dj boy, edited for racist depictions?

[pragmatic insanester]

while working on my beat 'em up group on myspace, i encountered a brief article or two about the title DJ BOY. supposedly the original arcade version depicted some stereotypical black persons as boss characters. there were changes made to the genesis version, it claims.

i was wondering, can anyone get me some pictures to reference it by...and was the megadrive version edited as well? (in japan at least..since they let stuff like Square's Tom Sawyer slide).

[importaku]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Boy

bit of info here

[pragmatic insanester]

augh. now i'm confused. the main wiki article says that the home versions were based on the modified arcade content, yet the guy doing the japanese review appears to be talking about the radical version being on a console.

bleh, now i have to find a damn emulator and check for myself. unless someone wants to save me the effort and earn some meseta. <333

[chrisbid]

the published shouldve concentrated more on removing the crappy parts of the game instead....

i guess then it would have never been released

[Ed Oscuro]

That wiki article...I love it. Why not just come out and say "I, as a wikipedia contributor, think this game is racist." For example:


"...the game ostensibly tried to convey a "trendy" atmosphere of "hip hop" and "ghetto" subculture based exclusively on racist jokes and supposedly popular ideas"
Well, I guess they did just call it racist. Aren't articles supposed to present subjects in an unbiased tone? It's not apparent that Kaneko's stumble was due to actual racist attitudes, as opposed to the product of a cultural misunderstanding (i.e. the Japanese don't always realize some things shouldn't be joked about, or at least that we feel that way).

I do agree that the stereotypes in the game are racist, but a little bit of perspective can be used before we slap that label on the Kaneko employees who made the game.

They definitely need to answer for the game being so lousy.

Addition: I looooove the KLOV entry for the sequel, B. Rap Boys:


Three cool guys, one on a skateboard, one on a bike and one on rolerscates, beat up various enemies as they seek to defeat a crime boss and his minions.
Heh heh...

[Aswald]

Funny thing is, nobody ever complains about the fact that in most entertainment media, including video games, the worst villains (excluding alien or supernatural monsters) are white men.

[CRV]

Funny thing is, nobody ever complains about the fact that in most entertainment media, including video games, the worst villains (excluding alien or supernatural monsters) are white men.

The white man is the devil.

[Ed Oscuro]

Funny thing is, nobody ever complains about the fact that in most entertainment media, including video games, the worst villains (excluding alien or supernatural monsters) are white men.
Actually, I hear this comment all the time.

I find it kind of amusing when folks try to argue that since the "white society = bad" angle gets played out in film and elsewhere that they're entitled to use stereotypes themselves. Tit for tat, right.

[evil_genius]

Why the black man gotta eat the white meat?

[NeoZeedeater]

The Japanese Mega Drive version is uncensored as far as I can tell. It never struck me as offensive although I haven't played it in years. What pissed me most in the domestic version was that they took out the intro and ending(maybe they reduced the size of game to save microchips or something).

I wouldn't have known this but I originally bought the import, sold it, then bought the domestic one years later.

[marshmannes]

I know that the ending for the Megadrive version has the main character with a girl, which was changed in the U.S. version. I don't know about the U.S. Genesis release though.

[gepeto]

I remember an article back then about that. I think it was the 1st boss that cause the ruckous. I imported that game because it had super presell hype to it about how good it was. I don't think it sold well though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Why the black man gotta eat the white meat?
because black meat is rotten...stupid

[marshmannes]

The U.S. Genesis version of DJ Boy is edited. The first level boss is a pinkish purple color instead of black.

[Push Upstairs]

He has to find his boombox instead of rescue his girlfriend?

What the hell kind of plot is that?

Head Game Designer: "well there are too many damsels in distress, we need to come up with something better and more 'hip'...what is something else he could try and rescue?"

Game Designer 1: "Maybe he could try and retieve his boombox since something like that would be important to those who enjoy 'hip-hop'."

Head Game Designer: "I like it, lets put that in."

[retroman]

How come white people dont complain about this shit...Its always some black person calling a race card...Get the F over it...sorry if i offend any..

[Push Upstairs]

Overdone charactures aside, i'd think it would be *MORE* offensive that a Gang Leader have all white henchmen.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh boy...man, if you thought this game was bad, check out Ninja Kids...I'll put up a screenshot later.

Kinda fun game, but man, the caricatures... LOL

[rbudrick]

How come white people dont complain about this shit...Its always some black person calling a race card...Get the F over it...sorry if i offend any..

I had a conversation with Zerohero about that once...we concluded that white people generallty just don't give a crap when say, another race calls them racial slurs. I think this argument often goes for when the Christian religion is mocked by radicals of other religions...Christians nowadays tend to not get as up in arms about it as say, the folks who are now rioting over in the Middle East over some Danish cartoons. These are just odd, yet somehow widely accepted cultural norms/double standards.

If people call me a honky-ass cracka, I tend to think it's funny more than anything. I dunno why. Maybe it's because my race was never repressed, so it doesn't carry the same negative connotation as if I were a black man being called slurs.

And besides, I AM a honkey-ass cracka.

-Rob

[boatofcar]

I've always read that Japanese beat-em-ups always use black characters as the generic bad guy, and they are changed when coming west.

[Push Upstairs]

I was always mad that Adam was relegated to a non-playable character in the last tow games in the SOR series...he was the best to use in the first game.

I ended up having to settle for Blaze in the last two games.

[Graham Mitchell]

Oh boy...man, if you thought this game was bad, check out Ninja Kids...I'll put up a screenshot later.

Kinda fun game, but man, the caricatures... LOL

Aaah, Ninja Kids. Where the Ninjas take on Satanists. How can you not love that game? It kills! If you hit a satanist in the elbow with a shuriken, his head flies off. That's amazing!

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, I see. They didn't bother to palette swap anybody for the first screen or two. LOL

Even so...I don't think I've ever met an Afro-American Satanist, online or otherwise.

[Graham Mitchell]

Oh, I see. They didn't bother to palette swap anybody for the first screen or two. LOL

Even so...I don't think I've ever met an Afro-American Satanist, online or otherwise.

My hairdresser's a gay satanist. Does that count? LOL

[Ed Oscuro]

Not if he's white LOL

[Push Upstairs]

Gay Satanist hairdresser?

Jerry Springer needs to get that person on his show!

[Graham Mitchell]

Gay Satanist hairdresser?

Jerry Springer needs to get that person on his show!

With him, the satanist part wasn't surprising. It was the gay part. I never would have thought. He's a top, too. Those satanists like to have their cake and eat it too, I guess.

[zerohero]

How come white people dont complain about this shit...Its always some black person calling a race card...Get the F over it...sorry if i offend any..

How do we know a black person actually called it? Maybe US exects made the call, don't be so quick to point fingers.