The international diffusion of western pop culture cannot be overstated. It has crossed borders and even hemispheres, as many people outside the region are made aware of it through various means. Whether in the form of iconic characters, stories, or moments in western pop culture, they all have found themselves recreated, even inJapanese video games.
This is something of a cultural exchange, as eastern pop culture has similarly blown up in the west. Even the visual stylings of contemporary popular films attempt to emulate it. Here are some examples of the west-to-east end of cultural exchange, where western pop culture influenced aspects of Japanese video games.
Ace Attorneyhas had varying levels of western influence across its translations. Most notably, its acclaimed distant prequel duology,The Great Ace Attorney, has aspects inspired bySherlock Holmes. American pop culture has also had an influence on the series, such as inApollo Justice: Ace Attorney.
In Turnabout Corner, Apollo must defend Wocky Kitaki, the son of a mob boss, who has been accused of murdering his doctor, Pal Meraktis. During the case, Apollo meets his client’s father, Winfred “Big Wins” Kitaki. He is an intimidating man, appearing to have sunken eyes resembling the iconic visual of Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone inThe Godfather(1972). After Wocky is found not guilty, Winfred reveals that he was shot by the Rivales, an opposing crime family. He wished to exit the crime world that harmed his son, and legally pay for the operation to keep him alive, by selling baked goods. His deep-set eyes are revealed to be thick eyelashes, with very tiny eyes underneath.
This softer side of Kitaki actually makes him resemble the don a bit more. While Vito had a neutral view of his criminal deeds, he knew firsthand the tragedy one could experience in the world of organized crime. This led him to hope that his youngest son, Michael, would pursue a less dangerous path. Like Winfred, Vito’s eldest, Sonny, was shot by a rival gang after encroaching on their territory. Unlike Wocky, he did not survive the encounter. With the clear visual nods to Brando’s portrayal, as well as his role in the story, it is clear Big Wins is at least partly inspired by the titular Godfather.
Super Mario Bros.
The mushroom is a memorable power-up in the greaterMariocanon, withseveral different variations. However, its function in the originalSuper Mario Bros.game was to make the player grow. Miyamoto mentioned this fact in relation toAlice in Wonderland, in a now-deleted interview with BusinessWeek. The story includes potions that make Alice shrink and grow in size, so people assumed this was the reference point, even though mushrooms that shrink Mario hadn’t been introduced at the time.
However, Miyamoto has clarified this previous statement in another interview, and said that he took general inspiration from fantasy stories (such asAlice in Wonderland) where mushrooms were used as a gateway to magical realms. It is unclear why this idea was walked back, although some fans speculate that it is due to the interpretation of the story as an allegory for psychedelic drugs.
Regardless of official statements, Mario getting high on magic mushrooms has been a persistent joke among fans. It is fascinating to consider that the idea may not be as far-fetched as one might think.
River Phoenix Meets Square Enix
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
It is a time of war.The Republic of Galbadia, under the influence of the sorceress Edea, mobilizes its great armies against the other nations of the world.Squall and other members of SeeD, an elite mercenary force, join hands with Rinoa, a resistance fighter, to fight against Galbadia’s tyrannical rule and to prevent Edea from fulfilling her ultimate goal.
Squall Leonhart is the protagonist ofFinal Fantasy 8, and was one of the first characters that Tetsuya Nomura designed for the game. He is a somewhat brooding individual who initially has trouble being warm towards others. However, as he becomes Commander, he comes to make friends and later finds love with Rinoa Heartilly.
He resurfaced in other games, such asKingdom Hearts, a more direct crossover of western and eastern pop culture. There, he served as a mentor figure to Sora, primarily going by the chosen alias of “Leon.”
The initially stoic swordsman’s design was modeled after River Phoenix, an acclaimed actor famous for films such asStand By Me(1986) andMy Own Private Idaho(1991). He was also the brother ofthe acclaimed Joaquin Phoenix, who later named his own son River. River Phoenix tragically passed away in 1993, at the age of 23. Squall also shares his birthdate, August 23rd, with the late performer.
Medium Transcending Aliens
Space Invaders
Aliens from space are threatening our planet. Your job is to prevent them from landing on earth by destroying each one with your laser cannon. Just when you think you’ve destroyed them all, more attacking aliens will appear. Choose from 112 games.
Space Invadersis an iconic video game, and laid the foundation for many shooter games that would come after it. Many concepts that players now take for granted, like multiple lives, originated from it. However, even such a seminal work has traceable roots. In thecase ofSpace Invaders, sci-fi from both the east and west helped lay out the conceptual foundation.
The game’s designer, Tomohiro Nishikado, notedWar of the Worlds(1953) as one source of inspiration for “alien invaders” when it came to designing the enemies. Initial concepts included enemy tanks and battleships. However, these were scrapped for various reasons; for example, Nishikado’s dissatisfaction with their movement. After reimagining aliens as crustaceans, octopi, and squids, these abstract designs made it into the game.
These very same aliens would become synonymous with the concept of aliens as a whole. Invader sprites from this very game have long been used to represent gaming as a concept in greater pop culture.
1Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, & Other Fantasy RPGs
From Whence Came This Wizardry?
Fantasy role playing games, such as those developed by Square Enix, are a prime reason why the greater fantasy RPG genre is often associated with Japan. Even so, some of the roots of these games have more concrete associations with the west.Wizardryis one such example. It was a dungeon crawler with graphics that were considered visually detailed for the time. It was designed by Andrew Greenberg and Robert Woodhead, and developed and published by Sir-Tech. In part due to the rise in popularity ofDungeons and Dragons,Wizardryenjoyed some success. When it was ported to Japan, it became an inspiration for games likeDragon QuestandFinal Fantasy.
Another notable western influenceonDragon QuestwasUltima,a game by the British-American developer, Richard Garriott. Like later RPGs,Ultimaalso gave the player a third-person overhead view, as well as many other elements that later games would popularize after taking inspiration from this one. Later installments, starting fromQuest of the Avatar, even attempt to tackle broader morality. It introduced themes of virtue, alongside reconciling with the opposing Gargoyles, and exploring the reasons they loathe Britannia, the central kingdom of the series.
While a lot of themes from fantasy games carry over from the genre in other iterations, western games likeUltimaandWizardryhelped prime the pump for later Fantasy RPGs that came from Japan.
