10 famous video games that started out as something else entirely
TRANSCRIPT
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10 Famous Video Games That Started
Out As Something Else Entirely
http://www.gamescdkey.com/news/10-famous-video-games-that-started-
out-as-something-else-entirely
Thedevelopmentofvideogamescanbea rathercurious thing.Usually,whenwritinganovel,
filmingamovie,orscriptingacomicbook,thereisgenerallyanideaofwhattheendgoalisinmind.
Certainly,changeshappenthroughoutthecreativeprocess,buttoourrecollection,noonehasset
outtomakeaBatmanmovieandchangedittoZorromidwaythrough.Videogames,ontheother
hand,areabitofadifferentstory.Bytheirverynature,they lendthemselveswelltoonthefly
alterationsbothgreatandsmallthatcanleadtodrasticallydifferentresultsinthefinalproduct.
Sometimesagamewithnoparticulariconographyinmindwillbedeemedagoodfitforaparticular
popularfranchise,orperhapsthechangesmadeinasequelaresogreatthatitsdeterminedthat
spinningitoffassomethingelsealtogetheristhewaytogo(and,withanyluck,leadingtotwobig
hitfranchises).Maybeafamiliarfacewillbeaddedtoanotherworktoboost itsvisibility inthe
marketplace,or it could be removed as amatter of failednegotiations.Anything canhappenbetweenthetimeworkonagamehasbegunandwhen itgoestomarket,andtheresultsmay
astoundyou.Herearetenofthemostfamousvideogameswhichstartedoutassomethingelse
entirely.
10 Super Smash Bros
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Super Smash Bros. iswell known theworld over as one ofNintendos top titles, series, and
franchises.Andwhyshouldntitbe?Afterall,whereelseareyougoingtofindsuchawidevariety
ofstarsfromothertopNintendoseriesthrowdowninaknockdowndragoutfight?Mariovs.Link!
DonkeyKongvs.Bowser!IceClimbersvs.FoxMcCloud!Pokemonvs.Pokemon!okay,maybenot
thatlastonesomuch.Butitwasntalwaysthisway.Inthegamesearliestdaysofdevelopment,it
wentbyanothertitle:KakutoGeemuRyuoh,orDragonKing:TheFightingGame.Ifthatsounds
likeafunnynameforaNintendoallstarmixup(asthoughSuperSmashBros.isnt),well,youd
be right. Insteadof featuringeverybigname from throughoutNintendosconsiderablehistory,
DragonKingfeaturednoneofthem.Satoru Iwata,thethenfuturepresidentofNintendo,and
MasahiroSakuraioriginallyworkedonit,seekingtocreateanalternativetothetwodimensional
fightinggameswhichwerecrowdingoutthemarketatthetime.Sohowdidthe inclusionof
establishedNintendocharacterscomeabout?Believeitornot,withgreatreluctance.According
toSakuraiinaneditionofIwataAsks:
IaskedtouseNintendocharacterssince itwassohardtoaccuratelyconveytotheplayersthe
atmosphereofthegamingworldwheretheyplayafightinggameonhomeconsole.Youhaveto
havesomemaincharacters ina fightinggame,andwhenyou lineupcharacter1,character2,
character3andsoon,themaincharactersendupblurringtogether.Withagameforthearcade,
itsokayforcharacterdevelopmenttotakeabackseatsinceplayersarecontentwiththefighting.
Withafightinggameforthehomeconsole,however,youhavetosetupthegeneralimageorthe
atmosphereofthegamingworldrightfromthestartorelsethegamesuffers.ThatswhyIasked
touseNintendocharacters.
Nowadays,wetakeitforgranted,butatthetime,peoplehadreservationsaboutmobilizingan
allstarcastofcharacters,Iwataadded,notingthatevenNintendofanswereatfirstwaryofthe
prospect.Howthingshavechanged.Wordhas itthatthegamewasoriginallyneverplannedto
leaveJapan,andnowitisaworldwidehitwhichfeaturesnotonlyagrowingrosterofNintendo
stars,butthirdpartycharacterssuchasSonictheHedgehog,SolidSnake,MegaMan,andPacMan
aswell!
9 Devil May Cry
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ComparedtotheoverhaulofSuperSmashBros.,DevilMayCrywentrelativelyunchangedfromits
earlydaystowhenitwasreleased.Infact,thebiggestchangeofallwasarguablytothetitle,as
wellasitsplaceintheCapcommultiverse.Originally,producerShinjiMikamianddirectorHideki
Kamiyaactuallybeganworkingon thegameas the fourth installment inCapcomshit survival
horrorseries,ResidentEvil.Incontrasttotheearliertitlesintheseries,thegoalwastomakewhat
wasthengoingtobeResidentEvil4,acoolandstylishactiongame.Onthewaytomakingit
so,theprotagonist,Tony,hadsuperhumanabilitiesgrantedtohimbybiotechnology.Kamiyafelt
thatthemissionofcool/stylishwasbeingheldbackbyResidentEvilsfixedcameraanglesand
prerenderedbackgrounds,leadingtoanoverhaulinhowthosewerepresented.Ultimately,the
stylejustwasntworkingforResidentEvilssurvivalhorrorroots,anyway.Asaresult,Mikami
convincedthestaffthatthegamewasbetteroffbeingitsownentity,leadingtoelementssuchas
UmbrellafounderLordOzwellE.Spencerandthebiotechnologybeingremoved.Therechristened
heroDantewouldgoontofightinaworldfullofdemons,ratherthanbioengineeredzombies,in
thenewly retitledDevilMayCry,whosepopularitywassuch that itbecame itsown franchise.
However,thatstill leftCapcomshortoneResidentEvilsequel.Aftermoretriesworkingaround
conceptsstarringResidentEvil2protagonistLeonS.Kennedy,withashift ingenreechoingthe
previous attempt tomove away from survivalhorror andmore towards actionwas repeated.
Mikamioversaw itsdevelopmentaswell,and tooksteps toset itapart fromtheseriesentries
whichcamebefore,includinganewovertheshoulderviewpointandtheremovalofUmbrellaas
a central focus. The changes paid off, as Resident Evil 4 sold like hotcakes across numerous
platforms,whileDevilMayCrygaveCapcomtwohitfranchisesinsteadofone.
8 Final Fight/Street Fighter II
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BeforeStreetFighterII,therewasStreetFighter.Thisstandstoreason,butdespitetheimmense
popularityofthesequel,manyareunfamiliarwiththeoriginalgame.Thoughnotthemostpopular
gameintheU.S.atthetime,perhapsowinginparttoearlyversionspressuresensitivebuttons
thatwerepronetobreaking,itdidwellenoughinJapantowarrantasequel.However,themindset
whichwentintomakingavideogamesequelbackinthelate80swasabitdifferentthanitistoday,
andthosegameswouldoftenbequitedifferentfromthefirstinstallmenttobearthename.Case
inpoint:ZeldaII:TheAdventureofLink,CastlevaniaII:SimonsQuest,andTeenageMutantNinja
TurtlesII:TheArcadeGame,tonamebutafew.StreetFighterwouldbenodifferentatleast,to
start.AlreadyindevelopmentwhentheoriginalStreetFighterwasreleased,therequestfrom
Capcomssalesdivisionforanothertitle inthe line ledtotheDoubleDragonIIinspiredbrawler
YoshikiOkamotoandhisteamwereworkingontobedubbedStreetFighter89 attradeshows,
butthearcadeoperatorswerewisetoit,callingfoulinthatthegamewasnothinglikeStreetFighter.
This resulted in the sidescrollingbeat emup tobe redubbedFinalFight,whichwenton to
achieve itsownsuccess.Whilethatwenton,Okamotosteamwouldgoontocreatethetrue
sequeltoStreetFighter,thesuccessofwhichnoonecouldhaveimagined.Beforeweevenbegan
work[onthegame],saidOkamoto,IthoughtStreetFighterIIwouldbeabighit.AtfirstIthought
itwouldbejustassuccessfulasFinalFight,but Ihadno idea itwouldbethisbig.Theshared
lineageof the twogameshasbecomeevermoreprevalentover theyears,withStreetFighter
charactersappearinginthebackgroundofFinalFightsequels,andmoresignificantly,FinalFight
characters suchasGuy,Cody,Sodom,Hugo,Poison, andmorejoining the ranksof theWorld
Warriors.
7 The Final Fantasy Adventure/Secret Of Mana
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Whatsinaname?AsFinalFightdemonstrated,quiteabit.InthecaseofFinalFantasyAdventure,
though,whatitusedtobe isquiteabitmoreinterestingthanwhatitbecame.Marketedinthe
westasaFinalFantasygame,theJapanesetitlewasSeikenDensetsu:FinalFantasyGaiden.What
makesthisinterestingisthatwhileitwasindeedaFinalFantasyspinoff,itstheotherpartofthe
titlethatwouldholdgreatersignificancewithtime,asitmarksthefirstgameinwhatwouldcome
tobeknown inthewestastheManaseries.Thus,whenplayers inthewestgottheirhandson
SecretofManaontheSuperNES,few(ifany)atthetimelikelyknewthatwhattheywereplaying
wasactuallyasequeltoaFinalFantasygamewhichhadalreadyarrivedintheyearsprior.Since
then,thetotalnumberofSeikenDensetsu/Managameshasrisento11,withmostmakingitout
ofJapan,butonlythemostwellreadfansoftheseriesknowwhereittrulybegan.
6 Banjo Kazooie
OriginallyaSuperNESroleplayinggame,thetitlewhichwasatonetimeknownasProjectDream
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sawmorethanthebitcountchangeasitwasmovedtotheNintendo64.Thegamesprotagonist,
aboynamedEdisonwhowouldwieldawoodensword,wasgiventhebootforbeingtoogeneric
infavorofasecondarycharacter:AhoneybearnamedBanjo(thoughnotbeforetryingarabbit
first).Variousotherroleswouldbeswitchedaroundaswell,withagiantGruntildabecomingthe
mainantagonistandtheoriginalvillain,EdisonsrivalCaptainBlackeye,beingcastasideuntilthe
sequel.Meanwhile, the shift to amore SuperMario 64inspired action game saw a rise in
prominencefortheotherhalfofthegamestitularduo.Originallyababybirdwithasmallrole
whowasfoundbyEdisonslittlesister,Ella,Kazooiewouldgoontobecomeaconstanttraveling
companion for Banjo. At first the developers had different appendages appear from Banjos
backpacktoservedifferentfunctions,suchaswingstoallowfordoublejumpsandapairofskinny
legs for fastmovement.Before long,theydecided thatthesepartscouldallbelongtoanother
characterwhorodearoundinthebackpack,andsoKazooiewas(re)born.Wemayneverknowif
Edisoncouldhaveachievedsuccessbyfightingpirates,butitshardtoarguewithsuccess.Banjo
andKazooiewentontostar inanNintendo64sequel,aGameBoyAdvancespinoff,andeven
wentracingwithDiddyKong.EvenafterMicrosoftacquiredRare,demandfortheduosreturnwas
highintotheXbox360era.Atthatpoint,though,Rareattemptedtoreinventthewheelliterally,
resulting in BanjoKazooie:Nuts nBolts,which brought about a new look, a vehiclecreation
mechanic,andamixedreceptionamongfans.
5 Star Fox Adventures
The game knownas StarFoxAdventuresoriginallywentbyanothername:DinosaurPlanet,a
Nintendo64titlewhichhadnotiestoNintendospopularseriesof3Dspaceshooters. Instead,
playerswouldbeabletoswitchbetweentheswordwieldingSabre(seenabove,withTrickythe
dinosaur)andabluefemalecatnamedKrystal.AfterseeingthegamerunningontheNintendo64,
NintendosShigeruMiyamotocommentedonhownice thegame looked,butnotedthatSabre
boreastrongresemblancetononeotherthanFoxMcCloud,andthathewishedtheywoulduse
StarFox characters so that theycouldcall itStarFoxAdventures.With thatcommentanda
remarkaboutmakingacalltotheteam,itsapparenthedidjustthat.Amongthemanytweaks
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andfixesusedtomakethegamefitintotheStarFoxuniverse,oneofthemostsignificantwould
bechangingKrystalfromacattoafox,settingherupasapotentialromanticinterestforseries
leadFoxMcCloud.Thiswould indeedplayout in futuregames,withsomeendings inStarFox
Commandfeaturingthetwowithafamily.Overall,therewasdisappointmentamongtheRarestaff
workingonthegame,thoughtheyalsosawthepotentialbroughtonbytheStarFoxlicense.Along
with a switch to theGameCube around the same time, Star Fox Adventures became quite a
differentgamefromwhatthedevelopersoriginallysetouttocreate.
4 Conkers Bad Fur Day
NoonewhohadseentheearlyimagesofConkersQuest(laterrenamedTwelveTales:Conker64)
could have imagined that the cutesy squirrel character from the same studio that broughtus
DonkeyKongCountryandBanjoKazooiewouldturnoutsomethinglikeConkersBadFurDay.But
itwasfearofcomparisontosuchtitlesasthoseasyetanothercuteplatformerwhichledthe
developerstoperformaSouthParkinspiredoverhaul.Interestinglyenough,Conkeralreadyhad
oneprevioustitletohisnameundertheoldaestheticinConkersPocketTalesfortheGameBoy
Color. Lighthearted and designed to appeal to a general audience, the lackluster reception
seeminglyvalidatedRaresworriesandjustifiedthedramaticswitchtoagamesoheavilyMrated
thatNintendoPowerrefusedtocoveritandKBToysrefusedtocarryit,whileadvertisementsraninthelikesofPlayboymagazineinstead.Eveninitshomeland,NintendoofEuropewouldnttouch
thegame, leaving ittobepublishedtherebyTHQ instead.UnlikePocketTalestepidreception,
ConkersBadFurDaywasahitwithcritics,andisstillrememberedfondlytothisdayforsomeof
its crude humor, not the least of which being the musical number byThe Great Mighty
Poo(warning:NSFW).Planswereunderwayforasequel,butthenRarewasboughtupbyMicrosoft,
andsotheywentaboutworkingonaremakeofBadFurDay instead.OriginallycalledConker:
Live&Uncut,whatwasoriginallygoingtobeafullyuncensoredversionofthetitleactuallywound
upbeingmoresanitizedthanNintendosinsomewaysandatMicrosoftsbehest,noless,asit
eventuallymadeitswaytomarketasConker:Live&Reloaded.
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3 Pikmin
AtSpaceworld2000,NintendorevealedatechdemoforaprojectcalledSuperMario128.The
demonstrationshowedoffanumberofdifferenttechnologicalexperimentsNintendowasworking
oninthehopesofincorporatingthemintofuturegames,witheyessetonasequeltoSuperMario
64.Perhapsthemostprominentfeaturewasthepresenceof128differentMariosrunningaround
at the same time, attributed to the rapid generation feature of the technology. Following
Spaceworld2000, peoplewere constantly asking what everhappened to SuperMario128?
Finally, at the 2007 Game Developers Conference, ShigeruMiyamoto ended his keynote by
answeringthequestionwithmostofyouhavealreadyplayedit,thescreenbehindhimrevealing
Pikmin.PikminwasnottheonlybeneficiaryofSuperMario128sexperiments,though.Itssphere
walking techandotheraspectswereput touse in titlessuchasSuperMarioGalaxy,andare
rumoredtohavebeenincorporatedintosomeaspectsofMetroidPrimeandTheLegendofZelda:
TwilightPrincessaswell.
2 Super Mario Bros 2
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Oftheitemsonthislist,perhapsnootherismorefamousorinfamousthanSuperMarioBros.
2.Itstransformationisthestuffoflegend:AsNintendosetaboutrevivingthevideogamemarket
intheUnitedStates,MarioManiawassweepingthenation.SuperMarioBros.,thetitlepackedin
withmanyaNintendoEntertainmentSystem,wasamonstroushit.Naturally,Nintendowantedto
keepthemomentumgoingwithasequel,buttherewasjustoneproblemThegamecalledSuper
MarioBros.2 inJapancouldalsobedescribedasmonstrous,butnotasahit.Essentiallyasuper
hardexpansionforthosewhodmasteredtheoriginalgame(laterdubbedForSuperPlayersfor
goodreason),NintendoofAmericawasworriedthatnotonlywouldthegameappearoutdated
nexttocontemporaryreleases,butthatitwouldalsojeopardizethefranchisesfuturepopularity
byprovingtoodifficultandinaccessible.Challengewasagoodthing,yes,butJapansSuperMario
Bros.2tookittoanextremethattheywereunwillingtosubjectthecompanymascotsreputation
to,withfeaturesthatsomemightgenerouslycallunfair.Throwinthatthevideogamemarket
wasstillrecovering fromthecrash,andanalternatesolutionneededtobe found.Nintendoof
AmericathenlookedtoanotherprojectthatMariocreatorShigeruMiyamotoandhisteamhad
beenworkingon,onewhichincorporatedMariolikeelementsbuthadalsolateraddedagroupof
ArabianstyledcharactersfromFujiTelevisionsYumeKj 87eventcalledYumeKj:DokiDoki
Panic.DirectorKensukeTanabeandhiscrewsettoworkchangingandimprovingthegamefrom
its Japanexclusive FamicomDisk System release to anNES cartridge release forAmerica. The
ArabianfamilywasremovedinfavoroftheMarioBros.,Toad,andPrincessPeach(neeToadstool).
Amongother things,animationsweremade smoother,musicwasadjustedandeven replaced
accordingly,newenemieswereadded,theabilitytorunwiththeBbuttonwasincorporated,and
ofcourse, theheroesnowshrunkwhen reducedtooneheart.Thedifficultywasalsotweaked
slightly,with finalbossWart requiring sixvegetables todefeat insteadof theoriginal four, the
ability toswitchcharacters frequently included,and requiringonlyoneplaythrough tosee the
ending.SuperMarioBros.2provedtobeasmashhit,withparentsdrivingfromstatetostatein
aneffort to trackdownacopyofthe initiallyhardtofindgame. Itwouldalsoprove tobe the
definitiveversionofthegame,releasedbacktoJapanasSuperMarioUSAandincludedinSuper
MarioAllStars,theSuperMarioAdvanceline(withfurthertweakstomakeitevenmoreMario
like),andnumerousreleasesonVirtualConsoleacrossNintendosWii,Nintendo3DS,andWiiU
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platforms.Meanwhile,numerousenemiesfromthegamehavestuckaround,asdidLuigistaller
redesignandflutterjumpandPeachsfloatingability,amongotherthings.Thoughitwasoriginally
releasedasa licensedgame, itseemsthatfromearlyon,thistitlewasalwaysdestinedtobea
Mariogameintheend.
1 Donkey Kong/Popeye
SuperMarioBros.2maybethemostwellknownstoryonthislist,butitmustbecloselyrivaled
bywhatisundoubtedlythemostinfluential.ItsnosecretthatNintendoofAmericagambledand
lostonanarcadegamecalledRadarScope,orderingmoreunitsofthegamethan itcouldever
hopetosell,especiallywhenSpaceInvaderslikegameswerentquiteaspopularoutsideofJapan.
NintendoofAmericaheadMinoruArakawareportedbacktohisfatherinlaw,NintendoCo.Ltd.
headHiroshiYamauchiwith thebadnews,andheputheadengineerGunpeiYokoiandyoung
industrialdesignerShigeruMiyamotoaboutcreatingareplacementthatcouldstillusetheRadar
Scopecabinets.Theysetaboutcreatingthenewgame,andhopeswerethatNintendocouldsecure
therightstoPopeyetheSailorManfromKingFeaturesforthetitle.Isketchedoutafewideasfor
gamesusingPopeye,MiyamotorecalledinanIwataAsksinterview.ButwhileIcantrecallexactly
whyitwas,wewereunabletousePopeyeinthattitle.Itreallyfeltliketheladderhadbeenpulledoutfromunderus,sotospeak.Atthetimewewereatalossastohowtoproceed.Thenwe
thought:Whynotcomeupwithourownoriginalcharacter?Whynot,indeed?Sogoingbackto
thedrawingboard,Miyamotomadeamonkeyorrather,agorillaoutofBluto,whileOliveOyl
tookonamoreFayWraystyleasthedamselPauline.AndinsteadofPopeyetheSailorasthehero,
Miyamoto created a short carpenter (whowould later take up plumbing, amongmany other
occupations)namedMr.Video.At least,before takingon thename Jumpmanandultimately
Mario.IfhehadbeencalledMr.Video,hemighthavedisappearedoffthefaceoftheearth,
Miyamotosaid,laughing.Ofcourse,DonkeyKongbecameahit,andbasicallyputNintendoonthe
mapasamajorplayerinthevideogamebusiness.WithoutKingFeaturespullingtheladderout
from underneath Nintendo and forcing them to create their own whollyowned franchise
characters,whocansaywheretheyorvideogamingonthewholewouldbetoday?Butthats
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nottheendofthestory.Callitluck,callitfate,irony,orhappenstance,buteventuallyNintendo
didinfactgetthelicensetodoaPopeyevideogame.RatherthanareskinofDonkeyKong,though,
ShigeruMiyamotoandGenyoTakedasetaboutcreatingawholenewexperiencewhichinvolved
PopeyecatchingheartswhiledodgingtheadvancingBlutoandtheSeaHag,andithitarcadesin
1982.Intheend,Nintendogottohavetheirspinachandeatit,too.
PC Game CD Keys:
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RPGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rpggame.html
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AdventureGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/avggame.html
RacingGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/racgame.html SportGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/sptgame.html
FTGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/ftggame.html
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SLGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/slggame.html