Nintegageo | 582 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Was going to do a poll with the #1 MM clone, then realized not sure I can name each one. Krion, Whomp 'Em.. does Bucky O'Hare count? Does Little Samson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link | 2,714 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 They're platformers. I don't consider them otherwise similar or related to / clones of Mega Man at all, except for Krion Conquest. That one does feel like they wholesale hijacked the MM engine. Whomp 'em feels more like Kid Niki and Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu than Mega Man, to me. Little Samson not at all, except for switching abilities on the fly, but you could say the same thing about TMNT1. Bucky O'Hare has that and you can stage select - still never reminded me of Mega Man. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkTone | 985 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Would ducktales? Same people, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,407 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Calling anything a clone feels dismissive, like it's just a copycat rather than part of a genre. I think some games deserve that, but not just anything that uses the same basic gameplay elements of games like Metroid, Doom, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,509 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 (edited) Mega Man clones would need a level select at the start (along with the "preferred order" aspect), the ability to acquire new powers/weapons from defeating bosses, and probably an end stage boss rush. Otherwise there's a ton of action platformers that blur together that could be lumped in as Mega Man clones. Edited November 5, 2022 by Tulpa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,509 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 1 hour ago, DarkTone said: Would ducktales? Same people, I know. Other than the platforming aspect, the mechanics of Ducktales is way too different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link | 2,714 Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 7 minutes ago, Tulpa said: Other than the platforming aspect, the mechanics of Ducktales is way too different. And stage select. I almost mentioned it in my post for that reason. I don't agree with the premise of this thread and that's one more reason why. It's an interesting question... but my answer is definitely "no". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox | 1,667 Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 Not a clone but similar vibe to jump n shootman rather than hop n bop Bros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type | 2,482 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 MegaMan is well done but it's not really original enough to deserve the designation of being a game-style archetype. Platforming + weapons is not really innovative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type | 2,482 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Metroid had already done platforming + weapons (and multi-directional scrolling) a year earlier. The fact that that's not what Metroid gets credit for is telling (it's credited for innovating exploration and unlocking previously inaccessible areas by gaining new abilities - and for some reason Castlevania gets credited too, even though I don't think it deserves to be.. it should just be "Metroid-like" not metroidvania. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart010 | 1,707 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 43 minutes ago, G-type said: Metroid had already done platforming + weapons (and multi-directional scrolling) a year earlier. The fact that that's not what Metroid gets credit for is telling (it's credited for innovating exploration and unlocking previously inaccessible areas by gaining new abilities - and for some reason Castlevania gets credited too, even though I don't think it deserves to be.. it should just be "Metroid-like" not metroidvania. The “vania” part of Metroidvania is specifically a reference to Symphony of the Night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type | 2,482 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 (edited) 15 minutes ago, phart010 said: The “vania” part of Metroidvania is specifically a reference to Symphony of the Night I know... but why does it get co-credit, when Metroid had already established this template more more than 10 years earlier? Castlevania had already released 9 games in this series that WEREN'T "metroidvanias"... just seems weird that Symphony of the Night and subsequent games should be given equal billing to a game that was the legitimate pioneer of the game-style. It'd be like if people started calling Roguelikes: "Roguelunkys"because Spelunky has that game style too. Edited November 7, 2022 by G-type 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,934 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Deep down if you're going to call out a game for being a Mega Man clone, it has to be blatantly obvious where it clearly is playing up as a copy of it holding the direct design in regard, if not using the same engine from the same company too. I'd put that in the first category a game like Shovel Knight, Whomp Em, and Krion Quest(Doropie) where the MM vibe is utterly huge. In the secondary category of shared engine, that's where you have other Capcom titles using it such as Darkwing Duck, the Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers games, even perhaps Little Nemo too which despite no stage select feels it. Those would legitimately fall into that box, but just grabbing a run and gun from another maker where any ties are loose at best isn't right. Might as well call Metal Slug a Contra clone, despite the fact Metal Slug has had more meaningful and well made 2D games in that franchise and has defined it more and better in a larger amount of years by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox | 1,667 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 1 hour ago, G-type said: it should just be "Metroid-like" not metroidvania. Half the Metroid games aren’t even metroidvanias considering the detours in FPS, Pinball, and whatever the heck Federation Force was suppose to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart010 | 1,707 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, G-type said: I know... but why does it get co-credit, when Metroid had already established this template more more than 10 years earlier? Castlevania had already released 9 games in this series that WEREN'T "metroidvanias"... just seems weird that Symphony of the Night and subsequent games should be given equal billing to a game that was the legitimate pioneer of the game-style. It'd be like if people started calling Roguelikes: "Roguelunkys"because Spelunky has that game style too. It probably didn’t become necessary to coin a term until after Super Metroid (1994) because it was so good that people needed to have a word they could use to ask for more. Then they finally got more with Symphony of the Night in (1997). The next Metroid game didn’t come until 2002. The itch everyone wanted to have scratched was taken care of by Castlevania Circle of the Moon in 2001. I think that Castlevania COTM coming out before Metroid Fusion solidified the word. Edited November 7, 2022 by phart010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,727 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 On 11/6/2022 at 6:39 AM, DefaultGen said: Calling anything a clone feels dismissive, like it's just a copycat rather than part of a genre. I think some games deserve that, but not just anything that uses the same basic gameplay elements of games like Metroid, Doom, etc. Been saying this for years, really no need for such language usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ankos | 442 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 For me it is more of a combination of gameplay and presentation. Gameplay wise I'd say that very early Megaman is simple enough that a game would need to copy the selectable levels and robot master weapons to have a high clone factor on that alone. If a game were to have a charged shot and a slide move then that would make me a little more willing to throw around the word clone. Presentation wise Bucky O'Hare is not that much like Megaman. The HUD is laid out differently and the art style is different. A game like Little Samson I would say is slightly closer, maybe to the point that I could see it having some Megaman inspiration, but it is quite different. Cocoron is a little more similar than that and even has some music that would fit in a bit more with Megaman. Then there is the Krion Conquest which is very Megaman like. To me it is all on a scale and everyone will have their own cutoff point. I would say Buck O'Hare is pretty low on the cloniness scale, with something like Cocoron maybe having some clone factor, and the Krion Conquest having a lot of it. Some people might prefer the term inspired to try and avoid sounding too harsh on a game. Me personally I don't have an issue with the term clone since we already have genres named after games like metroidvania and roguelike. If I'm willing to use some terms that have entire genres live in the shadows of their earlier entries then I may as well use a few more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ankos | 442 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 13 hours ago, fox said: Half the Metroid games aren’t even metroidvanias considering the detours in FPS, Pinball, and whatever the heck Federation Force was suppose to be. That's like saying half the Mario games aren't 2D platformers. You're technically right but that's sort of ignoring the difference between a spinoff and a mainline entry (though at this point Metroid has two series that could both be considered mainline). There is the original 2D platforming series, the Prime series, and a couple of spinoffs that don't in well with the previous two categories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkTone | 985 Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 How many franchises let you take the bosses ability after you beat them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-type | 2,482 Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 18 hours ago, DarkTone said: How many franchises let you take the bosses ability after you beat them? Kid Chameleon, Kirby, Castlevania ds, Prey, Final Fantasy tactics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMR | 520 Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Darkwing Duck is basically a MegaMan game IMO. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NostalgicMachine | 236 Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Lack of level select at the start and inability to absorb and later use boss powers has me leaning toward no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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