As an owner of both the PlayStation (US) and Saturn (JP) versions, I would like to make a more complete list of difference between the two.
Graphics: The graphics in the Saturn version are, sadly, noticeably inferior to those of the PlayStation version. It is said that this arose from difficulty at getting hardware-based transparency to work on the Saturn.
Sound: The sounds which exist in both versions of the game are more or less identical. However, the Saturn has several more excellent music tracks, well worth looking into. This arises at least in part from the new levels introduced in the Saturn version. The Saturn version also offers a sound test from the beginning of the game.
It should also be noted that the Japanese voice-acting is much better than the American voice-acting. This should come as no surprise to most anime fans; as voice-acting is not as much of a respected profession in the US as it is in Japan. As a result, good voice-actors are more difficult to find, and much more expensive when they are found.
The script, however, is actually quite decent in the American version. Although Richter seems to have an odd propensity to speak entirely in exclamations, there is actually some decent dialogue in the game. If only it were acted decently... but then, it is, in the Japanese versions at least.
Gameplay: Gameplay for Alucard is very close to that of the PlayStation version. Likewise for Richter (who requires no special codes in order to be playable in this version). However, a third playable character is added: Maria Renard, who was a child in the previous game and has developed into a powerful magic-user. She has as different a playing style from the other two characters as Richter has from Alucard, and thus brings even more replay value to the game.
Two important differences in gameplay exists for Alucard. Firstly, in the PlayStation version of the game, if Alucard wishes to use an item, he must free up one of his hands (forgoing the use of a weapon or shield with that hand) in order to do it. In the Saturn version, he is given a third hand of sorts, allowing him to use items without disarming himself.
The second difference has to do with one of Alucard's abilities: the power to transform into a wolf. In the PlayStation, the wolf had the ability to swim, that is, it could move more or less freely in water, which Alucard's human form could not do. For some reason, this ability was removed in the Saturn version. Its loss will be felt by people trying to uncover the entire map, because watery areas become much more painful to cover.
Challenge: Largely –and regrettably– unchanged from the PlayStation version. Playing with Maria (as with Richter) does require new strategies to be learned, but once these are figured out the game becomes no more difficult with her than with the others.
There is one way to significantly increase the challenge of the game in both versions: play with a name of X-X!V''Q. This code, as mentioned in the above writeups, starts Alucard with a Luck score of 99 (and an item to boost it by yet another twenty points), but all of his other scores will be extremely weak. Couple this with the Alucart gear (fake versions of some of the most powerful items in the game) and his Luck will be boosted still higher, but his other statistics will remain very low relative to where they should be for the game. This makes the game, particularly at the beginning, much more challenging, as the ultra-high Luck score serves only to determine what items fallen enemies leave behind.
Other changes: Several other changes were made in the game:
- New Areas: Four new areas were added to the game: the Underground Garden, the Hell Harden, the Cursed Prison, and the Reverse Cursed Prison.
- New Enemies: Sixteen new enemy types were added to the game. To be fair, however, four of these were just variations on the same thing, and only two were bosses. Interestingly, if playing as Alucard, one of these bosses is Maria herself, who you must defeat to claim an item that is simply given to you in the PlayStation version. Richter does not fight her, nor does he ever meet her over the course of his game. Maria, obviously, does not fight herself.
- New Items: Several new items were added to the game. Overall they do not seem to affect gameplay a great deal, though at least two powerful weapons for Alucard are added. Among the more interesting items is a cloak for Alucard which randomly changes its color as the character progresses through the game. This color change is reflected in the actual sprite for Alucard, and allows for some very interesting (and very silly) new looks for the dark, angsty half-vampire. He does not, for example, look very good in a hot pink cloak with a teal lining.
- Options: I have already mentioned the options which were added to the game: the Sound Test, and the ability to play as Maria. However, one option was taken away. In the PlayStation version, the Master Librarian could offer tips on fighting bosses, for a fee. This was taken out of the Saturn version. Interestingly, in the PlayStation version, the Librarian would only offer tips on bosses which had already been defeated, and occasionally these tips were far from complete. For example, when fighting Galamoth (an optional, extremely powerful boss) the Librarian will mention that Alucard can actually heal himself using Galamoth's attacks. He does not mention that this requires a particularly well-hidden item.
- Graphics: I have already mentioned that the graphics of the Saturn version are rather inferior to those of the PlayStation version. Certain animations were also changed, for various reasons. The Wereskeleton has a much cooler death animation, some kind of flaming backflip thing. But most of the animations changed had to deal with weaponry. This changed the range and speed of a few weapons, which in turn changes their gameplay style.
Overall:An ideal version of this game would have the graphics of the PlayStation version, but the gameplay, levels, and enemies of the Saturn version (the wolf problem notwithstanding). Sadly, we were never able to see that. But this is still a great game, and I would have to give a slight recommendation to the Saturn version over the PlayStation version, especially for those who can understand Japanese.
Frost has corrected his rendering of the opening dialogue, so I removed mine.