Ristar (Game Gear)

Ristar
Also known as: Ristar the Shooting Star (JP) Developer: Japan System House Publisher: Sega Platform: Game Gear Released in JP: February 17, 1995 Released in US: February 16, 1995 Released in EU: February 18, 1995 This game has a hidden level select. This game has regional differences. This game has a prototype article

Ristar for the Game Gear is, of course, a bite-sized version of the slightly better-known Genesis game. It's slower-paced than the original game and has a greater focus on platforming, but the premise is identical: use your rubbery arms and lethal headbanging skills to take down a space dictator and save the galaxy.

To do: The prototypes.

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Prototype Info

Debug Mode

Enter password KUMI and "DEBUG MODE ON!" will appear on the screen. During the game, pause, then un-pause while holding Up + 2 for the Level Select menu, 2 alone to skip the current level, or 1 + 2 to hard reset the game.

(Source: GameFAQs)

Regional Differences

Much like its Genesis counterpart, the planet names are all different between the Japanese and international versions:

JP Name	INT Name
Neer	Flora
Fanturn	Terra
Neous	Sonata
Timu	Freon
Rewope	Automaton

In addition, the first level of Planet Terra/Fanturn is missing in the international versions, even though the level is in the actual coding. (This has the effect of making its background music, Ring Rink, unused in international versions of the game outside of the Sound Test). This was done at the request of Sega of America, as a hearing survey reported that a level about walking on rainbows and clouds would make no sense to American children. It can be added back into the game using the Game Genie code C21-CEF-C41.

It should be noted that the ROM is identical across the world, and so the differences only depends on the "region" of the Game Gear you're playing on.