Game releases superior to their earlier Japanese release?

[junkeR]

I would like to know which games released in other territories are considered superior to the Japanese/Asian release. Example: the release could contain additional features, bug/framerate fixes, etc.

I believe I have heard that Sega Rally 2 and Buggy Heat (both Dreamcast) are considered better on the NA release of the JP one. Also, is the Working Designs release of Thunder Force V better than the Japanese version? What other games could be added to the list?

[njiska]

- Dragon Warrior gave actual movement animations to the chess piece like sprites of Dragon Quest. That's got to count for something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0CyiMzND0I

- Often the best version of MGS games is the European release.
- No More Heroes NA was the preferred version until Heroes Paradise

[BrianC]

Here are some I can think of:
NES:
Dragon Warrior (debatable because it was localized and censored, but has better graphics and the ability to save)
Jackal (longer levels, a map, and more enemies. JP one was held back because of the lack of bank switching for FDS games)
Power Blade (almost a completely different game from the JP version)
Star Force (better music in US version)
Terra Cresta (better music in US version)

[louisg]

Sega Rally 1 on Saturn, Daytona and Virtua Fighter 3 on DC

Ghouls n Ghosts has some handy checkpoints that the original doesn't

Is the Famicom Jackal more like the arcade one? I thought the new bosses on the NES version were friggin' lame

[Ghegs]

Silpheed: The Lost Planet. I'll just quote Wikipedia here:

Working Designs enhanced the game before publishing it outside of Japan, as it tended to. For one, support for analog control and vibration functionality was added. The slowdown from the Japanese version is almost completely eliminated as well.

I recall for Thunder Force V Working Designs made it so you couldn't get to the last stages while playing on the easiest difficulty. Not sure if any more worthwhile changes took place.

[cools]

A couple of Master System arcade ports play and sound better than the arcade version, although visually they're not as hot. Wonder Boy in Monsterland and Ninja spring to mind.

[Zeron]

I think the PAL 50/60hz Odin Sphere is the best if I recall they fixed a bunch of slowdowns etc.

[Jockel]

Soul Calibur 2 got 3 extra playable characters that were originally enemies from the story mode.
Dunno if that was EU only or US/EU.

[dcharlie]

Dragon Quest 8 - Western version has full orchestrated sound track and surprisingly great voice acting, some changes to animation too

Not sure Neir counts - obviously a pretty well documented change between Replicant and the western/Jpn X360 version.

[e_tank]

astro boy omega factor for the gba, below is a quote taken from a hardcore gaming 101 article which explains the differences:

The North American and European versions were released several months after the Japanese version, and has a handful of additions. The Japanese version only has two difficulty settings - Easy and Difficult. The Easy setting is so simple as to make the game completely boring - you can take numerous hits, and have an almost unlimited amount of super attacks. The American and European versions have three settings - Easy, Normal, and Hard. Normal is a slightly rebalanced version of the Japanese Difficult setting, and Hard is much, much more challenging. The American/European version also adds a health meter for the bosses, adds a couple new enemies, and fixes some of the slowdown.

r-type for the tg16, this version contains the full game whereas the pce version was split between 2 hucard releases.

[E. Randy Dupre]

Sega Rally 1 on Saturn

The EU version is definitely superior to the NA one, having extra tuning options and visuals that were actually completed before release (witness the montain in the background of the second stage), but I thought that the JPN version was basically the same as the EU one. Is that not the case?

[Lordstar]

The final fantasy games which came out in the EU/US with updates and bug fixes later got turned in the what the japanese call international edition. So they had to buy them again. Does this count? The main one which springs to mind was FF10 and FF10-2

[Obiwanshinobi]

Magical Chase US (TurboGrafx-16) has got more detailed graphics (lots of stuff added or redrawn).

Valkyrie Profile US - to guote Wikipedia:

Several improvements were made to the English release of Valkyrie Profile, including more cinematics and the ability to adjust all characters' armor instead of just the active party as well as being informed when changing Lenneth's weapon from sword to bow. Some editing occurred during translation, but visible blood, drinking, and sexual comments remain. Badrach's smoking was cut out but the animation of him smoking after a successful battle remains, minus the cigarette. Lezard Valeth's teleportation circle was changed from a pink pentagram to a purple circle though this was left unchanged in the PlayStation Portable version. The names of Frei, the elder sister, and Freya, the younger, were reversed from Norse mythology and from the Japanese version (though in the former, Frei is the elder brother).

Some of the US voices are atrocious so it's not all good news. (I like the US Lenneth's voice better, though... Such is your fate!)

Ico PAL - outputs 60 Hz and - unlike the US version - has all refinements of the Japanese release, but unlike other versions is on a DVD. That being said, some people claim that the US version looks better (something about the details of distant objects). The US version has MUCH worse cover, thouh.

I think the PAL 50/60hz Odin Sphere is the best if I recall they fixed a bunch of slowdowns etc.

The slowdown is still pretty rampant in places, but generally loadings and slowdown are nowhere near as bad as in the NTSC US/C release (judging from the whiny internet criticism of the latter). 60 Hz and the Japanese voices are still there, so PAL version it's the definitive one, hands down.

- Often the best version of MGS games is the European release.

If anything, the PAL releases are sometimes Kojima's favourite ones, but lack of 60 Hz in 2 and 3 is still quite a niggle (to be fair, PAL conversions of 2 and 3 are excellent, but "best version" is a stretch).

[njiska]

- Often the best version of MGS games is the European release.

If anything, the PAL releases are sometimes Kojima's favourite ones, but lack of 60 Hz in 2 and 3 is still quite a niggle (to be fair, PAL conversions of 2 and 3 are excellent, but "best version" is a stretch).

This one is a tad on the subjective side. I'll give you that the lack of 60hz PAL is an issue, but the European versions also tend to have extra features over the other releases. European Difficulty for example. Snake Eater also added a Demo theatre, duel mode, more Snake vs. Monkey levels and extra camo/facepaint. MGS2 also got some extra stuff as a thank you for putting up with the delay.

This is just talking about the base versions of course. Obviously Substance/Subsistence are a completely different story.

[drunkninja24]

The final fantasy games which came out in the EU/US with updates and bug fixes later got turned in the what the japanese call international edition. So they had to buy them again. Does this count? The main one which springs to mind was FF10 and FF10-2

VII did this too. I believe the original Japanese FFVII didn't have some things like the Ruby and Emerald weapon battles, which they got later in FFVII International.

[Lordstar]

I think the PAL 50/60hz Odin Sphere is the best if I recall they fixed a bunch of slowdowns etc.

The slowdown is still pretty rampant in places, but generally loadings and slowdown are nowhere near as bad as in the NTSC US/C release (judging from the whiny internet criticism of the latter). 60 Hz and the Japanese voices are still there, so PAL version it's the definitive one, hands down.

I hope they bring this to HD 360/PS3 like the rumours are saying. That would rock my fucking world.

[Ruldra]

In Shadow of the Colossus, the original Japanese version had a few bugs you could exploit to kill bosses faster in time trials. They were fixed in the US version.

And then, in the European version they fixed the climbing bug that allowed you to reach the secret garden much sooner than expected.

[DMC]

Albert odyssey: The US version partially fixed the JPN loading issues. Then Working designs, of course, put their own signature on a bunch of other aspects that are more a matter of taste.

[evil_ash_xero]

Dragon Quest VIII had some actual symphonic music in the game. It also had voice acting, which the Japanese game didn't have.

[Thjodbjorn]

I'm going to say "Castle of Shikigami II", because I have never cried laughing from a game before. Therefore the US voice acting is far superior to the Japanese.

[ForeverSublime]

The European release of Ico has a 2-player mode. Some people may enjoy that experience.

[Shelcoof]

I was going to say Virtua Fighter 3TB but some one had beaten me to it.

I can think of Gundam Battle Assault 2. The game released here had twice as many characters to chose from from the original Battle Assault games released in Japan.

[Specineff]

I recall for Thunder Force V Working Designs made it so you couldn't get to the last stages while playing on the easiest difficulty. Not sure if any more worthwhile changes took place.

TFV US had analog control, and it was VERY good for a shmup. I found myself using the analog stick over the D-pad without thinking about it, and was surprised just how well-implemented it was. Not sure if it also had vibration support over the Japanese version.

[BIL]

Silent Hill (PS1). Having recently bought the JP version, I would say the US release is superior for lack of censorship. The infamous knife-wielding "demon children" are replaced with a much more nondescript monster (which shows up at an appropriate point the US one anyway). I thought it'd be a minor cosmetic change, but it really undermines the atmosphere of the school area. Won't be selling my US version after all.

They're not in the PAL version either, although that one gets an interesting extra memo in English as some consolation.

[louisg]

Silent Hill (PS1). Having recently bought the JP version, I would say the US release is superior for lack of censorship. The infamous knife-wielding "demon children" are replaced with a much more nondescript monster (which shows up at an appropriate point the US one anyway). I thought it'd be a minor cosmetic change, but it really undermines the atmosphere of the school area. Won't be selling my US version after all.

They're not in the PAL version either, although that one gets an interesting extra memo in English as some consolation.

Oh yeah, it's apparently the same story with Resident Evil 4

[Elixir]

Oneechanbara Vortex. They upgraded the game's graphics years later for the English release.

[linko9]

1st gen. Pokemon games got nicer looking sprites for the US releases.