It's definitely interesting to see the different take in the NES port versus the Master System port of AfterBurner that you showed yesterday, Bill. The NES version seems to run smoother, but it's hard to tell if that results in better gameplay (I've not played this nor the SMS Afterburner port). I do think that the Master System port looked closer to the arcade in terms of sprite and tilework, but neither machine has the oomph to pull off a good port of AfterBurner. Even the PC-Engine and Genesis struggle with AB II. So, yeah, the arcade version is for sure the winner here. But...that said, I'm sure I would have loved to have had this port back then. I find the limitations of the home consoles (and handhelds) in the 70s-90s to make for some interesting (though maybe not necessarily 'good') takes on games from much beefier arcade or other stronger home systems.
As a port of After Burner it's not fantastic but as a generic shooter in a plane on an 8 bit console it's really good. I'd even say that it plays better than the SMS port but isn't as good graphically. I'm finding these 8 bit consoles to be extra fascinating when compared to the arcade. With the Genesis the technology was catching up to the point where even without being arcade perfect the games still resembled the original pretty well and I've also covered every single 2nd gen console game that was an arcade port where the majority had a completely different take on the source material. The NES & SMS are kind of that sweet spot in between.
It's games like this that really make me wonder how After Burner would have looked on the Atari 7800, considering it was far better at pumping out sprites. The NES version is bad lol
I had no clue there was an afterburner 2 on NES. Honestly the night level was pretty badass looking. No port comes close to playing this in the arcade. Badassery at its best and one of my top 10 arcade games for sure. Winner: Arcade although I am a really big fan of the PS3 After Burner Turbo or whatever it is called. Such a sweet game with tons to unlock and replayability. Another reason why I love this channel, it is about the lesser known games and bringing back memories.
So not only is there After Burner 2 on the NES, but there's technically two different versions. Sunsoft and Tengen both made different ports kind of like what happened with Ms. Pac-Man on the NES. But anywho, as good of a port as this is the arcade original is pretty much untouchable and I'm sure that experience on the actual cab must add so much to an already fantastic game. I've always been so curious about that PS3/360 After Burner game. That's great to hear that it's a cool game. I think I have it downloaded on my 360 so I need to give that a playthrough one of these days. Thanks for letting me know about that and for checking this video out buddy!
Ahah.... Well, at least I can say that NES tried EVEN HARDER than SMS with it's port of the first After Burner, but obviously it just couldn't do the justice to that kind of gameplay. Too fast, too colorful, too advanced. Looks kinda more faithfull to the arcade game in terms of the backgrounds/music though^^
While it doesn't come close to the source material it does play surprisingly well. Having said that I'd probably still take the SMS port of the first After Burner over this.
I never knew there was an afterburner 2😅 or that there was even an nes port. It doesnt look as good as the arcade but also for nes doesnt look half bad either. Sprites are smaller but thats to be expected. Nice vid man.
Thanks buddy! Sega had this weird thing going back then where they'd release a game like After Burner or Galaxy Force and then do a minor upgrade that would barely even qualify as DLC today and called it a "sequel" so that's how we ended up with this, Galaxy Force 2 and I think a few others. The NES game is pretty good for what it is but obviously can't match the powerhouse of the arcade original.
@@RetroComparisons Yeah I hear ya, at the time 8 bit especially be it NES or MS sadly couldn't match the arcade ports but some came real close like this one no doubt. 16 bit I felt were much closer depending on the game ie Final Fight for Genesis was a great port and Turtles in Time for SNES also amazingly close to their arcade counterparts. That's interesting regarding the Galaxy Force 2 thing, yeah way back in the 80's and 90's gotta love how their versions of patches and DLC were essentially newer revisions of the same game updated lol.
@@RetroComparisons I know right? haha crazy. It's why I laugh when I see the younger players complain about "having to dl another patch even though it's free" or buying for MT's, DLC etc which isn't as much as it would be to have to buy a whole new revision/game lol. You know? Back then they had the different versions of games like MKT had a few different versions on PS, the arcades for pretty much nearly every arcade cab had different revisions especially fighters and puzzle games etc. haha
Whom ever thought that taking afterburner 2 arcade and thinking it would even resemble the same thing on a low powered console like the famicom(nes), were delusional lol. How about just call it something else so that when people buy it and play it, they aren’t embarrassed on your behalf lol.
Yeah there are certain games where it probably would have been better to be a clone rather than the licensed game because then it set unrealistic expectations. I get it though from a marketing standpoint as to why they'd want the name. To be fair the SMS did a pretty good job on 8 bit hardware though it's obviously nowhere near as good as the arcade.
@@RetroComparisons oh heck ya. When it comes to comparing sms and nes versions, sms is the clear winner. Even the genesis though, which had 16 bit hardware and was based on arcade hardware could not replicate afterburner 2. I think it could do afterburner 1, but don’t quote me I’d have to recheck my facts for that lol.
@@RetroComparisonsYou never know. With modern compression technology and a beautiful 21st century ROM that has over 100 megabytes to fill with in-between frames of fake sprite scaling? I think we could squeeze both games in. (Options menu: disable Afterburner II content y/n?) The sprite flicker would be a mess, but it would still be good news for Nomad owners who never upgraded their screen. Alas, homebrew developers are obsessed with making games people will actually buy instead.
Yes, just the names of one game for the Nes, for the uninitiated: After Burner II (J) (Sunsoft) and After Burner (U) (Tengen).
It's definitely interesting to see the different take in the NES port versus the Master System port of AfterBurner that you showed yesterday, Bill. The NES version seems to run smoother, but it's hard to tell if that results in better gameplay (I've not played this nor the SMS Afterburner port). I do think that the Master System port looked closer to the arcade in terms of sprite and tilework, but neither machine has the oomph to pull off a good port of AfterBurner. Even the PC-Engine and Genesis struggle with AB II. So, yeah, the arcade version is for sure the winner here. But...that said, I'm sure I would have loved to have had this port back then. I find the limitations of the home consoles (and handhelds) in the 70s-90s to make for some interesting (though maybe not necessarily 'good') takes on games from much beefier arcade or other stronger home systems.
As a port of After Burner it's not fantastic but as a generic shooter in a plane on an 8 bit console it's really good. I'd even say that it plays better than the SMS port but isn't as good graphically. I'm finding these 8 bit consoles to be extra fascinating when compared to the arcade. With the Genesis the technology was catching up to the point where even without being arcade perfect the games still resembled the original pretty well and I've also covered every single 2nd gen console game that was an arcade port where the majority had a completely different take on the source material. The NES & SMS are kind of that sweet spot in between.
Yeah, demakes FTW!^^))
Arcade In Any Way! AfterBurning 2 NES Looks Like A Possibly Unfinished Slowdowned Game
The arcade port is so good and while I'll give the NES props for bringing this to an 8 bit system I think the SMS port was better.
nes version lit
It's games like this that really make me wonder how After Burner would have looked on the Atari 7800, considering it was far better at pumping out sprites. The NES version is bad lol
Wow I never even thought of that. I'd love to see a homebrew port on the 7800.
I had no clue there was an afterburner 2 on NES. Honestly the night level was pretty badass looking.
No port comes close to playing this in the arcade. Badassery at its best and one of my top 10 arcade games for sure.
Winner:
Arcade although I am a really big fan of the PS3 After Burner Turbo or whatever it is called. Such a sweet game with tons to unlock and replayability.
Another reason why I love this channel, it is about the lesser known games and bringing back memories.
So not only is there After Burner 2 on the NES, but there's technically two different versions. Sunsoft and Tengen both made different ports kind of like what happened with Ms. Pac-Man on the NES. But anywho, as good of a port as this is the arcade original is pretty much untouchable and I'm sure that experience on the actual cab must add so much to an already fantastic game.
I've always been so curious about that PS3/360 After Burner game. That's great to hear that it's a cool game. I think I have it downloaded on my 360 so I need to give that a playthrough one of these days. Thanks for letting me know about that and for checking this video out buddy!
The Sunsoft version of AB2 is FAR SUPERIOR than the Tengen version.
so....that one (in the video) was from TENGEN?
@@oldfan4049 Yes.
Ahah....
Well, at least I can say that NES tried EVEN HARDER than SMS with it's port of the first After Burner, but obviously it just couldn't do the justice to that kind of gameplay. Too fast, too colorful, too advanced.
Looks kinda more faithfull to the arcade game in terms of the backgrounds/music though^^
Play the Famicom version of AB2 which was done by Sunsoft.
While it doesn't come close to the source material it does play surprisingly well. Having said that I'd probably still take the SMS port of the first After Burner over this.
I never knew there was an afterburner 2😅 or that there was even an nes port. It doesnt look as good as the arcade but also for nes doesnt look half bad either. Sprites are smaller but thats to be expected. Nice vid man.
Thanks buddy! Sega had this weird thing going back then where they'd release a game like After Burner or Galaxy Force and then do a minor upgrade that would barely even qualify as DLC today and called it a "sequel" so that's how we ended up with this, Galaxy Force 2 and I think a few others. The NES game is pretty good for what it is but obviously can't match the powerhouse of the arcade original.
@@RetroComparisons Yeah I hear ya, at the time 8 bit especially be it NES or MS sadly couldn't match the arcade ports but some came real close like this one no doubt. 16 bit I felt were much closer depending on the game ie Final Fight for Genesis was a great port and Turtles in Time for SNES also amazingly close to their arcade counterparts.
That's interesting regarding the Galaxy Force 2 thing, yeah way back in the 80's and 90's gotta love how their versions of patches and DLC were essentially newer revisions of the same game updated lol.
@@MKF30 Lol! Can you imagine if every time a DLC or patch was released these days they called it a new game and charged full price?
@@RetroComparisons I know right? haha crazy. It's why I laugh when I see the younger players complain about "having to dl another patch even though it's free" or buying for MT's, DLC etc which isn't as much as it would be to have to buy a whole new revision/game lol. You know? Back then they had the different versions of games like MKT had a few different versions on PS, the arcades for pretty much nearly every arcade cab had different revisions especially fighters and puzzle games etc. haha
@@MKF30 Lmao!
Arcade!
Definitely arcade by far.
Whom ever thought that taking afterburner 2 arcade and thinking it would even resemble the same thing on a low powered console like the famicom(nes), were delusional lol. How about just call it something else so that when people buy it and play it, they aren’t embarrassed on your behalf lol.
Yeah there are certain games where it probably would have been better to be a clone rather than the licensed game because then it set unrealistic expectations. I get it though from a marketing standpoint as to why they'd want the name. To be fair the SMS did a pretty good job on 8 bit hardware though it's obviously nowhere near as good as the arcade.
@@RetroComparisons oh heck ya. When it comes to comparing sms and nes versions, sms is the clear winner. Even the genesis though, which had 16 bit hardware and was based on arcade hardware could not replicate afterburner 2. I think it could do afterburner 1, but don’t quote me I’d have to recheck my facts for that lol.
@@terran0797 Haha I'll take your word for it:)
@@RetroComparisonsYou never know. With modern compression technology and a beautiful 21st century ROM that has over 100 megabytes to fill with in-between frames of fake sprite scaling?
I think we could squeeze both games in. (Options menu: disable Afterburner II content y/n?)
The sprite flicker would be a mess, but it would still be good news for Nomad owners who never upgraded their screen.
Alas, homebrew developers are obsessed with making games people will actually buy instead.
@@juststatedtheobvious9633 Good point, I guess technically it could be achieved with modern capabilities and know how.