Meteos (Nintendo DS)

In Meteos, a puzzle game from the creators of Kirby Air Ride and Lumines, colored rocks created by a giant eye fall from the sky, and your objective is to rid your screen of them by aligning three or more of the same type, which launches them upward. Whether to defeat the cosmic menace, to send them to neighboring planets for sport, or to merely survive for as long as possible, the fate of your planet is in your hands...

Sub-Pages#

Prototype Info Prerelease Info Unused GraphicsHISOOSPJM JMSNJDOS!

Unused Music#

SEQ_BRIG4
An eerie tune. Where it could have been used is unknown.

SEQ_BRIG6
Similar to SEQ_BRIG4, though it uses square instruments.

SEQ_BRIG7
A bright tune; part of its melody is shared with the results screen music. Where it could have been used is also unknown.

SEQ_BRIG8
Similar to SEQ_BRIG7, though it uses square instruments.

Unused Text#

Star Trip Missions#

The file strip_font10.bnm contains text for the Star Trip missions, including specifiers for time and Meteo types. However, only four numbers for the time specifiers (0, 1, 2 and 3) and only one of the Meteo type specifiers (H2O) are actually used in-game. This could imply the missions were planned to be randomized at one point of development. In addition, a placeholder text for groups without missions is present.

Numbers#

0123456789

Placeholder Text#

Meteo Types#

Fusion Room Descriptions#

Several planets, icons, and one sound set have Fusion Room descriptions, in case they were to be unlocked. As they are already available by default, these descriptions go unused. It's worth mentioning that while several default items have descriptions, they are seen in the Item Switch menu.

Planets#

These planet descriptions, which refer to the four starter planets (Geolyte, Firim, Oleana, and Anasaze), are absent from the European release.

Sounds#

The following strings can be found in labo_sound_help_s00.bnm/0000.dat, and refer to the Geolyte Set:

Other#

This message is found in two entries of labo_sound_help_s10.bnm and three entries of labo_raremetal_help_s00.bnm. These are coded in shift-jis in the American release, and not present in the European release.

Achievements#

Several unused achievement text strings can be found in the Japanese version of the game, at incentivemes.bnm, alongside other used strings. This text is also present in the American version of the game, in shift-jis coding. In the European version, the slots are filled with dummy!.

Version and Build Dates#

The game's ARM9 binary contains a version number and a build date, as listed below:

Unused Code#

Text Coloring#

Bytes 02 to 0F, when inserted into the message region of a text file, can alter the color of the text displayed. Despite that, in some screens, the text can have different colors (for example, when failing a mission in Multi Star Trip Mode, the text displayed is red), none of these bytes are actually in the text files, indicating that the coloring method might be different.

Text Parameters#

There are two files associated with the planets' parameters: .mtp files, which are binary data, and .csv files, which are text tables, both labeled meteoparam[ID]. Their values are identical, though the order in which they appear is different. Interestingly, only the .mtp files are actually parsed by the game, meaning the .csv files are likely leftovers from development and/or to serve as a reference to values.

Fusion Room Costs#

Geolyte's Sound Set, Bravo, has a coded fusion cost in the Japanese release, though it goes unused due to it already being available by default. According to recipe_sound.bin, it would have costed 100 AIR Meteos for it to be "fused", and listenable in the Sound Set menu. This cost slot was blanked out in the localizations.

Regional Differences#

Planet Parameter DifferencesBuffs and nerfs around the galaxy.

"Published by Nintendo"#

This screen, which is only seen in the localizations, had its font changed from Arial to New Rodin in the European release.

US	Europe

Quest Beat#

In Japan, Meteos was published under Q/Bandai's Quest Beat label, and its logo can be seen in both the title sequence and credits. This logo is not present in the localizations.

Japan	World

Game Logo#

In the Japanese release, each of the floating blocks in the game's logo, as seen in the title screen and in the main menus, forms the game's title in Japanese (メテオス). The English logo is also stylized differently, having a red circle as a backdrop, a weaker glow, and no shine in the text.

Japan	World

Main Menu Layout#

The localizations increased the size of the Options button in the main menu, and, as such, the default organization was changed to accommodate it.

Japan	World

Gameplay#

Some of the upper screen elements are different in all versions: In the Japanese and European versions, the time markings are separated using primes and double primes, while in the American version, they're separated using colons. The European version also slightly moved the launched meteo counter to the right, and increased the size of the centisecond counter.

Japan	US	Europe

The Galactic Fork#

In the Galactic Fork ending, the Meteos are fused into a giant fork, and with its help, the Metamo Ark cuts the planet like a steak. This is accompanied by a silly scribble in the Japanese and American versions, with the latter removing the onomatopoeia present in the former, while the European version uses a more realistic-looking render.

Japan	US	Europe

Nova Counter#

In the Japanese version, the symbol used for the Nova Counter in the Star Trip and Time Attack modes, as well as in Simple Mode during timed matches, is a cyan B, standing for "Break". In the localizations, however, it was replaced by a white star.

Japan	World

Fusion Room Price Costs#

Many of the items and sound sets, as well as some of the planets, had their fusion prices modified in the localizations:

Translation Changes#

Minor changes are in italic. Considerable or large changes are highlighted in bold.

Planet Names#

Sound Set Names#

References#