Rush'n Attack (NES)

Rush'n Attack
Also known as: Green Beret (JP) Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Platforms: NES, Famicom Disk System Released in JP: April 10, 1987 Released in US: April 1987 Released in EU: 1988 This game has unused graphics. This game has a hidden level select. This game has regional differences. This game has a Data Crystal page

Rush'n Attack is a conversion of the arcade classic which features two additional stages, a two players simultaneous mode and a catchy soundtrack. "Let's Go Ben!" "Ok Steve!"

Unused Graphics

Cursors

These sprites were found in Green Beret. They were probably going to be used to give extra lives.

Items

More sprites found in Green Beret, which are loaded during the second stage.

Enemies

There's a version of the yellow enemies with black shirts that loads on the first stage with animations for climbing ladders and firing their guns. This enemy type doesn't appear until the later stages, but those are plain yellow and don't have the black shirts.

The stages 1 and 3 have unique graphics for the enemy with the parachute. He only appears in stages 4 and 5, but with a different sprite.

The enemy type found in stage 4, whose firing the mortar was going to be carried over to the later stages where the enemies have a different sprite design, but ended up being exclusive in the stage, where he appears.

Regional Differences

Although the Japanese Famicom Disk System version is roughly the same as the NES version, there are a few differences.

Title Screen

While the Japanese title screen logo was done in the same style of the FDS cover art's logo, the NES title screen's logo is completely different from the NES box art logo, instead being done in the same style as the arcade title screen's logo.

Japan	USA	Europe

Most notable is the completely different bitmap font used by Konami in the NES version. While the FDS version uses the standard bitmap font found in many other Famicom/NES games, the NES version uses a custom bitmap font instead.

Intro

The text in the intro was cleaned up and some additional graphic details were added to the background.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Game Over

The Japanese version allows the player to continue up to three times after a game over. The international versions lack continues and repositioned the text slightly.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Scrolling Glitch

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

In Rush'n Attack: when using the frame canceling exploit, performed by inputing a direction before the attacking animation is finished, the scrolling will take a split second to catch up with the player, thus allowing the player to step further into the screen after each cancel. Note how the scrolling catches up once the player waits on the ladder. In Green Beret, the scrolling works as intended even when using this method.

Hud Glitch

The North American version introduced a glitch where a part of the 5 digit (used to display the score) sometimes turn grey.

Hidden Tunnels

The FDS version has additional levels not implemented in the cartridge version. If you destroy any of the landmines in stages 2, 4 and 5, a ladder will be revealed, which lead to a secret tunnel area. In the tunnel, you will encounter all standard enemies as well as supply runners and landmines. In order to get back outside, you must use one of the ladders on the upper floor. Each exit ladder leads you to a random location of the same stage.

Stage Clear

The Japanese version doesn't feature the stats in the stage clear cutscenes. Also, the text was touched up as well. The Japanese version also has a bug in a packed resource for these screens. The data unpacked to the VRAM is 2-bytes shorter than the original, although the two last bytes must be all zeroes they just haven't noticed, but if you have some random data in VRAM before the loading the data, you'll have an error in the third animation frame of the flag. Pretty visible in emulator with non-random RAM fill patterns (like FCEUX).

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Ending

The text was revised with punctuation and exclamation marks. The ending cutscene also freeze-frames your character(s) in the international versions and uses the sky background palette as the background for writing its text.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Credits

The special thanks credit was altered between versions. Additionally, the green-clad soldiers were repositioned.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Level Select

In the Japanese version, hold A+B+Down on controller 2 and one of the below buttons (corresponding to the desired level) on controller 1 at the title screen, then press Start to go to the desired level.

Level	Button
2	Down
3	Left
4	Up
5	Right

Music

There are some differences between the soundtracks of the original FDS release and the international NES release. However, it should be noted that the original FDS soundtrack does not utilize the Famicom Disk System's extra wavetable channel in any way.

On a sidenote, the album KONAMI FAMICOM CHRONICLE Vol.1: Disk System Compilation (EMCA-0018) appears to use the soundtrack from Rush'n Attack, even though the album's title would imply that the music used would be from Green Beret, a.k.a. the original FDS version. This means that the Underground BGM is missing from the album's tracklist, in addition to the differences listed below.

BGM 1

The track used in stages 1, 3, and 5 has a slightly different intro in the NES version. Specifically, the noise channel is reduced to playing only cymbals before the main melody enters which at that point it starts to play snare hits as well. The FDS version has the noise channel playing snare hits along with the cymbals right away.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Underground / Tunnel BGM

This is an exclusive track to the FDS version. Since the tunnel section was cut out of the NES version, this track was also dropped.

Green Beret

Player Out

The NES version of this jingle that plays when the player loses a life is actually pitched in a higher key than the FDS version.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Ending

The FDS version will loop continuously, while the NES version will only loop once before stopping.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack

Miscellaneous

• In the western version, you start with five lives instead of three.
• In the Japanese version, you respawn at the very spot where you died. In the western version, you are sent to the last checkpoint (but you do have instant respawning in 2-players mode).
• Enemies encounter vary quite a lot between the two versions. The more dangerous enemy types are more numerous in the western version. Furthermore, basic grunts will semi-randomly spawn from either side of the screen throughout the game and the spawning rate is a lot more frequent in the western version.
• In the western version, each secondary weapon you pick up adds three uses to your arsenal, whereas the Japanese version only adds one. However, in the western version there are less supply runners, you can only carry a maximum of three rounds, and you don't get to keep your weapon between stages. In the Japanese version, there are more supply runners, you can carry nine rounds, and get to keep your weapon after finishing a stage.
• In Rush'n Attack there is only one gun power-up in stage 3. In Green Beret several of them can be found.
• In the Japanese version, when facing the last gauntlet against the nuclear rocket, enemies rush in from both sides of the screen instead of just the right side, making this part much more difficult.
• The falling behaviour differs: in Green Beret the character falls straight down, while in Rush'n Attack he falls in an arc movement.

Green Beret	Rush'n Attack