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Friday, May 3, 2013

Kobe in Heated Legal Battle with Mom -- Week's Best Sports GIFs -- Mantle's Corked Bat Revealed

Sports and Pop Culture Edition
 
Happiest Photos in Sports Happiest Photos in Sports
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Kobe and His Mother in Heated Legal Battle Kobe and His Mother in Heated Legal Battle
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Anchor Fired After Live Freudian Slip Anchor Fired After Live Freudian Slip
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Deion Sanders Jr. Has Versace Sheets in Dorm Room Deion Sanders Jr. Has Versace Sheets in Dorm Room
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Watch: Baby Crashes Rockets Postgame Show Watch: Baby Crashes Rockets Postgame Show
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Week's Best Sports GIFs Week's Best Sports GIFs
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Athletes Who Made a Lot of Money Doing Nothing Athletes Who Made a Lot of Money Doing Nothing
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Mickey Mantle's Corked Bat Revealed Mickey Mantle's Corked Bat Revealed
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Nate-Rob Gets Sick on Sidelines During Timeout Nate-Rob Gets Sick on Sidelines During Timeout
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Vick 'Smokes' LeSean McCoy in Footrace After Taunts Vick 'Smokes' LeSean McCoy in Footrace After Taunts
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Skylar Diggins Dating Notre Dame WR Skylar Diggins Dating Notre Dame WR
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Player Catches Squirrel in Helmet Player Catches Squirrel in Helmet
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Barry Sanders' High School Highlight Film Goes Viral Barry Sanders' High School Highlight Film Goes Viral
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Athletes Who ALWAYS Overreact Athletes Who ALWAYS Overreact
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JRPG Censorship Is Such A Silly Thing

May 3rd, 2013Top Story

JRPG Censorship Is Such A Silly Thing

By Jason Schreier

For as long as there have been Japanese role-playing games, there has been censorship.

Since the NES days, Nintendo and other big Japanese companies have been quick to stamp their big black bars on anything that might be considered offensive to American sensibilities: alcohol, religion, sex, octopus statues, whatever. And JRPGs have been the biggest victim of this misguided crusade.

There are tons of egregious examples. Dragon Quest's churches were transformed to Houses of Healing, perhaps because Nintendo believed that Americans do not go to church. During the Magicant sequence of Earthbound, during which our protagonist Ness is supposed to be totally nude, he got pajamas, perhaps because Nintendo believed that Americans do not get naked.

Even today, Nintendo doesn't think American gamers should see everything that Japan sees. No thighs allowed. No bikinis, either.

Putting aside the conversation about what's tasteful-or why Tharja would be wearing a swimsuit-I think we can all agree that this sort of censorship is absolutely asinine. So let's look back at some of the strangest and silliest examples.

Here's an image from Suikoden, sent in by reader Ahmed just this week.

In this scene, the characters Varkas and Sydonia have been tied up in the back of a mansion by some nasty soldiers from Suikoden's obligatory Evil Empire. There's really no narrative explanation for the crosses-at least in the English translation-so this act of censorship is rather mild. But if the developers at Konami wanted Varkas and Sydonia to be hanging on crosses, then we should let them hang on friggin' crosses.

Then there's this bizarre choice, from Super Mario RPG:

In the Japanese version of the game (left), Bowser's victory move is to cross his left arm over his right arm, which I guess is some sort of slang for "screw you" or "up yours." Nintendo changed this for the American version (right), in which Bowser raises his fists to the air in victory. Thank goodness. I'm sure fans across the country would have taken offense at the questionable hand gestures of a grumpy cartoon lizard.

There's a great site called Legends of Localization, where Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin-best known for leading the Mother 3 translation project-writes all sorts of fascinating things about game localization. He's also got some great breakdowns of the changes made when Japanese publishers bring their games to U.S. shores.

One example of a game full of weird changes: Earthbound.

Japan's version: a bar. America's version: a cafe. BECAUSE AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE BARS.

Here's another ridiculous one, also via Legends of Localization:

In this scene, the heroine Rosa has been kidnapped by the villain Golbez. She's all tied up in some sort of diabolical trap. A big object is about to fall on her head. In Japan, it's a giant blade. In North America (and in the "easy version" of the game released in Japan), it's a giant boulder.

That's right. The folks who brought over Final Fantasy IV thought a blade might seem too violent, but they were okay with the image of a giant boulder crushing Rosa's skull.

Okay, your turn. What are some of the most egregious examples of JRPG censorship? Post'em below.

Random Encounters is a weekly column dedicated to all things JRPG. It runs every Friday at 3pm ET.

Cheat Sheet - Will Jodi Arias Go Free?

Today: Why Does Ted Cruz Inspire Such Animosity? , Bomb DNA Not From Tamerlan's Widow , NRA Chief: It's a Culture War
Cheat Sheet: Afternoon

May 03, 2013
CLOSING ARGUMENTS

The most outrageous trial since Casey Anthony's is finally wrapping up, with Arias's defense lawyer concluding that his client—accused of stabbing her ex-boyfriend 27 times and shooting him in the head—acted in self-defense. The Daily Beast's Christine Pelisek on the highs, lows, and lies of the case—and whether the jury will give Arias a break.

UNPOPULAR

Why does Cruz, a freshman senator from Texas, inspire such animosity? The Daily Beast's David Frum on why the early 2016 contender may be too "smart" for his own good.

THE WIFE

The female DNA and fingerprints found on fragments of a bomb found at the Boston bombing scene do not match those of Katherine Russell, the widow of dead suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but the FBI is still not entirely convinced that she's not connected to—or at least had knowledge of—the attack. "I think they're very skeptical of her story," said former assistant FBI director and CBS News correspondent John Miller. "They want to know, is it possible all of this was going on concealed from you, or did you know the whole time?" Of particular interest is a phone call between Russell and Tsarnaev made hours after his image was first released by the FBI as a suspect.

GUN RALLY

During a raucous Friday rally at the NRA's Houston headquarters, the organization's soon-to-be head touted the importance of their fight. "This is not a battle about gun rights," said James Porter, whose father headed the NRA from 1959 to 1960. "[It's] a culture war." Porter, who says he's hungry to strike down anyone trying to "go after our guns," applauded the group's recent win over President Obama and Congress. "[You] here in this room are the fighters for freedom. We are the protectors," he said.

 

JOBS

The U.S. economy added just 165,000 jobs in April, which caused the unemployment rate to fall to a four-year low of 7.5 percent. March's numbers were readjusted, with 50,000 more jobs added than previously reported, meaning that 138,000 jobs were added that month. Economists warned, though, that that doesn't help improve the sluggish track the economy has been on. The first two months of the year saw an average of 200,000 jobs added, although growth cooled in March.


MISSING
American Journalist Held in Syria
James Foley likely in custody of government.
WILD
Cali Inferno Heads for Malibu
"The whole mountain was on fire."
WEIRD
Mother-Son Team Runs Sex Shop
In New York City.
License to Ill
Beastie Boy Gets Brooklyn Playground
Adam 'MCA' Yauch honored.
'This Is Beyond'
Witherspoon Arrest Footage Leaks
Is amazing.
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