- 13/07/2025
Put some respect on the first Saints Row.
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00:00Now, as we've mentioned on a previous list, the success of a video game is destined to spawn
00:04a slew of imitators. Doom gave birth to an avalanche of first-person shooters. Every fighter
00:09in some part owes their existence to Street Fighter and Dark Souls. Well, that's responsible
00:14for a new genre of gaming, which is just crying and rage quitting. And that's what we had to
00:19talk about today. As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 more shameless
00:23video game rip-offs that were actually great. 10. Simpsons Hit and Run Grand Theft Auto 3
00:29Since The Simpsons is a titan IP, it's no surprise that Matt Groening's cartoon has birthed a myriad
00:35of video games. But even when The Simpsons was in its prime, most of the games ranged from,
00:39well, okay, to utterly terrible. I mean, Simpsons Wrestling, ooh. Now, although it sounded odd to
00:45create a Simpsons title inspired by the hyper-violent Grand Theft Auto franchise, The Simpsons Hit and
00:50Run, well, it turned out bloody great. Like Ubisoft's South Park games, the creators worked directly with
00:56The Simpsons as its writers to ensure that Hit and Run invoke the spirit of the show. The town of
01:01Springfield is so vast and detailed that players feel like they're in a Simpsons episode. Of course,
01:07none of this would matter if the gameplay wasn't up to scratch. Though Radical Entertainment bungled
01:11the driving mechanics in The Simpsons Road Rage game, they worked out most of the bugs this time
01:15around. Although you still get odd glitching here and there, it's not enough to ruin the gaming
01:19experience. And if it does, we can always blame bloody Flanders. It may not give GTA a full run for its
01:24money, but Simpsons lovers were more than satisfied by what they got. Thanks to Hit and Run, fans of
01:29the iconic TV series can finally say that they have a Simpsons game that they truly, truly love.
01:359. Guitar Hero, Guitar Freaks
01:37Now, Rock Band got a bit of stick upon releasing for copying Guitar Hero, despite the fact that both
01:43series were actually made by the same company. Also, it's Guitar Hero that really should be labeled
01:47a riff-off, since it plagiarized Konami's Guitar Freaks, which was released six years earlier. Red Octane and
01:53Harmonix didn't just steal the concept, but actually specific aspects of the game, including the
01:58guitar-shaped controller, the colored plastic buttons, the style point system, and the scrolling
02:02fretboard. However, it's understandable how Guitar Hero blew its predecessor out of the water.
02:07Harmonix's rhythm game put more focus on visuals, fine-tuned the mechanics to perfection,
02:12and made the core gameplay accessible to even the most tone-deaf of gamers. Most importantly,
02:17Guitar Hero had songs from the biggest rock bands in the world, giving it a huge amount of brand
02:21recognition. With gamers being able to play music from Metallica, Nirvana, Queen, the Red Hot Chili
02:25Peppers, and many other rock legends in their own living room, it's easy to see why Guitar Hero
02:30went on to earn a monumental $2 billion. Props to Konami for coming up with the idea, but there's
02:36no question who did it better. 8. Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Kart
02:40Now, Mario Kart's copycats started cropping up almost immediately after the Italian plumber took to
02:45the track. Over the years, companies have churned out their own imitators, including Crash Team Racing,
02:50Disney Speedstorm, and a gaggle of Sonic Racing titles. However, one of the best Mario Kart clones
02:56also happens to be amongst the earliest, Diddy Kong Racing. As can be expected from a rare title,
03:01this cutesy racer has creative levels, sharp controls, accessible gameplay, and catchy tunes.
03:07But Diddy Kong Racing is more than just a reskin. Rather than just driving karts, Diddy and his
03:11friends can take to the skies in planes or zoom through the ocean in hovercrafts. Each vehicle
03:16works very differently and gives the gameplay a great sense of diversity. Rather than collecting
03:21randomized items on each race, the power-ups are color-coded, each offering a specific item,
03:26and repeatedly picking up the same power-up upgrades the item, forcing drivers to heavily rely
03:30on strategy in each race. Also, don't let the adorable aesthetic fool you, Diddy Kong Racing is
03:36tough as nails, offering a real challenge to anyone. Although the multiplayer pales in comparison
03:41to Mario Kart, the single player, well that is phenomenal. Due to the elaborate hub world,
03:46dozens of races, rock-hard boss battles, imaginative challenges, secret levels, and
03:50the Grand Prix mode, it's hard to think of many racing titles that put this much effort
03:55into their main campaign as this gem did. 7. Streets of Rage Final Fight
04:00Now at a glance, it's obvious that Sega used Capcom's Final Fight as a canvas for their own
04:05beat-em-up, Streets of Rage. Not only does S.O.R. have the same look, structure, and enemies,
04:10the protagonist's wardrobe is pretty much identical to Final Fight's Cody, down to the same bloody
04:14blue wristbands. But since Streets of Rage had more varied attacks, a balanced combat system,
04:19and Yuzo Koshiro's head-bopping soundtrack, Sega's brawler was clearly the superior of the two.
04:24Also, Streets of Rage's heroes can summon a rocket-launching cock to kill all enemies on
04:28screen. I mean, how is Final Fight meant to compete with that? And when Streets of Rage 2 was
04:32hailed as one of the best games on the Mega Drive, it wasn't long before Final Fight was perceived
04:36as the poor imitation. And Capcom kept pushing, churning out multiple sequels, but sadly,
04:41none of these follow-ups made much of an impact. And I mean, let's be honest,
04:45did you even know that Final Fight had sequels until now? And with the success of 2020's Streets
04:49of Rage 4, the series has continued to maintain relevancy even after four decades. Final Fight,
04:55on the other hand, has become kind of a forgotten relic of the past.
04:586. Dino Crisis Resident Evil
05:01I mean, can Dino Crisis be classified as a clone of Resident Evil considering both properties were
05:06made by the same company and director? Well, since the Jurassic title is often dubbed Resident Evil
05:11with dinosaurs, calling it a rip-off is kind of understandable. Be that as it may, Dino Crisis is
05:17anything but a cheap doppelganger. Rather than dealing with plodding zombies, our red-headed
05:22heroine is up against lightning-fast velociraptors and screen-filling T-Rexes, forcing players to
05:27constantly think on their feet. And since ammo is incredibly limited, strategy is critical,
05:32forcing our heroine to stun or trap the primeval creatures rather than blasting everything in
05:36sight. And rather than churning out more of the same, Dino Crisis 2 is far more action-oriented,
05:42and offers more diverse gameplay, including first-person boss battles and an elaborate
05:46underwater section. The gameplay of the sequel is more dynamic, since points are rewarded for
05:51killing enemies in rapid succession, and these points can then be used to buy and upgrade gear,
05:56and this concept was actually later implemented into Resident Evil itself. Dino Crisis 3, on the
06:00other hand, may be utter trash, but the first two installments deserve far more credit than they've
06:04ever received. 5. Proteus Doom
06:08After Doom redefined first-person shooters during the 1990s, many games in the genre were referred to
06:14as Doom clones. And this is kind of unfair, since plenty of FPSs of that era stood on their own
06:19merits, including Quake and Duke Nukem. With that said, Proteus is totally a Doom clone,
06:24bouncing boxes shooter boasts the same structure, style, pixelated art, enemies, and weapons as
06:29Doom, to the point where this crowdfunded title feels kind of like a spin-off. Rather than trying
06:34to dress itself up as something different, Proteus never shies away from where it drew its inspiration.
06:39However, Proteus is an absolute triumph, boasting well-designed levels, addictive gameplay,
06:44challenging enemies, and creative trial modes. It also offers an easy-to-use level editor,
06:48allowing players to devise their own hellish landscapes from scratch. And as hard as it is to believe,
06:53Proteus is actually superior to the original Doom in some ways. While getting lost as a regular
06:59problem in id Software's iconic IP, Proteus solves that issue by programming demons to spawn
07:04near the next destination. If the player doesn't know where to go, they can follow the enemies like
07:08breadcrumbs in order to reach their goal. I mean, how come Doom has never thought of that? Also,
07:12the creators can be commended for making the 3D characters resemble 2D to maintain the feel of a
07:17retro shooter. Even though it would have been just dramatically easier to make 3D enemies look,
07:22well, 3D, the developers stuck to their guns. And that is proof that Proteus isn't just an
07:26imitation, but a pure passion project.
07:294. Metal Slug Contra
07:31So Metal Slug is a run-and-gun side-scroller where players must blast through a wave of enemies and
07:36colossal bosses, using myriad creative weapons, explosives, and tank-like vehicles. Although the
07:41developers incorporated elements from their previous work, Gun Force and In The Hunt,
07:45it's clear Metal Slug stole most of its ideas from Contra. And the sequels actually threw in
07:49aliens just to make that comparison more apparent. However, there are enough differences in this
07:54bullet-held shooter to justify its existence. The beautiful hand-drawn animations are stellar,
07:59especially the creative death sequences. The three-button control system makes the gameplay
08:03accessible to anyone, and although Contra has baddies coming from all angles, it kind of feels
08:07tame compared to Metal Slug, with enemies pouring onto the screen every second. Rather than receiving
08:12heavy weapons at random intervals, the heroes are rewarded for rescuing prisoners, putting more
08:17focus on strategy. Since powerhouse weapons have limited ammo, this further incentivizes players
08:22to rescue prisoners so they can maximize their arsenal. On top of that, Metal Slug is just downright
08:27hilarious. While shooting at mummies, robots, and giant enemy crabs, players are sure to be giggling
08:32to themselves due to the tongue-in-cheek humor.
08:353. Minecraft InfiniMiner
08:37So Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies, making it the most successful video game by a
08:43pretty significant margin. So it's safe to say that Mojang's blocky title has done pretty well
08:48for itself. And this is all the more impressive, considering that Minecraft's premise was mined
08:52from another source. In Zach Bath's InfiniMiner, players had to travel around a procedurally generated
08:57map to mine for materials. Despite coming up with the concept, Bath didn't see the project's
09:01potential. Though InfiniMiner focuses on teams racing against each other to find precious
09:05material, players were far more interested in building elaborate structures with their findings.
09:10After Swedish programmer Marcus Pearson played InfiniMiner, he believed that the game would
09:14benefit if the building mechanics had more variation. Two years later, he created his own
09:18version of InfiniMiner, which became Minecraft. Now there's no question the pixelated sandbox game
09:24is derivative. I mean, it was literally built from the same art and code as Bath's work. However,
09:28this cube-oriented title was leagues ahead of the game, that it actually spawned from even in its
09:33original state. With Minecraft boasting more features than ever nowadays, it's clear why
09:37this is still going strong after a decade. Number 2. Saints Row Grand Theft Auto 3
09:42Now don't worry, Saints Row made it onto the list this time. Comparisons between Grand Theft Auto 3
09:47and Volition's sandbox title were guaranteed since Saints Row copied, well, pretty much everything from
09:52Rockstar's biggest IP. Even though the first two installments received decent reviews, it looked like
09:57Saints Row might struggle as a franchise, since it didn't do much to distinguish itself from GTA.
10:01Thankfully, that all changed with Saints Row 3. Hoping to carve out a distinctive identity for
10:07itself, the sequel's developers threw in over-the-top violence, cartoonish gameplay, slapstick humour
10:12and wink-to-the-camera gags. Rather than taking place in a realistic setting, the later installments
10:17had the protagonist becoming president of the United States, journeying to hell and fighting off an alien
10:21empire. It may have started as a shameless rip-off, but Saints Row truly began to thrive when it moved out of
10:26GTA's shadow. Sure, Grand Theft Auto is still the top dog in the sandbox genre, but does it have a
10:32demonic dance number, shark guns or wrestling legend Rowdy Roddy Piper re-enacting his iconic
10:37fight scene from They Live? No, and therefore I rest my case.
10:41Number 1. Castlevania Symphony of the Night Metroid
10:44Now, Metroidvania is a sub-genre of platforming games that centre around non-linear exploration in
10:49an interconnected world. Although certain sections are initially inaccessible, they can be unlocked when
10:54key items are obtained. Now, the term Metroidvania is an obvious portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania,
11:00despite the fact these two franchises started off drastically different. Save for Castlevania 2,
11:05the vampire-hunting saga was a pretty formulaic platformer for the first decade. For Castlevania Symphony
11:10of the Night, though, Konami decided to focus more on exploration, inspiring them to utilise the same
11:15non-linear structure that Metroid was renowned for. However, the developers went above and beyond to ensure
11:20that this PS1 title didn't come across as a mere imitation. Symphony implemented role-playing
11:25elements, including experience points, upgradable weapons, and stat boosting. It also put a huge
11:30emphasis on elaborate secrets, with the second half of the game sealed away until players actually
11:34figured out how to get to it. Although Symphony was well-received, nobody could grasp how significant
11:39this genre shift would be. Not only did future Castlevania installments continue with this new style,
11:44it unintentionally popularized the Metroidvania genre. With the benefit of hindsight,
11:48Symphony has been lavished with further praise, since it indirectly led to the creation of many
11:53great Metroidvanias, including Ori, Bloodstained, Dead Cells, and Hollow Knight. Even though rip-offs
11:58are considered lazy, it's apparent that Symphony of the Night did something right,
12:02since it fittingly spawned its own legion of rip-offs.
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