Psychosis

[cho_aniki]

    I have been reading your posts on this site, and quite a few of you seem to think Psychosis is a decent shooter.

    I am thinking of buying it, however I would like to know which version to buy, Psychosis (US) or Paranoia (Jap) ?

    Does anyone know of the differences between the 2 versions?

    How much censorship is present in the US version?  Is the alien that gives you the finger still present at the end of each stage?

    If anyone has played both versions, please let me know which one you thought was best. 

[nat]

    I have been reading your posts on this site, and quite a few of you seem to think Psychosis is a decent shooter.

    I am thinking of buying it, however I would like to know which version to buy, Psychosis (US) or Paranoia (Jap) ?

    Does anyone know of the differences between the 2 versions?

    How much censorship is present in the US version?  Is the alien that gives you the finger still present at the end of each stage?

    If anyone has played both versions, please let me know which one you thought was best. 

He's there in the US version but it appears that he is beckoning you to follow him rather than flip you off. I don't know of any other differences but I haven't played the Japanese version in years. Maybe someone else can help you further....

But I am pretty sure the US version is identical in all other respects. I own the US version and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything with regards to the alien. The US version is also common enough that you won't save much money by trying to hunt down a Japanese-region copy.

Psychosis has long been one of my favorite shooters on the Turbo. It's an interesting concept for a shooter and the level designs are fantastic. Though it's rather short, it's difficulty for first-time players makes up for it. This game was really hard for me when I was younger but I played it again recently and was able to play through without using a single Continue. This was my first go after five or six years of not playing it. The music is really good, especially for the Turbo's sound chip. I'd rank the music on this cart as one of my favorite soundtracks out of the Turbo games without CD audio.

Graphically this game shines, as well. There is parallax scrolling in a handful of the stages, and the use of color is fantastic.

I'd go for the US version since it's pretty cheap and common enough. Unless you REALLY feel like you need to get the finger after every stage for your life to be complete.

[Keranu]

Is the Japanese version actually rarer than the American? I figured they would both be common games and that the Japanese version would probably be cheaper. Anyway I don't think you're really missing out on anything no matter what region you get.

[cho_aniki]

   Ok, thanks for the info guys.  I think I will try to track down a US copy of the game.  It sounds like a really good game.

[nat]

Is the Japanese version actually rarer than the American? I figured they would both be common games and that the Japanese version would probably be cheaper. Anyway I don't think you're really missing out on anything no matter what region you get.

Not sure if it's statistically rarer. But I do know the US version is extremely common and is one of those games that you will not save money on holding out for a Japanese copy. For example: I bought a complete, very good condition US copy two or three months ago for $13.50 after shipping because I stupidly sold my copy six years ago. A quick glance on eBay just now shows the only comparable-condition Japanese-region copy available is going for $24.99 before ludicrous EMS shipping fees. Add $12 (no joke, this is straight from the auction page) for EMS and you're looking at $36.99. You do the math.

Often times, especially for post-1992 games, the Japanese-region releases are cheaper than their US counterparts because going into 1993/94 US Turbo games had smaller production runs than their Japanese counterparts. But I've found many pre-92 titles can be had cheaper as US-region releases.

[ccovell]

I'm pretty sure that the order of the levels are flipped around between the US and JP versions.  The blocky cubist maze is the 2nd level, and the garden the 3rd level of the Japanese version.  The US version has them the other way around, IIRC.

[Black Tiger]

Is the Japanese version actually rarer than the American? I figured they would both be common games and that the Japanese version would probably be cheaper. Anyway I don't think you're really missing out on anything no matter what region you get.

Back during the early days of online PC Engine trading, Paranoia used to be sought after by some people because it had a "cooler" name and usually sold for a lot more.

[nat]

I'm pretty sure that the order of the levels are flipped around between the US and JP versions.  The blocky cubist maze is the 2nd level, and the garden the 3rd level of the Japanese version.  The US version has them the other way around, IIRC.

I call that level the "Lego" level.

That's one difference I guess I don't remember. The US version is indeed the opposite. I suppose I still like the US version better in that case since it makes much more sense to have the Lego level third. The knives and eyeballs of Lego-land mop the floor with the wuss of a boss from the garden.

[Keranu]

The knives and eyeballs of Lego-land mop the floor with the wuss of a boss from the garden.

Right on.