What are some games that aren’t very fun when played with whatever is the stock controller for the system it’s on, but are much better with an optional peripheral or controller? Inspiration of this thread is that I got a bunch of racing games for the saturn that have bad or mediocre d-pad controls but actually play very well with the wheel.
Virtua Racing
F1 Challenge
Hang-On GP '95 (pretty much unplayable with the d-pad, but with a wheel this is easily one of the funnest racer on the saturn imo)
I need to pull it out again, but I think I wired Hang-On GP '95 with the pad and was pretty dang boss with it. I adore that game. I think it has some excellent track design, a great sense of speed, especially when you use the first-person style on bike view, and a superb soundtrack.
I’m interested in F1 Challenge now that you’re saying it’s better with the wheel! Virtua Racing is at it’s best on the 32X IMO for a home port.
A lot of people mentioned lots of good stuff up above. Some things that come to mind for me include… Gunblade NY - Super fun on the Wii, but you haven’t lived til you’ve had that vibrating machine gun in your hands on the arcade machine. Super Hang On - No home port can compare to even the stand up machines with the handlebars on them. I love it on 3DS, but it’s not the same. Same goes for all of SEGA’s motorcycle games like Enduro Racer. Ridge Racer - NeGCon or get out.
PINBALL - Pretty much any machine. I love video game pinball. I love Pinball Arcade because I can play the arcade machines in my home. None of it compares to standing in front of even a crappy real table somewhere. I’m fortunate because there are still some arcades near me with reasonable selections to play. Nothing in video game form compares.
Have you ever played on one of those custom made electronic pinball emulator tables? Where the field is just one big monitor?
I’ve always wondered how those felt to play. I want to say that I’ve seen some on the internet that have built in motion feedback, to kind of give you the feel that the flippers and bumpers are actually being impacted.
I should have because a friend of mine owns one, but I have not because I haven’t ever been able to get over there to play it. He claims it’s as close as you’ll get without owning the machines, and obviously we’re not all going to own the machines, but I have another friend who bought a Ghostbusters Pro in the last year and that thing is phenomenal. It totally ruins any hope of playing the digital versions and have it feel the same no matter the layout.
I suppose someday all that will be left is the digital for the most part? We can only hope the collectors keep up the old machines no matter where they are. There are always little quirks of each machine that make them so unique in person.
Real pinball simply cannot be emulated in my opinion. There’s nothing like playing at a real machine. I do love me some videogame pinball, don’t get me wrong.
While not exactly the same, I found out a dualshock controller was a fair way to replicate the dual joystick setup. Not quite the same experience, but fairly close nonetheless. I love playing the SEGA Ages port on the PS2.
That’s one area I will not step into. I’m already over doing maintenance on arcade monitors and wood work. I can’t imagine having to fix up an old pinball machine. It looks like a massive chore.
