Cover Art Localization: Ju-On: The Grudge

Ju-On is a horror film series from Japan. There was an attempt to bring the series west with an American remake, but like anything aside from The Ring it didn't quite work out so well. So long after the film has left the American conscious a game version appeared in 2009 on Wii.

In Japan the name roughly translates to "Ju-On: Sensation of Fear". I guess the game was meant to entice people with the world of Ju-On suddenly being interactive. While apparently the game is pretty horrible in general the cover at least looks scary.

Europe got the worst, worst, worst version of the cover. There's no doubt in  my mind that whoever created it must have been laughing their head off during the process. The subtitle has been translated to "A Fright Simulator" which sounds okay but the image in no way conveys it. Maybe it would be a fright simulator for 6 year olds. Also, it is worth pointing out the quote on the cover: "You'll jump, laugh and cry... perfect fun!"

Finally we come to the US version titled Ju-On The Grudge - Haunted House Simulator. While this title may be the most accurate, it seems really out of place. When do games tell you exactly what they are on the box? Does Silent Hill say Foggy Town or Locked Door Simulator? I suppose Metal Gear Solid does with that whole "Tactical Espionage Action" thing but nobody ever seems to notice that. Anyway, the cover is a huge improvement over the UK one at least. It's not quite as artistically scary as the Japanese version though... and giant eyes don't bother me much.

Phoenix Games: Game Publisher Extraordinaire

So, earlier this week I came across a game that had a really disgusting CG rendered cover. Through a bit of commenting, it brought back memories of the game company Phoenix Games. They don't operate in the US (at least under that name) but have been popping out games at least since the PS1. Back in the PS1 ways, they apparently mostly stuck to arcade/retro computer game remakes. Perhaps that's what they should have stuck with.

Once the PS2 came around Phoenix Games immediately started pumping out games with 3-5 month work cycles. They've released at least 20 titles for PS2/PC and have since moved on to Wii and even DS. I suppose the Wild West state of the Wii/DS for game publication is why this sort of thing is allowed to happen. Whatever happened to the Seal of Quality?

Now, while they say "don't judge a book by its cover" but just take a gander at these covers and tell me you don't want to judge (and yes, they are real):

I've been told "paccie", at least phonetically, is a slur in Europe. Why these people would then think to publish a game under such a title for the EU market is confusing. I've also heard it said (and from watching some videos) that the developers for many of the games are Danish, so it might make sense they were not aware of the slur. And just LOOK at that Pac-Man creature! He somehow manages to look sick and horrifying at the same time.

This is an interesting one. In fact, these characters look like severely buffed up versions of Poser models. Poser is a 3D rendering software program and comes with a few default models for play. Why create everything on your own if you can just mess with the program already came with? I'm a fan of muscles but in this case they're much too big. Much, much too big.

Now we get into what Phoenix Games is infamously known for. They rip off Disney movies. Well, I suppose one can't say they're ripping off Disney since Snow White was a story before they made a film. While the outfits and characters are reminiscent of the Disney version, I guess this game sidesteps being an exact ripoff. Snow White and the 7 Clever Boys. Exactly what makes them so "clever"?

Well, better just disregard everything I just said. Most of their other games are exact Disney ripoffs. There was no Dalmations 1 or 2 game by them either. This is simply an attempt to cash in on the Dalmatians franchise by making the game out to be the 3rd version. If they're just ripping off artwork you'd hope they were at least a better artist.

You know what? This cover isn't that bad. It's relatively dynamic except for one small point. Why would you want to play a racing game with white vans? I don't know about in Europe, but the connotation of white vans in the US isn't the most pleasant thing. At least they actually had someone using Photoshop in a halfway decent point for this cover.

Finally, I'll show you some more of their CG renders. The Snow White one was a little too good. It's apparent someone was definitely trying to make attractive characters for the cover but failed. Not to mention that they are completely weird. Why is Gretel's hand so damn small? Why does the witch in the back look more like a religious figure? These questions will never be answered.

So there are some of my favorite covers from the Phoenix Games library. Unfortunately their site is no longer online. When it was online last, they had even started a process of updating their cover art to be less horrendous. But, Phoenix Games, those covers are a part of you! What's the actual gameplay like in these things? For games like White Van Racer it is legitimately a racing game. A few of their games are actually things you can play, but the fairy tale/Disney ones are basically just cartoons. You watch a cartoon and that's about the most functionality you get, aside from playing a little puzzle game on the main menu. The cartoons themselves are done in a bad Disney style with about two voice actors who don't have a grasp on the English language. However, I will save sharing game videos for my TGIF post later on. I promise it will go far beyond your wildest expectations.

PS: If you want more awful games in your life, check out the publisher Popcorn Arcade. They're  operating in the UK, although Conspiracy Entertainment has been publishing some of the same titles in US. As for Japan, check out the Simple series (PS1, PS2, PSP). Interestingly, the publisher 505 Game Street has put out many of the Simple games under their own budget line in UK, Simply 20. For US residents, D3 has published some of their most popular or profitable titles here which are basically sequels to the Simple 2000 games (Onechanbara and Earth Defense Force).

Cover Art Localization: Spirits & Spells

I've never heard of this title before but came across it when searching for a children's horror game that I played once before. This wasn't it, but discovering the cover art for it is wildly different in each reason and I had to share!

Castleween started out as a European title for PS2, GC, and GBA. It's odd for a game to start out with such a terrifying cover, but here it is. It came out in Europe a month before in Japan, so I take it that this was the first version. The 3D renders are pretty terrifying. If it were just the background and title image I think the cover would be a ton more effective.

Here we have Mahou no Pumpkin. Unlike Castleween, this version has separate cover art for PS2 and GC. Personally, I find them both pretty damn cute. I like the PS2 version a bit more for the focus on the witch girl, but the GC version is no slouch. I'm especially a fan of the menacing pumpkin-headed man in it.

Finally the game came to the US under the changed title Spirits & Spells. It seems to take a page from both other covers. It focuses on the two main characters, but in a much less terrifying fashion than Castleween. There's an attempt at cuteness that doesn't match the Japanese covers, but it looks fine.

Cover Art Localization: Jack Bros

With the recent discovery of new "alternate boxart" for Catherine games have been all in a fuss. Thankfully it was diffused when Atlus said this truly was just a different cover that would be available in certain places if people want it. All of this Catherine cover talk reminded me of another Atlus game that unfortunately had  quite the cover change when moving from east to west.

Here we have the adorable Japanese cover. The "Snow Jack" character became the unofficial mascot for Atlus through his mascot status in the Megami Tensei series (like Prinny for NIS). With such a cute appearance on a cover like this, it's easy to see why! Snow Jack's brothers are apparently the skeleton and pumpkin head but they don't get to appreciate much time in the limelight beyond this game. 

Oh America, what have you done? You turned a perfectly adorable set of Jack brothers into these monstrosities! It looks extremely Halloween-y and there's not an ounce of cuteness to be found. What even happened to Jack Frost? Is he there behind the logo? I don't know about you, but that doesn't look like a snowman as much as it looks like a somewhat muscular, naked man with boots. 

Cover Art Localization: Mega Bomberman

In 1993, Bomberman '94 came out for Japanese PC Engines. It looked like this:

It's rather cute. I especially like the baby blue stripes in the back. I'm not especially sure why Bomberman looks angry, or are his eyebrows always like that? The wallaby-type animal is super adorable and makes up for angry Bomberman regardless.

Bomberman '94 got retooled as Mega Bomberman and came out for Genesis and Mega Drive..  Apparently even back then Hudson realized putting the game on TurboGrafx-16 wouldn't earn them as much (although Bomberman '93 did come to TG-16). For the Mega Drive release, the cover looked like this:

It is almost the same exact cover, except with a bit more action. There's a firey background featuring different characters. It also prominently notes this is a multiplayer game. Finally, we have the US version. Here it is:

What the hell? I know Americans are all about action and stuff but why is Bomberman suddenly a punk? With a wrestling championship belt? I don't really know what is going on in this picture but it seems vaguely Christmas-related and all-around weird. I love when covers are so drastically different from region to region because it lets you consider what advertisers think of the gaming markets. Japan and Europe are fine with cute and cuddly but not us Americans! Oh no, we need some crazy sugnlasses wearing dude. Despite the cover, the in game sprites are exactly the same in this version.