15 Worst Video Game Ripoffs Ever Made
PocketEpiphany
Published
01/13/2021
in
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The video game industry resembles the film industry more each day. You can see it in the endless array of gaming sequels, prequels, and spinoffs. And every now and then, you can see it in a ripoff.
Just like some movies are ripping off a better film, there are many games that are thinly-veiled copies of better titles. Here are the worst video game ripoffs ever made. Seriously, they're so bad these people should be banned from gaming forever.
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1.
youtubeStreet Fighter: The Movie (ripping off Mortal Kombat) The early history of fighting games is pretty incestuous. Developers were always trying to find the next big thing, and they weren’t afraid to rip each other off, which leads us to Street Fighter: The Movie. There are many reasons this game is bad, starting with the fact that it's based on an awful film. But the attempt to use digital sprites of real people for the game was clearly ripping off Mortal Kombat, the main competing franchise, and it wasn’t pretty. -
2.
apk pureClassic Robo War (ripping off Mega Man) The classic Mega Man games have inspired many imitations and homages over the years. However, it doesn’t get more openly awful than Classic Robo War. You might think the main character is Mega Man because they look exactly alike. But the game developers hilariously named him Robot instead. Then again, if they were all that original, they wouldn’t be making such a ripoff in the first place. -
3.
steamSuper Noah’s Ark 3D (ripping off Wolfenstein 3D) If you can’t be a good game, be a memorable game. That seemed to be the philosophy behind Super Noah’s Ark 3D, which is one of the most insane ripoffs ever made. The developers ripped off the Nazi-slaying Wolfenstein 3D franchise for their bland Christian game. You play as Noah running around and knocking animals out with your slingshot. Ultimately, everything is bad here: the premise, the gameplay, and the graphics. -
4.
youtubeFinal Combat (ripping off Team Fortress 2) The wild success of Team Fortress 2 has inspired many great games, including Blizzard’s Overwatch. But it’s also inspired some crazy ripoffs, including Final Combat. Final Combat has graphics, gameplay, and even character classes that are basically dollar store versions of Team Fortress 2. And considering the latter game is now free to play, you’re much better sticking with the real thing. -
5.
cg mag onlineDante’s Inferno (ripping off God of War) Ever sit in English class and wish there was a video game about what you were reading? Good job, nerd. That’s how we get awful games like Dante’s Inferno. The game is a transparent ripoff of the God of War franchise, and it actually released before God of War III in an attempt to compete with that (much, much better) game. Ultimately, we got the worst of both worlds. This game is terrible at copying God of War and even worse at adapting its source material. -
6.
polygonPlaystation All-Stars Battle Royale (ripping off Super Smash Bros.) The formula for Super Smash Bros. is so simple that it was inevitable someone would rip it off. Who doesn’t want to see their favorite characters duke it out? That was the logic that led to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. And the gameplay isn’t half bad, but the worst thing about this game is the crappy roster of characters. For every famous face like Dante or Kratos, there was a forgettable character like Fat Princess or Colonel Radec. As it turns out, you need Nintendo’s crazy roster of characters to make that brawler formula work. -
7.
gazette reviewTrue Crime: Streets of LA (ripping off Grand Theft Auto III) True Crime: Streets of LA is one of the best games on this list, and one of the better PS2 games ever made. But it’s still a ripoff of Grand Theft Auto III. The pitch for True Crime was almost certainly, “What if you were playing as a cop in GTA instead of a criminal?” The final product is actually pretty fun for GTA 3 fans, though you’d ultimately be better off checking out the Saints Row series instead. -
8.
youtubeSword Requiem (ripping off Fire Emblem) The Fire Emblem series has many great characters. Just ask Nintendo, who can’t keep adding these guys to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While you’re talking to them, maybe warn them about the awful Fire Emblem ripoff Sword Requiem. The maps, characters, and gameplay are all hollow clones of the Fire Emblem franchise. As always, you are far better off skipping this ripoff and playing the original. -
9.
game fabriqueSimpsons: Road Rage (ripping off Crazy Taxi) Ever see a ripoff so obvious it nearly went to court? Well, that’s what happened with the Simpsons: Road Rage video game. This game copied Crazy Taxi so blatantly that Sega ended up suing the developers. They settled matters out of court, but anyone familiar with Crazy Taxi can see what a hollow copy this game is. And let’s be real. Which Simpsons fans wanted these characters in a crappy driving game anyway? -
10.
youtubeGarfield Kart (ripping off Mario Kart) If you actually buy Garfield Kart, we’ve got a serious warning. Your life is about to be nothing but Mondays, pal. In all seriousness, this game is like someone tried to code Mario Kart from memory and then threw the Garfield characters in there. It’s not the worst racing game you’ll ever play, but you’ll constantly wish you were playing Mario Kart instead. -
11.
game skinnySepia Go (ripping off Splatoon) You know the meme about copying another student’s homework, and the first student tells the second to change enough so that it looks different? Well, the makers of Sepia Go never got that memo. Sepia Go is just a crappy smartphone version of Splatoon. The character design and gameplay is just a pale imitation of Nintendo’s classic game. We recommend sticking with Splatoon 2 and calling it a day. -
12.
nintendoFighter’s History (ripping off Street Fighter 2) If you asked your mom for Street Fighter 2 and she said you had it at home, that game would actually be Fighter’s History. This game is a transparent ripoff of Street Fighter 2, from the graphics to the gameplay and sound effects. Except everything is significantly worse. The only way to get a worse Street Fighter experience is to go play Street Fighter: The Movie. -
13.
igdbThe Great Giana Sisters (ripping off Super Mario Bros.) Some of these ripoffs are more blatant than others. And it doesn’t get much more brazen than The Great Giana Sisters. The whole thing is just a crappy re-skin of Super Mario Bros. Incredibly, Nintendo allowed the ripoff to be released for the DS in 2011. It’s wild to think the makers of this game got to make money while Nintendo went hog wild chasing down free fan games for the last decade. -
14.
Another Bound (Ripping Off Metroid Prime) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBcSjUyD1g Look, we get it: the Metroid Prime franchise is amazing, and we’d kill for another game. But that doesn’t mean someone should just rip-off the formula. Sadly, that’s what happened with Another Bound. And while the maker of this game stole the formula, they lack Nintendo’s skill with level design, character design, and graphics. The result is a game that is worse than bad: it is simply forgettable, through and through. -
15.
youtubeDuLuDubi Star (ripping off Super Mario Galaxy) Even by the standards of the franchise, Super Mario Galaxy was an awesome experience. It was inevitable that it would get ripped off eventually, and that’s what happened with DuLuDubi Star. The characters in this game look like Spaceballs stunt doubles of different Mario characters. And the graphics for this ripoff of a Wii U game don’t even reach the level of an N64 game. Even for a smartphone game, this ripoff comes across as ugly and boring. -
16.
youtubeAnother Bound (ripping off Metroid Prime) The Metroid Prime franchise is amazing, and we’d kill for another game. But that doesn’t mean someone should just rip off the formula. Sadly, that’s what happened with Another Bound. While the maker of this game stole the formula, they lack Nintendo’s skills with level design, character design, and graphics. The result is a game that's worse than bad. It's simply forgettable, through and through.
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