Japanese Gamification Fetish

In which western IPs are adapted into videogames by Japanese developers, but these manage to infuse the title with THAT unique energy that makes you go "ah, yep, this is a Japanese game alright", or even completely reinterpret the world and characters to attract the Japanese audience.

Marvel superheroes have named all their special attacks weird shit like "MAXIMUM SPIDER" and yell them everytime, Jack Skellington is going combo MAD at his enemies, introducing mechanics Devil May Cry and Bayonetta would later steal; Donald Duck is the most powerful wizard in all of Square Enix's games, Mr. Smithers is now inexplicably a supervillain that wears a cape with an atom motif and fights with bombs against the Simpsons, Counter Strike is now about good guy rebels in a cyberpunk future fighting a megacorporation (with MGS ass designs), and of course, The Wizard of Oz is now a JRPG.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time
Disney Twisted-Wonderland
Disney Twisted-Wonderland
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Western characters such as K.Rool, Banjo and even Mii costumes go through Japanese Gamification in this series.
Shiro to Kuro no Alice
Shiro to Kuro no Alice
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Transformers: Devastation
Transformers: Devastation
Shinsouban Okashi na Shima no Peter Pan: Sweet Never Land
Shinsouban Okashi na Shima no Peter Pan: Sweet Never Land
Left 4 Dead: Survivors
Left 4 Dead: Survivors
Shinsouban Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World
Shinsouban Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World
Dragonball Evolution: The Game
Dragonball Evolution: The Game
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World
Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World
Half-Life 2: Survivor
Half-Life 2: Survivor
The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King
The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King
Counter-Strike NEO: White Memories
Counter-Strike NEO: White Memories
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
Counter-Strike Neo
Counter-Strike Neo
Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey & Donald
Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey & Donald
Tiny Toon Adventures: Scary Dreams
Tiny Toon Adventures: Scary Dreams
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts
Complete series
Star Wars: Racer Arcade
Star Wars: Racer Arcade
Spawn: In the Demon's Hand
Spawn: In the Demon's Hand
Pepsiman
Pepsiman
Arm Joe: Les Misérables
Arm Joe: Les Misérables
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Complete series
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Die Hard Arcade
Die Hard Arcade
Marvel Super Heroes
Marvel Super Heroes
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Is this even a western IP? Regardless, this game kicks ass
Disney's Bonkers
Disney's Bonkers
Tiny Toon Adventures: Acme All-Stars
Tiny Toon Adventures: Acme All-Stars
X-Men: Children of the Atom
X-Men: Children of the Atom
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom
Animaniacs
Animaniacs
SNES version
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie
The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie
Alien vs. Predator
Alien vs. Predator
Super Back to the Future II
Super Back to the Future II
Disney's Goof Troop
Disney's Goof Troop
Suggested by LukeGirard
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
The Punisher
The Punisher
Batman Returns
Batman Returns
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose!
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose!
Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland
Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland
The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
X-Men: The Arcade Game
X-Men: The Arcade Game
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
Wacky Races
Wacky Races
NOT this one, the 2008 arcade game by Banpresto.
Batman: Return of the Joker
Batman: Return of the Joker
Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
The Simpsons Arcade Game
The Simpsons Arcade Game
Batman: The Video Game
Batman: The Video Game
Gameboy version
Aliens
Aliens
Square's Tom Sawyer
Square's Tom Sawyer
Superman
Superman
Märchen Maze
Märchen Maze
Loretta no Shouzou: Sherlock Holmes
Loretta no Shouzou: Sherlock Holmes
Also Meitantei Holmes - Kiri no London Satsujin Jiken, which is an even more agressively Japanese styled adventure game, with the command menu like this one but also animated portraits and sounds that play when dialogue appears.
Sherlock Holmes: Hakushaku Reijou Yuukai Jiken
Sherlock Holmes: Hakushaku Reijou Yuukai Jiken
Suggested by @letshugbro

9 Comments


2 years ago

Goof Troop springs to mind

2 years ago

ducktales, castle of illusion, quackshot, konami tmnt series

2 years ago

holy shit Arm Joe

2 years ago

@Pangburn I considered all those games, but ultimately I think they keep themselves to a style more similar to their source material and could easily be mistaken for western games if you didn't know any better. I'm going more for something you'll almost immediately recognize as Japanese if you're familiar with their typical style. I know it's very subjective, but I try to be kinda selective here because it's not really a list of just Japanese games based on western IPs.

2 years ago

A Week of Garfield and the Sherlock Holmes beat em up for the Famicom come to mind

2 years ago

@letshugbro not quite what I'm looking for either as weird as it is that Sherlock kills every man and woman he encounters, sorry, but it did lead me to find the other two Japanese Sherlock Holmes games, Loretta no Shouzou and Kiri no London Satsujin Jiken that are a lot more in the style of Japanese adventure games like Famicom Detective Club and the like, presentation-wise, I feel that distinguishes itself more from the western adventure games.

2 years ago

@letshugbro actually, I changed my mind, it's too weird of an idea considering every Sherlock game was an adventure game until the Robert Downey Jr. movie came out, plus it seems Takeshi's Challenge-esque, so this one goes to the list too

2 years ago

You already have a couple Batman games on here but how about the Game Boy adaptation of the 1989 movie by Sunsoft that is essentially just Mega Man. Also X:Men: Mutant Apocalypse and Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems for SNES are maybe the most Capcom games ever

2 years ago

That t Sawyer box art is giving the most despicable vibes


Last updated: