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Differences among versions of Sonic games


Big Panda

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Nearly every Sonic game is released more than once on more than one platform. Sometimes there are differences between the different versions. But I wonder just how many of them are common knowledge.

The original Sega Saturn version of Sonic R only had a 2-player versus mode. The PC and Gems Collection versions, however, allow four players.

Did you know about this difference between the 360 and PS3 versions of Unleashed? If you switch between day and night in the hub world, the load screen in the 360 version shows off a nice little animation of Sonic transforming. In the PS3 version the loading screen is a much simpler sun/moon medal spinning in the middle of the screen.

The 360 and PS3 versions of Sonic 06 or more or less identical on the outside, but on the inside where the glitches dwell, some of them vary. You know the famous glitch where Sonic can escape the battle field during the Silver boss battle, right? In the PS3 version, you'll be free to explore the now completed deserted city of Soleanna. In the 360 version, you can do the same...except all of the buildings, bridges and such that you wouldn't normally be able to see from the battle field are now completely invisible.

Speaking of 06, you guys remember that scene before Sonic's version of Dusty Desert? The one where his mouth continues to move after he's said "Okay, you be careful, Tails"? You don't recall that happening? Than perhaps you were playing the PS3 version, because that little oversight was only present in the 360 version.

Among the three console versions of Sonic Heroes, only the Game Cube version contains a hidden unlockable in which you can play as a metallic version of your favourite team in versus mode, by holding down two buttons upon loading the round.

Do you know of any more obscure differences between versions? Share them!

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If I recall, Mega Collection on the GC has three different ROMs of Sonic 1, two Japanese and one American. Robotnik's tube machine does not cough up 1000 points in some versions, but does in others. The first Japanese release had a bug where you still get hurt by spikes, even when having flash invincibility.

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1 hour ago, Lime/Key/Parvati-Pai said:

All Genesis versions had intended behavior where you still get hurt by spikes, even when having flash invincibility.

Fixed. They fiddled with it anyway for Mega Collection, but it wasn't a bug.

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5 hours ago, Ernest-Panda said:

The 360 and PS3 versions of Sonic 06 or more or less identical on the outside, but on the inside where the glitches dwell, some of them vary. You know the famous glitch where Sonic can escape the battle field during the Silver boss battle, right? In the PS3 version, you'll be free to explore the now completed deserted city of Soleanna. In the 360 version, you can do the same...except all of the buildings, bridges and such that you wouldn't normally be able to see from the battle field are now completely invisible.

Hang on... I thought that was the other way around. On the PS3 version, only some things are loaded, otherwise everything is pretty much invisible. And the 360 version was able to see everything. I have the PS3 version, so I know only some things are loaded.

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I've been playing Unleashed PS3 lately. I played the Xbox 360 version in the past and I've noticed a few things:

-PS3 version goes up to 60 FPS in some areas, usually runs at around 40-45 FPS, though. The Xbox 360 version was capped at 30 FPS. This causes lots of people to make the false assumption that the PS3 version has worse frame rate drops, but it's not the case. It's just that going from 60 FPS to 10 FPS on Adabat, is more noticeable than going from 30 FPS to 10 FPS. In reality, the frame rate drops are no more frequent on PS3, nor do they ever get to a lower point than the Xbox 360 version would reach. In general, the game runs much smoother on PS3.

-As mentioned, the loading screen for changing the time of day is different. The Xbox 360 version has a fancy animation of Sonic transforming, while the PS3 version just has a simple spinning medal. While some may like the loading screen on the Xbox 360 more because it looks nicer, I prefer the PS3 one as it actually loads a lot faster, since it doesn't have to load the transformation sequence too. Also, Sonic can actually start moving about 2 or 3 seconds before the screen disappears on PS3 (when you hear the music start again).

-PS3 version has full colour range, while the Xbox 360 version has limited colour range. IIRC, this is an inherent thing to the Xbox 360, and it doesn't have full colour range. This essentially means the colours and lighting are much more vibrant on PS3, which makes the game look a lot better IMO. The Xbox 360 version looks quite washed out by comparison. The difference is especially noticeable in cutscenes.

-The PS3 version takes a lot longer to auto-save your game. Probably the only real downside to it. I think it also takes a little longer to load stages but I'm not 100% sure about that one. The Xbox 360 version is much more seamless with it's autosaving process, and continues saving while you're playing or going to load up a new area.

-This is a bit more technical and not something you'd know by just playing the game, but I recall reading info from the creators of the Unleashed Project, where they said the PS3 version handles a good deal of the game's models differently. My memory is vague, but I think it had something to do with model formats being different, or the game handled how they were loaded a bit differently on PS3.

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This (purely visual) glitch occurs in Eggmanland where it looks like Sonic is running through the air if you don't wait a few seconds for the textures to load upon entering this room. I only have the PS3 version but from what I've asked of my friends, this doesn't seem to occur in the 360 version.

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9 hours ago, Ernest-Panda said:

Did you know about this difference between the 360 and PS3 versions of Unleashed? If you switch between day and night in the hub world, the load screen in the 360 version shows off a nice little animation of Sonic transforming. In the PS3 version the loading screen is a much simpler sun/moon medal spinning in the middle of the screen.

How strange, Is there any explanation for why this was changed? I'd love to know.

Quote

Among the three console versions of Sonic Heroes, only the Game Cube version contains a hidden unlockable in which you can play as a metallic version of your favourite team in versus mode, by holding down two buttons upon loading the round.

I don't know about the XBOX version, but you can do this in the PS2 version.

 

I might be wrong about this, but I believe only the PS2 Rider games have an option to switch the audio language. 

And these are probably too common knowledge, but the Japanese version of mega collection has Comix Zone and the Ooze, and the Japanese version of gems collection has the Bare Knuckle (aka Streets of Rage)series, instead of the Vectorman series.

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17 minutes ago, Blue Swallow said:

I might be wrong about this, but I believe only the PS2 Rider games have an option to switch the audio language. 

Riders 1 doesn't let you, but Zero Gravity does. Not sure if the Wii version also has a Japanese language setting.

Sonic Heroes on PS2 is also the only version that lets you switch to Japanese in-game. With the Xbox you need to change the console settings (according to The GHZ), while the GC and PC versions don't have it whatsoever.

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Small 06 thing, the Xbox 360 version had gondolas in the Soleanna Castle Town hubworld while the PS3 version doesn't. Why, I don't fucking know.

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2 hours ago, Kabalni said:

Small 06 thing, the Xbox 360 version had gondolas in the Soleanna Castle Town hubworld while the PS3 version doesn't. Why, I don't fucking know.

There are gondolas in the PS3 version, but I only remember seeing them in Silver's story for some reason. Again, why? I have no idea. 

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12 hours ago, Ernest-Panda said:

The original Sega Saturn version of Sonic R only had a 2-player versus mode. The PC and Gems Collection versions, however, allow four players.

Not on the PS2 version of Sonic Gems Collection, like the original it's only 2 players. While Sonic R is based off the PC version (time of day, different Raident Emerald graphical touches), it got some improvements such as better draw distance and also the Traveller's Tales logo has changed to the modern one.

Relating to Sonic Gems Collection, the Gamecube version like most Sonic games from the era only has the region that it has (e.g. Japanese for Japan, English for US/PAL) while the PS2 version has both on the disc but it might be unused for this one. Sonic CD only has the US soundtrack on disc (JP soundtrack for Japan) while the PS2 JP version has both on the disc. I'm not sure if my PAL copy of the game still has the JP soundtrack unused.

Also I'm sure that the PS3 version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is the only console version that actually runs on HD (720p) unlike the others where they are more closer towards the Vita resolution however like All-Stars Racing it has less characters (no Mii or Avatars here). The Wii U version does have a few bonus modes due to the GamePad.

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From the top of my head...really minor, (unless you speed run, of course) but the Sega Vintage Collection version of classic Sonic games map the jump button on only one face button instead of mapping it to all available face buttons.

Also, Metal Sonic, Eggman and even Honey the Cat from Sonic the Fighters HD become playable characters.

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Only the 360 version of All-Stars Racing has Banjo and Kazooie as playable racers, as well as the ability to play as your Xbox avatar. The Wii version, on the other hand, lets you play as your Mii.

The PC release of Sonic CD uses the US soundtrack in all versions, even in the Japanese release.

That neat game select menu in Sonic Jam with the cartridges uses the correct packaging artwork for the region it's released in. The Japanese version even uses the alternate cartridge model.

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7 hours ago, Sean said:

Riders 1 doesn't let you, but Zero Gravity does. Not sure if the Wii version also has a Japanese language setting.

I have a vague recollection of switching the language to Japanese in Zero Gravity because I couldn't stand the 4Kids VA's in that game.   My memory might be skewed, though.  Should give that a looksee later today.

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Sonic 3 has some slight differences in level design or object placement when played standalone versus played with Sonic & Knuckles using lock-on, doesn't it?  It's been quite a long time since I played the games, so I can't remember the exact details, but I always remember noticing them and thinking it was weird.

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12 minutes ago, FFWF said:

Sonic 3 has some slight differences in level design or object placement when played standalone versus played with Sonic & Knuckles using lock-on, doesn't it?  It's been quite a long time since I played the games, so I can't remember the exact details, but I always remember noticing them and thinking it was weird.

 

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1 hour ago, FFWF said:

Sonic 3 has some slight differences in level design or object placement when played standalone versus played with Sonic & Knuckles using lock-on, doesn't it?  It's been quite a long time since I played the games, so I can't remember the exact details, but I always remember noticing them and thinking it was weird.

Most of the levels have modest amendments that are only immediately noticeable when you're actually looking for them, yes.  When I was a kid, I had so much trouble getting past the final boss in Sonic 3 that I was able to memorize the entire level design of Launch Base Zone.  When I later replayed the level in the lock-on version, I was tripped up by various little changes, such as spike traps that aren't in the original version.  Aside from some of the bug fixes and minor inconvenices that a select few of these changes do away with, they really do nothing for the quality of the level design, but for the dedicated player, they add a pleasant additional layer of challenge to revisited stages.

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The timer in Sonic 1 for Genesis works differently between the  US and Japanese versions.

In the US version, if you get a Time Over after hitting a checkpoint, it will go back to the time when you hit it. In the Japanese version, it goes back to 0:00, thus more points farming with blocks in Marble 2.

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Sonic Adventure's original Japanese release has plenty of differences.

Notable ones:

hqdefault.jpg

Cowgirl sign in Casinopolis that moans when you touch it. Uh, yeah.

SonicAdventure PinballJP.png

Casinopolis had no ball counter, and you couldn't shake the table. Bit naff.

SonicAdventureWheelFeet.png

Sonic has a blur effect on his feet, similar to the classic games. 

SonicAdventure LevelsJP.png

Trial Mode's level select is sorted by Internal Level IDs of all things, something I only realised upon looking up the game's debug mode level table. Utterly bizarre. 

Finally of note, you can stand on the Burger Man statue; which allows Amy to use it as a platform for her hammer jump...

ClP2aHXXEAAvbAb.jpg  ...and access Casinopolis without cheats. It has a somewhat unique level layout (it's mostly Sonic's version, but with the Sonic statue from Knuckles' version present) and it's fully functional (besides the pinball tables, which do work surprisingly well, just with no pinball physics). It's possible to complete it, as the mech-arms in the vault do work; but the game crashes after the result screen. 

 

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3 minutes ago, Tracker said:

 

Sonic has a blur effect on his feet, similar to the classic games. 

That's not really a regional difference, IIRC.  This can be accessed in all version of the game (including the DX versions) if you cancel a Spin Dash with X. or B. prior to getting the Light Speed Shoes.  I don't know why the Light Speed Shoes take that feature away, though.

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There are many small cosmetic differences in Sonic Adventure 2 and Battle. Alot of them are in Chao World:

-In the GC version you're shown a nice little logo at the top of the screen when you enter a different area.

-The lobby has different music between versions. On the DC, it's the music that later became the entrance music for the Chao Stadium in the GC version. In the GC version the lobby music is the Chao Race entrance music from SA1.

-Speaking of changed music, what was the music for the Chao Transporter menu on the GC was originally the Chao Race entrance music on the DC version (the latter now having a completely new bit of music on the GC).

-The GC version allows you to see your Chao's stat chart when you pick them up, which the DC version does not.

-The layout of the Hero and Dark gardens have been changed between versions.

-The Chao Kindergarden has a slightly different layout in both versions: on the DC the main hall is circular, while on the GC it's a semi-circle with all the doors on the flat side. The Black Market and Fortune Teller have also been added.

-On the subject of revamped gardens, the DC version contained the only known area where it's actually possible for a character to die. On the DC, a part of the pool in the hero garden is just deep enough for Tails to drown in. This was removed on the GC.

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Speaking of cosmetic differences in Adventure 2 and its upgraded counterpart, I often wonder why select graphis were noticeably darker in the GC version.  Namely, Tails' fur is more brown than orange and Knuckles and Rouge have much darker muzzles than their Dreamcast counterparts.  Also, the dialogue changes positions in various points, despite the subtitles remaining in their original places.  I wonder if it was a bug that occured when porting the game from the Dreamcast to the GameCube or an intentional (and might I add odd) creative decision on the developers' part?

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That reminds me of one instance in particular.

In the cutscene proceeding Knuckles and Rouge's portions. First off, remember Rogue's really wooden "scream" at Knuckles shatterering the emerald? In the GC version, she screams off-screen the instant the emerald breaks. In the DC version meanwhile, she doesn't scream until the camera cuts back to her.

Additionally, in the DC version the scene is 100% identical between both stories with the exception of the themes playing. In the GC meanwhile, a couple of shots are at different angles (the opening shot of the Master Emerald, and the "Dr. Eggman!" "So that's Dr Eggman" shots).

The scene toward the end of the dark story where Rouge's cover is blown. Rouge's theme song plays throughout the entire scene in the DC version, while in the GC version it switches to Shadow's theme halfway through.

You know those trailers that play after clearing a story for the other story, or the final story depending on the order?

In the GC version, when you complete one story, the trailer for the other story plays, and then when you complete that other story the trailer for the last story plays. In addition when you go back and re-clear that first story you completed, the trailer at the end will change to that of the last story.

In the DC version, this doesn't happen. If you go back and re-clear the first story you completed, even after unlocking the last story, it will still play the trailer it played before.

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45 minutes ago, Ernest-Panda said:

In the GC version, when you complete one story, the trailer for the other story plays, and then when you complete that other story the trailer for the last story plays. In addition when you go back and re-clear that first story you completed, the trailer at the end will change to that of the last story.

In the DC version, this doesn't happen. If you go back and re-clear the first story you completed, even after unlocking the last story, it will still play the trailer it played before.

In retrospect, I can't help but think they should have made those trailers viewable in a menu of some kind instead of forcing you to clear the story to see them again.  It's not like they're particularly fantastic rewards.

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