Rolling Thunder 🔫 Versions Comparison ▶ Evolution through its Ports

[@retrosutra]

👉 Don't miss any of our comparisons: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2WyiaFsbpmnbpY

[@incredibilistic]

Absolutely love this game!! I remember playing it in the arcades and being blown away by the animation of the lead character! Watching that smooth animation as he vaults over the railing gets me every time as well as the bass pumping out of the arcade cabinet when he walks through the bullet doors! Would love to see a remake of this with a throwback, 8-bit aesthetic but with dramatic lighting, ray-traced reflections, shallow depth-of-field in certain scenes to give it a miniature effect, an expanded arsenal including a rocket launcher, maybe a melee move or two for QCC, give it a globe trotting vibe where he has to travel and has different outfits, maybe a grappling hook for a couple levels... DAMN!!! I wish I had game developer skills 'cause I'd obtain the rights and make this into something amazing!

[@ChainsawGenie]

Actually, looking at how platform shooters have evolved over the decades, you could add elements from classics like the *Elevator Action* and *Metal Slug* series, among others. In fact, the grappling hook sounds like something that can be swapped out ala the inventory system in *Links Awakening* Still, for what it's worth, there are many programs/engines available if you're willing to learn them via various tutorials. Whichever one(s) you choose, I wish you luck with it/them. ^_^ **remembers some of the programs available during his 80s childhood and their hit-and-miss nature** -_-U

[@ThemePark_Nerdo]

A very underrated Namco arcade game. Atari Games released this masterpiece to American arcades.

[@jasonlee7816]

underrated because?

[@jasonlee7816]

Namco gave Atari Games a license to distribute the Rolling Thunder arcade game not release it possibly at a set number of arcades in America 🇺🇸

[@BobbyHo2022]

I think some sega arcade programmers saw this and designed Shinobi after it. The gameplay is very similar.

[@robbiezampini-is3en]

0:13-0:14-0:15: Stage Start 2:50: Get Ready! 4:52: Stage Clear 26:30: Game Over

[@jasonlee7816]

Rolling Thunder 2 on the Sega Genesis/Mega~Drive shows how good an arcade port (version) can be or get it was followed by the excellent Rolling Thunder 3 also on MD

[@hurykles99]

Damn i remember when i got Namco Museum on my PSP and it had this game included. It was probably my favourite game in the entire collection

[@Saxdude26]

Oooh, I had no idea there were two arcade releases. I'm so used to the newer version with the stage one music that is better known from the ports. The more you know!

[@mrpositronia]

Once again the Spectrum has the best version out of the home micros. Best speed and scrolling. Those 16-bit efforts are shameful, my eyes need a rest from those.

[@RedRanger2001]

This game could've been ported to the Sega 16-Bit and the PC Engine back in the late 80s (1988 and 1989)...

[@deejayatari]

Masterpiece on NES

[@jasonlee7816]

Atari Lynx was due to get a Rolling Thunder port in the early 1990’s (1991 or 1992) then it got cancelled

[@jasonlee7816]

@Diskun it depends if the person does a good job at porting Rolling Thunder on the Atari Lynx also how good it looks, plays, sounds? i hope it not lazy Amstrad or NES port/version

[@Akuajin]

Famicom with the extra audio channel and the NES are hands down the best home ports of Rolling Thunder.

[@RetroChiZ]

The amiga port is criminal

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

UGH, right. This is when most UK developer had no idea how to do an ST game right, let alone an Amiga port. Good music, but a completely unoptimized ST game will play worse on an Amiga. The C64 is really nice though. The 16 bit ports at this time were being rushed out by inexperienced developers on the cheap to recoup the arcade license fee. Criminal is right!

[@jasonlee7816]

@@IntoTheVerticalBlank how would the incompetent (lazy) developers recoup the license fee?

[@retro_reflections]

@@IntoTheVerticalBlank Blame greedy publishers that wanted something with a nameslap within a two-to-three month turnaround, with no time for optimisation, and for absolute peanuts. US Gold, Ocean and Activision being the worst culprits.

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

@@retro_reflections Oh yeah. I've been diving into the libraries from Activision and Ocean on the ST, making and planning videos, and their output is spotty. If it's a unique game (not licensed) the quality is higher because mostly the development team brought the game to them and had time and passion for the project. These licenses were thrown to the least experienced developer who was a given low pay and no support to make the games (mostly).

[@jasonlee7816]

@@retro_reflectionsdid the quality of Amiga/ST games improve (get better) in 1990, 1991, 1992, because the publishers gradually gave the developer 4, 5, 6, month deadline (turnaround)?

[@briangoldberg4439]

I like the music best in the first arcade version. The graphics seem to be pretty close in that one and the second arcade version and PSX.

[@davidfernandezsabio3844]

Had and played the Amstrad CPC port back in the day and sort of like it even it wasn't the best 8 bit conversion.Hope you can compare the sequel soon.

[@TruculentSheep]

That version was surprisingly playable, once you got past its shortcomings.

[@jasonlee7816]

@@TruculentSheepwhat were Amstrad Rolling Thunder shortcomings?

[@TruculentSheep]

@@jasonlee7816 A low frame rate, janky scrolling and repetitive music. If it had a few months' more dev time, these could have been ironed out.

[@ChamoyBottle]

I never knew there was 2 version of the arcade one! My fav is the 2nd version of the arcade!

[@ChainsawGenie]

Music-wise, I'll stick with the older version. ^_^ The newer version's song arrangement (which uses the theme that played when time was running out throughout many of the stages) is irritating to listen to. >~< In fact, until this is fixed or an option, I refuse to support any 'remasters' of this game. The 'atmosphere' provided by a game's background music can make a **big** difference.

[@dilatedbeholder3865]

The very first arcade game that I can remember playing. Amazing memories.

[@ellebastonart]

Namco Museum Encore was the version I played! This was my favorite game back in middle school ✨

[@Kentishfolk]

was always one of my fondest memories in the arcade back in the 80s

[@therealquinnzack1819]

I’ve always respected how the nes version keeps the gameplay so perfectly intact, not to mention I actually kind of prefer the 8-bit soundtrack here to the original arcade soundtrack

[@robjackson4050]

might sound stupid but what is the difference between the two arcade versions?

[@elijahvincent985]

Not stupid at all! The "old version" is the original Japanese release by Namco. The "New Version" is the U.S. release by Atari. They modified some very minor details that does not change the overall experience.

[@Hausbrauen]

The only difference I noticed is the music stays at a constant fast pace in the US version. Think I prefer the varied style of music in the original Japanese tbh.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

They added another song for the caves.. Err edit time: they used the song that was already there for the caves but added the music you hear in the normal levels

[@Hausbrauen]

@@PlasticCogLiquid That's correct -- I just played through it myself. The US version added an additional track you see here that is faster, and depending on the level, alternates between that one and the original slower track. The original Japanese version has only has the slower track for every level.

[@EjwnwnnIfofo]

19:34 sounds like a good jumpscare

[@AmigaX]

OH MY GOSH, DUDE, PUT ON SOME PANTS - Nintendrew 2019

[@mnxnm]

I played this game as a kid in an arcade marquee. It was my favorite of all. Always wondered why the Amiga version was so terrible, and even the C64 version could have been better. However, there are some videos on youtube of some people trying to make a better Amiga version, maybe a full-fledged one. I'd be happy if they succeeded.

[@gromitaardman339]

Mi versión favorita es la old Arcade. Una auténtica joya!!

[@juanelpito]

No encuentro la diferencia con la new version. Cual seria?

[@jasonlee7816]

in English

[@m.firzafadmaputra9569]

One of the Shinobi's ancestor, the gameplay is endurance and here's the different version according to me : - Atari ST : Despite Atari Games (Atari during split years) distribute Rolling Thunder for game centers in USA, The conversion of Rolling Thunder Atari ST was worked by Tiertex through U.S. Gold (one of the worst video game conversion company with bad framerate mechanic) we're sold for the western hemisphere (majority Europe), but framerate is not up to 30p but heavily bad framerate due to hardware limitation to boost framerate of arcade-based home video games & also sound was too 8-bit(ish) just like 8-bit arcade machines or even MSX-like sound and should replaced by fan-made fix arcade-to-home video game with better framerate & sound. - Amiga : Compared to Atari ST, sound are better but still uglier as ST version and also bad framerate that should be replaced by new version of Rolling Thunder Amiga port with better framerate can be boost up to 60p (PAL : 50p) and better sound should be fix it. - Commodore 64 : Very fair port for 8-bit demake of Rolling Thunder and framerate still works on this gameplay, however. - FAMICOM (published by NAMCOT)/NES (reprogammed by Tengen and ASW from NAMCOT) : Compared to 8-bit demake of C64 version, this version just really better than original, but sometimes flaw on screens. The FAMICOM version has additional sound chips to make sound channels gain more sounds unlike NES version with only 5 sound channels. The gameplay very accurate and close to Arcade version, more additional contents do that although Tengen tried to circumventing against Nintendo of America's very stringent 3rd-party licencing at the time. - PlayStation : Shinobi's ancestor hit on 32-bit console, same design & same graphics instead of arrangement edition/remake, the gameplay much better as Arcade than home computer ports and FAMICOM version (NAMCOT)/NES version (Tengen), but only on NAMCO Museum Encore.

[@Nebulous6]

NES/Famicom version plays nicely. Amiga users sure got ripped off on this one. I tried the turbo hack of Rolling Thunder on an Amiga 500 and it's faster than the arcade. Strange that they'd throttle it back to be so slow and use half to one quarter of the in-game colors that they could have.

[@retro-rock3067]

You should do Door Door next

[@ellenYa.]

Famicon! 😊

[@aazart8886]

Arcade Original wins Nes version very good game + great ports PS1 definitely is Arcade version

[@RussoBelmont]

I prefer Arcade, Famicom, PlayStation and Nes version. But the Famicom version has the soundtrack much better than the Nes version. The soundtrack of the Nes version seems a bit dry.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Which is weird because their hardware is virtually identical. I wonder why they didn't use the same music?

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

@Diskun Bummer. "So, should we give the good sound chip to the American market?" "Nah, give them the crappier one."

[@luffy-yy9zc]

amiga / atari ---->😂😂😂🧨🧨🧨 but great memory on cpc for me !!!!

[@marceltiel7919]

Played this one as an 8 year old kid on the fun fares and later the arcades....still aiming to beat this one on 1 credit someday. Had the c64 version back then one of the few games I bought as an original copy and it made me sad and angry to have spent money on such an abysmal conversion

[@jasonlee7816]

How could the C64 port (version) be better?

[@RobertGuido]

Okay so what is the difference between the new and the old arcade version? Is it just a rom update?

[@mortenera2294]

They added the villain's laugh in the title screen

[@ChainsawGenie]

They also rearranged the game's soundtrack (and not for the better, IMO). -_-U Here's hoping that this flaw will be fixed in future versions/'remasters'. ^_^

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

C64 version made me want to end my life. I remember using an invincibility cheat and getting permanently stuck in the lava.

[@adamnadi]

Nice

[@MangizTheBrachyrhynchos]

Do you know that FC and NES are the same console?

[@l1305]

However they have some differences, the famicom version has a namco sound chip that enhances the music, meanwhile the nes ver. Lacks this chip, making the music more simple

[@TheStuka41]

Uno de mis juegos favoritos de siempre! De las que yo jugué: el Arcade, genial, aunque más dificil que morderse el codo; la versión Spectrum, bastante buena teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones de la máquina; la de Atari ST (y Amiga), de cadena perpetua con palizones cada 8 horas. Fenomenal video, como siempre!

[@jasonlee7816]

in English

[@TheStuka41]

@@jasonlee7816 Why?

[@DenkyManner]

Everyone when ST version appears: wow... Oh. Oh dear.

[@circuscharlie54]

Looks like Code Name:Viper

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

What?

[@RussoBelmont]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 That's rigth. Code Name: Viper (a game of Capcom) has similar techniques from Rolling Thunder.

[@GreekRetroGeek]

It does and plays quite similar. Good comparison

[@GreekRetroGeek]

@@ilikeminecraft1232 what does this mean?

[@JudgmentStorm]

Arc System Works made both CNV and the Famicom/NES port of Rolling Thunder. CNV came out a year later, and lets you shoot while jumping.

[@srixo444]

Request: Tapper and Root Beer Tapper

[@Svante]

The first home version I ever played was the C64 version, it’s ugly, but at least it played a lot better than the rest of the home computer ports, and I still have nostalgia for that version, even though the NES/Famicom version blows it away.

[@erikglennrosenquist9010]

Timeless in every way. The story is flawless.

[@jamyskis]

Now this is a bit of a porting oddity. Of the contemporary ports, the NES version is of course the best (helped in no small part by the fact that it was the only one to be ported directly by Namco at the time), but of the European ports outsourced to US Gold, the Spectrum one turned out to be the best, closely followed by the CPC version, both even beating the Amiga and ST versions. The Amiga and ST versions were terrible, and the C64 version was a singular atrocity. It's actually shameful that we didn't get anything resembling an arcade-faithful port of this game in the West until the PSP version in 2006. I'm not sure if the PSP version is emulated or a native port (if so, presumably based off the PSX version, which WAS a native port), but the later PS2/Xbox/GameCube and Switch versions released under the Namco Museum brand were definitely emulations of the original ("new") arcade version.

[@jasonlee7816]

graphically Amstrad, Famicom/NES, Spectrum, are (were) awful, crap, dreadful, garbage, horrible, rubbish, terrible, ports unlike Amiga, C64, ST

[@Yungbeck]

That Amiga frame rate

[@steuph1976]

For a Tiertex game, the Amstrad CPC looks surprisingly not like the Spectrum versions and both are good. Of course it's Tiertex so the 16 bit versions are horrible.

[@MrMetalclay]

That's the worst seeing ports come out after the original that are slow and clunky.

[@ilikeminecraft1232]

Why are bots going here

[@orangeamongus21]

the comment bots is in the video but don't click the link

[@AnimationMaster167]

I actually have it on my switch but I don't really play it.

[@figment1988]

I have both the Arcade version (via Namco Museum Arcade Pac) and the Famicom version (via Namco Museum Archives Volume 2)

[@80sPortal]

I dont think the NES version is as bad as it could have been

[@JudgmentStorm]

What happened to the 16-bit ports? Oh, Tiertex... with a few rare exceptions, anything they touch gets broken. Playstation wins of course, but leaving out perfect ports, I'd go with Famicom.

[@NotABot55]

Tiertex is to 16-bit platforms as Micronics is to 8-bit platforms. Then again, Micronics was all of one person porting games to the Famicom/NES, whilst Tiertex was several people putting their dirty fingers in several pies (Genesis, Atari ST, Amiga.)

[@liamcoyne2137]

Compared to all of these the Arcade Version is better

[@beverins]

What an insult on the Amiga :(

[@jasonlee7816]

how badly Rolling Thunder is converted (ported) on the Amiga or that Amiga Rolling Thunder is a ST remake??

[@CantEvenWumbo]

Honestly, the Amiga could have done better, sad to see the potential wasted for mediocre Amiga ports from the ST.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Another example of a terrible port to the Amiga, most likely a direct port from the Atari ST version like so many other bad conversions for the Amiga. The scrolling is terrible.

[@federicocatelli8785]

Nes is the only good one,pretty awful those for 16bit home computers

[@prantekpitek019]

mohon maaf lahir dan batin

[@pancracio3188]

Mater piece.

[@jasonlee7816]

Amiga Rolling Thunder could or would be a masterpiece if it wasn’t an incompetent, lazy, rushed Atari ST remake

[@poble]

mater

[@jasonlee7816]

Commodore 64 port (version) is an 8-bit masterpiece 👌 unlike Amstrad, Famicom/NES, ZX Spectrum

[@dikaboy5483]

I'm scare the rolling thunder in nes mission clear ,😨😨

[@hellokadooya]

Gacebook!!!

[@igor_s512]

how can i install this on PC?

[@fradd182]

No good home comp conversion. ST is a choppy mess, amiga also, even worse than CPC. C64 is the only one running smoothly, but those expanded sprites look awful.

[@jasonlee7816]

Amiga wouldn't be a choppy mess if it wasn't = ST remake

[@aguilawiskera]

La version de Amiga es muy decepcionante. el personaje esta reduro, casi injugable y deberian haberle dedicado menos a la musica (que ni siquiera esta completa) y mas a los graficos y jugabilidad. la nes usa un hard y una tecnologia inferior y aun asi es mucho mejor...

[@demonology2629]

I'm just going to drop this here and say that, Atari ST version is generic. What the hell's these yellow gray overscans for? It looks stupid! Get off my screen!!!!!

[@WizardZazaOfficial]

It's just fucking shinobi

[@joshi_6887]

shinobi is fucking rolling thunder rather. Rolling thunder came out one whole year before shinobi so you can't say rolling thunder copied it when it wasn't out!