No Problem With Licensed Games (Sugar Wiki): Difference between revisions

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It's widely known that there is [[The Problem with Licensed Games|a problem with most licensed video games]]. Due to quite a different set of reasons, quality tends to be utterly low.

* [[Treasure]] also had a hand in ''[[Astro Boy]]: Omega Factor'' for the GBA, which is universally considered superior to its [[Sega|Sonic Team]]-developed PlayStation 2 counterpart. It even shows up on more than a few GBA "Best Of" lists.

** To quote a video that was slamming ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' as well, ''Omega Factor'', "despite its cartoony look and, at times, [[Nintendo Hard|ball-breakingly hard gameplay]], offers a deep and memorable storyline, and this is coming from a guy who doesn't give two shits about the anime that it's based on."

** That's largely because it was developed by wrestling game masters Aki, creators of the legendary N64 WCW and WWF games.

* The ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' video games from the first PS1 game by Neversoft up to ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' have received generally positive reviews. In fact, for a period of time, ''Spider-Man'' games were notable for being consistently better than average. ''Spider-Man 3'' unfortunately contracted [[Sequelitis]] but the series somewhat recovered with ''Web Of Shadows''. (And for the record, we're skipping over ''Friend or Foe'' in that series).

** The first ''Dune'', on the other hand, was a pretty damn good blend of adventure and strategy with some very memorable music and amazing graphics for its time, while managing to stay relatively faithful to the book (though ''a lot'' [[Lighter and Softer]]), but is [[Sequel Displacement|comparatively forgotten due to the sequel's success]].

* ''[[The Thing (video game)|The Thing]]'' video game, quite a solid [[Third-Person Shooter]] that features some interesting mechanic and eerie atmosphere from the film. And also, it tells what happens after the vague ending of the film. [[The Spoony Experiment|Some disagreed with this assessment though]].

** Of course, you can throw all of this out the window when talking about the DS version. Then you may throw said version out, too.

* Konami's licensed 4-player arcade [[Beat'Em Up|beat-'em-ups]] based on the ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' were highly regarded, as were its ''TMNT: Tournament Fighters'' one-on-one [[Fighting Game]]s. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Konami's 6th generation titles, of Ubisoft's 2007 movie tie-in (except for the GBA version, if we go by the gaming press) or of [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (video game)|the original NES platformer]], which was a primary example of [[Nintendo Hard]] and had a DOS port which was [[Unwinnable]] without cheating. ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash Up]]'', however, is an extremely odd animal: the gameplay is well regarded but the handling of the TMNT license, to put it bluntly, [[Broken Base|will stir flame wars in the fandom]].

** Unfortunately, FASA themselves eventually went under. Luckily enough, a new company was formed that acquired the old FASA properties, including Crimson Skies, Shadowrun and [[Mechwarrior]].

*** A company founded by one Jordan Weisman, the founder of FASA. Circles are fun...

** This wasn't true in the NES days, though. Almost every WWF game released for the console was horrible, and the games weren't widely considered halfway decent until the SNES. The first unquestionably good WWF game wasn't until ''WWF Wrestlemania 2000'' on the N64.

*** To sum it up, WWE games were pretty much mediocre until [[THQ]] got ahold of the license.

** The concept itself is parodied in the fifth episode when Strong Bad says "Say it with me, The Cheat: Licensed games are ''never'' good," ''in'' a licensed game. Furthermore, the entire plot of the third episode was kicked off when Strong Bad was trying to get a licensed game working.

* Among CCG players, the [[Star Wars Customizable Card Game]] published by Decipher is considered to be an excellent system, despite or perhaps because of its [[Nintendo Hard]] nuances. The fact that a number of its cards [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|broke the fourth wall]] didn't hurt. (Unfortunately, Decipher lost the license to [[Wizards of the Coast]] in 2001; the replacement, the Star Wars ''Trading'' Card Game, was much more typical and went under in three years.)

* While most ''[[Star Trek]]'' games fall into the "problem" side, some have been quite good, including:

** ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]: [[Star Trek Elite Force|Elite Force]]'' and its sequel, a pair of FPSes that received considerable praise.

*** Before that even, there were Interplay's ''[[Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (video game)|25th Anniversary]]'' and ''[[Judgment Rites]]'', two excellent [[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]] based adventure games with the occasional starship battle (although the one at the end of the first game was [[Nintendo Hard|nigh impossible to finish]]).

** Star Trek: Invasion, a PlayStation space combat game that is surprisingly good, featuring a thrilling, self-contained and original story in the [[Star Trek]] TNG saga, a simple yet addictive gameplay mechanic, a somewhat [[Nintendo Hard]] difficulty (full-fledged [[Nintendo Hard]] if you choose the Lieutenant difficulty), excellent level design with [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]], lush, eye-candy visual and excellent audio quality. The only things you can fault this game is the flawed control and... well, [[Nintendo Hard]].

** ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' also got one good game in ''The Fallen''.

* The recent [[Lego Adaptation Game]]s -- ''Lego [[Star Wars]]'', ''[[Lego Indiana Jones]]'', and ''Lego [[Batman]]''—despite being ''double''-licenses, are quite fun and are well received by critics. This is in part because [[Affectionate Parody|they don't take their universes seriously]] ''at all''. In fact, the games probably wouldn't ''work'' if they happened in an original universe. If you could attribute a problem to them, it would only be that [[Capcom Sequel Stagnation]] is beginning to set in; nothing connected to this trope at all.

* ''[[Strider Hiryu|Strider]]''. Yes, ''[[Strider Hiryu|Strider]]'', the Capcom-made side-scroller with the futuristic ninja, is very loosely based on a [[Manga]] which Capcom co-produced with the intention of adapting it into a game. Don't feel bad if you didn't know...[[Adaptation Displacement|you're not alone on that]].

** The character Strider Hiryu is actually jointly owned by Capcom and the Moto Kikaku manga studio, which is why he has no problems appearing in the company's [[Capcom vs. Whatever|crossover titles]].

* One exception grew from a game that followed the trope. A game was made out of ''[[The Goonies (video game)|The Goonies]]'' in Japan. It involved levels that followed the plot but was a rather uninspired platformer that involved Mikey doing kung fu kicks and other assorted silliness. Konami (the game's producer) didn't even try bringing it over (although it ''did'' appear in arcades in the U.S. on Nintendo's vs. arcade cabinets). However, it did well enough in Japan that they produced a sequel, and ''The Goonies II'' did end up being released in the US, and the action/adventure gameplay proved quite popular.

* ''[[The Fast and the Furious]]'' arcade games from Raw Thrills are good dumb fun, just like the movie of the same name. The latest game, ''Fast and the Furious Drift'', has some pretty interesting track designs as well. The home port of the original F&F game, though, qualifies as a [[Porting Disaster]]. Midway couldn't even get the movie license, so they used the ''Cruis'n'' name instead, which makes sense considering that the F&F games are pretty much ''Cruis'n'' with an F&F skin.

** There were licensed versions released for 8 and 16 bit computers back in 1990 too. Unfortunately, they weren't particularly well-received.

* ''[[The Witcher]]'' (based on novels by Andrzej Sapkowski). Despite [[Obvious Beta|numerous bugs]] in the first version, the game is actually quite good.

** As is the ''[[The Battle For Middle Earth]]'' series.

* Several games based on the ''[[Asterix]]'' franchise fall into the "bad" camp but there are also several partial or complete exceptions.

** The Master System and Game Gear games developed by Sega are excellent, if unoriginal, platformers that also allow for some variations in levels, depending on your choice of the Gaul to play.

** Opinions are mixed about ''Asterix and Obelix'' for the SNES (whose GB/GBA version is considered better by some) but it's generally not considered a bad game.

* There's a little-known Japanese-horror movie named ''[[Sweet Home (film)|Sweet Home]]'', released in the eighties, who had also a [[Sweet Home (video game)|videogame adaptation]] by Capcom for the NES and released together with the movie. The movie even starts with a commercial for the game, so you'd think they both suck, right? WRONG: while the movie is a little Narmish but still has a cool story and gives a few good chills as well, the game is a terrific RPG that loosely follows the movie plot, breaks many traditions of the genre (for example you can't raise characters' defense, you have very few ways to restore health and you can't revive those who die) and is absolutely [[Nightmare Fuel|TERRIFYING]], so much that some of the game elements were recycled in another series... its name? '''''[[Resident Evil]]'''''. Now you know who's to blame for the creaky doors and the item management.

* The videogame adaption of the 2004 film ''[[King Arthur]]'' is actually a decent action-game (when you play co-op), just a bit repetive and you have to have seen the film to get the plot.

{{quote|'''AVGN''': ''They made a game of me? What were they thinking?''}}

* ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]''. It's not based on any particular Batman canon, but the promises of a free-flowing combat system, a detective mode to see the world how Batman sees it, incredible amounts of fanservice for longtime fans, and writers and voice actors from [[Batman: The Animated Series|the animated series]] [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|joining the team]] built up the hype to almost absurd levels—and it more than delivered those features. By most accounts, not only does this game manage to be a good game that also stars Batman, it ''perfectly'' captures what it's like to '''be''' Batman: doing detective work, [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?|playing around with Batman's gadgets]], stalking criminals from the shadows and pummeling bad guys, all gelling into a wonderful, cohesive experience. It's the highest ranking superhero game as of now, with a 91% on Game Rankings and a Guinness Record for "[[So Cool Its Awesome|Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever]]".

* The [[Interactive Fiction]] ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' game was quite good (though often [[Guide Dang It|insultingly difficult]]), thanks to [[Douglas Adams]]'s involvement.

* Similarly, ''[[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream]]'', where Harlan Ellison not only wrote the expanded story, but also provided the voice of AM for the game - and did a surprisingly good job at both!

* Most people who played ''[[Parasite Eve]]'' were unaware that it was a sequel to [[Adaptation Displacement|a novel that was also adapted into a Japanese movie]].

** It gets better. It was basically a tech demo for the cutscenes used in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', but it wound up proving itself a very good game, making it the beta for another licensed series.

* Tecmo's ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'' ([[Cultural Translation|Tecmo Cup Soccer Game]]) has great scores on [[GameFAQs]] and are really enjoyable for mixing soccer and RPG style gameplay together. The sequels, Captain Tsubasa 2-5, are even better as Tecmo developed orginal plots and opponent teams. Other [[Captain Tsubasa]] games created by Konami or Bandai can't match Tecmo's greatness unless they use the simillar system Tecmo used. But of course, Konami and Bandai's versions are still criticized because they tend to follow the anime and manga adaptions without coming up with original plots and characters.

** Konami's ''[[Captain Tsubasa]] J: Get to Tomorrow'' plays like a normal soccer games with an addition of super moves feature. It's decent.

* The ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' game. It's incredibly fun, it features some of the best lip-sinc seen in a licensed game, the voice acting is phenomenal, and its overall a rather good game.

* Would you believe that there's a ''[[Home Alone]]'' game that fits here? Well, there is, for the Amiga and DOS. Let's see... good graphics and music for the time (1991)? Check, especially for the PC version. Fun gameplay? Yep. Oh, and to top it all off, the PC version has a [[Good Bad Bug]] that allows Kevin to ''fly''.

* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]: The Mis-Edventures'' is a respectable game adaptation of the series, perfectly capturing the look, feel and humor of the show, and throwing it all into an enjoyable, if short, platformer.

* ''Zillion'', a fairly good ''[[Metroid]]''-like game for the [[Sega Master System]], was loosely based on an anime. It only barely counts as a licensed game, since the anime was co-produced by Sega and was made to promote a Sega toy (which not coincidentally resembles the Light Phaser).

* There exists a [[Felix the Cat]] video game for the [[NES]] and [[Game Boy]], and both happen to be surprisingly enjoyable Mario clones, with fun gameplay and appealing graphics and music.

* The Famicom [[Platform Game]] based on ''[[The Three-Eyed One|Mitsume ga Tooru]]'', with highly colorful graphics resembling ''[[Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu]]''.

* ''[[Poker Night At the Inventory]]'', a [[Crossover]] poker game between ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'', ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', ''[[Homestar Runner]]'', and ''[[Penny Arcade]]'', and the dialogue is even written by the ''Penny Arcade'' creators themselves. It's awesome.

* Unlike most of the games based of the [[South Park|franchise]], ''South Park: The Stick of Truth'' got positive reviews since [[Trey Parker and Matt Stone]] took the time to work on the game.

 

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