Takara: Masters of the Port Part 1: 1992-1995-JGC Feature

The name Takara is near-synonymous with fighting games. Anyone playing fighters during the 16-bit era likely came across some of their games for the Genesis/Mega Drive or Super Famicom/SNES. Many of these ports were faithful versions of the original games. Many were sub-par ports that were vastly inferior to their Neo Geo counterparts. Japan Game Cave will take a look at some of their best and worst ports from the Neo Geo.

A little bit of background is needed before jumping into Takara's ports. The Neo Geo MVS was released in 1990 and soon made waves across the globe.  An international arcade smash, the technically gifted Neo Geo would soon make its way home in the form of the Neo Geo AES console. Far too expensive for the average consumer, companies began to look for other ways to get the games into the average family living room. Takara would seek to fill that void.

Founded in 1955, Takara would be a major player in the Japanese toy market. Their most successful product would be the creation of the "Transformers". Today, the Transformers empire is valued in the millions. Despite their success in the toy industry, Takara became involved in the growing home video game market in the 1980s. In the 1990s, their main focus would shift to porting Neo Geo games to various platforms.


Released in 1991. King of the Monsters was a fairly successful arcade game at the game. Players take control of giant monsters and battle it out in large city-scapes. Takara ported the game to the Super Famicom and later the SNES. The Super Famicom version features obviously scaled-down sprites and backgrounds, far less detailed than the huge sprites of the Neo Geo original. The game would also make it to the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1993. The game looks arguably worse on the Genesis, with less colours and detail in the backgrounds.

King of the Monsters 2 would also make it to both the SFC/SNES and Genesis/MD. Many say that the sequels are better for both systems, but most give the Nintendo console a slight edge due to the more colourful visuals and better sound. You choose. In any case, it can be argued that despite weaker visuals, King of the Monsters 1 and 2 made it home mostly intact.

Garou Densetsu (Fatal Fury in the West) is one of
SNK's most beloved franchises. Released into arcades in 1991, the Neo Geo original was one of the first major fighting games to challenge Street Fighter 2 and its dominance. The game would come home to the SFC in 1992. Like King of the Monsters, Garou Densetsu would take a graphical hit coming home. Sprites are again noticeably less detailed than the Neo Geo. However, like most SFC/SNES games, the sound is quite good, making effective use of the SFC's sound capabilities. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was not quite as faithful as on the Nintendo console. Murky background and tinny sound would mar the port of GD on the Sega console. Most prefer the SFC/SNES port to the Genesis/MD.

Garou Densetsu 2 (Fatal Fury 2) was released in 1992 in the arcades. Vastly expanding the character rooster (you could only play as three characters in the 1-player mode of the original), the game was another success for SNK. The SFC is quite faithful the Neo Geo original in this author's opinion. Vivid colours, great controls, and excellent sound make the SFC/SNES port as close as one could with a 16-bit console. As for the MD/Genesis port, many argue that it plays faster and better due to the "blast processing" on Sega's hardware. I believe that the Sega version does not look as good or sound as good, but this is certainly up for debate. What is clear, Takara produced quality ports of Garou Densetsu 2 for both 16-bit consoles. Much better than the first Garou game. Garou Densetsu Special, an expanded version of Garou 2 would make it home to the SFC/SNES, but failed to make it Sega's console.




I have never played this version of the game, but have heard great things about it. Takara also released portable versions of Fatal Fury. A Gameboy port of Fatal Fury 2 was released in 1994. Also, a Sega Gamegear port was released in 1993. Many criticize the portable ports as mere cash-ins, having little value. I have not played either portable Takara games.

Another one of SNK's major franchises was Ryuuko no ken. Known as Art of Fighting in the West, the series became famous for its massive sprites and scrolling backgrounds. Released in 1992, the game would find its way home for all of the 16-bit consoles (and even the PC Engine). With sprites this huge, sacrifices were going to be made. Both versions of this game suffered coming home. The scrolling was omitted in the Genesis/MD version, and the sound and music are generally quite poor. In the SFC/SNES version, the scrolling remains, but is vastly subdued compared to the Neo Geo. Character sprites look almost as bad as on the Sega console.

Ryuuko no ken 2 would come home only to the Super Famicom, and only in Japan. Many regard the sequel as a much better port. Characters looks better animated and detailed but still pale in comparison to the Neo Geo original. Developed by arcade developer Saurus, it is one of the best SFC fighters. The game was actually ported outside of Takara's oversight, and many consider that the reason why it was vastly superior than most of Takara's 16-bit ports. World Heroes would find its way home to the 16-bit consoles, but this porting was done by Saurus, Sunset, and Mid-West with mixed results.











After the massive arcade success of Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown in the West) in 1993, Takara would bring the game home to the Super Famicom and Mega Drive. Vastly inferior ports would also find their way to the Gameboy and Gamegear. While the SFC took the advantage for most 16-bit Takara games, the SFC is a pile of garbage. Yes, it keeps all characters including Earthquake (he has a massive sprite in the arcade version), but it just plain insults the original game. Characters are reduced to a microscopic size and backgrounds look flat and dull. The sound is ok, but nothing special. The Genesis/MD version has much bigger characters, but omits Earthquake entirely from the game. I would rather omit a character than shrink the game. The SFC/SNES port has to be one of the worst atrocities that Takara committed during the 16-bit era.






The legacy of Takara has to be understood within the technical constraints of the day. Arcade hardware such as the Neo Geo was much more technically powerful than home consoles hardware. Takara ports are a mixed bag to say the least, some decent and close, others are completely off the mark. They are strange curiosities today. There are dozens of ways to play the Neo Geo originals, and they are always vastly superior to Takara ports. Takara brought home some of the biggest games of the day for kids like me who didn't have a Neo Geo at home, and for that, they do have a special place in my heart. Takara would not finish their ports with the 16-bit era, more would come.......to be continued in part 2......