Metroid Prime US/PAL?

[Champloo]

Looking to pick up another copy and ntos ure which version to go for. According to Wikipedia, there were some pretty big changes made to the PAL release, story elements were changed and I think the difficulty (although it doesn't say how much so). Is the US version better, or are these changes minor?

PAL would be handy as I don't have to bother with freeloader and it does support 60hz, but i'd rather play the game as it was meant to be played.

And did Echoes also get altered during the PAL conversion?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Mayhem]

NTSC version also has all the glitches, most of them were removed for the PAL version.

Regarding story elements, I'm not sure how much was changed (not played it through on PAL) but I did hear some of the Chozo lore was altered for whatever reason.

[the_dude]

If your after the PAL version, i've got a mint copy for a fiver.

[NekoFever]

With Echoes it's likely that the PAL version is identical. If I remember correctly it doesn't even have a 50Hz mode.

[sj33]

For the record, according to Wiki, Retro Studios regard the US version as the 'proper' one.

[Shinebi]

I think they made about 3(?) version of the US game...
A mate has got the JAP version, then the first US, then PAL, then he ordered the remake US, then a collector of some sorts. He did the same thing with RE4 on both consoles...
Talk about cash flow problems, ha!

[MattyD]

Here's a summary of the most important changes to Metroid Prime:

The original US release had a faster streaming program so there were less frequent delays when waiting for a door to open. The downside was it was occasionally too fast and crashed.

The enemies and bosses in the PAL version are as hard on normal mode as the hard mode in the NTSC version, and there are more of them.

The PAL version's introductory cutscene has a voiceover which wasn't in the US version (Blade Runner all over again >_<).

Samus' suit also has voice samples that weren't in the NTSC version (just says things like 'recorded to log book' and 'beacon received')

The scanable lore in the PAL version is basically the same text but appears in a different order.

The only change that will make a difference ot Metroid fans is that all the glitches in the maps (holes in walls, open ceiling, stuff like that) were fixed in the PAL version, leaving far fewer opportunities for sequence breaking.

Apparently this is all because the release was rushed (aren't they all) but the extra localisation time given for the PAL and JAP versions allowed Retro to do a last-minute polish-up. The US Player's Choice version is also the same as the PAL / JAP version.

As for Metroid Prime 2, the PAL version seems to be identical to the US whilst the JAP version has some minor cosmetic changes to menus etc and a couple of bug fixes.

[Mayhem]

Cheers for that, I might pick up the Player's Choice US version then just as a completion type thing.

[Link83]

There used to be a thread about 'definative versions' of games, ill see if I can find it....

Here it is, this is page 4:-
http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread...5&page=4&pp=10
Has abit about Metroid Prime, basically there are additions to the PAL release as previously mentioned, but its missing progressive scan - so if thats important to you i'd go for the US release.

Thinking about it, does this mean that the US 'players choice' version has all the PAL additions, plus progressive scan? If so that would be the version to own!

[Mayhem]

Yep, I'd be surprised otherwise, the "original" US release has it.

[NekoFever]

I think they made about 3(?) version of the US game...
A mate has got the JAP version, then the first US, then PAL, then he ordered the remake US, then a collector of some sorts. He did the same thing with RE4 on both consoles...
Talk about cash flow problems, ha!

You should see my mate's RE collection. No exaggeration: he has every version of RE out there across all platforms, and a copy of each one from every region (e.g. GC RE4 UK, JP, US; PS2 RE4 UK, JP, US). He's nuts about that series.

[Kubrick]

Presumably, the US re-release version (not Player's Choice) with MP2 demo is of the bug-free variety?

[Mayhem]

I don't know. I do actually have that version as well as the v1 original US. Sadly my copy of it is packed away somewhere and I can't plug it in to check for sure.

[Champloo]

Blimey, seems like both regions have advantages, I didn't think it'd be so hard to choose. I've gone for the US after all though, I did originally play the PAL so may as well try US and maybe if the game is as good as I remember, i'll pick up another PAL copy afterwards and play it for the third time .

Cheers for all the help.