History CulturalTranslation / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has the statues shaped like a pencil and an eraser. In the original Japanese version, they are shaped like an octopus and a type of Japanese wooden doll. This was changed to preserve a cute bit of wordplay - the Japanese word for eraser is "keshi", while the wooden doll is named "kokeshi". The name that erases the doll statue, therefore, is called the "kokeshi keshi".[[note]]This was further set up earlier in the game by the octopus statue and its eraser.[[/note]] The English version's changes not only preserve the joke (the "kokeshi keshi" is now the "eraser eraser"), it ''added'' one as well (the pencil eraser now makes a lot more sense)! The food references, some of them quite plot-important, were also largely changed to reflect the tastes of American audiences.

* The English translations of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games change the setting from Tokyo to [[CityWithNoName an unnamed metropolis]] in [[SoCalization southern California]], albeit one which looks a lot like Tokyo. English-speaking fans have lampshaded this by referring to the setting as "Japanifornia". Even the head of the localisation team has stated she likes this nickname.

* ''Saiyuki World'' was based on ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', but most Americans didn't understand that, so it became a generic American Indian theme.
* ''VideoGame/DynamiteHeaddy'' did quite a bit in changes for the international version; removing the dialogue which cuts out a lot of the story is one such example. [[RecurringBoss Trouble Bruin]] was recolored brown instead of purple, and a giant doll became a mech. The boss in Headdy Wonderland was completely redesigned for Western audiences. [[spoiler: Originally it was a Geisha that upon defeat becomes demonic with sharp-as-hell claws. The Western release got a robot and the claws were not as sharp.]]

** The first game in the series, ''Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun'', was released overseas as ''VideoGame/{{Renegade}}''. Kunio was renamed Mr. K, and his white ''gakuran'' uniform was replaced with a matching brown vest and pants getup obviously inspired by ''Film/TheWarriors''. The outdoor train station from the first stage was replaced by an underground subway and all the enemy characters were redrawn as well with the exception of the final gang (although the Yakuza hitmen were [[RaceLift recolored black]]). The rice ball item was also replaced with a hamburger (though the NES manual's translators neglected to change the "hamburger" picture, hilariously enough).

** ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'', the American version of ''Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari'', anglicized the names of every character (with Kunio becoming Alex) and replaced their Japanese high school uniforms with t-shirts and jeans. Oddly enough, the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance remake features an Americanized script with the same anglicized names from the original NES game, but keeps the school uniforms from the Japanese version, though the box art makes them look more like kung-fu uniforms.

** In ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'', one of the health-recovery foods you can find lying around the levels is, in the Japanese version, a large piece of sushi. The American version had it changed to a large sandwich instead.

* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing2001'' was heavily influenced by Japanese culture. For the release of the internationally-released [=GameCube=] port, much had to be replaced by something the Western market can relate to, like a Japanese fireplace being replaced by a barbecue grill, during localization; what Japanocentric elements did remain were typically exoticized or presented in more Western-friendly terms. However, the Japanese team liked the changes so much they released the game as ''Dōbutsu no Mori e-Plus'' in Japan as well. Many of the westernized changes ended up being used even in Japan in the sequels. This even affects characters; in the original Japanese version, Tom Nook is a {{Tanuki}} while Kapp'n is a {{Kappa}}. International localizations change them into a raccoon and a turtle, respectively, but the [[PunnyName Punny Names]] reference what they're ''really'' supposed to be.

* The original ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' was heavily influenced by Japanese culture. For the release of the internationally-released [=GameCube=] port, much had to be replaced by something the Western market can relate to, like a Japanese fireplace being replaced by a barbecue grill, during localization. However, the Japanese team liked the changes so much they released the game as ''Dōbutsu no Mori e-Plus'' in Japan as well. Many of the westernized changes ended up being used even in Japan in the sequels. This even affects characters; in the original Japanese version, Tom Nook is a {{Tanuki}} while Kapp'n is a {{Kappa}}. International localizations change them into a raccoon and a turtle, respectively, but the [[PunnyName Punny Names]] reference what they're ''really'' supposed to be.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' got a particularly infamous one. It turned the locale to Chicago from Japan, yet didn't even do that right - a major location is a Shinto shrine, for example, and the houses are incredibly Japanese - and it gave all of the characters American appearances. By that, it gave them white skin and non-black hair, made one character [[RaceLift black]], for no particular reason but to have a Jive Turkey comic relief, and made everybody speak like an 8 year old after drinking Red Bull. Even [[WhatTheHellHero Maki]], the main character of sorts, is made childish and annoying. And of course, it's made this version of the game a cult classic.

* The English version of ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'' slightly amends a line referencing the rivalry between the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants in Japanese baseball, by bringing up the equally-ferocious (by U.S. standards) rivalry between the NFL's New York Jets and New England Patriots instead.

* ''VideoGame/SaiyukiWorld'' was based on ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', but most Americans didn't understand that, so it became a generic American Indian theme.

** ''Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen'' was released overseas as ''VideoGame/NintendoWorldCup''. Originally all the 13 teams in the game were Japanese, but were given different nationalities in the overseas version, with some of the sprites and palettes changed and their stats switched. However, the Famicom version was programmed so that only allowed the player to use one team in Tournament Mode and one of five teams in Vs. Match Mode. The localization staff attempted to compensate for this by allowing the player to change the nationality of the main team in Tournament Mode, which changes the team's overall palette and power shots.

* The English version of ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'' slightly amends a line referencing the rivalry between the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants in Japanese baseball, by bringing up the equally-ferocious (by U.S. standards) rivalry between the [[UsefulNotes/{{NFL}} NFL's New York Jets and New England Patriots]] instead.

* In ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'', one of the health-recovery foods you can find lying around the levels is, in the Japanese version, a large piece of sushi. The American version had it changed to a large sandwich instead.

* In the English version of ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'', the series was changed from a Japanese setting to an American setting. This included westernizing the names and changing yen to dollars, but most other Japanese references were kept intact. In the third game, the main male character moves with his parents to America. The English translation has him moving down South instead. Instead of not understanding English, he can't understand the dialect and accents.

* Subversion: The NES game ''ChubbyCherub'', a localized version of a ''Manga/LittleGhostQTaro'' Famicom title. The title character's sprite and the title screen were the ONLY graphical alterations. This runs contrary to other localized licenced games of the era, when all references to the show it was based on were removed.

* Subversion: The NES game ''ChubbyCherub'', a localized version of a Q-taro Famicom title. The title character's sprite and the title screen were the ONLY graphical alterations. This runs contrary to other localized licenced games of the era, when all references to the show it was based on were removed.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher 4'' and ''EVO'' had two boss monsters, Garp and Mao Mao, receive design overhauls for overseas releases. In Japan, Garp was named Genbu and had a black shell, while Mao Mao looked like a giant chicken. Overseas, Garp has a spiky green shell and Mao Mao was given a tropical bird design, like a parrot.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher 4'' and ''EVO'' had 2 boss monsters, Garp and Mao Mao, receive design overhauls for overseas releases. In Japan, Garp was named Genbu and had a black shell, while Mao Mao looked like a giant chicken. Overseas, Garp has a spiky green shell and Mao Mao was given a tropical bird design, like a parrot.

** The characterization of Marina, one half of an IdolSinger group, differs across the Pacific. In Japan, her [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]] and [[SempaiKohai respect for Pearl]] is played up, while in America, she's an absolutely vicious DeadpanSnarker and probable CovertPervert under her shy exterior. This was eventually toned down, with Marina getting additional lines indicating that despite her quips at Pearl's expense, she really does care about "her precious Pearlie", but the two still have a much more VitriolicBestBuds relationship in America than in Japan.

* The Japanese version of ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'', being the {{retraux}} game that it is, underwent a variety of "reverse-localization" changes to make it look and feel more like a Japanese-made game from the NES/Famicom era, from subtle things like katakana on the title logo and altering the palettes of certain enemies to animated grass and {{Snot Bubble}}s to redrawing graphics and face portraits to look more {{animesque}} and allude more to Japanese culture. Details [[http://yachtclubgames.com/2016/07/japan-localization/ here]].

* In VideoGame/HyruleWarriors, the game uses a letter-based ranking system to grade the player's performance at the end of missions. In the Japanese version of the game, the highest possible grade is an "S-rank". In the North American and European versions of the game, the highest rank is instead changed to an "A-rank", following English's conventional alphabetical order. "S" is often used in Japanese media to stand for something along the lines of "Special" or "Super", often with the connotation that it is more outstanding than a simple "A". Many foreigners are not familiar with this nuance, which is what prompted Nintendo of America to make the change. Interestingly enough, Hyrule Warriors is the only title where this change was made.

** ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'', the American version of ''Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari'', anglicized the names of every character (with Kunio becoming Alex) and replaced their Japanese high school uniforms with t-shirts and jeans. Oddly enough, the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance remake features an Americanized script with the same anglicized names from the original NES game, but keeps the school uniforms from the Japanese version.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation line of consoles and its games traditionally map the red O button to "Okay/Confirm", and the blue X button to "Cancel/Back" for Japan-region consoles and games, referring to the idea of "O = OK and X = NG[[note]]"no good"[[/note]]/no". However, that symbolism is largely foreign in the Western world; blue is commonly associated with positivity and red with negativity, and Westerners are more familiar with the concept of "X marks the spot", so North American and PAL versions of [=PlayStation=] consoles and games swap the mappings of the confirm and cancel functions. DamnYouMuscleMemory ensues for players in Japan importing games from the West and vice versa, as well as Western gamers who play localized versions of Japanese-developed games that ''don't'' do the confirm/cancel O/X swap.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation line of consoles and its games traditionally map the red O button to "confirm" and blue X button to "cancel" for Japan-region consoles and games, referring to the idea of "O = OK and X = NG[[note]]"no good"[[/note]]/no". However, that symbolism is largely foreign in the Western world, blue is commonly associated with positivity and red with negativity, and Westerners are more familiar with the concept of "X marks the spot", so North American and PAL versions of [=PlayStation=] consoles and games swap the mappings of the confirm and cancel functions. DamnYouMuscleMemory ensues for players in Japan importing games from the West and vice versa, as well as Western gamers who play localized versions of Japanese-developed games that ''don't'' do the confirm/cancel O/X swap.

* The English version of ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'' slightly amends a line referencing the rivalry between the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants in Japanese baseball, by bringing up the equally-ferocious (by U.S. standards) rivalry between the [[UsefulNotes/{{NFL}} NFL's New York Jets and New England Patriots]] instead.

* The original ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' was heavily influenced by Japanese culture. For the release of the internationally-released [=GameCube=] port, much had to be replaced by something the Western market can relate to, like a Japanese fireplace being replaced by a barbecue grill, during localization. However, the Japanese team liked the changes so much they released the game as ''Dōbutsu no Mori e-Plus'' in Japan as well. This even affects characters; in the original Japanese version, Tom Nook is a {{Tanuki}} while Kapp'n is a {{Kappa}}. International localizations change them into a raccoon and a turtle, respectively, but the [[PunnyName Punny Names]] reference what they're ''really'' supposed to be.

* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise, in games and the early episodes of the anime, establish yen as being the official currency of the Pokémon world (even in the regions based on New York and France, curiously enough). When the games were localized for other regions, the fictional Pokémon Dollar currency, using a design based on the yen symbol with a P instead of a Y, was created to avoid alienating Western players - although the exchange rates appear to be closer to yen, considering the price of even a basic healing item often numbers in the triple digits. ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness'' use the P symbol even in Japan.

** Another Pokémon example comes with the villainous Team Rocket. Originally based on {{Yakuza}}, the localizations style them more as a [[TheMafia Mafia-type]] group, even naming the boss "Giovanni".

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', the characterization of Marina, one half of an IdolSinger group, differs across the Pacific. In Japan, her [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]] and [[SempaiKohai respect for Pearl]] is played up, while in America, she's an absolutely vicious DeadpanSnarker and probable CovertPervert under her shy exterior. This was eventually toned down, with Marina getting additional lines indicating that despite her quips at Pearl's expense, she really does care about "her precious Pearlie", but the two still have a much more VitriolicBestBuds relationship in America than in Japan.

* The CuteEmUp game ''VideoGame/KikiKaiKai ~ Nazo no Kuro Manto'' for the SuperFamicom contained many references to Japanese mythology; the two player characters are a {{miko}} and a [[{{Youkai}} tanuki]], the former's weapons are [[PaperTalisman ofuda]] and an [[ZigzagPaperTassel ōnusa]], and the enemies are various types of {{obake}}. The official English version went by the title of ''Pocky & Rocky'' instead of attempting to translate the original title, and correspondingly renamed the aforementioned player characters to Pocky and Rocky. (The ThemeNaming was not present in their original names, Sayo-chan and Manuke.) The ofuda and ōnusa were referred to as "cards" and "magic stick". Finally, Manuke / Rocky was referred to as a raccoon, rather than a raccoon-dog (the correct English name for tanuki). Also, the ''obake'' were called "Gorgonzola Goblins".

* The English version of ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'' slightly amends a line referencing the rivalry between the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants in Japanese baseball by bringing up the equally-ferocious (by U.S. standards) [[UsefulNotes/{{NFL}} New York Jets and New England Patriots]] of football instead.

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', the characterization of Marina, one half of an IdolSinger group, differs across the Pacific. In Japan, her [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]] and [[SempaiKohai respect for Pearl]] is played up, while in America, she's an absolutely vicious DeadpanSnarker and probable CovertPervert under her shy exterior. This was eventually toned down, with Marina getting additional lines indicating that despite her quips at Pearl's expense, she really does care about "her precious Pearlie", but the two still have a much more VitriolicBestBuds relationship in America than in Japan.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' got a particularly infamous one. It turned the locale to Chicago from Japan, yet didn't even do that right - a major location is a Shinto shrine, for example, and the houses are incredibly Japanese - and it gave all of the characters American appearances. By that, it gave them white skin and non-brown hair, made one character [[RaceLift black]], for no particular reason but to have a Jive Turkey comic relief, and made everybody speak like an 8 year old after drinking Red Bull. Even [[WhatTheHellHero Maki]], the main character of sorts, is made childish and annoying. And of course, it's made this version of the game a cult classic.

* In {{Splatoon 2}}, the characterization of Marina, one half of an IdolSinger group, differs across the Pacific. In Japan, her [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]] and [[SempaiKohai respect for Pearl]] is played up, while in America, she's an absolutely vicious DeadpanSnarker and probable CovertPervert under her shy exterior. This was eventually toned down, with Marina getting additional lines indicating that despite her quips at Pearl's expense, she really does care about "her precious Pearlie", but the two still have a much more VitriolicBestBuds relationship in America than in Japan.

* When the South Korean horror game ''VideoGame/WhiteDayALabyrinthNamedSchool'' was remade in 2015, a localized version for Japan was made changing the [[DubNameChange character's names]] and school uniforms to reflect a Japanese setting. Compare the [[https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/white-day-a-labryinth-named-school/images/e/eb/White_Day_PS4_KOR_Cover.png/revision/latest?cb=20170808135918 original Korean cover]] to [[https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/white-day-a-labryinth-named-school/images/0/0d/White_Day_PS4_JPN_Cover.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170625083038 Japan's]].

** ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'', the American version of ''Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari'', anglicized the names of every character (with Kunio becoming Alex) and replaced their Japanese high school uniforms with t-shirts and jeans. Oddly enough, the GameBoyAdvance remake features an Americanized script with the same anglicized names from the original NES game, but keeps the school uniforms from the Japanese version.