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Platy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,639
Brazil
Do you like Demakes and weird obscure ports?

I have the right engine for you : Java
As in "mobile games before smartphones"

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Sonic Unleashed, Assassin's Creed 1/2/3 (actualy most ubisoft games =P), Prince of Persia, Lost Planet, Force Unleashed, God of War, The Sims 3, Sim City, Call of Duty, Far Cry, Turok, Need for Speed, Saint's Row ... even weird chinese versions of Diablo and WOW Wrath of the Lych King
 

mclem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,448
Should we count Donkey Kong '94 on the Game Boy for not being a port... but pretending to be one at the outset?
 
Oct 25, 2017
4,964
Powerslave has essentially 3 different versions between the Saturn, PS1 and PC. It's the same base game but the differences are fairly heavy between the 3.
 

mclem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,448
Do you like Demakes and weird obscure ports?

I have the right engine for you : Java
As in "mobile games before smartphones"

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JCClY9N.png
ZgSlooQ.png
VUWVmeB.png

8OJBt8a.jpg
rmTDiQc.jpg
R5LWXpE.jpg

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Sonic Unleashed, Assassin's Creed 1/2/3 (actualy most ubisoft games =P), Prince of Persia, Lost Planet, Force Unleashed, God of War, The Sims 3, Sim City, Call of Duty, Far Cry, Turok, Need for Speed, Saint's Row ... even weird chinese versions of Diablo and WOW Wrath of the Lych King

I'll admit that I've got a bit of curiosity about feature phone games, I suspect that's a generation that's already been lost to the aether.
 

Platy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,639
Brazil
I'll admit that I've got a bit of curiosity about feature phone games, I suspect that's a generation that's already been lost to the aether.

They are preserved pretty well with emulators .... and by pretty well I mean most run perfectly like the shit they used to run =P

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MrCunningham

Banned
Nov 15, 2017
1,372
There is also the port of Gunstar Heroes on the Game Gear


It has less effects and enemies on the screen but it is still interesting that they managed to bring the game to the system.

Two more for you...
Dynamite Heady for the Game Gear, this is another Treasure port of a Genesis game.



Ristar for the Game Gear:

 

Hierophant

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,196
Sydney
I spent an embarrassing amount of time playing The Sims 2 on DS, for starters it isn't the usual life sim that the Sims is known for, rather, it's this weird adventure/management game hybrid where you're the manager of a hotel and have to keep your guests happy while also exploring Strangetown while trying to find ways to make more Simoleons. Eventually you could upgrade your hotel to have a casino and a "Ratcave" where you get a "ratsuit" that lets you attack the numerous threats that attack the town at some point (I'm just going off the top of my head here).

Also, if you turned your clock forward to cheat the money system, aliens invade the town.

ds_les_Sims_2_20050914.jpg


 

SchuckyDucky

Avenger
Nov 5, 2017
3,937
Do you like Demakes and weird obscure ports?

I have the right engine for you : Java
As in "mobile games before smartphones"

oLYlKZn.png
0vdLw5S.jpg
LVLjFZk.jpg

JCClY9N.png
ZgSlooQ.png
VUWVmeB.png

8OJBt8a.jpg
rmTDiQc.jpg
R5LWXpE.jpg

KbHQmHH.png
eCtPnzC.jpg
wL5De3q.png


Sonic Unleashed, Assassin's Creed 1/2/3 (actualy most ubisoft games =P), Prince of Persia, Lost Planet, Force Unleashed, God of War, The Sims 3, Sim City, Call of Duty, Far Cry, Turok, Need for Speed, Saint's Row ... even weird chinese versions of Diablo and WOW Wrath of the Lych King
The original version of Kingdom Hearts Coded was one of these, I believe.
 

Fuzzy

Completely non-threatening
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,127
Toronto
I liked the Metroidvania Spider-Man games on the DS. Web of Shadows and Shattered Dimensions were fun while the others weren't as much IIRC.
 

{Marvelous}

Member
Jan 2, 2018
1,282
I still have to play the original xbox version of Double Agent, I wish it had its own PC port. It's actually significantly different from the other 6th gen versions.

The Lord of the Rings games are Diablo clones on GBA



I still play these! Believe it or not they are my favourite Lord of the Rings games. I love the isometric style. Something about mowing through the little truncated loot grinds with the different characters, campaigns are the perfect length too. The GBA had a fair number of okay to decent loot ARPG's which is saying a lot because the handhelds that followed (DS/PSP) were essentially starved of the genre.
 

newmoneytrash

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,981
Melbourne, Australia

Driver 3 on the GBA manages to be very impressive and kind of repulsive at the same time. Like, I'm glad it exists, but I'm not itching to play it anytime soon.

This is still one of the mos insane ports i've ever seen in how they managed to squeeze *so much* out of the GBA. It's equal amounts impressive and mediocre

Everything about the entirely of Driver 3 across all platforms is fascinating and weird and largely bad and I love it
 

RedSwirl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,051
A lot of GBA and GBC ports of western AAA games ended up being really smart classic-style demakes.

In addition to the Max Payne ports, you've also got the LOTR games which were basically Diablo clones. I think the Game Boy versions of the early Harry Potter tie-in games were also pretty much 2D RPGs. Daikatana on the GBC was probably a Link's Awakening riff or something. I think there was also a GBC or GBA Medal of Honor game that was like an Ikari clone or something.

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (3DS) - camo scanning via camera, Stereo 3D, Yoshis to find, gyro aim

The 3DS version of MGS3 actually tried to modernize the controls somewhat. It added a crouch-walk and third-person aiming more akin to Peace Walker and MGSV. It just couldn't quite get around the 3DS's hardware limitations and the lack of a second analog stick unless you used the attachment.

I think the ideal version of MGS3 would be a new HD port with the 3DS controls.
 

lupianwolf

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,319
Turok Evolution (GBA) is a pretty good Contra/Metal Slug type of game.



Also the Wii version of Rodea the Sky Solider is way better than the Wii U/3DS versions.
 

MrCunningham

Banned
Nov 15, 2017
1,372
Jet Set Radio for GBA:



Ported by Vicarious Visions, the same group that did the Tony Hawk GBA games.

Sega Rally Championship GBA:




There are much better Rally games on the GBA than this one, too.
 

Heri

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,427
Do

you like Demakes and weird obscure ports?

I have the right engine for you : Java
As in "mobile games before smartphones"

Sonic Unleashed, Assassin's Creed 1/2/3 (actualy most ubisoft games =P), Prince of Persia, Lost Planet, Force Unleashed, God of War, The Sims 3, Sim City, Call of Duty, Far Cry, Turok, Need for Speed, Saint's Row ... even weird chinese versions of Diablo and WOW Wrath of the Lych King

You also missed the 3D ones from capcom RE4 and DMC:



 

Kresnik

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,971
either have to be heavily redesigned (PoP Sands of Time)

Do you perhaps mean Forgotten Sands here? Sands of Time was ported to Gamecube fully in tact as far as I can see.

Guys, not talking about objectively bad/trash ports

But you listed Dead Rising; Chop Until you Drop in your OP... :P

In recent years I fell in love with The Amazing Spider-Man and Resident Evil Revelations 2 on Vita. In general, Vita has a pretty large selection of these!

Good man as always Liam *nod*. Resi Revelations 2 on Vita is an interesting one really, it's bad but at the same time does some interesting stuff.

Anyway, OP provided plenty of Nintendo examples so I'll throw in some Sony ones to be a bit different:

Army of Two: The 40th day - isometric shooter rather than TPS of the console versions.

Cars 2 - isometric almost slot car-esque racing game vs. console versions were traditional racing games.

Medievil Resurrection - completely changed the tone an aesthetic of the game to be more cartoony and light hearted. Redesigned levels, quality of life changes etc.

Need for Speed PSP Games (Carbon: Own the City; Most Wanted 5-1-0; Underground Rivals)- although they're all supposedly based on the home console games, they're mostly completely different versions. Carbon, for example, keeps the mechanics of the home console version but has a completely bespoke city; new driver abilities for your AI allies and a new story. Even the later games like Prostreet were completely different on the handheld.

The Sims 2 - almost a completely different game. Follows a storyline about strangetown as your sim gets stranded there and has to escape, pretty much an adventure game rather than a simulation (until you unlock free play mode later on)

SSX On Tour - mixes the tracks of SSX 3 with the aesthetics of On Tour. Probably the best version of the game for this reason

I've also heard that Dante's Inferno on PSP is heavily redesigned, but haven't played it myself to confirm. There's loads more stuff that added content to the PSP version (despite being graphically downgraded), but I won't list those here.

Also just a few brief examples from Vita too - MXGP has no mud deforming physics which actually makes it more of an arcadey racer which is great; Need for Speed: Most Wanted has less traffic which makes it a lot easier to drive around the city and Football Manager Classic 2014 has touch screen controls which makes navigation a bit easier.
 

Jonneh

Good Vibes Gaming
Verified
Oct 24, 2017
4,538
UK
I love DOOM on the 32X. Maybe it's just because of how accessible it is and how quickly it boots up but I can never get enough. It controls pretty great, runs well enough and I don't think the music is that bad. It's a great port of DOOM.
 

Nemesis_

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,495
Australia
There's a few from Capcom, both released and unreleased, that always interested me.


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And then of course the Resident Evil Game Boy Color port, which never got released (officially) but is simultaneously awful and impressive

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Dino Crisis was also on the cards but eventually cancelled

dino-crisis-gameboy-color-cancelled.jpg
 

Orso

Member
Oct 28, 2017
627


Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on Wii. I never really got all that into it but it had a really interesting control scheme. Did hope it was something Konami would build upon but i think it was dropped after the first attempt.
 

CreeperBlocks

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,081
Canada
Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands being a different game on the Wii vs the PS360 versions deserves a mention

Forgotten Sands on the Wii is pretty good. It has good platforming

Splinter Cell for the Ngage might be one of the worst De-makes I've played.

Tomb Raider Anniversary for the Wii is completely different from the other versions due to the motion controls and Wiimote puzzles
 

MrCunningham

Banned
Nov 15, 2017
1,372
I love DOOM on the 32X. Maybe it's just because of how accessible it is and how quickly it boots up but I can never get enough. It controls pretty great, runs well enough and I don't think the music is that bad. It's a great port of DOOM.

Oddly the 32x had a solid port of Virtua Fighter 1. It was ported by AM2 themselves, and in someways was better than their Sega Saturn port.

 

JuicyPlayer

Member
Feb 8, 2018
7,297
Dead Rising Chop till you drop on Wii was basically ported using the Resident Evil 4 engine. It kind of sucks seeing how empty the mall is.
 

JohnPaulv2.0

Member
Dec 3, 2017
571
There's a few examples of 3D games on home consoles that were followed up with slightly oddball sequels on handhelds.



 

JamesQuall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
749


Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on Wii. I never really got all that into it but it had a really interesting control scheme. Did hope it was something Konami would build upon but i think it was dropped after the first attempt.


This was a great version of PES! One of the best uses of the Wiimote ever. Drawing players runs and then playing balls to space changed the game so much. It was almost RTS-esque. I had 2008 and 2009, but I think it actually went all the way to 2013.
 

potatohead

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
3,889
Earthbound
Doom alone has an entire library of interesting ports I believe df retro and dark1x made a great video about the console versions

The coolest is the ps1 version which has beautiful colour effects and 2d animated firestorms as skyboxes and ofc must mention doom n64 which is an entirely other unique thing
 

Datajoy

use of an alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,081
Angola / Zaire border region.
I'm shocked no one has said Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.. it seems right up your alley OP!

A GameCube remake of the original MGS which updates the graphics and gameplay, but also features different cutscenes and music, as well as entirely re-recorded voiceovers, sometimes with totally different actors. The combined effect is very bizzare and leads to a much different tone than the original game had.

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{Marvelous}

Member
Jan 2, 2018
1,282
Ah I love GBA ports.

Top Gear Rally



007 Nightfire



The Sims games were bizarrely content heavy representations of the IP on GBA, also isometric. I quite liked Spider-man 1 & 2 as well, 2 actually features a 3d hub and upgrade system ala the home console version - Mysterios Menace took a great deal of cues from Spider-man 2000 (PS1) in terms of style and mechanics and MGS on Gameboy Color may as well be a port for how stunningly it nails the core gameplay...though it's not, Duke Nukem Advance falls under similar criteria.
 
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Bomblord

Self-requested ban
Banned
Jan 11, 2018
6,390
The 3(+?) Call of Duty ports to the Wii. IR aiming, completely different (but still completely recognizable somehow) graphics and a lot if motion controls.

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Also the 3 or so COD games that were ported to the DS those games are just so weird looking back they're basically completely different games
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Both of those screenshots are from.ports of COD Black Ops
 

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,351
There's a few from Capcom, both released and unreleased, that always interested me.



gfs_46194_2_14.jpg


And then of course the Resident Evil Game Boy Color port, which never got released (officially) but is simultaneously awful and impressive

maxresdefault.jpg


Dino Crisis was also on the cards but eventually cancelled

dino-crisis-gameboy-color-cancelled.jpg

These are all absolutely fascinating!
 

Neiteio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,121
Fantastic OP! One of my favorite demakes is Tony Hawk on GBA. It's isometric and controlled with a dpad, but the physics and fluidity translates perfectly, as do the tricks and sense of exploring skate parks. Really fun game and the killer app of the GBA launch, imo.
 

ScOULaris

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,576
Now this is my kind of thread. I can't contribute anything meaningful at the moment, but when a good example pops into my head I'll come back to post about it.
 

{Marvelous}

Member
Jan 2, 2018
1,282
Lego Star Wars 2 (1 is good as well) The first is almost like an ARPG or gauntlet type with vendors along the way that dish out some powerups, an extensive HP bar and level reset upon death. The second one here was more or less an isometric conversion of the console port, it features the level select hub, vehicle based levels, team dynamics and lots of unlockables.



007 James Bond - Everything or Nothing

 
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PetrCobra

Member
Oct 27, 2017
954
Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands being a different game on the Wii vs the PS360 versions deserves a mention
I believe that's what OP meant when he wrote Sands of Time



Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on Wii. I never really got all that into it but it had a really interesting control scheme. Did hope it was something Konami would build upon but i think it was dropped after the first attempt.

If you mean the Playmaker control scheme it's definitely present in the later versions of PES on Wii. Best football controls I've ever seen.
 

Theswweet

RPG Site
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
6,404
California
Holy crap, that Smashing Drive GBA port! I used to play the GCN version a bunch when I was younger, and that looks like an honest-to-god port, as in the same tracks (for the most part) running on a GBA in 3D! What the hell.