History SugarWiki / BetterThanCanon

* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: It offers an alternative to an AudienceAlienatingEnding, giving the original story a more fitting and satisfying conclusion.

** Gorr in this story is based upon []Film/ThorLoveAndThunder his MCU counterpart]], whose character many viewers felt was wasted due to the film's (and by extension, the MCU's) brand of childish humor clashing with the danger he posed. Here, he's instead treated as a genuine threat that is taken seriously by all those around him, something readers considered a great improvement over the source material.

** Given how Gorr is based upon his MCU counterpart, which everyone felt it got wasted with the Marvel bland of childish humor, a genuine threat that is taken seriously by all those around him, readers consider it a greater improvement over the material he is based upon.

* ''Fanfic/CodePrimeR1Rebellion'': Virtually all reviews for this story indicate that they prefer this story's version of [[spoiler:the SAZ Massacre]] over its canon counterpart, for various reasons: [[spoiler:better foreshadowing, sparing Euphie, and the massacre being planned instead of a DiabolusExMachina]].

* ''Fanfic/BlackCanyons'': Reviewers of ''A Child's Innocence'' (a rewrite of ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'') have commented that the story is much better than the movie the fanfic was based on.

* ''Fanfic/Season8Redo'': The fic is universally agreed to be above-and-beyond superior to the [[Series/That70sShow original show]] for its handling of the eighth season, due to {{Retcon}}ning [[PutOnABus Eric and Kelso leaving Point Place]], ensuring [[FanPreferredCouple Hyde and Jackie]] don't split up, [[TheBusCameBack bringing back characters for multiple reappearances]] ([[AscendedExtra with some ascending to the main cast]]), and writing out [[TheScrappy the most hated]] [[CreatorsPet individual]] from the show. Readers have often suggested tanith75 may have been a screenwriter for the show.

* ''WebVideo/FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorksAbridged'': Fans have had positive ractions about this show's ability to draw more explicit parallels and plot continuations from ''LightNovel/FateZero'' in ways the original UBW anime failed to do.

* ''ARG/TheNoedoleckinArchives'': Many who viewed the ARG for the first time view this as better than the "[=noedolekciN=]" or "backwards Nickelodeon" trend, due to each hijacking being part of an overarching, coherent story with a noticeable antagonist instead of a one-off anomaly.

* The ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' hacks ''[[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/992/ Mega Man 3 Improvement]]'' and ''[[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4773/ Revamped]]'' fix a lot of the game's issues and even provide an original intro cutscene, leading fans to consider them the definitive version. ''Improvement'' mostly just smooths out the [[ObviousBeta rough edges]], while ''Revamped'' changes a lot of the stages, including the [[DisappointingLastLevel previously-underwhelming]] fortress stages, to be more fun, and also rebalances some of the bosses.

** ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'': The ''[[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/992/ Mega Man 3 Improvement]]'' and ''[[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4773/ Revamped]]'' [[RomHack rom hacks]] fix a lot of the game's issues and even provide an original intro cutscene, leading fans to consider them the definitive version.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'': Because most of the Unova Pokémon are considered to be passe, some fans feel that {{Game Mod}}s that expand the games' Pokédex in a similar manner to ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', most famously ''Pokémon Blaze Black'' and ''Pokémon Volt White'', help make the games more enjoyable and draw attention away from the "outdated" Pokédex to emphasize the games' strengths.

** The series fixes the DarkIsNotEvil Aesop, which is extremely [[BrokenAesop broken]] in the games. In the games, pretty much all problems were caused by darkness, examples of pure light (the Princesses of Heart, Ventus) are purely good and the closest examples of LightIsNotGood are Eraqus, whose BlackAndWhiteMorality was justified multiple times, and the Master of Masters, who is so [[AmbiguouslyEvil ambiguous]] no one can say where his allegiances lie. Here, light does cause problems, courtesy of Xemnas, who is a heart of pure light, and the games' examples of hearts of pure light now also have darkness in their hearts, to emphasize better that light and darkness are a balance that must be kept at all times, and evil is caused by upsetting the balance in favor of either light or darkness (as I said before, Xemnas is a heart of pure light, and he's just as bad, if not [[AdaptationalVillainy worse]] than in the games). In fact, the problems caused by the Heartless can be pinned on the light, since the Heartless are merely trying to fight back against the tyranny of light that oppressed and tortured them.

Finally, what outraged nearly everyone is that Xehanort was retconned in the last minute of his life into a WellIntentionedExtremist and got no comeuppance to his atrocities, including [[spoiler: killing Kairi right before the retcon]]. In Crypto's series, only Ansem and Xemnas needed comeuppance, comeuppance which they get, and Xehanort himself is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds FallenHero.

** ''Mega Man: The Sequel Wars'' is a homebrew for the Sega Genesis as a homage and fan sequel to the rather contested ''VideoGame/MegaManTheWilyWars''. Intent on remaking ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan4 4]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan5 5]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan6 6]]'', it expands on the formula that ''Wily Wars'' left behind but with oodles of more authenticity to the original NES releases, more features and quality-of-life, [[PromotedToPlayable playable Proto Man and Roll]] with their unique features (like Proto Man's shield, or Roll's broom), two soundtracks between an intentionally ''Wily Wars''-styled set and a wholly rearranged Genesis hardware set, and countless visual touch-ups, flourishes and details -- most of which you can opt to toggle off if, again, you want it more like ''Wily Wars''. And all of this on top of a Weapon Master mode that lets you use weapons of all 3 games freely regardless of the title, or intended EX Mode levels in later updates to totally redo levels from the ground-up with more challenges and new combat twists, or even the intended CoOpMultiplayer. With ''Episode Red'''s release showcasing all of ''Mega Man 4'', the three playable characters and the Weapon Master mode, it's set to be one of the definitive ways to play some of the more [[ContestedSequel contested entries]] in the Classic series.

** ''Mega Man: The Sequel Wars'' is a homebrew for the Sega Genesis as a homage and fan sequel to the rather contested ''[[CompilationRerelease Mega Man: The Wily Wars]]''. Intent on remaking ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan4 4]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan5 5]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan6 6]]'', it expands on the formula that ''Wily Wars'' left behind but with oodles of more authenticity to the original NES releases, more features and quality-of-life, [[PromotedToPlayable playable Proto Man and Roll]] with their unique features (like Proto Man's shield, or Roll's broom), two soundtracks between an intentionally ''Wily Wars''-styled set and a wholly rearranged Genesis hardware set, and countless visual touch-ups, flourishes and details -- most of which you can opt to toggle off if, again, you want it more like ''Wily Wars''. And all of this on top of a Weapon Master mode that lets you use weapons of all 3 games freely regardless of the title, or intended EX Mode levels in later updates to totally redo levels from the ground-up with more challenges and new combat twists, or even the intended CoOpMultiplayer. With ''Episode Red'''s release showcasing all of ''Mega Man 4'', the three playable characters and the Weapon Master mode, it's set to be one of the definitive ways to play some of the more [[ContestedSequel contested entries]] in the Classic series.

* Franchise/StreetFighter:

** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' got a rather infamous if not ambitious PortingDisaster for ''Alpha 2'' to the Super Nintendo, between audio problems and a tinny soundtrack, stiff controls and the infamous LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading in every match. Turns out that this was due to a coding error for that last part, and with an MSU-1 music patch you can not only fix the loading issues entirely, but also replace the soundtrack entirely with arranged or arcade music in full. While it doesn't fix some of the other issues with the port, it does help highlight that it's ''extraordinarily authentic'' to an absurd degree for a fairly underpowered system by comparison to the CPS-2 arcade hardware.
* Franchise/SuperMarioBros:

** In the original series, Nappa only appeared in the Saiyan Saga and was mostly forgotten about, however TFS gave the character a MASSIVE boost in popularity due to his AdaptationalPersonalityChange from a brutish oaf of a warrior into a completely idiotic {{Manchild}} whose lines are [[FountainOfMemes absolutely hilarious.]] [[spoiler: He proved to be so popular that TFS even [[SparedByTheAdaptation brought him back from the dead in this series!]]]]

* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'': After [[spoiler:the Zarc Duel]] became one of the most criticized in the franchise, a good number of people seem to have chosen a [[https://youtu.be/QUMPJ3c2Fis fan-scripted duel]] where the other protagonists faced off against him as an alternative - partly for [[WhoWouldWin the obvious reason]], and partly for featuring the clever plays, back-and-forth pacing, and climactic finish that the original was seen as lacking.

* ''Fanfic/TheKiritaChronicles.: Between more extensive backstories for the characters along with more thorough character development and an impressive amount of interesting original characters, several traits of this fic have been regarded as better than the official story upon which it is based. For example, the OneSceneWonder character of Argo from the canon series has become an AscendedExtra with far more influence on the plot and quickly rose to EnsembleDarkhorse and BreakoutCharacter status.

* ''Fanfic/KamenRiderZeroONeEdgeOfDawn'': Or rather ''fanon'' in this case. While a majority of readers were skeptical and cautious of the story since it featured {{Original Character}}s instead of the canon Kamen Riders, the story has been met with praise so far for avoiding the typical trap falls and failings of other Kamen Rider crossover stories. In particular, some praise has been given to this fanfic's characterization of [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1833080/ KR Duelist]]'s OC Kurogasa Kururugi, who became something of a MemeticMutation among the fanbase for his constant {{Angst}} in some of KR Duelist's stories prior to him deleting all of his fanfics.

* Fanfic/GundamSeedDestinyAltered'': Essentially the purpose of this FixFic is to create a version of the original story that is better than the series, while hewing as closely as possible to the broad strokes of the original narrative.

* Many people have found the changes in ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'' to be a massive improvement over the original. One the big improvements is the characterization; in the original, protagonist Kirito is often critized for being "too bland" and is often described as an "Overpowered Gary Stu", while his abridged self undergoes a character arc about overcoming his {{Jerkass}}ery and becoming a stronger person, and the death of Sachi actually affects him [[ForgottenFallenFriend beyond the story she appears in]]. For another example, Asuna also goes from "badass fighter who undergoes {{Chickification}}" to continuing to be feisty and unstable, and her relationship with Kirito feels more natural. Another frequent criticism of the original is a lack of understanding as to how a game actually works and using it as more of a setting backdrop (the author outright admitted to not being much of a gamer), while this series makes the in-universe game more like an actual game and ties it to real gaming culture, using it to satirize practices like "[[ChristmasRushed crunch time]]". Finally, it fixes some of the AssPull moments; for example, Asuna somehow ''breaking out of admin paralysis'' through HeroicWillpower is far more believable when the game is extensively established as a [[ObviousBeta hopelessly broken mess]].

* Many people have found the changes in ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'' to be a massive improvement over the original. One the big improvements is the characterization; in the original, protagonist Kirito is often critized for being "too bland" and is often described as an "Overpowered Gary Stu", while his abridged self undergoes a character arc about overcoming his {{Jerkass}}ery and becoming a stronger person, and the death of Sachi actually affects him [[ForgottenFallenFriend beyond the story she appears in]]. For another example, Asuna also goes from "badass fighter who undergoes {{Chickification}}" to badass fighter who continues being her feisty and unstable self, and her relationship with Kirito feels more natural. Another frequent criticism of the original is a lack of understanding as to how a game actually works and using it as more of a setting backdrop (the author outright admitted to not being much of a gamer), while this series makes the in-universe game more like an actual game and ties it to real gaming culture, using it to satirize practices like "[[ChristmasRushed crunch time]]".

* ''VideoGame/RidgesideVillage'': One of the most common praises this mod gets is how the new romanceables keep a detailed schedule even after getting married, which makes them much more immersive than the ones from the base game.

* ''VideoGame/RidgesideVillage'': One of the most common praises this mod gets is how the new romanceables keep a detailed schedule even after getting married, which makes them much more immersive than the ones from the base game.

* ''VideoGame/StardewValleyExpanded'': Most players who have installed this mod generally agree that it greatly expands upon the world of ''Stardew Valley'' in such a way that it makes them feel as if they're experiencing it for the first time again. Also many players who [[RootingForTheEmpire preferred to side with Joja]] but lamented that it didn't have any significant impact in the story greatly praise this mod's expansion of the Joja route.

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16778747930.43312500 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.