Regional Differences

This is a sub-page of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

To do: Document the two different American versions, 1.0 and 1.1. Rip the post-staff roll music. Add explanations for the rest of the US-exclusive bugs.

The North American version was released first, with the Japanese version notably rebalancing the difficulty among other cosmetic changes. The later European and Australian versions also contain most of the Japanese changes.

Early Localized Names#

Although the Japanese version only gives the player the option to play in Japanese, this version's files actually contains an in-progress list of French, German, and Italian localized enemy names. A list of changes can be found below.

French#

German#

Italian#

Title Screen#

America	Japan	Europe	Korea

The swirl on the logo is white in the American & European versions and gray in the Korean version, The Japanese version removes the swirl entirely.

Additionally, the date shown at the bottom of the European title screen was changed to "2005-2006" to reflect the year the game came out in this part of the world. The Korean title screen did a similar change, only this time it was changed to "2005-2010".

Text Changes#

Additionally, the European version has additional text preceding the title screen which warns the player against shutting off their console or removing their cartridge when the game is saving.

Save Screen#

NA	Japan	Europe

After saving your game, the Japanese and European versions have commas between the circled button letters.

Peach's Chances#

NA/Europe	Japan

Early in the game, E. Gadd gives the probability of Peach returning from her trip to the past. Her chances are actually lower in the Japanese version, where three additional decimal places were removed from the number due to this version's number font being larger.

Toadsworth's Dialogue#

NA/Europe	Japan

Upon being translated into Japanese, the script got some minor alterations here and there. One such example can be witnessed when the Mario Bros. give the Refreshroom to Toadsworth, he then exclaims "Kinojii revival!" in the Japanese version, as opposed to his simple "HUZZAH!" in the US and EU versions.

Hammer Bros' Dialogue#

NA/Europe	Japan

AHEAD IS OFF-LIMITS. THOSE ENTERING WITHOUT PERMISSION WILL BE DEFEATED BY US HAMMER BROS.

Another, less subtle change can be seen when meeting the Hammer Bros. in Vim Factory. In the North American and European versions, the Hammer Bros. talk in L33tspeak. To help show that they are not their normal selves, their Japanese text is entirely in katakana.

Peach's Castle#

In the US version, the location of Peach's Castle in the past is referred to as "Peach's Castle (Past)", which is incorrect as Peach's Castle in the present is referred to as "Mushroom Kingdom (Present)". This was corrected to "Mushroom Kingdom (Past)" in the European version.

Credits#

The European and Japanese versions credit Peach's voice actress as Nicole Mills instead of Nicole Miller; the former was what she was credited as in Super Mario Strikers. The European version also took the time to credit the European localization team.

Audio Changes#

Several audio-related changes and fixes were made during the game's localization, which are listed below:

• In the North American version, when the Shroob Missile impacts the Koopa Cruiser, the transmission screen on board shows a visual of Princess Shroob laughing before cutting to static, but with no audio. In the Japanese and European versions, her laughter is heard.

• The scene where E. Gadd's memory changes has different background music in each version.

US Version:

Japan/International:

• The Japanese and European versions play the "Piggyback" sound effect when a baby gets back on their adult after a successful piggyback jump attack in battle.

• Ominous background music plays during the scene with elder Princess Shroob. The music in the North American version starts right before the battle begins (after Stuffwell's lines), whereas the Japanese and European versions start the music when the elder Princess Shroob appears.

• After the staff roll, early North American versions go totally silent, but the Japanese and European versions, along with later North American versions, play a slow music box tune. The sound data for this music is not even present in the original North American ROM, so it was probably added in the time between the North American and Japanese releases.

• In the Japanese and European versions, the "Got Key Item" theme plays when Baby Luigi picks up the Princess Shroob mushroom, and after the babies retrieve Baby Princess Peach.

Battle Changes#

Bowser and Baby Bowser#

NA	Japan/Europe

Baby Bowser will sometimes use Mushrooms to heal himself or Bowser. In the North American version, they restore 100 HP. In the Japanese and European versions, they only restore 60 HP.

Elder Shrooboid#

NA	Japan/Europe

In his second phase, Elder Shrooboid brings out a UFO that deals instant death when its countdown timer reaches zero. In the North American version, the UFO starts on the right side of the top screen and switches sides every turn. To reset the UFO's timer, the babies must hammer the spiked balls thrown by Elder Shrooboid into the UFO. It's a little tricky, because Baby Mario hammers the ball up and to the right, whereas Baby Luigi sends it straight up. Hitting the UFO is a little easier in the Japanese and European versions, where the UFO stays in the upper-right corner, and both babies hammer the spiked ball up and to the right.

Shroobsworth#

One of Shroobsworth's attacks consists of him and Intern Shroob throwing a purple meteor. The meteor flies through the air slower in the Japanese and European versions.

Younger Princess Shroob#

In the North American version, when the player defeats the younger Princess Shroob, the victory screen appears showing that no experience points or Coins are awarded. In the Japanese and European versions, the battle screen immediately fades out to the field after the death animation.

Elder Princess Shroob#

NA	Japan/Europe

In her first form, the elder Princess Shroob calls for a vim drink that recovers 120 HP in the U.S. version. The same drink only recovers 80 HP in the Japanese and European versions.

Automatic Attacks#

Bowser, Elder Shrooboid, and the elder Princess Shroob have "automatic attacks" in the Japanese and European versions. When the player attacks the enemy, a "!" appears over the enemy's head, who will then attack back despite whose turn it is. Bowser's automatic attack is his fire breath, Elder Shrooboid's is his rotating spiked ball, and Princess Shroob's attack is her body ram.

Stat Changes#

Many stat changes were made between the US and Japanese/European versions.

Enemies#

Some changes were made to enemy stats in the European and Japanese versions, particularly lowering the HP of bosses. The enemies' US stats are listed first, and the EU/JP stats are listed second.

Additionally, a few tweaks were made to enemy item drops:

• In the North American version, the large form of Mrs. Thwomp drops nothing upon defeat, while the small form has a 42.5% chance of dropping a 1-Up Super and a 7.5% chance of dropping a Hit-POW Badge. In the European and Japanese versions, the small form drops nothing, but the large form has a 42.5% chance of dropping a 1-Up Mushroom and a 7.5% chance of dropping a Hit-POW Badge.
• In the North American version, Gold Koopeleons have a 12.75% chance to drop an Ultra Mushroom and a 2.25% chance to drop Golden Pants. In the European and Japanese versions, these rates were changed to 28.5% and 1.5%, respectively.

Gear#

Some of the clothing was given a more significant defense boost in the European and Japanese versions: 100-Point Pants, Mushroom Jeans, Para Slacks, Rocket Jeans, Shroom Slacks, Space Trousers, Stache Jeans, and Supreme Slacks all received +20 to their DEF stat.

Miscellaneous Changes#

Colorswapped Yoshi#

NA	Japan/Europe

The second Yoshi who hatches from one of Sunnycide's eggs is black with grey shoes in the US version, but yellow with green shoes in the Japanese and European versions.

Toad Town Save Album#

NA	Japan/Europe

The Save Album in the northwestern area of Toad Town is outside the item shop in the US version, but inside it in the Japanese and European versions. The position of the Album was also edited on the top screen map to reflect the change.

Item Prices#

NA	Japan/Europe

Both 1-Up Mushrooms cost 20 more Coins in the North American version. The price before Stache discount for the 1-Up Mushroom is 60 Coins in the North American version and 40 Coins in the Japanese and European versions.

NA	Japan/Europe

The 1-Up Super's price before Stache discount is 120 Coins in the North American version and 100 Coins in the Japanese and European versions.

Bros. Item Order#

NA	Japan/Europe

For the Bros. Item selection list on the bottom screen, the US version puts the newest items at the top, whereas the Japanese and European versions has them ordered by type. Notice that the "Current Bros. Items" order on the top screen matches the order on the bottom screen in the Japanese and European versions, but it wasn't changed to match the new order in the US version. This causes the highlighted line on the top screen to jump around wildly as you scroll through the items on the bottom screen.

Bug Fixes#

A few glitches that existed in the US version were fixed in the Japanese and European versions.

Warpulated#

Throwing the babies into the two Save Albums where Stuffwell lets you use his Warpulator will cause the action icons to go crazy for a short time before disappearing. Normally, the icons smoothly move upwards and offscreen when you hit these Save Albums.

Peach's Castle Dungeon Softlock#

At a certain point in the game, the pipe that leads to Peach's Castle Dungeon becomes accessible by going to a question-marked spot in Peach's Castle. Later in the game the player will have to go back to Peach's Castle via Peach's Castle Dungeon. If the player did not go to the question-marked spot at Peach's Castle beforehand, the player will be stuck in the dungeon, as the pipe that connects to Peach's Castle and the dungeon doesn't appear.

Hammer Battle Tutorial Softlock#

At the first hammer battle tutorial in Vim Factory, when the enemy attacks Baby Mario or Baby Luigi, if the player defeats the enemy, the game will softlock and they will be unable to finish the battle. This can only be done if Baby Mario or Baby Luigi's power stat is very high at this point.

Text Storage in Gritzy Desert#

Watch on YouTubeAt Gritzy Desert, when the timer runs out after hitting one of the switches, you gain the ability to move regardless of whether there is text on-screen. The text disappears when entering a loading zone.

Yoshi Island Cutscene Skip #1#

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Yoshi Island Cutscene Skip #2#

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Yoshi Island Skip#

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Gritzy Caves Skip#

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Thwomp Volcano Skip#

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Thwomp Caverns Skip#

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Star Shrine Cake Room Skip#

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