in respective finesse and peril.

Final Fight CD (MCD) Time Attack mode is pure arcade crack, even moreso with company.

The Ninja Warriors Again (SFC) Brings developed combo, guard and grapple mechanics to the single-plane brawler in a game that hit the subgenre so goddamn hard, I think it may have unfortunately killed it. Worth it, though. As with Famicom DDII above, not to be confused with the slightly hobbled SNES version (hamfistedly chops out a "too sexy" enemy and replaces it with more of another, hurting the crowd mixups).

Didn't know that DD2 FC was harder than the NES version, definitely will try it out. And yeah Ninja Warriors Again is awesome.
Fnal Fight CD is a good port indeed, although it has some flaws in the gameplay.

Surprised no one has mentioned Ninja Gaiden yet. It may have started as a mediocre arcade beat em' up, but it turned into a damn fine platformer on the NES.

Also all this talk made me buy the Strider/Bionic Commando HG 101 book.

I like NG arcade, compared to other beat 'em ups from the time it compares quite well. Tecmo Knight is cooler though

Battletoads & Double Dragon also came to mind. While I think that the original NES Battletoad only got worse on other platforms I prefer the SNES BT & DB over the other versions, both regarding the controls/gameplay and audio-visual presentation. Love that they used the greatest track in the game for the final stage here! Don't like the MD port much at all to be frank. And I hastily admit that this game is somewhat of a guilty pleasure in general, but I like Battletoads, dammit!

The SNES port was a bit buggy compared to the other versions iirc, here some random pastebin with details.
http://pastebin.com/BVgtj5BU
Presentation-wise it was pretty good, although it lacked some music and graphical features from the other versions (like changing the color of the stage in mid-level)

[BIL]

Didn't know that DD2 FC was harder than the NES version, definitely will try it out.

Strong recommend. One of my biggest and best import surprises.

Surprised no one has mentioned Ninja Gaiden yet. It may have started as a mediocre arcade beat em' up, but it turned into a damn fine platformer on the NES.

Also all this talk made me buy the Strider/Bionic Commando HG 101 book.

I like NG arcade, compared to other beat 'em ups from the time it compares quite well. Tecmo Knight is cooler though

I'm amazed system11 hasn't arrived to smite the non-arcade NG heresy. :p Big fan of the NES version here, though it's one of those home releases so radically different I don't consider it the same game. It's much more accurate to call it an unsanctioned Castlevania remake. :3

Tecmo Knight/Wild Fang's style gives me such a boner. Ultra violent beast war. Fn' brutal.





^ despair in pixels. Time to wreak bloody vengeance. (・｀W´・)

[Perikles]

The SNES port was a bit buggy compared to the other versions iirc, here some random pastebin with details.
http://pastebin.com/BVgtj5BU
Presentation-wise it was pretty good, although it lacked some music and graphical features from the other versions (like changing the color of the stage in mid-level)

A lot of those complaints are balderdash. I personally find the MD version to be very awkward, several of the boss/enemy/environmental patterns seem almost unavoidable. The boss in the third stage for example (I believe his name is Roper) has a more varied repertoire on the MD (he fires in short and long bursts instead of just using long bursts like he does in the SNES version), which is a good thing in theory, but he constantly sits in the right corner of the screen which makes attacking him extremely dangerous because of his counter. While I can climb out of the way of the darting flames in stage 5 without a sweat in the SNES version, I always lose lives there on the MD due to the hit detection. I cannot juggle ravens in stage 3 for the life of me on the MD, I have no problems getting a number of extends on the SNES counterpart on the other hand. MD version has also quite a few unfinished graphical assets: those turrets in stage 3 were originally attached to the ceiling, that's why they have vertical struts. In the MD version, they are affixed to the walls, yet they still come with the struts, uselessly sticking out. During the boss fights in stages 2 & 3 there is a logo prompting the player to "Fight!", all the letters are kept in a dreary black tone, though, denying all the excitement this could've brought.

[Vludi]

A lot of those complaints are balderdash. I personally find the MD version to be very awkward, several of the boss/enemy/environmental patterns seem almost unavoidable. The boss in the third stage for example (I believe his name is Roper) has a more varied repertoire on the MD (he fires in short and long bursts instead of just using long bursts like he does in the SNES version), which is a good thing in theory, but he constantly sits in the right corner of the screen which makes attacking him extremely dangerous because of his counter. While I can climb out of the way of the darting flames in stage 5 without a sweat in the SNES version, I always lose lives there on the MD due to the hit detection. I cannot juggle ravens in stage 3 for the life of me on the MD, I have no problems getting a number of extends on the SNES counterpart on the other hand. MD version has also quite a few unfinished graphical assets: those turrets in stage 3 were originally attached to the ceiling, that's why they have vertical struts. In the MD version, they are affixed to the walls, yet they still come with the struts, uselessly sticking out. During the boss fights in stages 2 & 3 there is a logo prompting the player to "Fight!", all the letters are kept in a dreary black tone, though, denying all the excitement this could've brought.

Honestly haven't played either in a while, but my main complain with the SNES version was that enemies evade your combo finisher a lot of the time, because the last hitstun wasn't well adjusted. Also when you smash objects/enemies on the floor or pick up items, sometimes you just hit/pick up the air and fail, some weird hitboxes there. Also the 1up in the beginning of 2-2 is unreachable in the SNES port if you smash the item from the left. Probably both ports have their own problems, after all they are just western beat 'em ups lol.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Tales of Destiny for the PS1. The original game had a very slow combat system because of spells stopping the action (something they eventually did away with in later games). The remake, Tales of Destiny R for the PS2 is arguably the best game in the entire series in terms of combat engine.

[BrianC]

Balloon Fight (FC) "Balloon Trip" mode is exclusive to the FC version. Since Balloon Trip is among the purest distillations of sidescrolling peril known to man, the earlier AC version does not trouble me.

Final Fight CD (MCD) Time Attack mode is pure arcade crack, even moreso with company.

As far as I know, the FC/NES version of Balloon Fight is identical. The NES version has Balloon Trip too. Good stuff, though. I like how Balloon Kid is based more on Balloon Trip, but also has the Balloon Trip mode.

Final Fight CD also has that awesome remixed soundtrack.

[iconoclast]

Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen & Pokemon SoulSilver/HeartGold. I have no idea why people would still play the originals, but some do.

[gameoverDude]

Time Crisis 2 (PS2): The improved graphics and the fact that you can get real link play at home. Sadly it's almost impossible now to enjoy this as originally intended, since Guncon 2 won't work with HDs or LCD FPs.

Dariusburst AC (PC): If you've got a large enough TV, you could put this on a bigger display than the arcade's dual monitors. Higher resolutions can also be selected. It's nice to have the dual monitor support, but what would be especially cool is a mirror-box setup like that found in the arcade cabinet. Someone has a video of Syder Arcade played on 3 monitors at 1600 x 1200 each.

Soul Calibur (DC): Not only blowing away the arcade version, but also Sega's own Virtua Fighter 3tb (which itself is good, but could have been arcade perfect if Genki were given a little more time to do it).

Brandish: The Dark Revenant (PSP): The smooth camera turning looks better than all other versions' 90 degree jumps. As for the SNES version- Mode 7 could have helped that one. Shame that the BTDR series only goes to part 1. I would've liked to see Planet Buster and the others on Vita.

Double Dragon 2 (PCE): Missing a couple enemies (Oharra and Jeff are gone) and the voice samples, but a bit faster paced than the arcade. Slowdown is generally absent.

[BrianC]

TMNT Arcade NES and TMNT Turtles in Time SNES are better balanced than the arcade and have some extra levels. NES TMNT AC's combat was simplified, but I still like it better than the arcade due to the better game play balance. Graphics and music are very impressive for NES too.

Mike Tyson's Punch Out/Punch Out NES is better than its arcade counterpart by offering a combination of elements from the arcade versions of Punch Out, Super Punch Out, and Arm Wrestling, and more balanced gameplay. Super Punch Out SNES improves further by bringing back the special punch system from the AC along with tells and counter punches that work more like the NES Punch Out.

[Necronopticous]

The Tactics Ogre remake blows... it's terrible compared to the original. Such a dissapointment.

I consider the Tactics Ogre remake to be above and beyond in every imaginable respect. I'm hard-pressed to think of any game remake I think did a better job, actually. I'm super curious as to what, specifically, you think is terrible about it? I have so many questions.

[apatheticTurd]

The PS3/Wii version of Blazing Angels is a massive improvement over the X360 version, which in turn was already an upgrade over the original Xbox/PC version.

-Two new missions.
-The presentation in the X360 versions was downright bad: Obnoxious voice actings, enemy pilots speak in English with terrible accents, Comic Sans for the subtitles, etc. The PS3 version has a rewritten script and rerecorded voice acting, enemy pilots speak their native language, and the mission briefings are now proper animations instead of the camera awkwardly circling a random landmark from the level.
-You can now select the plane you want to fly in the story mode. Not all planes are available for all missions, but the X360 version didn't even give you a choice.

[CFO]

Gunbird 2 for Dreamcast. Arcade perfect port (I believe) and the addition of Morrigan (!) and aine, as well as some omake.

[BIL]

^ Aine's already in the AC version, albeit as a hidden character. Morrigan was indeed DC exclusive though, ala Marion in Sengoku Blade for Saturn. (Aine's a hidden character in the arcade+Saturn versions of Blade, too!)

[EXEXEX]

Necro time.

Anyway my pick today are Gradius II PCE, very rad as rad as R-Type PCE with insane near-perfect arcade port, with new stages and intros. And Salamander PCE is way enjoyable then the arcade, Expert mode is a must play!

[D]

Sega Ages would be close based on threads i've read on here.

But honestly, its hard to blow the original away. The original version of anything always stays with you.

PS2 Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 30: Galaxy Force II: Special Extended Edition (Neo Classic version)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/segaages/segaages8.htm
scroll down a bit for the Galaxy Force article

[BrianC]

Sega Ages would be close based on threads i've read on here.

But honestly, its hard to blow the original away. The original version of anything always stays with you.

PS2 Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 30: Galaxy Force II: Special Extended Edition (Neo Classic version)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/segaages/segaages8.htm
scroll down a bit for the Galaxy Force article

Don't forget that Fantasy Zone II DX is on the same page (not to mention both were also remade as 3D Classics for 3DS).

[Harpuia]

Anyway my pick today are Gradius II PCE, very rad as rad as R-Type PCE with insane near-perfect arcade port, with new stages and intros. And Salamander PCE is way enjoyable then the arcade, Expert mode is a must play!

Gradius II on the PC-Engine really is a stunning port. Aside from the wonderful extra stage, there's a bunch of neat little adjustments like the crystals in stage 3 being easier to destroy, the normal shot (and I think the ripple?) having a faster ROF, the force field being harder to lose from getting too close to terrain, and probably more that I'm forgetting. I don't think it totally outclasses the original the same way Salamander does, but I way prefer it over the arcade.

Speaking of R-type, is there any reason to prefer the PC-Engine/TG16 port over the arcade original? I'm pretty sure there's no extra content and the resolution is slightly reduced which leads to a bit more vertical scrolling, but I've still seen people say that they like the port more.

[Strider77]

Outrun running at 60 frames on the Saturn...

[Leandro]

I guess FFIX port. But still some problems

[BrianC]

Outrun running at 60 frames on the Saturn...

and on the 3DS in 3D

[Drachenherz]

Metroid II remake is finally finished:

http://metroid2remake.blogspot.ch/?m=1

[ikaruga007]

Kiki Kaikai on SNES is quite an improvement of the arcade original. Love that game. No TATE though.