There’s always a bit of tension online whenever a game gets announced as an exclusive– especially when said game is a sequel. On that same token, there’s just as much tension when exclusive games go multiplatform. Perhaps not as much these days, but it wasn’t too long ago when fanboys went rabid at the thought of their precious exclusives jumping ship.

At the same time, it’s important to recognize that exclusives have their place. They not only spur competition within studios, they can be designed with the hardware in mind, often leading to more cohesively designed games. As time and technology march on, however, it becomes easier to port once exclusives to multiple platforms.

10 Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger isn’t the first high profile exclusive to become multi platform, but it’s a very important one to discuss, in large part due to the fact that its legacy is so intimately tied to the Super Nintendo specifically. Chrono Trigger is considered one of the best SNES games of all time, with the fact that it’s an SNES being quite important to its history.

Of course, it does also have an excellent DS port, but its first major port was for the PS1. It added animated cutscenes and plenty of long load times to remind audiences why they should have just played Chrono Trigger on the SNES.

9 Mega Man X3

Mega Man X’s SNES swan song, X3 may be the worst of the 16-bit trilogy, but it’s still a solid action-platformer with a difficulty curve designed around challenging series veterans– something that’s always welcome. But X3 was released very late into SNES’ life cycle, essentially guaranteeing it wouldn’t sell as well as its two predecessors.

As a result, Mega Man X3 was subsequently ported to both the PlayStation 1 and Sega Saturn. Neither port is considered the definitive version, but it’s perhaps reflective of Nintendo’s sliping grasp on the console market as Sony entered the scene. Coupled with Chrono Trigger, Mega Man X3 wouldn’t be the only SNES game to hop over to the PS1. But enough about them.

8 Sonic Adventure 2

The Nintendo/Sega rivalry is really something for the history books. There’s a reason that people still discuss how their competition influenced the gaming industry in the 90s. Following a series of poor financial moves, however, Sega soon found themselves unable to keep up in the console department.

That could’ve been the end for Sega, but in a twist of fate, they went third party. Sonic Adventure 2 went from being a DreamCast exclusive to one of the GameCube’s most popular games as Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. In a way, this was definitive proof Nintendo defeated Sega, but in truth, it was a sign that rivals could come together. Both Nintendo & Sega are better off.

7 Kingdom Hearts

This entire list could have been filled with the early Kingdom Hearts game. The franchise had a rather nasty habit of not only keeping new installments exclusive, but doing so across multiple different consoles (PS2, GBA, Nintendo DS, PSP) ended up creating something of a headache for those fans following the series as it released.

While Kingdom Hearts eventually got a PS3 and PS4 port, it’s the Xbox One port that’s really interesting. Very recently released, Kingdom Hearts I is proof that old exclusive don’t have to remain as such. Perhaps 1.5 already proved that, but this shows that even a game like Kingdom Hearts– intimately remembered as a core part of the PS2’s library– can be ported to a console like the Xbox One.

6 Tales Of Symphonia

Between the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube, Nintendo went from being the home for RPGs in the SNES’ heyday to working with just a few titles. The Nintendo 64 doesn’t even have any great RPGs. Thankfully, that was not the case with the GameCube which actually had quite a number of excellent RPGs: most notably Tales of Symphonia.

While westerners wouldn’t be able to play ToS on anything but their GameCube until its PS3 re-release, the RPG was actually ported to the PlayStation 2 in Japan with quite a bit of extra content. Unfortunately, this was during an era where Tales localizations weren’t guaranteed and the port stayed landlocked.

5 Viewtiful Joe

Capcom very blatantly backed out of multiple exclusive deals with Nintendo mid-gen during the GameCube days. One of 5 games released under Capcom’s “Capcom Five” banner, Viewtiful Joe was to help secure a foundation for the GameCube audience. It did not, but it reviewed well enough for Capcom to port it over to the PS2.

Viewtiful Joe didn’t remain a GameCube exclusive for long, and its PS2 port even features brand new content. Quite a bit of content too. Dante from Devil May Cry actually has his own campaign where he’s a playable character. It’s kind of hard to go back to the GameCube original after that.

4 Resident Evil 4

The most high profile title Capcom ported from the GameCube to the PlayStation 2, Resident Evil 4 is now one of the most ported video games of all time. But like its Capcom brethren before it, Resident Evil 4 began life as a GameCube exclusive. Well, as Devil May Cry if we’re being specific, but it began its shelf life as a GameCube exclusive.

Capcom wasn’t seeing the dollar signs they wanted though so, while worse in virtually every technical sense, a PS2 port was developed and produced gangbusters. It could be argued this was the beginning of the end for console exclusives.

3 Okami

In an inversion of the Nintendo to Sony trend we’ve witnessed, Okami flips the scripts and goes from the PlayStation 2 to the Nintendo Wii. In truth, Okami seemed like it was always designed for the Wii. Its controls translate so smoothly to the Nintendo Wiimote, you really have to wonder why Capcom didn’t just approach Nintendo for Okami in the first place.

Regardless, Okami is an excellent example of an exclusive game that becomes considerably better in its shift to another console. The HD ports are quite good and very much worth playing, but the Wii port is arguably the definitive version of Okami.

2 Cuphead

In development as an Xbox One exclusive for years, Cuphead released to massive critical acclaim and rightfully so. This is straight up one of the best action platformers of all time. Not in recent years, not this generation– ever. Cuphead’s bosses could be taught as boss design 101. This is a tight game with very little cracks. Hence why it’s so insane it was an Xbox One exclusive.

Thankfully, the gaming gods are merciful and the joint friendship between Nintendo & Microsoft that’s sparked up this past generation has led to some great Xbone exclusives heading to the Switch. Along with Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest has also been ported to Switch.

1 Daemon X Machina

It’s so interesting to note how the landscape of exclusives changes with each passing generation. A decade and a half ago, Resident Evil 4 being ported to the PlayStation 2 was a fairly huge deal. Today, a game like Daemon X Machina is just one of many timed exclusives leaving their home consoles to PC. So why mention it?

Well, beyond the fact many believed it was to be treated like a Nintendo IP, Daemon X Machina is just a damn good game that’s in desperate need of more attention. Action mech simulators naturally aren’t for everyone, but Daemon X Machina is dripping in style and could be the game that sparks your love for the genre. Plus, it’s bound to just play better on PC.

NEXT: 10 Indie Switch Game Soundtracks You Have To Listen To