What's a clone you enjoy more than the game it's copying?

[JPZ]

Axiom Verge.

Probably the best 'Metroid' game I've ever played.

It has an excellent soundtrack, great atmosphere and awesome pixel art. The weapons are fun, especially the ones which can cause 'glitches' or manipulate the world around you and there are several intense boss fights.

There are vast and interesting areas to explore, creating a feeling of isolation and even claustrophobia in some areas. Felt like being in a nightmare at times, but one I needed to fight through. This game really stuck in my mind and I still think of it.

 

[Ikagura]

Hard to say since clones are trying to be original.

 

[diet_orange]

The Streets Of Rage series~

Post automatically merged: Nov 6, 2025

Ms. Pac-Man is the one for me, if it counts as a clone.
Her speed-up feature gives the game higher spirit.
Though strangely, the game does not behave as intended when the controller bears six buttons... at least, within Genesis realms.

The history of Ms. Pac-Man is endlessly fascinating to me when it started off as just a simple rom-hack by a bunch of college students.

Speaking of, Baby Pac-Man is kind of insane

 

[trickybus]

Speaking of, Baby Pac-Man is kind of insane

Pinball merged with Pac-Man gameplay?! Holy shit, that's cool!

 

[Ephemera1_]

Simple straight to the point question, really complicated to answer though. I think it all depends on how far someone is willing to stretch the term "Clone" . Some people like to write off the King Of Fighters series as just " Street Fighter" clones but that couldn't be further from the truth, especially nowadays with how different the mechanics are. But if you want to consider the older KOF games to be clones because those games WERE similar to those older SF games (mainly alpha) then KOF is a "clone" I enjoy more than the original.

As a pretty big fan of puzzle games i would also like to mention "Bejeweled". The famous gem matching game that was eventually copied by the likes of "Candy Crush" was inspired heavily from a Russian DOS game from 1993 called "Shariki". Popcap saw the concept and tweaked it a bit and released a flash game called "Diamond Mines" which was the very first version of Bejeweled.

 

[Tetronomicon]

Like others have said, I like most every Grand Theft Auto clone over Grand Theft Auto. I particularly like Scarface: The World is Yours and Godfather: The Game for their organized crime business sim aspects (drug running/dealing and racketeering/extortion respectively). And of course Saints Row for being the batshit insane version of Grand Theft Auto.

Hexen over Doom

EDIT: Alien Trilogy over Doom, too!

Same. I prefer pretty much every other id Tech 1 game over DOOM about as much as I do every other Build Engine game over Duke Nukem 3D (BLOOD probably being the best as well as Shadow Warrior).

Axiom Verge.

Probably the best 'Metroid' game I've ever played.

It has an excellent soundtrack, great atmosphere and awesome pixel art. The weapons are fun, especially the ones which can cause 'glitches' or manipulate the world around you and there are several intense boss fights.

There are vast and interesting areas to explore, creating a feeling of isolation and even claustrophobia in some areas. Felt like being in a nightmare at times, but one I needed to fight through. This game really stuck in my mind and I still think of it.


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The most obvious response I could give to this is to say that I've always preferred the Castlevania games over the Metroid ones. They're better and there's more of them.

 

[NotReallyHere]

The most obvious response I could give to this is to say that I've always preferred the Castlevania games over the Metroid ones. They're better and there's more of them.

I like to say that the best Metroid game ever made is Symphony of the Night. And this is coming from a lifelong Metroid diehard - someone who had the original Metroid as their very first NES game after Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt. SOTN is just that good

 

[trickybus]

Simple straight to the point question, really complicated to answer though. I think it all depends on how far someone is willing to stretch the term "Clone" . Some people like to write off the King Of Fighters series as just " Street Fighter" clones but that couldn't be further from the truth, especially nowadays with how different the mechanics are. But if you want to consider the older KOF games to be clones because those games WERE similar to those older SF games (mainly alpha) then KOF is a "clone" I enjoy more than the original.

As a pretty big fan of puzzle games i would also like to mention "Bejeweled". The famous gem matching game that was eventually copied by the likes of "Candy Crush" was inspired heavily from a Russian DOS game from 1993 called "Shariki". Popcap saw the concept and tweaked it a bit and released a flash game called "Diamond Mines" which was the very first version of Bejeweled.

I appreciate both the nuance and the Bejeweled lore! Never knew about its origins in Shariki

 

[Aziamuth]

Also chiming in to say I like Dragon Quest Builders better than Minecraft. I generally need some kind of goal to work towards, Minecraft is too directionless for me, too much of a blank slate. DQB2 especially got me hooked enough to actually want to build things on my own just for the sake of it.

I think it helps that there's a bigger variety of blocks, and that not all blocks are cubes. Once I tried to replicate the DQ Golem in Minecraft and it came out wonky because of the lack of triangular blocks

 

[lilyelliott40]

I like to say that the best Metroid game ever made is Symphony of the Night. And this is coming from a lifelong Metroid diehard - someone who had the original Metroid as their very first NES game after Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt. SOTN is just that good

That’s a really interesting take — and honestly, I get it. Symphony of the Night nailed that sense of exploration, atmosphere, and progression that defines Metroid at its best. It’s wild how a Castlevania game ended up perfecting the “Metroidvania” formula that Metroid itself inspired. Totally fair to call it the peak of that style.

 

[Ikagura]

Also chiming in to say I like Dragon Quest Builders better than Minecraft. I generally need some kind of goal to work towards, Minecraft is too directionless for me, too much of a blank slate. DQB2 especially got me hooked enough to actually want to build things on my own just for the sake of it.

I always saw DQB as a "what if Terraria was in 3D" kind of game since you had to build things for NPCs who had a proper name and function (sorry Minecraft's Villagers but you're mere mobs than actual characters) and soft RPG elements with more weapons and armors.

 

[Grumpy_Old_Man]

Alien Infestation take on the "Metroid formula", is the only is the only one in the genre I've truly enjoyed.

 

[Badseed Badseed]

Yea, yea Devil May Cry, God of War...
Sorry boys, Bayonetta did it 1000 times better and more stylish

Actually ALL THESE games were inspired by Strider
(or so they claim)

 

[Ikagura]

Having the same genre =/= being a clone of.

Not every FPS are Doom clones, not every platformers are Mario Bros clones, not every fighting games are SFII clones.

 

[trickybus]

Having the same genre =/= being a clone of.

Not every FPS are Doom clones, not every platformers are Mario Bros clones, not every fighting games are SFII clones.

I'm aware of the distinction. The example that I gave and that others have given are games with mechanics that are identical or near-identical to the source. I think of clones like software forks: another programmer sees an idea that they like but would also like to make a few changes to, so they lift the blueprint and implement the changes they want to see.

I know "clone" is often used as a derogatory descriptor for video games but that's not my intent with this thread. I believe clones can be just as good if not better than the source material it pulls from.

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

Hmmmmm dunno if it counts but i'd say I prefer Banjo Kazooie and DK64 over mario 64. And also crash team racing over mario kart 64

 

[dropsmegamega]

There's actually very few I can think of, but the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games come to mind as I somehow enjoy then way more than Diablo 2. Also The Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen over LttP.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

Toukiden I think. Wasn’t huge on monster hunter but I enjoyed omega force’s take on the formula.

 

[trickybus]

Toukiden I think. Wasn’t huge on monster hunter but I enjoyed omega force’s take on the formula.

I played that one! It's been a while but I remember it being a solid take on the monster-hunting formula

 

[BrawlMan]

Violent Storm is the best Final Fight game Capcom never made. It crushes the entire trilogy, but especially the sequels. I do prefer Bayonetta 2 over most of the DMC games.

Shadow Warrior 3 I find much more fun and better than Doom Eternal.

 

[dkpopman]

Once I played Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, the trick combos made playing JSR and JSRF way less fun to play. Still really love both of those games though.

 

[BrawlMan]

Ninja Baseball Batman I enjoy even more than either version of Turtles in Time.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I personally like Strife a hell of a whole lot better than Doom, a game I also adore.

 

[diet_orange]

MK Shaolin Monks. Never really had much of a taste for DMC or God Of War. Also, Simpsons Road Rage

Post automatically merged: Jan 3, 2026

Ninja Baseball Batman I enjoy even more than either version of Turtles in Time.

Ninja Baseball Batman doesn't feel like a TMNT Arcade clone. Ninja Kids on the other hand? Definitely

 

[BrawlMan]

Ninja Baseball Batman doesn't feel like a TMNT Arcade clone.

If you pay attention closely, mainly in the last level, they were copying Turtles in Time. Not for beat by beat, but NY (the last stage) in NBBM looks very similar to how it looks in Turtles in Time. That said, IREM did it more than enough to make the game stand out on its own. Even though some character archetypes are shared.

Ninja Kids on the other hand? Definitely

Ninja Kids straight up copied the first Ninja Turtles Arcade Game and Golden Axe with this magic system. 3 out of the 4 heroes at least have bladed weapons to stand out.

Speaking of GA, I love most of the games, but Warrior Blade: Rastan III i'd find better than the original trilogy. Revenge of Death Adder is the only one which tops Warrior Blade.

Tekken and most of Bloody Roar, I prefer over Virtua Fighter.