The so called "inferior" versions

[Bakuma1997]

Everybody has a game we actually prefer in an older version, maybe it's easier for something, maybe it has stuff unique to that version... whatever is your, i'd like to hear what brings you to the "lesser" versions of games

My personal top 5:
1) Must be for me The NES ports of Contra and Gradius 1 and 2, the NES couldn0t handle more of the stuff axing enemy formation and some bosses... in my book i don't miss them, the NES's sound chip also make some music far better and having more coherent level design and expanded levels
2) The Wily Wars looks cool on paper, the first three games of Megaman in a package of updated grafix and sound, and also including a extra level... i played it and nah, sorry, the uplifted grafics didn't resonated and the Genesis felt mid, since the game came exclusively to Europe and Japan i had two choices: play a frenetic game at snail pace or play it from memory not understanding it
3) Everybody knows this one, Batman Return in NES is a great shooter with grafics that look like they belong to a SNES and while harsh, the dificulty never fells too cheap to quit, later it came to Genesis which has a good Batgame in the form of their take on Batman and Robin so lets enjoyWHOAWHOAWHOAWHATISTHISTHINGKILLITWITHFIREBEFOREITLAYSEGGS

If only the grafical department was lacking, but the music is awful and the dificulty is cheaper due to Batman feeling heavy, laydown the batcookies and batmilk, Wayne
4) Speaking of Genesis this time in a favorable way: Any Sonic 1 port has tried and unsucessfully to emulate the classic debut of the blue blur (Minus the Android ports, which what i get they were made by fans) yet nobody has managed to feel as great Sonic's first battle against Eggman/Robotnik, ¿You want Sonic 1? Play the Genesis one or the aformentioned Android
And Finally...
5) Crystalis is everything a underrated game has: Music of the gods, crisp grafics, solid gameplay (Minus the whole constant swap of swords and cryptic saving menu that from experience can kill hours of progress if you overwrite the wrong place) and a noncliche story that strays away from "Rescuing the princess" stuff that while overdone today, it was innovative and thrilling back in the 80-90's, and is also relatively fastpaced, so you may believe it will kill it as a portable title... then the GBC killed the hypothesis
for starters there is screen crunch, undestandable, even SMB Deluxe had it, but in a ARPG where you start unable to receve more than 5 hits its annoying, second the cool music is gone and replaced with beeps and boops, the grafics are fine i guess but the intro, the part that grabbed me, pulled me toward the screen and yelled "YOU MUST PLAY ME"... compare this minimalist ominousness set to a tragic ballad

Is replaced with... Megaman's missing track and a bunch of exposition that ruins the twist of the game that

Spoiler

Azteca and Draygon (Your biggest ally and the big bad, respectively) are the same people

Crystalis in NES is a must play, with patches that upgrade the experience in the Repo, ¿On Gameboy? the best way to beat it is to turn it off and never touch it again

 

[rosemarymenace]

for my money the best way to play Driver San Francisco is the console versions solely for the splitscreen mode unless you really *really* need 60fps, also the best version of Max Payne is the mobile port solely for being the only version to fix the adaptive difficult system and being the only version with decent lock on on a controller

Post automatically merged: Jan 2, 2025

also you're 100% right about the wily wars, even as a dumbass 10 year old who had only recently played Mega Man 2 for the first time I just found the wily wars version kinda eh

 

[Sandteufel]

I've a few; there's Atari 2600 ports of arcade games I prefer playing. Ms. Pac Man, Joust, Berzerk (especially Berzerk), and Asteroids.

 

[TheGreatExplode]

I think the PSP version of Persona 1 is the best version, but the PS1 version is hilarious for making Mark black for no reason.

 

[Somnia]

- Persona 3 Portable for FeMC and being able to control party members (I don't think it was bad that you couldn't in FES or vanilla, I just prefer being able to like most folks)
- Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast for being a more stable and visually appealing game.
- Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS because that's just where it feels comfiest and most at home.
- Minecraft on my Vita. Was never big on Minecraft so the boatloads of content added over the years isn't super appealing to me. Vita has the perfect scope for how I tend to enjoy Minecraft when the mood strikes. The comfy form factor of a dedicated handheld also helps.
- Xenoblade Chronicles on New 3DS. I have no defense of this one, but many of the Wii/WiiU to 3DS conversions are games I tend to revisit and enjoy more on my New 3DS. I just adore handhelds and the novelty/fascination with "impossible ports" makes them exciting to play even years and years later.
- Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition is my favorite version of SF4, rather than playing Ultra (the final one). The new characters are fun but kinda jank, Elena is a menace and in general while Ultra is great, I just like AE more.

I could probably think of more, but these are the examples that spring to mind. I'm definitely shocked at you preferring Sonic 1 on the Genesis to later ports! You mentioned the Taxman remasters for Android, but even Sonic Jam on the Saturn is my preferred way to revisit Sonic 1 purely because every port of the game from Jam onwards added the spin-dash to Sonic 1. Game just feels like it's missing something without it for me.

 

[OWG]

when i heard "inferior version" i took it very literally so any sort of remaster or "enhanced port" that is agreed upon to be bad(i.e. SADX) to me would be considered to be said "inferior version" rather than the original which would be considered as "superior"(and mind you, this is usually the case) so this was a really hard question to answer but for me it would be 2 inferior ports from the same series!
nfs hot pursuit 2 on pc, xbox and gamecube and nfs high stakes on pc
the ea canada version of hp2 is absolute dogshit compared to the blackbox counterpart on ps2 but it does hold a special place in my heart as i had the pc version as a kid and it has a pretty decent online multiplayer suite and i sometimes still play the game online from time to time and sometimes in singleplayer too just to have some chaotic fun with the "hot pursuit" races as it frankly doesnt play BAD its just that its inferior to the ps2 game in every way a comparison video of pc vs ps2 i found on youtube at random
nfs high stakes on pc is a mediocre game and the ps1 version is better in every way EXCEPT for the cop mode which on pc lets you switch to different patrol cars on a whim and a lot of other neat stuff like that which is just kind of omitted on ps1 and that + (nostalgic) modding shenanigans is why i sometimes go back to the pc version from time to time but i usually just play the pc version of nfs3 which is the same game with "less" content but is also just less shit and is also another game that has a special place in my heart
an honorable mention would be splinter cell double agent where quite a fair bit of the fanbase believes that the 6th gen "demake" or "downport" is better than the main ps360 version but not only is that encroaching into MODERN GAME territory(ps3 and all) but i actually disagree with with this semi popular stance since i find the 6th gen version to be just lamer due to how much more neutered stuff like the JBA HQ missions are(for the clueless, you are a DOUBLE AGENT and you "work" for a insurrectionist group and sometimes have to do some sneaky stuff in their own headquarters) on the 6th game and i think a lot of the sentiment just comes from 3 things: 1) most people have only played the pc port of double agent which, alongside the equally awful ps3 version, is just plainly bad, buggy and crashes all the time. the xbox 360 version is just plain better
2) quite a few people played the 6th gen version and its clearly NOT a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, they might just prefer what they are used to over the main 7th gen version
3) quite a few people also probably played every mainline game in the series so the 6th gen version of DA being what is essentially a whole new game that does things differently probably just felt very refreshing to some after spending years of playing the same games over and over again regardless of how good they were
but i personally just dont find this version all that great, sorry

 

[moonbits]

I enjoyed Resident Evil 4 on PS2 even if it was graphically inferior.

 

[Cu-Neo]

I immediately thought of The Force Unleashed 1 on the PS2. It has more levels for example 3 in the Jedi temple, where you fight 2 siths and later Kento it also have real time cutcenes because they're made in engine, that means You can see your costume in the cutcenes. And the story makes more sense because you see how starkiller prepares for the battles against the others Jedi and how he recruits people for the rebellion like the senator in the bespin level where you fight a Mandalorian called Choppa. The wii version of the Force unleashed 2 is also superior in some ways for example there's a whole level on Degobah (in the HD version Degobah is only a cutscene) and Starkiller has a power meter that you can use to kill enemies immediately. Speaking of wii versions. Spider man Web of shadows on the wii. Not only is exactly the same game as the HD version (only worse graphics) but it has extra costumes that the other version doesn't have (the ps2/psp version suck ass)

 

[yayang]

actually the older games version not necessarily inferior to a new one on some terms.
I love yuyuhakusho dark tournament on SEGA genesis, it has a unique battle system environment and also we could play co-op with other player up to 4 player.

on the other side, yuyuhakusho on snes and ps2 version dont have those features and the most important thing that the battle system is kinda "inferior" to sega version.

 

[jon2]

FFVII = the remakes looks good... That's it. It's different when you can somewhat predict when you should use limit breaks in coordination with summons as opposed to playing a 3D version of the Tales series.

Lufia 2 = the new one is just a badly made Zelda+Shadows of Colossus clone. The puzzles are non-descript and the skills are just meh (when 50 percent-ish of equipment in the original game has a skill, this is what happens).

SRW A = the A Portable is good eye-candy, has already a fan translation but is a horribly unforgiving game due to balance issues.

Chrono Trigger = aside from the cutscenes which were good, the loading times in the PSX were one addition that wouldn't be missed.

 

[bjork]

I'll say Impossible Mission, specifically the C64 version, but it's kind of a weird thing: among the hardware of its day, the C64 version is the best one with the fewest issues. Heck, you couldn't even finish the 7800 at all until people did a hack for it. But then they put out an updated version that was on the PS2 in Europe and later came to the Wii/DS/PSP/Switch and I don't know where else. It's okay, and updates basically everything about the game (visuals, voices, more characters, etc) but it feels really weird and sterile. So I like the C64 one better than those too. Also, these newer versions also include a "classic" mode that's based on the C64 version, but the sprite looks wrong and each hardware's classic mode is different from one another. I want to say the DS one actually had the right voices and was the closest, but I forget. Maybe it was PSP?
In the end, too many hoops to jump through just to play the version I originally wanted to play anyway.

 

[Bigrat10056]

Timesplitters 2. Technically the PS2 version is the worst version since its 480i only and is a little softer than the other versions. I think it has some map differences due to memory constraints. For some reason though the Xbox and GC version have some of the worst aiming sensitivity ever. The PS2 version is a little more forgiving but the others will move the cursor to the edge of the screen even with the tiniest movements. I beat the game on Xbox but I wish I didn't because the PS2 version is so much easier to play. Thankfully future perfect is a much better experience in terms of aiming.

 

[Jayextee]

I'm going to echo the couple of peeps in here that've said something along the lines of the Megadrive original of Sonic the Hedgehog.

This particular version is literally my favourite videogame ever, and any 'enhancements' made to it have been to my mind akin to painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa -- they don't really seem to be in the spirit of what made the original game so charming.

The Megadrive in general, my favourite console, had some 'inferior' versions of a lot of games that I ended up kinda fond of; Turrican (when patched to nerf that insane damage) and Risky Woods to name but two off the top of my head. I'll also say Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition as well -- the sound was abysmal but the 6-button controller? Yes. Please. Give me that over the SNES controller for fighting games any day.

 

[Stingy Perry]

Any ports/versions of Chrono Trigger except the Super Famicom/SNES one. The other ports are plagued by issues like loading times among other things. That’s why the best way to play this game is through SFC/SNES hardware or emulation.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Probably Street Fighter Alpha 3…on the GBA. Despite the slight downgraded visuals, it is still quite fun and impressive to even play with that many characters

And then there's PSP version of Midnight Club 3, Outrun and basically almost every racing games. Maybe because it's the one I started with and despite some obvious differences, they are still quite fun to play with (especially MotorStorm)

And then the NES version of Castlevania. Despite all the remasters, reimagines or remakes, the original still have that traditional or classic style of Castlevania

 

[TheREALBLUEdragon]

Any ports/versions of Chrono Trigger except the Super Famicom/SNES one. The other ports are plagued by issues like loading times among other things. That’s why the best way to play this game is through SFC/SNES hardware or emulation.

I heard the DS version was excellent and a worthy alternative to the original?

 

[Gorse]

I'm going to echo the couple of peeps in here that've said something along the lines of the Megadrive original of Sonic the Hedgehog.

I couldn't possibly agree with you any more if I tried (I actually entered this thread to say the very same game). I've played most officially-released editions of Sonic 1, but the original Mega Drive version – specifically, the first American release with the spike bug intact – is by far my favourite. The game doesn't need a spindash or widescreen or playable Tails and Knuckles or anything... it's a tight, punchy platformer that fits its own design and presentation perfectly from the word "go".

By this same token, I'm also going to mention the original Super Mario Bros. It doesn't really get re-released that often, but whenever it does they miss out on something – the screen size gets crunched down, or the game plays slower, and you don't really get the full effect of why it's so fun. Even the All-Stars version has that dumb bug in how the blocks work. If people want to play this, I always recommend just emulating the NES game, which is pretty much the easiest thing to do in the world.

 

[rosemarymenace]

when i heard "inferior version" i took it very literally so any sort of remaster or "enhanced port" that is agreed upon to be bad(i.e. SADX) to me would be considered to be said "inferior version" rather than the original which would be considered as "superior"(and mind you, this is usually the case) so this was a really hard question to answer but for me it would be 2 inferior ports from the same series!
nfs hot pursuit 2 on pc, xbox and gamecube and nfs high stakes on pc
the ea canada version of hp2 is absolute dogshit compared to the blackbox counterpart on ps2 but it does hold a special place in my heart as i had the pc version as a kid and it has a pretty decent online multiplayer suite and i sometimes still play the game online from time to time and sometimes in singleplayer too just to have some chaotic fun with the "hot pursuit" races as it frankly doesnt play BAD its just that its inferior to the ps2 game in every way a comparison video of pc vs ps2 i found on youtube at random
nfs high stakes on pc is a mediocre game and the ps1 version is better in every way EXCEPT for the cop mode which on pc lets you switch to different patrol cars on a whim and a lot of other neat stuff like that which is just kind of omitted on ps1 and that + (nostalgic) modding shenanigans is why i sometimes go back to the pc version from time to time but i usually just play the pc version of nfs3 which is the same game with "less" content but is also just less shit and is also another game that has a special place in my heart
an honorable mention would be splinter cell double agent where quite a fair bit of the fanbase believes that the 6th gen "demake" or "downport" is better than the main ps360 version but not only is that encroaching into MODERN GAME territory(ps3 and all) but i actually disagree with with this semi popular stance since i find the 6th gen version to be just lamer due to how much more neutered stuff like the JBA HQ missions are(for the clueless, you are a DOUBLE AGENT and you "work" for a insurrectionist group and sometimes have to do some sneaky stuff in their own headquarters) on the 6th game and i think a lot of the sentiment just comes from 3 things: 1) most people have only played the pc port of double agent which, alongside the equally awful ps3 version, is just plainly bad, buggy and crashes all the time. the xbox 360 version is just plain better
2) quite a few people played the 6th gen version and its clearly NOT a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, they might just prefer what they are used to over the main 7th gen version
3) quite a few people also probably played every mainline game in the series so the 6th gen version of DA being what is essentially a whole new game that does things differently probably just felt very refreshing to some after spending years of playing the same games over and over again regardless of how good they were
but i personally just dont find this version all that great, sorry

I personally can't stand the PS1 port of High Stakes because of how the controls feel, it's hard to put it into words but it feels like there's way more input delay compared to the PC version, that being said for most all of the other NFS games that I've played I prefer the console versions solely for convenience (or in the case of Hot Pursuit 2 because the PS2 version was essentially a remastered version of the PC release, yes I know it's very substantially different but it is still made using the same engine as the PC version)

 

[Somnia]

And then there's PSP version of Midnight Club 3, Outrun and basically almost every racing games. Maybe because it's the one I started with and despite some obvious differences, they are still quite fun to play with (especially MotorStorm)

Outrun is the perfect handheld game tbh. Spent god knows how many hours playing Outrun 2006 on my PSP over the years. Fast, fun, easy to learn and hellishly fun in short bursts!

 

[Waffles]

---

I have always liked the GBA version of Jet Grind Radio more, for some reason.

I mean... it loses the beautiful artwork completely, but it's far easier to pick up and play.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Outrun is the perfect handheld game tbh. Spent god knows how many hours playing Outrun 2006 on my PSP over the years. Fast, fun, easy to learn and hellishly fun in short bursts!

Oh definitely, perfect on the go

 

[AceOfAces]

The PAL version of Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko. Runs at 25fps instead of 30 because PAL and the timescale is slightly different and slower, but the voice actor for Gex (Dana Gould in NTSC-U) was replaced with the legendary Leslie Phillips, and his breadth of dialogue was greatly expanded with far fewer lines that were variations on 'tail time' and far more that were referential or topical. I enjoyed it as a kid, I enjoyed it more as an adult due to actually getting most of the references, some of which are absurdly inappropriate for a G8+ rated game (but a kid wouldn't have the context to get them so they're just hilarious).

 

[MrHtuber]

Persona 4 Golden has a lot of great extra content, quality of life features, as well as Marie who isn't as bad as people say (even tho I did miss out on her dungeon by a single rank which will frustrate me till the end of time), but there's just something so magical about the original PS2 version of Persona 4.
I think RenderWare, it's limitations and it's general aesthetic just fit the game's setting and story so well (well duh, that's how the game was originally made). Some of you might already know this, but P4G actually had a lot of visual downgrades compared to the original P4, and although there are now mods that rectify that, there is still plenty of reasons to play that original game.
Ever since I got my hands on a CRT and played the first hour or so of the game (so up to the point where you first arrive at the Dojima household), and it was nothing short of a religious experience; like watching your favorite film in a theater in the highest possible visual fidelity (70mm or IMAX).

 

[TwoTain]

I've played Rockman and Forte enough times to the point where I can go between the Super Famicom and the Game Boy Advance versions without really missing a beat. The GBA version was the one I played first and while some sections are undoubtedly a little tougher because of the lesser vertical screen space, I'm very fond of that version's quicksave feature and the Battle Network 3/4 sounding arrangements of the soundtrack.

 

[OWG]

I personally can't stand the PS1 port of High Stakes because of how the controls feel, it's hard to put it into words but it feels like there's way more input delay compared to the PC version, that being said for most all of the other NFS games that I've played I prefer the console versions solely for convenience (or in the case of Hot Pursuit 2 because the PS2 version was essentially a remastered version of the PC release, yes I know it's very substantially different but it is still made using the same engine as the PC version)

i've genuinely never felt it but it could be because i played it on bumper cam + on an emulator which could change stuff, but the physics feel so much better on psx so that might be hiding it for me LOL

The PAL version of Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko. Runs at 25fps instead of 30 because PAL and the timescale is slightly different and slower, but the voice actor for Gex (Dana Gould in NTSC-U) was replaced with the legendary Leslie Phillips, and his breadth of dialogue was greatly expanded with far fewer lines that were variations on 'tail time' and far more that were referential or topical. I enjoyed it as a kid, I enjoyed it more as an adult due to actually getting most of the references, some of which are absurdly inappropriate for a G8+ rated game (but a kid wouldn't have the context to get them so they're just hilarious).

on a similar-ish note, i prefer the pal versions of the ps1 wipeout games. now this is actually a stupid thing to claim because the NTSC versions are known to be inferior due to lacking a lot of the music, the higher framerate makes the physics feel more numb and the in-game timer is incorrect but gamers today might pickup NTSC versions because the thought of having to play at a slightly lower framerate is absolutely fucking DISGUSTING to them