I'd like to collect the names of games that exist for NES and Game Boy that are basically identical as far as this is possible. You know, games that have the same look and feel on both consoles, even though the Game Boy screen is of course smaller.
I'm not talking about mere ports. They really have to feel alike. For example, "Double Dragon" not only has different graphics, but the gameplay is different as well. The movements work differently etc.
I'm talking about games that feel like the same code was used (even though this isn't true).
Please only list games for the classic Game Boy.
The games that I've found so far:
Paperboy
Star Wars
Do you know of any other games that are that similar?
Does the NES game have to have been released in North America or Western Europe, or are Famicom games acceptable as well? If the latter, Balloon Kid and Hello Kitty World.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Duck Tales 2 is very close.
Galaga is very close
Gauntlet II is nearly the same.
Aladdin seems to be the same as the crappy PAL version.
Pugley's Scavenger Hunt is pretty close.
Alfred Chicken is almost identical.
Bugs Bunny is somewhat close.
Darkwing Duck is very close.
Extra Bases is similar to Famista 90.
Hook is almost identical.
Milon's Secret Castle looks very close.
Monopoly is very close.
Krusty's Fun House is very close.
Yoshi's Cookie is very close.
I've heard that Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle for Game Boy is basically the same game as the FDS Roger Rabbit game. I don't know whether they are completely identical in gameplay and level design (and look and feel) though, as I've only played the FDS version.
There's also Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle for NES, by the way.
They're very similar. They have all the same elements/characters, and all the same music. The levels and order are slightly different between games. The level design is not very interesting though, so it hardly makes much of a difference.
The levels are different, I think the gameboy's different screen size may have forced that. None of the levels are memorable in any way though, so it might as well be the same. It's just busywork for the kid playing it.
Looks like there are a bunch of nearly-identical games.
Yeah, "Bug's Bunny's Crazy Castle" isn't really what I was talking about. I didn't just mean games where the premise is the same. I was actually talking about identical graphics and identical gameplay (minus the screen difference). For example, Bugs Bunny walks quicker in the Game Boy game, so it's different physics.
"Gauntlet II" was the one that I had in mind as well.
And I think "The Lion King" could be identical.
"Duck Tales" would have been the same if they had used the same level layout. The game mechanics seem to be identical.
I haven't tried Darkwing Duck, but wasn't it released for both?
What about games that were ported to a bunch of platforms, like Battletoads, Micro Machines or Marble Madness?
This thread seems to have dissolved into describing similar rewrites... I thought it would be things more like the originally mentioned Balloon Kid GB and Famicom Hello Kitty World...
Not quite the right system, but NGPC Pacman seems actually to be a port of the arcade game as opposed to the very off previous remakes.
tokumaru wrote:
What about games that were ported to a bunch of platforms, like Battletoads, Micro Machines or Marble Madness?
Sure. If they are basically identical on NES and Game Boy.
mikejmoffitt wrote:
This thread seems to have dissolved into describing similar rewrites... I thought it would be things more like the originally mentioned Balloon Kid GB and Famicom Hello Kitty World...
Nah, it's o.k. It doesn't have to be the same from a point of view of the programmer, only of the player. If games are alike in the same way "Paperboy", "Star Wars" and "Gauntlet II" are, then they count.
mikejmoffitt wrote:
This thread seems to have dissolved into describing similar rewrites... I thought it would be things more like the originally mentioned Balloon Kid GB and Famicom Hello Kitty World...
I guess there are too few cases like Balloon Kid/Hello Kitty, so there wouldn't be much to discuss... Also, the OP asked specifically about games that look and feel very similar to each other, without necessarily being based on the source of the other version.
DRW wrote:
Sure. If they are basically identical on NES and Game Boy.
I checked Battletoads and Micro Machines... not very similar.
tepples wrote:
I know, I discovered this today. But the games are still fairly different.
How about the Game Boy Color game, Super Mario Bros. DX?
rainwarrior wrote:
Super Mario Bros. DX
In that case, here's another NES to GBC port worth checking: Crystalis.
Jungle Book (Nintendo Power even made that observation when the GB version came out). The Megaman games don't have the same quirks on GB but they're identical in look and feel.
I'll have a closer look to all these games. It's more than I'd have imagined.
By the way, Game Boy Color games don't really fit here. I mean, if you have a handheld system and you re-realease classic games from 10 years ago, of course they will be almost the same. That's not really a surprise or special. But if an NES and a Game Boy game that came out at the same time look and play identical, then that's really neat.
Another obvious example is Gargoyle's Quest II (The GB version was reviewed in NP despite being cancelled for NA).
Could someone with a high speed connection check Boku Dracula Kun?
The GBC SMB DX suggestion was kind of a joke.
The Dr. Mario games are pretty similar between NES and GB.
It figures, as Dr. Mario for Game Boy uses Balloon Kid's music engine, and Dr. Mario for NES uses that of Hello Kitty World.
tepples wrote:
Dr. Mario for NES uses that of Tetris.
Fixed that for you
Some sound effects in Hello Kitty World are identical to sound effects in Dr. Mario, and the DPCM drum sample in Hello Kitty World is identical to the drum sample in Dr. Mario.
Furthermore, some elements from the prototype version of Dr. Mario were used in Hello Kitty world, and not in Dr. Mario.
Besides Dr. Mario and it's Prototype counterpart's Music Engine(s), Please get some more proof that Hello Kitty World/Balloon Kid has some elements such as Screens, etc. Otherwise the Info is Null and Void.
Sure, Music is the same, but not the Gameplay!
The maps and the control feel are identical in BK and HKW.
Just remembered a bunch more: Operation C, Solomon's Club, Adventure Island II and Lolo control the same as their NES counterparts though the levels are completely different. Both systems got an almost identical port of Rodland. Also, Ninja Gaiden Shadow is a reskinned Shadow of the Ninja (Both developed by Natsume).
Nemesis and Gradius on GB are too sluggish to qualify.
Others to check:
Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Alfred Chicken
Alien 3
Asterix
Bomberman
Batman
Batman - Return of the Joker
Fist of the North Star
Lemmings
Cool Spot on GB is actually a revamp of M.C. Kids, Both are called McdonaldLand in European areas!
I meant that Dr. Mario and Hello Kitty World are not the same, even though it is a conversion of Balloon Kid, as Dr. Mario got ported to NES and GB both, That and the sound composer is the only thing in common
strat wrote:
Batman - Return of the Joker
The Game Boy version of this game is completely different from the NES version! Unlike the Genesis/MD and SNES versions, which are nearly identical (although I have the impression that both aren't as polished as the NES version), the Game Boy one is a completely different game under the same name.
EDIT: Checked the SNES version and it's actually not as similar to the NES version as I thought, but it's still the same game. The Genesis port is pretty close to the NES version though, only with worse graphics. The 16-bit versions somehow manage to look worse than the 8-bit version... How can they screw this up!?
strat wrote:
Just remembered a bunch more: Operation C
Nah. I checked it against the original "Contra" and it's different. The graphics are different and the player character walks slower on the Game Boy.
I was talking about games that are really astonishingly similar, with the same graphics and the same gameplay. Games that are just "Hey, they caught the atmosphere of the NES game pretty well" aren't enough. "Operation C" isn't anymore like "Contra" as "Metroid" and "Metroid II" are alike.
strat wrote:
Batman
What???
Okay, I remembered Operation C being more accurate than it is. Here's a question: Would you count Adventure Island III (GB II) if he throws the axe at a different arc? The jumping physics are identical, although there's a bit more friction when he turns around on GB (Not really an issue since Adventure Island as a rule discourages you from turning around).
For the record, if we did this topic with SNES and GB games, I would totally not count Donkey Kong Land.
Quote:
Cool Spot on GB is actually a revamp of M.C. Kids, Both are called McdonaldLand in European areas!
Interesting find. Although you meant to say Spot the Cool Adventure. Cool Spot is a port of the same game on SNES.
By the way, in case it's not clear, that list I posted above were games I was wondering about but didn't feel like checking.
Ninja Gaiden Shadow is certainly not a port of anything, it is an original game. It is similar to other Natsume games in style, but that's it.
Ninja Gaiden Shadow was actually a port of
another Famicom game by Natsume. I don't know how close the two versions are though, as I've never played either of them.
No, it is not a port. They share some similarity in overall design and sound, as well as with other Natsume games, but they are two different games.
Kage/Shadow of the Ninja/Blue ShadowNinja Gaiden Shadow
How about the Sanrio Carnival series (Puzzle game for both NES and GB)?
and then there is Armadillo's Unreleased Sequel, which turned into Ultraman ball, which was originally titled Armadillo 2/Armadillo Gaiden