Is Pang the best arcade port ever?

[d4rk3lf]

Or is there something even better?

I still play Pang occasionally.
Sure, it's a rather simple game, but still awesome quality.

What is your picks for even better port?
Rygar from our friend mcgeezer?
Rainbow Islands?
SilkWorm?
Ghost and Goblins?
Something else?
(haven't recently played and compared the above games, that's why I ask).

[DanScott]

Arkanoid
Marble Madness

[khph_re]

I thought Rainbow islands was very well done.

[RuySan]

Rodland. While it's not arcade perfect, I find it more fun than the original

[jotd]

this has been discussed before (best arcade ports)

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by d4rk3lf

SilkWorm?

Almost, but I think the Amiga version is a tad too easy. The arcade version throws more junk at you and that hides a little of the repetitiveness of a horizontal shooty.

Originally Posted by jotd

this has been discussed before (best arcade ports)

Ha ha, yeah what hasn't

[jotd]

In 2003: https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=11859

Midnight Resistance
Pang
Rainbow Islands

Déjà vu?

Discussing the best arcade port by fans hasn't been done, though. But in that case, games remade aren't of the same generation. A 1982 game is much easier to re-do 100% than a 1986+ game (and I think the winner is going to be Tiny Bobble or Super Sprint)

[malko]

Dragon's Lair is an excellent port as well, but I would vote for this one :

[dreadnought]

Midnight Resistance.
Tiny Bobble.

[d4rk3lf]

Originally Posted by jotd

this has been discussed before (best arcade ports)

Yeah, my thought exactly before I opened this thread.
However, the main question is not "what are the best ports", but, "Do you agreed that Pang is best port ever? If not. Why"?

The idea is searching for the best arcade perfect port, or even the ones that are even better then arcades (I've heard that SilkWorm is the one).

The idea of this thread is not listing best, or good, arcade ports.

Let's rephrase question:
If you gotta choose, what is the best arcade port for Amiga?

[mcgeezer]

Rtype, Toki or Ghosts 'n Goblins for me.

While Pang is a very faithful port, it's not technically a strong game to deliver for the Amiga.

If I had to choose one, probably Toki would be top of the list.

[jotd]

define "best"

- the most faithful
- the most enjoyable despite the big differences (Silkworm is very different, so is Rodland)

For me Pang isn't the best port (even if it's great) because

- music from UK stage is missing
- music samples are ST-xx samples
- second ice stage is completely different from the arcade. The arcade stage has a zillion breakable blocks, the amiga stage has just a few. I don't understand that change. It could be a problem of CPU power for collision detection but WTF original arcade game had Z80, and Amiga has 68000... Or... they didn't optimize collision as well as in Z80 (with sectors, tables, smart algorithms) and when facing that particular level near the time of release they realized that with the current breakable block collision algorithm it wouldn't work, and it was too late.

For the most faithful:

Toki ticks almost all the boxes. With the 2 button control patch (whdload slave) of course (1 button control is a nightmare)
It would make 2 answers but Marble Madness is just impressive given the time it's been released (1986) coded in C, using mostly system friendly routines, and retaining the visuals almost perfectly (and the CD32 version restores back the awesome arcade music btw )

[DamienD]

I named some recently in another thread:

Originally Posted by DamienD

I means there's loads I could add, but currently don't have the time:

... Ghosts 'N Goblins
... Indy Heat
... Ivan ''Ironman'' Stewart's Super Off Road
... Pang
... Midnight Resistance
... Rod-Land
... Space Harrier: Return To The Fantasy Zone

...but forgot about:

... Liquid Kids (though the screensize is way too small, thank God for emulation)
... Rygar: Legendary Warrior
... Snow Bros.
... Space Gun
... Toki

[Mikerochip]

Today, for me: Tiny Bobble, Bomb Jack (& Beer edition)

Way back when: I would have said Parasol Stars... except it was never an arcade machine!
I really liked Super Off Road too, but I never played the arcade version, so, I've nothing to compare to!
And Pang was excellent. I could have sword up and down I owned it, but I can't find any evidence of that, at all.
Not even a demo, or anything.

(Maybe I'm thinking of CPS emulation when that came out first???)

And I should add Midnight Resistance, but I finished it so many times it started to get boring, and I found it very easy. I think I finished it the weekend I bought it.
Just like Forgotten Worlds.

But, I never played either of those arcade machines either though.

[turrican3]

shadow warriors is really good too.

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by mcgeezer

Rtype, Toki or Ghosts 'n Goblins for me.

While Pang is a very faithful port, it's not technically a strong game to deliver for the Amiga.

If I had to choose one, probably Toki would be top of the list.

I got a talk with the Pang programmer, the famous Pierre Adane.

Pang displays 64 real colors. the screen is splitted in 4 bands each with its own 16 colors palette (4x16).

Toki is more complicated and a feat since they did it with only 512kb of ram. with 1mb of ram, the screen window would have been bigger in size and the sprites a bit too. Like pang, the game uses 2 palettes in some levels, cleverly changed in parts when the player cannot see the trick (ex: sea level with neptune boss) the palette change occurs when you fight neptune. they faked a dual playfield too, great feature

Ghosts'n'Goblins is arcade perfect (out of color limitations), capcom gave to elite the original assets for GNG. And it shows

[chip]

I am not so expert of games, but i see them all also for building ADA

For my taste, at the moment, i like rodland

No idea anyway of the comparison with the arcade version, i don't use MAME

[Muzkat]

It certainly is very good. But Toki takes it for me.

[d4rk3lf]

Excellent suggestion guys... thanks.
I didn't know that are so many nice ports, I have to check them all.

Yeah Toki is great, although, a little biz hard for me. I can barely make to the end of level 1. Other platformers are way easier for me.
I've looked at Space Harrier on youtube.
Not silky smooth as the arcade, but it is still very very smooth. Great job on the port.

Will check other suggestions.

[wazza]

Amiga version of Toki surpasses the arcade version for me, because the music is so much better!