Battletoads and Starfox on GBA, what do you think?

[TheGrandPubaa]

What would your opinons be of ports of these two great games to the great little handheld? I, personally, would absolutely LOVE an enhanced port of the arcade Battletoads game, and who wouldn't want to play a port of the original Starfox? Even better if it were the unreleased sequel! Heck, games written specifically written for the GBA would be even better, eh?

 

I feel I can safely say that the GBA could handle both games pretty well(if not better than they were!). But what do you guys think?

[shep]

Battletoads could easily be done on the GBA, and a homebrew coder coded a demo of the training level of starfox very well...it can be found on the gbadev.org archives somewhere

[ubersaurus]

I do know that Nintendo was working on a gba version of the FX chip, so star fox could be possible. I'd rather see Star Fox 2, though

[+Zeptari]

Battletoads on the Genesis is a great game. it's the version i'd like to see ported over.

 

I'd loved Starfox to death on the snes. I played it so much that i'd rather see a brand new Starfox game on the gba...

[cryptik76]

I think Starfox would be a great game on the GBA. They could probably make it even better than the SNES version, since there have been a few games released for the GBA (Star X, Drome Racers) which do a great job with flat-shaded polygon graphics (even though Star X sucks), and even one or two which do a good job with texture-mapped polygons.

[Jasoco]

I have been contemplating a Star Fox GBA game in my head and it seems it would be VERY difficult to do.

 

Not the game itself, but the BUTTONS would be a HUGE limitation.

 

Nintendo's HUGE oversight with the GBA was that they only included two main buttons. The SNES has 4. But most of the new GBA games these days are supposed to be SNES ports! Some games it's fine. They only used 4 buttons anyway. But many use all 6! L, R, A, B, X and Y. But with the GBA, you can't have an X and Y.

 

How would they handle Star Fox's need for the other two buttons?

 

One button for Shooting, one for missiles, one to speed up and one to slow down. Then L and R to roll.

 

They'd have to drop two of the buttons.

 

Speeding up while pressing up would to a loop. You couldn't do loops without it. You NEED the ability to speed up and slow down. Rolling sould be cut to one button if you really need to. Maybe make it modify based on which direction you're moving at the time. That would leave one button open.

 

But still, you'd need the other.

 

So maybe this could be the layout..

 

A = Lasers/Missiles

B = Speed up/Slow down

L = Roll

R = Modify

 

When R is not pressed, A will Laser and B will Speed up. When R is pressed, A will shoot Missiles and B will Slow down. THIS is the only way to combat the limitations while keeping as much of the original game play as possible.

 

Of course, it's up to Nintendo to actually SEE it the same way. Knowing them, they'll mess the game up by cutting out stuff and making it harder to play via the loss of those features.

 

Star Fox would be nice, and maybe they could use the Micro-FX chip in conjunction with some killer 32-bit features to make Star Fox look better than it did 10 years ago!

 

I do hope it is made. I'd like a new game, but will take the old one if they see fit to port it. Maybe add some new zones and secrets.

[Video]

I got a long list of games I want ported.

 

Several have come to pass, Doom, and it's unbelievable sequel Doom2

 

But of my list, the top four, in this order are

 

StarFox

Sim City

Populous

Lemmings

 

I know Star Fox can be done. Without the FX chip. Star X proved that, which had graphics very close to the same as StarFox, but the game simply sucked. I think it was like a Beta of Starfox or something, seriously, that's what it felt like. Buttons would be a minor problem. You absolutely have to have L/R rolling, and A/B shooting/bombing. But Breaking and boosting weren't used as much and could be mapped to select, hold select and press A for boost, or B for brake. It would work just fine. Another thing. You ever notice how games on SNES, with the FX chip, have a border that brings them much closer to the size of the GBA screen ratio when played on TV? That's cool.

 

Sim City, I've heard it's coming.....and coming.....and coming.....then they decided 2000?!?! The worst sequel of all time is going to be ported instead of the awesome first game? WTF?!?!

 

Populous, I know it can be done. Several RTS games have already been done on GBA, very nicely too. And this particular one probably doesn't eat processing power like a standard new age RTS does.

 

Lemmings. Came out on GameBoy Color, and it sucked so bad I just had to throw it against the wall. I hope a GBA version gets ported soon.

 

Thing that gets me, is Nintendo and other companys are porting so many other games. Why don't they port the best ones? I know, Mario's guaranteed, I'll be first to buy the next one too here. But comeon, Mario just doesn't stand up as good as some of the other greats they have. It's funny really, A lot of my friends agree with me, when are they going to start porting all the really great games?

 

Most wanted games/ports for GBA

Doom (got it )

StarFox

Sim City

Populous

Lemmings

StarFox 2 (unreleased SNES sequel)

Super Mario World (got it)

Super Mario All Stars

Super Mario Land all stars (nonexistant game, all GameBoy Mario's/warios redone for GBA)

Final Fantasy 1, 2,and 3 (Usversions)

Tempest (sort of got it on Atari arcade collection)

Stunt Race FX

Super Paper Boy

FaceBall 2000/3000

Super Mario 64 (unlikely, but could be possible if cut down a little bit)

Converter card to play GameGear on GBA (Ain't gonna happen, but would be cool)

[Jasoco]

Most wanted games/ports for GBA

Doom (got it )

StarFox

Sim City

Populous

Lemmings

StarFox 2 (unreleased SNES sequel)

Super Mario World (got it)

Super Mario All Stars  

Super Mario Land all stars (nonexistant game, all GameBoy Mario's/warios redone for GBA)

Final Fantasy 1, 2,and 3 (Usversions)

Tempest (sort of got it on Atari arcade collection)

Stunt Race FX

Super Paper Boy

FaceBall 2000/3000

Super Mario 64 (unlikely, but could be possible if cut down a little bit)

Converter card to play GameGear on GBA (Ain't gonna happen, but would be cool)

Star Fox would be a must get game.

 

Sim City 1, I'm with you on that one. 2 was good on the computer, but the SNES version plain sucked. The first unique one on the SNES was like an improved version of the PC/Mac game. And the music was excellent. I'd want a straight port of that one.

 

Lemmings is a fun game to play once in a while and I wouldn't mind a GBA port.

 

Mario All-Stars is HIGHLY unlikely. It's already out, albeit in many parts split all over the place. It'd be NICE to have all the ORIGINAL games in one place instead of the modified ones they have now, but I don't see it happening at all. Not soon at least.

 

Tempest. Having never played Tempest until I got the Jaguar version, I'm with you on that. I'd like a GBA port of Tempest 2000. The whole game with all three versions. That'd rock. As long as it's true to the original, right down to the music. Maybe it could have some nicer graphics utilizing the GBA's power.

 

Now, Mario 64, THAT would be an excellent find. But even though I think it's completely possible on the GBA, could they REALLY get it on the system without having to create an oversized cart ala Virtua Racing Genesis? I'd like to see that come to be. But I don't have a feeling it'll happen anytime soon. At least not this generation. Maybe when the Game Boy 4 comes out with all new processing power and graphics.

 

This is the third completely new GB. The first had the original 4 scale grey (Green at first, then silver when it went Pocket.) screen. The second was the Game Boy Color. It was basically the same, but faster and in color. I count it as a new generation because it warranted completely new non-backwards compatable game design. (Meaning the games made specifically for it couldn't work on the older system.) Then there's the GBA. 100% completely different. How will they top it? And when will they top it? It took almost a decade for the GB to go color and make a new generation, but it only took about 3 years to get to the third generation. So either we'll get a new system in a couple years, a decade or even sooner if the PSP REALLY starts to make headway.

 

It will be nice when we have a Game Boy capable of playing N64 ports. Mario 64 will be a dream. But it'll need a system with THE CORRECT NUMBER OF BUTTONS!!! You HEAR me, Nintendo?? Count the BUTTON'S NEXT TIME!

[Ze_ro]

SimCity 2000 is already in the works for the GBA, and might actually be done by the time I type this... I haven't checked on it for a while, and I forgot the release date, but it's definitely coming.

 

StarFox would be great to see, and is probably even possible without any extra chips. If Star X is possible, then I'm sure the company that designed the hardware can manage StarFox with it.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath on Battletoads though. I'm sure the game would be great on the GBA, but the franchise seems to have been lost with the 80's. Maybe it'll make a comeback (Hell, a 3D, third-person view version would be pretty cool too), but we'll have to wait and see. Rare (the guys who did Battletoads originally) have made games for the GBA in the past, so it's entirely possible.

 

What I'd like to see are NEW Mario and Zelda games... I'll have none of these remakes.

 

--Zero

[shep]

I dont want a lot of ports, I want some new original titles like a GBA pikmin (just an example) or original titles in already established series such as the cool Mario and Luigi. I read an article that one of the reasons Nintendo left the x and y buttons was because they didnt want all their third party developers to port a bunch of their older titles. If you though all the ports were bad now, think of all the lazy developers that wouldtn have to spend time working around the two less buttons....Also, it would be dumb to release mario allstars when Nintendo will make more money selling the titles seperatly...that was just a dumb wish....

[TheGrandPubaa]

The problem with the Battletoads franchise is that they didn't make enough games. If I remember correctly, there were 4 distinct console/handheld games(and they were eerily similar). I'd love to see a full 3d upgrade to the Battletoads saga, but it would be great if they would port one of the older games to the handheld. It'd be even better if they wrote a new game, but that's unlikely at best.

 

I've played the Starfox 2 beta, as i'm sure many of you have, and while it's an early stage in design, it had a lot of potential. The framerate was pretty choppy, which is either that the engine wasn't fully optimised or the SNES was pushed to its limits. The GBA could handle it, and i'm certain of it. Certainly, the control layout would be a problem, but all it takes is some design ingenuity(come on, Mr. Miyamoto, help us out!).

[Video]

I read an article that one of  the reasons Nintendo left the x and y buttons was because they didnt want all their third party developers to port a bunch of their older titles.  If you though all the ports were bad now, think of all the lazy developers that wouldtn have to spend time working around the two less buttons....Also, it would be dumb to release mario allstars when Nintendo  will make more money selling the titles seperatly...that was just a dumb wish....

 

It's hilarious really. Nintendo didn't want a bunch of ports, yet here they are, ports being the only thing they are releasing on it.

 

I did have a wishlist for the handheld hardware too. One was a true SNES controll scheme, with X and Y buttons. Probably will happen on the fourth true incarnation of gameboy. The second was Backlighting, which was kind of taken care of with SP, but I don't like the flimsy design of SP. And the last, but not least, the same screen ratio as SNES, so perfect ports could be made. Some games that were nearly impossible on SNES, due to confined screen size are now completely impossible on GBA, with it's screen size being a little smaller.

 

As far as Mario All stars being just a dumb wish. Why do you say that? I fully expect a Mario all stars to come, truthfully. I know it will be after they release the last of the Marios on GameBoy (super Mario Bros and Lost levels are all that's left) And they'll make more money on it. Why? There's plenty of people like me, that baught all the games the first time, and will gladly buy the compilation that's the exact same games, compiled on one cart. At least, I seriously doubt anybody is holding off buying Mario games waiting for an Allstars game.

[cryptik76]

It's hilarious really.  Nintendo didn't want a bunch of ports, yet here they are, ports being the only thing they are releasing on it.

 

Um... The GBA has a lot of great original titles on it (and new games from existing franchises). You just have to look around a bit for them.

[Vic George 2K3]

The Smurfs for SNES, which was only released in Europe (and Nintendo Power's still responsible for doing a spread of what was never released in America), is what I would want to see for the Gameboy Advance. The good news is that Atari/Infogrames has already ported it. The bad news is that they still won't release it in America.

[ubersaurus]

The problem with the Battletoads franchise is that they didn't make enough games. If I remember correctly, there were 4 distinct console/handheld games(and they were eerily similar). I'd love to see a full 3d upgrade to the Battletoads saga, but it would be great if they would port one of the older games to the handheld. It'd be even better if they wrote a new game, but that's unlikely at best.

 

I've played the Starfox 2 beta, as i'm sure many of you have, and while it's an early stage in design, it had a lot of potential. The framerate was pretty choppy, which is either that the engine wasn't fully optimised or the SNES was pushed to its limits. The GBA could handle it, and i'm certain of it. Certainly, the control layout would be a problem, but all it takes is some design ingenuity(come on, Mr. Miyamoto, help us out!).

 

The OLD beta or the nearly complete one? The only problems I've seen with the complete one were entirely the fault of the emulator.

[Video]

It's hilarious really.  Nintendo didn't want a bunch of ports, yet here they are, ports being the only thing they are releasing on it.

 

Um... The GBA has a lot of great original titles on it (and new games from existing franchises). You just have to look around a bit for them.

 

I don't mean there are no new games. I mean a lot of what Nintendo themselves are releasing are ports. That's what's funny. Personally, I love a lot of the ports, but the games I'm having most fun with are originals. Golden Sun, Dark Arena, Koname Karts (or was that a SNES release?) I'm just kinda peeved they are releasing so many ports, but not the really great ones.

[TheGrandPubaa]

Well, there is Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga...

[Atariboy]

How about for the brake and boost in Star Fox, you have to hold down both L and R at the same time, and press forward on the control pad for the boost, and backwards for the brake?

 

I agree that it was stupid to go with only 2 buttons, I've been puzzled why they did that since the thing came out.

[Jasoco]

How about for the brake and boost in Star Fox, you have to hold down both L and R at the same time, and press forward on the control pad for the boost, and backwards for the brake?

 

I agree that it was stupid to go with only 2 buttons, I've been puzzled why they did that since the thing came out.

That would make it impossible to do a loop. Or a u-turn if they make a game with that kind of environment.

 

I say just stick with what I said. Using one button as a modifier. It's the only way to keep all the functionality in the game IF they actually want to port it. And I do hope they do.. or even a totally new Star Fox game..

[ubersaurus]

They could just use select as the brake/boost button or something.

[Jasoco]

They could just use select as the brake/boost button or something.

No, because then you'd have to take your finger off the D-Pad.

[Atariboy]

We're talking about the original Star Fox. There is nothing like a loop or u turn in the game, we're not talking about Star Fox 64.

 

You don't have to let go of the d pad to use the l and r buttons, you don't use your thumb to hit them.

[Xot]

I would think a quick double-tap of the control pad would suffice for rolling...

[Ze_ro]

StarFox (the SNES version) indeed uses all six buttons... so somehow you need to arrange the following functions on the GBA: Fire, Bomb, Speed Up, Slow Down, Bank Left, Bank Right, Pause, and Change View.

 

Using Select for Change View, Start for Pause, A for Fire, and the L and R buttons for banking seems about right... That would leave you with the B button free, so you could do things like B+Up for Speed Up, B+Down for Slow Down, and B+A for a Bomb. Perhaps L+R+A for a Bomb would work better, since hitting B+A by accident might be inconvenient. As in the SNES version, you could still do barrel rolls by double-tapping L or R.

 

As pointed out, stuff like loops didn't make it into the game until StarFox 64... but if they decided to stick them in, you could do them with combinations of D-pad movements, like up, up, up... or up, down, up really quickly... perhaps also while holding B.

 

--Zero

[Jasoco]

As pointed out, stuff like loops didn't make it into the game until StarFox 64... but if they decided to stick them in, you could do them with combinations of D-pad movements, like up, up, up... or up, down, up really quickly... perhaps also while holding B.

 

--Zero

Combos aren't for Starfox. I still suggest Modifiers. And I am sure Nintendo would try to get Looping into the game somehow, seeing what extras they've put in their other old games.

 

Here we are talking about how a game should be that doesn't even exist.... yet. And God, I hope it exists soon.

 

I'll take either A) A remake or totally new Starfox game on the GBA, or B) a brand new REAL Starfox game on the Cube. And throwing in remakes of the first two games on a bonus disc would be killer.