Marth Debuted in Smash Bros: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''"Who the fuck is Marth, and why is unlocking him considered a reward?"''|'''Yahtzee''', ''[[Zero Punctuation]]''}}

 

 

{{examples|Examples (sorted by the original source material):}}

== Anime & Manga ==

* The cast of ''[[Kanon]]'', a game by [[Key Visual Arts|Key/Visual Art's]] and animated by [[Kyoto Animation]], made their Western debut in a cameo in KyoAni's ''[[AIR]]'' anime adaptation when ADV Films brought it over. Granted, all the roles were cast with an eye toward bringing ''Kanon'' over, but that was '''if''' ''AIR'' sold well enough. It did, so the KyoAni ''Kanon'' was pretty swift in making the jump... but ''Kanon'' had previously been produced by [[Toei Animation]], half a decade prior, with no export.

** Technically ''Grendizer'' beat ''Mazinger'' to American airwaves as well, but due to [[Macekre|name changes and the like]] the phenomenon went unnoticed.

*** In fact, ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' didn't make it to America until the 80s (under the title ''Tranzor Z''), and when it did, it got dismissed as a "''[[Voltron]]'' ripoff" (despite being the ''[[Trope Codifier]]'').

* ''[[Kinnikuman]]'' - While neither, the original manga nor anime were licensed for the US, toy company Mattel did sell a toyline of ''Kinnikuman'' figures under the name of ''M.U.S.C.L.E.'' When the sequel series, ''Kinnikuman Nisei'', was later adapted to the US, the title was changed to ''Ultimate Muscle'' in order to tie the series with Mattel's figures.

* The only American appearance of ''Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru'' (1988) is the US game "Keith Courage in the Alpha Zones". The anime has yet to appear as of 2009.

* Since ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing|Gundam Wing]]'' debuted before the original, ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' on Toonami, American viewers met the [[Char Clone]] Zechs Marquise before the original villain. This got so bad that in the early 2000s, the single best way to identify a "new fan" was whether or not they mis-identified a Char cosplayer as Zechs. This happened a ''lot''.

* In a cross media example, ''[[Professor Layton and The Eternal Diva]]'' introduced some new characters from the not-yet-released-outside-of-Japan prequel trilogy to the western world. (Mainly in Europe - in America the movie was delayed just long enough for the first game to be released first.)

* ''[[Bleach]]'s'' fourth movie introduced a character named [[Bleach Movies|Kokuto]] who would later go on to appear in the videogame ''Bleach: Soul Ignition''. Nothing wrong here; the movie wouldn't be dubbed for a good few years and the game would probably never see the light of day outside of Japan ([[No Export for You|As is, sadly, the case with most Bleach videogames]]). ''Then, however'' comes the news that N.I.S America are releasing the game in the West under the slightly modified title; ''Bleach Soul Resurrección''. And apart from the name and the opening theme song which had to be changed due to [[Screwed by the Lawyers|licensing issues]], everything was left intact, ''including Kokuto'', even going as far as to giving him an [[Travis Willingham|English voice]]. Given that his backstory was not given in the game and at this point, there wasn't even a [[Fan Sub]] of the movie available yet, a standard reaction to unlocking him is "Who the [[Stealth Pun|Hell]] is Kokuto?"

* The entire cast of ''[[Wangan Midnight]] Maximum Tune'', an arcade game released worldwide, comes from the manga and anime series ''Wangan Midnight''. Despite the former first being serialized in 1992, [[No Export for You|neither the manga nor the anime have seen an official release outside of Japan]].

* Many playing ''Pokémon Pinball'' outside of Japan when it first came out probably didn't realize that the tune that plays during the "capture" mode is "Mezase Pokémon Masutaa", the original opening to the Pokémon anime.

** Same deal with the ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' side game ''Network Transmission''. If you happen to have seen the anime in Japanese, you'll get the intended thrill when, at a key moment, the game busts out an instrumental version of "Kaze wo Tsukinukete" (the show's first opening theme).

 

== Video Games ==

* One of the alternate character skins becomes this in the Japanese version of 2008's ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' game. After beating the game, you unlock an alternate skin for the Prince's sidekick, Elika, which makes her look like Jade from ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]].'' But that game was never released in Japan. (The other cameo skins--[[Assassin's Creed|Altaiir]] for the Prince, and characters from the previous ''Prince of Persia'' trilogy on the previous generation of systems--''do'' feature games released in Japan.)

 

* Non-''Smash Bros.'' Nintendo example. ''[[Samurai Warriors]] 3'' will be featuring the likes of none other than Takamaru from the Famicom Disk System game ''Nazo no Murasamejou'' (''Mysterious Castle of Murasame''), who is appearing as a [[Guest Fighter]]. If a sticker and a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHNOUtE-1tw&feature=related song] count as a debut, he technically debuted in ''Smash Bros.'' too. Even earlier, a ''Nazo no Murasamejou'' disk made a cameo appearance in ''[[Pikmin]] 2''.

* ''[[Super Godzilla]]'' featured several monsters from movies that had yet to be released outside of Japan such as Battra and Mecha King Ghidorah. However, the American version did replace the 90's Mechagodzilla with the 70's one.

 

* This trope could've easily been called "Meryl Silverburgh debuted in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''", originally a character from [[Hideo Kojima]]'s previous [[Adventure Game]] ''[[Policenauts]]'', which was officially slated for an American release at one point, but apparently canceled when Konami couldn't properly lip-sync the English dialogue with the game's [[Full Motion Video|FMV cut-scenes]]. The bottom line of this is that the [[Shout-Out]] in the scene where Snake tells her [[Man With No Name|his real name]] is lost (it's the same name as her best friend in ''Policenauts'', who is otherwise the complete opposite of Snake).

** To a lesser extent, many of the tropes that ''Metal Gear Solid'' are credited for creating were actually featured in some form or another in the original MSX2 games, especially in ''Metal Gear 2''. Remember the part where you have to look at the back of the game's packaging to obtain Meryl's frequency? Or where you had to follow her to the women's bathroom? Or where Snake's mysterious informant tells him to watch out for mines? ''Metal Gear 2'' did all of that first.

 

* Alfred, the main character in ''[[Fatal Fury|Garou Densetsu: Dominated Mind]]'', made an earlier appearance as a hidden end-boss in ''Real Bout Fatal Fury 2''. Since ''Dominated Mind'' was never released outside Japan, most overseas players know him simply for being the final boss in ''Real Bout 2'' and assume that he was a character made up for that game.

* ''[[Guilty Gear]] XX Accent Core'' featured an alternate version of Sol Badguy called Order Sol. Except his first appearence in the series as a playable character (Outside of cameos in gallery art) was ''Guilty Gear XX Slash'', which [[No Export for You|was Japan-only]]. A.B.A, however, averts this as she first appeared in ''Isuka'', which did get an overseas release.

 

* ''Devil World'' is the only game by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] that has been released in Europe but not in North America. Despite that fact, Tamagon has made cameos in three games available worldwide - ''Tetris DS'', ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' and the [[DSiWare]] game ''Art Style: PiCOPiCT'' (known as ''PiCTOBiTS'' in North America). ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' also had the Devil as an assist trophy; Tamagon was a trophy in ''Melee'' but was removed from the international release (along with a few others).

* ''Kuru Kuru Kururin'' is a Nintendo series that focuses on a duck-like character who must pilot a spinning stick-shaped vehicle through mazes. Because the series never made it stateside, Kururin's vehicle appearing as an assist trophy in Brawl led to a lot of confusion from American gamers.

 

* In ''SSBM'', there were several trophies that came from ''[[Custom Robo]]''. The series eventually made it to North America in 2004 and PAL regions in 2007.

* The ''[[Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars]]'' game ''Arenas of Destruction'' featured Terrohurtz amongst its robots. The game was based on the 4th season, and Terrohurtz would not appear until the 5th (which didn't start until after the game was released).

* The first robots from ''Warrior Mech Gauss'' shown to international audiences were trophies in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''.

 

* Though previously released for the Nintendo 64 in Japan, Melee's trophy list included characters from ''[[Doshin the Giant]]'' (Doshin and Jashin), ''[[Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest|Cubivore]]'' (Alpha), and ''[[Animal Crossing]]'' (Tom Nook, Mr. Resetti and K.K. Slider/Totakeke), all of which had the words "Future release" in their descriptions in the Western releases of Melee. While ''Animal Crossing'' gained worldwide availability (eventually, after two years of waiting in Europe), ''Cubivore'' was released in America only, while ''Doshin the Giant'' only came out in the PAL reigons. [[No Export for You]], indeed.

** Yet another ''Smash'' example, though it's so strange and unexpected that it's almost funny. In 2006, a little game for the Nintendo DS came out in Japan called ''Shaberu! DS Cooking Navi''. [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|As the title implies]], the game can be used to look up recipes of various types of dishes. The catch? The "Shaberu!" in the title translates to "It Talks!", meaning that the game features a character known as the DS Chef, who actually reads out the instructions on how to prepare and cook the food to you, and you can use the DS's Microphone for vocal commands as an alternative to using the touch screen. Then all is quiet until 2008, when all of the world received a big game called ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. Among the recognizable music that the game offered to many gamers worldwide, one song hailed from ''Shaberu! DS Cooking Navi''. While it is recognizable to Japanese players familiar with the game, everyone overseas is left in the dark, having never heard such a tune before. In the following months after ''Brawl'''s release, a sequel to ''Shaberu! DS Cooking Navi'', ''Sekai no Gohan Shaberu! DS Cooking Navi'' was released... and it came to America as ''Personal Trainer: Cooking'' (and ''Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?'' in PAL territories). While the song made for ''Brawl'' was only made for the Japanese version in mind, the localized versions of the ''Personal Trainer: Cooking'' come in the five other languages that Nintendo generally supports: English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. The bottom line? '''A talking cookbook for the DS debuted in Smash Bros!'''

* Though [[Konami]] has refused to release ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]]'' in Western countries, a few references to the series in other Konami games released internationally got through, such as Yae's "Kirameki Uniform" (aka the Summer version of the iconic [[Sailor Fuku]] of the first ''Tokimemo'' game) in ''[[Ganbare Goemon|Goemon's Great Adventure]]'', or the Kaori Yae (the [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] of ''Tokimeki Memorial 2'') Dog Tag in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]''.

 

* Starfy, the star of ''[[The Legendary Starfy]]'' series:

** He was an Assist Trophy in ''Brawl.''

** Don't forget that Banjo, star of the later title [[Banjo-Kazooie]], also debuted in Diddy Kong Racing. Tiptup appeared in BK too.

** Timber was also supposed to have his own game after DKR, with Bumper and Pipsy as his sidekicks.

** Getsu Fuuma, from the Famicom [[Action RPG]] ''Getsu Fuuma Den'', first appeared outside Japan in ''[[Castlevania: Harmony of Despair]]''.

 

* The characters from ''Jewelry Master Twinkle'', a [[Falling Blocks]] [[Puzzle Game]] with [[Dating Sim]] elements that somehow got an international release, actually come from an older Japan-only [[Mahjong]] game called ''Taikyoku Mahjong: Net de Ron!''.

 

* Barbara the Bat is quite an odd case. While her first game, ''Daigasso! Band Brothers'', debuted in Japan, she only made her first appearance overseas in ''Master of Illusion'', which is a completely different game. Later, she was brought back as an unlockable Assist Trophy in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Brawl'', with a [[Call Back]] to ''Band Brothers'' to boot. To add insult to injury, there were scrapped plans to bring ''Band Brothers'' overseas under the title ''Jam with the Band''.''Band Brothers DX'' wasn't released in Europe until May 2010.

 

* A rather notorious example in SSB is Lucas in ''Brawl''. Fans have been hollering for a ''[[Mother 3]]'' release ever since it came out in Japan and Nintendo pointedly ignored them... and then Lucas was put into ''Brawl'', and some of his Subspace Emissary missions were spoilers for ''M3''. This remains a sore spot with a lot of Nintendo fans.

** On a side note, Nintendo ''[[From a Certain Point of View|did]]'' release "Mother 3" outside of Japan... the soundtrack of the game, on iTunes. Only to pull it off of the iTunes store after a while.

* Some of the cast of the first and second ''[[Atelier]]'' games finally appeared in America... in the Gust game ''[[Ar tonelico]]'', in a bonus level of the dream states for the heroines. This happened nearly ''ten years'' after the debut of the first ''Atelier'' game. The characters finally made their solo debut in the Western market in manga form, but the ''Atelier'' games that ''Ar Tonelico'' referenced still aren't out in the States.

** Speaking of ''[[Cross Edge|X Edge]]'', 4 characters from it, Lily, Whim, Raze, and Rewrich are from ''Mana Khemia 2'', a game that was planned to be brought over by NISA..... months after ''[[Cross Edge|X Edge]]'' in spite of MK2 far preceding it in Japan in both system and release dates.

** Relatedly, the ''Atelier'' series first came to the US via the ''Iris'' subseries, which was an attempt to use some of the ''Atelier'' concepts in a more standard RPG—namely, one with a male lead and a Defeat The [[Big Bad]] main plot. The fact that ''these'' were the ones that finally managed to get companies interested in a US release is irksome to some fans, as well.

* Cless Albane and Arche Klein, of ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' fame, made their Western debut in 1998... in a cameo in ''[[Tales of Destiny]]''. And then they appeared in ''[[Tales of Eternia]]'' (known in the West as ''Tales Of Destiny 2'') as a [[Bonus Boss]] fight. ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' didn't cross the Pacific until 2006, ''over a decade'' after its debut in Japan and ''eight years'' after the characters showed up in ToD.

** Don't forget Eugene and Annie from ''[[Tales of Rebirth]]''. Their American debut was in 2007 in [[Tales (series)|Tales of the World: Radient Mythology]], ''3 years'' after [[Tales of Rebirth|ToR]] came out in Japan. It has yet to arrive in the USA and I doubt it ever will...

** ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' has Cameo fights too. Granted; all three of the cameos in ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' were from games that were released in America before (Garr was from ''[[Tales of Destiny]]'', Farah and Meredy were from ''[[Tales of Eternia]]''), but not in Europe. However, in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'', we have Mint, (From ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'', only recently released in America) Philia (From ''[[Tales of Destiny]]'', released years ago) and Reid from ''[[Tales of Eternia]]'' (Which we knew as ''[[Tales of Destiny]] 2'') However, who's this "Nanaly" girl in there? Only red-headed archer I know of is Chelsea from ''[[Tales of Destiny]]''. Ironically she's from the ''real [[Tales of Destiny]] 2'' and is in no way related to Chelsea unless you WMG her to be a descendant of Chelsea. (or Mary) Not to mention, two of Anise's Tokunaga accessories that reference Reala and Harold also first appeared in the west through ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]''.

*** And another rather interesting thing; technically, Philia's trademark mystic arte/Blast Caliber, Sacred Penance (or Sacred Blame) actually debuted in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' - and even then; it was as part of a [[Regional Bonus]]! Mint's mystic arte (If you could call it that) also debuted in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'', although granted she also used ''that'' in the Japanese version, too.

** ''Tales of Graces f'' will have three of these upon its western release in the forms of Veigue Lungberg (''Tales of Rebirth''), Reala (''Tales of Destiny 2'') and Kohak Hearts (''Tales of Hearts''). None of whom have had their games released outside of Japan.

*** However; Reala was referenced in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]''.

* A few ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'' characters such as Astos debuted in Europe, believe it or not, in ''[[Captain N]]''. Really.

 

* Barely averted with fellow assist trophy Saki Amamiya. His game ''[[Sin and Punishment]]'' was made available to Americans on the Virtual Console mere months before Brawl's release, more than seven years after its initial Japanese release.

* A similar case to the [[Super Smash Bros.|Smash Bros.]] one: In the newest ''[[Sega Superstars]]'' game, ''Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing,'' the two protagonists of ''<s>[[House of the Dead]] EX</s>'' "[[Never Say "Die"|HOTD EX]]" Zobio and Zobiko, appear as fully playable racers, despite [[No Export for You|their game not leaving Japan and All-Stars Racing not leaving Western countries.]]

** Similarly, the [[Sega Superstars]] series have also renewed popularity in and brought about a new generation of fans for [[Space Channel 5]] , [[Fantasy Zone]] , [[Jet Set Radio]] , [[Samba De Amigo]] and [[Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg]] .

 

** Another example is Shuma-Gorath. Most people know him more from the Marvel vs Capcom games than they do from the comics, though he only actually counts as an example in territories where the comics didn't get published.

** In ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars'', surprisingly, Ippatsuman (and his [[Humongous Mecha]] Gyakuten-Oh) is the only one who fits in this trope. All the other Tatsunoko (and Capcom) characters had their licenses applied in many ways.

 

* The [[Trope Namer]] and current world record holder of this trope is, of course, Marth, the star of the original ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' game who made his (and the series as a whole) Western debut in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]] Melee'', over a decade after the first ''Fire Emblem'' game was released in Japan. His presence and popularity motivated Nintendo to release ''Fire Emblem'' games in the West at last. However, since that series uses mostly [[Non-Linear Sequel]]s, until 2009 Marth would not appear in any of his own games, despite appearing in ''Super Smash Brothers'' twice! However, in 2009 the [[Nintendo DS]] remake of his game finally, FINALLY reached Western shores. This was around '''eight years''' after the various Western releases of ''Super Smash Brothers: Melee'' and almost '''''nineteen years''''' after his initial Famicom debut in Japan!

** Roy actually ''did'' debut in ''Melee'' - his own game hadn't come out yet in Japan when the game was released, and his inclusion (and possibly Marth's as well) was meant to promote the upcoming game. His game never even made it to America, who instead got the prequel starring his father Eliwood. For Europe and Australia, however, this is a straight example, as ''Melee'' came out there a few months after ''The Sword of Seals'' was released in Japan.

** With past characters confirmed to appear in [[Fire Emblem: Awakening]] as DLC or otherwise, this trope is almost certian to be invoked for the stateside release. So far [[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Siglud, Arden, Ayra, Levin, Lachesis, Cuan, Alvis, Diadora, Yuria, Nanna]] and [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Lillina]] are expected to invoke this trope with more to come.

* ''[[La Pucelle]]'' didn't receive an English localization until the American success of ''[[Disgaea]]''. This resulted in Prier first appearing as a [[Bonus Boss]] cameo in ''Disgaea'', before appearing in her own game. Worse, her appearance in ''Disgaea'' spoils a plot point of ''[[La Pucelle]]''.

 

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[[Category:Trivia Trope]]

[[Category:Show Business]]

[[Category:Localization Tropes]]

[[Category:Videogame Culture]]