History InconsistentSpelling / VideoGames

** The BigBad, Exdeath, was X-Death in the Platform/PlayStation translation.

** ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards''' TrueFinalBoss is Zero Two (ゼロツー). In localized versions of the game, as well as ''VideoGame/VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', its name is spelled "0
"[[note]]or "O
", depending on how you read the Enemy Info card[[/note]]. Later entries like ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' would settle on "02", likely to make more clear how it's supposed to be pronounced.

** The fourth game, ''Brandish VT'', features a WhiteMagicianGirl whose name is given in katakana as クレール, which typically is rendered in English as Claire/Clair. Though [[Website/{{Pixiv}} pixiv Encylopedia]]'s entries for both ''Brandish VT''[[labelnote:*]]ブランディッシュVT[[/labelnote]] and the character herself[[labelnote:*]]クレール(ブランディッシュ)[[/labelnote]] do indeed translate to Claire, Website/HardcoreGaming101's [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/brandish-vt/ article covering the game]] and [[https://gu4n.github.io/br4/ an unfinished fan translation]] go with Clare. There's also a reverse example present where one character's name is "officially" Garahad. [[JapaneseRanguage Naturally]], a large number of fans ignore this and call him [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Galahad]] instead.

* An odd example that crosses over into RealLife: Prior to English language dubs of video games and anime being handled by professional voice actors living in North America (and even after), more perceptive players might notice that certain titles [[labelnote:ex.]]''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Edge]]'', ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'', ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'', ''VideoGame/ClockTower2'', ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'', ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'', ''[[VideoGame/BloodyRoar Bloody Roar 3]]'', ''VideoGame/Tekken4'', ''[[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Virtua Fighter 4]]'', ''VideoGame/ShenmueII'', ''VideoGame/FatalFrameI'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilGunSurvivor Resident Evil: Dead Aim]]'', ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'', ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'', ''[[VideoGame/FZero F-Zero GX]]'', ''[[VideoGame/BloodyRoar Bloody Roar 4]]'', ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'', ''VideoGame/RumbleRoses'', ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', ''VideoGame/MusashiSamuraiLegend'', ''[[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Virtua Fighter 5]]'', ''[[VideoGame/{{Boktai}} Lunar Knights]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZX Mega Man ZX Advent]]'', ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXII'', ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia'', ''VideoGame/{{Nightcry}}'', ''[[VideoGame/SuperBomberman Super Bomberman R]]'', ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'', and ''VideoGame/DragonMarkedForDeath'', [[LongList to name "a few"]][[/labelnote]] primarily or exclusively feature ([[BilingualDialogue English]]) voice acting -- or at least VoiceGrunting -- from a pool of American and other English-speaking expats living in Japanese. One of these [=VAs=] is Rumiko Varnes, a bilingual narrator originally from Los Angeles. While she's usually credited as such, some games, such as ''[[VideoGame/BloodyRoar Bloody Roar Extreme]]'', instead give her name as "Rumiko Burns." This can be chalked up to how [[JapaneseRanguage the Japanese language doesn't distinguish between the letters "B" and "V"]].

* One of the original bosses from ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'', Tanatos, returns in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' as "Thanatos". According to the God of Death himself, "The extra H is for [[LargeHam Hamazing]]!"

** The BigBad, Exdeath, was X-Death in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation translation.

** The series HotWitch [[BreakoutCharacter poster girl]] is commonly known to English-speaking audiences as Dela Delon. When Creator/{{Falcom}} [[VideoGameRemake remade]] the first game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable as ''Brandish: The Dark Revenant'' and Creator/XSEEDGames handled the localization, her name was instead given as Dora Doran... which somewhat better matches the katakana from the Japanese release (ドーラ・ドロン). [[note]]ドーラ is Dora/Dola, whereas ドロン can be transliterated as either Doron or Delon (as evidenced by quite a few Japanese articles about French actors Creator/{{Alain|Delon}} and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Delon Nathalie Delon]]).[[/note]]

** The manual for the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo game refers to Burnov and Dulton as "Blunov" and "Dalton" respectively.

* In the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version of the first ''VideoGame/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' game, Gozer is transliterated "Gorza".

* In ''HAL Wrestling'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy (a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/ProWrestling''), one wrestler's name is spelled both "Super Cyber" and "Super Civer."

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem version of ''VideoGame/{{Hydlide}}'' [[AllThereInTheManual only describes the plot in the manual]], unlike the original UsefulNotes/PC88 version. The English manual renamed the BigBad Boralis, though his name is still displayed as "Varalys" in the game's status window.

* The ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheWizard'' manual names the mother, son, grandmother and grandfather "Meyna," "Roas," "Jiela," and "Douel" respectively (though the mother is "Mayna Worzen" in the credits), whereas the intro screen for the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2 version (''VideoGame/DragonSlayer IV: Drasle Family'') names them Maia, Royas, Geera and Dawel.

** Ganon's name was written as "Gannon" in every version of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the original game]] released before ''The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition'' compilation came out for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube in 2003. The whole mess spawned the "Gannon-Banned" meme, the former {{Trope Namer|s}} for FandomEnragingMisconception.

* When ''[[VideoGame/MushihimeSama Mushihime-sama Futari Black Label]]'' was released as [[DownloadableContent DLC]] for the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 version, its title was bizarrely Romanized as ''Mushihimesama-hutari-Black-Lavel''.

* The CuteEmUp spin-off of ''VideoGame/PowerInstinct'' has this issue with its very title. The ST-V cartridge label calls it ''Purikura Daisakusen'', while the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn CD jacket romanizes it as ''Prikura Daisakusen''. To aggravate the TitleConfusion, both of these use the OfficiallyShortenedTitle, and its namesake heroine, Kurara, later became "Clara" in ''Matrimelee''. Even the main series has its weird variant romanizations, e.g. ''Gouketuji Ichizoku 2'', ''Gogetsuji Legends''.

* The UsefulNotes/PCEngine version of ''Puzzle Boy'' has "© ATLAS" on the title screen. At least Creator/{{Atlus}} didn't develop or publish this version of their game; Creator/TelenetJapan did. Similarly, the PC Engine port of ''Todd's Adventures in Slime World'', released in Japan under Telenet's Micro World label, identifies original developer Creator/{{Epyx}} as "EPIX" in the copyright notice on the title screen.

* In the UsefulNotes/PC98 version of ''VideoGame/SuperPitfall'', Quickclaw is spelled "Quick Crow."

* Technosoft spelled their name "Tecno Soft" in their earlier Japanese games. The H was first added to their name in the exported UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis versions of ''VideoGame/ThunderForce II'', ''Thunder Force III'' and ''VideoGame/HerzogZwei''.

** Official UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis localizations refer to the BigBad of the first game as King Rogles. The original UsefulNotes/PC88 version of that game used the spelling "Logless" in GratuitousEnglish captions.
** In ''Valis II'' for the [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 TurboGrafx CD]], Valia's name is sometimes written "Varia." The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version of the first game uses both spellings.

** For one jarring example, the English version of ''[[VideoGame/DigimonWorldDawnDusk Digimon World Dawn]]'' uses the name Rekisumon during its only boss encounter (it is an evolved StarterMon owned by the player's opposing version rival). Anywhere else, even when owned by the player in that game (or ''Dusk''), it is spelled Lekismon.

* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'': Ashley's last name varies between "Robins" and "Robbins". The original PAL releases of the duology, as well as the international version of ''[[VideoGameRemake Recollection]]'' uses the former. Meanwhile, ''[[MarketBasedTitle Trace Memory]]'' uses the latter, with this spelling carrying over into some other appearances, such as her Spirit in the North American version of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

** The series' HotWitch [[BreakoutCharacter poster girl]] is commonly known to English-speaking audiences as Dela Delon. When Creator/{{Falcom}} [[VideoGameRemake remade]] the first game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable as ''Brandish: The Dark Revenant'' and Creator/XSEEDGames handled the localization, her name was instead given as Dora Doran... which somewhat better matches the katakana from the Japanese release (ドーラ・ドロン). [[note]]ドーラ is Dora/Dola, whereas ドロン can be transliterated as either Doron or Delon (as evidenced by quite a few Japanese articles about French actors Creator/{{Alain|Delon}} and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Delon Nathalie Delon]]).[[/note]]

** The Belnades clan have their name spelled in several ways thorough the ''Castlevania'' series. Belnades, the most common spelling in the English games, was originally used only in the manual for ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse''; the game itself actually spelled it as Velnumdes, and for some reason it was castilianised to Fernandez in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania 64}}''. Meanwhile, design documents for additional characters planned to be included in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines'' featured as part of the ''[[CompilationRerelease Castlevania Anniversary Collection]]'' show a prototype version of [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow Yoko Belnades]]... with her surname spelled as "'''F'''elnades."

** [[VideoGame/DoubleDragon1 The first NES game]] has an enemy character whose name spelled in Rowper in-game (as well as in the Japanese flyer) and Lopar in the manual. (In fact, the manuals for the PC versions, used this spelling as well.) In reality, the spelling is actually meant to be Roper, after a supporting character from the Creator/BruceLee film ''Film/EnterTheDragon'', as the other recurring enemy character in the game is called Williams, making them [[ThoseTwoGuys Williams and Roper]]. In doesn't help that ''Battletoads & Double Dragon'' actually uses the spellings Lopar and Roper for two unrelated enemy characters, one of them being a [[AdaptationNameChange misnamed version]] of the first game's final boss Machine Gun Willy.
** Marian (the Lee brothers's girlfriend) had her named spelled Marion in the third NES game. In the manual for the Master System port of the first game, she went by Mary-Anne instead.

* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'': After the fan-favourite hero Solmyr became an AscendedExtra in the fourth game, the spelling was changed to Solymr, implying that his name in third game was the result of a typo. However, the third game's popularity meant that other future entries go with the Solmyr spelling.

** In ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'', Volt Kraken/Squid Adler chastises the player character for what they did to his friend, someone named Octopardo, which had most players replying "Wait, who?" Turns out it was actually referring to Launch Octopus, a boss from [[VideoGame/MegaManX1 the first game]], using the Japanese name of the boss (Launcher Octopuld) and mis-romanising it. The ''[[CompilationRerelease Legacy Collection 2]]'' re-release of ''X5'' would catch this mistake and fix it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'':
** ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'': After defeating Squid Baron, a man outside Scuttle Town says that Bolo is in Pumpking Fields, with a G, instead of Pumpkin Fields.
** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'': Versions of the soundtrack say [[https://music.apple.com/us/album/shantae-and-the-seven-sirens-original-video/1515807366 Water Lilly's Domain]], while the character is Water Lily Siren.

* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'': Versions of the soundtrack say [[https://music.apple.com/us/album/shantae-and-the-seven-sirens-original-video/1515807366 Water Lilly's Domain]], while the character is Water Lily Siren.

** In Castilian Spanish, Sephiroth was spelled "Sefirot," which is the Spanish name for the UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}} term the character is named after (Sephirot or Səphîrôṯ). However, just like with Aerith, Square Enix's localization team changed his name to the UsefulNotes/{{Japanese romanization}} in later games.

* When ''[[VideoGame/MushihimeSama Mushihime-sama Futari Black Label]]'' was released as [[DownloadableContent DLC]] for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} version, its title was bizarrely Romanized as ''Mushihimesama-hutari-Black-Lavel''.

** "Aeris vs. Aerith" is a TropeCodifier that can spawn enough debate [[SeriousBusiness to melt the polar icecaps]]. It is always romanized as "Aerith" in Japan and used internationally in more current works, and some fans even use ''Earisu'' (the phonetic transliteration of the Japanese writing, エアリス). Aerith was subsequently chosen as a romanization because it sounds like "earth" when romanized, something that WordOfGod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerith_Gainsborough#cite_note-kaitai-8 confirmed]] at the time of the game's release in Japan. "Aeris" was chosen for the first English release because Sony handled the English release and their team felt it sounded better[[note]]though if the player uses a glitch to [[SequenceBreaking sequence break]] past the guards to skip the entirety of the raid on Reactor #5 and go directly to Wall Market, since the player skipped the naming process, her default name will be "Aerith" instead of "Aeris" as it would be under normal circumstances, only sparking further confusion[[/note]]. Things got complicated by Square (later Creator/SquareEnix) once they took over localization of their own titles again -- by the time of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', Square had switched it back to "Aerith" outside of Japan. Some fans (including the ones editing Website/{{Wikipedia}} and Final Fantasy Wiki) have struck a sort of compromise and use "Aeris" in regards to the game ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and "Aerith" when referring to all other games she appears in. It doesn't help that "Aeris" is a Latin word with many other connotations that could be reasonably applied to the character, though these were unintentional since even the Japanese developers intended to get the "earth" homophone (and early concept art shows other spellings such as "Erith"). The name can also be romanized as "Alice", "Aerys", or "Alys", but Aerith was chosen because of the "Earth" pun.
** In Spain, Sephiroth was spelled "Sefirot," which is the Spanish name for the UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}} term the character is named after (Sephirot or Səphîrôṯ). However, just like with Aerith, Square Enix's localization team changed his name to the UsefulNotes/{{Japanese romanization}} in later games.

** The dragon bosses appearing in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' were actually intended to be one and the same, both being known as ''Barubajia'' in Japan. The former got translated as "Barba" in the initial English release, while the latter became "Volvagia".

** In Japan, Dr. Light is officially spelled Dr. Right, with the "Right & Wily" logo on the batteries in Magnet Man's stage in ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' being the first example of this being demonstrated in-game. When the Light's Lab logo first appeared in English (at the end of each of the eight Robot Master stages in ''VideoGame/MegaMan9''), it became a capital "L". The ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games [[LampshadeHanging address]] this: the main protagonist's grandfather is called Tadashi Hikari, which pretty much translates to "Right Light" in English.

* When ''VideoGame/PacMan'' was first released in Japan, it was known as "Puckman" (pronounced ''Pakkuman''). However, the name had to be changed for its U.S. release because the "P" could be vandalized making the name offensive to people. Namco found another romanization of the same pronunciation, and "Pac-Man" has since become the official English spelling of the name in Japan.

* An odd example that crosses over into RealLife: Prior to English language dubs of video games and anime being handled by professional voice actors living in America (and even after), more perceptive players might notice that certain titles [[labelnote:ex.]]''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Edge]]'', ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'', ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'', ''VideoGame/ClockTower2'', ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'', ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'', ''[[VideoGame/BloodyRoar Bloody Roar 3]]'', ''VideoGame/Tekken4'', ''[[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Virtua Fighter 4]]'', ''VideoGame/ShenmueII'', ''VideoGame/FatalFrameI'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilGunSurvivor Resident Evil: Dead Aim]]'', ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'', ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'', ''[[VideoGame/FZero F-Zero GX]]'', ''[[VideoGame/BloodyRoar Bloody Roar 4]]'', ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'', ''VideoGame/RumbleRoses'', ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', ''VideoGame/MusashiSamuraiLegend'', ''[[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Virtua Fighter 5]]'', ''[[VideoGame/{{Boktai}} Lunar Knights]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZX Mega Man ZX Advent]]'', ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXII'', ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia'', ''VideoGame/{{Nightcry}}'', ''[[VideoGame/SuperBomberman Super Bomberman R]]'', ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'', and ''VideoGame/DragonMarkedForDeath'', [[LongList to name "a few"]][[/labelnote]] primarily or exclusively feature ([[BilingualDialogue English]]) voice acting -- or at least VoiceGrunting -- from a pool of American and other English-speaking expats living in Japan. One of these [=VAs=] is Rumiko Varnes, a bilingual narrator originally from Los Angeles. While she's usually credited as such, some games, such as ''[[VideoGame/BloodyRoar Bloody Roar Extreme]]'', instead give her name as "Rumiko Burns." This can be chalked up to how [[JapaneseRanguage the Japanese language doesn't distinguish between the letters "B" and "V"]].

** "Aeris vs. Aerith" is a [[TropeCodifier canonical example]] [[note]]and one that could've served as the {{Trope Namer|s}} if not for Asimov[[/note]] that can spawn enough debate [[SeriousBusiness to melt the polar icecaps]]. It is always romanized as "Aerith" in Japan and used internationally in more current works, and some fans even use ''Earisu'' (the phonetic transliteration of the Japanese writing, エアリス). Aerith was subsequently chosen as a romanization because it sounds like "earth" when romanized, something that WordOfGod [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerith_Gainsborough#cite_note-kaitai-8 confirmed]] at the time of the game's release in Japan. "Aeris" was chosen for the first English release because Sony handled the English release and their team felt it sounded better[[note]]though if the player uses a glitch to [[SequenceBreaking sequence break]] past the guards to skip the entirety of the raid on Reactor #5 and go directly to Wall Market, since the player skipped the naming process, her default name will be "Aerith" instead of "Aeris" as it would be under normal circumstances, only sparking further confusion[[/note]]. Things got complicated by Square (later Creator/SquareEnix) once they took over localization of their own titles again -- by the time of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', Square had switched it back to "Aerith" outside of Japan. Some fans (including the ones editing Website/{{Wikipedia}} and Final Fantasy Wiki) have struck a sort of compromise and use "Aeris" in regards to the game ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and "Aerith" when referring to all other games she appears in. It doesn't help that "Aeris" is a Latin word with many other connotations that could be reasonably applied to the character, though these were unintentional since even the Japanese developers intended to get the "earth" homophone (and early concept art shows other spellings such as "Erith"). The name can also be romanized as "Alice", "Aerys", or "Alys", but Aerith was chosen because of the "Earth" pun.

** The ''Shadow Dragon'' remake also had a few changes between regions. [-(Formatted as "North American name/European name")-]

** Creator/{{Nintendo}} screwed up with the name of the Dragon King. It's spelled "Deghinsea" in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'', then spelled "Dheginsea" in NTSC ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]'' (but back to "Deghinsea" in PAL ''Radiant Dawn''). Similarly, the character known as "Kysha" in ''Path of Radiance'' and PAL ''Radiant Dawn'' became "Kyza" in NTSC ''Radiant Dawn''.
** Not a character this time, but the Trueblade's Mastery skill is "Astrum" in PAL ''Radiant Dawn'', deviating from the "Astra" from all other localizations.

* One of the Ansem Reports in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' mentions the names of his apprentices. In the North American version, Dilan, Aeleus and Braig are written Dilin, Eleus and Bleig. This was corrected in the PAL version.