Good Tv/movie/comic/etc. Licensed Games (All Systems)


Prometheus

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In spite of their reputation for being universally bad, there are actually quite a lot of good games that are based on pre-existing licenses/characters from other media. Since so many people seem to believe that all licensed games are automatically bad and avoid them all as a matter of course, I figured I'd start a thread for recommending the ones that are worth checking out. When recommending a game, please include the system you're referring to, since this thread isn't restricted to any single machine.

Let's get this thing started. :p

Samurai Warrior - The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo - Samurai Wandering - Commodore 64 - Based on the Usagi Yojimbo (literally, "Rabbit Bodyguard") series of comics by Stan Sakai, you are tasked with guiding the ronin rabbit Miyamoto Usagi across feudal Japan, on a quest to rescue a friend, Lord Noriyuki, from the agents of the evil Lord Hikiji who seeks to rule the country. Rather than just slicing things up relentlessly, you are expected to observe proper etiquette - you must bow to noblemen and treat the poor peasants with respect (and, if you wish, offer them some money), and never draw your sword before either of them (bad things happen if you do). The only thing that isn't immediately obvious is how to put your sword away - you need to push diagonally down-left whilst pressing the fire button at the exact same time.

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo - Platformer - Commodore 64 - This game was originally a budget release, so it's fairly short - however, it's a competent and enjoyable platform game that's fairly challenging, and is well worth the time. You play as Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo, and have to traverse across four atmospheric and spooky levels in an attempt to rescue Scooby and Shaggy, who have been chased by ghosts and kidnapped. In one of them, you even get to use a hoverboard, much like the one that would later appear in the MS-DOS game, Jazz Jackrabbit. Scrappy can attack enemies by punching them, and you can hold down the fire button in order to charge up a super-punch for bigger enemies, as well. The game has nice art and smooth animation (which perfectly captures Scrappy's essence, as well as that of Shaggy and Scooby), and the theme tune (which was made for this game, rather than based on that of the TV series) will probably never leave your brain. There is also another game by the same name for the Amiga and Atari ST, but it is an entirely different game.

Yogi's Great Escape - Platformer - Commodore 64 - Another budget release based on a Hanna-Barbera cartoon (this time on a specific made-for-TV Yogi Bear movie), you have to help Yogi Bear escape from Jellystone Park, which has gone over its budget and is preparing to send all of its animals to a zoo. It's very, very challenging, and features some situations where you must time your jumps perfectly in order to land on moving parts of the scenery. Like Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, it has very smooth animation, and a memorable theme tune that is specific to this game.

Toy Story - Platformer - Mega Drive - Based on the Pixar movie of the same name, Toy Story pits Woody the cowboy doll against all the perils that a toy has to face in life - people, dogs, loony squeaky aliens, and his own envy of a new toy who seems to be taking his place. There are quite a few levels, and the game is similarly imaginative to the film - Woody's primary weapon is his pull-string, which he uses like a cowboy would use a whip! The Mega Drive version of this game is the best version. Due to what I have always imagined was some result of the developer, Travellers' Tales, having a working relationship with Sega at the time, the SNES version is cut-down and lacks levels and features which were easily possible on the system, and were done in earlier games by other developers - stick with the Mega Drive version.

Mickey Mania - The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse - Platformer - Mega Drive - A game which follows the modern-day Mickey Mouse as he ventures through a selection of his older cartoons, in order to rescue his faithful dog, Pluto, find his past equivalents who are hiding in each of the old cartoons, and defeat Big Bad Pete. This game, in spite of what one might think given its source material, is very challenging, and requires quite a bit of skill in some places. It's got a fantastic soundtrack and great atmosphere, and also features the only death scene that has ever been designed for Mickey Mouse (apparently the Disney licensing folks don't tend to allow that sort of thing, but the way losing a life was handled in this game got their approval). As with Toy Story, the Mega Drive version of this game is the one to play, for the same reason - for reasons one can only guess at, the SNES version is missing features and levels which would have easily been possible on the system, and which were done in other games that pre-dated Mickey Mania. The SNES version's soundtrack is also scrambled around, and tunes which were written for some levels are instead inexplicably used in different ones where they do not fit.
 
BatMan: Arkham Asylum - PS3/XBox360/pc. Possibly (and probably) the finest example of a superhero based videogame. Ever. From the start to the finish, you can feel the comic-book love and believe that the whole character of The BatMan has been included on a shiny DVD. The action, storyline, acting, graphics and sound all draw you into the madness of Arkham. Simply amazing. Roll on Arkham City :)
 
I knew I should've specified that this was for stuff that can be emulated on the Pandora (but then, it's in the Emulation section). :lol:

Got any recommendations that can be played on the Pandora? :)
 
Addams Family, The (SNES)
Batman - The Movie (Amiga)
Batman Returns (SNES)
GoldenEye (N64)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (ScummVM)
Lethal Weapon (Amiga)
Super Star Wars (SNES)
Super The Empire Strikes Back (SNES)
 
DuckTales - Platform -(GameBoy/NES)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan - Platform / Beat 'em Up - (GameBoy)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Beat 'em Up - (Arcade)
The Simpsons - Beat 'em Up - (Arcade)
Aladdin - Platform - (Genesis / Mega Drive)
 
Bosbeetle said:
Goonies on MSX a very nice platformer based on the movie "the goonies" from 1985 :)
This reminds me, the Famicom Disk System version of The Goonies (which I gather is a different game from the MSX, and Atari 800/C64/ZX Spectrum/Amstrad CPC games of the same name) is also very good, and is a platformer that's well worth checking out.

EDIT: And I forgot another one, which a thread on the other forum reminded me of (thanks to Klaus Kinski for the reminder!);

Lilo & Stitch - Metal Slug-alike and Abe's Oddyssey-alike - Lilo & Stitch, in spite of the name, doesn't try to follow the plot of the movie - it takes place afterwards. Lilo (the little girl who adopted the alien terror Stitch in the movie) is kidnapped by a mysterious group of aliens. She sets out to escape, whilst Stitch sets out to rescue her. You get to play as both characters; Stitch's stages are like a cute and fluffy Metal Slug, and Lilo's are puzzle-orientated and somewhat like Abe's Oddyssey and the like. It's got some really good music and sound effects, too, as well as the sort of animation you would expect from a Disney title. I seem to recall that it has some quite difficult spaceship-flying stages, in the vein of the Andy Asteroids levels from Earthworm Jim, too. My only gripe is that it uses a password system instead of proper saving, but this is negated by emulation, since you can make a save-state at the password screen.

EDIT 2: Another one which I've just discovered;

Bucky O'Hare - Platformer - Based on the comics and cartoon series of the same name (if you're unfamiliar with it, imagine mixing Star Wars with funny-animals and add in a human who's been transdimensionally warped into their parallel universe, and you're halfway there), Bucky O'Hare (unsurprisingly) places you in the role of the green rabbit, Captain Bucky O'Hare, as he sets out to rescue his crew from the evil Toad Empire. It plays much like a Mega Man game (although it was made by Konami, not Capcom), except instead of obtaining weapons from bosses, Bucky's rescued crew members carry different weapons, and you can switch to controlling them instead by pressing the Select button once you've saved them. The controls aren't quite as well-tuned as those in a Mega Man game, as they feel a bit looser, but it plays very well nonetheless. It also has a good soundtrack, and bosses that can be a bit merciless with some of their (sometimes screen-filling) moves.
 
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Batman (Spectrum) - precursor to Head Over Heels, by Ritman & Drummond
Batman: Caped Crusader (C64) - adventure game with neat expanding "comic panel" visual design
Puggsley's Scavenger Hunt (SNES) - superior (IMHO) sequel to the Adam's Family game
Alien3 (SNES) - nothing like the movie, but an atmospheric platform shooter, more sedate than Contra but not as complex as Metroid
Willow (Arcade) - superb platform adventure
Robocop (C64) - I suspect this doesn't stand up well today, but it was a rock hard walk-along shooter... IIRC you needed to hit space bar to jump on the c64? Mapping that on Pandora should make things better
X-men: Mutant Apocalypes (SNES) - scrolling beat 'em up, surprisingly well made. X-Men Clone Wars on Megadrive is also worth checking out
Untouchables (C64) - multi-level game with a ton of variety recreating scenes from the movie - might be difficult to get into
Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES) - amazing comic graphics, neat puzzles, great action

and finally, one you may not think of trying...

Lawnmower Man (SNES) - I'm not kidding, this game is superb, packed full of great ideas and little touches
 
What!? Nobody mentioned TMNT: Turtles in Time (SNES)!! That was one of my all-time favorite SNES games, ever!

Also, Bart's Nightmare (from Simpsons, SNES) was trippy but good.
In fact, Simpsons-wise, I enjoyed Bart vs The Space Mutants (NES and many others) and Bart vs The World (NES, some others) as well.

EDIT: Oh geez, holy gravedig. Sorry guys.

- trix
 
^ Eh, it's meant to be a resource. Don't worry about it. :) I fully expect much bigger thread-resurrections on the other recommendations threads in the future (and I don't think it would be a problem with those, either).
 
Astro Boy on the GBA might be Treasure's best game since Gunstar Heroes, the controls take some getting used to but it's definitely one of the best run n' gun games I've ever played.

The GBA also has a TMNT game (based on the CGI movie) that's really awesome, it's a scrolling beat-em-up in the style of the old ones, but with better graphics and surprisingly complex combat considering it uses so few buttons. It actually outdoes the SNES game in a number of ways, except that it's only 1-player, and you can't throw people out of the screen this time. :(

Pretty much any Disney-based platformer on 8 or 16 bit is class for some reason. I must have played Toy Story, Lion King and World of Illusion through to the end like a bajillion times back in the day.

Power Rangers on the SNES is a good laugh, if a bit on the easy side.
 
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