Inferior Conversions/Ports of Games You Preferred to the "Better" Versions?

[kubev]

I've been playing a lot of DOOM and DOOM II recently, and the experience got me to thinking about some of the older console releases of DOOM I've played and how I actually prefer some elements from them. Notably, I always loved how the SNES version of DOOM (which had no built-in cheats) had the decency to retain your starting ammo, armor and weapon inventory for each level while still restoring your health to 100% upon restarting the level. Also, I kind of miss the abbreviated level set used in the Jaguar version of DOOM, as many of my gripes with the level design in DOOM tend to get so much worse beginning with episode three (and get really bad in DOOM II in particular).

Are there any inferior conversions/ports of games you played and somehow preferred to the "better" versions? I don't think I would've played the SNES and Jaguar versions of DOOM if I had a PC at the time, but I'm glad I did, as it was interesting to see how such an important game was adapted to different platforms during a time when we expected some sort of compromise.

 

[Violet]

Persona 4 base is better than Golden

 

[BennyWhatever]

I like the OG Link's Awakening better than the DX and the Remake.
EDIT: whoops, that's uh, not a conversion or port. I'm awful at comprehension today.

I like the TMNT Arcade game better on NES than Arcade, for purely nostalgia reasons.

 

[Lant_War]

A lot of people swear that the Redux Metro games are worse and ruined the atmosphere, but I tried playing the original 2033 and it just looked worse lol

 

[Inugami]

Sure there are plenty of arcade ports to 8 and 16 bit systems I've played over the years that I'd have more fondness for. Street Fighter 2 comes to mind immediately, as well as Mortal Kombat. Nothing really else stands out in my mind.

 

[Angst]

Genesis zombie ate my neighbors has better music. Sorry not sorry.

 

[Deleted member 48897]

How broadly defined is this? Something like Castle of Illusion is way better on Master System, but it's also got relatively little in common with the Genesis port other than both games star Mickey Mouse and have the same music

 

[Mullet2000]

Persona 4 base is better than Golden

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Yeahhhh I think I agree. Marie sucks so I didn't like her inclusion.

 

[Transistor]

Persona 4 base is better than Golden

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P4 Chie >>>>>>>>>> P4G Chie

 

[Taco_Human]

Ocarina of Time preferred over the 3DS remake. They fucked up Links model, why could't they use the model from SSBM?

 

[Violet]

Yeahhhh I think I agree. Marie sucks so I didn't like her inclusion.

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P4 Chie >>>>>>>>>> P4G Chie

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yep, both of these are my big reasons why

 

[DarkTom]

I'm more fond of NES Double Dragon games than their arcade counterparts.

 

[JaredTaco]

I think the original Saturn port of Daytona USA is better than every other port up until the arcade perfect one we received on PS3 and 360.

 

[kubev]

Sure there are plenty of arcade ports to 8 and 16 bit systems I've played over the years that I'd have more fondness for. Street Fighter 2 comes to mind immediately, as well as Mortal Kombat. Nothing really else stands out in my mind.

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Oh, Mortal Kombat is a good one. Honestly, I prefer the music in the Genesis versions of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II, so I actually prefer to play those versions.

How broadly defined is this? Something like Castle of Illusion is way better on Master System, but it's also got relatively little in common with the Genesis port other than both games star Mickey Mouse and have the same music

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In that case, I'd treat them as completely different games. For example, I'd take Batman Returns on Game Gear over the Genesis version any day, as Batman Returns on Game Gear is basically a re-skinned Shinobi game from what I can tell.

I'm more fond of NES Double Dragon games than their arcade counterparts.

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Same here. I may be remembering incorrectly, but I recall the arcade version (and the Genesis version) having this annoying issue in which the enemies would match your own character's movement in a way that made it nearly impossible to get away from them. The NES version doesn't have that issue.

 

[Transistor]

Contra NES is the definitive version compared to the arcade game.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Final Fantasy VI Advance is by far my favorite version of the game. Yes, the music isn't as good as the SNES version. Yes, the music is a big part of the game.

But the postgame got improved so much that I simply don't care about the above.

 

[frankenstrat]

I honestly liked the Wii U port of ACIV for the added gamepad stuff. Using it as a map screen and removing the hud while sailing while still being able to navigate with the pad was a nice touch, as was off-tv play.

Granted, sub-30fps was something that took some getting used to, but it's not like that flavor of AC was dependent on frame-perfect inputs for anything. Just counter>punch gets you through most fights without a hitch and the climbing is just hold R1 and forward.

 

[Dinjoralo]

A lot of people like the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, that cuts out a lot of the progression and between-mission fluff that slows the game down.

 

[Gardios]

I liked the 3DS version of Metal Gear Solid 3 more than the HD/Vita versions since it had crouch-walking, 3rd-person aiming and made CQC easier to do.

 

[werezompire]

P4G's gameplay is so much better than original P4 that I couldn't go back even if original Chie's voice acting was more interesting. Plus portability.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

Contra NES is the definitive version compared to the arcade game.

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This one I agree with.

 

[Deleted member 48897]

A lot of people like the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, that cuts out a lot of the progression and between-mission fluff that slows the game down.

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Though there are more night stages, they're also a LOT shorter and due to the relative lack of enemy variety are much more focused on platforming. It's reminiscent of some of the slower stages in the original Sonic a la Marble Zone, which I maintain gets a bad rap.
(Also that's another one. I think all the changes except music in the android/iOS Sonic 1 port make the game worse)

 

[Ferrs]

A lot of people like the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, that cuts out a lot of the progression and between-mission fluff that slows the game down.

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It also cuts 2 full stages though.

 

[Mathieran]

I don't know if this counts, but RE4 on Wii is the definitive version as far as I am concerned.

 

[goodretina]

I played BOTW from start to finish on the WiiU game pad. It was still a lot of fun, and the experience was overall equivocal when I double dipped on the Switch version (also played in handheld mode).

Twilight Princess on the GameCube was fine as well, and I preferred the conventional controls to most of what the wiimote offered.

 

[JulianV]

EDIT: to explain a little bit better to those who don't know it, this version of the game was made by the same developers of chaos theory, while the xbox 360 was made by another team. I consider this version the better game, doesn't help that I played the next gen version on PC, which was a pretty bad port.

 

[goodretina]

I don't know if this counts, but RE4 on Wii is the definitive version as far as I am concerned.

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That wasn't a downgrade in any way. It was a port from the previous generation with some improved graphics and significantly improved controls.

 

[frankenstrat]

I don't know if this counts, but RE4 on Wii is the definitive version as far as I am concerned.

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Questionable. It has all the gamecube stuff + wii aiming (which is excellent) + the extra content from the PS2 version. I too consider it the definitive edition, but I see some people out there prefer the controls from the GC version.

 

[Deleted member 31092]

Sun and Moon are better then Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

 

[Stef]

I've seen plenty of people saying that Viewtiful Joe on PS2 was way worse than the one on Gamecube.

In reality, even if some technical gap was there, the PS2 version was better in terms of contents.

 

[Kivvi]

Another vote for the original Persona 4.
Better intro, better difficultly, less handholding, better pacing in game, no Marie, the tone of the game actuality feels like a mistery detective game with a little bit of SMT in it and not a slice of life high-school adventure.
Making the true ending obvious in golden still bugs me too. Finding the true ending is one of my personal favorite gaming moments of all time.

 

[kubev]

Though there are more night stages, they're also a LOT shorter and due to the relative lack of enemy variety are much more focused on platforming. It's reminiscent of some of the slower stages in the original Sonic a la Marble Zone, which I maintain gets a bad rap.
(Also that's another one. I think all the changes except music in the android/iOS Sonic 1 port make the game worse)

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Yeah, I'm not a fan of the Christian Whitehead take on Sonic 1. I hate the changes to Sonic's acceleration, as it just makes him more difficult to control during bonus stages. Also, while I don't mind him making the maze rotation completely smooth in the bonus stages, he should've at least had the foresight to ensure that it didn't mess up the flow of the bonus stages. As an example, the first bonus stage in Sonic 1 basically takes you straight to the center area of the maze with the Chaos Emerald if you don't press anything. In the Christian Whitehead version, Sonic just gets stuck at the beginning of the bonus stage if you don't press anything, making it far less intuitive. Given how much differently the bonus stages play compared to the normal stages, I think that intuitiveness in the first bonus stage is really important, as a player who's taken aback at the sudden change is still very likely to make it to where the Chaos Emerald is, even if he/she doesn't actually manage to collect it.

 

[dean_rcg]

I don't know if this counts, but RE4 on Wii is the definitive version as far as I am concerned.

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Agreed!

 

[Anthony Hopkins]

Preferred the Dreamcast version of dead or alive 2 over the PS2 one. The dc version looked better to me.

Edit: I was wrong, the dc version of doa2 was better then the PS2 version.

It was better and that's in part because the original DOA2 arcade hardware was running on Sega's NAOMI board.

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[Kthulhu]

Sonic Unleashed on the Wii lacks the stupid hub found in the 360 version. IMO that makes it better.

The Force Unleashed on the Wii had local multiplayer which I believe the other versions didn't.

 

[Pangorogoro]

Sun and Moon are better then Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

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This. I would kill for a hack or something that puts all the QOL stuff from USUM into regular Sun and Moon

 

[Deleted member 1120]

So most people who played Switch versions of games?

 

[asmith906]

Does Legendary Wings on the NES count, because holy shit is the arcade version brutal.

 

[Kthulhu]

The Wii U versions of several 3rd party titles have 5 player multiplayer when the other versions only had 4 players.

 

[kubev]

So most people who played Switch versions of games?

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Well, maybe in the sense that they prefer the portability of them, I suppose, but I'm more so referring to changes made in either version that somehow make the "lesser" version preferable in a sense.

Does Legendary Wings on the NES count, because holy shit is the arcade version brutal.

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I think that counts as long as it at least resembles the arcade version and maintains much of its structure. Does the NES version tone down the difficulty in general, or is it more so a case in which slowdown or other technical shortcomings somehow help the player out?

 

[XboxCowdry]

Jonah lomu rugby - Sega Saturn. Better controls

Road Adv - Sega CD. Better music and sound effects.

Street Fighter 2 - Mega Drive. Better music and controls to that of the SNES version

Super R Type - SNES . The simply awesome music score

Ghost N Ghouls - Mega Drive . Like the music and controls more

 

[TechMetalRules]

I still prefer Blue Point's Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake to the original, despite Wander's new face.

 

[Mathieran]

That wasn't a downgrade in any way. It was a port from the previous generation with some improved graphics and significantly improved controls.

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fair enough, I kinda assumed Wii was a downgrade

Questionable. It has all the gamecube stuff + wii aiming (which is excellent) + the extra content from the PS2 version. I too consider it the definitive edition, but I see some people out there prefer the controls from the GC version.

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Agreed!

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I don't think I will ever get rid of my Wii U as long as RE4 motion controls are locked to the Wii version.

 

[TaySan]

Saints Row 2 on 360

 

[kubev]

I don't think I will ever get rid of my Wii U as long as RE4 motion controls are locked to the Wii version.

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Yeah, while not necessarily the ideal way to aim, I do think motion controls still made RE4 a lot more approachable for me. I don't generally feel as though Wii motion controls have aged very well for shooters, though. I've been meaning to revisit Metroid Prime Trilogy, but it's so hard to go back to that aiming style, in my opinion, and I'm kind of just looking forward to seeing Metroid Prime Trilogy come to Switch with modern FPS controls and maybe gyro support for people who want it.

 

[Kurtikeya]

PS2 SotC over the remaster and the remake. The latter are outstanding achievements in the technical pursuit of more detail and more fidelity, but in being so, they relinquished the dreamlike and suggestive wonder of the original. The stark detail of their landscapes left me no room for myself, a room where I would be able to fill in hazy, bloomy gaps with my imagination. They were no longer evocative, only exacting.

Original Silent Hill 2 and 3 over the HD Collection for obvious reasons.

 

[asmith906]

Well, maybe in the sense that they prefer the portability of them, I suppose, but I'm more so referring to changes made in either version that somehow make the "lesser" version preferable in a sense.


I think that counts as long as it at least resembles the arcade version and maintains much of its structure. Does the NES version tone down the difficulty in general, or is it more so a case in which slowdown or other technical shortcomings somehow help the player out?

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Arcade version were one hit kills. The Nes version you just regress to the previous power up. Also the music is louder so the sound effects are less annoying. It has changed some of the levels and color palettes to be brighter. Now that I think about it the Arcade version kind of sucks in comparison.

 

[Tawpgun]

I for one did not like the updated graphics of Halo CE Anniversary. They were super overdesigned and like someone through flurorecent paint on everything and put the saturation to max. Lost a lot of the atmopshere.

 

[Lukar]

I prefer The Witcher III on Switch. Being handheld makes it a lot easier to just jump in and out when I have time to play.

 

[Teh_Lurv]

Even though the 32x version is generally considered the "best" port before the Switch arcade conversion, I still prefer the original Genesis port of Virtua Racing.