Rambo (NES)

Rambo
Developer: Pack-In-Video Publishers: Pack-In-Video (JP), Acclaim Entertainment (US) Platform: NES Released in JP: December 4, 1987 Released in US: May 1988 This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences.

A game based on Rambo: First Blood Part II that manages to stay surprisingly close to its source material... when it's not inexplicably throwing killer flamingos and Japanese gag humor at you, that is.

Regional Differences

Copyright Screen

Japan	US

• The Japanese version's text is centered, while the US version's left aligned.
• The Pack-In-Video logo was removed in the US version, presumably due to a lack of space.

Title Screen

Japan	US

The Japanese title screen contains the text "REND THE FEELINGS THE HEART WITH PAINFUL FEELINGS", which was removed in the US release. The quote was probably meant to say "Rend the feelings OF the heart with painful feelings."

Password System

The password system was changed a little bit between versions, not only in terms of character replacement, but also in terms of input data permutations. The game uses a decipher routine machine code along with following data as a xor table to cypher and decrypt the password. Although these routines are the same between versions, the following data is a little bit different which causes different password permutation as well as partial incompatibility between passwords (some portions of the table match just fine, so not all passwords are incompatible).

One of the side effects of this is that the US version introduces a bugged password by entering all 0s, which doesn't work in the Japanese version. Surprisingly enough, the first $18 bytes of the password decipher routines are different just in one byte, but only in the US version, all these bytes being XORed on each other will give you exactly $00, allowing to pass the control sum check.

Dialogue Portraits

Japan	US

The palette was altered in the US version, primarily to correct an issue where Rambo's and Co Bao's hair were green. This affects all the character portraits in the game as they all use the same palette.

Experience

Japan	US

Your experience points are labeled "ANGER" in the Japanese version, likely as a nod to First Blood Part II's Japanese title, Rambo: Ikari no Dasshutsu (lit. Rambo: The Furious Escape). The US version goes for the more standard "EXP" label instead.

Staff Roll

The Japanese version features a staff roll which was omitted from the US release, which simply contains a “THE END” screen. There are two staff lists; one for the main staff, and a special thanks list, complete with programming, art, and sound credits. Rambo also kindly asks you to think about what real liberty is. Aw, how cute.

Below is a translation of the text, and what it may have looked like if it was left in the US version:

       S T A F F


   PRODUCER OKUCHAN

   DIRECTER IHTOMAKIMAKI YAMACHAN

   SCENARIO MISA NARITA

   DESIGNER FUKUCHAN TOKITA

      MUSIC TOHRU HASEBE

 PROGRAMMER AAZ

 PROGRAMMER PHILIP MIYAZAWA

 PROGRAMMER NTT SHIROTA


    SPECIAL THANKS


SOUNDEFFECT RUSHIRUSHI SHIMAZAKI

   DESIGNER YOSHI TOYOKAWA

      MUSIC MINKY MOTOYAMA

    ADVISER OZ

   PROMOTER NANIWANO SASAKI

   PROMOTER TSUU

Note, the dakuten and handakuten symbols are missing above some of the Japanese characters. For example, Tohru Hasehe (とおる はせへ) should actually be Tohru Hasebe (とおる はせべ), and Firiffu Miyasawa (フィリッフ みやさわ) should actually be Philip Miyazawa (フィリップ みやざわ), an alias for Tohru Miyazawa.

Although these symbols are present in the CHR table (tiles F5 and F6) and may be displayed at the empty room between text lines, the additional lines with extra symbols wouldn't fit into the existing ROM space, so most likely they were just dropped.

The reason for its omission in the US version is due to the fact that the ROM area that's used for the staff text (very end of the last bank) is also used for storing the intro message. In the US version this text is much longer and takes up most of the space for the credits as well, meaning there simply wasn't enough space for the credits.

Revisional Differences

Revision 0	Revision 1

Trautman slipped in possibly the first swear in a US NES game. This was changed in a later revision.