Genesis Version
Hey, this port is pretty good!
Coming out a year later in Japan, this version is a straight improvement over the SNES version and I'd say it's arguably as good as the Neo Geo version. Yeah, it doesn't look or sound as good, but it plays well and has a lot more options for vs play. All characters are playable in vs mode, and they're all more-or-less fully featured, meaning everyone can jump, crouch, and throw. No, this was not guarenteed in the SNES version. And while the Genesis sound chip isn't as good as the Neo Geo's, it gave us a rocking chiptune version of A Kiss for Geese and that's all I really wanted.
Neo Geo-Genesis Win Quote Differences
Characters don't steal from each other like in the SNES version, instead the Genesis version adds a bunch of win quotes, both for the main characters and a special set for vs mode.
| Neo Geo | Genesis |
|---|---|
| I won't lose until I avenge my father's death. | I cannot quit until I take revenge for my father's death. |
| Did you think you could beat me? Go home! | Did you think you could beat me!? Go home! |
| I'll beat Geese easily with my skill and technique! | I will beat Geese easily with my skills & techniques. |
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I have more fighting experience than anyone! | No one has my fighting power! |
Genesis version adds a win quote. Not sure why, but it's a nice touch!
Ultra-literally he's saying his fighting experience won't lose to anyone, but that sounded really weird. The official translation gets the idea across, but "fighting power" is kind of a strange way to phrase it.
Quotes that are in the Neo Geo version have the same light editing as the SNES version. The home ports are definitely related, it's just hard to tell which was first. (I suspect Genesis)
Also notice how they redrew Terry's portrait for the Genesis version. He's now younger and handsomer.
| Neo Geo | Genesis |
|---|---|
| Ha! How do you like Japanese Karate! | Ha! How do you like Japanese Karate!! |
| Where on earth is GEESE HOWARD? | Where on earth is Geese Howard!? |
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Now you understand the true terror of koppo! | Now you know how frightening Karate is! |
| You can't see through koppo's techniques! | You could never be as strong as Karate! |
Andy still does not use karate.
For whatever reason, Andy gets two new lines in the Genesis version, while Terry and Joe only get one. Not sure why, but they're both talking up his style, and both got changed to karate to match the Neo Geo translation of his first line. But both are fairly straight translations without much to say. I'm a little unsure about the last one, but mostly how to phrase it.
Andy's remaining two lines don't change much. The all-caps is dropped in the first one, but the other is untouched.
Andy's portrait also got redrawn to make him handsomer, though it's not as big a difference as Terry.
| Neo Geo | Genesis |
|---|---|
| All right, I'll be champ if I can keep up this rhythm. Ha ha! | All right, I'll be champ if I can keep up this rhythm. Ha ha! |
| Hmm....you're strong, the strongest of all the guys I've beaten. | Whew... You are strong! You are the strongest man among all of the guys who I have beaten. |
| I wanna be the strongest guy in the world like my dad by becoming the winner of this tournament. | I wanna be the strongest guy in the world like my dad by becoming the winner of this tournament. |
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Do you understand that Muay Thai is the strongest in the world? | Now you know that Thai Boxing is the best! |
Joe gets one new line to talk up Muay Thai. Or Thai Boxing, whatever. It's a pretty straight translation, dropping "strongest in the world" for a simple "the best".
The second line gets expanded in the same way as the SNES version and that's the only change to Joe's Neo Geo win quotes.
VS wins
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| That was close... A bit more and I'd have lost... | I was... I... I almost lost.... |
| Stop, just stop. No matter how hard you try it's over already. | Ha! You can never beat me. |
| Whew... That was a good match. ...we'll meet again. | Whew... It was a good match... I'll see you again. |
It's the return of the mysterious win quote from the arcade! This time it's a vs-only quote, but I consistently found it in English and Japanese, so I can finally offer a translation!
And it's pretty straight, like all the FF1 translations. The Genesis version changes a bit from the Neo Geo version, adding a "I was..." at the beginning. Interesting.
The only quote wholly unique to the Genesis version is the second one, which got pretty cut down in English, to the point where it has a completely different feel in translation. Also note P2 Terry's weird blue hair. Palette limitations are a trip.
Last one is the same as in the SNES version.
Character intros
The other PCs attack you at certain points, filling out the gaps left by cutting Hwa Jai and Billy. It's actually kind of cute, it's nice to see evidence that the other PCs are in the tournament.
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You're gonna have to beat me to keep going! | You can pass only over my dead body! |
Nice phrasing! It's a bit stilted, but "over my dead body" is a good use of idiom.
...not much else to say.
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I knew you'd make it this far! But the only one moving on from here is me! | I knew you'd show up! But nobody goes past there but me! |
So this is pretty straight, not much to say about the translation. It is interesting that Andy's using "ore" here, which is usually a sign that the line got written for Terry. But this was before they settled on Andy usually using "watashi" for his personal pronoun, so Takara made a guess and no, they couldn't read the future.
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I won't let you call yourself the number one without beating me! | You'll have to beat me to become No.1! |
Yeah, this is pretty similar. There's a minor nuance difference between objectively being number one vs Joe letting you call yourself number one, but...sure.
Genesis Endings
The Genesis keeps the character-specific endings from the SNES version, with a few changes.
Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I finally avenged my father! Now I'll surpass him by becoming the strongest man in the world! | I've finally avenged my father's death. Okay as is from now on, I'm aiming to became the most powerful fighter, something my father could not achieve. |
"Okay as is from now on"
So this is interesting. In the Japanese SNES version (which came out first), Terry wants to follow in his father's footsteps, while the English changes it to surpassing Jeff. I was pretty confused about that, until I played the Genesis version (which came out a year later in Japan) where the Japanese matches the English translation. This makes me suspect that the Genesis version got translated first and the SNES English script was adapted from it, not the other way around. Then no one checked if Terry's ending was different in the Japanese because they're very similar.
The Genesis version also has some weird grammar problems the SNES version doesn't have. Of course, taking it as a whole it also has a few bits that are better than the SNES version...they may have been worked on at the same time and slipped out of sync?
Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I did it! I avenged my father! | I did it! I've taken my father's revenge! |
Andy loses his second line and therefore what his plans are now he beat Geese. Anyway, it's exactly the same as the first line in the SNES.
Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| That was...the world's strongest? No, it can't be! There's gotta be someone stronger! | So this is the strongest fighter in the world... hah, now way! There's got to be someone stronger who can challenge me! |
The Japanese version has some rephrasing in the Japanese version, making it more like Joe is talking about Geese at first. This again matches the SNES English, which is more evidence that at least the endings were translated off the Megadrive version without checking the Super Famicom.
Genesis version also has a typo the SNES version fixed, which again feels like Genesis was translated first.