Ports of Entry: Rare

Unknown lead platform:

 

Battletoads / Double Dragon

First released for NES in June 1993

Released for SNES in October 1993

Released for Gameboy in December 1993 

Released for Genesis in September 1994

In what would be an otherwise perfectly straightforward Ports of Entry list, where every single other game by Rare was unambiguously developed for one platform, Battletoads / Double Dragon is the one aberration. If I hadn't played its various versions, I'd assume NES-centric development based on the release date, the reuse of NES sprites from previous games (with unimpressive 16-bit upgrades to their respective versions), and a plethora of 8-bit technical wizardry, including pseudo-3D scrolling effects, which are mundane on 16-bit consoles. On top of that, the NES version also features faster, more fluid gameplay than the SNES, better hit detection, and it looks more colorful (the later Genesis version is more similar to NES than SNES in these regards).

But there are some inconsistencies. For one, the music sounds correct on SNES, and nowhere else. The SNES version also feels incomplete compared to other versions - it has less dialog between-levels, is almost completely missing the intro cut-scene, and the soundtrack has fewer songs (even if it is overall much higher quality). These things make it feel like the NES version had more development time, even if it came out earlier.

My best theory is that NES was the base platform, but SNES conversion started off an early and incomplete NES build without music or its final cutscenes. And that Wise composed the SNES soundtrack first before converting to NES. Further developments on NES did not work their way back into the SNES port, but the later Genesis port used NES as a base.

Select chronology: 

Ultimate Play the Game era

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Dingo	Arcade	1983
Jetpac	ZX Spectrum	1983-5	1984 ports to BBC Micro & VIC-20
Lunar Jetman	ZX Spectrum	1983-11
Atic Atac	ZX Spectrum	1983-12
Sabre Wulf	ZX Spectrum	1984-5	Same-year port to BBC Micro 1985 ports to Amstrad CPC & C64
Knight Lore	ZX Spectrum	1984-12	1985 ports to Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, & MSX
Alien 8	ZX Spectrum	1985-2	Same-year ports to Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, & MSX

 

NES era

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Wizards & Warriors	NES	1987-12
R.C. Pro-Am	NES	1988-2	Same-year port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system
WWF Wrestlemania	NES	1989-2
Cobra Triangle	NES	1989-7
Who Framed Roger Rabbit	NES	1989-9
The Amazing Spider-Man	Game Boy	1990-7
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship	NES	1990-9	1991 port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system
A Nightmare on Elm Street	NES	1990-10
Captain Skyhawk	NES	1990	Same-year port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system
Snake Rattle N Roll	NES	1990
Battletoads	NES	1991-6
Super R.C. Pro-Am	Game Boy	1991-10
Battletoads	Game Boy	1991-11

 

SNES era

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Battletoads / Double Dragon	???	1993-6	Same-year releases on NES, SNES, & Gameboy 1994 release on Genesis
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs	SNES	1993-6
Killer Instinct	Arcade	1994-10	1995 ports to Gameboy & SNES
Donkey Kong Country	SNES	11/1/1994
Donkey Kong Land	Game Boy	1995-6
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest	SNES	11/21/1995
Killer Instinct 2	Arcade	1996-1
Donkey Kong Land 2	Game Boy	1996-9
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!	SNES	11/1/1996

 

N64 era

Title	Lead platform	Date
Killer Instinct Gold	Nintendo 64	1996-11
Blast Corps	Nintendo 64	3/21/1997
GoldenEye 007	Nintendo 64	8/23/1997
Diddy Kong Racing	Nintendo 64	10/31/1997
Donkey Kong Land III	Game Boy	1997-10
Banjo-Kazooie	Nintendo 64	5/31/1998
Jet Force Gemini	Nintendo 64	10/12/1999
Donkey Kong 64	Nintendo 64	11/22/1999
Perfect Dark	Nintendo 64	5/22/2000
Perfect Dark	Game Boy Color	2000-8
Banjo-Tooie	Nintendo 64	11/20/2000
Conker's Bad Fur Day	Nintendo 64	3/5/2001

 

6th gen

Title	Lead platform	Date
Star Fox Adventures	GameCube	9/24/2002
Grabbed by the Ghoulies	Xbox	10/21/2003
Conker: Live & Reloaded	Xbox	6/21/2005

Xbox 360 era

Title	Date	Contemporary ports
Perfect Dark Zero	11/22/2005
Kameo: Elements of Power	11/22/2005
Viva Piñata	11/9/2006	2007 port to PC