Home ports that were better than their Arcade counterparts

[AntiFritz]

I never actually tried the arrange modes for any of the Cave ports, and I own every region free disc they released! What arrange modes would you guys recommend trying?

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu Black Label Arrange Mode, or Ketsui Pachi as it's sometimes known. My own personal favourite of any of the modes on any of the 360 Cave releases, arrange or standard.
Not exactly the hardest of them (Except the TLB) but it's great fun!

Only available on the japanese retail dfk black label release though. So Cave Hermit presumably doesn't have it if he says he has all the region free games.

[antron]

Gradius IV for PS2 can be forced to run at high resolution. The PCB only supports mid. (although I've never had a chance to directly compare them, nor do I know much about the port accuracy)

Also concerning ports in general, those of us with kids really appreciate a pause button.

[Special World]

I never actually tried the arrange modes for any of the Cave ports, and I own every region free disc they released! What arrange modes would you guys recommend trying?

Pink Sweets Arrange is probably the best one, and Espgaluda 2 Black Label is pretty cool. I also think DFK Arrange A is better than the main game, although I'm still not huge on it. Mushi v1.5 is good as well.

[eatdogs]

Uh hello, U.N. Squadron people. Good golly almighty who could forget that awesome port? It's way better than the arcade version.

[cave hermit]

Only available on the japanese retail dfk black label release though. So Cave Hermit presumably doesn't have it if he says he has all the region free games.

Yeah, as a college freshmen I don't really have the money to import consoles unfortunately; I'm just lucky that I could get the region free discs sealed for $30-40. I guess I'll give Pink Sweets arrange a spin sometime.

[KAI]

PS arrange is not as good as people say. Sure it's fun, but it's also terribly easy.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

I never actually tried the arrange modes for any of the Cave ports, and I own every region free disc they released! What arrange modes would you guys recommend trying?

Pink Sweets Arrange is probably the best one, and Espgaluda 2 Black Label is pretty cool. I also think DFK Arrange A is better than the main game, although I'm still not huge on it. Mushi v1.5 is good as well.

Mushi 1.5 can't possibly be better than the pcb. Maybe you are thinking there was no 1.5 pcb.

I don't see how any Cave ports could be better if they add input lag but to each his own opinion. Definitely better graphics in some cases like Katana and Deathsmiles II but where they actually redid half the graphics like Espgaluda II, the mix of high and low res at once looks like shit. The ports have better sound though.

[professor ganson]

I'd say M2's Fantasy Zone Complete Collection (NTSCJ PS2) would count as well, going by sheer content and loving presentation. There's enough Fantasy Zone on that disc to last a goddamn lifetime, including the arcade original and a genuine System 16 sequel developed expressly for the comp, plus the excellent Super Fantasy Zone (MD) and a ton of other home stuff. And it's all fully display/control customisable. Absolute geek pornography - 4 CHEAP too.

So true. And the ability to play Fantasy Zone with auto-fire is a really different experience, which I rather enjoy.

In general, I really like having controller options. For example, in later Psikyo there get to be a few too many buttons, so I like to map the proximal shot to a shoulder button, which helps keep things straight. Also, very satisfying to snap the proximal shot out with the shoulder button!

[Special World]

I never actually tried the arrange modes for any of the Cave ports, and I own every region free disc they released! What arrange modes would you guys recommend trying?

Pink Sweets Arrange is probably the best one, and Espgaluda 2 Black Label is pretty cool. I also think DFK Arrange A is better than the main game, although I'm still not huge on it. Mushi v1.5 is good as well.

Mushi 1.5 can't possibly be better than the pcb. Maybe you are thinking there was no 1.5 pcb.

I don't see how any Cave ports could be better if they add input lag but to each his own opinion. Definitely better graphics in some cases like Katana and Deathsmiles II but where they actually redid half the graphics like Espgaluda II, the mix of high and low res at once looks like shit. The ports have better sound though.

He was asking which arrange modes were good. I wasn't comparing them to the PCBs, just saying which alternate modes were worth trying out. Though I guess he wouldn't have Mushi 1.5 anyways.

[Muchi Muchi Spork]

Was there an arrange mode on the Mushi port? There were already 6 modes on the pcb. I thought on the port they just included the 6 plus the original 3. Maybe there was an arrange on the PS2 port and they included that on the Xbox port. I was thinking all they added was a worthless practice mode but maybe I'm not remembering correctly. It can't be better than Maniac Max can it?

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Mushi 1 Arrange is pretty much Maniac Mode but with the True Last Boss, though with easier patterns. There is autobomb(1 bomb used on PS2, all bombs on 360). There's some differences in scoring between the 2 versions of the arrange also.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Doesn't Battle Garegga PCB have more input lag than the Saturn port?
Psyvariar Medium Unit, Revision and 2 all have a roll button on PS2 (technically a cheat device, but makes them playable with gamepad).
What I'd like to read about is not extra content, but 8-bit console shmups that audiovisually couldn't have competed against arcade games of their time, but you for whatever reson like them better as console games. There must be some. Star Force? Reportedly the US version is a different port from the FC game (later on ported to/remade for SFC by Hudson Soft).

[Jeneki]

What is the best version of Air Buster/Aero Blasters? The Arcade, Mega Drive or PCE one?

I have all three, and I have to say the PCE version is my favorite. Controls: The 2-button control scheme is very nice and separates shot from the buster attack, with built in autofire so you don't have to mash constantly to shoot (I suggest not using the PCE turbo switches, as the game seems coded to give you a worse fire rate with turbo on). Sound and Music: The remixed sound effects and music are very noticeable, especially stage 2 which is an eargasm of awesome. Level Design: There are many stage changes which you'll notice if you play them back to back, especially stage 4 zero gravity which is a bit more fair, and the wicked stage 6 up/down scrolling section. Some parts are easier and some are harder, so I suppose these changes are up to taste.

The Mega Drive version is more accurate to the arcade though, if that's what someone is looking for. Also it has larger sprites in some areas. Out of curiosity, is the MD version decompressing graphics between the stages during the mini cutscene? I always wondered what that long pause was for.

[Despatche]

this thread NEEDS to stress the difference between "conversion" (can't match the hardware) and "port" ("arcade perfect"), it's just not possible to have a discussion otherwise.

From what I could see so far, like 90% of the original arcade shmups are superior than their home versions. But sometimes the opposite happens: The home ports ends up better than the arcade originals. I can't name many examples due to my limited knowledge, but I remember reading somewhere that the PC Engine versions of Gradius II and Salamander are better than the Arcade ones.

Can you guys name other examples?

the pce salamander is technically slightly better than the arcade version (an already horrific game), but the pcecd gradius ii doesn't really benefit a whole lot with the smaller screen. the extra stage is cool i guess.

Hyper Duel's Saturn mode is superior to the PCB in both presentation and mechanics, and the disc includes an excellent port of the arcade version too.

hyper duel arranges are boring, like nearly everything of his beyond hyper duel pcb. he's really good with fm or something idk

I heard hellfire Genesis is better than arcade once upon time on these very forums.

I've got the Genesis port, but never played the arcade.

arcade weapon switching is strange though that may be an emulation issue. the bomb may be a negative; you never really need to use it, but n00bsl0lxd can spam it

better music though. same!x3 port has better music too

I remember reading an interview with the devs from gradius 3 saying they felt the console port was more solid than the arcade version.

if they meant sfc, they'd be right. if sfc had no slowdown it'd be one of the best post-g1 entries in the series, and if they had waited just a bit longer to figure the machine out we might have gotten it

Uh hello, U.N. Squadron people. Good golly almighty who could forget that awesome port? It's way better than the arcade version.

area 88 sfc sucks all the soul out of that game. also u.s. navy