Blog:Sega on Nintendo: Sega Arcade Games on the Famicom/NES

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CRV (talk) 04:26, 29 January 2015 (CET) [permalink]

After Burner & After Burner II Tengen released After Burner in the US, and Sunsoft released After Burner II in Japan. Neither live up to their arcade counterparts, but they're both arguably better than the Master System game. As for the Nintendo releases, some places suggest one is a modified version of the other, but I'm not so sure.

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Fantasy Zone Once again, Tengen and Sunsoft each released different versions in the US and Japan respectively. Tengen's (developed by Pixel) has better music (by Masaharu Iwata), while Sunsoft's has better gameplay and graphics. If only there was some way we could combine the best of both...

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Fantasy Zone II I talked to Hiroki Koyama, a former programmer at a company called Jastec who now has his own company called Hyrock. He confirmed that Famicom FZII was developed by Jastec, under subcontract with Sanritsu. It's not as polished as Sunsoft's port of the first game, but everything seems to be there.

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The TV commercial:

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Alien Syndrome The Famicom/NES iteration of the alien shooting/hostage rescuing classic was developed by Sanritsu, which also did the Master System port. This version, however, keeps the scrolling of the arcade original. The Japanese release (below) has an intro not seen in the US Tengen version.

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Shinobi This is clearly based on the Master System version, but at least you get a picture and "The End" for an ending instead of just "Game Over." It was also never released in Japan. A code comparison ties this with the similar Wrath of the Black Manta and several other games likely programmed, at least in part, by Hiroyuki Arai, who worked for Sanritsu and co-founded A.I. Whether this was done at Sanritsu is unknown, but it wouldn't be surprising.

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Juuouki (Altered Beast) Some people don't like this one; maybe the small sprites put them off. I think we can all agree that it's smoother than the Master System version, plus there's three new levels. The Famicom version was done by Interlink, with Kenji Eno and Michiya Hirasawa (both of whom have since passed away) having worked on the sound.

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Space Harrier Not a particularly offensive port and again, not as choppy as the Master System version. Sōtarō Suzuki (鈴木宗太郎), a former programmer with Whiteboard, came on Japanese webcast OBSLive as a guest. He and host Onitama discussed the games he worked on there, including Famicom Space Harrier. Would you believe it originally started as a game based on Licca-chan, Takara's popular Barbie-esque doll? Also, the port was done without documentation.

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Dump Matsumoto Sega's arcade wrestler was headed to the Famicom, though it could have been based on the Master System game instead (released overseas with changes as Pro Wrestling). Sanritsu was set to be the publisher, but it ultimately never came out. It's been claimed on Japanese sites that Sanritsu was the developer of the arcade game, but I remain unconvinced.

The arcade game:

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Credit to the creators/uploaders of the above videos

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