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Japanese DS Game Substantially Different Than US?
Eurogamer has the story that the Nintendo DS title Mr. Driller may have a very different feature set in the US and Japan. From the article: "According to widespread reports - which we've been unable to confirm as we haven't got a copy of either version - the Japanese version allows players to engage in various multiplayer battles in groups of up to four players using just one of the DS's game cards, whereas the US version requires multiple copies to achieve the same result." Interesting, if cynical, decision.
that's not a DS thing, that's a game thing.
I have a DS, and YES it is capable of playing four player games with just one gamecard. if its not available in the US version, that's the game publisher's intention, its not a DS difference.
all DSs can play 4 player games with one game card, if the game supports it.
In the Japanese version there is "download play" with a single cart (so only one person needs to have the game and the rest of the people download a copy to their DS to play along in multi-play). Whereas with the US version each player needs their own copy of the game to join into a multi-play session.
The Japanese version also includes Dristone Mode, which isn't in the US version either (it's a modified version of single player with slightly different rules). Given that DS games are region-free, if anyone is seriously interested in the game, it might be better to import it.
But a bad thing I don't read Japanese. I'll own both so that i can have the US version on standby for translation and everyone else can crowd over it so we know what's going on... Or maybe I'll just skip Mr. Driller for the likes of Metroid Prime:First Hunt.
...but also, apparently an entire mode.
Dristone/Drillstone mode is a sort of RPG mode, and I guess the US version doesn't have it--Namco did reply to an inquiry about the exclusion of some features here.
"We didn't have the time to implement the some elements/features in order to make the DS launch date in North America,"
Which is kind of funny, as they launched simultaneously.
Kids these days. They don't know the difference between classic, and just plain old.
The GBA has a number of titles that can be link-played with only one cartridge. Usually, you can only play mini-games or other small features this way.
For instance, in my Kirby & the Amazing Mirror game (which rocks by the way), there are 3 mini-games that can be played up to 4 player with only one cart.
You can also play the main game with 4 players, but for that each player needs a cart, which makes sense, as each player can explore the whole game world simultaneously. The slave GBAs would need to load pretty much the whole game world off of the master, or at least a sub-world at a time.
I can't think of any other games that can link without more carts, but I know I've read about some in the past. I believe some of the Mario ones, and perhaps the Zelda one.
-Grant
My stupid web site
Also, the initial stock of the mr driller carts for the US version is split between the US and europe. Namco has said that they dont plan on making a second stock if this first English language one runs out.
sort of a catch-22, limited stock yet more carts are required to play multiplayer. I'm now sold on buying the import version....
Damn this is no surprise. U.S have always lagged behind. Look at gran turismo all the cars are in Japanese names. So many Japanese version of the games are better than the American counterparts with more secrets etc.
Er... you mean the US lags behind because they drive different cars in Japan or what? The cars in GT have Japanese names generally because they're not available here (the Mazda Demio and Nissan Skyline GTR, for two examples). The game itself is the same as the Japanese release, though.
Many games these days are actually improved when they're brought over here - a big switch from the old days of just a few years ago. For example, every Final Fantasy game since VII has had extra monsters and side-quests in the US release (the US release then later being re-released in Japan as "FF(n) International").
Japanese game development in general isn't what it used to be, though, so the days when you'd have all these deserving little niche titles either left in Japan or brought over here in bastardized form are pretty much over. Today, games are usually produced for a worldwide audience and most deserving games are brought over either intact or with new additions and improvements.
So to me, it seems like this Mr. Driller thing is just an abberation. We'll see if it's some sort of nefarious plot by Nintendo to get Americans to buy more games, but if so they'll be kicking themselves for not region locking the system because it'll turn into an importer's dream. There hasn't been a real major must-import-for system since the Saturn (and to a lesser extent the PS1), but if Nintendo starts pressuring developers to make alterations like this in the name of profits, the DS will become the next importer system pretty quickly.
This is what happens in a country where we spend all our money on ludicrous taxes, mortgages, insurance bills.
I don't even know where to start with this one! Taxes are higher in Japan, having a mortage means you're putting money into a home (which is generally a good thing, and btw, they have mortgages in Japan too), and insurance is more expensive in Japan as well. (If you mean health insurance, they pay for it just like we do, the difference is that it's required to have by law and it only covers about 70% of hospital expenses. Imagine if that were true here! Unemployed or poor people do get cheap rates through the government, though.)
I heard some part of Japan even have fibre-channel connections at home.
Got it here too.
Honestly, the weird thing about Japan's internet access is that while they supposedly have this huge broadband penetration, it's tough to find anybody that actually uses it. All the statistics I've seen talk about the number of "lines", not the number of subscribers... I've always wondered if they just call an ADSL-capable phone line a "broadband line" and then count that in to pad the stats. I know probably 30 people over there and not one of them uses broadband - in fact most of them access the net exclusively from their cell phones.
Anyway, this is all by way of saying that there's this perception of Japan in some parts of the west as this mythical place of Star Trek-like electronic toys that we don't get to have or that cost a lot more here (the opposite is usually true). And this DS story sort of just perpetuates that myth. It's just one game, after all. I mean they get pissed off too that they have to wait a year after our Final Fantasy releases to play the final version of the game. The grass is always greener on the other side.
(Notwithstanding my sig homage to Puffy...)