Differances between the SNES and Saturn Megaman X3 games?

[fishsandwich]

I recently got Megaman X3 for the Saturn (ok, it's called "Rockman" but it's the same thing.)

It plays great (a bit easier than X4 I believe) but it has borders on both sides, kind of like a TATE mode. Anyone know why?

I don't have the original SNES X3 game. I know that X2 and X3 (for the SNES) used the C4 chip for better transparency and 3-D effects, but I have no idea what sort of job the Saturn did duplicating these effects. It seems like a straight port would be difficult considering that the SNES used a special graphics chip built into the game.

How do they compare? Anyone?

[fishsandwich]

Forgot to mention that the Saturn game has FMV cutscenes that I would assume to be absent from the SNES game.

I just don't understand the TATE mode on the Saturn game, and there's no option to get rid of it.

[Bratwurst]

TATE mode? Never heard of that.

There is a PC port of Megaman X3 as well, and here are some differences I know of.

Europe PAL Megaman X3 and PC X3 don't have J-Pop music in the intro animation, it's a weak rock instrumental.

The PSX port of X3 has the best quality video cutscenes, then Saturn, then PC. Now don't hold me to this because it's mostly heresay, but the PC videos are pretty crappy.

The in-game music is remixed and more elaborate than the SNES audio.

For the PC version (and probably the PSX/Saturn) the begining of the game and the credits are videos.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, just play the X3 rom on one of the SNES emulators to see how it compares, I don't remember any major differences in gameplay, other than the fact that you can input passwords or save the game. The passwords between the PC and SNES ports don't work either.

[fishsandwich]

a
I just found the answer to the TATE thing...


"The most noticeable addition to the Saturn version is a border around the game playfield - while it does look nice, it can make the game feel smaller. The SNES originally rendered the game at 256x224 - the Saturn on the other hand can not draw lower than 320x240, so Capcom stuck borders around the game to fill up the unused portion of the screen. It would have been nicer if they had reprogrammed the game to make use of the added screen space instead. If you play on a HDTV like me, you can stretch the game image to fill the screen."


It's hard to see in the second screenshot on the back of the box pictured below, but those things on the left and right of the screen are borders, not trees

http://www.segagagadomain.com/saturn10/rockman-x3-b.jpg

[fishsandwich]

I borrowed the SNES version of X3 from a friend and compared it to the Saturn version. I like the SNES original much better. That damn border on the Saturn game is gone!