Which do you think is closer to the arcade: SMS or MD?

[englishinvader]

This is a question I've been thinking about a lot lately. My answer is the SMS because of the era in which it was made and the nature of the games.

The SMS was released in the mid 80s when games like Outrun and Space Harrier were at their peak and the SMS ports were as direct as possible with little or no gameplay tweaks to dilute the experience for the home user; even games like Alex Kidd in Miracle World and The Ninja seem like arcade games in spirit.

Something that's quite telling about the Mega Drive is that it's the only Sega console that didn't get a port of the original Space Harrier (only the sequel). It didn't get ports of Alien Syndrome or the original Shinobi (both key titles of the Sega arcade experience), it got versions of arcade games that were adapted for the home. That's not to say that I don't love the MD and its brilliant Shinobi titles but because of the era in which it was made a key part of the gameplay from the arcade was lost in translation.

I've posted this thread in the Sega 16-bit forum as well because I'm curious to see how each side responds to the same question.

[ShadowAngel]

Dec 25, 2014 14:27:22 GMT englishinvader said:

The SMS was released in the mid 80s when games like Outrun and Space Harrier were at their peak and the SMS ports were as direct as possible with little or no gameplay tweaks to dilute the experience for the home user;

Well some games were quite radically changed. Golden Axe is a good example. Enduro Racer is another game where the Arcade Version is a whole lot different to what we got on the Master System. Bank Panic was also changed quite a bit gameplaywise (Outlaws can't rob you and all that), Shinobi is another example where the gameplay is different.

Whereas the Mega Drive usually got conversion that are really close to the Arcade originals: Golden Axe, OutRun, AfterBurner, Altered Beast, Super Hang-On, Alien Storm and later games like Outrunners and Virtua Racing.

Dec 25, 2014 14:27:22 GMT englishinvader said:

and The Ninja seem like arcade games in spirit.

No wonder, it's a conversion of Sega Ninja (they just changed the female character into a guy for whatever stupid reason) which is an Arcade game from 1985, which actually was also released for the SG 1000 in a closer conversion

Of course it didn't get games like Shinobi, Space Harrier or Alien Syndrome because by then those were old games, they were released on the previous console, so why bother? People don't want to see the same old crap. It made more sense to convert newer arcade games or create console-only Sequels that feature a lot more. By the time the Mega Drive came out, people wanted more than some 25 minute Arcade game. They wanted longer games that feature more things to do. Hence why for example Super Hang-On got the Career Mode.

I think the Mega Drive has just as much of an Arcade feel. Mostly thanks to all those Shoot 'em Up, Golden Axe 2, the Streets of Rage series, Eternal Champions and a ton of Arcade conversions from other developers (like Terminator 2 - The Arcade Game, Two Crude Dudes, Arch Rivals, NBA Jam, to name a few)

[Transatlantic Foe]

Definitely the MD. The SMS had a couple of good early/obscure arcade ports like The Ninja and Scramble Spirits. But the MD ports were closer to the arcade - often just lacking the rotated screen and some colours. SMS wise, stuff like Space Harrier is really choppy and it wasn't until the Saturn that you got home hardware that could handle the sprite scaling. So really you just need to look at the 2D stuff. While you have the odd standout like New Zealand Story, there isn't much the MD did that the SMS could do justice to (Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Zero Wing).

[gallos_11]

Mega Drive for me as well. I agree with Transatlantic Foe.

[Centrale]

I think there are a lot of examples of faithful arcade conversions on each system, but I would give the edge to the SMS. Especially the earliest years of the Master System, it's almost wall-to-wall arcade games. Even if you overlook the ones that really challenged the capabilities of the console, there are just tons... Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, My Hero, Quartet, Fantasy Zone and Fantasy Zone II, Global Defense (SDI), R-Type, Vigilante, Time Soldiers, Choplifter.

What I find particularly interesting are the cases in which the Genesis/MD version is a re-imagining, but the SMS version attempts a more faithful conversion - Alien Storm and Shadow Dancer come to mind.

[flatapex]

which is closer to the arcade? well it was always down to sega but they needed to keep a reasonable distance between arcade and home, to keep the two seperate.

i'll vote for md, mainly from the racing game side for 3 reasons:
1. super off road, i know it wasnt sega but the hardware was as close to the arcade hardware and as much as i hope to be able to play on my favourite arcade machine against my friends from childhood, even though we have not seen eachother for many years (i havent seen one for nearly 17 years, one for about 3 years and the other about 12 years)
2. virtua racing, the original arcade game was groundbreaking and having that game on my md as a teenager was very close to the arcade experience
3. super hang on. the only thing missing was the ride on cab, which even now is the closest i will get to riding a motorbike- i have dyspraxia and therefore have not enough balance to ride any bike even a bicycle. in 1999 when applying for my provisional licence all uk applicants are (or were then at least) asked if they wanted to add motorcycles, i declined as dyspraxia is for life and as i get old my balance will be worse. it sounds astonishing but as racing game technology improves i can get closer to what i cannot do in real life

[zap]

I'll say the Mega Drive/Genesis, even though it could never do a proper Thunderblade or Afterburner port. Even Afterburner 3 on the Sega CD couldn't get it close to the arcade.

[ian]

I think the obvious answer is the Mega Drive, due to its superior hardware.
But I feel the SMS did a great job porting a lot of arcade games. The system is a lot more limited than an arcade machine so compromises always had to be made, but games such as Shinobi and Out Run are very playable.

Dec 25, 2014 21:55:47 GMT Centrale said:

I think there are a lot of examples of faithful arcade conversions on each system, but I would give the edge to the SMS. Especially the earliest years of the Master System, it's almost wall-to-wall arcade games. Even if you overlook the ones that really challenged the capabilities of the console, there are just tons... Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, My Hero, Quartet, Fantasy Zone and Fantasy Zone II, Global Defense (SDI), R-Type, Vigilante, Time Soldiers, Choplifter.

Nice list of games that people may not have even realised were arcade ports. Some others include: Action Fighter, Air Rescue, Dead Angle, Captain Silver, Space Gun, Bonanza Bros, Cloud Master, E-Swat, Dynamite Duke, Dynamite Dux, Forgotten Worlds, G-LOC, Gain Ground, to name a few. Check out a full list: www.smspower.org/Tags/ArcadePort.

[Transatlantic Foe]

Well, Air Rescue is like Line of Fire - not really an arcade port but an SMS version of an arcade game. It shares the name and some plot/location details but the game is totally different - not just level layout but genre too. Actually, G-LOC goes there as well as it barely resembles the arcade game. That Space Gun port, of course, barely resembles a game!

There's a lot of good arcade ports though but where the Mega Drive got a version too, it's nearly always superior and yeah, that's hardware. But a lot of the SMS exclusive ones are of relatively unknown arcade games... which you can probably put down to age.

[Rudi]

I voted for MD.
That is how experience it from my lunapark age.
However ...
There are games like wonderboy that i even recent played on a lunapark that is exactly the same as on SMS.
Its just that the hardware of luna's where powerfull. MD was more advanced and that is the reason why this comes closer to arcade for my opinion.