Alien vs. Predator (SNES)

Alien vs. Predator
Also known as: Aliens vs. Predator (JP) Developer: Jorudan Publishers: IGS (JP), Activision (US/EU) Platform: SNES Released in JP: January 8, 1993 Released in US: September 1993 Released in EU: September 1993 This game has unused modes / minigames. This game has debugging material. This game has a hidden level select. This game has regional differences.

Ever wanted an Alien vs. Predator beat 'em up where you could only play as the Predator? Here you go, weirdo.

Unused Title Screen Options

Use Pro Action Replay code 7E0A66XX to access these options, where XX is the mode ID.

Password

Mode ID: 02 (INT), 03 (JP)

This game was planned to have a password feature, but it wasn't used for some reason. All ten stages can be accessed using this, though:

• Stage 1: 0422
• Stage 2: 4709
• Stage 3: 04F0
• Stage 4: 3336
• Stage 5: 1154
• Stage 6: 1F04
• Stage 7: 2366
• Stage 8: 6177
• Stage 9: 7651
• Stage 10: 5731

2-Player Mode

Mode ID: 03 (INT)

Trying to access this just sends the player back to the title screen. There is a 2-Player Mode in the Japanese game, but it appears to have been dummied out in other regions.

Test Options

Mode ID: 04, 05, 06

Whatever these are supposed to do, they no longer work. Choosing any of them (Test1, Test2, Test3) will freeze the game.

Test Ending

Mode ID: 07

This option actually works, and selecting it plays the ending sequence and credits (like you'd expect).

(SamuelEarl666: Original TCRF research)

Level Select

In the options menu (press Select, then Start on the title screen), hold A+X+L+R on controller 2 and press Start on Controller 1. Use Up and Down to toggle the level to play.

Regional Differences

To do: Add the rest (music and enemy placement).

Gameplay Changes

Controls

• In the Japanese game, pressing Left or Right twice will dash. Otherwise, the player moves at half speed. In the international versions, the Predator always moves at dashing speed.
• In addition to the above change, hitting the attack button while dashing in the Japanese version will perform a slide attack. Since this would be awkward in the International game, the player can now slide left or right with the L and R buttons.

Items

• The spear and disc items can only be thrown once in the Japanese version. In the International game, each item has six uses.
• The cloaking device lasts much longer in the Japanese game. The use time was changed from 44 seconds to 17 seconds.

Health

Japan	International

Your starting HP level differs between regions on the Standard and Novice difficulty settings. The Japanese version gives you 80 HP on Standard and 112 HP on Novice, while the US version gives you 96 HP on Standard and 128 HP on Novice. The values for Advanced (64 HP) and Expert (48 HP) are the same in both regions.

Attack Damage

The damage dealt by Predator's punches and uppercuts was roughly cut in half for the international release. The shoulder laser was also greatly weakened compared to how it was in the Japanese version, but it no longer uses up your health with each shot.

Special Attacks

Japan	International

The special attack power bar is longer in the Japanese version: It went from 40 pixels to 24. Notice that the gray, yellow, and blue sections are equal in the International game, while in the Japanese game the blue section is half the size of the other ones. The bar also takes about 30 frames longer to charge in the Japanese version.

Japan	International

The full power bar flashes twice as fast in the Japanese version -- once every frame -- while the International version flashes every two frames.

The way the special attacks work was also changed:

• In the Japanese version, the weak and powerful lasers take away some of the player's health. The weak laser takes 5 HP, and the strong laser takes 20 HP. This health drain isn't present in the International releases, making them much more useful.
• The full laser strike takes 40 HP in the Japanese version but 12 HP in the International game.

Music

The music was changed a bit for the international release. The BGM volume was lowered, and more instruments were added to each composition.

To do: Upload examples of this change.

Vs Mode

The Japanese version has a small but interesting 2 Player mode that was completely removed from every other version of the game. One player is the Predator, the other a charger Alien. The controls are identical to the 1 Player game.

Once a player is defeated, the game goes back to the 2P menu.

Options

Japan	International

• "Attack" was changed to "Special", and "Special" to "Laser".
• The default number of lives was raised from 2 to 3.
• The max value of lives was decreased from 9 to 6.
• The L and R buttons can be assigned to Attack/Jump/Special in the Japanese version. With the aforementioned sliding change, this can no longer be done in the International game.
• The Music and SFX digits are displayed as hexadecimal numbers in the Japanese version, but in the International release they're converted to decimal.
• The SFX number's default value is 00 (no sound) in the Japanese game. As this was largely pointless, it's 01 in the International game.
• The SFX number stops at 18 in the International game. In the Japanese version it extends to 32. All of these sounds are either blank or instrument samples, so it's clear why this was changed.

Graphical Changes

Japan	International	Description
		Someone changed the 2, 3, and 5 tiles in the International version.
		The Predator's palette changed from orange and green to brown and blue, more accurately reflecting the Predator's true color scheme.
		The Predator has a different walking animation in the Japanese version. His stance went from aggressive, fists constantly raised, to just casually walking.
		The spear weapon was altered. The Japanese spear looks like it'd mangle someone's hand if it was ever picked up. The International version has a nice place to grip.
		Alien pod graphics were redrawn to be more faithful to the film series.
		This is the Charger enemy type. The weird sorta Drone looking enemies from the Japanese version were replaced with the familiar Warrior Xenomorphs.
		This is the Warrior enemy type. This changed from a Drone Xenomorph with a horn to a taller Warrior Xenomorph with its mouth closed. Probably an improvement.

Stage 3

Japan
International

Stage 3 is completely different in the International release. It went from some kind of urban outdoor area to a waterfall basin. The reason behind this change is unknown.

Theory: It was possibly changed due to Nintendo of America/Europe finding it offensive, since it depicted a place where people are sure to frequent, basically dodging the possibility that people may have been killed by the Xenomorphs.

Ending

Japan	International

"K. Nakabayashi" is "Dr. Banana" in the International game, because, umm...hmm.

Japan	International

The International game does not thank you for your playing. Rude.

The Japanese version will sit on this screen forever, but the International version sends the player back to the title screen after a bit.

(SteveO: Original TCRF research)