Fx3 wrote:
There are a few carts that uses both by the way. This is something "standard" AFAIK. A good example of "missing" gfx is the game Fantasy Zone (CHR-RAM writes enabled when CHR-ROM is present).
Fantasy Zone is a Tengen game. Does it use a mapper similar to TQROM, like those Chinese MMC3-clone games do?
There are two completely unrelated games for the NES, both titled "Fantasy Zone". The Japanese version runs with smooth motion, has better graphics, is mapper 93 with no VROM, and is developed by Sunsoft. The US version runs with choppy motion, is 20k smaller after compression, has 64k PRG and 64k VROM and is MMC3, and is developed by Tengen.
Dwedit wrote:
The Japanese version runs at 60FPS, has better graphics, is mapper 93 with no VROM, and is developed by Taito.
Sunsoft, not Taito.
It seems like a significant number of Tengen's releases in the USA were lower quality versions of Sunsoft titles from Japan. The most notable examples (i.e. the only ones I can think of at the moment) are After Burner [II], Alien Syndrome, and Fantasy Zone.
Alien Syndrome seems to be the exact same game, except that the U.S. version puts the intro cutscene after the title screen, while the Japanese version puts it before the title screen.
The Japanese version also credits a company called "Sanritsu"; it seems that they are the ones who actually developed the Famicom port; the "feels" just so un-Sunsoft-like. Maybe that's also the reason why Tengen was allowed to reuse the Japanese Alien Syndrome but not After Burner and Fantasy Zone.
Man... what I did... ^_^;;