History PortingDisaster / Handhelds

* The Game Boy Color version of ''VideoGame/CannonFodder'' suffered from the system's technical limits; it's not very easy to manage a squad with only two buttons and a 160x144 pixel screen. It's really only notable for its impressive [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKjTCSikTus opening intro]].

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' on the Game Boy fell had the same problems that the first game had. It was as choppy animation-wise and prone to slowdown as the first game. The combo system translates poorly on the Game Boy due to lag and hardware limitations. It's particularly infurating how after ''II'' translated well on the Game Boy, they went backwards with this port.

** The game has music which sounded like a cheap MIDI version of the original (already synthesized!) music in the Genesis version, a high degree of ScreenCrunch and horrible physics, but the most notable problem was frequent ''slowdown''... in a ''Sonic'' game... ported to a system that's actually ''more'' powerful than the original. The porting team based the port on an earlier UsefulNotes/{{Java}} [[MobilePhoneGame mobile port]] (itself a PortingDisaster in its own right), leading to [[GoodBadBugs hilarious glitches ensuing]]. A good MusicalSlapstickMontage of some blatant glitches is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Lr2jKe1Bg here]].

* The port of ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'' on ''Mega Man Legacy Collection'' suffers from major performance issues such as slowdown and frame skipping when compared to the other games of the collection, or its UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole release on the same platform for that matter. Oddly enough, ''Rockman 5'', the Japanese version [[note]]the 3DS version of the collection includes the original Japanese versions of each of the games, which can be played instead of the English versions instead[[/note]], doesn't exhibit this problem.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}: HD Edition'' is a {{Downplayed}} case. It is still perfectly playable and does quite look great on the PS Vita. However, the framerate is often reduced to 30fps as opposed to the [=60fps=] on the [=PS2=] version.

* ''VideoGame/{{Syberia}}'' was butchered in its conversion to Symbian and Windows phones, with a lot of explanatory text removed that reduced several puzzles to {{Moon Logic|Puzzle}}. This bad port was then ported to the Nintendo DS.

'''A Administrivia/{{No Recent Examples|please}} rule applies to this trope'''. Examples shouldn't be added until '''six months''' after the ported program is released, to avoid any knee-jerk reactions.

* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' had an absolute train wreck of a GBA port. A huge chunk of sprite animations are cut from the game, the physics are broken, the ray gun and helicopter head sound effects are replaced with muffled-sounding ones, the music sounds like distorted versions of the SNES version's music, the A button is used as the fire button and B is the jump button and it is impossible to change, the graphics are messy, and the remaining sound effects from the original are distorted and their pitch is changed. It's outclassed in almost every way by the 8-bit UsefulNotes/GameBoy and UsefulNotes/GameGear ports (both consoles that are orders of magnitude less powerful than the GBA), which is just pathetic.

* ''VideoGame/MidnightClub'' had a downright atrocious GBA port, also handled by Rebellion. The game was a straight port of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version, but the problems don't stop: The music is ear bleedingly terrible, the voices sound strangely high-pitched, the AI is ridiculously simple and worse yet, there's no in-game map. The only good points are the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM2It3WbXGk title screen theme]] and the graphics.

* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore3'', ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCoreSilentLine Silent Line]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCoreLastRaven Last Raven]]'' were ported to the PSP. While the first two ports are neither clean-cut disasters nor PolishedPort (having halved framerate, downgraded graphics and clunkier controls, but throwing in extra content and quality-of-life improvements to compensate), ''Last Raven Portable'' is widely seen as belonging to the "disaster" end of the spectrum. The original [=PS2=] version was deliberately designed as a NintendoHard game for people who had mastered the previous games, and unlike the previous two games ported, used modern-dual analog aiming controls so the reduced number of buttons on the PSP is felt that much more. That can be mitigated by playing the game on a UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita or any emulation device that can remap the controls to a more comfortable scheme, but what ''can't'' be mitigated is the fact that for whatever reason, your lockboxes are half the size they were on [=PS2=]. And as a final kick in the balls, Ultimate Zinaida, already notorious as [[ThatOneBoss one of the most unfair and difficult fights in the entire series]], was made even harder in this version.

* When ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive Xtreme 2'' was ported from UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} to the PSP, it was generally understood that the graphics would be less impressive in the transition from console to handheld. Less acceptable were the increased loading times, the absence of any form of multiplayer, the removal of most of the new mini-games (including jet ski racing, water slide, and tug-of-war), or the over-simplification of the volleyball mini-game.

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Rebirth'': The New 3DS port is full of lag and glitches not found in other versions. Updates only made the game more unstable, with one meant to fix game freezes resulting in a ludicrous amount of crashing. To add insult to injury, the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita port of the same game (released almost a year prior) is a near-perfect adaptation of the original without any content cut or sprites redrawn - all of that without requiring an enhanced, more expensive model of the console.

* ''Asphalt Injection'' is ''another'' port of ''Asphalt'' 6 (geez!) released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita as a launch title, and while it isn't as broken as ''Asphalt 3D'', it doesn't fare much better. The graphics are pleasant to look at, but it suffers from FakeDifficulty thanks to horribly botched collision detection (it is almost impossible to wreck if you glide onto the walls), and the police AI fare just as bad as in ''3D''. The racer AI doesn't even try to take you down, making the "Under Pressure" mode seem and feel pointless (in that mode you have to survive while the AI racers are supposed to wreck you, even though they don't). While IGN gave it an acceptable 6/10, EGM gave it a savage 3/10, citing how pointless ''Injection'' really was, and that there was no need for yet another port.

* The ''[[VideoGame/JakAndDaxter Jak and Daxter Trilogy]]'' is a compilation of the three Jak and Daxter games originally on the UsefulNotes/Playstation2. They were ported from the HD Collection on the [=PS3=] to the Vita. That's great if you're okay with bugs, extremely poor framerates for most of the gameplay (which can often go into single digits) and sound glitches. An even bigger slap in the face is that the first Jak and Daxter ran well. The second and third game, however, are unplayable.

* ''VideoGame/{{ModNation Racers}}'''': Road Trip'' is missing the online multiplayer mode found in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 version of the game despite being a port of that version, which was a reason some people did not buy the game. Loading times have been increased, the frame rate is lower making the game slow down especially in the later tracks in the championship mode which runs at half speed, and slightly convoluted controls for creation modes. Black shadow lines will appear randomly on tracks, if you add a tunnel to a track in Track Studio all tunnels for the rest of the session will be covered up by terrain visually, and a prop found in the Advanced Props Pack [[note]]Originally called the Progressive Parts Pack on the [=PS3=] version, as it had the Progressive insurance company branding which is removed in Road Trip.[[/note]] is rotated 90 degrees on tracks created on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, messing up tracks that used that prop especially if it was used as a fence in the track.
* While most of the gameplay and content was kept intact, ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' on the Vita suffered from [[https://youtu.be/GYBhag0oj1U severe graphical downgrade]] - not only failing to live up to the relative visual fidelity the handheld was known for at the time but also barely competing with some of the past-gen ''UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable'' fighters.
* ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFullFrontalAssault Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault]]'' was a title that featured Cross-Buy, meaning that if you bought the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 version you'd get the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita version for no additional cost. It's a great deal...aside from the fact that the Vita port released half a year later with connection problems, framerate issues, and entire colors straight-up ''missing''. Sony tried to make up for this by giving people who bought ''Full Frontal Assault'' free copies of ''[[VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked Ratchet: Deadlocked HD]]'', a much worse Porting Disaster.

* The original releases[[note]]from 2007-2013[[/note]] of the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Mega Drive/Genesis]] versions of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Sonic 1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]]'' on the [=iPhone=]. The original [=iPhone=]'s hardware may well have been plodding for a modern smartphone, but it still had a 400MHz CPU and 128MB of RAM versus the Megadrive's 7.6MHz CPU and 64''KB'' of RAM. Yet both ''Sonic 1'' and ''Sonic 2'' were awful, stuttery messes compared to the originals despite running on vastly superior hardware. This was due to the use of emulation. In 2013, Creator/{{Sega}} commissioned [[PromotedFanboy Christian "Taxman" Whitehead and Simon "Stealth" Thomley]] to develop new mobile ports using Whitehead's Retro Engine, the same used in the digital version of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'' - these ports have smooth framerates, perfect audio and the ability to play as Tails and Knuckles. [[spoiler:And in ''Sonic 2'', a fully-playable version of the infamous [[DummiedOut Hidden Palace Zone]].]]

* The UsefulNotes/GameGear version of ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' bogs the gameplay down with awkward, stiff controls, poorly redrawn graphics, and a crummy, bleepy version of the original soundtrack, and is missing every cutscene and several levels (everything between Volkmire's Inferno and Clinger Winger is gone). The ending is [[AWinnerIsYou brief and unsatisfying]] even compared to other versions of the game. This is especially disappointing when you realize the [[Creator/ArcSystemWorks same developers]] were responsible for the Genesis version, which is considered a highly PolishedPort in spite of a few cuts and tweaks.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog28Bit'' for the UsefulNotes/GameGear, ported from the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, is a game that is infamous for frustrating a generation of young Sonic fans. The game looks fine and controls decently enough, but what kills the game is the level design; the levels were obviously designed with the Master System's full screen in mind. Other ''Sonic'' games on Game Gear actually took the reduced screen size into account and adjusted the levels accordingly. ''Sonic 2'' didn't even bother, so [[ScreenCrunch levels that were already fairly difficult on Master System were made flat-out obnoxious on Game Gear, with enemy placement and deadly hazards being much more difficult to see and respond to]]. What makes this worse is that the Master System version [[NoExportForYou didn't get a release in America or Japan]].

* ''Sonic N'' for the Nokia UsefulNotes/NGage was a fairly faithful port of the original ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance]]'' in many ways, but still fell badly compared to its predecessor. This was partly due to the N-Gage simply being poorly suited to running this type of game (the vertical aspect ratio of the screen and the weird control layout being the major issues), but the game was also an ObviousBeta on top of that. In addition to the whole game crashing at times, Sonic could actually run off the edge of the screen, often resulting in him dying one way or another. The worst part, however, is the sound, which has been so '''''horribly''''' compressed it sounds like they recorded it straight from the GBA's speaker.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2: HD Edition'' is a {{Downplayed}} case. It is still perfectly playable and does quite look great on the PS Vita. However, the framerate is often reduced to 30fps as opposed to the [=60fps=] on the [=PS2=] version.

* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: The Alien Wars'' is a port of the SNES game ''Contra III'' that lacks the dual-wielding weapon system (admittedly due to the lack of buttons on the Game Boy), several boss characters (including the one-eyed brain at the end), and the entire motorcycle-riding stage. Although it's a bit unfair to expect a Game Boy port of an SNES game to live up to the original, this doesn't excuse the fact that the graphics, sounds and mechanics are all worse than ''Operation C'' (the previous ''Contra'' game released for the Game Boy), with a much slower playing speed to boot. The port was handled by Factor 5 rather than Konami themselves, which may explain some things.

* ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory]]'' for N-Gage & DS qualifies as this. The controls are clunky (in the DS version, you use the radar on second screen to change the view), the frame-rate dips often (especially when you activate the goggles), and the textures and assets are subpar and repetitive.

* [[VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory]] for N-Gage & DS qualifies as this. The controls are clunky (in DS version, you use the radar on second screen to change the view), the frame-rate dips often(especially when you activate the googles), the textures and assets are subpar and repetitive.

* While most of the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games for the DS are SoOkayItsAverage, the port of ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted2'' is regarded by many fans as the worst game in the series. The graphics are pretty terrible even for a DS game, with the cars looking more like painted cardboard boxes than actual vehicles. The gameplay is equally awful, with cars handling like they're driving on ice and racers and cops being even more prone to rubberbanding than in the console versions. To add insult to injury, your reward for getting OneHundredPercentCompletion is just [[AWinnerIsYou a congratulatory message]]. Bizarrely enough, it was actually based on the GBA port (which was pretty decent all things considered) but somehow managed to come out worse despite running on more powerful hardware.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' is one of the better GBA ports ([[BlindIdiotTranslation the hilariously bad translation of the Robot Database aside]]). The screen's understandably smaller, and the sound quality isn't as good (though the soundtrack has also been tweaked a bit, and some people actually prefer the GBA soundtrack over the original Super Famicom one), but one thing that's never been defended is that Bass' dash command has been changed from its own dedicated button to double-tapping left or right, making it more awkward to use.

* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore3'', ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCoreSilentLine Silent Line]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCoreLastRaven Last Raven]]'' were ported to the PSP. While the first two ports are neither clean-cut disasters nor PolishedPort (having halved framerate, downgraded graphics and clunkier controls, but throwing in extra content and quality-of-life improvements to compensate), ''Last Raven Portable'' is widely seen as belonging to the "disaster" end of the spectrum. The original [=PS2=] version was deliberately designed as a NintendoHard game for people who had mastered the previous games, and unlike the previous two games ported, used modern-dual analog aiming controls so the reduced number of buttons on the PSP is felt that much more. That can be compensated by polaying the game on a UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita or any emulation device that can remap the controls to a more comfortable scheme, but what ''can't'' be compensated for is for whatever reason, your lockboxes are half the size they were on [=PS2=]. And as a final kick in the balls, Ultimate Zinaida, already reputed as [[ThatOneBoss one of the most unfair and difficult fight in the entire series]], was made even harder in this version.

* [[VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory]] for N-Gage & DS qualifies as this.
The controls are clunky (in DS version, you use the radar on second screen to change the view), the frame-rate dips often(especially when you activate the googles), the textures and assets are subpar and repetitive.

* [[VideoGame/ChaosTheory]] for N-Gage & DS qualifies as this.

* [[VideoGame/SplinterCell:ChaosTheory]] for N-Gage & DS qualifies as this.

* ''VideoGame/ToyStory'' shared the same layout on consoles and PC (with various design and/or level changes), pre-rendered 3-D graphics, a nicely varied soundtrack, and challenging (but not unbeatable) stages. The Game Boy version, however:
** Was frustratingly slow -- Woody moves and jumps like he's on the moon.
** Had a more grating and repetitive soundtrack.
** Had [[FakeDifficulty awkward hit detection]], particularly when trying to use Woody's pull-string as a weapon or a grappling hook.
** Had some poorly blended graphics. With the original Game Boy's unlit green screen, the gameplay was all the more aggravating due to the complex textures and sprite designs.
** Removed many levels, including all that were outside the "platformer" realm (the overhead racing levels, 3-D maze, etc.) and the boss fights (Nightmare Buzz, regular Buzz Lightyear, and [[ThatOneBoss the notorious Claw]]).

* The UsefulNotes/GameGear version of ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' bogs the gameplay down with awkward, stiff controls, poorly redrawn graphics, and a crummy, bleepy version of the original soundtrack, and is missing every cutscene and most of the levels (everything between Volkmire's Inferno and Clinger Winger is gone). The ending is [[AWinnerIsYou brief and unsatisfying]] even compared to other versions of the game. This is especially disappointing when you realize the [[Creator/ArcSystemWorks same developers]] were responsible for the Genesis version, which is considered a highly PolishedPort in spite of a few cuts and tweaks.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog28Bit'' for the UsefulNotes/GameGear, ported from the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, is a game that is infamous for frustrating a generation of young Sonic fans. The game looks fine and controls decently enough, but what kills the game is the level design; the levels were obviously designed with the Master System's full screen in mind. Other ''Sonic'' games on Game Gear actually took the reduced screen size into account and adjusted the levels accordingly. ''Sonic 2'' didn't even bother, so levels that were already fairly difficult on Master System were made flat-out obnoxious on Game Gear, with enemy placement and deadly hazards being much more difficult to see and respond to. What makes this worse is that the Master System version [[NoExportForYou didn't get a release in America or Japan]]. The ScreenCrunch is so bad that this game is the picture for that page.

* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore3'', ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCoreSilentLine Silent Line]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ArmoredCoreLastRaven Last Raven]]'' were ported to the PSP. While the first two ports are neither clean-cut disasters or PolishedPort (having halved framerate, downgraded graphics and clunkier controls, but throwing in extra content and quality-of-life improvements to compensate), ''Last Raven Portable'' is widely seen as belonging to the "disaster" end of the spectrum. The original [=PS2=] version was deliberately designed as a NintendoHard game for people who had mastered the previous games, and unlike the previous two games ported, used modern-dual analog aiming controls so the reduced number of buttons on the PSP is felt that much more. That can be compensated by polaying the game on a UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita or any emulation device that can remap the controls to a more comfortable scheme, but what ''can't'' be compensated for is for whatever reason, your lockboxes are half the size they were on [=PS2=]. And as a final kick in the balls, Ultimate Zinaida, already reputed as [[ThatOneBoss one of the most unfair and difficult fight in the entire series]], was made even harder in this version.

* A bootleg game developer once tried to port ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' to the handheld system under the generic title ''Super Mario 3 Special'', but had [[EpicFail incredible failures]] in many aspects. Firstly, all songs in the game are really badly arranged. When you boot the game, you're surprised by a ''[[SensoryAbuse really loud]]'' background music, the map "theme" is just a long beeping sound, and then there's the stages. Instead of having a full set of stages, this port only offers five stages, and you don't need to complete one stage to unlock a new stage. You can't jump properly (if you jump while walking, Mario can't control his movements in-air), the Raccoon Leaf is almost useless as ''[[AdaptationalWimp you can't fly with it]]'', the music blocks have no effect, the fourth stage is essentially UnintentionallyUnwinnable, the castle theme [[SoundtrackDissonance is completely unfitting]], and there aren't even bosses [[AWinnerIsYou or a proper ending]] [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/bootleggames/images/7/79/Super_Mario_Special_3_ending.png after finishing the castle]].

* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'' is impressive, especially for the time; it's a whole [=PS2=] game with all the level designs, features and secrets intact, squeezed into a PSP disc. The graphics are downgraded by a fair amount, but the game still looks good and runs fine. Where does it go wrong? The controls are altered due to the PSP having fewer buttons, which makes actions that were already cumbersome on the [=PS2=] even worse; lock-on aiming and the adrenaline boost (two techniques that are ''necessary'' to play the game properly) are much harder to figure out, leading to frustration for new players. However, [[CameraScrew the camera]] is the biggest problem; in a game that demands patience and precision, not being able to see the levels clearly is massively annoying, leading to many blind leaps of faith and trial-and-error gameplay. The long loading times every time you die is just the cherry on top.