Perfect Dark



Perfect Dark is often considered to be one of the Nintendo 64's greatest technical achievements. Released to critical acclaim in May 2000 (US) and June 2000 (EUR), Perfect Dark set a new standard for console-based first person shooters.

However, the story doesn't end there.  A full four months passed between the European release and the Japanese release (in October 2000), and in this time a number of subtle changes were implemented to the game and the box artwork was completely redesigned. This topic showcases the differences between the two versions, and shows the gorgeous boxart created specifically for the Japanese edition of the game.

Apologies to people with slow internet connections as there are a lot of images here.


Above: The outer box of the Japanese edition

The Japanese release of Perfect Dark comes in a large box, roughly the same size as the Pokemon Stadium & Transfer Pak box. In the box is both the game and an expansion pak. The outer box artwork features a woman lying on a sofa (presumably meant to be Joanna) with a gun in her hand and a rifle propped up at the end of the sofa.

The game itself is housed in a seperate box, contained within the larger one. The artwork for this is displayed below:



The rear of both of these boxes are the same, and it's here that we get our first taste of the changes made to the game. The multiplayer screen featured on the rear of the box shows the remodelled Joanna Dark, complete with new face and new haircut. More about her later...



Much of the rest of the artwork is the same as the outer box, featuring the lady on the sofa.


Above: The instruction manual.


Above: The cartridge also features the same photo, but cropped.

The instruction card shows both the controls for the game and the weapons available.




But what of the changes to the game? Well, the first change you'll notice is when the 3D Nintendo 64 logo warps into the PD logo. In the US and European versions of the game this logo is blue and grey. In the Japanese version it's crimson red:


Above: The Japanese PD logo in red, with a shot of the US/European logo (blue/grey) as a comparison.

The title screen is also different, with a deep red background and flashing symbols appearing on the screen. Two screenshots of it are shown below.



There are some in-game differences as well. Gore has been toned down, and the bodies of enemies disappear very quickly (unlike in other versions of the game where some bodies remain).  There's also no blood splatter. For example; a enemy shot next to a wall in the US/EUR versions will leave blood on the walls. This does not happen in the Japanese version, although enemies do have blood marks on the area of the body where they got shot.

The rest of the game appears to remain unchanged. Voices are in English (subtitled in cutscenes), there doesn't appear to be any new weapons or levels and the game options are the same.

So, the remodelled Joanna is probably the biggest change. She's pictured below (on the right), alongside the US/EUR version (on the left). As you can see, her face is completely different and she sports a new haircut as well. It's a difference that not many people would spot, given that you only see Joanna in cutscenes and multiplayer, but in my mind she looks a bit better for the change.