39,327
edits
American Kirby Is Hardcore: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (update links) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 102:
== Platformers ==
* The [[Trope Namer]] here is ''[[Kirby]]''. [http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=407 The box art for many of his games] have had angry eyebrows added to the main character to make an 8-inch-high pink puffball seem more aggressive. This strange practice is joked on originally in [http://angryamericankirby.ytmnd.com/ this] [[YTMND]] and subsequently in [http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/?p=288 this] ''[[Brawl in the Family]]'' strip. It seems to have calmed for the time being with the release of ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Brawl'', ''[[Kirby Super Star]] Ultra'', and more recently, ''[[Kirby's Epic Yarn|Kirbys Epic Yarn]]'', whose boxarts have Kirby actually looking happy for a change, but it seems to be creeping up again no thanks to ''[[Kirby Mass Attack]]'''s cover (though to be fair, roughly half the Kirbys on ''Mass Attack'''s cover still retain their cute/curious expressions and most the the "hardcore" one are already attacking something). It's back in full force with ''[[Kirby's Return to Dream Land]]''.
** This practice is [[Older Than They Think]], too, as a ''Kirby's Dream Land 2'' commercial aired in the US turned Kirby, Rick, Kine, and Coo into [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqVVG4FCq7w scowling tough guys (or, you know, as tough as an 8-inch high puffball and his similarly-sized friends can be) roughhousing some Hell's Angels]. As well, compare the commercials for ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU6cHCkWqy8 Kirby's Dreamland]'' and ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL1okxuvGRQ Kirby's Adventure]'', to say nothing of [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3152506 the magazine ad for Kirby's Avalanche and Kirby's Dream Course] (scroll down the page). "He used to be such a good boy."
*** Even older than ''that'', albeit to a lesser extent. Contrast the [http://images.wikia.com/kirby/en/images/0/0d/603710.jpg American box art] for the original ''Kirby's Dream Land'' to the [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100506155654/kirby/en/images/c/c9/KDLboxartjapan.png Japanese box art]. Yes, Kirby's still plenty happy in America...but he's ''white'', because it was thought that a soft, [[Pink Is for Sissies|pink character]] wouldn't appeal to American audiences.
Line 191:
** ''[[Breath of Fire I]]'' is a major example of this. Compare the [http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/5/5d/BofFJapan.png Japanese box art] with the [http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/5/57/BOF1boxartt.jpg American version], featuring [[Jim Lee]]-esque cover art in which Ryu became a Conan impersonator even though he is clearly depicted as a pretty-average built teenager in-game and Nina looked like a man.
** For ''[[Breath of Fire II]]'': [http://i47.tinypic.com/2zqemwi.jpg Japanese version] - [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/0/563530_29076_front.jpg American version]...
** Some adverts added [http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9108/speechoffire01.jpg in-your-face] [http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1562/speechoffire02.jpg speech] [http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/6263/speechoffire03.jpg bubbles].
* On the ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' packaging in Japan, there were images of all the playable characters in the game. In the US version, it had Frog, Crono, and Marle fighting Heckran, the scene captured while the party was using the Arc Impulse/Frost Arc Triple Tech. (The [[Nintendo DS]] [[Updated Rerelease]] gave a [[Shout-Out]] to this artwork by allowing players to replicate this in the form of having battles with [[Palette Swap|Heckran-like]] enemies on a snowy mountain in a bonus dungeon.)
** This could be just artistic choice. The art is still Akira Toriyama's, the game's illustrator and character designer, just not the same scene used in the Japanese release.
Line 213:
* The game ''[[Resonance of Fate]]'' has [http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/400/cover.jpg peaceful box art] with the [[Three Amigos|three protagonists]] looking upon a tower in its original Japanese release ''End of Eternity''. The [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/Resonance_of_Fate_Cover_Art.jpg US box art] is shown to have them on various action poses with [[Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You|their guns to the viewer]].
* In ''[[Fragile Dreams]]'' for the Wii, the English voices are closer to the age of the characters, around 14/15, while the Japanese voices make the characters sound younger. In addition, the box art, which was reversible in the American version, showed a vicious looking Seto holding a golf club on the American side, while the Japanese box art shows Seto and Ren holding hands over a watery background.
* Oh boy, ''[[Nie R]]''. It is quite possibly the ultimate logical conclusion of this trope, to where it not only deals with cover art but the actual game. To explain: ''NieR'' is the name of two parallel-developed [[Square Enix]] games, ''NieR Gestalt'' (Xbox 360) and ''NieR Replicant'' ([[PlayStation 3]]). In ''Gestalt'', the eponymous protagonist is a hulking, white-haired middle-aged man searching for a cure to the Black Scrawl virus, which is ailing his daughter, Yonah. In ''Replicant'', the eponymous protagonist is a young [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] who is searching for a cure to the Black Scrawl virus, which is ailing his little sister, Yonah. In case you haven't caught on yet, this is literally the only difference between the two versions. The American branch of Square Enix actually paid to develop an entirely separate version of the game where the only difference is the design of the protagonist. The official reason behind the two versions is that they believed the game would not sell well in the west if the protagonist was young and pretty, rather than grizzled and muscle-bound. While ''Replicant'' was the original idea, in Japan both versions of the game are available, and overseas only ''Gestalt'' was released (entitled simply ''NIER'').
** On the flip side, this is why the young, pretty Vaan was added to ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]''. The original protagonist was supposed to be Basch. This is why Vaan has nearly no character development.
* The ''[[Wild Arms]]'' series usually either retains the original cover art or replaces it by something that, while different, keeps the tone. Exceptions can be found in the first title ([http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/9/199299_14331_front.jpg J]; [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/9/199299_43279_front.jpg U]) and ''[[Wild
* The indie/doujin game ''[[Protect Me Knight]]'' does this on their web page. [http://www.ancient.co.jp/~game/mamotte_knight/index.html The Japanese page] depicts a bunch of cute characters in a more [[Puni Plush]]/[[Bishonen]] style while [http://www.ancient.co.jp/~game/mamotte_knight/en.html the English page] depicts something more muscular, epic, and violent.
** This may have been intentional [[Lampshade Hanging]] on the dev team's part though.
Line 222:
** Interestingly, this is a reversal of the usual trend for new entries. Typically, the Japanese and European cover art for any one main instalment will consist almost entirely of the logo against a clean white background, while the American cover art will move the logo to a corner to focus on a rendering of one or more of the central cast.
* ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' character art in an old edition of Nintendo Power. Compare [http://i42.tinypic.com/6eloab.jpg Amano's original Cecil design] with the [http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy/images/7/7c/Cecil2.jpg Nintendo Power artwork]. Strangely enough, the Nintendo Power artwork was drawn by a Japanese artist.
** Take a guess which is the Japanese artwork and which is the American [http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy/images/9/9b/Ceodore_US_vs_JP.jpg one]
* ''Eternal Eyes'' is a powerful contender for the most misleading use of this trope ever. [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/8/197238_16290_front.jpg Japanese cover] screams "a JRPG", and a JRPG it is. The [http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/8/197238_50260_front.jpg US cover]... what the...
** Thunder... Thunder... THUNDERCATS, HOOOOO!
Line 255:
** Miku's actual in-game model in the first game was altered to look slightly older and less schoolgirl-y [http://www.cameraslens.com/fatalframewiki/index.php5?title=Miku%27s_Character_Design for the US release.]
* In ''[[Dino Crisis]]'', Regina's character model in CG artwork was modified. In the Japanese version, she had small lips and big anime-style eyes. In the western version, she was given smaller eyes and fuller lips.
** Both this and the ''Fatal Frame'' touch-up are to accommodate the very different concepts of sexiness that Americans and the Japanese generally hold (yup, cute can also be considered sexy in Japan).
Line 286:
** Original British covers are realistic and colourfully objective. [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070305185353/redwall/images/e/e2/UKsalahc.jpg Here] and [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100822163904/redwall/images/1/1f/Marlfox.jpg here].
** American Covers are similarly colourful but almost constantly more epical playing this trope completely straight ([http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090107071359/redwall/images/d/d4/MTWHardcover.jpg here] and [http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060211193954/redwall/images/d/d1/PearlsOfLutraFirebird.jpg here]). But their chapter illustrations are either rather cartoonish and abstract ([http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20051015005927/redwall/images/c/c7/Mattimeo.jpg here]) or beautifully copper/plated ([http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080229101223/redwall/images/1/11/Samkim2.PNG here]).
** French covers are sometimes kept in pseudo-3d-rendering, both gritty and abstract (perhaps even downright disturbing). Just look at those rotoscopes of humans with animals' heads ([http://redwall.wikia.com/wiki/File:Mf-france-vol1.jpg here] and [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081013043918/redwall/images/e/ea/FrenchSalamandastronVol4.gif here]).
** Russian Covers are rather realistic and incredibly detailed in both physique and attire. ([http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090518033604/redwall/images/3/33/Ruslp.jpg here] and ([http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080303014311/redwall/images/b/b0/Russianrthc.jpg here)]
** Israeli Covers are... interestingly cartoonish ([http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110319140234/redwall/images/f/f5/Hebrewredwall.jpg here] and [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110319142123/redwall/images/c/c2/Redwisraelchar1.jpg here]).
** German covers stay usually on one level with the British ones ([http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060105082731/redwall/images/4/4f/Matti-german.jpg like here]), but have quite some... unnerving exceptions ([http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060106055125/redwall/images/f/f9/GermanMossflower2.jpg here] and [http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080422054506/redwall/images/3/37/Redwallaudio1995.jpg here]). [[Uncanny Valley]] ahead.
* More like "Russian ''[[Warrior Cats|Warriors]]'' is Hardcore". Compare [http://www.warriorswish.net/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=2&fullsize=1 this] to [http://www.warriorswish.net/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=35&fullsize=1 this]. There's a lot more where that came from: The title translation is also subject to this having been translated as ''Raging Storm'' rather then ''Rising Storm''. Also, the French title for ''Fire and Ice'' roughly means ''In Fire and In Blood''.
Line 316:
== Other ==
* [http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/07/13/real-touhou-art-terrible-to-behold/ These box arts] for ''[[Touhou]]'' merchandise are in the same parody league as Handre's art. ...we hope. NSFW link, by the way.
* Back in the 80s Japan got some special ''[[My Little Pony]]'' toys which were supposed to be even cuter than the normal ones, called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GdfAoE9__g&feature=player_embedded Osharena Pony].
* The artists who design Polish [[Film Posters]] are famous for adding a bit of edginess, even if the original poster was already a bit edgy. Check out the poster for [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s [[Vertigo]] as [http://www.vinmag.com/online/media/gbu0/prodlg/AP750-vertigo-hitchcock-cieslewicz-polish-movie-poster-1963.jpg as it appeared in Poland] compared to [http://www.cinemasterpieces.com/92010a/vertigonov10.jpg the original.]
| |||