Game with the Most Individual Ports

Video Games
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Per Tracy Poff at Mobygames, who posted a list in 2017 of presumably the games which had the most ports throughout the years. I was interested to see if anyone here would be inclined to come up with better suggestions of what the most ported game might really be, since I know it can get tricky deciding what counts as a port and what doesn’t at times:

game_title count
Pac-Man 38
Dig Dug 34
Frogger 33
Tristam Island 31
Lode Runner 29
Ms. Pac-Man 28
Xevious 26
Altered Beast 25
Commando 25
Nobunaga’s Ambition 25
Lemmings 25
Ghosts 'N Goblins 25
Klax 24
Double Dragon 24
Galaga 24
Bubble Bobble 23
Dragon’s Lair 23
Prince of Persia 23
Paperboy 22
Shanghai 22
Fatal Fury Special 22
Golden Axe 22
Metal Slug: Super Vehicle - 001 22
Donkey Kong 22
SimCity 21
Pipe Dream 21
Mappy 21
Sonic the Hedgehog 21
Space Harrier 21
R-Type 21
Samurai Shodown 20
Centipede 20
Puyo Puyo 2 20
Zork: The Great Underground Empire 20
Boulder Dash 20
Arkanoid 20
Angry Birds 20
1942 20
Metal Slug X 20
Metal Slug 3 19
Miner 2049er 19
Defender of the Crown 19
Garou: Mark of the Wolves 19
Q*bert 19
Ikari Warriors 19
Doodle God 19
Galaxian 19
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar 19
California Games 18
Fatal Fury 18
QIX 18
James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod 18
Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz 18
Rogue 18
Art of Fighting 18
BurgerTime 18
Brain Challenge 18
Murder Club 18
Metal Slug 2: Super Vehicle - 001/II 18
Theme Park 18
SimCity 2000 18
Uno 18
Renegade 18
Elevator Action 18
Angry Birds: Star Wars 17
Football Manager 17
Planetfall 17
Silent Service 17
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 17
The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle 17
Bomb Jack 17
Super Cobra 17
Choplifter! 17
Marble Madness 17
Pooyan 17
Columns 17
Tennis in the Face 17
King Oddball 17
Baseball Stars 2 17
The Last Blade 17
Back to Bed 17
Space Invaders 17
OutRun 16
NetHack 16
Manic Miner 16
Battle Chess 16
Cannon Fodder 16
Doodle Fit 16
Neo Turf Masters 16
Winter Games 16
Sparkle 2 16
After Burner II 16
Pac-Mania 16
The King of Fighters '97 16
Plants vs. Zombies 16
Hamurabi 16
The Bard’s Tale 16
Samurai Shodown II 16
Flight Control 16
Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition 16
Rampage 16
Jet Set Willy 16
Terraria 16
Shock Troopers 16
Edge 16
Defender 16
World Heroes 16
Fatal Fury 2 16
Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa’s Revenge 16
robotfindskitten 16
Rod-land 15
Chase H.Q. 15
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe 15
Strange Odyssey 15
Archon: The Light and the Dark 15
Bad Dudes 15
Moon Patrol 15
Puyo Puyo 15
Zork III: The Dungeon Master 15
Space Harrier II 15
Bust-A-Move Again 15
Rush’n Attack 15
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 15
Star Wars 15
OpenTTD 15
Raiden 15
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road 15
Suspended 15
Robotron: 2084 15
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf 15
Mario Bros. 15
Karateka 15
Hostage: Rescue Mission 15
Pac-Land 15
Gradius 15
Machinarium 15
Space Ace 15
Front Line 15
Twinkle Star Sprites 15
Retro City Rampage: DX 15
The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest 15
Ghouls 'N Ghosts 15
Streets of Rage 2 15
King of the Monsters 15
Fieldrunners 15
Rayman 15

Source: MobyGames Forums - Re: Single game with most ports?

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There are quite a few surprising entries on that list! Pipe Dream and Fatal Fury Special, for instance. Really didn’t expect those to have been ported more often than, say, Sonic.

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Sokoban.

But the OP pulled this data from the moby database by doing a simple SQL query, so the best way to get more up-to-date results would be to ask somebody at moby to pull the same data again today.

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Wow, I thought Puyo Puyo Tsu would be up there but it didn’t make the list!

Does MobyGames also include rereleases running directly under emulation - for example PlayStation Archives and Wii Virtual Console? I think Puyo Puyo Tsu would be up there considering how many times it’s reappeared on those modern (well, 15 years ago) services, as well as all the M2 developed Sega Ages/3D Classics versions.

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Also, welcome to the Retro Game Boards, @electricmastro! :slight_smile:

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That list is not accurate. Sonic has 16 ports? No it does not. Is he including virtual console and emulated ports? He must be. Also, Fatal Fury Special with 18 ports? Absolutely not. Emulation must be getting included.

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What this data is really showing is the number of platforms a game been released on. Not ports as such. For example it’s the same code running on iPad, iPhone, Apple TV.

Sonic now up to 21 going by their data: https://www.mobygames.com/game/sonic-the-hedgehog

Android, Arcade, BlackBerry, BREW, DoJa, Game Boy Advance, Genesis, iPad, iPhone, iPod Classic, J2ME, Linux, Macintosh, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, tvOS, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Fatal Fury Special now at 23: https://www.mobygames.com/game/fatal-fury-special

Android, Arcade, Browser, FM Towns, Game Gear, iPad, iPhone, Linux, Macintosh, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, SEGA CD, Sharp X68000, SNES, TurboGrafx CD, Wii, Windows, Windows Apps, Xbox 360, Xbox One

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I believe Puyo Puyo 2 is at 20 now, though I understand that the newest ports are on things like Nintendo Switch eShop and iOS iPhone, so I’m not even sure how keen those should be counted since there seems to be quite a bit of disagreement that physical ports should be counted in with digital ones in the first place. That shouldn’t stop anyone from asking Tracy for an updated list though, even though I think the above list gives a good enough idea as is.

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Would The Bard’s Tale be one of the most ported 3D games?:

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Lol, it’s even on the Ouya

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I would count something like 3D Classics Puyo Puyo Tsu and Sega Ages Puyo Puyo Tsu on 3DS and Switch respectively as individual new versions even if they are primarily based off the arcade version.

Not sure I’d count something like a virtual console or PS Plus Premium rerelease though as a port. I guess it depends on whether you’re counting “versions” or “ports”.

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Other mass-ported 3D games that were on the PS2:

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - 14:

Android (2013), Fire OS (2013), iPad (2013), iPhone (2013), Macintosh (2011), PlayStation 2 (2004), PlayStation 3 (2012), PlayStation 4 (2015), Windows (2005), Windows Apps (2014), Windows Phone (2014), Xbox (2005), Xbox 360 (2008) and Xbox One (2018)

Crazy Taxi - 13:

Android (2013), Arcade (1999), Dreamcast (2000), GameCube (2001), iPad (2012), iPhone (2012), OnLive (2012), PlayStation 2 (2001), PlayStation 3 (2010), PlayStation Now (2014), Windows (2002), Xbox 360 (2010) and Xbox One (2015)

Syberia - 13:

Android (2013), Blacknut (2019), iPad (2014), iPhone (2014), Macintosh (2014), Nintendo DS (2008), Nintendo Switch (2017), PlayStation 2 (2003), PlayStation 3 (2014), Windows (2002), Windows Mobile (2006), Xbox (2003) and Xbox 360 (2014)

Psychonauts - 11:

Linux (2012), Macintosh (2011), PlayStation 2 (2005), PlayStation 3 (2012), PlayStation 4 (2016), Windows (2005), Windows Apps (2021), Xbox (2005), Xbox 360 (2007), Xbox One (2017) and Xbox Cloud Gaming (2021)

Rayman 2: The Great Escape - 11:

Dreamcast (2000), iPhone (2010), Nintendo 3DS (2011), Nintendo 64 (1999), Nintendo DS (2005), PlayStation (2000), PlayStation 2 (2000), PlayStation 3 (2008), PSP (2008), PS Vita (2012) and Windows (1999)

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance - 10:

GameCube (2002), Linux (2021), Macintosh (2021), Nintendo Switch (2021), PlayStation 2 (2001), PlayStation 4 (2021), Windows (2021), Xbox (2002), Xbox One (2021) and Xbox Series (2021)

Max Payne - 10:

Android (2012), iPad (2012), iPhone (2012), Macintosh (2002), PlayStation 2 (2001), PlayStation 3 (2012), PlayStation 4 (2016), Windows (2001), Xbox (2001) and Xbox 360 (2009)

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Nice finds!

Would the following platforms for Xbox games count as ports though:

e.g. Psychonauts

  • Xbox 360
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Cloud Gaming
  • Xbox Series

iirc, that’s the Xbox code being published elsewhere, rather than new ports of that game?

Same with the Windows App version of Psychonauts, presumably that’s the win32 version of the game from the mid-2000s republished on the Windows Store, rather than a new port of the game.

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Yeah, just to state it again: moby games counts platforms the game has appeared on.

These are not ports or versions or anything else.

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Yep, this distinction is important, since more often than not, unless a game was highly multiplatform, these versions are just republished versions of the same game code, rather than a port.

Case in point: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, a Nintendo DS game from 2008, is listed as “Nintendo 3DS” but we know it never received a 3DS port. It was republished on the 3DS eShop as a club Nintendo bonus in Japan.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (2008) - MobyGames

image
image720×194 7.59 KB

This definitely wouldn’t count as a port. Make sure to check the “releases” tab on MobyGames if unsure about whether it’s a port or just a rerelease of the same game code.

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Note on first post you can make it a real table like this… whoever has edit capabilities could make it so:

|game_title|count|
|-|-|
|Pac-Man|35|
|Frogger|31|
|Dig Dug|31|
game_title count
Pac-Man 35
Frogger 31
Dig Dug 31
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In regards to the most physically ported gambling game, I think it might be either Dizzy Dice or Vegas Jackpot:

Unknown
Unknown746×592 209 KB

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Updated the list.

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Going by the new list, these are apparently the most ported games that started off on mobile:

Angry Birds

Doodle God

Brain Challenge

Tennis in the Face

King Oddball

Back to Bed

Sparkle 2

Flight Control

Edge

Fieldrunners

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Hmm

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