the novelty of this being a Michael Jackson themed game aside, I've always loved the solid game play, highly detailed artwork for it's hardware, generous cutscenes and character design. Those robots where frightening yet oh so satisfying to destroy when I was a kid.
"They're smiling, because deep down in their hearts, they know that Michael will return one day to share with them another wondrous and magical adventure". Considering nowadays context, this makes me wanna cry... I like to think of him as a friend I never had. Miss you, Michael.
@@kingpin22s The console game for the Mega Drive and Master System is not a port and it doesn't suck ass! It's a pretty good game on its own right and many people prefer it over the arcade game (Cygnus Destroyer for instance, you can check out his video). Personally I can't say since I never played the arcade game but what I can already say is that I prefer the music arrangements on Mega Drive. Now, there IS a Moonwalker game that trully sucks ass and that's the computer game (released on Amiga, Amstrad CPC, etc.).
Neither game is anywhere near as good as the arcade game, although the genesis games is semi entertaining for a while.. but QUICKLY gets tedious.. only worth it for the music and dance mega death move. IMO of course!@@ryzmaker11
@@ryzmaker11 I've watched some of the Amiga game. It is bad, but not Michael's kind of bad. It's awful! Not only does it play terribly, but it doesn't really have much music other than short loops. As for the Genesis & arcade MJM games, I like them both. The Smooth Criminal dance sequence would've been even better with the policeman saying "OK I want everybody to clear the area RIGHT NOW!" at the end. One thing I like in the arcade is when Michael turns into the robot & starts shooting lasers.
I love when the spotlight just reigns from the heavens and all the enemies just start dancing, then commit suicide from the shame of being out-danced so hard
me and my bro play the living HELL out of this game as kids. they had this game at a marriott hotel in florida. instead of playing on the beach we were pumping quarters into this sucker. many memories
I played this game so much that I found a funny trick...........If you get hit by a car and hit Dance Magic at the same time, your character will be flung around the room while performing the dance.
I remember having this for sega genesis and beating it then going to arcade and seeing this game and saying WTF. The arcade version was 100x time better than console version. Back then all arcade versions were always better.
For start it's not even the same game and, anyway, some people would disagree as they prefer the Mega Drive game over the arcade. Personally I can't say since I never played the arcade game but what I can already say is that I prefer the music arrangements on Mega Drive. And nope, arcade versions weren't always better back then. On Mega Drive for instance there are many ports which are as good if not better than the originals such as Hellfire, Snow Bros, Atomic Runner, Columns...
@@ryzmaker11 I think if you weren't around back then it's easy to look at this and not see much of a difference graphics etc to console but the arcade was always vastly superior at the time
The board that runs arcade Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Sega's System-18 Hardware) is the same arcade board used for arcade Shadow Dancer, Alien Storm, Clutch Hitter, D.D. Crew and Laser Ghost (among others).
Imagine being the person who pitched the idea for this “So, yeah, MJ defeats enemies with the power of music and then turns into Mecha-Jackson when he picks up Bubbles the Monkey.”
@@Dzzy123 The last thing his estate should be doing is getting involved in any way with games involving michael jackson and little kids held in forcefields considering his history
The Arcade rendition of MJ music here is effin Out of this world mind blowing. The bass, the reverbed drum kick, the rhythm. Really stands out among the blips and beeps of other game titles... Truly a musicians ear of the talented king of pop.
I played this at a campground arcade all the time growing up. You could play with multiple players in different colored suits. "X-Men" with Michael Jackson, we always called it. Hella fun.
Kitty Kat he did quite a bit of work with Sega, so its highly probable. He even did the soundtrack for Sonic 3 and used the left over music to make Stranger In Moscow, just in case you didn't know :
John Fletcher indeed, I strongly believe he was the main composer of the Sonic 3 soundtrack. The similarities between some of his songs and songs from Sonic 3's levels is just too much of a coincidence to not notice them. There's just no way he didn't have a hand in the composition.
IcedEarthaholic I think he was the main composer not sure tho, but did you know that Sonic's shoes were actually based on the shoes that MJ wore in the BAD video? Pretty cool, eh? ☺
John Fletcher that is pretty cool, there will never be another like him and it saddens me. Even with his weird lifestyle as an adult, I always respected him as a musician and as a brilliant performer.
I remember playing this, The Simpsons, Afterburner, Cruisin' USA, and that shitty Aerosmith shooter game at a local skating rink... When I see the feet in the intro screen, I get hit with some nostalgia. Used to play it co-op with a bunch of friends!
Mikee Remastered And MJ owned the rights to everything he recorded (plus most of the Beatles songs) so again, why no "Thriller"? The mystery is still unsolved!
I remember playing this in a laundromat in California when I was like 7 or 8 (1990). I got sad because I died and didn’t have anymore quarters to play again. I remember the game being difficult but fun, especially the special M.J. uses. I thought hat was the coolest thing ever!
MJ knew that 1987-89 were his peak years span with the BAD album, the BAD tour, Moonwalker the movie and of course the game itself. Michael Jackson deserved a lot of flowers at that time while he was still in this earth and yet he deserves flowers more than ever as the King of Pop that "man in the mirror" was "bad".
Loved this game in the arcades back then....the big cabinet and the loudness of the speakers. Never made it through the whole game, but one thing I find remarkable: why dont they play the Thriller theme on the graveyard level 😉
I played this game at Galloping Ghost Arcade yesterday. I had a fun time playing this game. I never knew that there was an arcade game for the this movie.
One of my all time faves arcade games, along with Hero Turtles, WWF Wrestlefest, Simpsons, Outrun, Punch Out, Double Dragon, Tecmo World Cup 90, T2, Bubble Bobble, Power Drift, Space Harrier, Operation Wolf, Pacman, RoboCop, Shadow Warriors, Indy Jones & Temple of Doom, Golden Axe, Altered Beast.... list is endless!:)
Good game and sounds are good too, I liked this little DIDDY of a game, I own a mother board and a Jamma arcade cab and I plug into it every so often, good game. Thanks for posting.
Hmmm...sharing with the children another magical adventure. Michael was gone by the end of this arcade game. What tales of his adventures would he share with the children he saved? Space Channel 5, perhaps?
Even now I say to this day we lost a brilliant mind who was truly a kid at heart. This game is cast iron proof of that fact. Truly the king of pop, no one can take that legacy or title away from him. RIP Michael.
For anyone is the SF Bay Area, MiniBoss in San Jose has this arcade. I just went there for the first time last night. I had never heard of this game before. It blew my mind.
I actually owned one of these in grad school and miss it every day. I had it in a converted four player cabinet and this actually supports four Michaels at once. It was glorious. Okay, maybe a *little* creepy now?
Back in does days there wasn't much to work with when creating this game.... but there are more than enough....so a remake and following up sequels is needed here..... keep the King in people's memories and on their smartphones with a iOS and Android version.
They left out one of his cleanest tracks: Baby Be Mine! Now where's the Bill Cosby game? Walkin around in a sweater pouring pudding and Jello on people! That would Go!
I'm actually surprised that Michael made this game and did the concept art and designs for this game all by himself thank you Michael Jackson for giving us wonderful a game 1958‐Forever❤😊💟🕊🥺😢😪😅😍
The first time I saw this arcade machine running, it was being played by 3 people at the same time, the music was blasting on it.. I was like holy crap! At the time the System 18 (same hardware the Genesis was designed around) was incredible. Sega could of easily made this for the Sega CD or the 32X as a second game to the first one that was more of a platform side scroller designed for the Genesis.
Me and two friends beat this game at the arcade and had a fucking blast. It’s genuinely fun (especially with three players), looks great and is above all hilarious. Great game
Let's be honest back then this was the coolest thing ever especially in the arcades. With the whole dance routine and everything. Now it's really weird with the kids etc😂
True. Arcade version had surround sound. They put alot of money into the Arcade machin for this game. THe sega genesis version sucked compared to this.
Sega System 16 hardware is essentially more powerful/expensive Genesis/Megadrive hardware. Also they're not constrained on ROM size so there's lots of pretty graphics and animation and full screen intros. Each arcade cabinet is several grand so they're not constrained on cost as much as anything on the genesis.
The console game for the Mega Drive and Master System is not a port and it doesn't suck! It's a pretty good game on its own right and many people prefer it over the arcade game (Cygnus Destroyer for instance, you can check out his video). Personally I can't say since I never played the arcade game but what I can already say is that I prefer the music arrangements on Mega Drive. Now, there IS a Moonwalker game that trully sucks ass and that's the computer game (released on Amiga, Amstrad CPC, etc.).
![[TAS] Arcade Michael Jackson's Moonwalker "3 players" by DarkKobold in 11:49.83](/img/1.gif)
No one else was listed in the credits. Michael literally programmed, digitized the audio, and did all the voices himself. What a talent!
But now, the media imposes, cardy b. What a terrible, huge downgrade.
Michael Jackson is my favorite Video Game Developer.
@@Pokaroquai Same here
MJ was a true legend
@ I like cardi b I would bang
I like how he just screams "WAOH!" at his enemies during the screen transition.
+AlternateHanta hi
+AlternateHanta I would too if I were MJ lol
Lol. Me, too.
+AlternateHanta that scream made me love the game along with the music at the time . but god , I lost so much coins in this game
+tecknos africa it's game play is set for making big buck for a arcade owner's pockets, its "Quarter Muncher Game"
Remember playing this back in the day, was really impressed with the quality of the game. Watching it now, still does not disappoint.
Yeah this game kicked ass
the novelty of this being a Michael Jackson themed game aside, I've always loved the solid game play, highly detailed artwork for it's hardware, generous cutscenes and character design. Those robots where frightening yet oh so satisfying to destroy when I was a kid.
Xiao, are you okay?
"They're smiling, because deep down in their hearts, they know that Michael will return one day to share with them another wondrous and magical adventure".
Considering nowadays context, this makes me wanna cry... I like to think of him as a friend I never had. Miss you, Michael.
Count yourself lucky he only touched you with his music
@@lukegale7812 lol!!! Behave!
@@superamario6464 Ha ha. Did he not touch you?!
@@lukegale7812 hee hee! Shamon
@@superamario6464 Michael touched us all
Totally different game than the Genesis game.
Thunder Force yeah the ports sucked ass.
@@kingpin22s The console game for the Mega Drive and Master System is not a port and it doesn't suck ass! It's a pretty good game on its own right and many people prefer it over the arcade game (Cygnus Destroyer for instance, you can check out his video).
Personally I can't say since I never played the arcade game but what I can already say is that I prefer the music arrangements on Mega Drive.
Now, there IS a Moonwalker game that trully sucks ass and that's the computer game (released on Amiga, Amstrad CPC, etc.).
Neither game is anywhere near as good as the arcade game, although the genesis games is semi entertaining for a while.. but QUICKLY gets tedious.. only worth it for the music and dance mega death move. IMO of course!@@ryzmaker11
Yes that one was garbage
@@ryzmaker11 I've watched some of the Amiga game. It is bad, but not Michael's kind of bad. It's awful! Not only does it play terribly, but it doesn't really have much music other than short loops.
As for the Genesis & arcade MJM games, I like them both. The Smooth Criminal dance sequence would've been even better with the policeman saying "OK I want everybody to clear the area RIGHT NOW!" at the end. One thing I like in the arcade is when Michael turns into the robot & starts shooting lasers.
Actor, singer, dancer, composer, and ... game designer? He was awesome! Wow!
A complete man... like Al Bundy.
He was even a Sonic the Hedgehog fan!
He even made the circuit boards!
it's so funny that when Michael uses his ultimate skill the enemies stop fighting and dance with Michael and die. lol
Similar to Shinobi
Literally the dance of death, hahaha
Like the Cuban Pete scene from The Mask (1994)
I never knew about this game, only played the non-arcade Moonwalker, but the graphics are rad! It must have been incredible back then in the arcades.
CoIdHeat My granddad had a bar with an arcade of that game. It was just crazy
actually this was one of the better ones considering the level of graphic designs back then.
It was!
I love when the spotlight just reigns from the heavens and all the enemies just start dancing, then commit suicide from the shame of being out-danced so hard
me and my bro play the living HELL out of this game as kids. they had this game at a marriott hotel in florida. instead of playing on the beach we were pumping quarters into this sucker. many memories
Priceless memories I could only imagine
I know u was moaning
I played this game so much that I found a funny trick...........If you get hit by a car and hit Dance Magic at the same time, your character will be flung around the room while performing the dance.
Damn, I thought I was crazy when I was a kid at the arcade. I'm so happy to see a playthrough of this game!
This game actually looks amazing. What a piece of art.
I remember having this for sega genesis and beating it then going to arcade and seeing this game and saying WTF. The arcade version was 100x time better than console version. Back then all arcade versions were always better.
For start it's not even the same game and, anyway, some people would disagree as they prefer the Mega Drive game over the arcade. Personally I can't say since I never played the arcade game but what I can already say is that I prefer the music arrangements on Mega Drive.
And nope, arcade versions weren't always better back then. On Mega Drive for instance there are many ports which are as good if not better than the originals such as Hellfire, Snow Bros, Atomic Runner, Columns...
Anytime you have to port a game to console there will usually be significant sacrifices in many things
@@ryzmaker11 I think if you weren't around back then it's easy to look at this and not see much of a difference graphics etc to console but the arcade was always vastly superior at the time
a diamond is higer quality than a turd but most of didn't have arcade games at home .
The board that runs arcade Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Sega's System-18 Hardware) is the same arcade board used for arcade Shadow Dancer, Alien Storm, Clutch Hitter, D.D. Crew and Laser Ghost (among others).
this game was so much fun back in the day
Imagine being the person who pitched the idea for this
“So, yeah, MJ defeats enemies with the power of music and then turns into Mecha-Jackson when he picks up Bubbles the Monkey.”
Throwback I used to love playing this in the arcades!!!
This is a game that needs a make over in memories and honor of Michael.
Serious its about time someone or a gaming company do this for the king.
The estate needs to remaster the game and make a sequel. They could make levels based on all his short films.
@@Dzzy123 The last thing his estate should be doing is getting involved in any way with games involving michael jackson and little kids held in forcefields considering his history
@@JS-wp4gs A remaster or remake would sell. The allegations are not credible.
Collecting a monkey turns you into a robot with lazers? That's a new one
I wish they did one for DAVID BOWIE with all his Alter Egos going up against Wild Alien POP threats to MUSIC!!!! The STARMAN of the Universe!!!
Starman would have been a perfect name for a Bowie game. Real shame.
That's a great choice Krystal Myth!!!
Well there is Omikron...
It's still a possibility they can make a game of him
...I think were all missing the fact Micheal Jackson is throwing spirit bombs at people.
PolarStarBlue it foreshadowed the movie Ghosts lmao
Lol...!!!
_Citizens of Earth, I require your spirits to defeat our enemy Majin Buu._
Wait, wrong show.
The Arcade rendition of MJ music here is effin Out of this world mind blowing. The bass, the reverbed drum kick, the rhythm. Really stands out among the blips and beeps of other game titles... Truly a musicians ear of the talented king of pop.
I played this at a campground arcade all the time growing up. You could play with multiple players in different colored suits. "X-Men" with Michael Jackson, we always called it. Hella fun.
I love how his charge attack makes him start moonwalking.
I wonder if Michael ever played this game????
Kitty Kat Probably
Kitty Kat he did quite a bit of work with Sega, so its highly probable. He even did the soundtrack for Sonic 3 and used the left over music to make Stranger In Moscow, just in case you didn't know :
John Fletcher indeed, I strongly believe he was the main composer of the Sonic 3 soundtrack. The similarities between some of his songs and songs from Sonic 3's levels is just too much of a coincidence to not notice them. There's just no way he didn't have a hand in the composition.
IcedEarthaholic I think he was the main composer not sure tho, but did you know that Sonic's shoes were actually based on the shoes that MJ wore in the BAD video? Pretty cool, eh? ☺
John Fletcher that is pretty cool, there will never be another like him and it saddens me. Even with his weird lifestyle as an adult, I always respected him as a musician and as a brilliant performer.
this game has a strong Streets of Rage vibe
I remember playing this, The Simpsons, Afterburner, Cruisin' USA, and that shitty Aerosmith shooter game at a local skating rink... When I see the feet in the intro screen, I get hit with some nostalgia. Used to play it co-op with a bunch of friends!
Why no "Thriller" in graveyard level?
+UBUNTU UBUNTU it's not Michaels song. Rod Temperton wrote it. It's only inclueded in the verry first copies for the Genesis.
+KingCorny93 What are you on? It is his song. So what if Rod wrote it. He wrote it specifically for MJ.
Mikee Remastered And MJ owned the rights to everything he recorded (plus most of the Beatles songs) so again, why no "Thriller"? The mystery is still unsolved!
it's used in a different level, idk why tho
Mj doesn't have the instrumental rights
20 quarters later and I beat this game.
The villain couldn't decide on an aesthetic "Sir do you want to go with mobsters, Bond villain jumpsuit guys, janky robots, or hobos?" "Yes."
i played this game at a place called the washerteria everyday on my way home from school it was awesome
i play this on arcade game with coins when i was a kid...awesome!
I remember playing this in a laundromat in California when I was like 7 or 8 (1990).
I got sad because I died and didn’t have anymore quarters to play again. I remember the game being difficult but fun, especially the special M.J. uses. I thought hat was the coolest thing ever!
When Smooth Criminal comes on, everything just starts dancing！Even robots can't resist it! LOL that song's Magic!
MJ knew that 1987-89 were his peak years span with the BAD album, the BAD tour, Moonwalker the movie and of course the game itself.
Michael Jackson deserved a lot of flowers at that time while he was still in this earth and yet he deserves flowers more than ever as the King of Pop
that "man in the mirror" was "bad".
@3:08 the BEST special attack ever!
Loved this game in the arcades back then....the big cabinet and the loudness of the speakers.
Never made it through the whole game, but one thing I find remarkable: why dont they play the Thriller theme on the graveyard level 😉
"You rock my world!" 🎶
Will bring and download on PSN and xbox live.
Dang. I was kinda hoping that the zombies would do the Thriller whenever MJ started dancing.
yeah coz that is what they do in the SMD versoin.
Went to Scarbourgh on holiday in summer of 91 and played this pretty much every day I was there. Finally completed it on my final day.
Played the Genesis game as a kid and never knew this existed. Oh the quarters I would have sunk into this thing! Thanks for the play through!
This game was fire back in the day. Me and my brothers used to play the hell out of this at the arcade. I always had dibs on red suit Michael.
Okay, but, why wasn't the song for the Graveyard level Thriller? I mean, you have zombies that you can make dance.
Used to love playing this in Scarborough when I was a kid
This game was sick AF at the arcade. The Genesis port was trash tho..
This was never ported to the SNES as it was a Sega-developed game. But, you're right about it being superior to the Genesis home version.
Broyale26 my bad, I could have sworn I had seen it for the SNES back in the day but I guess I was tripping.
Had no idea there was an arcade version. This is so different!! Wish my local arcade had it when I was a kid in the 90s. Thanks for sharing.
This game is incredible!
when this came out in 88 it looked great. back when arcade was always state of the art
Michael Jackson was the jedi master
And gives him a Special too. =D
Pretty amazing that they combined smooth criminal and Captain EO into a video game.
I played this game at Galloping Ghost Arcade yesterday. I had a fun time playing this game. I never knew that there was an arcade game for the this movie.
This Michael Jackson arcade game looks like fun I never got try it but I'd sure like to, the video game aracade music was very well done:).
I played this yesterday, on an arcade game showoff, never knew it existed but it was fun.
The fact that every enemy starts dancing when he does his big dance moves is hilarious. This game is legendary 😂
Good times! Nostalgia killing me now
omg the final paragraph of the end credits :x
One of my all time faves arcade games, along with Hero Turtles, WWF Wrestlefest, Simpsons, Outrun, Punch Out, Double Dragon, Tecmo World Cup 90, T2, Bubble Bobble, Power Drift, Space Harrier, Operation Wolf, Pacman, RoboCop, Shadow Warriors, Indy Jones & Temple of Doom, Golden Axe, Altered Beast.... list is endless!:)
Good game and sounds are good too, I liked this little DIDDY of a game, I own a mother board and a Jamma arcade cab and I plug into it every so often, good game. Thanks for posting.
que infancia que tuve cuando juge este juego me asia sentir el rey del pop :'')
También
Lo más épico era cuando se transformaba en robot y el baile
I remember playing this for the first time at the arcade when I was around 6 year's old lol. Scream at 1:55 is priceless.
Michael Jackson will be greatly missed
I remember playing this at the skating rink when I was a kid.
I used to love this game as a kid , in the top of arcade games for sure
como era bom este jogo , como queria que volta no tempo .
This use to be one of my favorite games!! Ugh such nostalgia
I loved playing this in the arcade!
Awesome game! Michael be throwing Spirit Bombs!
Hmmm...sharing with the children another magical adventure. Michael was gone by the end of this arcade game. What tales of his adventures would he share with the children he saved? Space Channel 5, perhaps?
Ok..when did Michael learn to do one handed Kamehamehas?!!
los juegos de arcade se veían mucho mejor que en las consolas. excelente
Smooth Criminal: Mi Musica Favorita
I was never a Michael Jackson fan growing up, but this game was AWESOME
You can’t be from planet earth you just can’t
Criminal: **holds a kid as a hostage**
MJ: Ow!
I remember i played this game alot of times 24 years ago when i was just a litle kid i still have nice memories about this one🙂
i palyed this game in 1996 i finished this story with 1 coin. nostalgia . greetings to all arcade games lovers.from algeria .
Who designed the robots is what I want to know. Talk about suggestive.
This version is clearly better than the Genesis one
Those robots with a puncher... just doesn't look right!XD)))
Yeah. Sort of hard to miss the dick pounder walker mecha lol.
digimaks the dick-pistons.
Yeah lol
Creepy AF after the documentary
3:09 Distraction Dance 2.0
4:51
6:26
7:05 Nooooo!!!
0:44 That evil laughter
20:39 Move Moooovee it!!!!
28:13 SCARY POP UP jumpscare
Even now I say to this day we lost a brilliant mind who was truly a kid at heart. This game is cast iron proof of that fact. Truly the king of pop, no one can take that legacy or title away from him. RIP Michael.
Cast iron proof that he loved kiddies...
Michael Jackson the kid savior
@@bingola45
Your mom does what?
Only saw this ONCE on actual arcade hardware.
The late 80's, man.
No Thriller??
Thriller was composed by Rod Temperton... Only music written by Michael in the game. It's a pity...
For anyone is the SF Bay Area, MiniBoss in San Jose has this arcade. I just went there for the first time last night. I had never heard of this game before. It blew my mind.
I love this game because I love both Michael Jackson and video games.
I actually owned one of these in grad school and miss it every day. I had it in a converted four player cabinet and this actually supports four Michaels at once. It was glorious. Okay, maybe a *little* creepy now?
Back in does days there wasn't much to work with when creating this game.... but there are more than enough....so a remake and following up sequels is needed here..... keep the King in people's memories and on their smartphones with a iOS and Android version.
The aggressive WOAH at the start of the level and the death OOOH! get me.
They left out one of his cleanest tracks: Baby Be Mine!
Now where's the Bill Cosby game? Walkin around in a sweater pouring pudding and Jello on people! That would Go!
I'm actually surprised that Michael made this game and did the concept art and designs for this game all by himself thank you Michael Jackson for giving us wonderful a game
1958‐Forever❤😊💟🕊🥺😢😪😅😍
This version of the game is superior and better than any other version including Genesis, atleast in my opinion.
The first time I saw this arcade machine running, it was being played by 3 people at the same time, the music was blasting on it.. I was like holy crap! At the time the System 18 (same hardware the Genesis was designed around) was incredible. Sega could of easily made this for the Sega CD or the 32X as a second game to the first one that was more of a platform side scroller designed for the Genesis.
I can't believe it's been 13 years since Michael Jackson passed away
#13yearswithoutmichaeljackson
I played this arcade in 1993's in Pasaraya Blok M, Indonesia with my aunty. Thankyou aunty
Me and two friends beat this game at the arcade and had a fucking blast. It’s genuinely fun (especially with three players), looks great and is above all hilarious. Great game
Let's be honest back then this was the coolest thing ever especially in the arcades. With the whole dance routine and everything. Now it's really weird with the kids etc😂
This game was like super ahead of anything back in the days.
Remember this at a local leisure centre haha used to stand around for hours watchin it lol
Way better than the home version
True. Arcade version had surround sound. They put alot of money into the Arcade machin for this game. THe sega genesis version sucked compared to this.
Sega System 16 hardware is essentially more powerful/expensive Genesis/Megadrive hardware. Also they're not constrained on ROM size so there's lots of pretty graphics and animation and full screen intros. Each arcade cabinet is several grand so they're not constrained on cost as much as anything on the genesis.
John Simon dont forget the master system Version 😂😂😂
The console game for the Mega Drive and Master System is not a port and it doesn't suck! It's a pretty good game on its own right and many people prefer it over the arcade game (Cygnus Destroyer for instance, you can check out his video).
Personally I can't say since I never played the arcade game but what I can already say is that I prefer the music arrangements on Mega Drive.
Now, there IS a Moonwalker game that trully sucks ass and that's the computer game (released on Amiga, Amstrad CPC, etc.).
Nice Michael Jackson Company logo.