List of Famicom/NES game differences

[Doc]

A Toneman sighting!!

[MattyD]

Add to the Contra entry: animated maps screens and short animations between stages, animated backgrounds (swaying palm trees, snow, moving alien liar etc).

[JC]

Lots of updates to this...thanks for the info so far!

[Thrillo]

Jackal on the NES has bigger levels and more enemies than the FDS version (Final Command: Red Fortress) due to the FDS's lack of bankswitching abilities.
Salamander on the Famicom has different ending graphics depending on how many continues you used. The NES version (Life Force) always ends the same.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/nes/a/sala.htm
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/nes/a/life.htm
I wonder why they cut them out, especially the very classy conclusion that you see when you don't use continues. It's on par with Metroid's good ending, and it would have been a cool piece of gaming history if they left it in.

[michaelthegreat]

Have we ever talked about smb3 differences? It's been a while since I compared but there are quite a few!

Getting hit while in costume shrinks all the way to small on the fc, but just leaves you big in the nes version. When you lose a costume in the fc version, you poop it out. There are other level differences that I don't remember, but level 5-1 loses a wall at the end of the level.

[Ghegs]

Contra FC also has a slightly extended ending

Bionic Commando/Hitler no Fukkatsu have plenty of gameplay differences which are listed at http://www.elitecoder.com/bionic/famiver.html

Raf World's main character sprite is a bit different from the one in Journey to Silius

Tokkou Shirei Solbrain/Shatterhand have plenty of differences, they're listed at the game's Wikipedia page.

[absolutsyd]

Hey, just found this site after hooking up my FC/FDS for the first time.  Seems to me that Rampart for the FC is practically a whole different game, unless I am really misremembering the NES one.  Sadly mine is toast, pins rusted beyond repair.  It looks like on the FC you make a castle with some kind of elves, and fight off wolves and tornadoes or something.  Unless I am totally crazy, didn't you fight against cannons and ships in the NES one?

[UglyJoe]

Yeah, they're completely different.  The NES version is an arcade port (more or less), and the FC version is something else altogether.  They kept the same basic gameplay elements (build castle, shoot cannons at things, rebuild/expand castle, repeat), but added stories and special objectives (survive n rounds, destroy n monsters, surround this target, etc).

[absolutsyd]

Also, another difference in Bubble Bobble is that in the NES version, you get a 1up at 35000, 100000, 200000, 400000 etc. points.  In the FDS version you don't seem to get 1ups for points.

[corisco]

Guerrilla War (NES) and Guevara (Famicom) have some differences too. The intro screen says about  Guevara and the Batista's regime in Cuba. I don't know about the US version of the game but I think due to the anti-communist feelings in the North America/Europe, they changed the name of the game and characters. Someone knows another differences in this game?

[absolutsyd]

Super Mario Brothers on FDS has a very different minus world.  Level -1 is a weird swimming level, with lots of floating bad guys, including Bowser.  Also random sprites of the Princess.  -2 is a normal bridge level with flying fish, and -3 is a castle level, with no Bowser at the end and no one in the room after getting the axe.  Game then restarts as if you had beat it, with busy beetles replacing gombas.

[Vikingo70s]

Rockman 2 is much harder than Megaman 2.

And there are several differences beetween NES world cup and Nekketsu! dodgeball bu soccer hen:

1- NES world cup lacks of and storyline and features world cup-themed teams. Nekketsu has an storyline (since its part of the kunio kun series) and features ficticious high school soccer teams (like captain Tsubasa).
2- NES version alows you to choose your team in tournament mode, FAMI version does'nt. You play always as Nekketsu team.
3- NES version doesn't features the Kunio characters (but Kunio and friends make a little cameo as the Japan team in world cup mode)

And... NES verion is in English and japanese is in... japanese? mmm...oh, thats it... 
I guess someone translated this game... i'm a kunio kun series fan 

[DDCecil]

Air Fortress - Revised, less Engrish opening story for U.S.

Argus no Senshi also has new ending text. Plus many other new BG songs.

Batman - Stage 1-1 + 1-2 and 2-1 through 2-3's music have been switched around

Clash at Demonhead/Dengeki Big Burn - Yen symbol instead of Dollar symbol

Demon Sword/Fudou Myouou Den - An almost different game from its U.S. counterpart: One hit kills you, lots of new power-ups, levels, enemies, and bosses. Also has a vertical scrolling Kanji text opening and ending.

EDIT:

Here's Argos no Senshi's Ending (Rygar's is second to compare):
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/5104/picture205jx7.jpg
http://www.terrisus.com/pictures/endings/Rygar.jpg

[JC]

Thanks. I've added the last three posts to the list. We'll integrate these into FW's game reviews/info when the new site design is up.

[Vikingo70s]

*captain tsubasa:

-FAMICOM VERSION: features original captain tsubasa title, characters and storyline. Before you
enter in the japan team you play a little minigame seeking for Taro Misaki. And text
is in japanese.
-NES VERSION: Game title is changed to "Tecmo cup soccer game"
No captain tsubasa characters nor tsubasa storyline. All of them are custom characters and storyline made by Tecmo
and has no minigame before the special team (its not called japan team). Also team names are different
'cos doesn't feature any captain tsubasa at all.

*Teenage mutant ninja turtles 3:

-FAMICOM VERSION: there's an option menu in the title screen, with a sound test, number of lives
an difficulty settings
-NES VERSION: no option menu

*Ninja gaiden 3

-FAMICOM VERSION: its called ninja ryukenden 3, and features a password system
-NES VERSION: no password

*Double dragon 3

-FAMICOM VERSION: level skipping cheat (press a + b + select+ start)
-NES: no level skipping cheat