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05/06/2017

☆ What is Arcade Perfect? ☆

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Growing up in the 80’s and the 90’s, Video Games always strived to hit the highest accolade in gaming at the time. That accolade was the notion of being ‘Arcade Perfect’.



It was a lofty ambition for an 8 Bit console or Computer and an achievable stretch for the 16 Bit consoles of the early 90’s.



It’s the term that I would hope for in any video games review of the time and turned a maybe buy game into must have game.



The term has fallen away over the years as the console and computer powerhouses of the last couple of generations have exceeded the Arcade games arena in most cases.



Thinking about this term I began to let my mind wander to those halcyon days of Arcade Perfection and started to compile myself a list of the games from that era that reached that Arcade Perfect Accolade.
So here for you is my TOP 10 ARCADE PERFECT PORTS……


1. Street Fighter 2 – Super Nintendo



“yes it was missing some parts of the arcade original but at the time it felt like a miracle! They had managed to fit my favourite arcade cabinet into a 4”x6” grey cartridge! Well worth the £69 I paid for it in Boots The Chemist J ”


2. Final Fight – Super Nintendo



“again this port looked like the arcade game and I had waited so long to be able to play this at home that there was no hesitation in buying it. On closer inspection, it lacked 2 player mode and CODY! The assumption is that limited memory on the SNES meant that a 100% faithful conversion was unrealistic but for me, this is my arcade perfect version”


3. Mortal Kombat 2  – Super Nintendo



“MK2 was beautiful to look at and as Nintendo succumbed to the gore guys and gals it meant that the gore was loud and proud. A landmark home conversion in so many ways.”


4. NBA JAM  – Super Nintendo



“Totally obsessed with NBA JAM led me to be a basketball head in the early 90’s, I devoured all the basketball I could get my hands on. Any chance I could play NBA JAM was gratefully received. Then came the SNES release of this awesome game. It was just perfect in my eyes. It had it all and I couldn’t get enough. 4 Player NBA JAM is something that everyone should do before they pop their clogs”


5. Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja  – Commodore AMIGA



“Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja was always my favourite arcade game in 1987 as it was a mainstay in our local video shop. The 50p’s would be devoured by this arcade legend and yet I never managed to ‘clock it’. There were many home ports but none could ever be considered ‘Arcade Perfect’. I patiently waited for a good conversion and it finally came when I got my Commodore Amiga. It wasn’t 100% ‘Arcade Perfect’ BUT it did look lovely on my Amiga monitor screen. Fast forward to 2010 and there was a Data East compilation that had a perfect version of Bad Dudes BUT that was only released in the U.S and trying to track a copy down is tough, to say the least L”


6. Altered Beast – SEGA Mega Drive



“Another Arcade Cabinet that lived in my local video shop for ages. This was a game that had me enthralled from the first 20p that I deposited into it. The Mega Drive version was a pleasure for me to play. It looked nice and played pretty faithfully. More recently I have played this game and maybe it doesn’t quite hold up as well as I thought it might but I will never forget the magic of playing this arcade classic at home for the first time.


7. Golden Axe – SEGA Mega Drive



“As soon as I loaded this arcade giant up for the first time on my SEGA and I saw that boney skeleton hand holding Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilus Thunderhead my heart skipped a beat. I was playing my favourite arcade game in my own bedroom!”


8. Shinobi – SEGA Master System



“Although not 100% Arcade Perfect this game was a minor miracle. An 8-Bit version of the amazing arcade game that looked awesome. The Master System was stretched to its limit but you have only got to play the shur1k3n bonus round to realise the love that was poured into creating the best arcade conversion that was possible for the 8-bit legend. It still marvels me to this day…”


9. Crazy Taxi – SEGA Dreamcast



“It felt like the Dreamcast was literally just built to play this game and show off its potential. The Dreamcast was essentially a home version of the arcade hardware used to play Crazy Taxi and the fact that it is 100% Arcade Perfect was SEGA flexing their muscles in public. Brilliant version that has not been bettered (although I like the iOS version which is currently FREE!)”


10. Outrun – SEGA Dreamcast



“For such an iconic video game racer we had to wait a long time to get an ‘Arcade Perfect’ port to the home consoles. There have been many an attempt but they have always let me down in one department or another. The game was released in Arcades in 1986 and it took until 2001 and a compilation called Yu Suzuki Game Works Vol 1. Now I never owned this compilation but I kind of cheated and emulated it on my Nintendo Wii at home and it brought a smile to my face to finally be able to play an ‘Arcade Perfect’ version of one of the greatest Arcade games of all time.”


BONUS GAME: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time



"This list had to include this game somehow! What a beautiful game, and it still looks good now. Play it if you ever see it in the arcade, buy it on SNES if you ever get the chance!"



Arcade Perfect may no longer be a term applied to today’s video games but as you can see it still holds a place in my heart and takes me back to a day when all we wanted was the Arcade games to come into our front rooms and bedrooms.



What’s YOUR Favourite ‘Arcade Perfect’ Home Console Conversion?

Let Me Know In The Comments Box Below

2 comments:

  1. Arcade Perfect may no longer be a term applied to today’s video games but as you can see it still holds a place in my heart and takes me back to a day when all we wanted was the Arcade games to come into our front rooms and bedrooms. best cotton sheets , cheap king comforter sets ,

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