Index: wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php
===================================================================
--- wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php	(revision 17501)
+++ wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php	(working copy)
@@ -1831,10 +1831,12 @@
  * @since 2.1.0
  */
 function wp_check_mysql_version() {
-	global $wpdb;
-	$result = $wpdb->check_database_version();
-	if ( is_wp_error( $result ) )
+	global $wpdb, $wp_version, $required_mysql_version;
+	// Make sure the server has the required MySQL version
+	if ( version_compare($wpdb->db_version(), $required_mysql_version, '<') ) {
+		$result = new WP_Error('database_version', sprintf( __( '<strong>ERROR</strong>: WordPress %1$s requires MySQL %2$s or higher' ), $wp_version, $required_mysql_version ));
 		die( $result->get_error_message() );
+	}
 }
 
 /**
Index: wp-includes/wp-db.php
===================================================================
--- wp-includes/wp-db.php	(revision 17501)
+++ wp-includes/wp-db.php	(working copy)
@@ -1489,12 +1489,15 @@
 	 * Whether MySQL database is at least the required minimum version.
 	 *
 	 * @since 2.5.0
+	 * @deprecated 3.2
+	 * @see wp_check_mysql_version()
 	 * @uses $wp_version
 	 * @uses $required_mysql_version
 	 *
 	 * @return WP_Error
 	 */
 	function check_database_version() {
+		_deprecated_function( __FUNCTION__, '3.2' );
 		global $wp_version, $required_mysql_version;
 		// Make sure the server has the required MySQL version
 		if ( version_compare($this->db_version(), $required_mysql_version, '<') )