When publishers Westernized Japanese Games

[Marc_LFD]

Many of you remember Pandemonium (for the Saturn / PS1 / N-GAGE), right?

But what about the fact that it's a Japanese game with an awesome cover while in the West the cover was 'converted' to something kind of generic with clowns?

Japan

Western

I frankly don't mind the Western cover as I grew up with it, but the Japanese one looks way better!

 

[Tsukiru]

Back then "localization" was really worried how Americans would see anything super Japanese as just super weird. Not having a lot of exposure (and we still don't have a lot) to the culture so it was making real big leaps to cover it up.

Like Megami Ibunroku Persona on the PSX had an entirely Japanese cast. But when it became Revelations: Persona (cool Bible? Which is funny cause that's a choice that was commonly avoided), characters had an entire ethnicity change. Which is like, impressive in its own right I guess. Changing most of the character's names to English and their ethnicities (all while neglecting an entire alternate campaign) is some needless effort.

We did get the only black playable character, but he's also not handled the greatest. 1996 wasn't great, imagine that.

 

[ZipMartin]

I'm surprised about Pandemonium, I didn't know about that Magical Hoppers game! But which is really the altered version? Pandemonium was developed by Toys for Bob under Crystal Dynamics, both US companies. It was released in 1996 in the US and '97 in Japan, so it seems that it was Bandai who decided to 'japanize' an american game for a change.

I personally think the Japanese version has more character, but I still prefer to go with the original.

 

[Tsukiru]

I'm surprised about Pandemonium, I didn't know about that Magical Hoppers game! But which is really the altered version? Pandemonium was developed by Toys for Bob under Crystal Dynamics, both US companies. It was released in 1996 in the US and '97 in Japan, so it seems that it was Bandai who decided to 'japanize' an american game for a change.

I personally think the Japanese version has more character, but I still prefer to go with the original.

Honestly I think the reverse (Japan adapting games for their audience) far more interesting. Up until Crash 4 I think, Crash had a more anime design. Which is doubly funny with how much the Japan campaign had influenced the series.

 

[CeeDee]

Honestly I think it's funnier when the game is unchanged, but the ads in magazines and such are just completely off the wall to try and get Americans to buy it, because the weird Japanese game isn't xtreme cool. Bonus points if they shove innuendo in.

 

[Tsukiru]

Honestly I think it's funnier when the game is unchanged, but the ads in magazines and such are just completely off the wall to try and get Americans to buy it, because the weird Japanese game isn't xtreme cool. Bonus points if they shove innuendo in.

I watched a video recently about weird (Kirby?) ads that I have to wonder what the hell was going on behind marketing. A Dream Land 2 commercial has Kirby and Animal Friends enter a biker bar poetry reading (a lot to take in already) and just rough them up and a Dream Course/Avalanche ad is a police interrogation where it... sounds like Kirby made two friends fight in Avalanche like torture...?

Not sure who this was to appeal to.