Nintendo Related Japan Trip Notes

The original wooden 1889
building.

Near the end of Summer 2024, I finally got to return to Japan and take my family with me. One of the purposes we accomplished was to make a “pilgrimage” of sorts to the Nintendo Headquarters. Because of that trip (along with some helpful websites), I was able to get a far better picture of the history of the company. This post is a summary of my thoughts and what I learned.

 

 

The "left" part of the original
1889 building next to 
the 1933 building. 

I had known for quite a while that Nintendo was started in the late 1800’s as a playing card company, but until I had watched a documentary called Playing with Power (narrated by Sean Astin) about it I didn’t really grasp or appreciate the history. 

 

 

 

 

The 1933 building, which
extends down the block.

The Marufuku Nintendo Card Co. (or Yamauchi Nintendo Karuta as it was originally known in Japanese) was founded 23 Sept 1889 in a small wood building in Kyoto, where they made Hanafuda cards which got around the government rules of “Western” cards intended for gambling. As their operation expanded, they built a white brick building with green trim directly adjacent to the original wooden building in 1933.

 

 

 

Eventually the scattered offices were consolidated in a new building in 1959 in Kyoto (which has now become the new Nintendo Museum). By this time the major focus of the company was making toys and board games, though they still made hanafuda as well as themed western decks of cards. The original buildings were abandoned, but still remained standing. The 1933 building is now the Marufuku Hotel which displays Nintendo history, and the original wood building was torn down in 2004 to become a parking lot, and eventually the land was used to add an annex to the hotel. It’s a shame that I didn’t make the trip here when I was in Japan in the late 90’s to see the building myself. Finally, in 2000 their current headquarters buildings were built – two white square-ish buildings about a block from each other in downtown Kyoto. 

 

As part of our trip, we walked to the Marufuku Hotel and took some pictures outside of the building, and then walked around the current headquarters, though we were not permitted to enter any of the buildings. After that, we did, however, go to the official Nintendo Store in a Kyoto mall where I bought some plastic hanafuda cards. 

 

 

Unfortunately, we were unable to go to the Nintendo Museum. Though it was projected to be done in March of 2024, it wasn't finished until around September. Additionally, tickets are distributed in a lottery system so even if it was open there was a chance we wouldn't have gotten to go anyway.  

 

The Nintendo Switch

Around late 2014, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Wii U wasn’t doing so hot on the sales charts, as many people were unaware of its existence due to poor marketing and an unfortunate name. In terms of graphics it felt like Nintendo was playing catchup to the other systems, and its tablet controller wasn’t being utilized by 3rd party developers in creative ways. It was around this time that rumors of the next system started popping up, and naysayers were predicting the move to be the downfall of the once great video game king. Simultaneously, it seemed like the games being developed for the Wii U dried up and The Big N was only hanging around because of its robust handheld market (meaning the 3DS family, which itself had a rocky first couple of years).

Originally code-named the NX, the next Nintendo console was promised to be a hybrid system that straddled the handheld and console worlds. The sentiment online was not optimistic, and after the Wii U it seemed to many that Nintendo had truly lost its collective mind. However, it was finally officially announced in October of 2016 to be called the Nintendo Switch. The video showed off its capabilities of being a docked console with detachable controllers, a portable handheld, and in tabletop mode. It also spawned the infamous joke about roof-top Switch parties. This video changed the tide of public opinion and a breath of optimism started to replace the doom and gloom.

The Switch could best be described as what the Wii U was originally intended to be. Unfortunately, the technology wasn’t quite ready (at least not in a cost-effective way) for the vision of Satoru Iwata during the Wii U era and he died not getting to see the Switch come to fruition. The Switch system itself was like a thinner, lighter Wii U gamepad that was not tethered to a disc-based console. In other words, instead of the tablet streaming video from the real console, the tablet WAS the console.

The main draw of the Nintendo Switch is that it is a hybrid home console and portable handheld system. The main component is essentially a touch-screen tablet that reads game cards (not unlike the 3DS or an SD card) and has controllers attached to the sides. The beauty of the system is that it switches from one mode to the other instantly with no need of power cycling or rebooting. It can also be played in a tabletop manor with the use of a kickstand in the rear of the system. It has a 6.2 inch viewable area with two speakers near the bottom, with a headphone jack and game card slot on the top next to a heat exhaust fan grille. The only buttons on the Switch itself are the power button and the volume rocker buttons. The back features a small (and somewhat fragile) kickstand that also acts as a cover for a microSD card slot. The bottom has a USB-C port that serves as both a port for the AC adapter and data transfer.

Each side controller (called Joy-Con) features two shoulder buttons, a control stick, and four other buttons arranged in a diamond pattern – basically the same buttons and layout as a NN3DS except that the D-pad is replaced by four individual buttons. The Joy-Con can then be detached and put into a grip making it feel more like a traditional controller. They also have some additional bells and whistles built into them – including an NFC reader for amiibo, an infra-red camera to sense movement, gyro-sensors for motion controls, and haptic feedback HD rumble that can mimic the wave patterns of sound. There are also buttons for screen captures, a Home button, as well as the + and – buttons that replaced the Start and Select buttons starting with the Wii era. Originally they came in either grey or in a neon red/blue, but many colors and specialty variations have been released since.

Each Joy-Con can be also used as a separate controller for two-player games. When turned sideways, each Joy-Con features a control stick, 4 face buttons, and two shoulder buttons that are usually hidden when connected to the tablet portion. In this configuration, each one has the same buttons as a SNES controller. Wrist straps are included to make reaching the shoulder buttons (SL and SR) easier and to avoid accidentally dropping/throwing the Joy-Con. Both Joy-Con also feature an unlock button on the back which allows them to separate from the Grip or the console. This locking mechanism is also responsible for the clicking sound they make when being attached to the console or Grip – a sound that Nintendo has used in its Directs and other promotional videos extensively.

A separate Pro Controller can also be purchased to accommodate those who have bigger hands or prefer the feel of a traditional controller. The Pro Controller has a D-pad instead of the four buttons on the Left Joy-Con since it can’t be disconnected and used separately, and has no IR camera.

The Switch can be connected to a television via a dock that transfers the video and sound via HDMI cable. The dock features a power supply and HDMI jack, as well as 3 USB-A ports to attach wired controllers or other adapters such as the LAN adapter to get a wired connection if the Wi-Fi isn’t fast enough. While in the dock the Switch can recharge its battery, or it can be charged via USB-C cord being plugged directly into the power port.

In terms of power comparison, the Switch is more powerful compared to the Wii U, PlayStation 3, and XBox 360, but less powerful than the PS4/XB1. But like the Wii before it, the thing that separates it from the competition is the innovation behind it and not because it was a graphical powerhouse. Many Wii U games were ported over, as well as other third party games such as Skyrim, and could be played on the go for the first time. The main first-party title at launch was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a game that was originally set for the Wii U but pushed back and released for both systems simultaneously (in a similar vein to that of Twilight Princess). There were others, including 1-2 Switch, Snipperclips, a Bomberman game, a Shovel Knight port, and a few others. The system did not include a pack-in game, and many felt that 1-2-Switch should have served as one because of its almost tech-demo feel to it.

Following the October 2016 trailer, a presentation with more details was streamed in February 2017 where Koizumi-san showed off some of the features of the Switch, gave some details of the next year’s lineup of games, and revealed its MSRP of $300. It was noted that the Switch has inherited some of the “DNA” of past Nintendo consoles, in that the NES had 2 controllers included, the Gameboy was portable, the SNES pioneered the button layout, the N64 introduced both the analog stick and rumble feedback, the GameCube’s handle was a misguided attempt at portability, the DS had a touch screen, the Wii had motion controls, and the Wii U allowed off-TV play. The release date of both the Switch and Breath of the Wild was revealed to be March 3rd, just a month later.

In the following year, it was rather difficult to find a Switch in stores because of how quickly they sold out. In fact, it was more or less keeping pace with the Wii in terms of sales, which is nothing to scoff at. But after about a year and a half, it was finally normal to see Switches being restocked regularly in stores (and then sold out again a few days later).

Initially, online access was free and included with games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or Bomberman. However, around September 2018 (18 months after launch) the Nintendo Switch Online service was officially launched. It was a paid subscription service that was $20 per year for a single account, or $35 for a family account with up to 8 members. Unlike other digital services like Netflix, Nintendo actually encouraged people to group up for a family account to save money, and if all 8 potential members contributed equally it amounted to about 75¢ per month. In addition to keeping online multiplayer access, it included cloud save backups and the ability to voice chat with friends via a phone app (though it’s a bit clunky to use compared to Microsoft or Sony’s chat offering). Another feature was the access to Game Trials, which was sort of like an extended demo version of a game, but where the full game was allowed for a set period of time (usually a week). Several multiplayer games for the NSO were developed, including Tetris-99, Pac-Man-99, and Super Mario-35, all of which are multiplayer against 98 or 34 other random players.

But the main feature was access to legacy NES games. It launched with a variety of 20 games, including Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, and 2 or 3 were added (usually monthly) for the next few years. Controllers that resembled the NES controllers were released for NSO members. A year later, the SNES was added as well with games continuing to be added monthly and SNES controllers were available to purchase separately. 

 

In 2021, three years after its initial launch, an Expansion Pack was offered, which upped the price to $50 for a single or $80 for a family account. It included N64 games, Sega Genesis games, and access to DLC for games like Mario Kart 8 and Animal Crossing at no additional cost. The N64 addition was a bit rough, as the emulator had to go through several iterations of bug fixes before it was considered to be passable. In addition, the default control scheme was found to be different for each game, but all were awkward due to the odd positioning of the buttons on the N64 controller, leading most to conclude that the bad controls were a scheme cooked up by Nintendo executives to entice people to buy their $50 N64 NSO controller. Finally, in February of 2023 (nearly 6 years into its life), the Gameboy was added to the NSO legacy service with Gameboy Advance included for those with the Expansion Pack.

The Switch had an interesting and creative set of games and accessories released in April of 2018. The Labo was a kit that consisted mainly of cardboard which could be punched out, folded, and shaped into all kinds of things such as houses, fishing poles, steering wheels, and even a piano. The screen, Joy-Con, or both would be used with the cardboard holders to do various things, such as play piano keys. It was truly innovative and something that nobody had ever seen before. It encouraged players to use their own materials to enhance the standard kit, or even program their own applications.

Another interesting use of the Joy-Con is the Ring Fit Adventure game. It was (more or less) the Switch successor to Wii Fit, except that one Joy-Con was strapped to the player’s leg and the other attached to a flexible resistance ring. The IR camera in the right Joy-Con was used to measure pulse as well as register movement.

Several revisions of the Switch have been released. The first minor revision was to fix a security flaw that allowed the Switch to enter its “Recovery Mode” and to have Custom FirmWare installed onto it. It was discovered that grounding certain pins on the side rail of the system along with pressing a particular combination of buttons could make this happen. The revision is known as the “Redbox” version of the Switch since the new packaging featured a red box, and promised a slight improvement on battery life. The next major revision was the Switch Lite – a dedicated handheld “budget” version of the Switch that was only $200 which doesn't have detachable Joy-Con. It was slightly smaller than a normal Switch, had a D-Pad on the left side instead of 4 separate buttons, and couldn’t be docked to a TV, but could do everything else that any other Switch could do. The third revision was the OLED model, featuring a slightly bigger console (2 mm longer) with a much brighter OLED screen that had a thinner bezel which meant the viewable area was increased by an inch (diagonally). The kickstand was also improved, along with some slightly powered up speakers and a dock that had the LAN adapter built into it. It was priced at $350 and is considered to be the “deluxe” model.

Despite its popularity, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Nintendo. There was a small uproar over screens being scratched by the dock, and some systems being warped due to heat, but those went away fairly quickly. The one controversy that followed the system (and continues to do so) is the problem of Joy-Con drift – where the design of the included joysticks wears out and starts to misbehave. Nintendo will fix them (depending on circumstances) or cheap parts can be purchased from Amazon if you’re into DIY repair, but it was pervasive enough that a class-action lawsuit was filed (though eventually it was dismissed by the judge).

A few other small problems were that the multiplayer experiences weren’t always great, thought to be due to some very old netcode that Nintendo was too cheap to upgrade, though it started to improve in late 2021 (better late than never, I guess?). The N64 NSO controller was also perpetually out of stock.

But overall the Switch is seen as a good portable device for playing modern games and many hardcore gamers have one in addition to a PC or PlayStation. When it hit its 6-year anniversary, and no announcement from Nintendo about a “Switch Pro” or a successor at the time, the rumors that one was coming soon began circulating online. The system had started to show its age and limitations for new releases were becoming increasingly more common. Despite these issues for the aging system, it was the best selling piece of hardware ever made by Nintendo, selling 156 million consoles. It was long believed that 155 million PS2s were sold, but when the Switch was getting dangerously close to breaking the record, Sony published that the actual figure was over 160 million (presumably to hang onto the record for best selling hardware). 

 

The official announcement for its successor, the Switch2, was made in April of 2025 (over 8 years since the release of the original), and released in June of the same year. But all three variations of the original Switch continue to be manufactured and sold concurrently. 

What I Wish I'd Done . . .

As a different kind of retrospective, this is a, “What I wish I had done,” kind of post. Knowing what I know now about how the video game industry has turned out, along with what is important to me and how I’ve learned to take better care of things as I matured, this is all the stuff I would do if I could meet my younger self and convince him to do a couple of things differently (along with some money to buy the stuff I wish I had bought all those years ago).


NES/Gameboy Era

First and foremost, I would have been very careful with the boxes and manuals, and kept them in good shape in a bin or tote in my closet so I wouldn’t have had to buy replacements for the Zelda stuff, and I would have also had original copies for all the other games. I also would have kept the issues of Nintendo Power in good shape as well, or perhaps had a subscription for two copies each month - one to use, abuse, and read on the toilet, and the other to keep on a shelf in pristine condition. My friend Michael got that one right.

I would have also been more careful with the actual hardware and games. I wouldn’t have let my mom mark up our games with a permanent marker, nor put the address label on the back side of them after convincing her that I was being very careful and responsible with these items because they were precious to me. I would have kept them in a better state of repair (cleaning gunk off of them and making sure they were put away carefully so the labels don’t get ruined) and put Zelda II away when Michael borrowed it so the basketball didn’t chip the corner off.

I didn’t know at the time how easy it was to replace the door on the original NES, so I could have kept it and fixed it. Even after the system stopped working entirely, I still should have kept it to pull out and possibly repair now. For all I know it was just a 72–pin connector that needed fixing or by disabling the lockout chip it might still be working.

I should have also kept one of the three Gameboys for myself when I moved out to go to my first year of college, and then also kept one when I moved to Utah, and perhaps told my mom to let me know when she was planning on throwing them out so I could take possession of them instead of just relying on my Super Gameboy as a way of playing the games.


SNES/VB/N64 Era

Like before, I should have kept boxes and manuals in good shape. That’s not really much different. By this time, I did keep the actual hardware and games in better shape so there’s not much regret in that department. The only real thing that I wish I had done is keep the Virtual Boy stand and the clip that connects the unit to the stand. It was the "leg" joint on the stand that broke, and these days people can 3D print replacement parts for that particular piece. But I cannot attach the Virtual Boy to a new stand or anything without that clip, unfortunately. However, new replacement stands are now available from stoneagegamer now. 

Overall

I would have left a pile of money with specific instructions to purchase particular things (like hard-to-find games) and directives to become members of certain things. So for example, I should have purchased a Game Boy Color when they came out to play the DX version of Link’s Awakening, as well as bought a Game Boy Pocket when they released. I have been able to find working models of these handhelds through eBay, but it would have been cheaper to just have had my own copy for the past 25 years. Ultimately, it hasn’t been a huge deal because their prices haven't gone up that much over the years but having to find the alternate version of Twilight Princess has been more difficult and expensive (I originally only bought the Wii version and haven’t had the GameCube version until very recently). I also wish I had been a Nintendo Power subscriber (or maybe a Club Nintendo member) so I could have gotten the Collector's Edition disc and not had to pay an arm and a leg to get it last year.

One big thing is that I had the perfect opportunity to acquire some Nintendo history while I was in Japan, but didn’t have the funds (or the inclination) to do so. I really wish I would have purchased both a Famicom and Super Famicom and just shipped them home to wait for me. I could have also landed a N64-DD there in person along with a bunch of games. I had the opportunity, just not the foresight that I would become a collector of such things and the money would have taken to purchase them and ship them home. While I’m at it, I might as well have gotten a second version of each Zelda game to get to keep new in the package to sit and look pretty on the shelf.

Regional Differences in Zelda Games (Part 3)

Regional Differences Games (Part 1)

Regional Differences in Hardware (Part 2)




Regional Differences of Zelda Games

Here is a list of significant regional differences for the main Zelda games. Note that bug fixes and revisional differences aren’t included here - just purposeful changes to the game by developers for one reason or another. For the most part, I’m only really interested in Japan-US changes and not so much in the EU ones. There are no regional differences for the CDi games or BS-X games, as they were never localized, and the same goes for basically all of the spin-off games and remake games. Interestingly, it’s AoL and MM that have the most differences, being the 2nd and 6th games in the series. Almost everything outside of those games are very minor changes that really don’t alter the game in a noteworthy way. It seems as if the amount of differences per game goes has gone down quite a bit since the NES era. 




The Legend of Zelda

Sound/Music - The most notable differences are in the sound effects and the music. Because the Famicom Disk System added an extra sound channel, there were slightly different sounds for the dungeon bosses yelling, the door unlock sound, and the sword beam sound. Musically, the only two tracks that are different are the title screen and credits music, which added a ringing bell sound to the music.

Gameplay - The only gameplay change is that the Pol’s Voices can no longer be defeated by yelling into the Player 2 Controller microphone, and an arrow was made to be able to kill them in one shot instead.

Translations - Some of the hints from the old man were shuffled around, and a couple were changed to something else entirely.

Adventure of Link

This one is a case where it seems the developers put the final polish on a game that wasn’t quite ready to be released.

Sound/Music - Like the first game, there are a few differences in some of the sound effects, like the fairy sound, the door unlock sound, the shield blocking sound, the death sound, and the Great Palace barrier being removed sound effect. The title screen music also used the extra sound channel so it’s a bit different, most noticeably in the first 6 seconds. The music for the battle encounters was completely overhauled and changed, and the boss music was improved from a 3 second loop to a 9 second loop by way of a key change. Some of the bosses also emitted a roar that had to be eliminated in the non-FDS release.

Graphics - Many of the sprites were changed up, including giving Link a mouth and adding a few more townspeople to give the towns more variety. The map screen sprites of Link on the raft, the 3 types of enemy encounters, and the River Devil were all upgraded. For some reason, the sprites of the Holy Water (which was renamed to Water of Life in the manual) and the Goddess Statue (which was renamed to the Trophy in the game) were changed, and the “cage” around the captured child was removed. The water in lakes and oceans was originally animated, but not in the US version (the same goes for the “lava” around the final area). Zelda’s chamber had some renovation and raised the ceiling and added columns. The cross on a building in one town was changed, though none of them in the graveyards or Link’s shield were.

Gameplay - Inventory items like the Candle needed to be stabbed in Japan, but just touched in the US version and an animation of Link holding the item was added. King’s Tomb was changed from a fighting area into a peaceful one with a villager visiting the site. The Game Over screen was given a silhouette of Ganon instead of a black screen. The biggest gameplay change was how in Japan the levels for the life/magic/attack always reverted to the lowest of the three upon a game over but were kept intact for the US release at the cost of significantly increasing the points needed to do so.

Palaces - Temples were called Palaces in the manual and in-game text, elevators were sped up, and each one was given a unique color and brick texture. The second Helmethead fight was removed and replaced with the barbarian Gooma, and Volvagia’s name in Katakana (Barubajia) was shortened and mistranslated as Barba, as well as giving him a completely different sprite and attack pattern. The translation also explains why Japanese players recognized the Fire Temple boss's on OoT as a reference but American players did not.

Translations - the Japanese title text more clearly implied that this Zelda was different from the one who was rescued in the first game, and references to religious things (holy water, goddess statue, temple) were changed, though the term “devil” was left in the in-game text despite changing the sprite to resemble a spider instead of a demon.


A Link to the Past

Not many significant changes were made to this one. The biggest one is changing the title from Triforce of the Gods to A Link to the Past so as to not run afoul of Nintendo of America’s policies. There were a few other religion-related things like renaming the priest to be a cleric and the church to be a sanctuary, as well as a symbol that sort of resembled the Star of David was changed. Interestingly, the title change implied that the game was a prequel instead of a sequel as originally intended, and NoA changed the text on the back of the box to reinforce the implication. Along with the title change came a title screen change - instead of a black screen there was a castle next to a lake and mountains. There were a few minor translation and font changes (like changing “finger webs” to “flippers”), renaming the ocarina to a flute, and adding a wind sound effect on Death Mountain.


Link’s Awakening 

The original title in Japanese is, 'The Island of Dreaming,' which kinda gives the plot twist away, so calling it 'Link’s Awakening' is better. As with the last game, the title screen and its logo were changed as well. But the main changes are that the Hippo model in Animal Village originally had boobs and implied that the artist is doing a nude portrait, and the mermaid originally loses her seashell bra instead of a necklace. There were a few other small changes to the caves and dungeons to fix an oversight that could cause Link to be permanently stuck. Other than that, there were not any more other than some very minor differences that take eagle-eyes to spot, and they aren’t the kind of thing that really change the game.


Ocarina of Time 

This game had lots of revisional differences, but virtually no regional differences other than title screen logo. The notable version differences changed the Gerudo symbol and the Fire Temple music, various bugs, and the color of Ganon’s blood.

Majora’s Mask 

Like the previous game, this one has a lot of revisional differences, but also has many regional differences as well. Ocarina was released in Japan and the US simultaneously, but there was a 6-month localization gap in this release, and so Nintendo took the opportunity to implement a few bug fixes and put some additional polish onto the game.

The title screen had some text color change and the stars were made brighter. The names of the days were changed from First, Next, Last to be First, Second, Final, and the clock was changed from 24hr time (aka military time) to 12hr time. The Japanese version could only be saved by playing the Song of Time, but “owl saves” were added at the cost of losing the third save file. The save file screen in Japan shows a death counter (standard up until this point for a Zelda game) but was changed to a rupee/heart/mask counter for the US version.

Audio - Many small changes were made, like having music play in the US version where there wasn’t any in the Japan version, or changing the location of where the audio originated from. There were also a lot of small audio bugs that were corrected.

Gameplay - Zora Link’s physics were changed quite a bit, and the ability to grab onto Mikau was added to make getting him to shore easier. The waterwheel puzzle elements in the Great Bay Temple were changed to automatically stop at convenient points to make it easier. The 10-second mailman game was made easier by only having tenths of second and not hundredths, and the town shooting gallery was given more time. The Marine research lab was given a ledge that is easy to climb onto instead of needing to dolphin-jump onto the platform. The bean salesman under the Deku Palace was originally reached by going through several grottos, but was given a more direct path in the US version. The Japanese version of the Pirate’s hideout had a direct path from where Link causes bees to attack to the location of the hookshot, while the US version added a wall necessitating leaving the room and entering through a different door.

Many of the cutscenes were altered in some way for one reason or another. The Skull kid was changed to have a wood texture face making it look less racist. The scarecrow was made to automatically tell the player about the Inverted and Double songs of Time.

There were also many little tiny things that aren’t worth mentioning, like moving a chest a smidge, slightly changing the layout of a room, or changing where text appears on screen so as to not obscure something.



Oracle of Seasons/Ages 

The titles in Japan translated roughly to, “Mystical Seed of Earth/Space-time”, various text differences, the Kanji symbols for present/past or the seasons were replaced with picture icons, a room in the first dungeon was changed slightly to teach players to push jars, the drawers in the mailman’s house were changed, the Clairvoyant Goron was added to give additional hints for a 4th-dimensional puzzle, and a “To be continued in [the other game]” screen was added to help entice players to buy the second game as well.

Four Swords

None


The Wind Waker 

The “Sploosh” game changed the target from a battleship to squids, all of the kanji symbols were removed, and some of the treasure chest contents were shuffled around.






Four Sword Adventures

The only change is that outside of Japan and Korea, the secondary game mode called Navi Trackers isn’t included on the disc.


Minish Cap and Twilight Princess 

None


Phantom Hourglass

Just a couple of minor animations


Spirit Tracks

The only significant change is that a puzzle on the 6th floor of the Tower of Spirits was made slightly harder for the US version.



Skyward Sword  and A Link Between Worlds

None

Tri-Force Heroes 

The only change is that the “sorry” icon changed so it looks like Link is shrugging instead of praying.



Breath of the Wild

Home menu screen icon is different depending on the region, the title logo in Japan looks more similar to the original Legend of Zelda FDS logo, the US temperature gauge is in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius.

There are also various translation things (like the Japanese apparently uses the same descriptor for the Master Sword as the one given in Triforce of the Gods, which until recently was translated as, “the blade of evil’s bane,” but has been called in the West, “the sword that seals the darkness” in a few games now). But it’s to be expected as any text or dialogue-heavy script will find numerous slight changes because of translation issues. That being said, I do have an issue with the localizers taking some creative liberties and injecting personal/political bias into things, since it sometimes ruins future things if the same localization team isn't used. An example of this is that Proxim Bridge should have been called "Aboda Bridge." In Japanese, it was a direct reference to the starting village in Spirit Tracks, but since the localization teams for these games were different, it wasn't caught. 

Regional Differences in Hardware (Part 2)

Regional Differences in Games (Part 1)




The Famicom and the NES

Though they played many of the same games, the Famicom and the NES were very different consoles for a variety of reasons. The Famicom was first released in Japan in 1983 as Nintendo’s first console that wasn’t a Pong clone console. It was fairly small in size and featured a maroon and white color scheme. The controller cords were short and hardwired to the rear of the system, and could be stored on the side of the console when not in use. The second controller had a microphone and volume slider instead of a set of Start and Select buttons. The power button slid forward and back, and the cartridge slot had a small flap to cover it which needed to be manually moved. There was a serial port on the front which was used for attaching the light gun and other accessories. Cartridges were plugged into the top of the system, just like the Atari and all consoles had been up till that point, and the carts came in many colors. The Famicom also had an Eject slider that popped the cartridges up.

The Disk System add-on was released in Japan just as the American NES was barely hitting shelves in the West. Though disk-based games added loading times, it also included the ability to save files and have bigger games with more content. It plugged into the cartridge slot of the Famicom and actually added an additional sound channel.

By contrast, the American version came out over 2 years later, so Nintendo redesigned the system to appeal to American consumers and made a few changes to the hardware. For starters, the whole system was changed to be a front-loading console to resemble a VCR in order to make it seem less like a video game machine (which included making the cover flap angled) and changing the color scheme to grey and black. The cartridges were also uniformly grey (except for unlicensed games and both Zelda games). The redesign also entailed reconfiguring the motherboard and making a few convenient upgrades. A lockout chip was added to combat piracy, composite video and audio ports were added to the RF Switch A/V port, and the controllers were made to be removable and their cords lengthened. The power switch was changed to a push-click button and an LED was added. An expansion port was built into the motherboard and could be accessed from the bottom of the system, but it was never used. Instead of having a disk-based peripheral, cartridges with expanded memory capabilities and battery backups were used instead.



The Super Famicom and the SNES

In late 1990, the 16-bit successor to the Famicom was released in Japan – the Super Famicom. And only 9 months later, North America was basking in the 16-bit graphical glory of the SNES, which was a much smaller span of time than the Famicom-NES gap. The regional differences make a rather short list. Internally, the motherboards were identical, and all of the differences were purely cosmetic changes to the outer shell of the system. In fact, the only thing stopping American and Japanese players from using each other’s games (besides the inability to read

a foreign language and the difficulty of obtaining them via mail in a pre-internet era) was the physical shape of the cartridge. Games from other regions could be played by either removing the ROM board from the cartridge and inserting it directly, or by removing the small plastic bumps surrounding the cartridge port.

The Super Famicom’s four controller buttons were all convex and colored with red, blue, green, and yellow. By contrast, the SNES featured two lavender and two purple buttons, with the lavender ones being concave to have a different tactile feel. The rest of the differences in the systems were just the particular shape and coloring in the hunk of plastic surrounding the main board.

The Nintendo 64

Finally, by 1996, the Nintendo 64 was released in North America only 3 months behind the Japanese date, and the only difference between the consoles was the position of two pieces of plastic that straddled the cartridge slot. This form of physical region locking was easily defeated by pliers back in the day, and now can be overcome with a $7 tray ordered from eBay that replaces the stock version in a 5-minute mod job. From this point onward, there have been basically no regional differences and the only thing preventing cross-region gaming is a software lock.

Regional Differences in Zelda Games (Part 3)

Regional Differences in Games (Part 1)

 

Ever since I found out that the US version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was very different from what Japan got, I have been curious about the difference in experiences that I got versus someone who grew up in Japan, and the ‘compare and contrast’ type of essay we sometimes have to do for English class was always my favorite assignment. 

During the NES and SNES days, information on this type of thing was scant. The internet wasn’t around to easily spread the details, and the only sources were monthly magazines and (even more rarely) the occasional newspaper blurb. I only found out about the SMB2 thing because of a small allusion to it in an issue of Nintendo Power. Since having access to Japanese games either through emulation, collections (like the Mega Man Legacy Collection or Castlevania Collection), or from the Nintendo Switch Online Famicom games, I have really enjoyed finding all the little tiny differences between versions.

There are many reasons for such changes. Sometimes it’s because there was a several month gap between the Japan release and the international release to give them time to translate/localize the game, and the developers were able to get some feedback from players to make some improvements. Other times it’s because the developers ran out of time before the game shipped, so they used the localization time to put the final polish on it. What follows is a list of types of changes with some examples. 

Different Media

The most obvious changes are ones where the physical medium had an effect. Kid Icarus and Metroid were on disks and had save files in Japan, while they were on cartridges and had password systems in the US. The Zelda games were on cartridges and had save files (getting the best of both worlds), so the loading and waiting times as well as having to change sides of the disc were eliminated for the US audience. The FDS games also often utilized the extra sound channel to enhance the music or sound effects which had to be cut out for the cartridge release. This type of change isn’t limited to regional differences, though, as it can also apply to any kind of port. Ports from an Arcade machine won’t need quarters to run, but also will come with a downgrade in graphics. Ports from PCs won’t have a whole keyboard to use, so a lot of adjustments will need to be made to be able to play it with a controller. 

Small Improvements (usually)

Often there are tiny bug fixes or slight changes to correct oversights, such as putting a small 1-block notch in the back of one of the ships in Super Mario Bros. 3 that makes it possible to get back on the ship without being “stuck.” Sometimes the sprites got garbled in the process of finalizing the game or a math error was found that causes unwanted behavior in enemy AI. Occasionally there’s a palette change due to unforeseen problems with sprites clashing or something. 

Cultural Issues

Sometimes it comes down to the differences in cultures that compels the changes. Capcom changed Phoenix Wright’s base of operations from Tokyo to LA in the text, even though the graphics weren’t changed at all. Also, references to ‘ramen’ were changed to ‘hamburgers’ as being the default fast food option. Many games that were steeped in Japanese culture were just not released internationally, as it would take too much effort to explain why kids were wearing uniforms to school or why the whole family bathes together in a game. However, since the popularity of manga and anime has exploded, many aspects of Japanese culture are more well known to the world and so games that wouldn’t have gotten an international release now can do so.  

Difficulty Change

Some of these regional differences are simple things, like Mega Man 2 having an option to select either a normal or hard difficulty, while Japanese players only got to play the hard mode. Super Mario Bros. 3 in Japan was also harder because getting hit always made Mario revert to Small Mario, whereas the US version would let Mario go back to being just Super Mario. For some reason the transition between the map screen and the level starting was also sped up. It was also clear in this game that the Princess’s name is Peach, something we didn’t learn in the West until Super Mario 64. Ironically, the US release of Ninja Gaiden 3 was made more difficult so that the game couldn’t be rented and finished over a weekend, forcing players to purchase the game and “get gud” if they wanted to complete it. In fact, it was the perceived difficulty of the original Super Mario Bros. 2 that inspired Nintendo to completely overhaul Doki Doki Panic into the western release that we know and love. 

Title Rename

Another oddity is that sometimes games are called by completely different titles, so games that are obviously from the same series in Japan don’t always appear as such in the US. For example, the games Final Fantasy Adventure and Secret of Mana were intended to be parts 1 and 2 of a trilogy (one where the third game never got released in the US) called the Seiken Densetsu (Legend of Sacred Sword). Nintendo of America thought it would sell better under the Final Fantasy name, so it renamed the first one and called the second one Secret of Mana. (Earthbound and Mother is another example of this). Square also didn’t release the 2nd, 3rd, or 5th Final Fantasy game in the US, so 4 was renamed to 2, and 6 was renamed to 3 so we Americans didn’t feel like we skipped a game. It just so happens that when Final Fantasy VII was switching teams to the Sony Playstation was when the internet started to take off, and we could find out why the games were numbered 1→ 2→ 3→ 7. 

A non-video game example is how the Transformers franchise came into being. There were two separate companies in Japan making toys that turned into robots. One was mostly cars and planes that changed into robots, while the other was made up of everyday objects like cassette tape players, microscopes, and guns. Japanese kids could play with these toys as is, but American audiences needed a backstory. So the American toy company gave them team names (Autobots and Decepticons) and wrote a story and created an animated series out of it. Voltron and Power Rangers kinda got the same treatment, where separate animated series were linked together under the same name in the US creating a connection unintended by the original creators in Japan. 

Translation Issues

Occasionally the translation changes the meaning of the original intent of the Japanese authors. In the case of the Final Fantasy games, the Japanese developers didn’t leave enough memory for text in other languages because Japanese is such a compact language when written down. As such, Ted Woolsey had to try and compress it down and make it fit and the result is that some of the story beats are simplified or changed entirely. Nintendo of America renamed The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods into A Link to the Past to avoid religious connotations, and decided that this game was a prequel (at least according to the back of the box) instead of the sequel that Miyamoto had intended. Some things were translated more literally, such as the infamous, "It is a secret to everybody" quote, and some were just really bad Engrish. 

Censorship

Many of the differences can be chalked up to censorship and cultural reasons. Nintendo of America had a fairly strict policy against religious things (as previously noted) and anything considered not family-friendly. The spell called “Holy” was changed to “White” in Final Fantasy 4, and to “Pearl” in Final Fantasy VI, while 'priests' were changed to 'clerics' or 'shamans,' and ‘prayers’ into ‘wishes’ in several instances. Castlevania had some background statues that resembled the Venus de Milo changed to look less nude and more covered up, many crosses were taken out, and Medusa was changed to look like a male. Several sprites were more covered up in Final Fantasy VI as well. The cigar-chomping gorilla’s stogie was taken out of Little Nemo, and the wording of the hint to call Edna in Maniac Mansion had the suggestive connotations removed. Many games had words like, ‘dead,’ or, ‘killed’ replaced by softer euphemisms like, ‘eliminated.’ Blood was removed from some games (Mortal Kombat) or had it changed to green (Ocarina of Time) or to look like sweat or vomit (Street Fighter 2). Wine was changed to Grape Juice, and bars (called cafes) serve milk for some reason. 

What’s interesting is how certain things got let through, like the cross on the shields and the graves for the first two Zeldas, even though the “Temples” were changed to “Palaces” in Zelda 2.

Regional Differences in Hardware (Part 2)

Regional Differences in Zelda Games (Part 3)

Nintendo Systems (Collection Part 3)

Zelda Manga (Collection Part 1)

Zelda Games (Collection Part 2)





Onto Hardware!

Now that my Zelda collection was basically complete, I wanted to have a Nintendo collection. No, not one of every game or anything crazy like that - just one representative from every system so that I could kinda have my own, “Museum of Nintendo” exhibit at my house similar to the one we had collectively done at the 3DS meetups.

Side note: I had the same attitude about hardware that I had about games, and a lot of it stemmed from being cheap or thrifty (your choice). Once I had a Game Boy Advance, I felt that I could play any GB, GBC, or GBA game on it so there was no need to spend the money on a slightly better unit (the GBA SP / Micro) that only backlit games instead of letting me play a new set of games (or worse, took out backwards compatibility), and I couldn’t really afford/justify the purchase of a DS when they came out due to college/employment/family financial concerns. I just wanted to get by on minimum hardware. So a GBA and a 3DS would suffice for any Nintendo handheld game, for instance. Had I known that the only Zelda games for the WiiU were going to be HD remakes, I might have skipped the console entirely (though I’m now glad that I didn’t).

I decided to not take a Game Boy with me when I moved out on my own because 1) I had the Super Game Boy to play all of my Game Boy games, and 2) because in my mind they were owned by the family and not just me, though I now wish I had taken one because I suspect my brothers wouldn’t have missed them anyway. But at the time of the original model GBA releasing, I felt even less of an urge to keep one of the original Game Boys. 


Anyway, when it came to hardware, I was mainly missing variations of systems and a couple that needed replacing. The original NES and three Game Boys my family owned had long since been scrapped, so I bought an NES from a local store and a Game Boy from eBay. The other variations of things I needed include:

• the original “fatboy” DS
  
  
  
• DSi and DSi-XL
• 2DS and 2DS XL
• 3DSXL and NN3DS (the non-XL one)
• Game Boy Light (only sold in Japan)
• Game Boy Color, Pocket, and Micro
• SNES-101 (aka SNES Jr.)
• Wii Family Edition and Wii Mini
• Switch Lite

(like I said, it's mainly variations and revisions of stuff I already had)

While having boxes for each of these would be nice, I think I’m going to only get a couple of reproduction boxes for some of the main representatives (like getting a DS Lite box to represent the entire DS line).

I have procured more than half of the list, and at the moment I’m only in need of the Game Boy Pocket and Micro, the 2DS and 2DSXL, and the 3DSXL and NN3DS. As these are a bit more expensive, getting some of these is going to take a bit longer because I’ll have to save up my self-imposed allowance to pay for them. I anticipate editing this particular part somewhat often as I get closer to my collection goals. 

Since the N64, release dates have been pretty much simultaneous between Japan and North America, and the hardware has basically been identical. But I kinda think having a Famicom / Disk System and Super Famicom / Satellaview would be a nice piece to add in the future. (Update: Got everything including a Famicom, Famicom Disk System, Super Famicom, Satellaview, and a DD by Summer 2023)

And then finally, the last thing I’ll need is proper display shelving and space to put all of it in, as well as ways to hook them all up when needed. I figure once one of the kids move out and we can reclaim their bedroom I can turn it into a bit of a museum. But all of that is several years into the future so I have time to think about it.

My Favorite Series (besides Zelda)

 

While individual games/movies are great, what I really love is a continuous series where I can compare and contrast entries with each other. I especially love them if there's some kind of continuity of story that carries over, and that's one reason why I love the MCU (at least through Spider-Man: FFH). 

So having said that, here are some mini-reviews and thoughts about some of my favorite series of games that aren't Zelda related, along with lists of which ones I have and haven't played. Note: ports, collections, and remakes aren't listed here. 

Super Mario

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Donkey Kong	Arcade/NES	Yes	Yes
Mario Bros	NES	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros.	NES	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)	NES	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros 2 (JPN)	FDS	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros. 3	NES	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Land	GB	Yes	Yes
Super Mario World	SNES	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins	GB	Yes	Yes
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3	GB	Yes	Yes
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island	SNES	Yes	No
Super Mario 64	N64	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Sunshine	GC	Yes	Yes
New Super Mario Bros.	DS	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Galaxy	Wii	Yes	No
New Super Mario Bros. Wii	Wii	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Galaxy 2	Wii	No	No
Super Mario 3D Land	3DS	Yes	Yes
New Super Mario Bros. 2	3DS	Yes	Yes
New Super Mario Bros. U	Wii U	Yes	No
Super Mario 3D World	Wii U/Switch	No	No
Super Mario Odyssey	Switch	Yes	Yes

Mario Kart 

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Super Mario Kart	SNES	Yes	Yes
Mario Kart 64	N64	Yes	Yes
Mario Kart Super Circuit	GBA	Yes	No
Mario Kart Double Dash	GC	No	No
Mario Kart DS	DS	Yes	No
Mario Kart Wii	Wii	Yes	No
Mario Kart 7	3DS	Yes	Yes
Mario Kart 8	Wii U/Switch	Yes	Yes
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit	Switch	No	No

Donkey Kong

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Donkey Kong	Arcade/NES	Yes	Yes
Donkey Kong Jr	Arcade/NES	Yes	Yes
Donkey Kong 3	NES	Yes	Yes
Donkey Kong ‘94	Game Boy	Yes	Yes
Donkey Kong Country	SNES	Yes	Yes
Donkey Kong Land	Game Boy	No	No
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest	SNES	Yes	No
Donkey Kong Land 2	Game Boy	No	No
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie’s Double Trouble	SNES	No	No
Donkey Kong Land III	Game Boy	No	No
Diddy Kong Racing	N64	No	No
Donkey Kong 64	N64	Yes	Yes
Donkey Kong Country Returns	Wii / 3DS	Yes	No
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze	Wii U / Switch	No	No

Final Fantasy

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Final Fantasy	NES	Yes	Yes
Final Fantasy II	NES	Yes	No
Final Fantasy III	NES	No	No
Final Fantasy IV (released as FF2 in USA)	SNES	Yes	Yes
Final Fantasy V	SNES	No	No
Final Fantasy VI (released as FF3 in USA)	SNES	Yes	Yes
Final Fantasy VII	PS1	Yes	No
Final Fantasy VIII through XVI	Various	No	No

Mega Man

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Mega Man	NES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man 2	NES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man 3	NES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man 4	NES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man 5	NES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man 6	NES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man 7-11	Various	No	No
Mega Man X 1-3	SNES	Yes	Yes
Mega Man X 4-8	Various	No	No
Mega Man Zero (all)	Various	No	No

Punch-Out!!

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Punch-Out!!	Arcade	Yes	No
Punch-Out!!	NES	Yes	Yes
Super Punch-Out!!	SNES	Yes	Yes
Punch-Out!!	Wii	Yes	Yes

Ace Attorney

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney	DS	Yes	Yes
PW:AA Justice For All	DS	Yes	Yes
PW:AA Trials and Tribulations	DS	Yes	Yes
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney	DS	Yes	Yes
PW:AA Dual Destinies	3DS	Yes	Yes
PW: AA Spirit of Justice	3DS	Yes	Yes
Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton	3DS	Yes	Yes
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth	DS	Yes	Yes
AAI: Miles Edgeworth 2 Prosecutor’s Path	DS	Yes	Yes
The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures	3DS	Yes	Yes
The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve	Switch	Yes	Yes

Metroid

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Metroid	NES	Yes	Yes
Metroid II: Return of Samus	GB	Yes	Yes
Super Metroid 3	SNES	Yes	Yes
Metroid Fusion	GBA	Yes	Yes
Metroid Zero Mission	GBA	Yes	Yes
Metroid Prime	GC	Yes	Yes
Metroid Prime 2: Echos	GC	Yes	Yes
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption	Wii	Yes	Yes
Metroid: Other M	Wii	Yes	Hell No
Metroid Prime Hunters	DS	Yes	No
Metroid Prime Pinball	DS	Yes	Yes
Metroid: Samus Returns	3DS	Yes	Yes
Metroid Prime Federation Force	3DS	Yes	Yes
Metroid Dread	Switch	Yes	Yes

Ninja Gaiden

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Ninja Gaiden	Arcade	Yes	No
Ninja Gaiden	NES	Yes	Yes
Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos	NES	Yes	Yes
Ninja Gaiden 3: The Ancient Ship of Doom	NES	Yes	Yes
Ninja Gaiden (everything else since)	Various	No	No

Castlevania

Game	System	Played?	Finished?
Castlevania	NES	Yes	Yes
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest	NES	Yes	Yes
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse	NES	Yes	Yes
Super Castlevania IV	SNES	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: The Adventure	GB	Yes	Yes
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge	GB	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood	TGfx16	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Bloodlines	Genesis	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	PS1	Yes	Yes
Castlevania Legends	GB/SGB	Yes	Yes
Castlevania	N64	No	No
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness	N64	No	No
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon	GBA	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance	GBA	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow	GBA	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence	PS2	No	No
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow	DS	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness	PS2	No	No
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin	DS	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia	DS	Yes	Yes
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow	PS3/XB360	No	No
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate	3DS/PS3/XB360	No	No
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2	PS3/XB360	No	No