Ristar (Genesis)

Ristar is an action-platformer starring(eherm) a star creature with grabby arms who headbutts his adversaries. Apparently, just straight-out punching them wasn't an option.

Free Movement Mode


Use the PAR code to enable a free movement mode. Hold A, B, or C to move faster.

To exit this mode, turn the code off and press Start.

Old Stage Select


An older, text-based stage select is still in the game. Use the following Game Genie codes and press Start to access this menu.

NOTE: The font used on this stage select was removed from the international versions. The stage select still works, but no text is displayed.
 * JP: BZ6A-AAHG, AP6A-AZ9J
 * INT: BZ6A-AAH8, AP6A-AZ2A

Press A and C to navigate left and right respectively.

Slow Motion
The PAR code will enable a slow motion feature. With this code on, gameplay will move at half-speed.

Please be aware that upon completing a stage, the game will freeze. It's likely that when this was actually used for debugging, it could be flipped on/off through a button press to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

Unused Room


Room is unused in the final game, and would have been used somewhere in Round 6-2. It would have featured an interesting gimmick that appears nowhere in the final game: Gravity flipping! Note the reversed tiles at the top of the screen, and the upside-down gem chamber.

Those pipes, which only appear in this room, are using incorrect color values. That color space was reclaimed by the stage's red and yellow background layer after this room was scrapped.

Placeholder Screens
Four placeholder screens remain in the game. They all consist of a simple descriptive message on a black background.

Like the early stage select, these use a font only found in the Japanese version.

Unused Graphics
Early graphics for every treasure from Round 1 to Round 4 are still in the game's graphics. The early graphics are mixed in with round-specific graphics, while the final treasures are sequestered later in the ROM.

The early treasure graphics also use palettes specific to the round they're found in, while the final treasures share the same two-palette set.

The password screen at the end of the game shows every treasure the player has collected. It would be impossible to load the correct palette for every treasure if the early graphics were used. This might be what necessitated the change.

An early version of the Golden Screw is also in the game. The only round that loads the correct palette for the early sprite is Round 6-2, but the final treasure is found in Round 6-1.

Round 7


Round 7 has a title screen and stage name, but the actual game goes straight to the gameplay. Unlike every other Round in the game, the background in Round 7-1 uses both background layers. One of the background layers is taken up by the title border, which is probably why this title card was cut.



The Next Round screen also has graphics for Round 7, where it's called "Castle of Greedy" rater than "Castle Greedy". It's similarly unused, since there's no Star Handle or height bonus at the end of the stage.

Sound Off
According to a table in the Sound Theater, the "SOUND OFF" option is supposed to knock the brown bird off its perch. However, since the sound code it's looking up is the same one triggered by the B Button, this doesn't work as it should. Use the Game Genie code DMXA-LHTK(JP)/DM6A-LH1F (INT) to fix this bug.

Region Lockout


The Japanese has a region lockout system. This was removed from the international versions, which are region free.

Intro
Story text was added to the intro sequence in the US and European versions. The Japanese version had no text at all. IN A FAR OFF GALAXY... AN EVIL ALIEN FORCE IS AT WORK.

THE EVIL TYRANT, GREEDY, HAS CORRUPTED THE PLANET LEADERS AND ENSLAVED THE POPULACE. EVEN THE LEGENDARY HERO HAS BEEN CAPTURED. A DESPERATE PLEA FOR HELP IS MADE.

AND ANSWERED, BY THE HERO'S OWN SON.



This sprite only appears in the Japanese version's intro, and is used after the Elder's star reaches Ristar's planet.

Title

 * The title screen was altered to remove "the shooting star" in the US and European versions.
 * Every gameplay demo in the Japanese version has a constant "DEMO PLAY" graphic flashing at the center of the screen.

Graphics Changes
Ristar's default stance is more cheerful in the Japanese game.

His default idle animation (Used in Round 1, 7, and Bonus Areas) was also changed.
 * In the Japanese version is a happier version of his boss stage animation. Occasionally, he'll either say "Go!", "Ehh", or giggle.
 * In the localized game, his default idle animation is identical to his boss stage animation.

Most enemies with neutral expressions in the Japanese game are angrier in the international version. The enemies pictured here only had their eyes altered; Some of the other enemies have more complex changes.

This owl is angrier, but it also has a smaller mask in the international game. The shading on its tail and wings was also changed slightly.

The shading on the bagworm Orblets is brighter in the international sprite, and the string's palette was changed from blue to brown.

The flying squirrel in Round 1-2 was replaced with some kind of bat-thing.

The fire Orblets in Round 3-2 were given darker shading and a wider shine spot for the localized game.

This horn enemy, found in Round 4-1, has a second shine on its right side and some less sophisticated shading in the Japanese game.

The dancing birds of Round 4-2 have noticeable breasts in the Japanese game. The graphics were changed to disguise this; Now it just looks like a fold in the shirt.

Itamor has entirely different designs between versions.
 * In the Japanese version, he's a cat monster. This is a reference to a Japanese idiom: A person who doesn't like hot/spicy food can be said to have a "cat tongue", which is why throwing hot soup into his mouth hurts him.
 * In the international game, he's a frost monster and lost his cat-like features. It still makes sense to defeat him with hot soup, since he's a frost monster and all.

Additionally, the shading on the back of his tongue was changed, and the light on his stomach was shrunk.

The Japanese version has a Valdi System display in the Next Area screen. This was removed from the localized build, probably because some of the new planet names are too large to fit in the box.

Text Differences

 * Every planet has a different name in the international versions. Each name in the localized game is an actual English word that more directly represents the theme of each planet.


 * In the Japanese game, each treasure has a name:
 * "Grab" in the control setup option is "Catch" in the Japanese game.
 * Beating a Bonus Area fast enough gives a continue. The message for this is "CONTINUE UP!" in the Japanese game, which was shortened to just "CONTINUE!"
 * The text for beating a Bonus Area staff time or getting an exceptionally high Round score is "GIVE UP" in the Japanese game and "NO WAY!!" in the international game.
 * The text after beating a Round is different:
 * In the Japanese game, the text is "ROUND X CLEAR", where X is the Round number.
 * In the localized game, the text is "Y CLEAR", where Y is the Round name.
 * The two highest results in the post-credits Password screen were changed: "WONDER!" was changed to "WONDERFUL", and "MIRACLE!" changed to "GREAT JOB!"
 * The message in the credits after beating Super mode is "YOU ARE RISTAR MASTER.." in the Japanese game, and "YOU ARE THE MASTER‼" in the international game.

Passwords
The Japanese game has several additional passwords that were taken out of the localized version.

Stage Differences
Round 2


 * At the beginning of Round 2, there is a hidden gem in the wall. In the Japanese version, revealing it right away won't raise the water right away, whereas the water will still rise in the International versions.


 * The second half of Round 2 contains starfish-like objects that cling onto Ristar and slow him down. They don't appear in Japanese versions, although their graphics are used in the turbine sections.

Round 4

 In the Japanese version, notes appear above a bird robot's head when they're about to slam down. These were removed from the international game.

Round 5



A short stage intro was added in the international build. Ristar rockets down a snowy slope before falling back...



...and reappearing with a set of skis. Ristar jumps off of the slope and the stage begins proper.

Round 6



Halfway through Round 6-1, Ristar enters a swimming section with invisible water. There's no explanation given in the Japanese version, so the international game adds a sprite for a set of anti-gravity shoes.



There's even a nice animation of Ristar admiring his fancy new footwear.

Ending

 * Sega of America remembered to change Itamor's sprite in this picture, but left the tail in. Oopsy.
 * Ristar has a five-fingered fist in the Japanese credits. He's supposed to have only four fingers per hand, something that was corrected in the international credits.

In the Japanese version, Greedy, Inonis, and Uranim are stranded on an unknown planet. A contemplative Greedy stares at a distant flickering image of Ristar. In the international game, Ristar finally reunites with his father, the legendary hero. This ending was changed to fit with the new text in the game's intro.
 * What should be the brightest color in the Aurora Borealis is darker than the surrounding colors in the Japanese picture.
 * The ending screens are starkly different.
 * [[Image:RistarEndingJP.png]]
 * [[Image:RistarEndingINT1.png]][[Image:RistarEndingINT2.png]]

Misc
 * Besides the additional SOA Staff credits, the international game also adds Ryoichi Hasegawa's name at the end of the Special Thanks section.
 * The text "- RISTAR - THE SHOOTING STAR" was removed from the international credits.

Revisional Differences
Two different versions of the US/Europe ROM exist: one made in August, the other made in September. An easy way to tell which version you have is to look at the checksum at : the August version has a checksum of, while the September version has a checksum of.