*MIDI rock plays* If ever there was a game in no need of an introduction: Doom. It's a topic I've already touched on in the past, For example Doom 64 and the Custom Playstation Edition are both fantastic. But if you thought I was done talkin' 'bout Doom you're outta your mind. Because this is Punching Weight: A celebration of the weird, ambitious, and unnecessary And in this episode we are talking about one of my personal favorite subjects: Doom console ports I'mma jump right in front of this to say this'll be the first of many possible episodes on the mid-90's first person shooter revolution. My fascination with console FPS ports almost singlehandedly inspired this show in the first place So where better to start than with the pioneering classic, Doom? First, a game very near and dear to my heart, the Sega 32X port. Growing up, my family did not have a computer fast enough to run Doom so this was my first real experience with the game. I was so excited to finally be able to play it that I remember telling my mom on the car ride home from the store, "I will never be bored again! Thank you!" It's maybe a little sad in retrospect because this is not the greatest version, but I didn't know any better. It's certainly a step above Zero Tolerance, another childhood obsession. In all fairness though, Doom is one of the better games on Sega's very short-lived Genesis add-on. It runs pretty well but made some compromises to get there. The colors and animations are mostly present but it struggles to render things at a distance. If you squint, you can see that that mess of pixels up there is an imp. It's a good thing enemies have distinct color palettes because From across the room they look like those minimalist renderings of Street Fighter characters. But the fundamental Doom is there. Eventually, I didn't have much trouble picking off enemies that couldn't have been more than five pixels. *Shotgun blast*
*Shotgun guy groans* The game plays pretty good. Switching weapons is fast, shooting is pretty responsive, Movement is a little laggy and the lack of two proper strafe buttons makes this version an extra challenge. It's also missing a lot of content, though, including but no limited to the entire third episode The levels that did make it in were shortened, with tiny to huge chunks left out. Also there are apparently a handful of inaccessible rooms and monsters placed inside of walls Making it impossible to get 100% on some levels. And while the BFG is in this version, it was never actually placed anywhere in the game So to use it, you have to input the All Items cheat code A level select on the main menu offsets the lack of saves or passwords, which is sort of a bonus. The truly noteworthy aspect of the 32X port is its soundtrack. This music is some of the most hilarious shit I've ever heard. *A YM2612 dies off in the distance* Wow, it's Performance Art-levels of bad. You could hold a contest for "Make the Worst Doom Music of All Time" And the winner wouldn't be much worse if it were actually a symphony of wet farts and poorly tuned guitars. But the sound effects are pretty good, so go figure. The 32X port of Doom is actually a bit of a rabbit hole. There's apparently a lot of unused content buried in the code, it's super interesting stuff. There are hacked versions and patches for the ROM that fix things and add in the missing content Proving that Doom fans are out of their minds and the real heroes. Altogether, not a terrible port and worth diving into if you're a Doom fanatic. You may be wondering why I was so obsessed with the 32X port growing up when there was also a Super Nintendo port. Well, I'll tell you why, and I ain't gonna sugarcoat it. This port is awful. And not too soon after I got a Playstation and a proper PC. SuperNES Doom does feature all three campaigns and incredible renditions of the iconic soundtrack... But looks and runs worse. In total fairness, this particular game doesn't emulate very well, so the graphics are not quite as bad as represented here. Usually I'd use footage straight from the cart but my copy is unfortunately in storage in another state. But I confirm that the real graphics ain't much better. There's also a huge lag in the movement, laggier than the 32X port And despite featuring proper strafing with the shoulder buttons, you cannot circlestrafe. SuperNES Doom is also missing frames of animation, so enemies attack with incredible swiftness, Making the game more artificially difficult. Death animations are sped up too, which is also a bummer. However it is more interesting as a concept than an actual game. SuperNES Doom is one of only eight released games that used the Super FX chip, One of only three games that came in specialized colored cartridges, And one of three games to receive an ESRB M rating- Pop Quiz: What are the other two? Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Doom are the only Super Nintendo games with an ESRB M rating. The fact that this game exists at all is kind of incredible. By that token, it's a must have for collectors. It may feel like we're splitting hairs here, arguing that one bad port is better than the other, But in that classic Nintendo VS. Sega fight, Doom scores one point for Sega. But we saved the best for last in this "Oops, All Doom!" episode of the show. And when I say "Best" I mean "Best for this Group": The Game Boy Advance port. In High School, I was still a big enough Doom Freak that I bought this game Day One, and it was worth it. GBA Doom is one hell of a package and a pretty incredible technical feat. It looks pretty good, plays pretty well, sounds great, and it's all on the go! I know there's a whole lot of squinting going on in this episode But with GBA Doom you can at least say, "Well, it was meant for a three-inch screen." It features 26 maps with levels like "Tower of Babel" and most of the third episode, Inferno, unrepresented. For what it's worth, I think the SuperNES port was the only console version with the first two levels of Inferno (Until the XBLA version came out in 2006). Strafing feels great, but changing weapons is a bit of a pain. The controls take some getting used to but there's tons of options for them. In fact there's tons of options for everything, including dynamic lighting, autorun, and brightness. Those lighting options are clutch; anyone who bought an original GBA remembers how incredibly dark they were. Shouts to anyone who remembers what this and who managed to beat Circle of the Moon without one. The game plays great on a GBA SP or the GBA Player for GameCube. Though, in an odd move, the game has green blood and most gory decorations were altered or removed. It and its sequel are both rated Teen, not Mature - which is crazy because Wolf3D was Mature. Also bodies blink from existence pretty quickly, which robs you of the satisfying feeling of admiring your handiwork, But it's probably in service to the overall performance of the game. The music is a real treat, sounding like chiptune covers of the classic songs. There's also the option for two player co-op and four player deathmatch, Provided you've got the spare link cables and copies of the game. There are apparently eight deathmatch levels exclusively created just for this version. Our research also shows that this technically makes them the only officially released Doom deathmatch maps ever. Multiplayer in Doom was sort of an afterthought and levels were never officially created specifically for multiplayer. Also the author of these levels is apparently unknown. Whoever you are, our hat is off. This will not be the last time we discuss Doom or odd console FPSs on Punching Weight. I personally could go on forever about Doom so share your favorite Doom memories in the comments below. And while you're there, let us know if there are any weird, unnecessary, or ambitious console FPSs You would like to see in future episodes. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe or tell a friend about us! Stop Skeletons From Fighting is a Patreon-supported show. If you'd like to support the show and see your name here or get exclusive access to other shenanigans, Click the link and give what you can! The video on the left is the previous episode of Punching Weight, And in the video on the right we document the making of Demon Souls and Dark Souls. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you again real soon.
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As someone who grew up on Doom, it was a really big deal when it was released on SNES. But obviously it doesn't hold a candle to the PC version - lots of people were disappointed - except those who played it for the first time - it was a massive technical achievement.
IMHO the "worst" port of Doom is the playstation version, mainly because of the colouring and lighting, however a lot of people say that's the best port.
Yeah. I think the reason for console ports of doom being bad is that 90s consoles are sprite driven, and besides the occasionally enemy there aren't sprites in the game.
PCs graphics processors of the time were bitmap based which allowed for rotation crucial for doom while console graphics were tile based. That is why the SNES and Mega Drive both needed some enhancement so the game would even be feasible.
Uhm FYI the Gameboy Advance came out in 2001, it's not 90's