Aliens (Konami 1990) - World/US versions Vs Japanese ?

[IronGiant]

Have only just noticed that there are a LOT of differences between the World/US versions of Konami's Aliens versus the Japanese versions. Is one generally considered 'better' than the other, or is it down to taste/what you're used to?

Differences are as follows (copied from MAWS):



The Japanese version is very unlike any other version to appear in other countries :

* Most obviously, both APC driving levels have been entirely deleted.

* As such, the subplot of rescuing Newt is gone. Therefore, Newt never appears in Stage 1.

* When you take on the 'Shrinky-Dink Alien Quartet', the first one to fully enlarge hops off-screen, leaving you to only battle the other three.

* Many of the aliens, zombies, and mid-bosses can be killed with fewer shots.

*Two new kinds of minor enemy appear in the game :

a) An adult alien bursts out of the background wall during the vent portion of what we consider Stage 5. It functions much like the Ground-Poppers and is destroyed just as easily, but with new animations and from a different angle. It is the only one of its type in the game.

b) The small form of the Shrinky-Dink Alien, as seen in the form of the second mid-boss in Stage 5, reappears in Stage 7. It stands alone on the catwalks with a ring of orange energy circling it and the catwalk in a kind of 'shield'. A few shots destroy it.

* Titles have been given to each level. They are as follows, transcribed as they appear in the game.

Level 1 - Living Quarters

Level 2 - Factory

Level 3 - Factory2

Level 4 - Queen Alien's DEN

Level 5 - Escape Route

Level 6 - Battle Ship SULACO

* Special weapons and bombs appear much more frequently in the game, dropping from the sky for the players to use at regular intervals.

* It is now possible to attain 1-ups in the game. If a player is still carrying a weapon from the last special weapon power-up, the next one to fall on-screen will contain a 1-up. It comes in the form of a red ribbon with a bow wrapped around the word '1up'.

* In addition to the other enemies in this section, ground-popping aliens now appear earlier, during the nest portion of what we know as Stage 3.

* In addition to the other enemies, flying aliens now appear during the first power loader segment, in Stage 3.

* Flying aliens are much more frequent throughout the outdoor portion of Stage 5 and Stage 7.

* Extra exploding barrels appear throughout the game.

* Numerous aliens have changed color. Adult aliens are now purple instead of maroon, face-huggers are now flesh-toned instead of green, etc.

* Many of the adult aliens in the elevator sequence of Stage 3 have been removed. They have been replaced with flying aliens that do NOT damage the cables. This makes this sequence much easier.

* The beams from the 3-Way gun have changed color from purple to orange.

* During the final battle, the queen does NOT breathe fire/acid at you. Instead, after flashing white, she sends out multiple images of herself as a projectile! These are wider and therefore are easier to be hit by.

* The queen charges at you constantly even if you are in the power loader. This makes the final battle much more difficult.

[BulletMagnet]

I believe this belongs in Off-Topic.

[dpful]

I thought I'd like the colors of the japanese version, but I think I ended up prefering the world version-- mostly for the driving parts I guess. I think it's better.

[jpj]

forum member Gemant is the person to talk to, he has a monstrous score on Aliens

[IronGiant]

Ta. Hopefully he'll notice this thread.

[D]

I think I'll wait for PC Engine Fan X!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I think I'll wait for PC Engine Fan X!

Thanks for the heads up, D. ^_~

What fellow shmupper, R-Typer, mentions the differences between the original Japanese and the World/USA versions of Aliens PCB...he's correct.

Contrary to some folks thinking that an Aliens PCB outputs in stereo, it was fellow shmupper, oxtsu, who mentioned in his past Alien PCB sales thread that it is presented in mono only. Stills sounds awesome if output in mono with a two speaker setup on a candy cab setup. I've only played the USA region Aliens PCB at my local arcade back in 1990-1992...the one with the cool USMC Armored Personnel Car (APC) sequence stages. I like how the twin gun turrent folds down on the APC when not in use in the Aliens film. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[dcharlie]

yeah, i bought the japanese pcb blind and was surprised by the differences.

not actually that good of a game i thought, certainly my memory of the game was a lot better than how it actually was :/

[IronGiant]

Must admit that I never really played it when it was first released, but have been playing it under MAME quite a bit lately (the World release) and really like it.

[Ed Oscuro]

There's another difference between the games in the idle protection which I discovered some years ago.

In the Japan set, flying tan / gold alien heads come flying at you, and while you can shoot them you can't shake them off very easily.

In the World and US sets, pink aliens come from behind and can be easily shot. After doing this a while (maybe three - four waves), though, the game will drop a bomb right on you. The bomb's timing doesn't seem directly related to the aliens though.

The fact that the Japanese set's idle protection is more effective makes me wonder if that one didn't come out later.

[it290]

Oh man, I love this game. I think the US/World version is superior if only for the fact that I played it to death when it was in the arcades. The APC sequences can be a bit cheap sometimes, but their hecticness adds to the appeal, IMO.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Here's what the USA arcade flyer for the Konami Aliens PCB kit looked like back in 1990:

http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumb ... eodb&id=35

And here's the Japanese arcade flyer of the same name:

http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumb ... db&id=3345

Notice that the USA Aliens arcade flyer uses two models with one hottie looking better than Sigourney Weaver did in the actual Aliens film. The prop gun should've been one of those USMC auto-assault rifle/grenade launcher combo ones. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[IronGiant]

That's very interesting, must admit that I prefer the Japanese flyer as it looks more bad-ass, but not so keen on the more colourful Japanese version of the game.

[system11]

I found an extra difference to add to this old thread.

The Japanese audio balance is different. Things I couldn't hear before are present due to a channel mix change, either that or they rewrote the music a little. What's really interesting is even the driving level benefits even though JP doesn't contain it, I was just running a US board with JP sound ROMs as a test.

[Skykid]

What's really interesting is even the driving level benefits even though JP doesn't contain it, I was just running a US board with JP sound ROMs as a test.

Sorry mate, could you explain this again I'm not sure I understand.

[system11]

What's really interesting is even the driving level benefits even though JP doesn't contain it, I was just running a US board with JP sound ROMs as a test.

Sorry mate, could you explain this again I'm not sure I understand.

Sure. US/World versions have those car sections. JP version does not. Plug the JP sound ROM into a US or World board, and they get improved audio in every level, even the car sections. I just checked - you can ever hear the difference clearly in MAME - try them out.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

That's an interesting find there, system11. Improved audio with a JPN sound rom in a World/USA Aliens PCB setup = awesome.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[NOAH]

Did some more experimentation with region roms. Sadly the game will not boot in a way which retains the World/US car levels with the Japan color scheme. I really do enjoy the level layout and colors of the Japan region better, but no way to keep the whole game intact that way. I do recommend the Japan sound rom replacement. k03 replaces b03 in the rom directory. For MAMEers you have to rename the entire k03 rom to match the replaced b03 rom.

Also, has anyone seen a 2-board revision of Aliens? Got my board yesterday and it's got the same model number (GX875) and has US socketed roms, but it's got a 2nd board with more roms on it. The parent roms which are normally soldered in the J and K section of the board are soldered on the 2nd board and are subdivided into multiple roms (i.e. 875 b04 -> 875 b04a, 875 b04b, 875 b04c, and 875 b04d). My only guess is that Konami ran out of 512K and 256K rom chips and routed the board in a way that used only 128K's. This 2nd rom board has the Konami logo on it so I'm positive it's not an aftermarket hack.

[trap15]

Skykid's commissioned me to do a ROM hack that replaces the US colors, so just wait a month or so for me to get around to and finish that

[system11]

Is that before or after you do that one for me?

[trap15]

Before

[Ed Oscuro]

I will gladly be the third or fourth or even fifth person to have this hack commissioned for them! I might resort to pirating it though

Is that an artist's signature on the Japanese flyer? Look directly down from the flying coffee cup blue rotary light, to what looks like the NBC Peacock in green/gray. It's right next to the Alien's bird foot.

[system11]

Also, has anyone seen a 2-board revision of Aliens? Got my board yesterday and it's got the same model number (GX875) and has US socketed roms, but it's got a 2nd board with more roms on it. The parent roms which are normally soldered in the J and K section of the board are soldered on the 2nd board and are subdivided into multiple roms (i.e. 875 b04 -> 875 b04a, 875 b04b, 875 b04c, and 875 b04d). My only guess is that Konami ran out of 512K and 256K rom chips and routed the board in a way that used only 128K's. This 2nd rom board has the Konami logo on it so I'm positive it's not an aftermarket hack.

Yeah I've seen one of those before, they're uncommon - several Konami games on similar hardware can be found in split image variants with a second board.

[Skykid]

Is that before or after you do that one for me?

Lol, great minds and all that.

Is that an artist's signature on the Japanese flyer? Look directly down from the flying coffee cup blue rotary light, to what looks like the NBC Peacock in green/gray. It's right next to the Alien's bird foot.

Pretty sure it is. Also, that's one of the coolest flyers ever.

[system11]

Is that before or after you do that one for me?

Lol, great minds and all that.

I'm trying to bribe him to investigate why Metal Slug 2 runs so much slower than X, and fix it. Rumours suggest it's an error where something is being done twice as often as need be - graphic drawing I think.

[Battlesmurf]

Is that before or after you do that one for me?

Lol, great minds and all that.

I'm trying to bribe him to investigate why Metal Slug 2 runs so much slower than X, and fix it. Rumours suggest it's an error where something is being done twice as often as need be - graphic drawing I think.

That'd be very interesting o.o

[8bitForLife]

Sorry to necro but has anyone posted a Rom set for world to keep Japanese colors of aliens. I tried contacting trap but no response.

[Skykid]

Sorry to necro but has anyone posted a Rom set for world to keep Japanese colors of aliens. I tried contacting trap but no response.

That's my dream, since Aliens is one of my favourite arcade games. Sadly the commission fell through, so I don't have the hack. I just think he was way too busy with life and other things so he refunded me. If you can't get hold of him he's probably still too busy with life.

[Jonny2x4]

I will gladly be the third or fourth or even fifth person to have this hack commissioned for them! I might resort to pirating it though

Is that an artist's signature on the Japanese flyer? Look directly down from the flying coffee cup blue rotary light, to what looks like the NBC Peacock in green/gray. It's right next to the Alien's bird foot.

I know this is an ancient post, but the Japanese flyer art is just reused promo art. It was drawn by Den Beauvais and was originally used as cover art for the very first issue of Dark Horse's Aliens comic book.
https://twitter.com/vgdensetsu/status/9 ... 7549201408

Also, I'm pretty sure the US/World versions are the originals, as was case with most of Konami's licensed games (and even some of their non-licensed stuff).

[kebrank]

Did some more experimentation with region roms. Sadly the game will not boot in a way which retains the World/US car levels with the Japan color scheme. I really do enjoy the level layout and colors of the Japan region better, but no way to keep the whole game intact that way. I do recommend the Japan sound rom replacement. k03 replaces b03 in the rom directory. For MAMEers you have to rename the entire k03 rom to match the replaced b03 rom.

Also, has anyone seen a 2-board revision of Aliens? Got my board yesterday and it's got the same model number (GX875) and has US socketed roms, but it's got a 2nd board with more roms on it. The parent roms which are normally soldered in the J and K section of the board are soldered on the 2nd board and are subdivided into multiple roms (i.e. 875 b04 -> 875 b04a, 875 b04b, 875 b04c, and 875 b04d). My only guess is that Konami ran out of 512K and 256K rom chips and routed the board in a way that used only 128K's. This 2nd rom board has the Konami logo on it so I'm positive it's not an aftermarket hack.

I found this interesting note about the 2 PCB version:

“Konami made at least two different versions of the arcade board for US/international release. One is on a single PCB and the other (which seems to be less common) uses two PCBs stacked one on top of the other. The two PCB variant is harder (even with the dip switches on easy) as it does not give the player health power ups and the default weapon no longer auto-fires. Instead if the player holds the fire button down the default weapon will only rapidly fire for a second or so before requiring the player to release and press the fire button again.”

From: https://tcrf.net/Aliens_(Arcade)

\o/.k.