Al Unser Jr. Turbo Racing

Al Unser Jr. Turbo Racing
Also known as: World Grand Prix: Pole to Finish (JP), Turbo Racing (EU) Developer: Data East Publisher: Data East Platform: NES Released in JP: January 31, 1989 Released in US: March 1990 Released in EU: 1991 This game has unused music. This game has regional differences. This game has a bugs page

To do: Check if the US/European versions have leftovers from the Japanese version.

An adaptation of the 1989 Famicom game World Grand Prix - Pole to Finish now with Unser Jr. as an in-game coach.

Sub-Page

Bugs

Regional Differences

The Japanese version contains more anime-ish graphics.

The European version has no connection to Unser, probably due to lack of name recognition there. All references to him were removed, resulting in many text and graphical changes.

Title Screen

Japan	US	Europe

• The Japanese version's title screen is a 3D model of the racetrack.
• In the staff roll in the Japanese version, some of the developers have serial numbers in parentheses.
• The Japanese version features the DECO (Data East Corporation) logo, while the international versions just have the Data East (DE) logo.
• As per usual with games released in North America and Europe, the US version mentions Nintendo of America while the European version simply says "Licensed by Nintendo".
• The Japanese and European versions copyright the game to "Data East Corp.", while the US version copyrights it to "Data East USA, Inc."
• The Japanese and US versions have a 1988 copyright date (despite being released in '89 and '90 respectively), with the European version finally updating it to 1991.
• The front car on the US version has the Valvoline logo on the hood and "VALVOLINE" written on the spoiler. The European version changes it to the Data East logo and "DATA EAST", respectively.
• The Japanese version has an exclamation point for "PRESS START".

Main Menu

Japan	US	Europe

The Japanese version has little descriptions underneath the options:

Japanese	English
TIME TRIAL MODE A （他のマシンを かわしながら 走ります。４Ｐまで。） TIME TRIAL MODE B （他のマシンは走らない フリー走行。４Ｐまで。） WORLD GRAND-PRIX SERIES （１６レースを 走り チャンピオンをめざします！）	TIME TRIAL MODE A (Run while avoiding other machines. Up to 4P.) TIME TRIAL MODE B (Free running without other machines. Up to 4P.) WORLD GRAND-PRIX SERIES (Run 16 races and aim for the champion!)

• The images of the vehicles on the lower-right part of the screen have been changed between all versions. For some reason, the European version's vehicle has some of the lower half cut off.
• The international versions have different shades in its text, while the Japanese version sticks to a flat color for all the text.

Qualify Image

The image of a woman holding up a sign before starting a qualifying race.

Japan	US	Europe

Driver Names

The driver names in the Japanese version are parodies of real-life Formula 1 racers. The US/European version changed all the driver names to something else.

Japan	Translation	US/Europe
N.ビッケ	N. Bicke	I. Ryun
A.フロスト	A. Frost	K. Evil
S.ジョハンソン	S. Johanson	M. John
J.パーマン	J. Pearlman	F. Dandy
N.マーセル	N. Marsel	F. March
A.セーナ	A. Seena	N. Lamer
S.ナカシマ	S. Nakashima	F. Ken
M.アルホレート	M. Alfredo	H. Angel
R.パトレーセ	R. Patrese	B. Lovers
	G Berker	F. Geiger
	J Schward	W. Maia
	D. Wauiigu	T. Mark
	A Gafuii	Z. Hames
	P Aritoo	L. Sines
	E Chiihaa
	P Ginsaani
	A Chusarisu
	A Naniii

Track Ordering

To do: Document this.

The order of circuits is different between versions.

Music

To do: Upload music.

The Japanese version features a completely different soundtrack. While some of the songs in the Japanese version did make it into the international versions, the songs have been transposed to a different, and/or with parts of the song removed. The soundtrack can be found here.

HUD

Japan	US	Europe

Pit

There are various differences when you enter the pit:

• The Japanese version lacks the little table the western versions added.
• Some of the pit options in the menu are different between regions. The Japanese version has more options, such as an entry to re-set your attribute settings (normally only accessible before a race) and to change the tires. Also, "Retire" was changed to "Quit".
• The US/European versions swapped the Change Tire option for a Refuel option, however it doesn't actually refuel anything. You see, in the Japanese version, the Repair option was the one that refueled the turbo tank. So when "Change Tire" was changed to "Refuel", they never programmed it to actually refuel the tank.
• The Japanese version has an animation of the pit crew repairing the car, whereas the US/European version has an animation of the pit crew refueling the car.

Japan	US/Europe

Advice

US	Europe

The international versions add this screen for each race where the player is given advice by Little Al, or the generic racer in the European version.

Congratulations Screen

Japan	US	Europe

The Japanese version has completely different cutscenes from the international versions. The Europe version reskinned the player character from Al Unser Jr. in his Valvoline uniform to a generic racer with a Data East uniform. Also, the woman in the Next Race cutscene was given a pair of shades in the European version, which makes it much cooler than the American version. The international versions also add a comma between "CONGRATULATIONS" and the driver's name.

Also, in the "Bad" Next Race screens, in the Japanese version the girl's shirt has the names of the developers: (Ken) "FUKAKI" and "AK AKIRA KANDA".

After-Race Cutscenes

After the Congratulations screen, these scenes appear in the Japanese version. They were removed from the international versions. A special song plays here for each cutscene, which is not used in any other part of the game, which would explain why the international versions have two unused songs while the Japanese version has none.

To do: Translate the rest.

Japanese	English
|かがやいてる、TCRFって、ス・テ・キ！ つぎのレースも、NO.1を、お・ね・が・い！	Shine on, TCRF is lovely! In the next race, please be No. 1!
あのひと、あおびょうたんなのよ！わらっちゃうわね ほんとに、	That guy is a weakling! That's hilarious, really.

Bad Ending

Japan	US/Europe

The Japanese version has a picture of the driver moping while the international versions just give you a plain-text ending. The international versions are exactly the same as one another.

Good Ending

...But does it make sense? The translations on this page need to be proofread. If you are fluent enough in this language, please make any corrections necessary!

The international versions' endings were watered down compared to the Japanese version. The US version has different faces for the driver depending if the game was finished using the pre-determined Under Jr. character or a user-created one.

Japan	US	Europe

Japanese

English

ちじょう　さいそくの　バトルは、いま、おわりを つげた。そして、やすらぎのときが、。。。！ TCRF！ビッグなタイトルを、てにいれ たな！おまえは、オレの、さいだいのライバルだ！ TCRF　よ！　つぎのシーズンは、このオレ W.マーセルが、ワールドチャンピオンだ！ このグランプリ・シリーズ。もえた、もえたぜ！ TCRF　　！　ワールド・チャンピオン、 おめでとう。みごとなはしり、かんぱいだぜ！ あ、あおびょうたんに、まけるとは、・・・ ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ M.セーナは、このままでは、おわらない！ TCRF　　！みていろ CONGRATULATIONS ON WORLD CHAMPION, TCRF ! はげしいバトルを、たたかいぬいた、ともに、 カ・ン・パ・イ！

The world fastest battle has just come to an end. And so, peaceful time has... [started] TCRF! You've obtained a big title! You are the strongest rival for me! Hey TCRF! Next season, me W. Marcel will be the one who becomes the world champion! This grand prix series. It's getting me all fired up! TCRF! Congratulations on becoming the world champion. You walloped me by the splendid run! Uh-Unbelievable, that green hand defeats me... .............................. M. Sena will not let it end like this! TCRF! Watch out! CONGRATULATIONS ON WORLD CHAMPION, TCRF ! To the friend fought fierce battles together, H E R E ' S T O Y O U !

Miscellaneous

• The European version removed Al Unser Jr.'s likeness and replaced it with that of a generic racer.
• The European version removed all Valvoline and Stroh logos (the inclusion of the latter is a curious one to begin with, as Stroh is a brand of an alcoholic beverage) and replaced them with Data East/DECO logos.