RQ: DonPachi and DoDonPachi region differences?

[lgb]

I've noticed that lots of players play the Japanese versions of these. Are there any differences between the US, Japan, and Korean versions of DP? Are there any differences between the International and Japan versions of DDP? Or is it all just preference?

[Dave_K.]

Hilarious engrish is the only difference in DDP regions. Most otaku pick up the jpn region driving the price of that one up a bit more than the international region.

[Kaiser]

there is no bomb bonus in japan version of DP

[kengou]

I've been told that the japanese versions generally have the difficulty level set higher and are thus harder. I can't personally tell any difference though, after playing the international version for a long time and then switching to the japanese version.

[stuminator]

The Japanese DP only gives you the same number of bombs as the stage number after you complete a level (1 bomb after stage 1, 2 after 2, etc) while the US version refills your entire bomb stock after each stage.

[zlk]

In ddp, the japanese version is harder. The international versions bullets don't get as fast in the later rounds. The difference is slight but noticeable.

In donpachi, the HK version is really, really hard. Some bullets on the 5th stage travel so fast they are impossible to dodge. The JP and KOR versions are the same except for the 1-1/2-1 boss's final attack. The INT version of donpachi has lower rank and the bullets don't travel as fast as the other versions (in addition to refilling your bomb stock as pointed out earlier). The enemies also have less "hit points" (ie die easier) in the INT version.

[Dave_K.]

In ddp, the japanese version is harder. The international versions bullets don't get as fast in the later rounds. The difference is slight but noticeable.

I would like to challenge this assumption. We've already seen evidence that there is indeed rank in DDP, however slight. What you saw could have simply been the difference in rank. Can you back up your claim?

I've mentioned this in the past when I owned both DDP PCB regions, that my JPN board was noticeably slower in some dense patterns. But that may have simply been something particular to that board (possibly old/bad capacitors or something). The INT board looked a lot newer and had different colored caps.

[zlk]

In ddp, the japanese version is harder. The international versions bullets don't get as fast in the later rounds. The difference is slight but noticeable.

I would like to challenge this assumption. We've already seen evidence that there is indeed rank in DDP, however slight. What you saw could have simply been the difference in rank. Can you back up your claim?

If you mean "can I disassemble the source code and explain it line by line to prove that the bullets are slower" then no, I can't.

I have however played each version about 200 times and have seen lots of replays. Perhaps the rank on the international version isn't as nasty as the JP version, but for whatever the reason I find the bullets of the INT version are much slower on 1-5 and 1-6. The second loop is also much less painful on the INT version. I have also noticed that players tend to get further on the INT version than on the JP version.

[lgb]

from what I've seen, it would not surprise me. god damn it Toaplan

anyway, what's the difference between the player sides for both games, besides ship color? I remember someone saying that in DDP, stars are scored differently for the EOS bonus. I can't remember if anyone said anything about DP, though

[ncp]

(I'm 99% certain about this) in DDP:
1P: When you bomb at MAXIMUM bomb, you can potentially continue your chain.
2P: EOS Star bonus carries over to the next stage as long as you don't die. (If you get, say, 50 stars in each stage, your EOS bonus from stars will be 50, 100, 150... as opposed to 1P which would just get 50 at the end of each).

So... 2P gets a (very) slight point bonus if you can no-miss no-bomb the entire game.

I haven't played as much DP but as far as I know there's no difference?

edit: I'm kind of interested in testing the rank theory in DDP though. According to MAME, I've played a grand total of 0 minutes on the international version, and 100-some hours on the Japanese version. I'll play some international version tomorrow and throw in my opinion.

[captpain]

(I'm 99% certain about this) in DDP:
1P: When you bomb at MAXIMUM bomb, you can potentially continue your chain.

You've got to laser-bomb, though.

[PROMETHEUS]

I have however played each version about 200 times and have seen lots of replays. Perhaps the rank on the international version isn't as nasty as the JP version, but for whatever the reason I find the bullets of the INT version are much slower on 1-5 and 1-6. The second loop is also much less painful on the INT version. I have also noticed that players tend to get further on the INT version than on the JP version.

Nah I've played countless runs on the japanese version and did all of my save state practice on the international version and I don't think there's any difference in speed. Some parts have random speed regardless of the version though.

[ncp]

Yeah I played a couple credits on the international version and it seemed pretty much the same while no-missing. But now that I think about, I'm pretty sure rank doesn't even affect bullet speeds anyway, just bullet density (firing rate).

[captpain]

Basically, you can't worry about the rank if you're playing DDP properly. And I've never heard of there being region differences apart from text.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It's been said that even if you own a couple of DDP PCBs, the clock rate can differ which results in one DDP PCB playing a tad bit faster than the other one.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Udderdude]

It's been said that even if you own a couple of DDP PCBs, the clock rate can differ which results in one DDP PCB playing a tad bit faster than the other one.

You need a millisecond stopwatch and some pretty fancy machinery to tell the differences there. The differences between different PCBs of the same game literally can't be discerned without special tools.

Even consoles like the NES have slightly different clock rates between systems.

[PROMETHEUS]

It's been said that even if you own a couple of DDP PCBs, the clock rate can differ which results in one DDP PCB playing a tad bit faster than the other one.

You need a millisecond stopwatch and some pretty fancy machinery to tell the differences there. The differences between different PCBs of the same game literally can't be discerned without special tools.

Even consoles like the NES have slightly different clock rates between systems.

I think that myth comes from the fact that, like I said, the game has random speed in some parts (even when emulated). It's very obvious with the last of Hibachi's patterns. When you get there, its speed can vary about 20% maybe, enough for the player to notice it's significantly harder/easier. It's totally random.