Do Japanese gamers ever get screwed over.....

[BrianC]

I found the answer to my own question. Unlike the US version, there is no special character like Mr. Dream or Mike Tyson in the Japanese version of Punch Out.

I'm by no means a Famicom expert (or really even fan for that point) but I would say that's false advertising. It even says, "Can you beat Mike Tysson?" on the back.

Hmmm. Maybe Japan got more than one Famicom Punch Out, both a Mike Tyson and an earlier version? I guess, if that's the case, Japan lucked out. I tried the passwords for Mike Tyson in the 1987 version on emu and they didn't seem to work. Mike Tyson doesn't seem to be in the intro of that version of the game either. Or maybe, I'm inputing the passwords wrong and it is the mike tyson version. Another World Circuit was always a pain to put in.

Manga is actually cheaper in Japan than it is in the US.

Edit: I found out that NONE of the US passwords seem to work with the Japanese ROM version of Punch Out that I downloaded from a rom site. So I haven't confirmed a thing.

[Thunder Force]

Several games in the PSP library have inferior JP versions. The best example is Armored Core PSP, in which the JP version doesn't even have full player control (the player basically WATCHES the action) and only in the US and EU versions of the game do you actually get to control the combat. Ridge Racer PSP is another example, the US and EU versions feature an extended 7 racing tours (46 tours) compared to the 39 tours found in the JP version. Lumines also allegedly received some tweaks for the US version based on minor niggles players had with the JP game.

[GaijinPunch]

There is a regular Punch Out on the Famicom, isn't there? There was a gold cart of it as a prize which is fucking expensive if I'm not mistaken (very few of them made).

Hang on... Yahoo Japan search:
If I search for Punch Out, they're all Mike Tyson's Punch Out:
http://search4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/ ... 0jp&acc=jp

Except this one, which is a NES game
http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/79561211

Hmm....

[azmun]

I'm by no means a Famicom expert (or really even fan for that point) but I would say that's false advertising. It even says, "Can you beat Mike Tysson?" on the back.

Edit: I found out that NONE of the US passwords seem to work with the Japanese version of Punch Out. So I haven't confirmed a thing.

Indeed, that would be false advertising. Based on my Famicom Punch Out, I can assure you that he IS in the game. If you like to verify a password try this one: 007-373-5963. That said, I read somewhere that in a later rerelease, he was removed.

This was one of my all time favorite Famicom games. Oddly enough, the Japanese version was all in English. It even came with a dictionary for a translation into Japanese text the hilarious dialogue in between fights.

[Nemo]

Japan never got these games:

Beyond Shadowgate
Bonk 3 CD
Addams Family CD (though they wouldn't want this one)

Contra Hard Corps also has a life-bar, which is lame, and Streets of Rage 3 is easier.

[superhitachi4]

The U.S. version of Final Fantasy VII had the extra bosses: Emerald, and Ruby weapon.

[MSZ]

Gran Turismo 4 NTSC-J version got fu<ked up big time.

-It has 12 less cars compare to the NTSC-U/C and PAL versions, PD added 4 more cars for the Korean version in March.
-A/B-Spec is not interchangeable during the pitstop in NTSC-J.
-Much harder final licence test in NTSC-J.
-And PD is a Japanese company.

[neorichieb1971]

I heard some Western games go for very high prices in Japan, I'm talking US versions of games that didn't get released in Japan.

I think a couple of Genesis titles go for $200+.

[The Eidolon]

For that matter, most games seemed more expensive in Japan than
their Western counterparts. And consoles too. At least it was so when
I was living there in 1996. I guess the budget rerelease lines have
become more popular there since, so maybe things are a little better
now.

And 100 Yen for an arcade game play was a bit of a shock. Finding a
50 Yen arcade felt like a bargain, though it's nearly twice what we pay here.

--The Eidolon

[GaijinPunch]

I heard some Western games go for very high prices in Japan, I'm talking US versions of games that didn't get released in Japan.

I think a couple of Genesis titles go for $200+.

People ask $200+ for them... they'll be lucky to get 3000 yen. If it's not that expensive/rare in the states, it's not going to be highly paid for in the Japan. I think I got 4000 yen for a Lunar Eternal Blue Mega CD once, and 5000 yen for Y's Books 1 & 2... this was ages ago.

And 100 Yen for an arcade game play was a bit of a shock. Finding a
50 Yen arcade felt like a bargain, though it's nearly twice what we pay here.

It wouldn't have been as bad back in 1996, but now, the games in US arcades are barely worth the quarter.

[BrianC]

I'm by no means a Famicom expert (or really even fan for that point) but I would say that's false advertising. It even says, "Can you beat Mike Tysson?" on the back.

Edit: I found out that NONE of the US passwords seem to work with the Japanese version of Punch Out. So I haven't confirmed a thing.

Indeed, that would be false advertising. Based on my Famicom Punch Out, I can assure you that he IS in the game. If you like to verify a password try this one: 007-373-5963. That said, I read somewhere that in a later rerelease, he was removed.

This was one of my all time favorite Famicom games. Oddly enough, the Japanese version was all in English. It even came with a dictionary for a translation into Japanese text the hilarious dialogue in between fights.

Edit: I tried the Mike Tyson password on my NES version and it worked right away. As I said before, maybe there is just more than one Japanese version of the game. I remember seeing a picture of a Japanese Famicom version that has a picture of Bald Bull on it with Mike Tyson nowhere on the cart or packaging. I tried more than one password on this Japanese rom version and I can confirm that many passwords from the Mike Tyson version (all Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream versions) don't work. The rom I tried doesn't have Mike Tyson before the title screen like the US one or "Mike Tyson's" on the title screen. This "false advertising" crap is annoying. If you really don't believe me, PM me if you don't mind using emulation and try the passwords for yourself.

Very odd how the rom sites have only the non Mike Tyson version for the Japanese one, but it's pretty much confirmed that the Mike Tyson version came out everywhere and is the same in all regions, right down to the English. Seriously, I wasn't purposly trying to post false info, I was confused by this rom and by what someone posted in the older shmups forum about the Japanese version having Super Macho Man as the last oppoent.

Apparantly, that rom I tried is probably from that super rare gold version of Punch-Out that Gaijinpunch mentioned (thanks for that tidbit, Gaijin Punch). Here's some info:
http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/fds/golfus.html
http://freehost10.websamba.com/JAMESCOM/NESPuchOut.htm
http://geocities.com/tomspunchout/famicomgold.html

Anyway, it looks like this certainly isn't a case of US getting the better end of the deal since the non Mike Tyson version is a collectors item and the Japanese Mike Tyson version seems to be very common. Aslo, Azumn, like you said, the Japanese Mike Tyson's Punch Out seems to be exactly the same as the US version right down to the passwords. However, as I said before, the ROM I tried is not the Mike Tyson version.

Now, I'll be trying to find out if there is a Famicom version of Ares no Tsubasa, though all signs point to no.

[Gakidou]

It really makes me kinda sad that I registered just to say this, but:
I was in Tokyo a couple of months ago and in a store in Akihabara (think it was Super Potato) I actually saw a third version of Punch-Out!!, not the Mike Tyson one and not the gold one from BrianC's link. It also had Bald Bull on the cover, but also Little Mac who was trying to punch him. This was on the right side of the box (both characters were entirely displayed, not just their faces), the left side had the title. I remember the colour of the box was sort of a light shade of gray, not two-colored like the box of the gold one. Didn't see the game itself, so I don't know if it was another version of the gold casette, but it was quite expensive and in a glass box (don't really know the english word for this, a glass box in which stores display their pricier objects). Think something around 10.000-15.000 yen.

Anyway, just wanted to say this since I find the discussion about the different versions of Punch-Out!! incredibly exciting (one of my favorite games of all time). The reason I remember this is simply because I thought it was awesome to see a japanese version of the game for the first time, and because it was so expensive. I didn't actually even know that there exists other japanese versions of Punch-Out!! before I read this thread.

[ResOGlas]

A boy and his Blob, from Jaleco for NES and Famicom.

The Japanese version has a very crude sprite for your main character where the US version has a higher detailed much nicer sprite. It's nice to see Japan get screwed for once.

Japan also pays out the ass for older Arcade PCBs. Easy example is that we can get classic Capcom games for like Ghosts 'N Goblins or Trojan for about $20 on Ebay, but those PCBs easily fetch $300 in Japan.

[Sabreman]

The UK got a really nice cardboard sleeve edition of ICO with postcards, whereas Japan just got the regular plastic case version.

[Ganelon]

Gundam Battle Assault 2 was later split into 2 games for Japan: G Gundam the Battle and Gundam Wing the Battle. Although the games allowed the opposite series' suits via memory card unlocking, you couldn't even play the UC suits of one game in the other. Also, the modes were dummied down, voices were completely lost, the story was gone, and the 4 suits available only via hacking in GBA2 were unavailable.

Anyway, modern games get adjustments all the time during localization. Every MGS game is tuned a bit before US release.

[professor ganson]

Apparently the US release of the new Namco Battle Collection for the PSP has more games than the Japanese release.