The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Licensed games that deviated wildly from the source
Sorenson
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
We're all well aware of the paradigms and pains of license games: something big (usually a movie) is due for release and the studio's hoping for a game tie-in to make even more money, they hire either a third-rate no-name company or one with a ton of power behind its name to do the job, said devteam shovels out some half-assed product that's either a direct copy of the film or only deviates enough to give them some wiggle room around the source material, the game comes out at the same time as the film, tanks, and everybody's worse off.
But sometimes things are a bit different. Sometimes the developers are literal bottom-rung and have no idea what the fuck they're even dealing with, or simply don't care; sometimes they decide that since the game's probably going to tank anyway that they're going all-out with every idea they've had, fitting or not; and when all's said and done they wind up putting out a product that has almost nothing in common with the source save for a name and a few choice assets. And I wanna' know about these wierd-ass licensed-in-name-only titles, and I'm sure a few of you after thinking about it do to.
Probably the one big example of this that I myself know of would be Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie for the SNES. It's got all the basic fixin's of a Macross game: transforming jet fighters and the titular spaceship, missile/beam spam, the Zentraedi and their five or so types of canon mecha, and the cringingly overwhelming power of love. It's also got more noncanon shit than you can redirect an entire river at, from peons to gigantic boss mecha that look like something out of Gradias or R-Type to motherfucking fifty-foot-tall electrokinetic star children/lizardman hybrids. Of course, all of this noncanon shit is probably what made the game so fun in the first place, unlike that other Macross[/i] side-scrolling shooter that you can probably only find on one of those bootleg 100-in-1 carts.
But sometimes things are a bit different. Sometimes the developers are literal bottom-rung and have no idea what the fuck they're even dealing with, or simply don't care; sometimes they decide that since the game's probably going to tank anyway that they're going all-out with every idea they've had, fitting or not; and when all's said and done they wind up putting out a product that has almost nothing in common with the source save for a name and a few choice assets. And I wanna' know about these wierd-ass licensed-in-name-only titles, and I'm sure a few of you after thinking about it do to.
Probably the one big example of this that I myself know of would be Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie for the SNES. It's got all the basic fixin's of a Macross game: transforming jet fighters and the titular spaceship, missile/beam spam, the Zentraedi and their five or so types of canon mecha, and the cringingly overwhelming power of love. It's also got more noncanon shit than you can redirect an entire river at, from peons to gigantic boss mecha that look like something out of Gradias or R-Type to motherfucking fifty-foot-tall electrokinetic star children/lizardman hybrids. Of course, all of this noncanon shit is probably what made the game so fun in the first place, unlike that other Macross[/i] side-scrolling shooter that you can probably only find on one of those bootleg 100-in-1 carts.
Sorenson on
0
Posts
Many NES era licensed games also tended to deviate quite a bit, although many of them weren't tied to any specific movie. While bad guys a the franchise remained bad guys, and good guys remained good guys, they didn't really try much harder than that to remain faithful to the source material, probably due to the fact that many western licenses were handled by Japanese Developers.
For example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_%28Namco_video_game%29
Darth Vader is the game's only boss, who transforms into different creatures in all but two of the stages.
And then there is Shogo: MAD. The game that is made to feel like a license but isn't and is awesome because of it. I'd set myself on fire for a new Shogo.
For a more recent example, how about Wolverine? That one almost seems like the movie stuff was shoehorned into the game.
I am pretty sure it was an entirely different game up until the release of the movie at which point they put the Black Pearl in and changed the name.
I remember the game was great but had nothing to do with the movie.
Origin: theRealElMucho
Oh, Aliens the arcade game. Keeping the setting (roughly), P1 is Ripley (with a smartgun) and P2 is Hicks (again with a smartgun) you right through the entire nest to get to Newt. Even riding on top of the APC for a bit before Newt's carried off by a flying alien.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
This is the damn game I was trying to think of when I read the OP.
EDIT: How about Back to the Future 2/3 for the NES. At least 1 had the bullies and the basic story despite the bowling balls, clocks, bees, glass dudes and hula hoop girls. I seem to recall weird generic characters like zombies and snails and shit for 2/3 that had nothing to do with the movie.
I'm pretty sure everyone who watched the movie/series wanted to bust shit up with the Major/Batou, but instead you got to pilot a tachikoma. AWESOME.
On the other hand, it was a pretty good game. It had enough GiTS-ness that I was willing to forgive the deviation, especially since tachikomas ROCK.
As for my entry to this thread, I submit defunct French studio Cryo Interactive's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's Sci-Fi novel Ubik. I actually own it, and have clocked it several times.
The game is basically real-time tactics (think JA2, only not turn based) and while it does - sort of - follow the basic plot of the novel, they added in a ridiculous amount of combat and psychic abilities. I think Chip shoots about 3 people in the novel. In the game, he and his squaddies kill about a platoon's worth of Hollis goons.
Also of note was an introduction in the novel written by the owner of Cryo Interactive (also lead producer of the game) who claimed to have known Dick personally (:winky:) and basically wrote a big spiel about how Dick would have loved this adaptation because it would have allowed readers to experience his themes and ideals in a whole new light etc.
Fun game, though.
Oh yeah, no meatbags are shown, just vehicles.
I used to own this. :P
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
is the first thing that comes to mind.
I haven't played the game, but it is based on a movie that has basically nothing to do with the books except a few names (Jason Bourne etc) in common.
Yeah there's something magical about a tank with the voice of a 14 year-old girl.
Steam // Secret Satan
Neither did Spot Goes to Hollywood, but boy were those games some of the best I played when I was little.
Instead of sticking to what was introduced in the movie or - a better choice - the phenomenally original comic book, the game tries to kind of squeeze both into one product. And, beyond being a pretty mediocre game, its narrative is bunk in the trunk.
A real disappointment - and even more so after I read the source material.
The Civ games are not licensed. More Civs equals more awesome. How does it feel to be so wrong?
I found it on the extremely cheap and picked it up. Still have it floating around.
Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't America in all the Civ games.
The protagonist is such a gigantuan prick within the comic book. Words cannot express how much you just want him to die.
Steam // Secret Satan
EDIT Ok that's not really fair, the premise was brilliant it's just that the whole thing fell apart under Wesley's rapid growth from nobody to superfacefucker
Funny thing, that. It wasn't originally designed as a Noid game, but instead received a big graphic overhaul for the U.S. market.
In any case... well, I wouldn't say that licensed games should often necessarily deviate from the source material, but I think some would be better if they weren't quite so beholden to it. Take Batman: Arkham Asylum, for example. Rather than drawing from any particular movie or cartoon or anything, it seems to be based on the mythos itself, allowing the developers to essentially create their vision and version of the Dark Knight.
As I once posted elsewhere, for another example. This is following the news that Activision said they weren't interested in creating a Generation 1 TransFormers game, though they are apparently interested in making it a yearly franchise.
Another thing about Armada: If memory serves, it came out well after that portion of the series had faded and everyone had moved on, so you had a good game based on what amounted to an "old" narrative, in that people were likely tired of it (if they even liked it to begin with), but it was still too fresh to even be "retro."
On the other hand, had they built their own TransFormers from scratch-- their own Optimus, their own Megatron, etc.-- it could have held a sort of timeless quality, and would actually be the "video game TransFormers," rather than "iteration x of TransFormers in a video game."
This one might be sort of out there for some readers here, but I think the Power Rangers would be another example. They usually have to rush a sub-par product out there while a particular iteration of the show is on the air and toys are on shelves, and probably don't get a lot of time to do anything.
On the other hand, something not so attached to a particular concept of one season might be interesting. Personally, I'd love something like a Megazord/Monster battle game across various city and landscapes, sort of like the Godzilla monster games. Pick from the original Megazords and baddies, or newer ones. Cut loose. Sort of like that fighting game they had on the Super NES, but less Street Fighter-y.
Then again, they did do that anniversary game a couple of years ago, Super Legends, I think. I heard it wasn't that good, and a lot of that had to do with suits tying their hands as to who they could/couldn't use, and wanted them to focus primarily on a certain iteration.
Whatever clown said that Tommy, the Green/White/Red/Black Ranger shouldn't be playable should lose his job. Seriously, I hate to say that about anyone, but in a game like that, it's as stupid as stupid gets.
Another example might be Dragon Ball Z. I'm so sick of the same arcs being rehashed over and over and over again. I'd love to see something more done with what's there, something that's not just readapting the anime.
Come to think of it, I think there are some DBZ games that divert from the source a bit, as spoken of in the OP. Like the GBA games and that one sort of beat-em-up last generation...
So, anyway, that's my thought on the subject. Hollywood tends to divert from the source material often, create its own version of whatever for movies or TV, for better or for worse. I wonder if more games shouldn't also do that, and if it might yield better, perhaps more imaginative games.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
Though to be honest, anything Resident Evil these days merely has to have some undead or mutated humans and Umbrella, so the films aren't that far off.
Fair enough.
Still deviated wildly from the source.
Steam // Secret Satan
Which Shadowrun?
360/PC shooter, rather than the RPGs.
I enjoyed the movie far more than the comic. Frankly the comic reminded me of a ten-year-old who just learned his first curse word so he screams it at everyone over and over with no attempt at subtlety or cleverness. It pissed away a fantastic premise.
That said, what the hell happened with the movie? What's the point of buying an obscure license with little to no fan-base if you're just going to go make your own movie about assassins anyway?
This.
My god.
I rented this back in the day. I didn't really know what to expect, but it definitely wasn't what I got.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi1db8od64k
Although to be fair I'm not sure how they could make a game out of this period.
It's like making Everybody Loves Raymond the Videogame.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop