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Mame Clones worth playing - a complete (hopefully) list


scottjen26

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I have a Mame cab that I got from someone running advancemame/advancemenu on linux. Works great for now, but advancemame is years behind mame and I had really planned for a different setup, so I'm in the process of collecting all of the latest files and graphics I need to do it the way I want. I plan on using Hyperspin for my front end after some serious evaluation, just signed up last week and downloaded a bunch of artwork and themes, now I just need to figure out what to do with it all!

Anyway, I posted a question on the BYOAC forums about Mame clones, wondering if anyone had a list of clones that were better or different enough from the parent. I have all of the roms and hate my current setup where I have to choose between 2, 3, 5, or more versions of a game, I just want one version of the game to show up (the parent or "normal" one) unless a clone is worth it. I heard about the puckman/pacman situation, and a few others, so my plan was to use something like RomLister to filter the master list of games to get rid of mature games, casino games, mahjong, etc. and also to filter out clones, but my fear was that I would lose out on some good clones.

Since I couldn't find a list, I created one. As I was filtering my list and scanning through the ENTIRE list of Mame games multiple times (all 7600 working titles), I compiled a list of additions (that were incorrectly filtered out by RomLister), clones that I want to add back in to the list, and games I would ideally like to delete. Since I couldn't find this information anywhere, I thought I would post it here in case someone else is interested.

Below is a list of good or different clones that I could find in the current version of Mame along with the rom names and notes. These are clones that have enhanced play or graphics, are actually other versions of the game, have control hacks or tweaks, etc. I'm sure I missed one or two in that massive list, but this is much better than the 5 or 6 I found out about before.

I seriously hope this wasn't all in vain, as it took a while, and that I will be able to take my list and export it to a XML format that Hyperspin can use (like it says). Either way, I can put together a batch program or whatever to move things around or do something so get a nice pared down list of the games I want to see. Next step - get my PC ready and start installing and loading programs and art to their final locations and begin the process of configuring and tweaking HS. I'm sure I'll be on here in the future to read old threads and get some questions answered.

Scott

Game				Parent		Clone		Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace Attack			ace (orig game)	aceattack 	Actually a Volleyball game, clone of Ace Attacker? (no parent)
Ajax				ajax		typhoon		This version has a different stage order and possible additional level
Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja	baddudes	drgninja	Japanese version has different background music and different ending
Cabal				cabal		cabalus		Trackball version
Captain America Avengers	captaven	captavenu 	US version, not really that different
Combat School			combatsc	combatsct   	Trackball version
Cyberball			cyberbal	cyberbal2p   	2 player version
D. D. Crew			ddcrew		ddcrew2		2 player version
Defend the Terra Attack		redufo		exodus   	Slightly improved graphics
DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou		ddp3		ddp3blk		Black label edition is more playable and allows continues
Donkey Kong II			dkong 		dkongx11 	Donkey Kong 2 hack, new levels etc
Eliminator (4 players)		elim2		elim4		4 player mode, only 4 player vector game ever made
Galaga				galaga		galagamf  	Fast shoot
Gauntlet II			gaunt2		gaunt22p  	2 player version
Gauntlet			gauntlet	gauntlet2p  	2 player version
Gigas				gigandes	gigasb   	Actually a breakout game, clone of gigas? (not listed as parent)
Golden Tee 2000 Tournament	gt2k (regular)	gt2kt500 	Tourney edition, changes?
Ikari III - The Rescue		ikari3		ikari3nr   	Joystick hack
Ikari Warriors			ikari		ikarijpb   	Joystick hack
Joust				joust		joustr   	Pterodactyl scoring bug
King of Fighters 2005 Anniv	kof2002		kf2k5uni	Anniversary edition, changed graphics, music, characters
Land Maker			landmakr	landmakrp	English translation
Main Event			mainevt		mainevt2p  	2 player version
Major Havoc			mhavoc		mhavocrv	Return to Vax hack, easier then original, extra levels, minor play changes
Marvel Vs. Capcom: COSH		mvsc		mvscj		Japanese version gives you an extra character
Ms. Pac Man			mspacman	mspacmnf   	Speedup hack
NBA Maximum Hangtime		nbahangt	nbamht1		Updated roster, minor play changes
Night Slasher			nslasher	nslasherj	Japanese version is uncensored - red blood and some different and extended scenes
Pacman				puckman		pacman 		Original pacman game
Pacman				puckman		pacmanf  	Speedup hack
Peggle				peggle		pegglet   	Trackball version
Pirate Pete			junglek		piratpet	Pirate-based version of Jungle Hunt
Qix II Tournament		qix		qix2		Enhanced version with different colors and bonus features
Rampart				rampart		rampart2p   	Joystick version
Robocop 2			robocop2	robocop2j	Japanese version has extra playable into level and extra scene at the end
Salamander (Lifeforce)		salamand	lifefrcej	Enhanced US version (lifefrce) and listed Japanese version have new graphics and improved gameplay
Shadow Warriors (Ninja Gaiden)	shadoww		gaiden		US (gaiden) and Japan (ryukendn) versions have different music and fighting/difficulty diffs
Simpsons			simpsons	simpsons2p   	2 player version
Snow Bros. 3 - Magical  Adv	snowbros	snowbros3	Third in the series, seems to be a clone of the first game
Sunset Riders			ssriders	ssridersubc   	2 player version
Super Bubble Bobble		bublbobl 	sboblboa 	Super Bubble Bobble, minor changes
Street Fighter II: Hyper Fight	sf2hf		sf2hfj		Turbo version incorporates unofficial hacks and is supposed to be the best in the series
Tempest Tubes			tempest		temptube   	Version of Tempest with different shapes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	tmnt		tmnt2po   	2 player version
Undercover Cops			uccops		uccopsar	Alpha Renewal version has better graphics and additional character moves
Vendetta			vendetta	vendetta2p   	2 player version.  Also Asian versions have bikers and dogs that grab, hump, and lick the player...
Zerowing			zerowing	zerowing2   	2 player version instead of 1

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Yeah same here, I will surely make use of this list. I always wanted a comprehensive list like this one, but it was just too much work for me to actually do it.

So props for you for having all this work and taking it till the end, not an easy task at all.

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Nice work, scott! Here's one that I came across when I was doing the theme for it: Undercover Cops. The parent rom is uccops, but the "better" rom is uccopsar - Undercover Cops Alpha Renewal (or uccopsj if you know Japanese). The graphics are better and there are a lot of additional character moves, namely "off-the-ground" hits, dashing hits, dashing jump hits, throws, and "combo-finish" hits. If you're interested, here's an article about the game: http://www.blamethecontrolpad.com/undercovercops/undercovercops.htm

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Galaxian has 18 clones so it's difficult to choose the best one but i would say Galaxian Part X (galapx) or Galaxian Turbo (galturbo) are much better then original. They are faster and have faster rate of fire which makes totally different game, not so slow as galaxian.

Also scotjen this list is very small so you don't need attachments - just put it in the first post and update first post as something new appears.

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Theres another decent sized thread here on this exact topic, I'll see if i can find it.

Here are a couple threads with discussions about clones:

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1937

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4672

Also scotjen this list is very small so you don't need attachments - just put it in the first post and update first post as something new appears.

He does if he wants to keep the formatting of his text looking nicely. Forums tend to throw formatting off.

Other options would be pastebin.com or a google doc spreadsheet.

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He does if he wants to keep the formatting of his text looking nicely. Forums tend to throw formatting off.

Other options would be pastebin.com or a google doc spreadsheet.

Game				Parent		Clone		Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace Attack			ace (orig game)	aceattack 	Actually a Volleyball game, clone of Ace Attacker? (no parent)
Cabal				cabal		cabalus		Trackball version
Captain America Avengers	captaven	captavenu 	US version, not really that different
Combat School			combatsc	combatsct   	Trackball version
Cyberball			cyberbal	cyberbal2p   	2 player version
D. D. Crew			ddcrew		ddcrew2		2 player version
Defend the Terra Attack		redufo		exodus   	Slightly improved graphics
DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou		ddp3		ddp3blk		Black label edition is more playable and allows continues
Donkey Kong II			dkong 		dkongx11 	Donkey Kong 2 hack, new levels etc
Eliminator (4 players)		elim2		elim4		4 player mode, only 4 player vector game ever made
Galaga				galaga		galagamf  	Fast shoot
Gauntlet II			gaunt2		gaunt22p  	2 player version
Gauntlet			gauntlet	gauntlet2p  	2 player version
Gigas				gigandes	gigasb   	Actually a breakout game, clone of gigas? (not listed as parent)
Golden Tee 2000 Tournament	gt2k (regular)	gt2kt500 	Tourney edition, changes?
Ikari III - The Rescue		ikari3		ikari3nr   	Joystick hack
Ikari Warriors			ikari		ikarijpb   	Joystick hack
Joust				joust		joustr   	Pterodactyl scoring bug
King of Fighters 2005 Anniv	kof2002		kf2k5uni	Anniversary edition, changed graphics, music, characters
Main Event			mainevt		mainevt2p  	2 player version
Major Havoc			mhavoc		mhavocrv	Return to Vax hack, easier then original, extra levels, minor play changes
Ms. Pac Man			mspacman	mspacmnf   	Speedup hack
NBA Maximum Hangtime		nbahangt	nbamht1		Updated roster, minor play changes
Pacman				puckman		pacman 		Original pacman game
Pacman				puckman		pacmanf  	Speedup hack
Peggle				peggle		pegglet   	Trackball version
Pirate Pete			junglek		piratpet	Pirate-based version of Jungle Hunt
Qix II Tournament		qix		qix2		Enhanced version with different colors and bonus features
Rampart				rampart		rampart2p   	Joystick version
Simpsons			simpsons	simpsons2p   	2 player version
Snow Bros. 3 - Magical  Adv	snowbros	snowbros3	Third in the series, seems to be a clone of the first game
Sunset Riders			ssriders	ssridersubc   	2 player version
Super Bubble Bobble		bublbobl 	sboblboa 	Super Bubble Bobble, minor changes
Tempest Tubes			tempest		temptube   	Version of Tempest with different shapes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	tmnt		tmnt2po   	2 player version
Vendetta			vendetta	vendetta2p   	2 player version
Zerowing			zerowing	zerowing2   	2 player version instead of 1

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Galaxian has 18 clones so it's difficult to choose the best one but i would say Galaxian Part X (galapx) or Galaxian Turbo (galturbo) are much better then original. They are faster and have faster rate of fire which makes totally different game, not so slow as galaxian.

I can already see modified themes for popular clones like this one. Rondar at my suggestion tweaked up zyyzyyxx or whatever it's called to what it originally was called which is Brix but listed as the clone. Very cool list, thanks for putting it together, very nice indeed.

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Thanks guys for the appreciation, makes my 2 1/2 passes through the entire mame list worthwhile... :)

Thanks BBB for the links to the other thread, I updated my list with some information I found there as well as everything else you guys mentioned here.

As for the numerous Galaxian, Galaga, Pacman, Street Fighter, etc. clones, there are just so many with minor changes that unless you are a huge fan of the game and play them all a fair amount to compare the main version is probably enough. That's why I didn't include any of those in the list. I can play Galaga until I fall asleep, and other than the obvious shooting hack that I've heard about (but haven't yet tried) I don't think slightly different graphics or a different board set will make enough different to matter. But again, huge fans of the game may want to add in several of those clones to play.

And yes, I originally had this in a spreadsheet and when I tried to post excel files weren't allowed, so I dumped into a text file and posted that because the formatting got screwed up otherwise. I'll try to edit my first post and put my list into the format I saw a few posts up, then it can be maintained going forward.

EDIT: Figured out the Code thing, worked great, updated list is now in the first post and I'll check back periodically and update with any new information.

Thanks!

Scott

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How can I get my favorite game (MS Pac-MAN Clones 'mspacmanf') to show up in my wheel with duplicated art from the other ms pac-man? I would in fact prefer to have the default ms pac-man replaced with 'MSPACMANF'

thanks for any help

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Be sure to select the option for clones using parent wheels/themes in HyperHQ.

If you don't have a mspacmanf entry in your wheel already you'll need to add it to your MAME.xml file. Look for it under Hyperspin-->Databases-->MAME.xml. Open it with a text editor and dupe the original pacman entry changing the name to mspacmanf.

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How can I get my favorite game (MS Pac-MAN Clones 'mspacmanf') to show up in my wheel with duplicated art from the other ms pac-man? I would in fact prefer to have the default ms pac-man replaced with 'MSPACMANF'

thanks for any help

Or just name the theme mspacmanf and it will load up with that one. If I recall this is the speed up version correct? That one was in the arcades just as much, I asked Rondar to create a special wheel image for that one so if you want to have regular Ms. Pac Man and Speed Up you can have them both as I do. Check the mame wheel thread for the image or PM me your email address and I'll email it to you.

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Thanks MrX_Cuci, I'll check that thread out and make additions to my list where applicable.

Funny, I've had Mame since 1997 I think, played with it on and off, but only recently started getting serious about getting a cabinet and trying to get everything updated and organized. I searched on other forums for info on clones and asked some questions, didn't find much, so did the work myself. Never even thought to post or look here, since I thought it would be more geared toward the front end, artwork, and related questions. Between you and BBB pointing the way, I realize now I should have checked here first!!!

Thanks again for the info, look forward to diving into HS and putting all of this information to use, I'll be sure to check the forum on any setup or config questions I have before I post questions.

Scott

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you got the time you could check the trivia section from this site. http://www.arcadehits.net/datObase/index.php Just type in the parent roms name and it will pop-up a lot of information about the different versions that exist. Those trivia's can also be found in the history.dat file.

Examples

Rambo 3:

The US version is slightly different, it has the 'Winners Don't Use Drugs' screen.

The game has a different ending depending if you play the American or European version.

Ghost 'n Goblins:

The Japanese versions, unlike all other versions, use a cross instead of a shield.

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  • 1 month later...

hello guys, please can someone help me find the ancestors for the roms MameUI32 .141

I'm having trouble finding. and complete my collection ... need of the king of figthers original Street Fighter and also ....

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