Metroid Database.com

Yes, I'm a week late in reporting news, but of course Metroid Prime was released on February 28 in Japan, debuting at #6 of the top-selling game titles for the week.

The MDb has acquired a copy of the Japanese version and while the game itself is pretty much the same, lots of little details have been tweaked and changed, such as the addition of an English-language voiceover during the game's intro and a little computer voice that chimes in during Logbook scans and hint system notes. The Japanese edition also features the Famicom Disk System version of the original Metroid (with Japanese text and the Zelda-style file saves rather than the password system) as the unlockable, not the NES version. Of course, everyone is now aware that changes were also made to the Japanese version of Fusion, including additional endings and difficulty modes. The MDb will hopefully have a rundown of all the changes made to both games in the future -- a first, since the original Metroid experienced only a few changes in its conversion for the US, and Metroid II and Super are 100% identical in both versions.

Scans of the Japanese Prime packaging are now available in the MDb's Prime area. (I'm still waiting for my copy of the Japanese Fusion, incidentally.)

--TJ