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Just curious if this has ever come up? The SMS Ninja Gaiden is a great game in its own right, but I have always wondered if anyone had ever considered trying to use it as a base to build a port of the original NES game for SMS. It would be interesting to see those games with SMS colour palettes and music...both a psg soundtrack and FM alternative.

That would be a very interesting project, no doubt about it, but, in short, realistically, since the SMS and NES archtectures are so different as to make code reuse almost impossible.

Of course that does not mean it cannot be done; just that it would essentially require writing the game from scratch. That is perfectly doable, even fun, but would require the same amount of effort required to make a completely new game.

I think NewHorizon mean using SMS Ninja Gaiden as a base to recreate the Nes ones?

I don't think that would work any better than coding it from scratch. NES Ninja Gaiden is a very special beast with a rather unique feel to the way it controls. The best you could hope to achieve using SMS NG as your base would be something that looks like NES NG superficially but plays nothing like it, much like the disappointing PC-Engine version.

I consider that SMS Ninja Gaiden plays far better than the Nes counterparts (that ones have very nice level design but tough as hell Nes style control).

Oh, I agree with you. I just believe that the NG games have their controls very finely honed to their level design. If you change things, the game as a whole falls apart, as the PCE version teaches us. NES level design wouldn't work well with SMS style controls. (Maybe NG 3 would. That one controls a bit like the SMS game.)

Yes, I was thinking along the lines of using the SMS game as a foundation and re-designing the existing levels to look like those in the NES, reprogram the music as well.

The graphics and controls in the SMS version are pretty darn close to the NES. Not sure how much tweaking could be done to the existing game but it felt close enough to me while playing it recently that I thought it might be doable.

I don't think it would need to be a 1:1 clone but rather recreate the levels, then upgrade some of the graphics and mechanics to play to the SMS strengths. I can imagine the soundtrack on SMS blowing the nes version out of the water if it could be done similarly to the FM soundtrack someone made for Sonic 1 on SMS where the PSG and FM were used simultaneously. It's such a shame Sega didn't build FM into the SMS by default worldwide, I think it really could have given the NES a pounding.

Speaking of 1:1 ports, that port of Super Mario Brothers to the Genesis was pretty amazing. I wish it had been ported over to the SMS as well. The colours on that would have been so vibrant and I think the music would be pretty sweet too. Someone tried a cover of it at one point.

Homebrew projects to port NES games to SMS from the ground are a bit rare. The only big one I know is Megaman II. But it is on hiatus because the creator is busy with his personal life.

You can note the SMS have a small problem to port NES games in 1:1 because the the screen resolution is a bit smaller than the SMS screen.

NTSC NES screen resolution are 256x240.
NTSC SMS screen resolution are 256x192, and the screen lost the left row of tiles in horizontal scrolling stages.

Buttons are not a problem, because SMS games can be set to use the Genesis / Mega Drive controller. But if the idea is to use the original SMS controller, the player can make use of the second pad to two extra buttons. Both Wonderboy in Monster World and The Dragon's Trap use the buttons of the second controller to pause de game without the need to stand up and press Pause on the console.

One game I would love to see a port for the SMS is TMNT: The Arcade Game. I think a SMS version could bring all the content of the NES, and restore somethings from the Arcade.

Another game could be interesting is Battletoads, but there's a GG version, who can give us an idea. The GG version can even be converted to a SMS game, but with the 2 Players option missing...

Are there any SMS rom editing programs one could use?

They are completely different hardware. One could not just edit an existing ROM.
To create a port, it would have to be completely reprogrammed from scratch.

KingMike wrote

They are completely different hardware. One could not just edit an existing ROM.
To create a port, it would have to be completely reprogrammed from scratch.

Sorry for missing your response. Yes, I realize they are different hardware. What I was asking is if there is any SMS rom editing software to allow someone to open up the SMS Ninja Gaiden and begin reworking the levels, etc, into something like the NES levels?

Author	Message
NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Anyone ever attempt a Ninja Gaiden NES to SMS port? Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:27 pm
NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Just curious if this has ever come up? The SMS Ninja Gaiden is a great game in its own right, but I have always wondered if anyone had ever considered trying to use it as a base to build a port of the original NES game for SMS. It would be interesting to see those games with SMS colour palettes and music...both a psg soundtrack and FM alternative.

haroldoop Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 583 Location: Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil	Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:41 pm
	That would be a very interesting project, no doubt about it, but, in short, realistically, since the SMS and NES archtectures are so different as to make code reuse almost impossible. Of course that does not mean it cannot be done; just that it would essentially require writing the game from scratch. That is perfectly doable, even fun, but would require the same amount of effort required to make a completely new game.

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 656 Location: Spain	Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:20 am
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 656 Location: Spain	I think NewHorizon mean using SMS Ninja Gaiden as a base to recreate the Nes ones?

Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 572	Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:00 am
Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 572	I don't think that would work any better than coding it from scratch. NES Ninja Gaiden is a very special beast with a rather unique feel to the way it controls. The best you could hope to achieve using SMS NG as your base would be something that looks like NES NG superficially but plays nothing like it, much like the disappointing PC-Engine version.

kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 656 Location: Spain	Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:11 am
kusfo Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 656 Location: Spain	I consider that SMS Ninja Gaiden plays far better than the Nes counterparts (that ones have very nice level design but tough as hell Nes style control).

Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 572	Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:26 am
Kagesan Joined: 01 Feb 2014 Posts: 572	Oh, I agree with you. I just believe that the NG games have their controls very finely honed to their level design. If you change things, the game as a whole falls apart, as the PCE version teaches us. NES level design wouldn't work well with SMS style controls. (Maybe NG 3 would. That one controls a bit like the SMS game.)

NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:32 pm
NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Yes, I was thinking along the lines of using the SMS game as a foundation and re-designing the existing levels to look like those in the NES, reprogram the music as well. The graphics and controls in the SMS version are pretty darn close to the NES. Not sure how much tweaking could be done to the existing game but it felt close enough to me while playing it recently that I thought it might be doable. I don't think it would need to be a 1:1 clone but rather recreate the levels, then upgrade some of the graphics and mechanics to play to the SMS strengths. I can imagine the soundtrack on SMS blowing the nes version out of the water if it could be done similarly to the FM soundtrack someone made for Sonic 1 on SMS where the PSG and FM were used simultaneously. It's such a shame Sega didn't build FM into the SMS by default worldwide, I think it really could have given the NES a pounding. Speaking of 1:1 ports, that port of Super Mario Brothers to the Genesis was pretty amazing. I wish it had been ported over to the SMS as well. The colours on that would have been so vibrant and I think the music would be pretty sweet too. Someone tried a cover of it at one point.

rouken Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 230 Location: Aracruz - ES, Brazil	Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:52 pm
	Homebrew projects to port NES games to SMS from the ground are a bit rare. The only big one I know is Megaman II. But it is on hiatus because the creator is busy with his personal life. You can note the SMS have a small problem to port NES games in 1:1 because the the screen resolution is a bit smaller than the SMS screen. NTSC NES screen resolution are 256x240. NTSC SMS screen resolution are 256x192, and the screen lost the left row of tiles in horizontal scrolling stages. Buttons are not a problem, because SMS games can be set to use the Genesis / Mega Drive controller. But if the idea is to use the original SMS controller, the player can make use of the second pad to two extra buttons. Both Wonderboy in Monster World and The Dragon's Trap use the buttons of the second controller to pause de game without the need to stand up and press Pause on the console. One game I would love to see a port for the SMS is TMNT: The Arcade Game. I think a SMS version could bring all the content of the NES, and restore somethings from the Arcade. Another game could be interesting is Battletoads, but there's a GG version, who can give us an idea. The GG version can even be converted to a SMS game, but with the 2 Players option missing...

NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 11:52 pm
NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Are there any SMS rom editing programs one could use?

KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 366	Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:31 am
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 366	They are completely different hardware. One could not just edit an existing ROM. To create a port, it would have to be completely reprogrammed from scratch.

NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:54 pm
NewHorizon Joined: 30 Nov 2017 Posts: 5	KingMike wrote They are completely different hardware. One could not just edit an existing ROM. To create a port, it would have to be completely reprogrammed from scratch. Sorry for missing your response. Yes, I realize they are different hardware. What I was asking is if there is any SMS rom editing software to allow someone to open up the SMS Ninja Gaiden and begin reworking the levels, etc, into something like the NES levels?

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