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The arcade scene is nowhere near the moneymaker it used to be in the late 70s to mid-90s. Then, the industry saw several revolutionary titles that pushed the boundaries of hardware in ways that home consoles couldn’t manage. However, when console gaming became more mainstream, these titles inevitably saw home versions that varied wildly in quality.
A proper home port of an arcade title doesn’t always merely replicate the original title. What makes a title fun in the arcades isn’t always going to have lasting appeal, so some changes such as extra content or more polished mechanics can turn a good arcade title into an absolute classic.
10 Best: Contra For The NES Cracked The Code
When gamers bring up the original Contra, they mostly remember the Nintendo Entertainment System port rather than the original arcade version, and for good reason. While the Western NES version removed several of the Japanese Famicom’s additions, such as cutscenes and certain graphical effects, it still retained the original title’s excellent run & gun gameplay.
One significant addition to the home port was the inclusion of the Konami code, which gave players 30 lives. Because of this feature, more players likely made it to the end of this version than in the original arcade.
9 Worst: Cruis’N USA For The N64 Needs A Tune-Up
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The original Cruis’N USA cabinet was deemed a great response to Sega’s Outrun and Daytona titles. However, while Midway claimed that the original arcade title was powered by the same tech that would be used to power the Nintendo “Ultra” 64, this turned out to be a complete fabrication.
Despite having two whole years to bring this game to the N64, inconsistent frame rates, poor collision detection, and awful Midi conversions of the original game’s soundtrack make this port a rough ride. However, despite this conversion’s atrociousness, it became a commercial success during the holiday season of 1996.
8 Best: U.N. Squadron Soared Higher Than The Arcade
While the Super Nintendo port eschewed the original arcade title’s 2-player mode, it made several changes that made it regarded by many as the definitive version. No longer were the game’s playable characters assigned to a specific aircraft, as the port boasted a wide range of purchasable vessels and arsenal.
The mission-by-mission structure of the original title was changed in favor of a less linear base defense structure where players could choose who to take on next. If all that wasn’t enough, the SNES version also featured brand-new bonus stages not seen in the original release.
7 Worst: X-Men Vs. Street Fighter Was Power Drained On The PlayStation
The PlayStation didn’t have much luck regarding ports of Capcom’s fighters. For every solid port like Street Fighter Alpha 2, there were several heinous conversions such as X-Men Children of the Atom, Marvel Vs. Capcom, and X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. The latter featured many of the same problems of previous ports, such as missing animation frames, constant slowdown, fewer background details, and more intrusive load times.
However, the most glaring omission was the arcade’s tag team gameplay. Unfortunately, the memory limitations of the PlayStation reduced fights to one-on-one, removing an instrumental gameplay component from this beloved title.
6 Best: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time On The SNES Is Totally Tubular
The Super Nintendo port of Turtles in Time featured fewer frames of animation, more compressed audio, and was limited to only two players. However, it made several enhancements to the combat and even added new content. Tossing enemies was no longer a matter of luck; it was even incorporated into a brand new boss fight.
New levels were set in the Technodrome and the Neon Night Riders stage saw a change in perspective thanks to the system’s Mode-7 effects. However, for every drawback, the SNES port made up for it and then some.
5 Worst: Mortal Kombat Was Hara Kiri-ed On The SNES
Following Mortal Kombat’s arcade debut, it was expected that the home versions would see some compromises. While the Super Nintendo port’s visual fidelity and sounds were superior to the Genesis port, two major drawbacks made it the inferior version. Despite featuring more buttons than the standard Genesis controller, the controls in the SNES were significantly less responsive.
What was the most egregious omission, of course, was the original arcade title’s trademark blood and fatalities which were replaced by sweat and far tamer finishers, respectively. It’s no mystery why the Genesis port wound up outselling the SNES version by nearly three-to-one.
4 Best: Tekken Tag Tournament Was Ready For The Next battle On the PlayStation 2
One of the marquee launch titles for the PlayStation 2, Namco’s home conversion exceeded the original arcade release in every single way. While the original title ran on the 32-bit PCB board that powered previous entries, the PS2 port of Tag Tournament would see a leap in polygon counts and texture quality as well as re-orchestrated tracks of the original midi music.
Most importantly, the game’s refined combat remained entirely intact. If consumers were skeptical about the leap from the original PlayStation to its successor, Tekken Tag Tournament put those concerns to rest.
3 Worst: Revolution X for the Genesis Is A Toy Best Left In The Attic
The Genesis port of Revolution X took what was already a pretty lousy railgun shooter and made it significantly worse. While the Super Nintendo version was able to retain some samples of Aerosmith’s songs, Genesis owners had to contend with twangy Yamaha-sound chip approximations of Rag Doll, Eat the Rich, and Toys in the Attic.
This is pretty inexcusable for a game whose entire selling point is the involvement of a recognizable band. For what it’s worth, the video clips provided by Steven Tyler and the rest of the band seem somewhat intact, even if they are highly compressed. The killing blow to this port is the lack of any light-gun support.
2 Best: Soul Calibur
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From the game’s intro sequence, the Dreamcast version of Soul Calibur immediately impresses as it’s done entirely in-time instead of being pre-rendered. This port was a substantial improvement of the original arcade version with fully polygonal 3D backgrounds, more-polished gameplay, and additional content.
New additions include three game modes: training, team battle, and survival. In addition, the undead pirate and main antagonist of Soul Edge, Cervantes de León, returns to this port’s roster. To extend the game’s lifespan, new costumes and character art can be unlocked. All of this culminated in making what is quite possibly the best arcade-to-home conversion of all time.
1 Worst: Pac-Man For The Atari 2600 Helped Bring About The 1983 Crash
Namco’s Pac-Man became a cultural phenomenon upon its initial 1980 release. Gamers who wished to catch the fever from the comfort of their homes via the Atari 2600 were in for a crushing disappointment as the port bore next to no similarity to its arcade big brother.
This disastrous port is one of the many Atari 2600 titles that were blamed for the Western Video Game Crash of 1983. It’s not just a terrible title; it’s one that almost helped kill the industry. For that crime alone, it secures its place in history as the single worst arcade port in gaming.
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