The Different Versions of MPO
When it comes to Portable Ops speedrunning, all versions are just as playable as the other. However, there are a number of minor changes and additions that make one version stick out over other.
If you wish to know more about these differences and why PAL is the go-to release for leaderboard submissions, keep on reading.
Versions & Regions
| Version | Release Date(s) |
|---|---|
| Original NTSC-U (North America) Release | 2006/12/05 |
| NTSC-J (Japan) Release | 2006/12/21 |
| Updated PAL (Europe/Australasia/UK) Releases | 2007/05/04 2007/05/15 / 2007/05/25 |
Exclusive Content
NTSC-J
- 8 retailer-themed soldiers, unlockable via password
- Voice acting is in Japanese
PAL
- 2 new careers
- Stuntman: Faster recovery from knockouts
- Bait: Makes stronger soldiers appear
- 10 additional, optional spy reports
- Boss Rush mode
- 12 European country-themed soldiers, unlockable via password
- Soldier-unlock passwords were altered
- Western Wilderness and Ravine added to the MPO Online map pool
Version Differences
| PAL | NTSC-U | NTSC-J | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visual tweaks (cleaner text, bigger HUD elements, …) | Yes | No | No |
| Load times | ~25% slower | Base time | Base time |
| Entering certain APs (e.g. Comm Base I.) | Animations continue playing | Animations stop | Animations continue playing |
| Planting explosives to trigger the AP (e.g. Warhead Storage) | Screen cuts to black | Screen fades to black | Screen fades to black |
| Automatic ledge-grab after drop (e.g. Silo Entrance II.) | Yes | No, mostly | Yes |
| Ravine: Guard pattern | A | B | B |
| Fall damage if dropping onto cutscene trigger far below (e.g. Harbor) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Silo Complex: Open ID-locked doors with a grabbed guard | Entirely possible | Impossible on 1F door | Impossible on 1F door |
| Silo Complex: Final guard’s reaction on nearby shot (used in Tsuchinoko runs) | Directly walks back | Steps forward before heading back | Steps forward before heading back |
| Damage Taken by Snake/PC on Normal Difficulty | Base amount | Base amount | 33.33…% less |
| Damage Taken by Snake/PC on Easy Difficulty | Base amount | Base amount | ~250% less |
Final Verdict
As the faster loads on NTSC versions only matter for the sake of convenience (runs are timed in IGT), the biggest difference for New Game speedruns is the amount of timesave PAL has over NTSC on Silo Complex.
For New Game runs it comes down to 16 seconds (or 11s when on Box Route) for Tsuchinoko, while for Any% runs the PAL-timesave is minimized to 7 seconds.
New Game + runs of any kind lose a minimum of 8 seconds on Easy & Normal and 24 seconds on Extreme.
Another factor to take note of is that NTSC-J versions have all incoming damage scaled down by 33.33…% on NORMAL difficulty and around 250% on EASY. However, on high-level play this should not come into play. [Extreme tbd]
Other than that, all versions prove to be quite viable options with PAL being the theoretical top pick when going for top spots on the leaderboards.