Crispy™ Inferior versions of games that you still find amazing

[Zer0wing]

Inb4 begone boomer.
Fuck off "fellow" boomers, I'm too young for this monster zero ultra shit.

Most games are destined to be the best to be played on PC or more modern console. But some games released on a console or inferior at the times PC configs seemingly so weak you still amazed by how did those guys actually made it fully playable in insufficient format. I've encountered three of those on PS1 alone.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - runs in a higher than usual crisp 512x240i, no loading screens, open world, switch between dimenions is seamless. Sound like a fully featured PC game but on a crippled hardware from 1994.

Quake II: A shame that there's too many loading screens but overall it looks like a brighten up software rendered same old PC game with a pretty stable framerate and also a higher than usual resolution that gives crispier™ image.

Baldur's Gate: Unpublished but not unfinished. It was a bold move to convert a high budget Bioware™ PC RPG 1-to-1 to PS1 with a controller but it's happened. No way Interplay would yield any money from this, controls are shit and save file eats a single memory card but still a cool experiment. It's a full-featured AD&D RPG on a console before beamdog ever had a chance for such blasphemy.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

I like 8-bit NES Contra much moar than 16-bit arcade original, mostly for superior artstyle.

I prefer 8-bit NES version of NARC moar than 16-bit arcade arcade as well - original has too much shit going on the screen so I don't call NES port a poor one - it's just classy ascetic act. The true pain was censorship but fortunately a few years ago a uncut romhack was released.

Street Fighter 2 - ok, arcade is unbeatable, almost every official PC/Amiga port was awful back in the day but there was bootleg PC version based on SNES sprites called SF2INB which spawned countless clones. It's a weird shit with crazy mechanics and winning quotes like 'You can suck my balls', version I've played during mid 90's had hand-drawn Terry Bogart instead of Vega.

Love bootleg NES ports of Mortal Kombat 1&1, Earthworm Jim, Sonic/Somari, Super Mario World, SF2, Donkey Kong Country, KOF - all for NES/Famiclone. King of Fighter is especially amazing for its artworks that shows true NES capabilities.

PSX Diablo 1 - little bit choppy but it plays suprisingly good, plus it has co-op unavailable on PC.

 

[Swigen]

Blackthorne - SNES I just prefer the look of the sprites in this one over the “definitive” 32x version’s prerendered graphics.

Doom - PSX The lag, especially in the Ultimate Doom levels was pretty shitty and the missing end slides is a bummer but goddamn what an awesome soundtrack. Changed the whole atmosphere of the game.

 

[Zer0wing]

Oh yeah, most of the 8 bit home console conversions are even better than arcade originals. Due to NES limitations, we have much more grounded color palette and sprite proportions are not fucked.

Love bootleg NES ports of Mortal Kombat 1&1, Earthworm Jim, Sonic/Somari, Super Mario World, SF2, Donkey Kong Country, KOF - all for NES/Famiclone. King of Fighter is especially amazing for its artworks that shows true NES capabilities.

I liked bootleg approach to Aladdin even more. True to the SNES version. This is borderline autistic level of detail shows how much those chinese bootlegers loved what they do.

PSX Diablo 1 - little bit choppy but it plays suprisingly good, plus it has co-op unavailable on PC.

Suprisingly competent timekiller on a smartphone with competent PS1 emulator back in early 2010s (IIRC Diablo was fucked on FPSECE and Windows Mobile).

 

[Beastro]

I find a lot of them I like are due to the the little things they have in them the origins lack, like the music in the Genesis version of Coutndown to Doomsday despite how gutted the game is in ways (No ammo for weps vastly changes how you play the game, at least on a strategic level) and how many hate the music (which I've got a soft spot for).

Star Flight for Genesis is similar, though the updated Star Control-like combat is a huge bonus while the sound effects work perfectly to add an isolating, tense atmosphere to it.

PSX Diablo 1 - little bit choppy but it plays suprisingly good, plus it has co-op unavailable on PC.

The only downside to it was playing a mage and using the D-pad to target where you want spells to go unable to move.

My bro and I found the best combo was one with a warrior, me the warrior going in to tank to allow him the time to set up his spells before I got the hell out and finished off the survivors.

 

[Catacombs]

I liked bootleg approach to Aladdin even more.

Oh, fuck. This game.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

I liked bootleg approach to Aladdin even more. True to the SNES version. This is borderline autistic level of detail shows how much those chinese bootlegers loved what they do.

This one also, plus Toy Story and Lion King.

I wonder why pirates didn't port Primal Rage on NES, it has its version for almost any platform: PC, Amiga, Gameboy, SNES, Megadrive, PSX, Saturn, 3DO, Jaguar and maybe some moar.

 

[DalekFlay]

I dislike the constant clicking of Diablo style games so I like the idea of the console versions using actual character movement with the analog sticks. Unfortunately I don't own a console so I can't really check it out myself.

Some of the early blobbers had console versions with more art and maps, iirc.

 

[newtmonkey]

Diablo 3 (PS3)
Can play offline.

 

[Grauken]

Final Fantasy 7 on the NES

 

[Zer0wing]

Oh, fuck. This game.

It's awesome, yeah.

Some of the early blobbers had console versions with more art and maps, iirc.

I don't find early console blobbers inferior. D-pad controls never bothered me much, the trade-off is a huge bargain. For one, wizardry 1 nes has actual graphics, music and sfx. Wizardry V on SNES features suggestive pixel art and other no-nos in puritan north america.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Contra and Double Dragon looked better on NES than their arcade counterparts, IMO.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 on Game Boy Advance was really impressive. That game should have probably blown up the GBA upon loading.

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and Return of the King on GBA were straight up Diablo-clones (the console versions were hack & slash beat 'em ups) that were actually pretty damn good. Every character had their own skill tree, you'd allocate attribute points on level up, unique weapons for the playable characters. You could even do Diablo style farming in certain ways, like intentionally summoning Nazgul who were tough as nails but could drop superior items.

Metal Gear Solid on the Game Boy Color played like an updated and refined NES Metal Gear. It even had really long cutscenes and dialogue, because fuck your AA batteries.

Mortal Kombat games on the Genesis had way better music than the SNES and the gameplay always felt much more smooth.

Guerrilla War on the NES was godly.

I knew someone that actually had the D&D Collection for Sega Saturn. This was before the days of MAME, so being able to play Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara in near arcade perfect glory without losing tons of money because you're a retard that decided to jump in as the Red Dragon did his breath attack was great.

 

[Belegarsson]

I spent a huge portion of my high school life on NFS Hot Pursuit 2 on PC. Years later, I found out that the PS2 version had way better graphics, especially lighting. Still love the PC version nonetheless, autumn track looks great.

 

[Catacombs]

It's awesome, yeah.

I remember hating it as a child.

 

[Zer0wing]

Of recent example - Grand Theft Auto V on PS3, played alot of it in single player when it was hot shit before switching to Twitcher 3. No, really. How? PS3 is beyond absolute minimal system requirements for this popular game to run. RAM chips, despite both chips being wired to GPU and CPU, are still different enough to cause trouble. And again, no loading screens besides switching between characters and taxi fast travel. On PC, it eats up to 11 gigs of RAM after half an hour of play. Yet on PS3, it keeps itself within 256mb+256mb limit.
Is there anything to read about data streaming in GTA V?

 

[Baron Dupek]

Daikatana for Game Boy was better than original PC version

 

[taxalot]

Splinter Cell Double Agent PS2 > Splinter Cell Double Agent PC.

(Check it out, they share the same name and basic story, the rest is entirely different)

 

[DalekFlay]

Splinter Cell Double Agent PS2 > Splinter Cell Double Agent PC.

(Check it out, they share the same name and basic story, the rest is entirely different)

Ooooh, good one I forgot about. The Xbox and PS2 versions were basically a real Chaos Theory sequel. Not as good, but far better than the shit Ubisoft crapped out for "next-gen." I played it on a friend's Xbox back in the day. I don't know how good the PS2 version is, but I guess it is the only option on a PC via emulation. Unless there's an Xbox emulator I don't know about.

 

[skacky]

Quake for the Saturn is an incredible piece of software. It runs on a completely different engine but it's hard to tell the difference at first glance. Also the secret level in the trees is top.
Quake 2 for the N64 is another impressive game for similar reasons and it has an entirely new campaign.
Symphony of the Night on the Saturn performs like dogshit and some of the additional content is pretty dubious, however the fight with Maria makes up for it and some of the new music is awesome.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Quake for the Saturn is an incredible piece of software. It runs on a completely different engine but it's hard to tell the difference at first glance.

It's impressive work but still, massive decilne in framerate can be noticed instantly.

 

[Steamboat Willie]

Doom on the PlayStation. Probably because it was my first game on the system and the only way I had to play Doom at home at the time. Objectively worse than the PC version in every way yet I still loved it.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on the GBA, and enjoyed every minute of it, though it was blatantly inferior to the PS2/Xbox versions. The C64 versions of Dragon Wars & Neuromancer were much more fun to me than their 16-bit computer counterparts.

 

[DalekFlay]

Doom on the PlayStation. Probably because it was my first game on the system and the only way I had to play Doom at home at the time. Objectively worse than the PC version in every way yet I still loved it.

There's a decent Digital Foundry video that outlines every major and minor difference between all the Doom console ports, which is interesting. I forget where the PS1 version landed on his best-to-worst ranking.

Doom 64 is as you surely know a unique game, which is awesome.

 

[samuraigaiden]

I'll stick with Star Ocean on the SNES over the PSP remake any day.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I played a Doom wad that was a faithful recreation of the PS1 port but with a mouse & keyboard it's so easy a small child could complete it on Nightmare. I gave up after a few levels. I'm assuming it was so easy because it was designed for a clunky controller and not a whip-fast mouse/kb input configuration.