ManekiNeko
08-14-2003, 02:21 PM
I was discussing the Game Boy Advance version of River City Ransom on another message board. I expressed my dismay that Atlus was using the original Japanese artwork for the game (baggy high school uniforms like the ones you'd see in Yu Yu Hakusho) and another poster objected, describing the US version of the game as "fucked up" because it took liberties with the original design. Frankly, that "fucked up" version of the game IS River City Ransom to me, and if it's released with different artwork I would seriously consider leaving it on the shelves.
These days, people are quick to criticize even the slightest revision in Japanese video games and movies. However, it's important to note that fifteen years ago, while the Nintendo Entertainment System was popular, many games were heavily, heavily localized. These changes not only made the games more popular, but helped shape the childhoods of everyone who played them. The Nintendo era just wouldn't have been the same if the stars of River City Ransom were dressed in unfamiliar outfits, or the main character in Blaster Master hadn't been on a quest to save his pet frog from an underground labyrinth.
Now I realize that there should be limits to how much a game should be localized, and that there's a certain point when it becomes tasteless and xenophobic (the Mobile Light Force games come to mind). However, I propose that localization isn't always a bad thing. What's popular in Japan isn't necessarily going to be popular here in the United States, and making changes to accommodate for the differences between our two cultures isn't necessarily a terrible thing. In fact, it could be necessary if the company expects their games to sell more than a few thousand copies.
JR
P.S. It's also worth pointing out that games designed in the United States and Britain are often changed when they're released in Japan. Pandamonium!, Tomb Raider, and Crash Bandicoot are all excellent examples... Lara Croft is known as "Layla" in Japan and Crash Bandicoot looks cuter and less feral in Japanese promotional artwork for the game. In Pandamonium! the characters were changed entirely.
These days, people are quick to criticize even the slightest revision in Japanese video games and movies. However, it's important to note that fifteen years ago, while the Nintendo Entertainment System was popular, many games were heavily, heavily localized. These changes not only made the games more popular, but helped shape the childhoods of everyone who played them. The Nintendo era just wouldn't have been the same if the stars of River City Ransom were dressed in unfamiliar outfits, or the main character in Blaster Master hadn't been on a quest to save his pet frog from an underground labyrinth.
Now I realize that there should be limits to how much a game should be localized, and that there's a certain point when it becomes tasteless and xenophobic (the Mobile Light Force games come to mind). However, I propose that localization isn't always a bad thing. What's popular in Japan isn't necessarily going to be popular here in the United States, and making changes to accommodate for the differences between our two cultures isn't necessarily a terrible thing. In fact, it could be necessary if the company expects their games to sell more than a few thousand copies.
JR
P.S. It's also worth pointing out that games designed in the United States and Britain are often changed when they're released in Japan. Pandamonium!, Tomb Raider, and Crash Bandicoot are all excellent examples... Lara Croft is known as "Layla" in Japan and Crash Bandicoot looks cuter and less feral in Japanese promotional artwork for the game. In Pandamonium! the characters were changed entirely.