Best (and Worst) of Licensed Games

[SearchManX]

Originally posted by MechDeus
Aliens vs. Predator on PC is quite possibly the greatest licensed game ever. A lot of people complained about no in-level save, but that just means you have to actually learn the levels and what you're doing.

I played the demo and it was choppy on my 266 mhz machine... I dunno... I think AvP2 should be better though..

[FuryFox]

Aladdin on the Genesis was pretty slick.
I like Judge Dread too...as far as licensed stuff goes.
Capcom has captured the Marvel characters perfectly, 'cept for their relative power level.
There was some Aliens game on snes that was kinda cool, too.
Obviosly, AvP(2) on the PC just pisses all over it, but for it's time, the AvP on Jaguar was sorta cool.
That Cool Spot game wasn't terrible.

It's harder to remember the crappy stuff...
I don't know if it qualifies, but that Double Dragon fighting game was just pure ass. I assume it was a license from the show.

[Johnny Undaunted]

Originally posted by NeoZeedeater
Oops, I missed the best one ever made - Doki Doki Panic - Nintendo, FDS.

I don't think Doki Doki Panic was a licensed. Apparently, Fuji TV only promoted the game, which is why their name appears in the copyrights.

I don't know if it qualifies, but that Double Dragon fighting game was just pure ass. I assume it was a license from the show.

Which one? DD5 or the Neo-Geo one? The Neo-Geo version was good for what it was (not saying it was great), but DD5 was pure ass.

I personally think Konami has developed some of the best license games ever. In addition to the TMNT games, they also made the only good Simpsons game, The Lone Ranger for the NES (definitely one of the most underrated NES games), The Goonies 1-2 and both of their Tezuka games (Astro Boy and Phoenix). Lately, they aren't making as much license games as they used to, with the exception of Yu-Gi-Oh, Hunter X Hunter and few more anime shows that are currently popular in Japan but unknown everywhere else.

Capcom made pretty good use of the Disney license with their games based on Disney shows and films like Roger Rabbit (Game Boy), Chip 'n Dale and Darkwing Duck to name a few.

And while Acclaim/LJN's stuff were mostly crap, they did released some good stuff once in awhile. True Lies was pretty good and Rambo for the NES wasn't half-bad.

[Punky Skunk]

Originally posted by Johnny Undaunted
they also made the only good Simpsons game

Oh, come on, Bart Vs. the Space Mutants was fun.

[Freeter]

Originally posted by Rob
Oh, come on, Bart Vs. the Space Mutants was fun.

For about five seconds.

[gameoverDude]

Good ones:

X-Men (Konami)
Jet de GO! 1 & 2 (JAL license)
Power Shovel (Komatsu license)
RC de GO! (Kyosho license)
FIM 500 GP (Namco Arcade)
Daytona USA 1 & 2
Ferrari F355 Challenge (Sega)
Aladdin (Genesis)
Castle of Illusion (Genesis)
Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom (Atari Games/Tengen, arcade)
Resident Evil Gun Survivor II (Capcom/Namco)
Britney's Dance Beat (PS2)
Moonwalker (Sega, Genesis & Arcade)
Tron (arcade)
Star Trek S.O.S. (Sega, Arcade)
Star Wars: Return of The Jedi (Arcade)
Alien Vs. Predator (Arcade)
Soldier of Fortune 1 & 2 (PC)
Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf (Genesis, also released by Elite Systems on ST/Amiga as just "Tournament Golf")
Elevator Action 2 (Ving for Saturn)
Bubble Symphony (Ving for Saturn)
Metal Black (Ving for Saturn)
Speed Buggy (Data East/C64, great port of Tatsumi racer)
Star Wars (Atari arcade game)
Ms. Pac-Man (Atari 2600 & 130XE cart versions)
Donkey Kong (Atari 130XE cart featuring all 4 levels while most others only had 3)
Smash TV (SNES- it's somewhat outdated now that there's the PS version, but for its time there was nothing better)
Galaxian (Atari 2600 and ColecoVision versions) - The 2600 produces a surprisingly good version of the arcade game. The Colecovision one is "how did they do that?" close to the arcade.

Not so good:
Gekirindan (Sat) - Virgin screwed this Taito F3 conversion up. Badly.
Judge Dredd (PS)
Street Fighter II (C64 & PC) - Why bother with regard to the C64? The PC version doesn't look bad, but the game play is burned toast.
C: A Contra Adventure - Why did Konami give Appaloosa the license to make this one after Legacy of War fell below expectations?
Double Dragon V - Lamearse vs. fighting based on the cartoon
Batman Forever arcade - A failed attempt at a Final Fight clone with Batman & Robin.
Pac-Man (Atari 2600) - Uh... This is Pac-Man? It's more like a cheap knockoff.
Gorf (Atari 2600) - You can only move right and left unlike the arcade. The Galaxians don't appear in this one.
Star Wars The Arcade Game (Atari 800 cart version) - Way too easy.
Space Invaders (Atari 800 cart) - The invaders aren't all on screen at one time, and you don't have the shields to hide under.
Street Fighter: The Movie (PSX/Sat) - While I have not tried the arcade game, the 32-bit home versions have crippled control.