The Evil Within was released across the world in the past few weeks. However, in Japan, its country of origin, it has a different English title: Psycho Break. Of course, this is far from the first time a Japanese game with an English title has been renamed after it has left Japan.
Perhaps the most famous instance of this happening is with Resident Evil. When the Japanese title (Biohazard) couldn’t be used because of copyright issues, a contest within the company resulted in the name becoming Resident Evil instead. But there have been many other games over the years for games with English titles that were renamed for their international release — so many, in fact, that let’s play a little trivia game.
Here is a list of games with their original Japanese titles. Do you know the new names they were given when released in the USA?
Rockman
Dragon Quest
Yoshi’s Egg
Top Secret
Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast)
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Pokemon x Nobunaga’s Ambition
Tales of Eternia (PSX)
Samurai Spirits
Vampire
Bust A Move
Mother 2
Soul Edge (PSX)
Puzzle Bobble
Muscle Bomber — The Body Explosion
End of Eternity
Mad City
Trusty Bell
Red Seeds Profile
Comments
9 responses to “When Japanese Game Titles Go From English To …English?”
I find it funny that we renamed Puzzle Bubble to Bust A Move forcing Bust A Move to be renamed.
It’s odd too, I was playing Puzzle Bubble for Yeats in arcades under the original title. I wwonder how that affected sales.
This might be slightly different to the Biohazard/Resident Evil issue though, sure the game was made in Japan, but if the game was first announced to the world as The Evil Within, then isn’t this situation reversed?
The name was changed for Japan, and not the West this time? maybe?
The whole Rockman thing bugs me because the change makes Roll’s name make less sense.
He’ll always be Rockman to me after being introduced to him with the japanese gameboy games first.
That, and my GF’s Smash Bros is japanese so whenever someone win’s with him, I hear her 3DS say “Rockmaaaan!!!” 🙁
Actually I have a similar kind of problem with Street Fighter – the first one I properly tried to play through was a Japanese copy of SF2 Turbo. So for me, M. Bison = boxer, Balrog = claws and Vega = dictator. That name association can’t be shaken, so it gets very confusing when my friend talks SF 😛
Was watching the Game Center CX ep for Street Fighter 2 and spent most of it yelling “ITS VEGA!! NOT BALROG!!” :p
Don’t you mean “Vega not Bison”?
I DONT KNOW ANYMORE D:
Missed the best renaming example in the list! Weird PS2 robot JRPG thing Steambot Chronicles was named Bumpy Trot in Japan.