What games are better in their Japanese versions, and which games are better in their US/EU versions?

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

“I’m curious about which games are better in the Japanese version and which are better in the US/EU version.

My best example is Dance Dance Revolution Extreme. The Japanese version had more songs and felt like the perfect finale to classic DDR before the series shifted into the Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova style.

What about you?”

 

[Tsukishima]

From Software had some games on the Gamecube called Lost Kingdoms, a duology which happens to be some of my favourite games of all time.
Lost Kingdoms II specifically, (or known as RunE II in JP) is a striking amount of content differences between regions that i hadn't realized until recently.

More content, sidequests, things to do, even the fact some chests discoverable in the world gave you 'music cards' which you could change the music for the world map to a song that was on the card. In the English versions of the game, it was replaced with the game's money.
it felt like such a fresh play even though i've replayed the English version to death as a kid and growing up to an adult age.

the English version was rushed out due to Activision, their publisher rushing to meet some demand or event, even though the games were always obscure and never became 'hits'.

 

[QrtzQdrnt]

Castlevania 3. The US version buffed every enemy to the point where you can die in like 2-3 hits. On top of that the OST in the JPN version is better because it has an additional sound channel

 

[polter99]

ACE3. US version removed mission and subsequently multiple ending. This is the only thing on top of my head (and the simplest difference too).

 

[otogirisou]

Better in japanese version = nearly every japanese games
Better in US/EU version = any game that was not released in japan.

 

[Jdan-S]

Working Designs took liberties with gameplay changes when localizing, hence why "Un-working Designs" patches exist to undo that.

For example, with Silhouette Mirage on PS1 (as per The Cutting Room Floor):

• All of the items in the shops are more expensive.
• Enemy attacks do more damage.
• Using attacks costs Spirit. This was not the case in the Japanese version, meaning that you could use any of the weapons as much as you wanted.
• Okay, one positive change: you can drain Spirit from enemies by using a same-attribute attack. In the Japanese version, using a same-attribute attack would simply lower the enemy's Spirit.

And the patched version of Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) on The Repo says the following in the description:

The US release of the game heavily tampers with the enemy stats, decreases the amount of money and experience earned in battles and on the overworld, and makes several other frustrating changes to gameplay. This patch aims to restore the gameplay to match the original Japanese version.

 

[DieDieDanmakuDoll]

Better in japanese version = nearly every japanese games
Better in US/EU version = any game that was not released in japan.

pretty much this. an annoying thing with localization of older games is when they tried to fix what wasn't even broken or translated poorly to another culture like what J-dan said about Mirage, messing with the game's foundation for no dang reason or less common, removing a story all together like the case of dynamite heady that made absolutely no sense to do lol. An example i can't exactly prove but believe is I also think they messed with the hitboxes or something in the western releases of the berserk dreamcast game. i swear the japanese version played better when i tried it vs the western version something was way off about the hit detection that interfered with my gameplay.

 

[Stare best girl]

Bare Knuckle III is literally a different game compared to Streets of Rage 3

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

I know from experience; Wario World's Japanese version is way better than the NA/PAL versions. It was one of those weird cases where despite being a Japanese game, it was actually released there last out of all the major regions. It's just a more refined version of the game overall, fixing a lot issues present in the other versions, most notably the final boss having multiple phases and being an actual fight instead of the easy, yet completely boring, slog of a fight it is in the other versions.

 

[Sonic Boomer]

Ace Combat 3 - PS1. The Japanese version is far superior. I remember when the Japanese version came out it was immediately sold here in Macedonia, we bought it with my cousin and thought it was incredible. We didn't understand the story but we couldn't stop playing it and finished it. We couldn't wait for the English version to understand the story....all of it was removed. The first shock came when Official Playstation Magazine UK gave the game we loved so much 1/10, then we realized what was going on.
The English release was definitely not 1/10, far from it, I dunno what happened there, but it wasn't the Ace Combat 3 we knew and loved.

Astal - Saturn
I have a beef with this one, it's not just because my first experience with Astal was the Japanese version, but because it's objectively superior.
The opening movie that plays on the title screen actually has an amazing song in the Japanese version.

The game is also better balanced, it has a selectable number of lives and I could be wrong on this but better health balance too.

Ninja Gaiden III - NES/FC
I don't know the exact differences, as the only version I've known is the Japanese one, that's the one that was sold in Macedonia usually, but from what I understand it's much easier and better balanced.

TNNT III: The Manhattan Project - NES/FC
In Japan this one is known as TMNT II and it was often the version sold in my country, it had a nice Options menu where you could set the game's difficulty and the number of lives. On the US version, this options menu was removed and hidden behind a cheat input, just awful.

 

[Ikagura]

I know from experience; Wario World's Japanese version is way better than the NA/PAL versions. It was one of those weird cases where despite being a Japanese game, it was actually released there last out of all the major regions. It's just a more refined version of the game overall, fixing a lot issues present in the other versions, most notably the final boss having multiple phases and being an actual fight instead of the easy, yet completely boring, slog of a fight it is in the other versions.

Inversely Astro Boy The Omega Factor which felt incomplete in its Japanese version.

 

[Badseed Badseed]

Almost everything on the early NES. Nintendo censored everything,
they were afraid they would offend our weak American sensibilities.
Like in Bionic Commando for example when you kill Hitler

However, Games like Resident Evil 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Bulletstorm, Gears of War 3, Grand Theft Auto V, Dead Island, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Just Cause 2 and numerous other violent titles, distributed physically and digitally, were heavily edited for excessive violence, but only on the localization level in Japan; the games can still be played if the locale is switched from Japanese to English.

BUT, we are just as guilty as those sneaky Japanese...

Bethesda voluntarily heavily censored Fallout 3. For Example the removed the necular bomb
from Atom, for fear of offending the weak Japanese sensabilities.

 

[TechnologicalMF]

Castlevania 3. The US version buffed every enemy to the point where you can die in like 2-3 hits. On top of that the OST in the JPN version is better because it has an additional sound channel

Came here to say this, probably the best example.

Astal - Saturn
I have a beef with this one, it's not just because my first experience with Astal was the Japanese version, but because it's objectively superior.
The opening movie that plays on the title screen actually has an amazing song in the Japanese version.

Also a great pick, I did suffer through the US one first cause of being stubborn but the Japanese one is heavenly.


I'll drop my answer since these are taken, Wizardry V on the Super Famicom compared to SNES. The SNES one was heavily censored and the SFC has this godlike dark 90s OVA style:

Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom – Hardcore Gaming 101

www.hardcoregaming101.net

 

[contrail_]

The only japanese game that I can think of, which is better in its ntsc-u region (not its pal region though, we hate pal region) is Metal Gear Solid 1, mostly because of the voice acting.
I've tried playing the japanese one before and it felt kinda dry to me.

 

[Ikagura]

MGS3 had European Extreme...

No idea if the rest of the game is the same as NTSC.

 

[CG4R12I4N]

Even if somehow the global version of the games that were released before in Japan had better QoL features not found in the OG release, Japan will eventually release the updated version of said games anyway, very often with EVEN BETTER QOL than said global release.

---

 

[Ikagura]

Even if somehow the global version of the games that were released before in Japan had better QoL features not found in the OG release, Japan will eventually release the updated version of said games anyway, very often with EVEN BETTER QOL than said global release.

---

Like FFX International?

 

[nobitakun]

“I’m curious about which games are better in the Japanese version and which are better in the US/EU version.

My best example is Dance Dance Revolution Extreme. The Japanese version had more songs and felt like the perfect finale to classic DDR before the series shifted into the Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova style.

What about you?”

This is a question you already know the answer. Kind of topic to call controversy, isn't it?

The summary answer could be 99% japanese games, 1% western releases, as long as the game is japanese.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

This is a question you already know the answer. Kind of topic to call controversy, isn't it?

The summary answer could be 99% japanese games, 1% western releases, as long as the game is japanese.

Well is aside translation balance issues and cut content I was really curious if other country if they did change for best my another example was

In Japan ver of Dark Cloud there no bonus dungeon but it had a back room in final dungeon unlike the American version they removed the back room and made a bonus dungeon with the most powerful weapon Dark Chronicles

This where Dark Cloud was better in NA than the JP.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

View attachment 186613
ACE3. US version removed mission and subsequently multiple ending. This is the only thing on top of my head (and the simplest difference too).

This and Saturn SotN off the top of my head. And for the other way around, I heard good things about the Ubisoft Naruto games on Xbox.

 

[Isegrim]

Splatterhouse 1 on PC Engine/Turbografx-16 just looks better uncensored in the Japanese version with Rick wearing a Jason lookalike mask, the inverted cross boss and has the missing altar.

Splatterhouse 2 for Mega Drive/Genesis has a better looking mask and story text font IMO in the U.S. version. The Japanese version's story makes better sense mentioning Rick actually going to a second Splatterhouse mansion. The U.S. version makes it sound like he's returning to the old mansion which doesn't make sense considering it burned down in the first game. The Japanese version's ending also sets the stage for the 3rd game by mentioning the portal to Hell Rick left open in SH2 may cause problems in the future. None of it is mentioned in the U.S. version and the ending sort of suggests the Mask is the cause of the whole thing...which isn't the case. (I think)

Splatterhouse 3 is a mixed bag for me. The U.S. version's spin kick and powered up Rick's Tentacle attack is a huge game changer. The damage levels are very powerful and the latter can be spammed without cost to the energy gauge. On the other hand, the time limits to save Jennifer and David have been shortened drastically so much so compared to the Japanese version that mastery of these moves are essential to saving them especially at the hardest level. However, implementation of the move requires mastery of a particularly tricky Zan Retsu Ken (Ryo's move in Art of Fighting) motion that may turn off people especially if they never played a fighting game. It's pretty difficult even if you do.

The Japanese version have larger time limits but the spin kick has been reduced to a Final Fight AB move that clears enemies when surrounded but does very little damage. The Tentacle attack is still powerful but now costs a huge cut of the energy gauge making it useable only a few times even with a full meter. On the bright side, you just need to press two buttons to activate it. Also, you'll need to rely more on spacing, meter management and mastery of basic beat-em-up tactics instead of spamming a single move. Some people prefer this over the U.S. one since it forces you to play the game more like a traditional beat-em-up.

I personally prefer and enjoy the U.S. version's super move spam fest over the Japanese version by a slight margin.

 

[Viviana Santos]

The 7th Saga (SNES): The US localization drastically nerfed the player's stat growth and experience gains, while keeping the enemy stats exactly the same. The Japanese original (Elnard) offers a more fair, playable difficulty curve without requiring endless, tedious grinding.

 

[Igge]

Generally domestic versions are better, but it is interesting to discuss exceptions to this rule. E.g. Dragon Quest 8 and 5 (PS2 remake) were better in the US versions. Namely the orchestral soundtrack.

 

[Dew Prism]

Western localisations always ruin anything Japanese, 100% of the time. Not sure about other countries though.

 

[TechnologicalMF]

Generally domestic versions are better, but it is interesting to discuss exceptions to this rule. E.g. Dragon Quest 8 and 5 (PS2 remake) were better in the US versions. Namely the orchestral soundtrack.

Wait I always thought the domestic versions did get the orchestral soundtracks? Wasn't the whole drama that the composer was xenophobic or something and it was only in the west that those soundtracks got the MIDI variants?