Line #184 Main/TranslationMatchmaking


1	This is when two or more works that have little or nothing to do with each other are given translated titles that imply a connection. Sometimes to capitalize on the first work's fame, but often just because it's funny, which may be an overlap with PunBasedTitle.
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3	This is only for ''titles'' that have been ''translated''. When it affects the ''content'' of the ''original'' work, it's a DolledUpInstallment, or just DubText.
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5	Subtrope of CompletelyDifferentTitle. See also SimilarlyNamedWorks and InNameOnly. ParallelPornTitles may also arise from this trope.
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7	----
8	!!Examples:
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10	[[foldercontrol]]
11
12	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
13	* ''Anime/NinjaResurrection'' wasn't a sequel to ''Anime/NinjaScroll'', but you could be forgiven if the box text and the distributor misled you. The only similarity was the main character's name, Jubei. ''Ninja Scroll''[='s=] protagonist is an homage to UsefulNotes/YagyuJubei, one of the most famous samurai and folk heroes in Japanese history. ''Ninja Resurrection'', based on the novel ''Makai Tensho'', actually uses Yagyu Jubei as its protagonist.
14	* The {{yaoi\|Genre}} manga ''Manga/{{Sense and Sexuality}}'' (whose Japanese title translates to ''Advancement of the Infamous''), which has nothing at all to do with ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility''.
15	* ''Kogareru Yubisaki'' by You Higashino was called ''[[Series/GreysAnatomy Gay's Anatomy]]'' in English as a PunBasedTitle, and to disguise the fact that it's actually a sequel to a previous series that [[NoExportForYou wasn't translated]].
16	* Although part of ''Anime/NeoTokyo1987'' was directed by Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo, it's not related to ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', and its original title is ''Meikyuu Monogatari'' (''Labyrinth Tales''), also known as ''Manie-Manie''.
17	* When Media Blasters released ''Amaenaide yo!'', they retitled it ''Manga/AhMyBuddha'', even though it's not related to ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''.
18	* In Portugal, ''Anime/{{Kochikame}}'' bears the subtitle "Police Academy". However, this is also the title of a [[Film/PoliceAcademy completely unrelated film]]; the only thing that connects the two films is the fact that they both involve the police.
19	* Fandom example. The NoExportForYou ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' is alternatively known as ''Anime/DigimonAdventure: V-Tamer 01'' and ''Digimon V-[[Anime/DigimonTamers Tamers]]'' after two works that were released outside of Japan.
20	* ''Manga/InterviewsWithMonsterGirls'' has it twice, the title being the combination of ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' and ''[[Manga/MonsterMusume Everyday Life with Monster Girls]]''. Kodansha translated the term ''Demi-chan'' (Demi-girls) into "Monster Girls" just to make a connection with the latter; it wouldn't even be a ''politically correct'' translation in-universe, since Demi-humans are humans, not monsters, despite having some monster traits.
21	* [[Creator/MediaBlasters Kitty Media]] released the {{hentai}} ''Hitozuma♪Kasumi-san'' in English under the {{Parallel Porn Title\|s}} ''The Hills Have Size'', despite it having nothing to do with ''Film/{{The Hills Have Eyes\|1977}}''.
22	* ''Manga/CellsAtWorkCodeBlack'' is a SpinOff of ''Manga/CellsAtWork'' that involves overworked cells in an unhealthy body. It's only tangentially related to ''Series/CodeBlack'', about a chronically overworked and understaffed emergency department. It was originally titled just ''Hataraku Saibou BLACK''.
23	* While the original ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' manga and anime were never adapted to English, the tie-in rubber figure toyline by [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Bandai]] were imported to the U.S. by Creator/{{Mattel}} under the name of ''M.U.S.C.L.E.'', which stood for "Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere". When [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] and Creator/{{Viz\|Media}} picked up the rights to the ''Kinnikuman'' sequel series, ''Kinnikuman Nisei'', they went with the name ''Anime/UltimateMuscle'' to invoke a connection with Mattel's toyline, although the "Muscle" in ''Ultimate Muscle'' is just a word and not an acronym for anything. Mattel still holds the rights to the ''M.U.S.C.L.E.'' trademark, but now produces rubber figures based on other properties, such as ''He-Man'' and ''Street Sharks''.
24	* ITC, the UK television company that distributed ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'', dubbed the similarly-premised ''Scientific Rescue Team Techno Voyager'' as ''Thunderbirds 2086''.
25	* ''Hana no Keiji'' is translated in Italian as ''Keiji il magnifico'' (Keiji the Magnificent), which is very similar to ''Ken il Guerriero'' (Ken the Warrior), the Italian title of Tetsuo Hara's other hit manga ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''.
26	* Because ''Sentai Dai Shikkaku'' was themed around {{Sentai}} tropes, Kodansha USA based the English title ''Manga/GoGoLoserRanger'' on "Go Go Power Rangers", the opening theme to ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''.
27	* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' is known as ''Gloutons & Dragons'' (''Gluttons & Dragons'') in French and ''Calabozos y Tragones'' (''Dungeons & Gluttons'') in Spanish, connecting it to ''Franchise/DungeonsAndDragons'' by way of the manga's adventure-friendly and campaign-styled premise. While the reference was present in the English title (it can be [[FunWithAcronyms abbreviated]] to ''D in D'', a soundalike of D&D), it was also a more covert example.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
31	* The Chinese name for ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' is 魔法奇緣. And then ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' became 魔髮奇緣. The Cantonese version for ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'' is 魔雪奇緣 (Mainland and Taiwanese Chinese has the slightly less similar 冰雪奇緣). Roughly, these are ''Magic Enchantment Romance'', ''Magic Hair Romance'', and ''Magic Snow Romance''. Suffice to say Chinese translators love this trope to death.
32	* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' as 玩具總動員 ("Mobilization of the Toys") was followed by ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' (海底總動員, "Mobilization on the Seafloor") and ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' (汽車總動員, "Mobilization of the Cars")).
33	* The Cantonese name for ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' is 馴龍記 ("Taming of the Dragons"), similar to the common Chinese name for ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' (literally translated as 馴悍記).
34	* The Cantonese name for ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' is 大英雄聯盟 ("League of Big/Great Heroes"), which has nothing to do with ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' (英雄聯盟, "League of Heroes"). And its name for Baymax is 醫神 ("Medicine God"), same as ''Series/{{House}}''.
35	* When ''WesternAnimation/FreeBirds'' was released in Italian, it was renamed "Tacchini in Fuga" ("Turkeys on the Run"), in hope to somehow relate it to "Galline in Fuga" ("Chickens on the Run"--''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'').
36	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby'' is titled ''O Poderoso Chefinho'' ("The Powerful Little Boss") in Brazilian Portuguese, associating itself with ''Film/TheGodfather'' (''O Poderoso Chefão'', "The Powerful Big Boss").
37	* The first ''WesternAnimation/HappilyNEverAfter'' movie was translated as ''Deu a Louca na Cinderela'' ("Cinderella's Gone Crazy") and the sequel became ''Deu a Louca na Branca de Neve'' ("Snow White's Gone Crazy"), to fit the way ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'' was translated, ''Deu a Louca na Chapeuzinho'' ("Little Red Riding Hood's Gone Crazy").
38	* When ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' was released in Japanese, it was retitled ''オリバーニューヨーク子猫ものがたり'' ("Oliver: A New York Kitten's Story"), apparently associating itself with local hit ''Film/TheAdventuresOfMiloAndOtis'' (''子猫物語'', "A Kitten's Story").
39	[[/folder]]
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41	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
42	* In French, ''Film/TheHangover'' was released under the "translated" title of ''Very Bad Trip'', apparently due to the similarity to the movie ''Film/VeryBadThings''. Likewise, ''Film/TheOtherGuys'' was rechristened ''Very Bad Cops'' and ''Film/{{Visioneers}}'' became ''Very Big Stress''.
43	* When ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' was released in French, the title was changed to ''Y a-t-il un pilote dans l'avion?'' (Is there a pilot onboard?). Most of the movies produced by the ZAZ trio afterwards were renamed so they'd begin the same way.
44	** ''Film/RuthlessPeople'' became ''Y a-t-il quelqu'un pour tuer ma femme?'' (Is there someone who could kill my wife?).
45	** ''Film/TheNakedGun'' movies all begin with ''Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver...?'' (Is there a cop who can save (insert noun here)?).
46	** ''Film/TwoThousandAndOneASpaceTravesty'' was renamed ''Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver l'humanité?'' (Is there a cop who can save humanity?) although it's not part of the Naked Gun series, or even ZAZ: The only thing it has in common with them is Creator/LeslieNielsen.
47	** ''One'' of the French titles for ''Film/WrongfullyAccused'' was ''Y a-t-il un fugitif à bord?'' (Is there a [[Film/TheFugitive fugitive]] on board?)
48	* In Mexican Spanish, ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' is titled ''¿Y donde esta el piloto?'' (''So Where's the Pilot?'') and subsequent ZAZ movies have been titled accordingly, for instance the ''Naked Gun'' movies are titled ''¿Y donde esta el policia?'' (''So Where's the Cop?''), and ''Film/WhiteChicks'' was titled ''¿Y dónde están las rubias?'' (''So Where are the Blondes?''). Similarly, ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' movies were called ''Loca Academia de Policia'' (''Insane Police Academy''), and the ''Film/HotShots'' movies were therefore titled ''Loca Academia de Pilotos'' (''Insane Pilot Academy''). Even ''Film/{{Repossessed}}'' was retroactively renamed ''¿Y donde está el exorcista?'' (''So where's the Exorcist?'')
49	* In German, ''Airplane'' was [[TheFantasticTropeOfWonderousTitles called]] ''Die unglaubliche Reise in einem verrückten Flugzeug'' (''The Incredible Journey in a Crazy Airplane''). Subsequently, ''Ruthless People'' was renamed ''Die unglaubliche Entführung der verrückten Mrs Stone'' (''The Incredible Kidnapping of the Crazy Mrs Stone''). The titles of the ''Naked Gun'' movies were translated literally; however, the TV show ''Series/PoliceSquad'', which came to Germany ''after'' the movies, was renamed ''Die nackte Pistole'' (''The Naked Pistol''). Also, ''S.P.Q.R. 2000 e 1/2 anni fa'', a completely unrelated Italian movie that had Leslie Nielsen in it, was retitled ''Die römische Kanone'' (''The Roman Gun'').
50	* In Castilian Spanish, ''Airplane!'' was renamed ''Aterriza como puedas'' (Land as you can), ''Film/TheNakedGun'' became ''Agárralo como puedas'' (Catch [him] the way you can), and ''Film/SpyHard'' was ''Espia como puedas'' (Spy as you can). In fact, most comedies with Leslie Nielsen follow the "X como puedas" [[FollowTheLeader and even some unrelated ones]]: ''Film/JaneAustensMafia'', for instance, became ''Mafia, estafa como puedas'' ("Mafia, Con [someone] The Way You Can". One explanation might be that ''Mafia!'' features Nielsen's ''Airplane!'' co-star Lloyd Bridges).
51	* In Hebrew, Leslie Nielsen's comedies received the same treatment. ''Film/TheNakedGun'' was named ''The Gun Died Laughing'', and its sequels were named appropriately. Since then, other films would be translated as "The [something] Died Laughing"--''Film/SpyHard'' was named ''The Spy Died Laughing'', ''Film/WrongfullyAccused'', a parody of ''Film/TheFugitive'', was named ''The Fugitive Died Laughing'', and ''[[Film/TwoThousandAndOneASpaceTravesty 2001: A Space Travesty]]'' was named ''Space Died Laughing''.
52	** This became even worse when later on spoof comedies that ''didn't'' star Leslie Nielsen got the same treatment - for example, ''Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' was named ''The Jungle Died Laughing'', despite the fact that the cartoon was actually known and quite popular there at the time.
53	* Leslie Nielsen's movies also had this happen in Japanese. ''The Naked Gun'' was known as ''The Man With the Naked Gun'', a parody of the Bond movie title in Japanese as well as in English. ''Wrongfully Accused'' became ''The Fugitive With the Naked Gun'', ''Men with Brooms'' (a curling movie) was ''The Man With the Naked Stone'', and even his earlier movies were renamed on video, so that 1990’s ''Film/{{Repossessed}}'' became ''The Man With the Naked Crucifix''! Japanese translators went on to rename ''S.P.Q.R. 2000 e 1/2 Anni Fa'' (an Italian film that he starred in) to ''Leslie Nielsen: The Naked Roman Empire'', and ''Santa Who?'' to ''Leslie Nielsen: The Naked Santa Claus''.
54	* ''Film/TwoThousandAndOneASpaceTravesty'' was retitled in Italian ''2001: Un'astronave spuntata nello spazio'' (literally: "A Dull Spaceship in Space") in order to follow the Italian title of the ''Naked Gun'' movies, ''Una pallottola spuntata'' (literally: "A Dull Bullet").
55	* ''Film/TwoThousandAndOneASpaceTravesty'' was renamed "The Sixth Element" in Russian in order to cash in on the popularity of ''Film/TheFifthElement''.
56	* Translators of comedy titles into Spanish are obsessed with the concept of "Loco" (Insane). The Police Academy case is well-known, but Creator/MelBrooks movies are frequent victims of this: ''Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartI'' was changed to ''La loca historia del mundo'' ("The Insane History of the World"), ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' turned into ''La loca historia de las galaxias'' ("The Insane Story of the Galaxies") in Castilian Spanish, ''Film/SilentMovie'' was known as ''La última locura'' ("The Last Insanity"), and ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'' was changed to ''Las locas, locas aventuras de Robin Hood'' ("The Insane, Insane Adventures of Robin Hood"). The last one may derive from the fact that "loca" (crazy lady) is a common way to refer to a flamboyant gay man in Latin American Spanish (similar to the use of "queer" in English), making it also a PunBasedTitle.
57	* Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg movies in Latin American Spanish are put through the ''Una Loca Película De X'' (An Insane X Movie) formula. ''Film/VampiresSuck'' is ''Una Loca Película de Vampiros'', ''Film/MeetTheSpartans'' is ''Una Loca Película de Esparta'', and ''Film/EpicMovie'' is ''Una Loca Película Épica''.
58	** ''Film/DeltaFarce'' is ''Una Loca Película de Guerra'' (A Crazy War Movie), ''Film/TheCannonballRally'' was changed to ''Los Locos de Cannonball'' (The Insane/Crazy People of Cannonball), and ''Film/TalladegaNights'' turned into ''Locos por la Velocidad'' (Insane from Speed).
59	* In Finnish, ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' is known as ''Hei, me lennetään'' (Hey, we're flying). The "Hey, we're..." title format has since been used for numerous other parody movies, with e.g. ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' becoming ''Hei, me rokataan'' (Hey, we're rocking).
60	* ''Film/DanceFlick'' was released in French as ''Dance Movie''.
61	* ''Film/ShriekIfYouKnowWhatIDidLastFridayTheThirteenth'' was retitled in Swedish to ''Scary Video'', an obvious nod to ''Film/ScaryMovie''.
62	* After ''Film/HomeAlone'' became a hit in Spain with the Castilian Spanish title ''Solo en casa'', Macaulay Culkin's earlier movie ''Film/UncleBuck'' was released there with the title ''Solos con nuestro tío'' ("Alone with our uncle") to suggest a connection.
63	* In the same spirit, another film of Macaulay Culkin, ''Film/RichieRich'', was released in Czech with the title ''Sám doma a bohatý'' ("Home Alone and Rich").
64	* ''Return of the Dragon'' was originally called ''Film/WayOfTheDragon'' when it was produced in Hong Kong. ''Film/EnterTheDragon'' was actually Creator/BruceLee's last complete film, but the retitling of ''Way of the Dragon'' was a means of capitalizing on Bruce Lee's fame and releasing the earlier film to a wider audience. All this despite the obviously higher budget of ''Enter the Dragon'' (being a Hollywood/Hong Kong joint studio venture), not to mention the fact that Lee's characters in the two films are obviously not the same person (in name OR in personality), and thus neither film was actually a sequel to the other.
65	* ''Film/FistOfFury'', another Creator/BruceLee film, was retitled ''The Chinese Connection'' (after ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'') in English. The title (''Chinese Connection'') was actually intended for ''Film/TheBigBoss'' (since the plot of that film involved drug trafficking), but the American distributor messed up and ended up switching the titles for both films by mistake.
66	* Sweden had an odd tradition of this with regards to specific people.
67	** After ''Film/TheProducers'' (in Swedish "Det våras för Hitler", referring to the ShowWithinAShow "Springtime for Hitler") all Creator/MelBrooks movies were titled similarly. The Swedish movie titles translate back into "Springtime for Space" (''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''), "Springtime for the Sheriff" (''Film/BlazingSaddles''), etc. This didn't end until ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'', which had a direct translation.
68	** For years and years all Creator/GoldieHawn movies had titles beginning with "The Girl Who..."
69	** They tried doing this to Creator/PatrickSwayze too after ''Film/DirtyDancing'', but after retitling ''Film/NextOfKin1989'' as ''Dirty Fighting'' they wisely gave up.
70	* The movie ''Film/{{Outlander\|2008}}'' is bizarrely titled in Mexican Spanish ''La Tierra Media y El Tesoro del Dragon Solitario'' (''Middle Earth and the Treasure of the Lonely Dragon''), which is inexplicable unless it is meant as a preemptive case of this trope regarding the ''The Hobbit'' movie.
71	* In Japanese, ''Film/NapoleonDynamite'' is known as ''Bus Man'' in a blatant attempt to ride on the coattails of ''Literature/{{Train Man\|2004}}'', though it was later reverted to its original English name after the backlash that ensued.
72	* ''Film/GameraVsViras'' was released in English by [[Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures AIP-TV]] as ''Destroy All Planets'', in obvious imitation of ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters''.
73	* The Soviet film ''Film/IvanVasilievichChangesProfession'' was translated as ''Ivan Vasilevich: Back to the Future'' in English. ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' and ''Ivan Vasilevich'' are mainly related in that they have to do with time traveling.
74	* In French, ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' is titled ''L'incroyable destin de Harold Crick'', which imitates the original French title of ''Film/{{Amelie}}'', ''Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain''.
75	* The Soviet-Finnish film ''Sampo'' was released in English as ''Film/TheDayTheEarthFroze'', coming after not only ''Film/{{The Day the Earth Stood Still\|1951}}'' but also ''Film/TheDayTheEarthCaughtFire''.
76	* The Dutch action film ''Film/VetHard'' was released in English as "Too Fat Too Furious", an obvious nod to ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious''. The only similarity is that both are action films that have car crashes. [[note]]- The original Dutch title would ''literally'' translate to "fat hard" but is a slang term for something roughly in between "awesomely cool", "tough stuff" and "Up To Eleven", and as such is hard to translate -[[/note]]
77	* In Norwegian, a whole ton of completely unrelated movies start with the words "Hjelp, vi" ("Help, we"), followed by whatever the main characters in the movie are doing.
78	** Airplane - "Help, We're Flying"
79	** Film/AirplaneIITheSequel - "Help, We're Flying Again"
80	** This Is Spın̈al Tap - "Help, We're in the Pop Industry"
81	** National Lampoon's Vacation - "Help, We Have to Take a Vacation"
82	** National Lampoon's European Vacation - "Help, We Have to Take a Vacation in Europe"
83	** Loose Shoes - "Help, We're Making a Movie"
84	** Nativity! - "Help, We're Arranging a Christmas Show"
85	** L'homme orchestre - "Help, I've Become a Father"
86	** This in addition to a decent amount of Norwegian-produced movies where this style is used as the original title. It's treated as a running gag nowadays.
87	* In Italian, ''Film/HighNoon'' was renamed "Mezzogiorno di fuoco" ("Fiery Noon"); some time later, ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' was renamed with a similar title, "Mezzogiorno e mezzo di fuoco", literally "Fiery Noon and a Half".
88	* A similar but more nonsensical thing happened with ''Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974'', renamed by Italian distributors "Non aprite quella porta" ("Don't Open That Door"). Much later, kiddie horror film ''Film/TheGate'' was renamed "Non aprite quel cancello" ("Don't Open That Gate"), despite having absolutely nothing to do with the earlier horror movie.
89	* The Italian name for Film/EvilDead is La Casa (the House). La Casa 2 is Film/EvilDead2, fair enough. La Casa 3 was an unrelated Italian film released in the United States as "Ghost House". La Casa 4 and 5 were also unrelated Italian features called Witchery and Film/BeyondTheDarkness respectively in the States. La Casa 6 and 7 were Film/HouseIITheSecondStory and House III. So, that's at least 3 completely unrelated film series all jammed together as one!
90	* The Zombi movies get even worse. Zombi is the Italian name for Film/DawnOfTheDead1978. Film/Zombi2 (1979) is an unrelated Lucio Fulci movie. Film/Zombi3D (Zombi 3 1984) was at least done by Fulci until he got replaced. But, at least five other completely unrelated movies released before it were also called some variation of Zombi 3. It gets so ridiculous that the Spanish movie Vengeance of the Zombies (1973) (La rebelión de las muertas) is also distributed as BOTH Zombi 5 and Zombi 9. Oh, and another name for Film/BeyondTheDarkness above? Zombi 10.
91	* For unclear reasons, ''Film/BatteriesNotIncluded'' was renamed to the equivalent of "Miracle on 8th Street"--which sounds just like ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet''--in just about every language where it was released, including French (''Miracolo sull'8° strada''), German (''Das Wunder in der 8. Straße''), Latin American Spanish (''Milagro en la calle 8''), Korean (''8-beongaui Gijeok''), Italian (''Miracolo sull'8ª strada''), and Japanese (''New York Higashi 8-bangai no Kiseki'').
92	* After ''Film/RumbleInTheBronx'' was released, a movie from 1973 originally titled ''女警察'' (''The Policewoman'') was reissued on home video under the new title of ''Rumble in Hong Kong'' (among others), with a [[CoversAlwaysLie misleading cover]] that suggests that Creator/JackieChan was the leading actor (he actually played a supporting character with not much screentime).
93	* {{Inverted\|Trope}} with the French titles for ''Franchise/DieHard'': The first three titles (''Piège de Cristal''[[note]]The Glass Trap[[/note]], ''58 Minutes pour Vivre''[[note]]58 Minutes to Live[[/note]] and ''Une Journée en Enfer''[[note]]A Day in Hell[[/note]]) showed no signs of a series... and then played half-straight with ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'', billed ''Die Hard 4: Retour en Enfer''.[[note]]Die Hard 4: Back in Hell[[/note]]
94	* The fourth movie of the ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' series, ''Film/RamboIV'', was billed ''John Rambo'' in several countries to mimick ''Film/RockyBalboa''.
95	* In Czech, the film ''Film/VeryBadThings'' was translated as [[Film/FourWeddingsAndAFuneral Six Funerals and a Wedding]].
96	* Also in Czech, ''That Man from Rio'' (in Czech: ''Muž z Ria'' = ''The Man from Rio'') was followed by ''The Man from Hong Kong'' (''Chinese Adventures in China'' a.k.a. ''Up to His Ears'') and ''[[Film/LeMagnifique The Man from Acapulco]]'' (''Magnificient One'' a.k.a. ''How to Destroy the Reputation of the Greatest Secret Agent''), and always air on TV as a series. (The movies have otherwise no connection, except the names of the director Philippe de Broca and the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.)
97	* ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' was translated into Russian as "Underwater Gang" (using "gang" in the criminal sense). This makes some sense, as the sharks do behave like Italian mobsters. Then there's ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'', which has nothing to do with organized crime, which was translated as "Forest Gang", obviously implying a connection between the two films.
98	* In Mexican Spanish, the Creator/DannyDeVito's film ''Screwed'' was translated as ''Y tu Abuelita Tambien'' (And Your Granny Too) after the Mexican film ''Film/YTuMamaTambien''.
99	* ''Film/{{Torque}}'' is ''Fury on Two Wheels'' in Argentinan Spanish and ''Torque - The Fastest Law'' in European Portuguese, implying it to be part of the ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' franchise. One bootleg is called ''3 Fast 3 Furious''.
100	* In German, ''Film/DeathWish1974'' became ''Ein Mann sieht Rot'' ("A Man Sees Red"). Subsequently ''Lipstick'' became ''Eine Frau sieht Rot'' ("A Woman Sees Red") and ''The Star Chamber'' became ''Ein Richter sieht Rot'' ("A Judge Sees Red").
101	* Brazilian Portuguese has a few:
102	** ''Film/FrightNight1985'' became ''A Hora do Espanto'', "Fright Time". Then following suit were ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' as ''A Hora do Pesadelo'' ("Nightmare Time") and ''Film/TheDeadZone'' as ''A Hora da Zona Morta'' ("Dead Zone Time") and ''Film/ReAnimator'' as ''A Hora dos Mortos Vivos'' ("Undead Time")
103	** Two actor-based examples: a Schwarzenegger one that made sense - ''Film/TheTerminator'' was "The Terminator from the Future", so ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' became "The Avenger from the Future" - and a Creator/MichaelJFox one that doesn't - ''Film/TeenWolf'' became "The Boy from the Future" to cash in ''Film/BackToTheFuture1''.
104	** Given ''Film/ScaryMovie'' was ''Todo Mundo em Pânico'', "Everybody in Panic" (a pun on "Pânico", their title for ''Film/{{Scream\|1996}}''), ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' became ''Todo Mundo Quase Morto'', "Everybody Almost Dead".
105	** ''[[Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg Disaster Movie]]'' was translated to ''Super Heróis: Liga da Injustiça'' ("Super Heroes: Injustice League"), so it could pass off as a sequel to ''Film/SuperheroMovie''. Considering more superhero spoofs appear than ones for disaster films, it's actually ''more accurate'' than the original.
106	* ''El Ratón Pérez'', a 2006 Argentine 3D-animated film about a mythical mouse from Spanish folklore similar to the Tooth fairy, was renamed in Polish to "Stefan Malutki" (''Stephen Little'') to mimick ''Film/StuartLittle''.
107	** And ''[[ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon The Big Adventure of Mortadelo and Filemón]]'', a 2003 Spanish comedy based on popular comic book series was renamed for unknown reasons in Polish to... "Liga najgłupszych dżentelmenów" (''[[Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen The League Of The Dumbest Gentlemen ]]'').
108	* The Japanese release of ''Film/ToKillAMockingbird'' became "The Alabama Story", almost definitely patterned off of ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory''.
109	* The Finnish release of the Farrelly Brothers' Film/TheThreeStooges tries to make it sound like a sequel to the Film/DumbAndDumber movies.
110	* The Japanese release of ''Film/SleepawayCampIIUnhappyCampers'' is known as ''Lady Jason'', implying that it's a spinoff of the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' film series starring a DistaffCounterpart of Jason Voorhees. The promotional material in Japan emphasized this by using a still in which Angela (the killer) is wearing a hockey mask, even though she only wears it in one scene.
111	* The straight-to-video movie ''InterviewWithAHitman'' is known as ''Hitman Reloaded'' in Japanese and Australian English, despite being unrelated to the 2007's film adaptation of the ''Film/{{Hitman}}'' videogame series.
112	* After ''Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartI'' was released in French as ''La Folle Histoire du Monde'' ("The mad history of the world"), Creator/MelBrooks's next movie ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' was released as ''La Folle Histoire de l'Espace'' ("The mad (hi)story of space").
113	* Speaking of ''Spaceballs'', in Italian the sci-fi comedy "Martians Go Home" was released as "Balle Spaziali 2: la vendetta" (''Spaceballs 2: The Revenge''). It goes without saying that these movies are totally unrelated.
114	* Yet another Mel Brooks case, this time in Brazilian Portuguese: ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' was ''Banzé no Oeste'' ("A Mess in the West"), so when ''Film/TheTwelveChairs'', an earlier movie of his that hadn't hit the country yet, arrived, it became ''Banzé na Rússia'' ("A Mess In Russia").
115	* After the ''Film/ScaryMovie'' series of horror spoofs, the Italian versions renamed other genre parodies with "(Something) Movie" titles, for example ''Film/StanHelsing'' became "Horror Movie" and ''Film/AHauntedHouse'' became "Ghost Movie".
116	* Spanish dubs of ''Film/TheGoodSon'' gave it the title ''El Ángel Malvado'' (The Evil Angel), as a direct allusion to Creator/MacaulayCulkin's earlier ''Film/HomeAlone'' films, known over there as ''Mi Pobre Angelito'' (''My Poor Little Angel'').
117	* The Spanish spoof film ''SpanishMovie'' ([[UntranslatedTitle yes the title is the same in Spanish]]) is clearly an allusion to the Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer spoof movies even when there is no relationship other than the fact that the movie is a parody of Spanish cinema. Another difference is that the film was actually very well received and critically acclaimed, unlike Friedberg and Seltzer's work.
118	* A few countries made sure to point out how ''Film/RatRace'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'': Latin American Spanish had "The World Is Mad Mad" and "Everybody's Gone Mad" in Brazilian Portuguese, while European Portuguese was "Everything's Mad!" and Greek, "Mad Treasure Hunt".
119	* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' in Polish had the subtitle ''Policjanci z jajami'', meaning "Cops with balls" but pronounced similarly to ''Policjanci z Miami'' ("Cops from Miami"), the Polish title of ''Series/MiamiVice''.
120	* In Russian, ''Film/TheHangover'' was [[CompletelyDifferentTitle renamed]] to ''A Stag Party in Vegas''. The unrelated films ''Film/GetHimToTheGreek'' and ''Film/{{Bridesmaids}}'' were renamed to ''Escape from Vegas'' and ''A Hen Party in Vegas'' respectively.
121	* In Nepali, ''Film/AbraxasGuardianOfTheUniverse'' was billed as the 9th film in the ''Film/{{Zombie}}'' series, despite not even having any zombies in it.
122	* In Slovenian, ''Film/{{Keoma}}'' was billed as a sequel to ''Film/{{Django}}''.
123	* ''Film/BlackSunday'' was billed as ''The Hour When Dracula Comes'' in German, despite {{Dracula}} having nothing to do with it.
124	* In the Brazilian theatrical run of ''Film/TheDevilBat'', it was called ''The Return of {{Film/Dracula\|1931}}'', presumably because it stars Creator/BelaLugosi.
125	* ''Film/EnemyOfTheState'' is ''Public Enemy of The Country'' (国家公敌) in Mainland Chinese, and ''Public Enemy of All People'' (全民公敵) in Taiwanese Chinese. ''Film/IRobot'' is called ''Robotic Public Enemies'' (機械公敵) in Taiwanese Chinese, because of ''Creator/WillSmith'' starring in both films.
126	* ''Film/StoneCold'' was retitled in connection to Marvel character ComicBook/ThePunisher in Brazilian Portuguese.
127	* In Italian the ''Film/FatAlbert'' movie was renamed ''Il mio grosso grasso amico Albert'', or "My Big Fat Friend Albert", a clear pun on ''Film/MyBigFatGreekWedding''. The only relation the two films have is that they share the director. To put it in perspective, the original cartoon was retitled in Italy "Albertone", or "Big Albert".
128	* The Spanish horror-comedy ''Lobos de Arga'' was retitled ''Game of Werewolves'' for the English release, presumably to make viewers think it had something to do with ''Series/GameOfThrones''.
129	* Do yourself a favor and do not, under any circumstances, play a drinking game of how many comedy films have been retitled in Latin American Spanish as "Crazy" something (ex. ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' as "Crazy Police Academy" and ''Film/{{RV}}'' as "Crazy Vacation on Wheels"). You ''will'' drop dead.
130	* The Japanese version of ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' was retitled ''Ghost Hunters'', no doubt hoping to capitalize on the success of ''Film/{{Ghostbusters\|1984}}''.
131	* ''Film/DumbAndDumber'' was retitled ''Creator/JimCarrey wa Mr. Dumber'' (''Jim Carrey is Mr. Dumber'') in Japanese, which is likely a reference to ''Mr. Mom'', with the only connection between two being the fact that they both feature Creator/JeffDaniels. ''Trial & Error'', another unrelated movie with Jeff Daniels, was later released as ''Mr. Dumber 2 1/2''.
132	** The Italian dub of ''Trial & Error'' is also called ''Ancora più scemo'' (''Even dumber'').
133	* ''[[LovecraftOnFilm The Resurrected]]'', a film adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard'' received the German title ''[[Franchise/EvilDead Evil Dead: The Seeds of Evil]]'', which even reused the cover art from ''Evil Dead 2''.
134	* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' became ''Koya no Yojimbo'' or ""Yojimbo of the Wild" after Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}''. This was actually a result of a lawsuit settlement with Kurosawa, who alleged that Creator/SergioLeone copied his own movie to create ''Fistful''.
135	* ''Film/{{Django}}'' became ''Zoku Koya no Yojimbo'' (a sequel to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'') in Japanese, and, interestingly enough, ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' in Taiwan.
136	* ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' became ''Film/{{Dracula\|1931}}'s Bride'' in Greek.
137	* ''Film/FrostbiterWrathOfTheWendigo'' became ''Another Franchise/EvilDead Chapter: Frostbiter'' in Japanese.
138	* ''Film/TheVampire'' became ''Literature/{{Dracula}}: Always at Nightfall'' in German.
139	* ''Film/MarsAttacks'' became ''Franchise/StarWars Destroyer'' in Taiwanese Chinese.
140	* ''Film/ReeferMadness'' became ''Film/{{Zombi\|2}} 24: Undead Pothead Maniacs'' in Cameroon.
141	* ''Film/CemeteryMan'' became ''Film/{{Demons}} '95'' in Japanese.
142	* ''Film/TombsOfTheBlindDead'' was listed as the fourth ''Film/MarkOfTheDevil'' movie in some American releases.
143	* ''Film/ABayOfBlood'' became ''Film/TheLastHouseOnTheLeft, Part II'' in some American releases.
144	* ''Film/DemolitionMan'' became ''Franchise/{{Rambo}} the Destroyer'' in Kuwait.
145	* ''Film/DeepRed'' became ''Film/{{Suspiria\|1977}} Part 2'' in Japanese.
146	* ''Film/OneMansJustice'' was listed as a sequel to ''Film/StoneCold'' in European Portuguese and Castilian Spanish.
147	* ''Film/CannibalFerox'' became a sequel to ''The Man from Deep River'' in Australian English.
148	* ''Film/EveryWhichWayButLoose'' became ''Dirty Fighter'' in Japanese, a reference to Creator/ClintEastwood's Film/DirtyHarry film franchise. Its sequel, ''Film/AnyWhichWayYouCan'' becase ''Dirty Fighter: Moeyo Tekken''.
149	* ''Film/Absurd1981'' became ''[[Film/TheAnthropophagusBeast Anthropophagus]] 2'' in Russian.
150	* ''Film/FromBeyond'' is listed as a sequel to ''Film/ReAnimator'' in Thai.
151	* ''Film/TheReef'' became ''Film/OpenWater: New Victims'' in Russian.
152	* ''Film/HollywoodChainsawHookers'' became ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre 3: The Final Massacre'' in Brazilian Portuguese.
153	* The Film/JamesBond film ''Film/AViewToAKill'' was translated in French as ''Dangereusement Votre'' (''Dangerously Yours''), as a reference to the French title of the TV series ''Series/ThePersuaders'', ''Amicalement Votre'' (''Friendly Yours''), which also starred Creator/RogerMoore and was [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff very well known in France at the time]].
154	* ''Film/AmericanCyborgSteelWarrior'' became ''Film/{{Cyborg\|1989}} 2: Steel Warrior'' in Mexican Spanish.
155	* ''Film/CyborgSoldier'' became ''Film/{{Cyborg\|1989}}: A Secret Weapon'' in European Portuguese.
156	* ''Film/TheAfflicted'' became ''[[Film/AnAmericanCrime Another American Crime]]'' in German.
157	* In Hebrew, ''Film/GrumpyOldMen'' became ''[[Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless The Old and the Restless]]''
158	* In New Zealand English, ''Film/RaisingTheWind'' and ''The Big Job'' were released as ''Carry On Fiddling'' and ''Carry On Crooks''. While they were produced and directed by Creator/PeterRogersAndGeraldThomas, and do share many actors with the ''Film/CarryOnSeries'', they are not official entries in the ''Carry On'' series.
159	* ''Film/HighSchoolHigh'' has been given a title that alludes to ''Film/DangerousMinds'' in a few countries. In Portugal, it has been retitled ''Mentes Pirosas'', meaning "Tacky Minds", a pun on ''Mentes Perigosas'', the literal translation of "Dangerous Minds" and the Portuguese title of that film.
160	** In Italy, it has been renamed ''Pensieri spericolati'' ("Reckless Thoughts"), a reference to the Italian title of ''Dangerous Minds'' which was ''Pensieri pericolosi'' ("Dangerous Thoughts").
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Literature]]
164	* The Swedish translation of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is called ''Sagan om Drakens återkomst'' (''"The Story of the Return of the Dragon"''), which is similar to ''Sagan om konungens återkomst'' (''"The Story of the Return of the King"''), the name of the old translation of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings: The Return of the King''
165	[[/folder]]
166
167	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
168	* The Swedish title of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' was ''Våra värsta år'' (''"Our Worst Years"''), modelled on ''Våra bästa år'' (''"Our Best Years"''), the translated title of ''Series/DaysOfOurLives''.
169	* In Castilian Spanish, ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'' was titled ''Embrujada'' and ''Series/{{Charmed\|1998}}'' was ''Embrujada'''s'''''. Note the extra "s". And neither was 100% accurate (But acceptable, this trope aside).
170	** Same in Mexican Spanish. Bewitched is known as "Hechizada" and Charmed as "Hechiceras".
171	** In Finnish, Bewitched is known as ''Vaimoni on noita'' (''"My Wife Is a Witch"'') and Charmed as ''Siskoni on noita'' (''"My Sister Is a Witch"'').
172	* Hungarian translators love to lampshade a slightly ripped-off concept's origin:
173	** ''Series/RelicHunter'' was translated as ''Raiders of the Lost Relics (Elveszett Ereklyek Fosztogatoi)''
174	** ''Series/{{Blackbeard}}'' the mini-series became ''Blackbeard and the Pirates of the Carribean'' (Feketeszakall es a Karib tenger Kalozai)
175	** Multiple examples based around ''[[Film/MyBigFatGreekWedding My Big Fat ____ Wedding]]''
176	** Another Hungarian variation would be the "_ Pie" title translations for teen movies after ''Film/AmericanPie'' came out.
177	** And you wouldn't believe what else can be retitled "''Something'' helyszínelők" after the CSI ("Helyszínelők") series became popular.
178	*** Probably the oddest was a rerun of ''Series/MysteriousWays'' retitled[[note]]original Hungarian dub title was "Rejtélyek kalandorai" (Adventurers of Mysteries) which is odd and bland but at least not a cash in.[[/note]] as "Rejtélyek helyszínelői" (Mystery CSI).
179	** In fact there are "Killer ''Something ''" titles: "[[Series/CriminalMinds Killer Minds]]", "[[Series/Numb3rs Killer Numbers]]" and "[[Series/MurderSheWrote Killer Lines]]".
180	** Also actor specifically: if a movie was about dancing and(or?) Creator/PatrickSwayze acted in it it would inevitably get a title with Dirty or Dancing in it but preferably [[Film/DirtyDancing both]]. Or WesternAnimation/ThePagemaster got "Reszkessetek, nem hagyom magam!" and Creator/MacaulayCulkin was the sole reason for it (Film/HomeAlone came out as "Reszkessetek betörők").
181	* In French, ''Series/HikariSentaiMaskman'' and ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'' became ''Bioman 2: Maskman'' and ''Bioman 3: Liveman'' respectively, due to the fact that ''Series/ChoudenshiBioman'' was the first ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' series to air there. While they're technically part of the same franchise, none of them are actually set in the same universe (later crossover appearances notwithstanding). Same with the Philippines (albeit in the commercials only), excluding Liveman, since that never aired there.
182	** ''Super Sentai'' is locally dubbed in Korean under the ''Power Rangers'' brand since ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'' (which was dubbed under the name of ''Power Rangers: Dino Thunder'', not to be confused with the actual ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder''). Before ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' began, dubbed versions of the 80s Sentai shows were aired in Korean starting with ''Series/DaiSentaiGoggleFive'', followed by every Sentai show between ''Series/ChoudenshiBioman'' and ''Series/KousokuSentaiTurboranger'', but then this was changed to ''Power Rangers'' dubs following ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' before switching back to Super Sentai dubs after the Korean dub of ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' ended.
183	* In Argentinan Spanish, ''Series/StreetHawk'' became ''The Fantastic Motorcycle'', ''Series/KnightRider'' became ''The Fantastic Car'' and ''Series/AirWolf'' became ''The Fantastic Helicopter'', implying a connection between three very different series.
184	* In Brazilian Portuguese, the ''Series/MetalHeroes'' series ''Series/JikuuSenshiSpielban'' became ''[[Series/KyojuuTokusouJuspion Jaspion]] 2'', trying to pass up as a sequel to a previous Metal Hero who was really popular there.
185	* ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'' didn't air in Italian until the success of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', starring ''Kotter'''s breakthrough star Creator/JohnTravolta. When it did, it's title was changed to ''Saturday Night Guys'' (''I ragazzi del sabato sera''). Particularly nonsensical, considering it's a show about a high school.
186	* In Finnish, ''Series/{{ER}}'' is known as ''Teho-osasto'' or ''intensive care unit''. ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' in turn became ''Tuho-osasto'' or loosely translated ''destructive care unit.''
187	** Similar thing happened in Italian: ''ER'' got the subtitle ''Medici in prima linea'', or ''Medics on the frontline'', while ''Scrubs'' is subtitled ''Medici ai primi ferri'', which means ''Rookie medics''.
188	* When Toei had the rights to make a Japanese tokusatsu version of the ''Literature/CaptainFuture'' pulp novels, they were forced to change the title to ''Captain Ultra'' since the network that aired the show only picked it up as a filler series after ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' ended while Tsuburaya was still preparing for the third proper installment in the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' titled ''Series/UltraSeven''.
189	* Also a case of SimilarlyNamedWorks - both Ultraman and Franchise/{{Superman}} are translated to exactly 超人 in Chinese.
190	** In general, since the Chinese terms for "superhuman" and "superhero" are very clunky for titles, there is a strong tendency to translate everything to 超人 (literally "super man") even if it has no connection to Superman.
191	* In Castilian Spanish, ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' is known as ''Mystery In Space'' (''Misterio En El Espacio''), in an attempt to tie it into ''Series/LostInSpace'' which is known as ''Perdidos En El Espacio''. It went so far as Spanish commercials claiming that Joel was the long lost member of The Robinsons.
192	* In Japanese, ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' aired under the title of ''0011: Napoleon Solo'', emphasizing ''007'' creator Creator/IanFleming's involvement in the show's conception. The later spinoff show, ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'', was subtitled ''0022''.
193	* In Italian, ''Series/EerieIndiana'' was renamed ''Gli Acchiappamostri'', which sounds almost like ''Film/{{Ghostbusters\|1984}}''' Italian subtitle, ''Acchiappafantasmi'' (something like "Ghost Catchers").
194	* In Hebrew, ''{{Series/Cybergirl}}'' apparenly became ''The Bionic Girl''.
195	[[/folder]]
196
197	[[folder:Theatre]]
198	* In the heyday of ''Theatre/TheMerryWidow'', ''Theatre/DieFledermaus'' was revived on Broadway as ''The Merry Countess''.
199	[[/folder]]
200
201	[[folder:Video Games]]
202	* ''[[VideoGame/RoboWarrior Bomber King: Scenario 2]]'' was published as part of the ''VideoGame/BlasterMaster'' series, as ''Blaster Master Boy'' in North American languages and ''Blaster Master Jr.'' in European languages.
203	* The three ''VideoGame/{{SaGa\|RPG}}'' games for the Platform/GameBoy were retitled ''Franchise/FinalFantasy Legend'' in North American English, probably to capitalize on FF's fame (...''before VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', yes. Don't laugh...).
204	** Subverted with the original ''Seiken Densetsu'', which was given the title ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure'' overseas. This may seem like an invention of the localization department, but in reality the full title of the original Game Boy game in Japanese was ''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy [[GaidenGame Gaiden]]'' and the game has a few ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' references (notably the presence of Chocobos).
205	* In order to tie it in with the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, the first installment of the ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' series was dubbed ''Devil Kings'' for its overseas conversion, along with many other changes.
206	* Sunsoft, who produced the NES port of the original ''VideoGame/SpyHunter1983'', later developed ''Battle Formula'', which was retitled ''Super Spy Hunter'' in English.
207	* The Capcom arcade game ''Chiki Chiki Boys'' was localized as ''VideoGame/MegaTwins'', giving the impression that it's some sort of ''Franchise/MegaMan'' spinoff. It helps that the two protagonists somewhat resemble Mega Man himself and his brother Proto Man. However, the Genesis port kept the original title for its overseas release.
208	* While technically an American-developed game, ''VideoGame/SecretOfEvermore'' got its title to cash-in on the success of ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' (''Seiken Densetsu 2'' in Japanese). The WorkingTitle was originally "Evermore" and the game was never meant to have any ties to ''Secret of Mana''.
209	* ''VideoGame/BeyondOasis'' (a.k.a. ''The Story of Thor'') has nothing to do with the earlier Platform/GameGear game ''Defenders of Oasis'' (originally titled ''Shadam Crusader'' in Japanese) other than they were both [=RPGs=] published by Sega.
210	* The original Super Famicom version of ''VideoGame/PanelDePon'' was released overseas in a heavily altered form (with characters from ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'') as ''Tetris Attack''. Later installments dropped the Tetris name altogether and were released under the "Puzzle League" name.
211	** Said name, of course, being an adaptation from the name of the Platform/Nintendo64 version: '''''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''' Puzzle League''.
212	* The Konami arcade game ''VideoGame/{{Jackal}}'' was first released in North America under the title of ''Top Gunner'', as a possible nod to the movie ''Film/TopGun''. When it was ported to the NES, they went to back to the original ''Jackal'' naming used in other languages, likely to avoid confusion with their own ''Top Gun'' video game for the NES.
213	* ''Fire Shark'', a World War II-themed shoot-'em-up by Toaplan, was released in Japanese under the title of ''Same! Same! Same!'' (lit. "Shark! Shark! Shark!"), a play on the 1970 war movie ''Film/ToraToraTora''.
214	* The NES game ''VideoGame/ContraForce'' was actually a localized version of a canceled Famicom game titled ''Arc Hound''. The game has no actual ties with the rest of the ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' series, although the people in charge of localizing ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars'', which was released a few months earlier on the SNES, would try to fix this around by claiming that the ruined post-apocalyptic city in the beginning of the game, which is unnamed in the Japanese version, was actually Neocity, the same city where ''Contra Force'' takes place.
215	* ''Dynasty Wars'' and ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' are both based on ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' to some extent, but their original Japanese titles (''Tenchi o Kurau'' and ''Sangoku Musou'') are not quite so similar.
216	* ''Tsuukai [=GanGan=] Koushinkyoku'' became ''VideoGame/AggressorsOfDarkKombat'' because ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' was popular (and also for the [[FunWithAcronyms clever initialism]]), though they had little in common aside from being {{Fighting Game}}s with {{Finishing Move}}s. (Ironically, ''Aggressors of Dark Kombat'' removed the blood that was in the Japanese version.)
217	* ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'' was originally titled ''Gaia Gensouki'' (or "The Gaia Fantasy Chronicle") in Japanese. While the English title is a rough approximation of the Japanese original, when Nintendo of America picked up the publishing rights from Enix's US division, they also redesigned the logo and boxart to resemble the one used for ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''. Specifically they both have the same stylized font and layout, with the names "Zelda" and "Gaia" spelled in larger letters below the rest of the title and an object (Link's shield or the Earth itself) behind the first letter.
218	** In a more conventional example of this trope, the English version of ''Illusion of Gaia'' was originally planned to be released in North America as a sequel to ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer'' before switching publishers from Enix to Nintendo. While they were developed by the same company (Quintet), the two games are vaguely connected at best, with the most obvious connection being the first boss of ''Soul Blazer'' making a cameo appearance as the {{Superboss}} of ''Illusion of Gaia''.
219	** At one point Nintendo also planned to localize ''[[VideoGame/{{Terranigma}} Tenchi Sozo]]'', the unofficial third game in the ''Soul Blazer'' "series", under the title of ''Illusion of Gaia 2''. The name was dropped before release and the game ended up being localized only in Europe and Australia under the name ''Terranigma'', although the unused English title is still referenced in the game (despite the fact that the European version of ''Illusion of Gaia'' was titled ''Illusion of Time'').
220	* Creator/{{Psikyo}}'s ''VideoGame/{{Gunbird}}'' came to North America and Europe as ''Mobile Light Force''. Alfa System's ''[[VideoGame/CastleOfShikigami Castle of Shikigami]]'' was named ''Mobile Light Force 2'' in North American English, and ''[=MLF2=]'' in European languages. The games have no relation to each other, though XS Games' strongly implied they were part of a series of budget-priced [[Series/CharliesAngels Charlies Angels]] knockoffs.
221	* ''Hokuto Musou'' was released as ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarKensRage'' outside Japan in lieu of the usual ''Warriors'' moniker that Koei uses to localize ''Musou'' titles (e.g. ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', ''[[VideoGame/OnePiecePirateWarriors Pirate Warriors]]'') due to the French and Italian titles of the anime (''Ken le survivant'' and ''Ken il guerriero''). Since Koei was forced to use the English title for all the foreign releases of the game, they put Ken's name on the subtitle in order to help European fans of the anime make the connection who otherwise wouldn't recognize the ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' brand.
222	* ''VideoGame/CommandoCapcom'' and ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' were originally two unrelated arcade games titled ''Senjō no Ōkami'' (literally "Wolf of the Battlefield") and ''Top Secret'' respectively in Japanese. Capcom USA would try to justify the connection between the two by claiming that the protagonist in the latter was Super Joe after being given a bionic arm, which was really just a grappling hook attached to his regular arm. The later NES version of ''Bionic Commando'' would try to solidify the connection between the two games by having the actual Super Joe around as a supporting character helping out new protagonist Rad Spencer. Ironically, ''Mercs'', which was the actual sequel to ''Commando'' (the Japanese title is ''Senjō no Ōkami II''), was mainly treated as a different IP overseas and it wasn't until recent years that Capcom would try to tie ''Mercs'' into the ''Bionic Commando'' series by claiming that Super Joe was really just a codename for Joseph Gibson, the Player 1 character in ''Mercs'', and even adding the subtitle "Wolf of the Battlefield" to the Wii Virtual Console release of the Genesis port of ''Mercs''.
223	* ''Toshinden S'' was released internationally as ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden Remix''. Both titles indicate a "remixed" Platform/SegaSaturn version of the original Platform/PlayStation game, though the international title seems to have taken after another 3D FightingGame for the Saturn, ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Remix''.
224	* The Japanese console release of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatI'' and ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatII II]]'' were subtitled ''Shinken Kōrin'' (Ascension of the Divine Fist) and ''Kyūkyoku Shinken'' (Ultimate Divine Fist), the latter being the localized term for the game's finishing moves or Fatalities. The ''Shinken'' part could be seen as an allusion to ''Hokuto Shinken'', the titular martial art in the manga ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', a fictional style which allows its practitioners to finish an opponent off with a well delivered blow, often resulting in a gory death much like the Fatalities in ''Mortal Kombat''.
225	* ''VideoGame/KunioKun'':
226	** Later games in the series are localized under the ''River City'' branding (e.g. ''River City Soccer Hooligans'', ''River City Sports Challenge'') in the west since the Platform/NintendoDS entries, despite the series no longer receiving the same Americanization treatment that the original ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'' received during its localization. Likewise, the Canadian-produced sequel ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansomUnderground'' became ''Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari Underground'' for its Japanese localization.
227	** The Game Boy Advance game ''Bakunetsu Dodgeball Fighters'' was a {{spiritual sequel}} to the arcade/Famicom game ''Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club'' starring [[{{expy}} expies]] of the Downtown Nekketsu cast, since the developers didn't have the rights to the Kunio-kun IP at the time. When the game was localized in North America, it was retitled ''Super Dodge Ball Advance'' (after the English version of its predecessor) with most of the same character names used for the prior localization of the NES version (e.g. Rajiv, Boris, Sam).
228	** ''Shin Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-tachi no Banka'' was brought overseas (almost two decades {{late\|ExportForYou}}) as ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirlsZero'', inspired by the success of ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirls''. While the game does feature Misako and Kyoko, the main characters of ''River City Girls'', in prominent roles, ''Shin Nekketsu Kouha'' is focused on Kunio and Riki like other games in the series, so the international title is somewhat misleading.
229	* The 1996 [=PlayStation=] beat-'em-up ''Perfect Weapon'' by American Softworks Corporation was localized as ''Body Hazard'' in Japanese, no doubt hoping to capitalize on the success of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 Bio Hazard]]'' released during the same year.
230	* Downplayed with ''VideoGame/RiverKing''. It is known as ''Harvest Fishing'' in European languages in order to connect it to the more popular ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon''. ''River King'' and ''Harvest Moon'' are sister series that [[SharedUniverse share a universe]].
231	* ''Karate Dō'' and ''Spartan X'', two unrelated martial arts-themed arcade games made by different developers (Technos and IREM respectively), were distributed by Creator/DataEast under the rather similar titles of ''VideoGame/KarateChamp'' and ''VideoGame/KungFuMaster'' respectively.
232	* The title for ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'' was chosen no doubt to invoke director Creator/ShinjiMikami's past involvement with the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' franchise. In Japan, the two franchises are titled ''Psycho Break'' and ''Biohazard'' respectively, making the connection between them less obvious.
233	* After ''[[VideoGame/TwinBee Pop'n TwinBee]]'' on the Super NES turned out to be a success in Europe, Konami brought over the earlier Game Boy entry ''[=TwinBee=] Da!'' ("It's [=TwinBee=]") under the same name and even used the same boxart from the SNES game, despite the fact that the game features a different set of (unseen) protagonists from Light and Pastel. Likewise, ''[=TwinBee=]: Rainbow Bell Adventure'', a side-scrolling platform game spinoff released a bit later, was renamed ''Pop'n [=TwinBee=]: Rainbow Bell Adventures'' for its European release.
234	* Xicat Interactive localized the Platform/SegaDreamcast title ''Imperial no Taka: Fighter of Zero'' under the title ''Iron Aces''. A few years later, it would release ''Iron Aces 2: Birds of Prey'' for the [=PS2=], this time adapating ''Kuusen'', an unrelated game by a different developer. The only real similarities is that both games are low-budget flight combat simulations featuring World War II planes, though ''Imperial no Taka'' focuses on a FantasyConflictCounterpart of WWII while ''Kuusen'' goes for a "Chronological history of air combat" premise.
235	* For its North American release, the Platform/Sega32X ShootEmUp ''Parasquad'' was retitled ''VideoGame/{{Zaxxon}}'s Motherbase 2000''. The game has little to do with ''Zaxxon'' beyond being an isometric shooter developed by Sega.
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237
238	[[folder:Western Animation]]
239	* The ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Band Geeks" is called "Hör mal wer da spielt" (Listen, who's playing) in German, a pun on ''Series/HomeImprovement'''s German title ''Hör mal wer da hämmert'' (Listen, who's hammering). Which in itself seems to have been an attempt in cashing in on the (literally) translated title of ''Look who's talking'' which spawned a lot of similarly themed names.
240	* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
241	** ''American Dad'' is dubbed in Latin American Spanish under the title of ''Un agente de familia'' (An Agent of the Family). This is a play off Creator/SethMacFarlane's other animated show ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', which is dubbed in the same language dialect under the title ''Padre de familia'' (Father of the Family).
242	** Castilian Spanish follows the trope in a slightly different way. ''Family Guy'' is still known as ''Padre de familia'', while ''+American Dad'' is ''Padre "Made in USA"'' ("Father 'Made in USA'", notice the English). In a stroke of luck, adding the ''padre'' part to the title of the first series actually helped them connect it to the second series.
243	** In Italian, ''Family Guy'' is called ''I Griffin'' (The Griffins) to match the title with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and also with ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' (which is called ''I Robinson'' in Italy).
244	* Cartoon series starring Macaulay Culkin ''WesternAnimation/WishKid'' was translated in Latin American Spanish as ''Mi Pobre Angelito'' (My Poor Little Angel), which is the title given there to the ''Film/HomeAlone'' movies, thereby making it seem as if the series was a continuation of the movies even though (save obviously for the presence of Culkin) they're entirely unrelated. It was also called ''Perdido nas Estrelas'' (Lost in the Stars) in Brazilian Portuguese, which could also be seen as a ''Home Alone'' allusion.
245	* In Russian, ''WesternAnimation/MonkeyDust'' is known as ''[[Animation/ThirtyEightParrots 38 Monkeys]]''.
246	* In Brazilian Portuguese, ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' is known as "A Turma do Bairro" (literally "the Gang of the Neighborhood", both the show's name and the name of the organization), which caused some to associate it with the popular Brazilian comic book franchise, [[ComicBook/MonicasGang "Turma da Mônica"]], to the point that the latter occasionally shows up in Google search results if you search for the former. Which must be why the "KND" acronym is put before the title, even though it's never used in the show itself in the dub since the organization doesn't have the same name.
247	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TranslationMatchmaking