That's true too, Matt. Certainly even with a crazy setup like mine, with arcade controls, arcade monitor, arcade cabinet, etc., I can only approximate the experience of each of the games that I play. It's not necessarily better or worse, but even with all the accuracy thanks to MAME, having the right settings and authentic-style hardware, it's most definitely NOT the same. The only thing that's the same is the actual, original machine; only then will you be playing the game EXACTLY as intended. It's as simple as that.

I've also heard and can relate to many stories like the one you told Matt of your younger days and playing certain games first at home, then later at the arcades or through MAME. Sometimes the innacurate port is the better game or can even taint you in favor of one over the other (what you play first often has the most impact, just like with first systems!). People mention that all the time; a popular example are the NES versions of the Ninja Gaiden games, very different, and many prefer the NES game over the arcade, same with Tecmo Bowl on NES versus arcade, but there are countless examples across all videogame and computer systems spanning several eras. By standard definitions, Ninja Gaiden and Tecmo Bowl are complete failures as ports on the NES of the arcade originals, but that doesn't change their implementations as great games all to themselves. Go figure, but I believe it supports the "stand-alone" argument quite well.

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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
[ My collection ]
[ http://www.MythCore.com ]