20 Great Arcade Games with Terrible Console Ports
Porting a game should be simple, in theory. You’ve got the actual game already made, and all you need to do is convert to different hardware. Well, there are actually a ton of factors that developers need to face when transferring titles to new homes. Namely programming architecture, a means of delivery, button mapping, and that’s before you consider all the added features that often get included when releases shift camps. Yet sometimes developers drop the ball so hard that they become legendary, and that’s what we’re here to look at today
In this video I explore in depth the history of arcades, looking for the best arcade games that have had the worst domestic conversions
In this video you will find:
• A side-by-side comparison of the worst console ports ever performed
• Specific clips of the same arcade scenes and their corresponding console version (in order to compare graphics, sound and gameplay)
• Information related to each game such as release date, developer company, game genre and system it was released on.
• Official game box arts with a 3D presentation.
• Educative and/or critical comments on the importance of the video game and why you should play it
Intro and Outro Music
Aries Beats “Synthwave Dreams 2020” is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license …
Source:
0:00 Intro
0:15 Street Fighter II (Arcade vs Game Boy)
0:45 Golden Axe (Arcade vs PC Engine CD)
1:15 Primal Rage (Arcade vs Sega Genesis)
1:45 Cruis’n USA (Arcade vs N64)
2:15 Strider (Arcade vs Master System)
2:45 Pit-Fighter (Arcade vs SNES)
3:15 Altered Beast (Arcade vs NES)
3:45 Double Dragon (Arcade vs NES)
4:15 Time Killers (Arcade vs Sega Genesis)
4:45 Rampage (Arcade vs Atari 7800)
5:15 Sunset Riders (Arcade vs Sega Genesis)
5:45 Ikari Warriors 2 (Arcade vs NES)
6:15 X-Men vs Street Fighter (Arcade vs Playstation)
6:45 Pac-Man (Arcade vs Atari 2600)
7:15 Dragon’s Lair (Arcade vs NES)
7:45 Final Fight (Arcade vs SNES)
8:15 Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade vs Sega Genesis)
8:44 Athena (Arcade vs NES)
9:14 Captain America and The Avengers (Arcade vs SNES)
9:45 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade vs Game Boy Advance)
10:14 Outro
⚠️ All gameplay recording, game curation and opinions included in this video, as well as editing is completely done by me
Bits & Beats creates videos about the history of video games. In this channel you’ll find comparisons, retrospectives, technical analysis, but, mostly, game curations with the idea of having an important task of preserving video games, and make them relevant to society at large.
Curation isn’t just about digging up neat games, but it’s also about preservation, interpretation, and using one’s knowledge to make it relevant to people. With my videos I want older gamers to look back and remember the influence of video games on their lives, and new gamers to understand the larger context of the series they’re playing for the first time today.
I put significant time and creative effort into each one of my videos, including research, digging into archives, playing video games and recording hours of footage, selecting specific clips, writing reviews for each title, and making a very careful video editing in the way to transmit both educational and entertaining values to my audience. Every video takes a lot of hours to produce, because I strive to give my audience a consistent, high-quality content.
Fidelity and preservation of the video games is essential in Bits & Beats, so the recordings are made with the highest bitrate quality. It is done this way to preserve original game look and sound through modern footage, with no superfluous additions. I recommend you watch the video at 4K and 60 frames per second to get the best possible viewing experience.
I hope you enjoy my videos and find them useful!
#BITSANDBEATS #arcadegames #worstgames
Double dragon was good for the nes
I think I disagree with Double Dragon the most. While not as advanced as it's arcade counterpart, it was still an amazing game.
Pit Fighter on SNES is probably the worst game I have ever played. The controls are so laggy and bad that it made me check if my controller was properly connected.
NES port of Double Dragon is somehow worse than the 2600 version?
Most ports here (perhaps apart from Golden Axe for the PCE and Pit-Fighter as well as Final Fight for the SNES) fall not so much into the "terrible" category as the "what did you expect with this hardware" category. And a few are actually surprisingly playable.
where is 1942 on spectrum that was bad and some of these looked quite good to be fair
Most of these are either awful games to begin with in the case of games like Athena, Pit-Fighter or Altered Beasts, or the ports aren't that bad at all, in the case of games like Final Fight, Double Dragon, or Sunset Riders.
A lot of these aren't terrible console ports. Especially the ones that are conversions of 32 bit to 16 bit consoles.. programmers did their best given the constraints. You can't expect the Genesis to do a good port of Virtua Fighter 2. Some other on the list aren't even ports.. such as Dragon's Lair. the NES version is a different game. The only one on this list that's truly bad is the Golden Axe port as the PC-Engine had the power for a better port. Also Sunset riders was bad
Many of these aren't clearly ports. Some look like bootlegs
Very interesting to see how downgraded some of these are from the arcade experience. Some of these are just blatant cash grabs but some actually look pretty neat.
just because you grew up with something and thats all you had, and had a good time with it, and liked it, doesn't mean it wasn't a trash port. this video is spot on, all trash ports. every last one.
Considering Game Boy SFII's mechanics were better than arcade SFI's, they didn't do THAT bad.
In all fairness Pit Fighter sucked in the arcade too.
I know Final Fight was amazing but leaving Guy out didn't make the SNES version bad, it was still a riot and felt like the arcade.
Many of these ports are on home systems that were dated for the time. In many cases the developers did a decent job given the tools they had to work with.
Man the NES ruined so many great arcade games, but whoever had the idea of removing co-op multiplayer from Double Dragon should have been fired on the spot.
I don’t get your picks for Double Dragon and Final Fight.
Double dragon on the nes is a terrible console port, bruh
Double Dragon…. that's what happens when every character in the game misses leg day. No matter the platform.
2600 Pac-Man is a notably garbage conversion. And Athena is awful. The rest are just conversions – nothing to see here.
Few of these are wrong imo. Primal Rage for example is not that bad a port on the MegaDrive/Genesis
Sorry, but the N64 version of Cruisin' USA doesn't belong here.
Rampage for atari was some nice graphics for it
That music on the Master System version of Strider. The game should have come with a paracetamol.
What the heck r u talking about?!?xmen/street fighter was a FANTASTIC transition! So was final fight-it didn’t look perfect, but it was still a good looking game!
And virtua fighter lost the 3D aspect, but it looked WAY better as a 2D fighting game than that ugly stupid 3D garbage!
I’ve watched and enjoyed most of your videos so far. This is the only one I strongly disagree with most of your choices. While I agree that the GBA ports looked terrible, the NES games and others were pretty damn good and enjoyable for not being able to replicate the graphics of the arcade. Also the Final fight comparisons was a serious reach. The SNES port is almost exactly like the arcade minus the censorship.
Still, I enjoyed the video. I just feel like you had a lot of bad takes in this one. 😐
Pit fighter console was fuxxin sucks ever..
9:07 Fail :v
Revolution X should be on here
Wow I never knew Atari was behind that snes port! Really makes you wonder…
Quite frankly I consider your placing of X-men Vs Street Fighter ludicrous on several levels as if it is even vaguely in the ballpark of what comes immediately after. Before nes ikari warriors or snes final fight? Absolutely similar situations. Leading just before 2600 Pac-Man and NES Dragon's Lair? Baffling.
I respect your work and effort regardless but I'd love to understand your perspective more! Either way thanks for sharing and your video quality is always top-notch. Take care!
No surprises at all that the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man made this list since it was one of the catalysts for the Video Game Crash of 1983, and of course there's the Super Nintendo version of Mortal Kombat, which had been "cleaned-up" for that console (I've seen YouTube videos of the SNES and Sega Genesis versions, the latter with the infamous D-U-L-L-A-R-D code engaged, played side-by-side via split-screen for comparison's sake)…….but I think that the most underwhelming port of an arcade game that I've personally experienced to date would have to be Marchen Maze for the PC Engine.
Where can i find the OST from the 2nd showed in the video of Golden axe 1990 Telenet ? This music is loud !!!
C'mon! Most of those are good ports, don´t be unjust
Double Dragons worst console port by far was the Atari 2600. The NES port is actually pretty good even though it's only one player.
The Commodore 64 port wasn't that great either..
Oh man I own the PS1 port of X-men vs Street Fighter it’s tough 🤬
You haven't played Double Dragon on Atari 2600
The MegaDrive/Genesis Golden Axe was very good, and the Streetfighter on Gameboy was a good attempt for that hardware
Right, Strider on Megadrive/Genesis was awesome so come on this is an unreliable list.
joe and mac of SNES is also horrible, luck that the Genesis version is much better
I'm sorry, but sunset riders on Genesis was decent enough considering the platform
Oh man, I think the NES port of Double Dragon is the best of all the ports. It's true it lacks coop, but it's definitely the most playable in my opinion. It's interesting how views can vary so wildly. Thanks for the video!
Pac-Man on Atari…ew
3:29 WHAT AN IRONY!!! Sega game on Nintendo hardware.
Have to disagree with the Cruisin port on N64 and Xmen vs Street Fighter on PS1. Both were great ports. Even Final Fight on SNES was great considering the hardware difference. Especially Cruisin since the arcade and N64 weren't much different at all when it came to hardware specs.
NES Double Dragon is a TERRIBLE PORT????
NES Altered Beast is a TERRIBLE PORT?????
PS1 Street Fighter VS X-Men is a TERRIBLE PORT?????
Virtua Fighter 2 GENESIS is a TERRIBLE PORT?????
Final Fight had an amazing SNES port.
I feel like some of these you put in the list aren't terrible by any means.
– Final Fight for the SNES isn't terrible. Yeah it is not as good as the arcade version but it's not like it plays badly. The gameplay is still solid despite the cutbacks.
– Cruis'n USA for the N64 isn't terrible either. The game looks and plays just like the arcade version. The only downside is the music which sounds bad.
– Double Dragon for the NES isn't terrible either. Yeah it's nowhere close to the arcade but just like Final Fight for the SNES its not like it plays terribly.
I had to re-upload the video due to a small problem with the audio… I apologize to those of you who had commented before (although I encourage you to do it again!).