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  • Awesome Music: The music is considered one of the best Commodore 64 soundtracks of all time.
  • Cult Classic: Despite Nintendo stomping the original computer versions in the US, the series enjoys a loyal fanbase.
  • First Installment Wins: Though the sequels are better received than the original, the original Giana Sisters is most iconic for its infamous reputation at being a Mario clone so blatant it was given a cease-and-desist.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: That the blatant Mario copy was remade twenty years later for a Nintendo system.
  • Overshadowed by Controversy: Despite the sequels differentiating themselves from it, the series is best known for the fact that the first game was such a blatant rip-off of Super Mario Bros., it had to be pulled off store shelves to avoid legal trouble. This did work in its favor since SMB is a great game that wasn't available on the Commodore 64, so an accurate rip-off of it must also be great by extension, when judged by its own merits.
  • Polished Port: Giana Sisters: Special Edition is a fanmade revamp of the originally bare bones Amiga port. The graphics have been almost completely redone from scratch based on the DS game including unique enemies and much smoother animations, a fleshed out color palette using new background tiles and making use of all 256 colors from the system, the music has been upgraded to the Amiga's higher quality along with new sound effects, and the intro from the DS game has been ported.
  • Serial Numbers Filed Off: So much, that Nintendo threatened to sue unless the game was pulled from shelves, so the original wasn't sold in the US after a month.
  • Spiritual Successor: The C64 platformer Hard'n'Heavy, which was originally developed as a Giana sequel.
  • Sweet Dreams Fuel: The DS game is this. Cute Giana's levels in the sequel, on the other hand....
  • Vindicated by History: The series was originally scoffed at as a Super Mario Bros. ripoff, however people have since grown to like it on its own merits. The series as a whole was vindicated by Giana Sisters DS being an even better platformer and removing all the Mario-like elements. The re-imaginings are now on Nintendo systems, specifically the Nintendo DS and Wii U.

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