Regional Differences#
The Japanese version contains more anime-ish graphics.
The European version has no connection to Unser, probably due to lack of name recognition there. All references to him were removed, resulting in many text and graphical changes.
Title Screen#
Japan |
US |
Europe |
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- The Japanese version's title screen is a 3D model of the racetrack.
- In the staff roll in the Japanese version, some of the developers have serial numbers in parentheses.
- The Japanese version features the DECO (Data East Corporation) logo, while the international versions just have the Data East (DE) logo.
- As per usual with games released in North America and Europe, the US version mentions Nintendo of America while the European version simply says "Licensed by Nintendo".
- The Japanese and European versions copyright the game to "Data East Corp.", while the US version copyrights it to "Data East USA, Inc."
- The Japanese and US versions have a 1988 copyright date (despite being released in '89 and '90 respectively), with the European version finally updating it to 1991.
- The front car on the US version has the Valvoline logo on the hood and "VALVOLINE" written on the spoiler, as per the livery of Unser's Galles at the time. The European version changes it to the Data East logo and "DATA EAST", respectively, basically turning it into a generic car.
- The Japanese version has an exclamation point for "PRESS START".
Main Menu#
Japan |
US |
Europe |
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The Japanese version has little descriptions underneath the options:
Japanese |
English |
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- The images of the vehicles on the lower-right part of the screen have been changed between all versions. For some reason, the European version's vehicle has some of the lower half cut off.
- The international versions have different shades in its text, while the Japanese version sticks to a flat color for all the text.
Qualify Image#
The image of a woman holding up a sign before starting a qualifying race.
Japan |
US |
Europe |
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Driver Names#
The driver names in the Japanese version are parodies of real-life Formula 1 racers. The US/European version changed all the driver names to something else.
Japan |
Translation |
US/Europe |
|---|---|---|
N.ビッケ |
N. Bicke |
I. Ryun |
A.フロスト |
A. Frost |
K. Evil |
S.ジョハンソン |
S. Johanson |
M. John |
J.パーマン |
J. Pearlman |
F. Dandy |
N.マーセル |
N. Marsel |
F. March |
A.セーナ |
A. Seena |
N. Lamer |
S.ナカシマ |
S. Nakashima |
F. Ken |
M.アルホレート |
M. Alfredo |
H. Angel |
R.パトレーセ |
R. Patrese |
B. Lovers |
G Berker |
F. Geiger |
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J Schward |
W. Maia |
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D. Wauiigu |
T. Mark |
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A Gafuii |
Z. Hames |
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P Aritoo |
L. Sines |
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E Chiihaa |
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P Ginsaani |
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A Chusarisu |
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A Naniii |
Track Ordering#
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To do: |
The order of circuits is different between versions.
Music#
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This page or section needs more audio. |
The Japanese version features a completely different soundtrack. While some of the songs in the Japanese version did make it into the international versions, the songs have been transposed to a different, and/or with parts of the song removed. The soundtrack can be found here.
HUD#
Japan |
US |
Europe |
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Pit#
There are various differences when you enter the pit:
- The Japanese version lacks the little table the western versions added.
- Some of the pit options in the menu are different between regions. The Japanese version has more options, such as an entry to re-set your attribute settings (normally only accessible before a race) and to change the tires. Also, "Retire" was changed to "Quit".
- The US/European versions swapped the Change Tire option for a Refuel option, however it doesn't actually refuel anything. You see, in the Japanese version, the Repair option was the one that refueled the turbo tank. So when "Change Tire" was changed to "Refuel", they never programmed it to actually refuel the tank.
- The Japanese version has an animation of the pit crew repairing the car, whereas the US/European version has an animation of the pit crew refueling the car.
Japan |
US/Europe |
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Advice#
US |
Europe |
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The international versions add this screen for each race where the player is given advice by Little Al, or the generic racer in the European version.
Congratulations Screen#
Japan |
US |
Europe |
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The Japanese version has completely different cutscenes from the international versions. The Europe version reskinned the player character from Al Unser Jr. in his Valvoline uniform to a generic racer with a Data East uniform. Also, the woman in the Next Race cutscene was given a pair of shades in the European version, which makes it much cooler than the American version. The international versions also add a comma between "CONGRATULATIONS" and the driver's name.
Also, in the "Bad" Next Race screens, in the Japanese version the girl's shirt has the names of the developers: (Ken) "FUKAKI" and "AK AKIRA KANDA".
After-Race Cutscenes#
After the Congratulations screen, these scenes appear in the Japanese version. They were removed from the international versions. A special song plays here for each cutscene, which is not used in any other part of the game, which would explain why the international versions have two unused songs while the Japanese version has none.
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'...But what does it mean?' |
Japanese |
English |
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かがやいてる、TCRFって、ス・テ・キ! つぎのレースも、NO.1を、お・ね・が・い! |
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Bad Ending#
Japan |
US/Europe |
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The Japanese version has a picture of the driver moping while the international versions just give you a plain-text ending. The international versions are exactly the same as one another.
Good Ending#
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'...But does it make sense?' |
The international versions' endings were watered down compared to the Japanese version. The US version has different faces for the driver depending if the game was finished using the pre-determined Under Jr. character or a user-created one.
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US |
Europe |
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English |
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Miscellaneous#
- The European version removed Al Unser Jr.'s likeness and replaced it with that of a generic racer.
- The European version removed all Valvoline and Stroh logos (the inclusion of the latter is a curious one to begin with, as Stroh is a brand of an alcoholic beverage) and replaced them with Data East/DECO logos.