Post by Garden Variety Zombie on Jan 18, 2013 6:41:58 GMT
Yeah so I finally got around to playing the Japanese version, wow even after a few level so many little things are different! I'll try to list them level by level as I go through. Oh and also in case anyone wondered, I am playing it on the PSP 
Some stuff I will change along the way after having checked it, for example the placement of an item might look different to me, but when I check it in the English version, it's really not at all.
Level names
Dan's Crypt - 納骨堂 (Nōkotsu-dō) - Crypt (Ossuary, to be more precise)
The Graveyard - ガロメア墓地 (Garomea bochi) - Gallowmere Graveyard
Cemetery Hill - 墓地の丘 (Bochi no oka) - Cemetery Hill
The Hilltop Mausoleum (The Desecrated Church) - 教会 (Kyōkai) - Church
Return to the Graveyard - 墓地の守護神 (Bochi no shugoshin) - Guardian(s) of the Graveyard
Scarecrow Fields - 小麦畑 (Komugibata) - Wheat Fields
Pumpkin Gorge - パンプキン谷 (Panpukin tani) - Pumpkin Valley
The Pumpkin Serpent - パンプキング (Panpukingu) - Pumpking [hah!]
The Sleeping Village - 眠れぬ街 Nemurenu mach - Sleepless Town (City)
The Asylum Grounds - 迷宮のジャック (Meikyū no jakku) - Jack's Labyrinth (Maze)
Inside the Asylum - 地下牢 (Chika rō) - Dungeon
The Enchanted Earth - 封印の地 (Fūin no ji) - Land of the Seal(ed)
The Ant Caves - 蟻の巣 (Ari no su) - Ants' Nest
Pools of the Ancient Dead - 死者たちの沼 (Shisha-tachi no numa) - Swamps of the Dead
The Lake - 渦巻く湖 (Uzumaku mizūmi) - The Swirling Lake
The Crystal Caves - 水晶の洞窟 (Suishō no dōkutsu) - The Crystal Caves
The Gallows Gauntlet - ガローズの絞首台 (Garōzu no kōshu-dai) - The Gallowmere Gallows
The Haunted Ruins - ぺリグリン城 (Perigurin-jō) - Castle Peregrin
The Ghost Ship - 幽霊船 (Yūreibune) - The Ghost Ship
The Entrance Hall - ザロック城 (Zarokku-jō) - Castle Zarok
The Time Device - 時計仕掛けの城 (Tokei shikake no shiro) - Clockwork Castle
Zarok's Lair - ガロメアの聖杯 (Garomea no seihai)- The Chalice of Gallowmere
General Stuff
- The Start up screen has Medievil in fancy golden squiggly font!
- All loading screen either feature the Heroes from the Hall of Heroes in their final scene CGI versions, or the usual ones of Dan (plus his helmet in all of them in some way, of course).
- The pre-'New Game/Load game' floating through the graveyard, the letters of MEDIEVIL all light up in gold and each one has a Kanji symbol underneath it. Plus this screen also has '(c) Sony Computer Entertainment Europe' on it, unlike our version. The Dan statue in this scene also has the helmet on too.
- First of all I notice that the controls are on different buttons (which I change immediately), though changing them leaves some button presses different still so it's a little confusing... but I'll live
- The infamous Helmet is an interesting touch that all of us should know about by now, and as we recently found out HAD to be added in to make it more acceptable in a Japanese marketplace.
- The Map has way more arrows on it, one for every direction, even the ones he cannot currently move in! (Though this IS in the NTSC version too).
- The Dan head icon on the map is wearing the helmet.
- The game runs a hell of a lot smoother than the English version (I suspect this is only down to the frame rate difference though, like the noticeable difference between EU and US versions of the same game).
- The Game Over screen actually has 'Game Over' on it in English, though the font is all gold and fancy (same as the start up screen).
- Whilst Dan still talks/mumbles in English (as he does in ALL languages versions), in the JPN one alone it seems, he has no text to demonstrate what he is actually supposed to be saying.
- The pause menu has an extra option, it appears to do what the 'Exit Level' option did in Medievil 2 by taking you back to the hub level. In Medievil 2s case that was the Profs Lab, in this case it takes you to the map without having to reset the game!
Dan's Crypt
- The first life bottle is grey, this is because it is empty and needs to be filled at the next available life fountain. I rather like this touch as some of the bottle later on are actually full, and therefor green of course.
Graveyard
- No noticeable difference at all!
Cemetery Hill
- Less boulders spew from the Gargoyles in the opening scene.
- The blast chest energy is yellow instead of purple/pink.
- The door at end doesn't open until you approach the steps, rather than right after the Boulder Gargoyles have died.
Hilltop Mausoleum
- When you bust open the chest contain the club in the hall of pain, the camera zooms in on the stone slab you have to smash open.
- The Energy Vial has moved from the 4th grave on the right to the 3rd grave on the right.
- The Stone slabs only take 2 smacks to break with the club instead of 3.
- You can't 100% the chalice on this level by running away on the 'ground is collapsing' parts of the level and just letting the Imps fall to their doom, where as you can in the English version. They do not count towards your chalice.
- The passage way placement of the Music sheet has switch places with the nearby treasure chest, making it a lot easier to accidentally activate the floor collapse!
- The ghostly organist has a cape.
- The gates near the Stain Glass Demon only open when you are very near them, as opposed to being automatic when you enter that area from the Demon side.
Stained-glass Demon Boss Fight
- His colouring is slightly different.
- Correction: He has always had 500HP, but you can actually damage him MORE especially with the crossbow.
- He is a LOT more aggressive with his attacks, shooting out two then three lots of glass shards far earlier then he normally does. He also starts off by attacking rather than showing his heart.
- His death scene appears to be slightly longer, but it's hard to tell.
Return to the Graveyard
- No changes found in the actual level, but there were some in the boss fight at the end of this level.
Guardians of the Graveyard Boss Fight
- At the start of the fight, the short 'leaping from the wall' scene pans from left to right, then the dogs leap off one at a time (right first, then the left one) instead of just the simple 'in game' scene you normally get. Due to Dan not being controllable for those few seconds, you cannot harm the beasts whilst they stay solid coming off the wall like you can in the EU version.
- At the end of the fight, the unlock message for the 'Daring Dash' ability seems more elaborate. Though I can't read the text at all, it does contain a
within the text, so it appears to be telling you how to use it right after getting it, rather than just leave it within the controls menu which is in the options menu.
Ant Caves
- Before the level (when calling the witch in the Enchanted Forest), after you get shrunk and she 'apologises' for doing so, the camera is looking up at her as if it's Dans new view of her.
- The fairies have little Japanese girls voices instead of Cockney. They shout 'ARIGATO' as they fly away, that's just cute!
- There is a really badass kind of surround panning camera for the Ant Queen as she comes alive.
Some stuff I will change along the way after having checked it, for example the placement of an item might look different to me, but when I check it in the English version, it's really not at all.
Level names
Dan's Crypt - 納骨堂 (Nōkotsu-dō) - Crypt (Ossuary, to be more precise)
The Graveyard - ガロメア墓地 (Garomea bochi) - Gallowmere Graveyard
Cemetery Hill - 墓地の丘 (Bochi no oka) - Cemetery Hill
The Hilltop Mausoleum (The Desecrated Church) - 教会 (Kyōkai) - Church
Return to the Graveyard - 墓地の守護神 (Bochi no shugoshin) - Guardian(s) of the Graveyard
Scarecrow Fields - 小麦畑 (Komugibata) - Wheat Fields
Pumpkin Gorge - パンプキン谷 (Panpukin tani) - Pumpkin Valley
The Pumpkin Serpent - パンプキング (Panpukingu) - Pumpking [hah!]
The Sleeping Village - 眠れぬ街 Nemurenu mach - Sleepless Town (City)
The Asylum Grounds - 迷宮のジャック (Meikyū no jakku) - Jack's Labyrinth (Maze)
Inside the Asylum - 地下牢 (Chika rō) - Dungeon
The Enchanted Earth - 封印の地 (Fūin no ji) - Land of the Seal(ed)
The Ant Caves - 蟻の巣 (Ari no su) - Ants' Nest
Pools of the Ancient Dead - 死者たちの沼 (Shisha-tachi no numa) - Swamps of the Dead
The Lake - 渦巻く湖 (Uzumaku mizūmi) - The Swirling Lake
The Crystal Caves - 水晶の洞窟 (Suishō no dōkutsu) - The Crystal Caves
The Gallows Gauntlet - ガローズの絞首台 (Garōzu no kōshu-dai) - The Gallowmere Gallows
The Haunted Ruins - ぺリグリン城 (Perigurin-jō) - Castle Peregrin
The Ghost Ship - 幽霊船 (Yūreibune) - The Ghost Ship
The Entrance Hall - ザロック城 (Zarokku-jō) - Castle Zarok
The Time Device - 時計仕掛けの城 (Tokei shikake no shiro) - Clockwork Castle
Zarok's Lair - ガロメアの聖杯 (Garomea no seihai)- The Chalice of Gallowmere
General Stuff
- The Start up screen has Medievil in fancy golden squiggly font!
- All loading screen either feature the Heroes from the Hall of Heroes in their final scene CGI versions, or the usual ones of Dan (plus his helmet in all of them in some way, of course).
- The pre-'New Game/Load game' floating through the graveyard, the letters of MEDIEVIL all light up in gold and each one has a Kanji symbol underneath it. Plus this screen also has '(c) Sony Computer Entertainment Europe' on it, unlike our version. The Dan statue in this scene also has the helmet on too.
- First of all I notice that the controls are on different buttons (which I change immediately), though changing them leaves some button presses different still so it's a little confusing... but I'll live
- The infamous Helmet is an interesting touch that all of us should know about by now, and as we recently found out HAD to be added in to make it more acceptable in a Japanese marketplace.
- The Map has way more arrows on it, one for every direction, even the ones he cannot currently move in! (Though this IS in the NTSC version too).
- The Dan head icon on the map is wearing the helmet.
- The game runs a hell of a lot smoother than the English version (I suspect this is only down to the frame rate difference though, like the noticeable difference between EU and US versions of the same game).
- The Game Over screen actually has 'Game Over' on it in English, though the font is all gold and fancy (same as the start up screen).
- Whilst Dan still talks/mumbles in English (as he does in ALL languages versions), in the JPN one alone it seems, he has no text to demonstrate what he is actually supposed to be saying.
- The pause menu has an extra option, it appears to do what the 'Exit Level' option did in Medievil 2 by taking you back to the hub level. In Medievil 2s case that was the Profs Lab, in this case it takes you to the map without having to reset the game!
Dan's Crypt
- The first life bottle is grey, this is because it is empty and needs to be filled at the next available life fountain. I rather like this touch as some of the bottle later on are actually full, and therefor green of course.
Graveyard
- No noticeable difference at all!
Cemetery Hill
- Less boulders spew from the Gargoyles in the opening scene.
- The blast chest energy is yellow instead of purple/pink.
- The door at end doesn't open until you approach the steps, rather than right after the Boulder Gargoyles have died.
Hilltop Mausoleum
- When you bust open the chest contain the club in the hall of pain, the camera zooms in on the stone slab you have to smash open.
- The Energy Vial has moved from the 4th grave on the right to the 3rd grave on the right.
- The Stone slabs only take 2 smacks to break with the club instead of 3.
- You can't 100% the chalice on this level by running away on the 'ground is collapsing' parts of the level and just letting the Imps fall to their doom, where as you can in the English version. They do not count towards your chalice.
- The passage way placement of the Music sheet has switch places with the nearby treasure chest, making it a lot easier to accidentally activate the floor collapse!
- The ghostly organist has a cape.
- The gates near the Stain Glass Demon only open when you are very near them, as opposed to being automatic when you enter that area from the Demon side.
Stained-glass Demon Boss Fight
- His colouring is slightly different.
- Correction: He has always had 500HP, but you can actually damage him MORE especially with the crossbow.
- He is a LOT more aggressive with his attacks, shooting out two then three lots of glass shards far earlier then he normally does. He also starts off by attacking rather than showing his heart.
- His death scene appears to be slightly longer, but it's hard to tell.
Return to the Graveyard
- No changes found in the actual level, but there were some in the boss fight at the end of this level.
Guardians of the Graveyard Boss Fight
- At the start of the fight, the short 'leaping from the wall' scene pans from left to right, then the dogs leap off one at a time (right first, then the left one) instead of just the simple 'in game' scene you normally get. Due to Dan not being controllable for those few seconds, you cannot harm the beasts whilst they stay solid coming off the wall like you can in the EU version.
- At the end of the fight, the unlock message for the 'Daring Dash' ability seems more elaborate. Though I can't read the text at all, it does contain a
within the text, so it appears to be telling you how to use it right after getting it, rather than just leave it within the controls menu which is in the options menu.Ant Caves
- Before the level (when calling the witch in the Enchanted Forest), after you get shrunk and she 'apologises' for doing so, the camera is looking up at her as if it's Dans new view of her.
- The fairies have little Japanese girls voices instead of Cockney. They shout 'ARIGATO' as they fly away, that's just cute!
- There is a really badass kind of surround panning camera for the Ant Queen as she comes alive.
I also need to check some of the smaller differences (and if indeed they ARE differences).
Seems like it would make the boss fight much more challenging and fun as opposed to just spamming the crossbow for two turns. I'm curious to know if any of the other bosses or enemies also have different attack patterns than those in the English versions.
