Movie/TV Licensed Games

[ctophil]

Hey guys,

I've recently found a new interest in collecting and playing licensed games. You're probably like, "Blasphemy!" lol. Movies and TV shows made into games have mostly been really bad over the years. But regardless of how bad they were, I still want to own a part of history. So far, the only games I own that came from movies are Rambo and Batman for the NES. It's odd that when I was a kid, Rambo was actually a good game. I almost beat it and had fun playing it. As for Batman, it plays a lot like Ninja Gaiden, really hard game but very cool.

As for TV show-based games, I haven't played the Flintstones games, but looking to acquire them some day.

I recently bought Hook and True Lies from a flea market in Florida. They aren't great games. But like I said, I want to own a part of gaming history.

Have you played any licensed games that are good? Do you own any? I believe some of the best licensed games were the Star Wars games on SNES. You know, Super Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. They really surprised me. Awesome games in their own right.

[twiztor]

Goldeneye for the n64 is hands down the best game based on a tv/movie in history.

not exactly the same thing, but i always had a blast playing Yo! Noid (based on the Domino's Pizza then-mascot) when i was a kid. game's pretty simplistic now, but still not terrible.

[Areala]

First, I'll just leave this here:

http://retrogamingmagazine.com/tag/revenge-of-the-license/

My brother's weekly column where he looks at licensed video games. He's written about some extremely obscure stuff, and it's not all doom-and-gloom: he gives praise where it's due, and really does his research when it comes to more obscure stuff like "Peter Gabriel's Eve" and "Paul McCartney's Give My Regards to Broad Street". Sounds like it would be right up your alley, ctophil!

Second, some of my personal favorites are "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" on the 2600, "Friday the 13th" on the NES (no, I'm not kidding...despite what the Angry Video Game Nerd says, once you know what you're doing this game is fun as hell), and "Parasite Eve" for the PS1.

*huggles*
Areala

[ctophil]

Goldeneye for the n64 is hands down the best game based on a tv/movie in history.

not exactly the same thing, but i always had a blast playing Yo! Noid (based on the Domino's Pizza then-mascot) when i was a kid. game's pretty simplistic now, but still not terrible.

Oh yeah, how could I forget Goldeneye? lol. It was one of those games that defined the N64. I remember Yo! Noid. I think I read about it in an issue of EGM or Gamepro? Not sure, but it's one of those trivia that true gamers know about (the mascot thing). Thanks for the ideas, I'll add those games to my collection asap.

First, I'll just leave this here:

http://retrogamingmagazine.com/tag/revenge-of-the-license/

My brother's weekly column where he looks at licensed video games. He's written about some extremely obscure stuff, and it's not all doom-and-gloom: he gives praise where it's due, and really does his research when it comes to more obscure stuff like "Peter Gabriel's Eve" and "Paul McCartney's Give My Regards to Broad Street". Sounds like it would be right up your alley, ctophil!

Second, some of my personal favorites are "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" on the 2600, "Friday the 13th" on the NES (no, I'm not kidding...despite what the Angry Video Game Nerd says, once you know what you're doing this game is fun as hell), and "Parasite Eve" for the PS1.

*huggles*

Areala

Thanks for the "Revenge of the License" link. I'm one of those retro game collectors who I just want to read, collect, and play everything out there. LOL. If I can't own it, I gotta at least know about it.

Yeah, I've watched every single episode of AVGN. You know, I've never played Friday the 13th, but I'll definitely get it into my collection, even if it is "bad" according to The Nerd from AVGN.

[twiztor]

friday the 13th is a terrible game.

maybe you're right, Areala, because i could never figure out what to do, but it seemed like running to random cabins forever until Jason suddenly popped up in one and killed me was a waste of time.

i also appreciate that you posted that on Friday. the 13th.

[E-Day]

One of my favourites back then was Cool Spot. It's not a TV/Movie license per se, but still a license based on TV commercials.

[ctophil]

One of my favourites back then was Cool Spot. It's not a TV/Movie license per se, but still a license based on TV commercials.

Yep, Cool Spot was a really good platformer for Sega Genesis and SNES. As a kid, I rented the SNES version and had lots of fun with it. The music were just plain awesome.

Another good platformer based on the McDonald's license was M.C. Kids for NES. What's interesting is that it was ported to the Game Boy but Spot was used instead. It was called Spot: The Cool Adventure.

[Areala]

friday the 13th is a terrible game.

maybe you're right, Areala, because i could never figure out what to do, but it seemed like running to random cabins forever until Jason suddenly popped up in one and killed me was a waste of time.

i also appreciate that you posted that on Friday. the 13th.

There are two things I don't like about the NES Friday the 13th:

1 - The game is incredibly obtuse. Even with the instruction manual, it's not clear how you're supposed to go about killing Jason, and the hints provided by the game in the form of the little notes scattered around are no help at all and even contradict one another in certain circumstances. Telling a player to "Go into the Woods" without offering them a map is just mean in any case. The game's opening screen even features an error in that you don't use the Torch (which is a very powerful weapon) to light the fireplaces in the large cabins, you use the lighter. Knowing how to dodge Jason's attacks when you're fighting him indoors is paramount, because you cannot go toe-to-toe with Jason. Period. So learning his patterns and how to dodge and retaliate is the only way you'll ever save the counselor who's elected to fight him.

2 - Why oh why is Jason killing children? There is exactly one scene in all of Friday the 13th history where Jason menaces kids, and even then he doesn't go after them, merely frightens them. Jason's "anger" is vented instead at people the same age as Alice, the girl who killed his mother, and the counselors who originally let him "drown" when they should have been keeping an eye on him. The fifteen children on the lake are a needless difficulty bump to an already hard game. By all means, leave the lake cabins in a remake but nix the children and maybe give them a beneficial use, like a safe haven where one counselor at a time can rest to regain some health without worrying about Jason molesting him/her. A maniac so terrified of drowning should not be sprinting through the lake like he's got an outboard motor attached to his ass either, in my opinion.

Anybody who wants to understand why Friday the 13th deserves a look though should watch Lord Kayoss's walkthrough with commentary:

He breaks down every aspect of the game, explains how to understand Jason's movements and fighting habits both indoors and outside, shows how to use your counselors most effectively, gives a step-by-step tutorial for acquiring the more powerful weapons like the Torch and Pitchfork, and gives the low-down on when and how you should confront Jason's mom in the caves (and also how to find her without the flashlight). Plus he's got an awesome voice.

Once you've watched that, look up a speedrun and watch people who absolutely know what they're doing dominate the living hell out of the game by murdering Jason three times in under ten minutes, and in some cases even less than five to win.

It might not change your mind about whether or not the game sucks, but at the very least it should help remove it from the lists as the so-called worst NES game ever published. There are plenty of games I would rank as worse than F13 on the NES.

*huggles*

Areala

[pmo1985]

Batman had a few good ones (NES, Batman Returns for SNES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are classic beat em ups (Arcade, Turtles in Time, Manhattan project)

Ghostbusters for Genesis is a pretty fun one

[Zeus]

Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday and Shadowrun are two of the best RPGs on Genesis, and both are license games. Well, Buck Rogers was a show, Shadowrun is a pen and paper roleplaying game. But still.

[Areala]

The differences between the Genesis and SNES "Shadowrun" games utterly floored me. The Genesis game is dark, edgy, violent, and action-oriented. The SNES version, by contrast, is more sanitized and plays much more like a point-and-click adventure than an action RPG.

Two different developers, two different ideas.

*huggles*
Areala