Games that Make the Console Look Weak 4

Episode 367 - Some games can put the console in a bad light, that is if you're not savvy enough to know any better. These are some of those games.
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[@GameSack]

What games do you consider underwhelming for the hardware they run on?

[@airforcex9412]

They need more blast processing!

[@DwayneThe5th]

Klax running on anything.

[@oscarzxn4067]

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet would be perfect for this section, because when it came out and people saw the pathetic technical state it had many said it was clearly mostly or totally the Switch's hardware fault and the definitive proof we needed a Switch Pro, which makes no sense in this case since I can think of literally hundreds of Switch games that look and run better than SV with less bugs, some of them old games. It literally Made the console look weak, or at least weaker than it is

[@tartrazine5]

Rebelstar Tactical Command on GBA is a very fun turn-based tactics game by the creator of X-Com, but you need to turn the music off to get it to run smoothly.

[@Protoman85]

Virtual Lab on the Virtual Boy. Looks like a NES game from 1986 when the VB was capable of a lot more(yes it was).

[@dustmighte]

Given how reliant Sega's game design was in the late 80s/early 90s on sprite scaling, it really feels like a schoolboy error for the Genesis/MD not to have included scaling hardware

[@fakeshemp9599]

Agreed. Massive oversight/ Terrible decision no doubt about it

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

They superscaler boards featured very complex and expensive hardware. The technology was not yet feasible for a mass marker priced game console. Even the SNES, released two years later, only had very simple single flat background layer scaling feature that couldn't do superscaler types of games any better than the Genesis and TG16 could. Neither company wanted to price themselves into the Neo-Geo (niche) territory. Sega was always positioning themselves on the cutting edge of the arcade tech, which meant that any mass market console they released would be lacking behind in comparison. People don't see to realize just far ahead arcade games were of anything that was economically feasible for a console back then. When the Genesis was released, these was only one gaming platform that could do near 1:1 contemporary arcade ports. It was called the Sharp X68000 "gaming workstation" and it cost $3000 in late 80's money. Even that beast didn't have hardware scaling though.

[@nostartia]

Loved the blast from the past in remix form. The first time I read the name Joe Redifer was in an mp3 file I downloaded from OCRemix, Sonic CD Palmtree Panic. Years later, I was watching GameSack and realizing that was the same guy. And today, 20 f. years later... god time is starting to be something really really surreal. Thank you as always Joe. So much I've learnt about videogames thanks to you.

[@swerutufon]

I swear, I was thinking about your remix just a split second before you mentioned it yourself. And yes, it *has* aged well!! Still listen to it every now and then!

[@MannyCakes1984]

I agree. I was jamming out to the short clip that was put in and I want to hear the full version.

[@ChrisGorski]

Yeah, I thought your remix sounded good lol

[@rondroske3623]

wanted to add my two cents to this pile. I quite liked your remix. to be honest, I would encourage anyone who does anything like that with any music, regardless of quality. but that really wasn't bad at all.

[@uptown710]

Word. Sounded good to me.

[@MannyCakes1984]

Is there anywhere we can listen to the remix?

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

Every time another of these episodes comes up, I always listen to hear the words "Micronet," "Micro Cabin," and "Pack in Video."

[@jessragan6714]

And Micronics!

[@pikabluebear9941]

Don't forget Phoenix Games!

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

Hey, Magical Pop'n was quite cool though!

[@RPC87]

Hey. It's my 36th bday today and this episode of game sack made it perfect. Thank you for having the best gaming channel on the boobtube

[@mx3fto]

Happy birthday bud. It's all downhill from here I'm afraid lol

[@soulfuzz368]

Happy b day

[@ninjasec]

🎂 🥳 🎉

[@blakebortles6098]

@@mx3fto haha the end baby hahahahahahaha

[@RogueSabre]

I'm turning 36 here pretty soon! (April 17th) and also feel that this is the best gaming channel on the youtubes. Happy birthday Ryan

[@ChaoticHoly]

Your comment about cops having a time limit in the Chase HQII clip made me lol - last week when driving home I was passed by a guy on the freeway doing about 90 (speed limit in that section was 55) and weaving through traffic...right in front of a cop with a radar gun. Yep, cop got into his patrol car and took-off...then pulled over the driver next to me who'd done nothing. Why? The speeder had ducked into the next exit & lost the cop. _Time Limit._

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Some areas (such as Seattle, WA) have very restrictive laws on when police are allowed to pursue other vehicles. Criminals in these areas are fully aware that the cops aren't allowed to chase them and the amount of crime increases because of it.

[@brendanroberts1310]

For the London cab challenge to be truly accurate it should be really expensive and take ages to get where you need to go.

[@notkimpine]

me when i bought low budget/zero budget crazy taxi game on ps2

[@Tremadog102]

It looks like we finally found sensible taxi, Crazy Taxi's evil twin.

[@KyleScanlonNewfoundland]

Good morning Game Sack and also everyone else.

[@stevenewsome5306]

Good morning to you and Good nignt for me. it’s 2 am.

[@QF_Dan72]

morning to you

[@MannyCakes1984]

Good morning!

[@Fattydeposit]

I like pointing out that Thunder Blade and Galaxy Force looked and played better on Master System than on Mega Drive. Never gets old.

[@MaxAbramson3]

This is why Sega of Japan thought that the Megadrive needed add-ons.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Makes sense since Galaxy Force on the Master System _did_ have graphics that will kill you.

[@titantim]

For these types of videos, you should try doing a screenshot challenge with multiple choices for what we think the console is. There were a couple there I thought were on the NES, but were actually on a 16bit console there.

[@bloodypommelstudios7144]

The Taxi one for PS2 looked worse than most PS1 games.

[@sgtsquank]

First time watching you in proper 4K with my new computer. Such beauty.

[@menhirmike]

7:40 That sounds like something more fitting for a game based on the 1966 show, where Batman shows Robin the importance of keeping the environment and community clean, alongside a lengthy lecture towards Robin but clearly aimed at the audience. Holy Community Service, Batman!

[@sjake8308]

Needs a lot more 'ZAP!' and 'POW!', though.

[@stephandolby]

Two Mega Drive games that weren't exactly optimised on their way over from computer were Faery Tale Adventure and The Immortal. They both still have pretty choppy scrolling and a lack of colour, though the Amiga's mixed-resolution display (normal for game, high for text panel) is obviously missing for the former. Still, good times playing both, particularly the latter... which was ported, quite superbly, to the NES.

[@ProjectDetonado]

11:54 I've finally discovered the best alarm tone for waking up in the morning!

[@33sugee]

I actually sampled your arrangement for Super Thunder Blade for a hip hop beat from when I heard it in an earlier episode

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

Battle master was coded by Nick Pelling aka Orlando who made Frak on the BBC micro/C64 as well as a few other fairly well known 8 bit titles

[@KasumiKenshirou]

DO you mean he made the original, or the console version (or both)?

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

​​@@KasumiKenshirouhe made the Genesis/MD version 14:53

[@esioan667]

I think a cool episode idea would be "Launch Titles vs Swan Songs", where you find launch titles that didn't show off the capabilities of a console and compare them to a late/final stage release that pushed it to the max. This would be basically mash up of these "weak" episodes and the "push to the limits" ones, with a focus on trying to find the biggest difference on each respective console. You could also flip it and find amazing looking launch titles and crappy looking swan songs on the same console.

[@ExtremeWreck]

I'm imagining this, but with the launch titles & swan songs flipped(essentially launch titles that DO show off some of the console's capabilities & swan songs that look(and sometimes even play) awful).

[@kennethd4958]

Me staying awake is always rewarded by a new Game Sack video! Thanks Joe!

[@TheRestartPoint]

You could do whole videos on Phoenix, they were con artists who pumped out zero quality low price crap for years in Europe, often with very "familiar" appearances, designed to trick grannies into thinking they were buying great stuff for their grandkids etc

[@Chaos89P]

You'd think they'd be clued off by the often creepy box art.

[@BenjiMordino]

Perhaps I was just a little nostalgic drivelling Australian boy when it came out, 7 or 8 years old. I was watching the Super Thunder Blade segment. I saw the intro and went, you frigging idiot Joe, those graphics are amaaaaaazing, how fucking dare you denigrate that. Then you indicated that was the arcade, and then went to the actual Megadrive version. The old rose tinted glasses got me.

[@Martynde]

I don’t like to listen to GameSack while doing something else, I need to watch the games being shown.

[@WarioSaysSo]

A game me and my lill brother loved back then, but felt very weak looking was "Crack Down" on the Sega. "Superman 64" is often mentioned for its bad gameplay, but it have always made the system feel weak....

[@ZockAmigo]

Your humour never gets old. I can't thank you for all the content and hard work enough

[@TheyCallMeBruce13]

Because he doesn't overdo it. A smattering of goofy jokes during the ep followed by a campy skit. The rest of it is just talking games, which is what I'm here for.

[@alexapignoille4217]

A great way to start a Sunday 💯👌🏻

[@BrianSmith-ct3kh]

I feel like we've got to cut Super Thunder Blade a little slack for being a launch title because they hadn't figured out how to get the most out of the Genesis yet.

[@jesterofdimensionz]

Always look forward to another gamesack. Keep up the great work 👍

[@ChrisGorski]

Say what you want about TurboGrafx 16 Batman, that remix of the NES theme is awesome. Also your ending skits are always so funny and goofy. Love your channel

[@ilikecurry2345]

And why does it have the GYWEH GYWEH kinds of instruments that the TMNT games had?

[@SteveBrandon]

I legitimately have long wanted a good London taxi game based around "The Knowledge", the test of London streets and landmarks that London cabbies are required to pass to get their license. The Getaway: Black Monday had a taxi mode but only with a handful of missions. I can also race London cabs in Midtown Madness 2 on PC, I suppose that counts for something.

[@goclunker]

You should try italian job on playstation 1

[@SteveBrandon]

@@goclunker I've rented that one but I didn't get far in it. It was ambitious for Rockstar to even try an open world London map on the original Playstation but it really needed the extra power of Playstation 2 for draw distance.

[@SteveBrandon]

Looking at KZbin videos, The Italian Job does look almost like a Playstation 2 game if you play it on PC via emulator and the emulator enables longer draw distances. *EDIT:* Oh, wait, I think I was watching a video of the PC version since it looked much better than I remember.

[@SultanSamet]

London Cab Challenge looks like a concept that they have given up upon. Also - THE GETAWAY existed before that.

[@hoorayforhawksbills]

Test drive on the GBA looks and sounds like a particularly inspired Intellivision game.

[@bamboebahr2470]

Man, most of these games are like "well, they don't look intense but they might be simple fun", but that London Cab Challenge made me depressed just experiencing the ost and "graphics" 😂

[@coreylineberry8557]

Phoenix Games in a nutshell.

[@matthewr1426]

Game Sack is such a great channel, I always look forward to it! I'd like to see a dos or retro PC episode someday, I think that could be really cool.

[@PaleManSteve83]

Please never stop doing what you do, joe!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@gtrzdaddy]

Curse was by far the best game Micronet ever devoted! And it was one of the first launch titles in Japan

[@pal-of-pals]

Fun fact: London Cab Challenge is exactly what it's like to live in London.

[@wingedhussar5528]

Funny how Thunder Blade looked and played so much better on the SMS.

[@Thoushaltplaymore]

Those are traditional black cabs from London . Very old school looking for sure

[@DrRobby1985]

Bronkie The Dinosaur. As effective as Captain Novolin! 🤣

[@jessragan6714]

No vibes, no bevis! I don't have any suggestions at the moment, but I'll say that I'm glad you included Curse and Chase HQ II in this list. There are so many shooters on the Sega Genesis, and this is certainly... one of them.

[@rufusray]

I'm actually awake for this.....let's do it.....I know it'll be 30 minutes well spent!

[@turbinegraphics16]

I like curse a bit, it has lots of object on screen at once and nice parallax. I haven't even got past the overhead stages in thunder force when I tried it.

[@Zerroth]

I think your Super Thunderblade tune in Reason is sounding pretty good. I remember enjoying a Thunderblade game on the C64. A lot of bad games on that system. Thunderblade was better than a lot of them. I once played Super Thunderblade on a friend's Sega Megadrive and I vaguely remember not caring too much about it.

[@dun0790]

Thanks joe 😁 my Sunday is automatically the best day of the week now

[@druryhunter127]

I noticed something about that London-set crazy taxi knockoff... The car is missing back tires! 😆

[@robintst]

**sees Turbo Outrun** UGH, what happened!? **was made by Tiertex** ...alright, never mind.

[@josephscottadams39]

I wonder how good Thunder Blade could look on the Genesis with modern coding techniques.

[@GameSack]

I also wonder.

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

Look at Panorama Cotton for what was possible on the Genesis with enough RAM and coding talents.

[@johnlewisbrooks]

Lol at 19:08! OMG those puffs of smoke LMAO!

[@comradecrimsonsmaidenporiu8766]

The existence of that Asthma game is cool lol

[@phazayus4041]

Been watching for years thank you Joe , keep it going brother!

[@sproins]

that thunder blade arrangement actually slaps

[@JTSDAD67]

He was better at it than I was.

[@theblubus]

@20:35 I stumbled across a ROM of this game and as an asthmatic, I was very offended by the pandering. Felt more like it was teasing my chronic illness instead of teaching me about my pulsating lungs

[@JustinLeeper]

Your one-liners during Battle Master - a game I never heard of despite working in a game shop for years - is some of your best work. “Mining bitcoin in the background.” “Figured their lives out.” Well done.

[@stinkbanana2522]

Hey bro, you know how much an inhaler costs these days without insurance!? No thanks. I'd rather wait it out or wait to die.

[@visionsofbeyond9095]

When it comes to Thunder Blade, I grew up with the Tiger hand held version. In comparison, the Genesis version doesn't look so bad LOL

[@RonnieBarzel]

Joe isn’t kidding about “London Cab Challenge” looking like an Nintendo 64 game. I looked up from doing something else - and not paying attention - and was immediately puzzled by what I thought was the sharpest N64 game I’d ever seen.

[@ExtremeWreck]

The game doesn't even look that sharp for an N64 game, let alone a PS2 game.

[@albrown8890]

Most NES black box games make the NES look weak if compared to later releases. It's pretty amazing the difference between release games and later one. SMB to SMB3 is pretty crazy.

[@wettuga2762]

Yeah, these games are solid! And most of them could be ported to the previous generation of consoles without ANY loss of quality!

[@realtrisk]

Hey! Joe uses/used Reason! That's my DAW of choice! Now that it has VST3 support, it's got everything I could ever want/need in a DAW.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Faking Asthma just to get a SNES is a 9000 IQ play. I should do that next time I want a video game console.

[@DwayneThe5th]

I ❤ Game Sack! Its one of only 3 channels for which i have watched and re-watched every video on the channel many times.

[@GustavoValdiviesso]

I never played the TG16 version of Batman, so I didn't know this but listen: at the 10:00 mark, it is the same background music as the NES version, stage 1 specifically.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

With the screenshots from the other abandoned version, it looks like it might've originally been a port of the NES version, which would explain the same music being used. I wonder what happened that made them change to a completely different style of game, and how far along they were with the previous version?

[@GustavoValdiviesso]

@@KasumiKenshirou It does make sense, since both CPUs are basically the same, porting the NES version should be easier than making a new one from scratch.

[@rhysm.5915]

The fact that I may someday run out of Game Sack videos to watch is an existential threat equal to the fact that I will one day die.

[@erictheded]

Curse is a game I hadn't heard about until recently. I saw it's cover art and was intrigued.

[@sjake8308]

Weirdly enough, I saw a second hand copy of it on sale about 30 years ago and I was also intrigued by the cover art, so much so that I never forgot about it. I'm really glad I left it on the shelf, though.

[@NS-tp8yx]

Any DOS port of an Amiga game dating from before 1991 was abysmal… painful…

[@TheMultiGunMan]

This was a great video. Thank you for making it.

[@kuruptein]

Yessir..ill be 37 in September..wooo! Gamesack always makes me wanna play videogames. Got my NES corner set up. I'm going SNES today though. GAMESACK!

[@shadmere]

This is some of my favorite content. Good job! Also I dunno if I'm just that lame, but that OCR clip was awesome. lol.

[@beautifulstrongman]

I would love to see a bunch of rom hacks that have made unenjoyable games, enjoyable.

[@GeordiLaForgery]

I liked your thunderblade remix man! Classy.

[@marshinz5696]

Seeing Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketbal made me chuckle because there would be nearly a whole section in Funcoland(old🤷🏾‍♂ ) filled with used copies.🤣

[@kaiokendo]

8:11 Sonic sez Even Batman waits the semaphore

[@Klatchan]

10:23 damn, that's right up there with Sonic 3D Blast in awesome music in bad games.

[@dennismcdonald2607]

I came for the content but was rewarded with your improve sound effects for the buildings in Thunder Blade at 11:54. 😆 🤣 👍

[@ilikecurry2345]

dordordordordordordordor

[@taben9jake]

that invincible sound is called a Tink, Hence a boss that has invincible phases can be called a "Tinky MoFo"

[@jasonhubbard6775]

Technically, Octopath Traveler 2 makes my PS4 Pro look weak ... but I love it all the same!

[@InsanityPrevails]

23:51 my jaw actually dropped seeing this. I grew up with a PS1 mostly, though I played a bit of the Mega Drive, but aside from the PS1, and Gameboy Color I didn't really play anything earlier than that, so seeing THAT was a ps2 game was appalling. It almost looks bad even for PS1!

[@superpaul79]

Whoa! I did not see the end of the closing skit coming at all!

[@xkmatech]

the fact that Joe always upload a new video every sunday late afternoon is just perfect to end your weekend

[@MzuMzu-nx1em]

13:23 . Awesome bassline 🤘👍👍👍

[@jamesstaggs4160]

Coolio looks very confused in his character select picture, which is the same face I make when I think about how famous that guy was in the 90s. Also, did Flavor Flav change his name to Public Enemy? If I had to guess the record company probably had the rights to the name Public Enemy and either didn't tell Flavor or Chuck about selling it to use in a video game or Chuck was all "Hell naw" when they asked him if they could use his name and likeness in a shitty videogame. I doubt Flavor was consulted very much regarding business decisions so he was likely out of the loop on the entire process. Anybody else remember the odd pairing that was Flavor Flav and formerly smoking hot Brigette Nielson? Formerly because if there's a better reason to not smoke two packs a day than her face after 15 years of doing just that I don't want to see it because damn, those cigs really took a toll.

[@teen_laqueefa]

Daaaaaamn boiii

[@jopezu]

it's 3am here. i just awoke from sleep laughing at the "...before you get fired as a cop" line.

[@ZombieJesus1987]

Super Thunder Blade looks like it was original made with the Master System in mind, but then 2/3rds into development they decided to put it on the Genesis and rushed to get it out.

[@Specter1992]

20:51 A game where you collect lungs? Is Bronkie actually an organ smuggler pretending to have asthma? I mean, he's not collecting several of them just to get a transplant, right?

[@3dmarth]

The last time I saw a platformer based on collecting internal organs, it was meant to be edgy and morbid. Bronkie might be worse, though, considering how cute and innocent everything looks otherwise. Where did those lungs come from, anyway? From people who didn't heed the warnings, and who subjected themselves to cigarettes, snot-nosed dinosaurs, and toxic sludge? Or from healthy, yet gullible tourists who really thought there'd be something good in that sketchy room at the back of the alley?

[@ilikecurry2345]

It's all very video gamey and they contribute to your score.

[@videostash413]

"ROM Memory" +2 redundancy points earned

[@recardog7202]

searched for over looked gems right now 218 am est and this pop up stamped 19 mins ago thanks bro

[@mkjazz3418]

holy crap you unlocked a hidden memory for me. i used to have that test drive game on the gbc and i would always try to give it a chance but would usually swap it out for something else after a couple minutes lol

[@Mercuriusfm]

Was I the only one hoping to see Green Dog on the TV at the end?

[@chrisbg99]

Well at least with the Batman game it looks like they used the excellent music from the NES game.

[@lostxj]

Stage 2 of Thunder Blade reminds me of some of the backgrounds in Cabal on the nes. I think it scales just as fast too.😂

[@kubiakWU]

Your Thunder Blade remix sounded a lot better to me!

[@HaakonAnderson]

Lots of games... A fair amount of sack... I approve of this episode 👌 👏 👍

[@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii]

13:16 I like your music arrangement.

[@bcyrx]

Rap Jam is a shame because it COULD have been great. Take NBA Jam, insert good quality trademark sound bites or beats during gameplay depending on on-screen events, and bam. The game could even be awesome today with rapper list expanding through DLC and clear realistic looking characters, even special dunks based on their style or songs etc., not to mention song clips and beats being true quality.

[@masterquake7]

Aw, I had no complaints about that remix you did on OCRemix.

[@DerekRyn]

Phew, I’ll take this loaded revolver from my mouth. We got a new video. Thanks Joe!

[@teen_laqueefa]

Don't do it Private Pyle

[@LXZ]

I actually like your OC Remix track.

[@talideon]

14:49 - I wonder if that's the same Nick Pelling who created Frak! for the BBC Model B?

[@ChampionRevilo]

Another great episode! I escpecially like those that show the most impressive or, like in this case, unimpressive games on a system! I have always said that a dev's talent and resources are far more important than the brute power of a system!

[@cryptocsguy9282]

16:27 Agree , the music is pretty good :P