History Main / DifficultyByRegion

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' had Heart Blocks in certain places in the Japanese version, which you could hit for a free heal. The international releases, which was released earlier, did not have this feature.

** However, it was also subverted in one very, very blatant way; the shop prices were way harsher in the Japanese version. Normal items cost between 10 and 100% more, and some pieces of gear cost literally THREE TIMES more than it did in North American and European versions of the game. One pair of pants in the international versions? 500 coins. Same item in the Japanese version? 1750 coins.

* The western releases of ''VideoGame/ThunderForce IV'' reduce boss health and add a cheat where the player can start with 99 lives by setting their life count to 0 in the option menu.

* ''VideoGame/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' replaced two of the three town stages from ''Hōma ga Toki'' with recycled versions of other stages. Admittedly, these stages were most likely cut out due to their suggestive content rather than their actual difficulty, since the player could refill Jekyll's stress gauge by visiting a certain woman's apartment, who proceeds to pays him with cash while romantic music plays in the background (although, sometimes the opposite happens as the woman proceeds to drain Jekyll's stress gauge and steal his money instead). Nevertheless, their removal does affect the game's difficulty, since there's no other way to restore Jekyll's stress gauge.

* In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/MrGimmick'' (called ''Gimmick!''), you start with four lives; in the European version, you start with eight lives. Additionally, it takes [[EveryTenThousandPoints 20,000 points to earn an extra life]] in the Japanese version, while it takes 25,000 to earn a life in the European version.[[note]] These changes have the side effect of making the secret Stage 7 and the GoldenEnding easier to get, as one of its two prerequisites is beating the first six stages without using a single continue.[[/note]]

** Minor example in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'': Poison Touch has a 30% chance to poison the target with a contact move in the international versions, but it's '''2'''0% in Japan. If a Japanese copy of the game is in a Link Battle with a non-Japanese copy, Poison Touch's probability is determined by game of the player with the Pokémon possessing the Ability. Thus, non-Japanese players are more advantageous when using a Pokémon with the Ability. However, the percentage has since been buffed to 30% across all languages starting in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''.

* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', due to European ratings board aggression against any reference to gambling, did ''not'' feature the original Game Corner in international releases. Instead, said releases got a game that is best described as "minesweeper + sudoku + (noticeably less) LuckBasedMission". While attempting to earn prizes early would be a pain if you could actually lose money, it is instead fairly easy to get Dratini[[note]]a DiscOneNuke that comes with Dragon Rage, which always deals 40 HP of damage at a point in the game when nothing has that much, and Thunder Wave, which gives the opponent a 1/4th chance of not being able to act and always reduces their Speed to 25%, almost always making them act last and ''stays'' strong by turning into something with a higher stats total than many legendaries. Making it worse is that you can easily save scum this one so it is of Adamant nature, boosting its already high Attack while lowering the Special Attack you won't use.[[/note]] when you can't.

* In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/MrGimmick'' (called ''Gimmick!''), you start with four lives; in the European version, you start with eight lives. Additionally, it takes [[EveryTenThousandPoints 20,000 points to earn an extra life]] in the Japanese version, while it takes 25,000 to earn a life in the European version.[[note]] These changess have the side effect of making the secret Stage 7 and the GoldenEnding easier to get, as one of its two prerequisites is beating the first six stages without using a single continue.[[/note]]

** The Western version also added the ability to make permanent (i.e. endlessly reloadable) saves mid-battle, with only Hard Mode retaining the 'suspend' (a one-time save that deletes itself when you reload it, basically just if you want to take a break) system from the Japanese version. A few new weapons were added, some existing weapons were improved, and several skills were tweaked to make them more useful. (Wrath and Resolve now ''always'' activate as long as you're below the required HP threshold. In the Japanese version, both skills were chance-based)

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIBelmontsRevenge'' has two sub-weapons in all versions, but in Japan they're the Holy Water and the Boomerang Cross, while in the overseas versions the Cross was replaced with the Axe. To clarify: The Holy Water and Boomerang Cross are generally considered the best sub-weapons in the series -- used properly, they can hit multiple times for absolutely massive damage and in some games the Holy Water can trap enemies in helpless hit-stun. The Axe... is generally considered borderline useless -- it does decent damage, but it has a weird arcing trajectory that makes it hard to hit anything not positioned above you. Additionally, some of the items hidden in walls are different depending on the region.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Operation C]]'', simply called ''[[RecycledTitle Contra]]'' in its Japanese release, has the Stage Select mode activated by default there, while the overseas releases required a cheat code.

** The second game, ''Montana's Movie Madness'', was released in America on November 1993 and is notorious for its challenge level, not just in the levels themselves, but also because you had limited lives and continues, you only got an extra life for every 3000 points, continues being locked behind beating bonus games, and the bosses having three hit points. The Japanese version was released one month later and has numerous differences, including shorter and easier levels, with some sections of the levels being removed completely, easier bonus games, an extra life for every 2000 points, the bosses having two hit points instead of three, and the bonus games giving you an extra life if you beat them. Limited continues were once again replaced with passwords.

** However, it was also subverted in one very, very blatant way; the shop prices were way harsher in the Japanese version. Normal items cost between 10 and 100% more, and some pieces of gear cost literally THREE TIMES more than it did in American versions of the game. One pair of pants in the American version? 500 coins. Same item in the Japanese version? 1750 coins.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' actually came out in Japan after America, so Nintendo took the time to add selectable difficulty settings. There are three, Easy through Hard, and they work much like the ones in ''Zero Mission''. Easy mode is of particular interest to speed runners because it eliminates many of the random factors that can cost time (for example, the second boss jumps a random number of times before [[TacticalSuicideBoss exposing its weak point]] on Normal/the American version. On Easy, it exposes its weak point on every jump.).
* ''Pocky & Rocky With Becky'', originally released in Japan as ''VideoGame/KikiKaiKai Advance'', upgraded the characters from {{One Hit Point Wonder}}s to ''Two'' Hit Point Wonders in the Japanese version. A password system was also added.
* The two GBA ''Fire Emblem'' games (that weren't NoExportForYou) got tweaked to make them slightly easier in the international releases. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' nerfed the weapon effectiveness bonus from x3 to x2, weakened the Throne terrain (which most bosses stood on) and equipped a major ClimaxBoss with a normal magic sword instead of a [[LifeDrain life-draining]] one ([[DubInducedPlotHole though the chapter's hints still mention the "cursed, life-draining sword"]]). ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', already considered one of the easiest games in the series, was made even easier; weakening enemies overall (enemies in Hard Mode are around 3-4 levels lower than in the Japanese version) and having {{Recurring Boss}}es keep the same stats in all their appearances. (Their stats got slightly higher in the refights originally)

* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', due to European ratings board aggression against any reference to gambling, did ''not'' feature the original Game Corner in international releases. Instead, everyone else got a game that is best described as "minesweeper + sudoku + (noticeably less) LuckBasedMission". While attempting to earn prizes early would be a pain if you could actually lose money, it is instead fairly easy to get Dratini[[note]]a DiscOneNuke that comes with Dragon Rage, which always deals 40 HP of damage at a point in the game when nothing has that much, and Thunder Wave, which gives the opponent a 1/4th chance of not being able to act and always reduces their Speed to 25%, almost always making them act last and ''stays'' strong by turning into something with a higher stats total than many legendaries. Making it worse is that you can easily save scum this one so it is of Adamant nature, boosting its already high Attack while lowering the Special Attack you won't use.[[/note]] when you can't.

** Normal difficulty in the Japanese version, ''Vampire Killer'', is the equivalent of Easy difficulty elsewhere. Normal difficulty in the international versions has more enemies and decreases the amount of damage done by the player's attacks.

* ''VideoGame/DynamiteHeaddy'' starts the player with 2 continues in the Japanese version but none in the international versions and made continues harder to earn. Many other tweaks that made the international version more difficult, like Maruyama/Trouble Bruin's energy balls in 1-1, which can't hurt you in Japan, but will elsewhere. On the other hand, while [[ThatOneBoss Rever Face/Twin Freaks]] had its HP halved in the international versions, several other bosses, including the 5-3 Maruyama/Trouble Bruin encounter[[note]]which was also given a randomized attack pattern[[/note]], Izayoi/Gatekeeper and the FinalBoss, Dark Demon, had their HP ''doubled''.
* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'', a notorious NintendoHard game, had its difficulty toned down when it was released in Japan an entire year after the American version[[note]]and 8 months after the European version[[/note]]. The final stage, [[ThatOneLevel Welcome to the Machine]], had three checkpoints added to it in contrast to the [[CheckPointStarvation checkpointless]] international version. Dying here also brings up a screen giving the option to either restart the stage or continue from the last checkpoint touched. The alien enemies also had their palettes changed from dark green to light gray in order to make them easier to see on the green background. The FinalBoss, the Vortex Queen, not only takes less hits to defeat, but if you get swallowed up by her [[ThatOneAttack vacuum attack]], instead of [[ContinuingIsPainful having to redo all of Welcome to the Machine from scratch]], you're brought to a Japan-exclusive mini-level called The Stomach. Completing it brings you right back to her.

* ''VideoGame/ActRaiser'' isn't as extreme example as some: the Japanese version was overall more difficult, with some enemies having attack patterns that were removed from the American release. The simulation stages also were a little faster to get through in the American version. Additionally, the while the American release required higher total world population sizes for gaining each level, it also had higher population maximums in each city, and each city grew a bit faster.

* The later Japanese release of ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}!'' has more starting lives (5 as opposed to 3), adds additional checkpoints, removes the mechanic of [[SaveGameLimits being only able to continue your save games for a limited amount of times]] and tweaks some enemy behaviors to make them less aggressive.

*** In the original Famicom releases, the player could use the microphone in the system's second controller to instantly kill all Pols Voices in a room. Since the western NES lacks this hardware feature, they were given a weakness to arrows instead, making them slightly to deal with outside Japan. This becomes most apparent in the second quest, where they appear before the bow.

* ''VideoGame/DynamiteHeaddy'' starts the player with 3 continues in the Japanese version but none in the international versions and made continues harder to earn. Many other tweaks that made the international version more difficult, like Maruyama/Trouble Bruin's energy balls in 1-1, which can't hurt you in Japan, but will elsewhere. On the other hand, while [[ThatOneBoss Rever Face/Twin Freaks]] had its HP halved in the international versions, several other bosses, including the 5-3 Maruyama/Trouble Bruin encounter[[note]]which was also given a randomized attack pattern[[/note]], Izayoi/Gatekeeper and the FinalBoss, Dark Demon, had their HP ''doubled''.

* The Japanese version of Creator/{{Natsume}}'s ''Shadow of the Ninja'' ([[MarketBasedTitle called ''Kage'' on the Famicom]]) grants the player 3 lives in additional to the health bar. The US version does not give the players lives, the game is over the moment the player's health bar is depleted.

** This is also notable because future ports to other consoles, such as the Mega Drive / Genesis, adapted the Japanese version's difficulty. Naturally, anyone looking to brag that they've beaten Battletoads needs to distinguish ''which'' version of Battletoads.

* ''VideoGame/BlasterMaster'' has a room in in Area 4 that leads to Area 5 which was made much easier in the western versions. In the original Famicom version (''Chou-Wakusei Senki: [=MetaFight=]''), the player has to make a LeapOfFaith from a tall height and latch onto a one-tile ladder before hitting the ground and dying of FallDamage. The NES version added a series of platforms instead. A much more drastic change was made in the western versions that added a limit of four continues to finish the game on, as opposed to the unlimited continues in ''[=MetaFight=]''.

* In the American version of [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Life Force]], a single player can have up to two {{attack drone}}s (or one for each player in 2-Players Mode), whereas the Japanese version (''Salamander'') allows up to three shared between both players. On the other hand, the NES version got the KonamiCode, which was not in the Famicom version.

* The Japanese version of Creator/{{Natsume}}'s ''Shadow of the Ninja'' (called ''Kage'' on the Famicom) grants the player 3 lives in additional to the health bar. The US version does not give the players lives, the game is over the moment the player's health bar is depleted.

* ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'', for some inexplicable reason, made an "addition" to the save system in the American release of the game that added a cost to save your game (from points awarded for winning battles). Working Designs claimed being able to save anywhere (which the Japanese version allowed) made it "too easy". Amusingly enough, this was only a problem very early on, after a couple of hours you would have so many points that you could indeed "save anywhere". Needless to say, there were plenty of hacks available to disable this system, as it was just a poorly thought out annoyance rather than legitimate difficulty.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' had some subtle changes in its difficulty internationally. In the Japanese version, if you had a "tier-two" power-up (Fire Flower, Super Leaf, etc.) and you were hit, you'd revert to Small form (same as the original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels The Lost Levels]]''). This was changed in the international versions where being hit with a "tier-two" power-up would revert you back to Super form. This change also extends to the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars''.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' added the Dark Aeons to the European/Australian version, which are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin evil versions of your summons]] that function as a total of 8 {{Bonus Boss}}es (9 if you include Penance, who is unlocked after beating all of the Dark Aeons). However, they're at a higher level than the actual Endgame Bosses- in fact, most guides basically come out and say "Your party for these fights should have AT LEAST 9999 HP, their [[InfinityPlusOneSword fully activated Celestial Weapons]], and the following very difficult to get armor perks..." This also makes getting said fully activated Celestial Weapons harder in the European/Australian version, as if you didn't get some of the Sigils within a short time frame, you'd find Dark Aeons blocking the area later on.

* The European version of ''VideoGame/GuitarHero On Tour: Decades'' has "[[Music/JoeSatriani Satch Boogie]]", by far the hardest song in the game, as part of the main campaign's 80s stage (the next to last one). Other versions of the game have the song as an optional BonusBoss.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': In the Japanese version, the [[BonusBoss superboss]] Omega Mark XII has 10 million HP. The international versions reduced this to 1 million HP (a tenth of the original) and made it so Omega's attacks have 5% chance of inflicting the Berserk status.

* In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', if Zack is KO'd during a side mission, it is a GameOver. In the American version, the game treats you as if you abandoned the mission and return you to the save point. You can use this to your advantage to steal an infinite amount of otherwise rare Phoenix Downs from the BonusBoss and use them to max out your cash and all your materia.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'': The PAL version makes the Phantoon fight easier by allowing the player to avoid its flame-sweep attack by going into ball form in either corner of the room.

** They're there because the European/Australian version is based on ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX International'', rather than the American version or original Japanese release, to make up for the delay and the technical issues of porting an NTSC game to the PAL image standard.

* As a general case, PAL is at 50 Hz and NTSC is at 60 Hz. Games that process the game frame-by-frame (that is, most of them) will operate 20% faster on a 60 Hz frame rate than they do on a comparable 50 Hz system. Unless the developers compensate for this, the European and Australian versions of a given game will be easier due to increased time to react. And just as well, NTSC releases of some European games ran too fast, making them harder than intended. A notable example of this is ''VideoGame/{{Sonic the Hedgehog|1}}'' for Mega Drive / Genesis, due to the game's speed-based nature. Whilst the European and Australian versions are certainly fast, the game was developed for NTSC systems, which play faster, and many players in Europe and Australia believed that the North American and Japanese versions were better as a result (the Japanese version was the only one that also had scrolling backgrounds). In the rereleases, the game can be played at the intended speed.

Sometimes, the difficulties are the same but named differently to be more or less encouraging depending on the language/region. For example, one region might have Easy, Normal and Hard while another has the same difficulties, but labeled Normal, Hard, and Super respectively.

* ''VideoGame/{{Jackal}}'' (aka ''Top Gunner'') - In the Japanese version (version T), the player's machine gun will shoot at the direction their jeep is facing, whereas in the US (version U) and World versions (version V), it will always shoot north. The grenade/rocket launcher works the same way in all three versions though.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowForce''- The U.S. version uses a complicated six-button control scheme, whereas the Japanese version has a simpler three-button control setup: the Hard Punch and Light Kick buttons were removed, and the "snatch" move (in which the player's character copies an enemy's appearance and abilities) is now performed by pressing punch and kick simultaneously instead of having a dedicated button. Both versions of the game also featured one-on-one versus segments between stages which forced players to drain each other's health, but these can be turned off in the Japanese version, whereas they're mandatory in the US release. A third version also exists that is entirely in English, but is much closer to the Japanese version in terms of gameplay.

* ''Super VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' ends on one loop in the U.S. version, whereas the Japanese version has a second loop in which the difficulty is set on the hardest setting (regardless of the game's actual settings) and [[PointOfNoContinues continues are not allowed]].

* In the US version of ''VideoGame/{{Trigon}}'' (''Lightning Fighters''), the [[GameBreaker game-breaking]] Homing Trigon weapon is no longer available in 1-player mode. On the plus side, like ''Twin Cobra'' and ''Fire Shark'', it has RespawnOnTheSpot instead of checkpoints, although you still [[ContinuingIsPainful lose all your powerups]].

* In the ''VideoGame/XMen'' arcade game, [[CastFromHitPoints using your Mutant power in the US version takes three bars of health]]. If you are down to three or less bars, you use spheres that you can collect. In the Japanese version, you use the spheres first, then your health. The Japanese version also has health packs that can be collected, making the Japanese version easier.

* ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBayouBilly'' - The NES version bumps the difficulty tremendously compared to the Famicom original titled ''Mad City''. ''Anything'' in the driving stages causes the player's jeep to explode in one hit in the Western version. The Japanese version just takes a chunk of life away. And this is ''one'' example. As a rule of thumb, anything that would help you is halved (like your attack and defense), and anything that would hamper you is doubled (like enemies' attack and defense) when compared to ''Mad City''.

* The US version of the NES port of ''VideoGame/{{Arkanoid}}'' has three extra levels, increasing the total amount from 32 to 35 (not counting the final fight against Doh as a level).
* ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'', while still not a cakewalk, is much, MUCH easier in the Japanese version than the legendarily difficult western releases. There are so many differences in obstacle placement in every level that a full list of them would take up quite a bit of space. For example, Level 3 has lots of extra jump ramps, no midair ramps, completely removed the island jumping section with the flashing exclamation mark, and doesn't speed up at the very end. Each player also has five continues and five lives per continue by default (instead of three lives and three continues), which requires a cheat code to enable in other versions of the game.

** In the Western version of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'', every enemy takes off the same amount of health, and the damage they inflict increases in later stages, as with the first game. In the Japanese version (''Akumajō Densetsu''), different enemies take off different amounts of health, and the damage they inflict remains the same throughout the entire game. The western version also has more enemies in some rooms (such as additional bats in the last room before Dracula), and Grant's throwing daggers (with an attack range that reaches across the entire screen) were replaced by a stabbing dagger with tiny range. The Cross and Holy Water were also made rarer and removed from random drops, Alucard's bat power drained hearts twice as fast as well as costing a heart to activate, and Dracula's third form could attack in 16 direction and twice as frequently. To compensate somewhat, the game had a code that gave you 10 lives, even after a game over, and sending you back to before the pendulums after losing to Dracula allowed you to pick up a GameBreaker Axe for use on Drac's third form.
*** The European version is based on the U.S. version but made slightly easier: enemies do one less damage in early levels and the Stopwatch lasts one second longer.

* The Japanese version of Taito's ''VideoGame/DemonSword'', ''Fudou Myouou Den'', had twice the number of stages, a greater variety of enemies and bosses, and overall was much more difficult, with the player starting as a OneHitPointWonder and having to collect "Revival" items to sustain multiple hits before losing a life. On the flipside, the JP version had the PasswordSave option accessible directly from the title screen, while the US version locked it behind a cheat code.

*** Increasing Link's stats is a lot easier in the Japanese version, where the experience points needed to level up stopped increasing once it hit 4000 points. Other versions raised the maximum cap to ''9000'', and made P-Bags drop rather less often from enemies. Needless to say, many players who were in the latter category would spend a ton of time level grinding. There is a bit of compensation with P-Bags found in set places, as they are usually more generous in EXP in the US and EU versions. On the other hand, when you save and quit (or get a GameOver, which [[NintendoHard will happen quite frequently]]) in the Japanese version, all three levels (Attack, Life, and Magic) are reduced to the lowest of the three (as the Japanese version lets you choose your upgrade since they all have the same EXP values), while international versions keep all levels between sessions.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' had some subtle changes in its difficulty in western versions. In the Japanese version, if you had a "tier-two" power-up (Fire Flower, Super Leaf, etc.) and you were hit, you'd revert to Small form (same as the original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels The Lost Levels]]''). This was changed in the western versions where being hit with a "tier-two" power-up would revert you back to Super form. This change also extends to the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars''.

* ''VideoGame/ActRaiser'' isn't as extreme example as some: the Japanese version was overall more difficult, with some enemies having attack patterns that were removed from the US release. The simulation stages also were a little faster to get through in the US version. Additionally, the while the US release required higher total world population sizes for gaining each level, it also had higher population maximums in each city, and each city grew a bit faster.
* ''VideoGame/BrainLord'' beefed up monsters in the U.S. version.

* The SNES port of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' locks Episodes 2 and 3 behind some of its IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels in the US/European versions. More specifically, Episode 2 is only playable on Hurt Me Plenty (Normal) or higher, and Episode 3 is only playable on Ultra-Violence (Hard) or higher. The later Japanese release allows the entire game to be played regardless of difficulty level.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', retitled ''Final Fantasy II'' in America since it was the second game in the series released overseas, was significantly easier than the Japanese version. It eliminated a number of character abilities and items, simplified the removal of StatusEffects, and made most of the bosses easier. A few months before its release, Square released an "Easytype" version of the game in Japan, based on a prototype of the US version that was even easier than the US version with things like Ribbons that absorb all elemental attacks on top of protecting characters from status aliments.

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' with its Hidden Mansion mode. It wasn't too impressive in the Japanese and US versions, with merely rooms being a bit darker and some other minor tweaks. The European/Australian version though... completely redid most of the game. In this mode, you got the whole mansion mirrored, more (and harder) enemies in rooms, more treasure like golden mice, bosses with new attacks (rocking horses in the first battle went diagonal, you rode on the Poltergust when against Boolossus, and Bowser's mines exploded instantly in some cases), and annoyingly... you had to beat the Hidden Mansion to get an A grade.

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' had Heart Blocks in certain places in the Japanese version, which you could hit for a free heal. The North American release, which was released earlier, did not have this feature.
** Another interesting but minor 'difficulty' change was adding a whole bunch of button icons everywhere in the menus. Like how the level up screen has Lakitu tell you how to move the cursor up and down or the bit in the intro where Toad is initially playable has a D Pad icon appear when you can take control of him.
** However, it was also subverted in one very, very blatant way; the shop prices were way harsher in Japan. Normal items cost between 10 and 100% more, and some pieces of gear cost literally THREE TIMES more than it did in US versions of the game. One pair of pants in the US version? 500 coins. Same item in the Japanese version? 1750 coins.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' actually came out in Japan after America, so Nintendo took the time to add selectable difficulty settings. There are three, Easy through Hard, and they work much like the ones in ''Zero Mission''. Easy mode is of particular interest to speed runners because it eliminates many of the random factors that can cost time. (For example, the second boss jumps a random number of times before [[TacticalSuicideBoss exposing its weak point]] on Normal/the American version. On Easy, it exposes its weak point on every jump)

* The two GBA ''Fire Emblem'' games (that weren't NoExportForYou) got tweaked to make them slightly easier in the English releases. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' nerfed the weapon effectiveness bonus from x3 to x2, weakened the Throne terrain (which most bosses stood on) and equipped a major ClimaxBoss with a normal magic sword instead of a [[LifeDrain life-draining]] one. ([[DubInducedPlotHole though the chapter's hints still mention the "cursed, life-draining sword"]]) ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', already considered one of the easiest games in the series, was made even easier; weakening enemies overall (enemies in Hard Mode are around 3-4 levels lower than in the Japanese version) and having {{Recurring Boss}}es keep the same stats in all their appearances. (Their stats got slightly higher in the refights originally)

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', like the GBA original, was released in the US first, making the Japanese version [[http://themushroomkingdom.net/mlpit_j2e.shtml easier in most extents]]. The items are cheaper in the Japanese version, many bosses have half the health, and the badges and gear have more stat boosts. Heck, even things like the UFO to target in certain boss battles staying in one place, the save point being inside a shop in one area, certain bosses using less effective healing items, and three of the bosses having counterattacks. Unlike its predecessor, the European release actually carried over the Japanese version's gameplay.

* ''Ashura'' was an overhead action shooter that was released as a ''VideoGame/{{Rambo}}'' in the United States and as ''Secret Command'' in Europe. The original ''Ashura'' version released in Japan was slightly harder, as some of the tougher enemies required more bullets to kill or were only vulnerable using fire arrows.

* ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' only allows the player to continue up to two times any time in the Japanese release, whereas the U.S. version allows unlimited continues until the final stage, which makes the game easier or harder depending on your skill level.
* ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand'' was released as ''Super Wonder Boy: Monster World'' in Japan, and gives all the enemy characters twice the hit points they have in the American version.

* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'', a notorious NintendoHard game, had its difficulty toned down when it was released in Japan an entire year after the US version[[note]]and 8 months after the European version[[/note]]. The final stage, [[ThatOneLevel Welcome to the Machine]], had three checkpoints added to it in contrast to the [[CheckPointStarvation checkpointless]] international version. Dying here also brings up a screen giving the option to either restart the stage or continue from the last checkpoint touched. The alien enemies also had their palettes changed from dark green to light gray in order to make them easier to see on the green background. The FinalBoss, the Vortex Queen, not only takes less hits to defeat, but if you get swallowed up by her [[ThatOneAttack vacuum attack]], instead of [[ContinuingIsPainful having to redo all of Welcome to the Machine from scratch]], you're brought to a Japan-exclusive mini-level called The Stomach. Completing it brings you right back to her.
* ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'', for some inexplicable reason, made an "addition" to the save system in the US release of the game that added a cost to save your game (from points awarded for winning battles). Working Designs claimed being able to save anywhere (which the Japanese version allowed) made it "too easy". Amusingly enough, this was only a problem very early on, after a couple of hours you would have so many points that you could indeed "save anywhere". Needless to say, there were plenty of hacks available to disable this system, as it was just a poorly thought out annoyance rather than legitimate difficulty.
* The US Sega CD version of ''VideoGame/PopfulMail'' may just be the most drastic increase in difficulty a Creator/WorkingDesigns localization has ever done: enemies and environmental hazards deal double or even ''triple'' the original damage, items that restore health or increase stats had their shop prices doubled or tripled and their selling prices reduced, and enemies drop less money upon death.
* ''VideoGame/{{Puggsy}}'' had some minor difficulty adjustments pertaining to its Junior mode when it was released in the US. Some harder levels from the main game were replaced with easier ones, lives and pickups were made more plentiful, some puzzles were simplified, and the boss at the end had its health greatly reduced.

* ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' has the same four difficulties in all versions, but the names are different: the Japanese version has "Normal", "Hard", [[HarderThanHard "Very Hard", and "Crazy Hard".]] In Europe, "Normal" was renamed "Easy". And in the US, the same difficulties were called "Children", "Easy", "Normal", and "Hard". Notably, in the other versions, Very Hard and Crazy Hard require codes to unlock, but in the American version, all four difficulties are immediately selectable.
** Additionally, in the US and European versions, if you play on the lowest difficulty, you will skip the final boss fight and [[EasyModeMockery get a message that this is not the true ending]]. The final boss fight happens on every difficulty in the Japanese version.

* ''VideoGame/AirZonk'': The hardest difficulty (Bitter Mode) gives the player two lives per credit in the Japanese version. The US version drops it down to one.

** [[FinalBoss Safer Sephiroth]], on the other hand, was made significantly easier in the US version. In the Japanese version, his ultimate attack Supernova is ''not'' a PercentDamageAttack that inflicts negative status effects like it is in the US, so it ''can'' kill you, [[ThatOneAttack and quite easily at that.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'' cut a more difficult alternate quest from the US release. Also, in a failed attempt at making the game easier, they made it ''harder'' by reducing the encounter rate to 1/3 and tripling the EXP gained from battles. The problem is, rather than their intended goal of leaving the player with the same amount of EXP with fewer battles... they forgot to factor money into it, leaving the player permanently poor and unable to afford the standard weapons.

* ''VideoGame/RayStorm'''s UsefulNotes/PlayStation port, published by Working Designs (mentioned below), had its already NintendoHard difficulty jacked up for the US, with it's Normal setting being equivalent to the Japanese [[HarderThanHard Very Hard]] setting, and [[EasyModeMockery setting the difficulty lower only allows you to play the first half of the game]].

* In the American version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', some of the item and enemy placements are different from the Japanese release. The U.S. version's difficulty setting is featured as an extra mode in the Dual Shock-compatible re-release of ''Biohazard 2''.
* ''VideoGame/SilhouetteMirage'' was borked entirely in the U.S., as it originally featured the prototype of the color-swapping mechanic that later went into ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}''.

* In the original Japanese version of ''VideoGame/ThousandArms'' it was fairly easy to defeat bosses before you could see the full range of their rather extensive combat quotes and animations. Atlus overcompensated for the US version, resulting in a game that, on top of the other issues with its combat system, is notorious for every boss being a tedious [[MarathonBoss Marathon]] DamageSpongeBoss.

* ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus: Final Fantasy VII'' had it where the US release removed Easy mode, changed the Limit Breaks to item usage, reduced the number of max slots per item and the money that can be obtained by selling them, and tweaked the enemy AI. On the other hand, it did improve the camera controls, allowed Vincent to double-jump, and increased Vincent's speed by 20% (American audiences can only boggle at how the original version must have played).

* ''VideoGame/Shinobi2002'' had the following difficulty settings in the Japanese and European versions: Easy, Normal and Hard. Easy was removed entirely in the US release, which shifted the collectables from Normal to Hard and added in an extra "[[HarderThanHard Super]]" difficulty with the Hard mode collectables. Super is the only difficulty where default character Hotsuma can't kill the later bosses in one hit.

* ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a ton of differences in the US version and the original Japanese version which was also re-released as an UpdatedRerelease. See [[http://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Dissidia_Final_Fantasy/Version_Differences here]] for additional info.
* In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', if Zack is KO'd during a side mission, it is a GameOver. In the US version, the game treats you as if you abandoned the mission and return you to the save point. You can use this to your advantage to steal an infinite amount of otherwise rare Phoenix Downs from the BonusBoss and use them to max out your cash and all your materia.

* ''VideoGame/DeathSmiles'' runs at around 150% the speed of the Japanese version in the U.S. release, making it harder and preventing people from accurately comparing scores across regions--an unusual change considering that American players are, on average, less experienced with and proficient at the BulletHell genre than Japanese players. In a moment of [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]], the developers have stated that the US version is the game they had intended to make from the start, and some parts of the Japanese version were complained about as too slow.

* As a general case, PAL is at 50 Hz and NTSC is at 60 Hz. Games that process the game frame-by-frame (that is, most of them) will operate 20% faster on a 60 Hz frame rate than they do on a comparable 50 Hz system. Unless the developers compensate for this, the European versions of a given game will be easier due to increased time to react. And just as well, NTSC releases of some European games ran too fast, making them harder than intended. A notable example of this is ''VideoGame/{{Sonic the Hedgehog|1}}'' for Mega Drive / Genesis, due to the game's speed-based nature. Whilst the PAL version is certainly fast, the game was developed for NTSC, which plays faster, and many players in Europe and Australia believed that the North American and Japanese versions were better as a result (the Japanese version was the only one that also had scrolling backgrounds). In the rereleases, the game can be played at the intended speed.

* The early ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' and ''VideoGame/RockBand'' games have a rare unintentional version of this trope. Due to a bug the game seems not to register some of the strums above a certain strumming speed, in extreme cases only registering about half of a players strums. While details are uncertain it seems the bug is linked to the television refresh rate, with lower refresh rates having a higher tolerance for strumming speed. Since PAL mostly uses a 50 Hz refresh rate compared to NTSC's 60 Hz you can get away with strumming a little bit faster. This means that in songs that have very fast strumming it is much less difficult to get a [[FlawlessVictory Full Combo]] while playing on a PAL system.
** Due to NTSC's refresh rate, however, one song ([[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Trogdor]]) is [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable completely unable to be Full Combo'd]] on Expert or Hard on NTSC, ESPECIALLY NTSC [=PS2=]. Most of the documented [=FCs=] for either difficulty are on PAL [=PS2=] through the use of [=SwapMagic=] (or being in Europe or Australia, which primarily use the PAL video signal).

* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIIITheManhattanProject'': The Japanese version has a hidden options screen for extra continues, made accessible by entering am additional variation on the KonamiCode. The American version had it DummiedOut.

* ''VideoGame/The7thSaga'' is legendary for being obscenely hard and featuring insane level-grinding in its American version. The average stat gains per level for player characters were reduced compared to the Japanese version. This also added an {{unwinnable}} situation, as they ''didn't'' tone down the stat gains your rivals get as bosses based on your level, so leveling up too much can ''literally'' make them too powerful to beat. However, there's a loophole the player can take advantage of here. The rival's stats are based only on the main character's level. Therefore, the player can get around their stat gains by only leveling the companion character and making him or her fight the rivals instead.

* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage 3'' adjusted the difficulty levels between the Japanese and American releases. The Japanese version had Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. The American version removed Very Hard, but at the same time, they buffed up the difficulty levels by one. Easy is equal to the Normal level from the Japanese version, Normal is Hard, and Hard is Very Hard. On top of having a harder game, enemies in the American game did more damage to you on harder difficulties while damage was fixed no matter what in the Japanese game. If that wasn't bad enough, Easy mode on the North American version only lets you play up to Stage 5, after which [[EasyModeMockery you'd get a fake ending and are encouraged to try again on a harder level]]. This could be averted through the use of cheat codes. The Japanese version let you beat the game on Easy.