History SugarWiki / BetterThanCanon

* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'': Many die-hard fans of the game have sworn off the later re-releases of the game by [=NiCALiS=] due to the controversaries surrounding the publisher, abandoning support the PC and Mac versions of the game while rubbing salt on the wound by later releasing an enhanced Switch port, scrutiny towards the official localization versus the beloved Aeon Genesis fan translation, and the publisher taking down fan-made ports of the game such as [=CSE2=] with DMCA strikes. Despite the takedown of [=CSE2=], fans have created other ports of the game such as [[https://github.com/nxengine/nxengine-evo NXEngine-evo]], which offer many modern enhancements such as widescreen support, visual enhancements, and updated controller support among other features. There is also [[https://sketchy.work/agtpp/ AGTP+]], a modpack that not only refines the Aeon Genesis fan translation, it also offers an optional "Classic+" tileset that replaces the HD remastered graphics with slightly touched up versions of the original graphics and compatibility with the [[https://forum.cavestory.org/threads/cave-story-with-a-fourth-ending.3832/ 4th Ending mod]].

* The Overlord Abridged series made by the [[https://www.youtube.com/@NUMBSKULLS NUMBSKULLS]] team does such an impressive job of improving the original characterizations that a good deal of people have grown to like this variation of Overlord more than the vanilla variation, for various reasons such as making Ainz a better character than he is shown to be in the original for instance. Unfortunately, much like the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged series before it, the Overlord Abridged series has been plagued by various strikes/episode takedowns, but they're still dedicated on continuing their series however they can and their work clearly shows solid dedication.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiZXoPVDV6fqa7ZC9Oyy9QLJOy5rhCnTq Overlord Abridged]] series made by the NUMBSKULLS team does such an impressive job of improving the original characterizations that a good deal of people have grown to like this variation of Overlord more than the vanilla variation, for various reasons such as making Ainz a better character than he is shown to be in the original for instance. Unfortunately, much like the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged series before it, the Overlord Abridged series has been plagued by various strikes/episode takedowns, but they're still dedicated on continuing their series however they can and their work clearly shows solid dedication.

* ''VideoGame/{{beatmania}}'': Be-Music Source is a file format for ''beatmania'' and ''beatmania IIDX'' simulators, with two of the most popular ones being ''Lunatic Rave 2'' and ''Beatoraja''. While many players will use this structure to simply play copyrighted ''beatmania'' songs for free, there's also many musicians who produce songs specifically for these simulators, ''[=LR2=]'' in particular. In addition, ''[=LR2=]'' and ''Beatoraja'' feature many quality-of-life features not included in the official games. This ended up spawning an ''entire genre'' of music known as BMS music, produced typically ''for free'' as part of annual song contests with songs, charts, and even videos with production values rivaling that of corporate-budget music videos. In fact, a lot of modern-day musicians who produce specifically for music games got their start making music for BMS contests. If not for ''[=LR2=]'' and the BMS community, modern rhythm games as many know them would probably not ''exist''.

* ''Music/LullabyForAPrincess:

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'': While the 2011 remaster by Christian Whitehead is considered to be the definitive version of the game, ''[[https://gamebanana.com/mods/50089 Sonic CD Restored]]'' is a fangame based off the mobile decompilation of the Christian Whitehead remaster that restores many features from original Sega CD version while retaining its enhancements, adds the option to use the original concepts for the time travel mechanics, improves on the [=FMVs=] from newer higher quality sources with the Japanese songs restored, and after an update, adds Amy as a playable character with her own unique abilities (a double jump which makes exploration more interesting). There's also ''[[https://gamebanana.com/mods/288122 Sonic CD & Knuckles]]'' which goes for a ''Sonic 3 A.I.R.'' treatment for ''Sonic CD'' that adds more music to the game, the ability to customize the game's features in various ways (from the gameplay, visuals, and the soundtrack selection), and adds Knuckles to the roster instead.

* ''VideoGame/{{beatmania}}'': Be-Music Source is a file format for ''beatmania'' and ''beatmania IIDX'' simulators, with two of the most popular ones being ''Lunatic Rave 2'' and ''Beatoraja''. While many players will use this structure to simply play copyrighted ''beatmania'' songs for free, there's also many musicians who produce songs specifically for these simulators, ''[=LR2=]'' in particular. In addition, ''[=LR2=]'' and ''Beatoraja'' feature many quality-of-life features not included in the official games. This ended up spawning an ''entire genre'' of music known as BMS music, produced typically ''for free'' as part of annual song contests with songs, charts, and even videos with production values rivaling that of corporate-budget music videos. In fact, a lot of modern-day musicians who produce specifically for music games got their start making music for BMS contests.

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'': While the games are generally well-received, many hardcore ''Castlevania'' fans despise the art direction change for ''Dawn of Sorrow'', going from the realistic and gothic artstyle by Ayami Kojima in [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow the previous game]] to an anime artstyle which also carried over for ''Portrait of Ruin''[='=]s art direction. A couple of modders worked together to create [[https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=22445.0 Castlevania: Choir of Redemption]], a pair of ROM hacks called ''Dawn of Dignity'' and ''Portrait of Elegance'' that replaces the anime-styled character portraits with redrawn ones in the style of Ayami Kojima's art for their respective games. A majority of the games' fans consider these ROM hacks a vast improvement over the default anime-styled portraits.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaFighter''': Fan feedback suggests it's better than ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaJudgment''.

* ''Fanfic/MyDeepestDarkestSecret'': Those who read the story consider the story superior compared to the [[Webcomic/DarkMoonTheBloodAltar canon materials]] (up to readers wanting the author to be hired to handle the canon), probably because 1) it actually focused on one of the vampires, 2) the main couple's overall chemistry, development and relationship was written better and more romantic, 3) the drama for stuff unexplored in canon (ex: Solon's identity crisis over his [[VampiricWerewolf heritage]] and fear of his brothers discovering it) has been considered to be engaging and well-written, and 4) [[BaseBreakingCharacter not-so beloved character Sooha]] was barely mentioned.

* ''Fanfic/MyDeepestDarkestSecret'': Those who read the story consider the story superior compared to the [[Webcomic/DarkMoonTheBloodAltar canon materials]] (up to readers wanting the author to be hired to handle the canon), probably because 1) it actually focused on one of the vampires, 2) the main couple's overall chemistry, development and relationship was written better and more romantic, 3) the drama for stuff unexplored in canon (ex: Solon's identity crisis over his [[VampiricWerewolf heritage]] and fear of his brothers discovering it) and 4) [[BaseBreakingCharacter not-so beloved character Sooha]] was barely mentioned.

* ''[[Fanfic/MyDeepestDarkestSecret 𝕸𝖞 𝕯𝖊𝖊𝖕𝖊𝖘𝖙, 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝕾𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖙]]'': Those who read the story consider the story superior compared to the [[Webcomic/DarkMoonTheBloodAltar canon materials]] (up to readers wanting the author to be hired to handle the canon), probably because 1) it actually focused on one of the vampires, 2) the main couple's overall chemistry, development and relationship was written better and more romantic, 3) all the drama was so good that it kept readers wanting more and 4) [[BaseBreakingCharacter not-so beloved character Sooha]] was barely mentioned.

* ''Fanfic/MyDeepestDarkestSecret'': Those who read the story consider the story superior compared to the [[Webcomic/DarkMoonTheBloodAltar canon materials]] (up to readers wanting the author to be hired to handle the canon), probably because 1) it actually focused on one of the vampires, 2) the main couple's overall chemistry, development and relationship was written better and more romantic, 3) all the drama was so good that it kept readers wanting more and 4) [[BaseBreakingCharacter not-so beloved character Sooha]] was barely mentioned.

* ''VIdeoGame/TheNewOrderTheLastDaysOfEurope'': Many people in the fanbase consider TNO to be far superior to the vanilla version of ''[[VideoGame/HeartsOfIron Hearts of Iron IV]]'', in no small part due to its sheer depth and quality of storytelling. This is certainly helped by the fact that many individual country paths have more events and focuses than entire countries in the base game.

** 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), resulting in the in-universe games containing baffling design decisions[[note]]As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXCo-InnpU explained]] by WebVideo/MothersBasement[[/note]] that would make a real MMO far less fun than portrayed, while this series makes the in-universe game more like an actual game and ties it to real gaming culture, using the design flaws to portray the games as [[ObviousBeta horribly designed and buggy]] and satirizing practices like "[[ChristmasRushed crunch time]]" [[along with making the whole reason behind the [[MostDangerousVideoGame "Players dying when their Avatars die"]] of the setting being the result of a GameBreakingBug that Kayaba in a fit of ExhaustionInducedIdiocy accidentally created; and him trapping the gamers inside as both a case of IMeantToDoThat and to use the playerbase as hostages against the cops until he could find a way out of this SnowballLie he created.]]

** 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), resulting in the in-universe games containing baffling design decisions[[note]]As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXCo-InnpU explained]] by WebVideo/MothersBasement[[/note]] that would make a real MMO far less fun than portrayed, while this series makes the in-universe game more like an actual game and ties it to real gaming culture, using the design flaws to portray the games as [[ObviousBeta horribly designed and buggy]] and satirizing practices like "[[ChristmasRushed crunch time]]".

* ''WebOriginal/BashBots'': A lot of fans consider the series better than ''Series/BattleBots'' due to its judging system allowing non-spinners a better chance to win, not to mention the arena becoming bigger in season 4 compared to Battlebots adding the shelf.

** ''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.

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

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIINewThreatMod'': The mod aims to be a PolishedPort of the vanilla game. Therefore, it restores unused content, adds new scenes and cutscenes, improves the translation to clarify the plot, rebalances the stats, makes enemies and bosses more challenging, adds AntiFrustrationFeatures, adds an alternate scenario inspired by the events of the ''Remake'', and [[spoiler:proposes an alternate version of the second half of the game in which Aerith lives]].

*** ''[[https://www.moddb.com/mods/doom-3-enhanced-edition Doom 3: Enhanced Edition]]'' is another mod that aims to enhance the core experience of the original game with bugfixes, quality-of-life improvements, and rebalancing the game's weapons and enemy AI, and it is also compatible with ''Doom 3 Redux'' and the ''Doom 3'' port of The Lost Mission.

*** ''Doom 3: Redux'' mod has been promoted as a proper (albeit fanmade) remaster of the game as it improves on many aspects of the game and enhances the visuals making the audio logs for the game similar to ones from the ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' series without altering the original gameplay. It also has a patch that makes it compatible with ''Resurrection of Evil''.
*** ''Doom 3: Enhanced Edition'' is another mod that aims to enhance the core experience of the original game with bugfixes, quality-of-life improvements, and rebalancing the game's weapons and enemy AI, and it is also compatible with ''Doom 3 Redux'' and the ''Doom 3'' port of The Lost Mission.
*** The ''[=D3HDP=] - [=DooM=] 3 Essential HD Pack'' is a graphics overhaul that faithfully enhances the game's graphics compared to ''BFG Edition''. It features AI upscaled textures while compiling other fan-favorite texture packs such as the Monoxead and Wulfen ones, modernized effects from Sikkmod, updated models for the characters, monsters, and weapons, and it is also compatible with the above mods and others.
*** ''Perfected Doom 3'' adds a host of new weapon and gameplay modifications that makes Doomguy feel more like the OneManArmy that they were in the classic ''Doom'' games.
*** ''Overthinked Doom 3'' amps up the game's SurvivalHorror elements. You can still build an absurd collection of weapons, but the amount of ammo you can hold for them has been cut down to a more realistic amount, and the machine gun and plasma gun both have their magazine capacity reduced to 30 rounds, and OneBulletClips is no longer in effect -- if you reload before your magazine is empty, you lose whatever ammo is in the discarded magazine. Enemies are smarter and tougher, making combat a more tactical affair. On the flipside, some of the weapons get buffed compared to the vanilla game -- the shotgun has a much tighter spread, for example, making it much more versatile than its vanilla counterpart.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'': The ''Zero Project'' ROM hack for the SNES has been considered a huge improvement over the original game. On top of fixing Zero's role as a playable character and improving his abilities, it also adds many quality-of-life tweaks such as the cross-over charge shot for X's buster upgrade being easier to use, interchangeable Chip upgrades, Heart Tanks are shared between both characters, the password system being replaced with a contemporary save system, and a NewGamePlus feature.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'': The ''X5 Improvement Project Addendum'' mod features many quality-of-life improvements for ''X5'', such adding the option to turn off the reviled interruptions by Alia, restores the missing Japanese voice clips, altered title screen art, and original Maverick names into the Western release, implements many gameplay tweaks and rebalancing (e.g. X and Zero can keep their respective character bonuses, both characters share Life and Weapon Ups, parts can be earned at any point in the game), allow X to use incomplete Armor Parts similarly to the ''X6 Tweaks'' project, tweaked some of the RNG mechanics for the game's endings, and features a retranslated English script.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX6'': The ''X6 Tweaks'' project has been viewed by many players as a ''vast'' improvement over the original version of the game, mitigating a lot of the game's infamous difficulty, restoring some of the leftover but unused features, addressing the game's many errors, and giving players a proper localization of the game. And for those who the feel like the changes to the gameplay make ''X6'' too easy, they can customize the patch however they like, and a workbook is available to help educate them on how the modifications work.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'': The game's ''Ultimate HD Edition'' re-release on Steam, while leagues better than its 2007 PC port, some fans felt that the game's "enhanced" graphics and HD texture pack that Capcom provided did not do the game's justice. A pair of devoted fans and modders went above and beyond to create ''Resident Evil 4 HD Project'' over the course of 8 years to faithfully overhaul the game's graphics by tracking down the original real-life sources of various architecture and art across Spain and Wales while improving the game's models and lighting, fix environmental errors with game, and includes another fan-created plugin that fixes many smaller issues with the Steam port of the game to provide a remaster worthy of the "''Ultimate HD''" moniker and then some.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'': With the controversies surrounding the HD Collection and [[PortingDisaster the many issues it is plagued with]], a community of modders took it upon themselves to fix the ailing 2002 PC port of the game with the ''Enhanced Edition'' project, which many ''Silent Hill'' fans has considered as a superior alternative to the HD Collection's version of ''Silent Hill 2'' as it not only remains faithful to Team Silent's original vision, but also restores many of the missing effects and features from the [=PlayStation=] 2 back into the PC version while adding various quality-of-life improvements (e.g. 60 FPS gameplay, support for HD and widescreen resolutions, refinements to controls on controllers as well as keyboard and mouse) that brings the PC version into PolishedPort territory.

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'': While the 2011 remaster by Christian Whitehead is considered to be the definitive version of the game, ''Sonic CD Restored'' is a fangame based off the mobile decompilation of the Christian Whitehead remaster that restores many features from original Sega CD version while retaining its enhancements, adds the option to use the original concepts for the time travel mechanics, improves on the [=FMVs=] from newer higher quality sources with the Japanese songs restored, and after an update, adds Amy as a playable character with her own unique abilities (a double jump which makes exploration more interesting). There's also ''Sonic CD & Knuckles'' which goes for a ''Sonic 3 A.I.R.'' treatment for ''Sonic CD'' that adds more music to the game, the ability to customize the game's features in various ways (from the gameplay, visuals, and the soundtrack selection), and adds Knuckles to the roster instead.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'': The ''Zero Project'' ROM hack for the SNES has been considered a huge improvement over the original game. On top of fixing Zero's role as a playable character and improving his abilities, it also adds many quality-of-life tweaks such as the cross-over charge shot for X's buster upgrade being easier to use, interchangeable Chip upgrades, Heart Tanks are shared between both characters, the password system is replaced with a contemporary save system, and a NewGamePlus feature.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'': The ''X5 Improvement Project Addendum'' mod features many quality-of-life improvements for ''X5'', such adding the option to turn off the reviled interruptions by Alia, restores the missing voice clips, altered title screen art, and original Maverick names into the Western release, implements many gameplay tweaks and rebalancing (e.g. X and Zero can keep their respective character bonuses, both characters share Life and Weapon Ups, parts can be earned at any point in the game), allow X to use incomplete Armor Parts similarly to the former, tweaked some of the RNG mechanics for the game's endings, and features a retranslated English script.

* ''VideoGame/ProjectM':

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'': With the controversy surrounding the HD Collection and the issues it is plagued with as well as the increasing efforts from modders attempting to fix the ailing PC port of the game, many consider the fan-made ''Enhanced Edition'' project as a superior alternative to the HD Collection's version of ''Silent Hill 2'' as it not only retains the game's original features, but also improve upon them and aims to restore missing elements from the [=PlayStation=] 2 version back into the PC version (e.g. the soft shadows, uncompressed audio, 60 FPS [=FMVs=]).

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'': While the 2011 remaster by Christian Whitehead is considered to be the definitive version of the game, the ''Sonic CD Restored'' mod improves upon the remaster even further by restoring many features from original Sega CD version while retaining its enhancements, adds the option to use the original concepts for the time travel mechanics, improves on the [=FMVs=] from newer higher quality sources with the Japanese songs restored, and after an update, adds Amy as a playable character with her own unique abilities (a double jump which makes exploration more interesting). It also has add-ons that adds more music to the game, the ability to customize the game's features in various ways (from the gameplay, visuals, and the soundtrack selection), and adds Knuckles to the roster.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiZXoPVDV6fqa7ZC9Oyy9QLJOy5rhCnTq Overlord Abridged]] series made by the NUMBSKULLS team does such an impressive job of improving the original characterizations that a good deal of people have grown to like this variation of Overlord more than the vanilla variation, for various reasons such as making Ainz a better character than he is shown to be in the original for instance. Unfortunately, much like the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged series before it, the Overlord series has been plagued by various strikes/episode takedowns, but their still dedicated on continuing their series however they can and their work clearly shows solid dedication.

* ''ARG/TheNoedolekcinArchives'': 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.