History DolledUpInstallment / VideoGames

** The Korean UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZHyKL2V05Q Candory]]'' is ''VideoGame/{{Ponpoko}}'' with Mario's sprite hacked in.

* Creator/DataEast's ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame was an unrelated run-and-gun shooter released in Japan as ''Meikyuu Hunter G'' with some ''Ghostbusters'' elements pasted in.
* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura: Lum no Wedding Bell'' for the Famicom is actually a port of the Creator/{{Jaleco}} UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''VideoGame/Momoko120Percent'' with the heroine replaced with Lum and the aliens replaced with ones from the series. The original was a SpiritualAdaptation to begin with, though.

* ''Doraemon: Meikyū Daisakusen'' (Doraemon's Great Maze Tactics) for the Platform/PCEngine is a port of the Nichibutsu UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Kid no Hore Hore Daisakusen'' (AKA ''Booby Kids'') with the arcade game's original protagonist replaced with Manga/{{Doraemon}}, the end-of-level double doors with the Dokodemo Door, the InexplicableTreasureChests with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Dorayaki]], and the robotic FinalBoss with Tsuchidama and Gigazombie from ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheBirthOfJapan'', which inspired some new cutscenes. The localized [=TurboGrafx-16=] version, retitled ''Cratermaze'', brought back the original protagonist, music and treasure chests and replaced Gigazombie with an {{Expy}}, though the doors weren't changed back and the cutscenes were edited rather than removed.

* ''VideoGame/BuckRogersPlanetOfZoom'' apparently originated as a game titled ''Zoom 909''; it has no real connections to ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers'' beyond the title screen. Interestingly, Creator/{{Sega}} announced three other games for the Platform/Atari2600 based on the same license, but due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 none of them saw the light of day.
* Creator/{{Sega}}'s UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Strike Fighter'' was similar enough to ''VideoGame/AfterBurner'' that it was ported to the Platform/SegaCD and Platform/FMTowns as ''After Burner III''.

* The UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers3'' was called ''Seigi no Hero'' in Japan, and is actually a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/Police911''.

* The ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' game for the Dreamcast was not originally based on ''Lodoss''.
* WordOfGod claims that ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' was always going to be a game set in the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' franchise, but just as a GaidenGame.

* The UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers 3'' was called ''Seigi no Hero'' in Japan, and is actually a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/Police911''.

* ''[[VideoGame/SpyHunter Super Spy Hunter]]'' was originally ''Battle Formula'' in Japan.

* ''VideoGame/JamesBond007TheStealthAffair'' was originally not a ''Franchise/JamesBond'' game, though it was practically a SpiritualAdaptation to begin with. The publisher managed to gain the license for the ''James Bond'' name for video games, and all that was necessary to apply that to the game were some minor changes to the text.

* ''[[Creator/DreamworksAnimation [=DreamWorks=]]] Super Star Kartz'' was originally intended to be a 2010 reboot of ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'', but when said reboot was scrapped the engine was quickly reworked into a Creator/DreamWorksAnimation crossover. Several planned elements such as the trick system and character-specific special moves can still be found in ''Super Star Kartz''.

** Several years later, ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' characters would replace the ''Yoshi'' characters in ''Pokémon Puzzle League'', and from there, the last part of that name stuck. An interesting case for the latter is that ''PPL'' was a dolled-up installment of a canceled ''Panel de Pon'' sequel for N64. The original game was later released as part of ''Nintendo Puzzle Collection'' for Nintendo [=GameCube=]. Now, if only they decided to [[NoExportForYou export that game]]...

** The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom Disk System]] game ''Roger Rabbit'' was brought to the UsefulNotes/GameBoy as ''Mickey Mouse'' as the Roger Rabbit license was only for the Famicom, becoming the first game in the ''Mickey Mouse'' series in Japan.

* In America, the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 version of ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and the Magic Cauldron'' was released as ''Ardok the Barbarian'', since ''Asterix'' was not as well-known in America as it was in Europe.

** Japan eventually got its own dolled-up version, ''Haro no Puyo Puyo'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, which used ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' characters.

** The original ''VideoGame/WonderBoy1'' itself was converted to the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] as ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'' (with Hudson's spokesman/gaming expert Toshiyuki Takahashi serving as the model for the new protagonist Takahashi-Meijin, [[DubNameChange also known as Master Higgins]]), which inspired its own series of sequels independently developed by Hudson.
** ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand'' was converted to the UsefulNotes/PCEngine as ''Bikkuriman World'', with the Japanese ''Bikkuriman'' (a lineup of trading stickers) license tacked on. It was also remade in the 2000's for [[MobilePhoneGame i-mode and Vodafone live!]] as ''[[RecycledTitle Super]] VideoGame/AdventureIsland'', featuring Master Higgins.

** ''Game & Wario'' was [[https://www.nintendo.co.za/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Game-Wario/Game-Wario/1-Shake-Things-Up-/1-Shake-Things-Up--749777.html not originally meant]] to be part of the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series. It was first designed as several generic [[TechDemoGame tech demos]] to pre-installed on the UsefulNotes/WiiU, in a similar vein to the AR games and ''VideoGame/FaceRaiders'' on the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, with some of these tech demos appearing at the console's first E3 showing. It was then attempted to expanded these tech demos and retool them into a new IP when the development team realized they had enough content to justify a retail release. Difficulties in linking the minigames together in a coherent storyline lead to the development team scrapping the original framing device in favor of using the ''[=WarioWare=]'' characters instead.

* ''VideoGame/DoubleDragonII'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy has nothing to do with the arcade game ''Double Dragon II: The Revenge'' or its NES counterpart. Instead, it's a localization of a ''VideoGame/KunioKun'' game titled ''Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantō Hen''. The plot was changed, the ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom''-style backgrounds and character designs were replaced with more realistically designed ones, and the music is different as well. However, the play mechanics and level designs remained more or less the same, with only one boss getting a different attack pattern.

* The [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Master System]] action shooter ''Ashura'' was released in the United States as a ''VideoGame/{{Rambo}}'' game (based on ''First Blood Part II'') and then in Europe as ''Secret Commando'' (which combines elements from the other two versions). Actually a subversion since ''Ashura'' was always meant to be a ''Rambo'' game, but Sega's license was only applicable in America.
* After Color Dreams became Wisdom Tree and started specializing in Biblical video games, they rereleased some of their earlier unlicensed NES games with Bible tie-ins. Thus ''Crystal Mines'' became ''Exodus: Journey to the Promised Land'', and ''VideoGame/MenaceBeach'' became ''Sunday Funday'', with the hero is rushing to Sunday school rather than to save his girlfriend. They also took Creator/IdSoftware's ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' and transformed it into the much LighterAndSofter ''VideoGame/Super3DNoahsArk'', the only commercially released unlicensed title for the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem.

** ''VideoGame/BalloonKid'', the UsefulNotes/GameBoy sequel, was ported to the Family Computer in Japan as a ''Franchise/HelloKitty'' game. Oddly, the original Game Boy version was not released in Japan until several years later on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor as ''Balloon Fight GB''.
* ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy was actually developed by Creator/{{Natsume}} as a port of their NES game ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheNinja''. Tecmo bought the rights to the game and altered the graphics and story to make it into a loosely-connected prequel to the original NES ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''.
* ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'', a SportsGame for the Famicom, itself a conversion of the European UsefulNotes/Commodore64 game ''Alternative World Games'', was released overseas with a different license as ''Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular''. This was done because Creator/{{Capcom}} held an exclusive license on Disney games in the US and Europe at the time.

* ''VideoGame/DragonsLair: The Legend'' was a rebranded UsefulNotes/GameBoy port of Elite Systems' earlier UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum title ''Roller Coaster'' (see it and other examples [[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=6&cId=3158520 here]]). The UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version, on the other hand, was a port of the original arcade game.

* A video game adaption of ''Series/AmericasTestKitchen'' was released for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS. In reality, it's an ''America's Test Kitchen'' game InNameOnly, as it is actually a [[MissionPackSequel Recipe Pack Sequel]] to ''Personal Trainer: Cooking''.

* ''VideoGame/SolomonsKey'' had two dolled-up editions: first for the UsefulNotes/PCEngine as a LicensedGame based on the Japanese samurai film ''Zipang'' (which also loosely inspired ''VideoGame/KabukiQuantumFighter''), and later for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor as ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher Explorer''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Turrican}} II'' was ported to the UsefulNotes/MegaDrive and released as a ''Film/UniversalSoldier'' game after going through a few sprite-swaps.
* ''VideoGame/StarRaiders II'' started life as a never-released LicensedGame based on 1984 movie ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''; prototypes of this for the Platform/Atari5200 and UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers have been found. When the license fell through, the game was released as a ''Star Raiders'' sequel instead. ''The Last Starfighter'' for the NES, in turn, was a rebranded port of the computer game ''Uridium''.

* ''VideoGame/OutRun 2019'' was originally planned as an unrelated futuristic racing game titled ''Junker's High'', which was actually a converted version of a canceled UsefulNotes/SegaCD game titled ''Cyber Road''.

** The UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor bootleg ''Pokémon Gold 2'', also known as ''Pokémon Adventure'', is a confusing mashup. It's a PlatformGame based on the engine of the equally unlicensed ''VideoGame/Sonic3DBlast5'', which is why Pikachu moves like Sonic and Pokéballs work like rings in ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games. However, its five levels are all ripped from ''[[VideoGame/{{Bonk}} Bonk's Revenge]]'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, and some enemies from unrelated games are also edited in.

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' originally wasn't planned to have anything to do with the ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' series. Nintendo and Sakurai were just working on a UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS action game involving sky and land combat when they suddenly realized that Pit would be the perfect character for such a title.

* Way, way back in the waning days of the UsefulNotes/Atari2600, Atari changed their unreleased game ''Saboteur'' into a licensed game of ''Series/TheATeam'' by changing around some text and replacing the hero sprite with... Creator/MrT's disembodied head. (The result was also unreleased.)

* ''Doraemon: Meikyū Daisakusen'' (Doraemon's Great Maze Tactics) for the UsefulNotes/PCEngine is a port of the Nichibutsu UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Kid no Hore Hore Daisakusen'' (AKA ''Booby Kids'') with the arcade game's original protagonist replaced with Manga/{{Doraemon}}, the end-of-level double doors with the Dokodemo Door, the InexplicableTreasureChests with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Dorayaki]], and the robotic FinalBoss with Tsuchidama and Gigazombie from ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheBirthOfJapan'', which inspired some new cutscenes. The localized [=TurboGrafx-16=] version, retitled ''Cratermaze'', brought back the original protagonist, music and treasure chests and replaced Gigazombie with an {{Expy}}, though the doors weren't changed back and the cutscenes were edited rather than removed.
* Creator/{{Konami}}'s early UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} game ''Athletic Land'' was re-released as ''VideoGame/CabbagePatchKidsAdventuresInThePark'', with the player character redrawn as Anna Lee and a few other minor changes.

* ''The Ren & Stimpy Show: Space Cadet Adventures'' takes a few levels from ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends'', such as those taking place in outer space, and replaces the R&B characters with Ren & Stimpy characters. Both of these UsefulNotes/GameBoy titles were developed by Creator/AbsoluteEntertainment and published by Creator/{{THQ}}.
* The long history of this in the ''Franchise/DieHard'' franchise also extends to video games. The original ''Die Hard'' coin-op and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn game was originally released in Japan as ''[[VideoGame/DynamiteCop Dynamite Deka]]'', which was completely unrelated to the movie. It was given the ''Die Hard'' license for the international release, because it happened to feature a cop fighting his way through a terrorist-infested skyscraper before confronting a bearded BigBad, and suffering increasing ClothingDamage as the game progressed. The sequel, ''Dynamite Deka 2'', averts this by being released as ''Dynamite Cop''.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Krusty's Fun House]]'' was originally an UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} game named ''Rat Trap''.
* The ''Wrestling/{{WCW}}'' game for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was the Famicom game ''Superstar Pro Wrestling'' with the Japanese wrestlers replaced.

* The 1980s ''Series/DoctorWho'' computer game ''Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror'' started life as a sequel to the UsefulNotes/BBCMicro game ''Castle Quest'', before the Sixth Doctor, a robot cat, and robots-that-definitely-aren't-the-Daleks were added.
* ''VideoGame/BuckRogersPlanetOfZoom'' apparently originated as a game titled ''Zoom 909''; it has no real connections to ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers'' beyond the title screen. Interestingly, Creator/{{Sega}} announced three other games for the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 based on the same license, but due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 none of them saw the light of day.

* The obscure pirate original UsefulNotes/{{Famicom}} game ''Harry's Legend'' is actually a hacked version of ''VideoGame/{{Titenic}}'' with a ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' reskin.

* The UsefulNotes/GameBoy version of the PlatformGame known either as ''[=McDonaldland=]'' or ''M.C. Kids'' was dolled up in the U.S. and Japan as ''Spot: The Cool Adventure'', replacing one food promotion with another.
* In Amsoft's series of Roland games for the UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC, the first two releases, ''Roland in the Caves'' and ''Roland on the Ropes'', were rebranded conversions of Indescomp's UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum games ''Bugaboo the Flea'' and ''Fred''. ''Roland Goes Digging'' was a ''VideoGame/SpacePanic'' knockoff, though not the only one released for the system.
* The ''Manga/WanganMidnight'' game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 was essentially a rerelease of ''VideoGame/TokyoXtremeRacer Zero'' with very little changed aside from the use of licensed cars and drivers.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/MayaTheBee Maya the Bee & Her Friends]]'' was originally going to be published as a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' game for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor, but ''South Park'' creators Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone took umbrage at the idea of an adult video game on a device mostly used by young children, which led developers Crawfish Interactive to scrap the ''South Park'' licence and reuse what they have done so far on a more suitable title for children. The South Park/Maya codebase was also later recycled for a game based on the ''[[Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen Mary-Kate & Ashley]]'' franchise.

* ''Baby T-Rex'', the UsefulNotes/GameBoy precursor to ''VideoGame/RadicalRex'', was released in the U.S. as ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'', in Sweden as ''ComicBook/{{Bamse}}'', and in Australia as ''Agro Soar'' (starring the host of a Australian {{Puppet Show|s}} that otherwise has nothing to do with dinosaurs).

* Once upon a time, [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] released a tennis game for the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation PS1]] called ''Smash Court Tennis'' featuring [[SuperDeformed chibi-style]] player characters, which was eventually deleted and is quite rare in the West at least. Then there was a sequel, titled simply ''Smash Court 2'' in Japan. When translated for the Western market, it somehow managed to get itself endorsed by Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova and became known as ''Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis'' (complete with chibified Kournikova as one of the playable characters!) This version is considerably easier to find than its predecessor.

* ''Sidewinder II'' was originally an independently-developed UsefulNotes/AtariST game titled ''Blast''. Virgin Mastertronic gave it wider distribution after rebranding it as a sequel to the Arcadia game ''Sidewinder'', to which it bears no relation aside from also being a VerticalScrollingShooter.

* Both of ''[[VideoGame/ThemePark Theme Park]]'s'' rather lesser known sequels, ''VideoGame/ThemeParkWorld'' and ''Theme Park INC.'' were branded by [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] into the Sim franchises as ''Sim Theme Park'' and ''[=SimCoaster=]'' respectively, despite having no relation with Creator/WillWright. The two games were branded ''yet again'' with different names in two different circumstances; Theme Park World's [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] port was called ''Theme Park Roller Coaster'' in the United States and Theme Park INC. was renamed to ''Theme Park Manager'' for those in Australia. This also means that they got a SameLanguageDub, but besides that, they're very much identical to their original versions.

* In the 80s, Realtime Associates developed a fully-working prototype of a ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' game for the UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}}. Gameplay involved avoiding enemies while moving around a single screen in isometric view and kicking items to the bottom of the playarea. When the ''Masters of the Universe'' license didn't work out, the game was instead retooled as a ''VideoGame/BurgerTime'' sequel under official license from Data East: He-Man was replaced with Peter Pepper, the enemies were replaced with the series' signature sentient food, and the game was described as taking place in the titular diner rather than Eternia (though the latter change required surprisingly few alterations to the graphics). Despite the changes being mostly sprite swaps, ''Diner'' actually worked well as a ''[=BurgerTime=]'' sequel, keeping with the original's theme of forcing food items to the bottom of the screen and avoiding food enemies.

* Unexpected Development planned to release a UsefulNotes/GameBoy game as a sequel to ''Film/HomeAlone'' called ''Home Alone 2: Kevin's Dream'' and have it be published by Creator/{{THQ}}. This game would have had Kevin sleeping and the levels taking place in his dreams, where he fights off Harry and Marv, who serve as the game's enemies and bosses. THQ scrapped this game in favor of focusing on one based on ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', the actual sequel to ''Home Alone''. Unexpected Development retooled this game to be based on ''WesternAnimation/BobbysWorld'', with Bobby in place of Kevin and Derek in place of Harry and Marv, planning for Creator/HiTechExpressions to publish it in 1994. However, this version of the game also ended up being unreleased, due in part to Hi Tech Expressions going out of business the following year.

* ''Advertising/MAndMs Break[='=] Em'' is an M&M's LicensedGame released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance and UsefulNotes/NintendoDS by Destination Software, Inc., which used the basis of ''VideoGame/GemSmashers'', a puzzle game developed by Frame Studios and published by [=Metro3D=] Inc. four years prior to it. ''In Break[='=] Em'', you play as the M&M's characters and try to stop Mr. Runch, a rotten and dangerous peanut fiercely determined on being one of the M&M's, while in ''Gem Smashers'', you play as a trio of animals named Bau (a red hermit crab), Bam (a yellow chick), and Bom (a blue hedgehog) and try to stop a mad scientist named IMBU. The gameplay, stages, and the first seven bosses remain the same, while the M&M's take the place of Bau Bam, Bom, and the captured animals, and Mr. Runch takes the place of IMBU.

* Creator/{{Sega}}'s UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Strike Fighter'' was similar enough to ''VideoGame/AfterBurner'' that it was ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaCD and UsefulNotes/FMTowns as ''After Burner III''.

* ''VideoGame/StarRaiders II'' started life as a never-released LicensedGame based on 1984 movie ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''; prototypes of this for the UsefulNotes/Atari5200 and UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers have been found. When the license fell through, the game was released as a ''Star Raiders'' sequel instead. ''The Last Starfighter'' for the NES, in turn, was a rebranded port of the computer game ''Uridium''.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'' was originally going to be a generic racing game meant solely to provide a 2-player counterpart to the 1-player hit ''VideoGame/FZero'' a few years earlier. During production someone suggested seeing what it would look like to put Mario in a go-kart, and history was made.

* When ''VideoGame/ElevatorAction EX'' was released in the United States, publisher bam! Entertainment put the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' license over it, renaming the game to ''Robot Rampage''. The three playable secret agents were replaced by Dexter in different suits, and the plot about searching for secret documents was changed into finding codes to deactivate a bunch of robots turned berserk by Mandark. ''Elevator Action EX'' was released in its original form in Europe, however.

** Back in the day of the Famicom's (as well as Mario's) popularity, pirated hacks of games with [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'s head pasted on top of the original player character were common. Such examples include ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland II'', ''VideoGame/JackieChansActionKungFu'', ''VideoGame/{{Armadillo}}'', ''VideoGame/JoeAndMac'', ''Don Doko Don 2'' and ''Kid Niki 3''. And they're still doing it up until this day!

* ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' began development under the WorkingTitle "Black Lotus". Activision had the developers rename it ''True Crime: Hong Kong''. After Activision dropped the game it was picked up by Square Enix and given its current name.

* ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' was originally supposed to be entirely unrelated to the ''Quake'' series, and was only given the ''Quake'' name when the original name iD wanted to give the game turned out to be unusable for trademark reasons. Since then, the ''Quake'' name has mostly come to be associated with the Strogg story arc, but that's not surprisingly given the disjointed, [[RandomEventsPlot Random Events]] ExcusePlot that was the original ''Quake''.

* On October 28th, 2015, Creator/ScottCawthon pretended that the official website for ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysWorld'' was hacked with a download link to the leaked game. When players downloaded it, it turned out to be a version an older game of Scott's, ''Fighter Mage Bard'', with the characters and enemies replaced with those from ''[=FNaF=] World''.

** The UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor bootleg ''Pokémon Gold 2'', also known as ''Pokémon Adventure'', is a confusing case of this. It's a PlatformGame based on the engine of ''VideoGame/Sonic3DBlast5'', which is why Pikachu moves like Sonic and Pokéballs work like rings in ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games. However, its five levels are all ripped from ''[[VideoGame/{{Bonk}} Bonk's Revenge]]'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, with some enemies from unrelated games also edited in.

* The first three ''VideoGame/{{SaGa|RPG}}'' games were released under the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' name in North America as the ''Final Fantasy Legend'' series. This was during the period when Creator/{{Nintendo}} and Creator/{{Square|Enix}} believed {{R|olePlayingGame}}PGs had [[ItWillNeverCatchOn very limited appeal in North America]] where gamers would be more likely to purchase a title if it had a familiar brand. (The first ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' game is not an example of this trope, even though it was ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure'' in the US -- it didn't start out as its own series, and was named ''Seiken Densetsu Final Fantasy {{Gaiden|Game}}'' even in Japan.)

** Back in the day of the Famicom's (as well as Mario's) popularity, pirated hacks of games with [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'s head pasted on top of the original player character were common. Such examples include ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland II'', ''VideoGame/JackieChansActionKungFu'', ''Armadillo'', ''VideoGame/JoeAndMac'', ''Don Doko Don 2'' and ''Kid Niki 3''. And they're still doing it up until this day!

* The NES and Game Boy ports of ''[[VideoGame/TheAddamsFamily The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt]]'' are sprite swaps of the NES and Game Boy games based on [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the 1991 movie]], instead using [[WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily1992 the 1992 cartoon]] versions of the characters and swapping Gomez and Pugsley. The SNES version is a [[SpiritualSuccessor spiritual sequel]] made from scratch.

* The NES and Game Boy ports of ''[[VideoGame/TheAddamsFamily The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt]]'' are sprite swaps of the NES and Game Boy games based on [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the 1991 movie]], instead using [[WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily1992 the 1992 cartoon]] versions of the characters. The SNES version is a [[SpiritualSuccessor spiritual sequel]] made from scratch.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/MayaTheBee Maya the Bee & Her Friends]]'' was originally going to be published as a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' game for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor, but ''South Park'' creators Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone took umbrage at the idea of an adult video game on a device mostly used by young children, which led developers Crawfish Interactive to scrap the ''South Park'' licence and reuse what they have done so far on a more suitable title for children. The South Park/Maya codebase was also later recycled for a game based on the ''[[Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen Mary Kate & Ashley]]'' franchise.

* The ''Crazy Castle'' series by {{Creator/Kemco}}:

* ''[[WesternAnimation/MayaTheBee Maya the Bee & Her Friends]]'' was originally going to be published as a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' game for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor, but ''South Park'' creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker took umbrage at the idea of an adult video game on a device mostly used by young children, which led developers Crawfish Interactive to scrap the ''South Park'' licence and reuse what they have done so far on a more suitable title for children. The South Park/Maya codebase was also later recycled for a game based on the ''[[Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen Mary Kate & Ashley]]'' franchise.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates'' was originally developed by Creator/StingEntertainment for the Western market. In Japan, it became ''Youkai Buster: Ruka no Daibouken'', starring the mascot of ''Marukatsu Super Famicom'' magazine.