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Shining Force II
Shining Force II (1993)
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In an interview with the game's producer/writer Hiroyuki Takahashi and director/programmer Shugo Takahashi published in the 6/93 Famicom Tsuushin magazine, they stated that they asked Fumio Iida a.k.a. Suezen, the character designer for NHK’s anime "Yadamon", to be the character designer for the game. When Suezen finished his work on Shining Force II, Takahashi felt Suezen’s designs were better than he expected and almost felt embarrassed, because he felt the designs made the story and writing look weak by comparison.
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Artwork/Illustration, Character Design, Development, Early Idea, General, Real Life
person ProtoSnake calendar_month February 28, 2022
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Franchise: Castlevania
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According to The History of Castlevania: Book of the Crescent Moon, the Belmont family was originally planned to be called the Dante family, with Simon Belmont originally being "Peter Dante, Vampire Killer and grandson of Christopher Dante".
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Backstory/Lore, Character Design, Development, Early Idea
person MehDeletingLater calendar_month October 5, 2021
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Mega Man X
Mega Man X (1993)
subdirectory_arrow_right Mega Man X8 (Game)
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Attachment Contrary to popular belief that Vile's character design was inspired by bounty hunter Boba Fett from the Star Wars franchise, and that his Japanese name VAVA (ヴァヴァ) was changed to Vile for the international release out of fear of a lawsuit from Lucasfilm (due to the letters "B" and "V" sometimes being used interchangeably in Japanese causing the name to appear too similar to "Boba"), Capcom character designer TOM-PON stated in a 2012 interview that VAVA's design was actually inspired by the character Bubba Zanetti (ババ・ザネッティ, transliterated as Baba Zanetti) from the 1979 film "Mad Max". Coincidentally, as VAVA is renamed Vile outside Japan, this would also result in Dr. Weil's name being transliterated as such from Dr. Vile in order to avoid confusion with him.

In Mega Man X8, Vile's primary color scheme was intentionally changed from purple to green, which more closely resembles Boba Fett, and may be a reference to their similarities.
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Character Design, Coincidence, Development, Etymology, Inspiration, Reference, Regional Difference, Rumor
person MehDeletingLater calendar_month September 21, 2021
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Part 19 of a Capcom USA interview with TOM-PON:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVEfMIIGh6o

Mega Man X8 Vile color scheme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C13NnSgZosw
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (1991)
subdirectory_arrow_right Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World (Game)
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Attachment Scorpia is the pseudonym of a video game journalist who was most active from the early 1980's through 2009 and was known for writing controversial and harsh reviews of adventure and RPG games published in Computer Gaming World magazine. One of her most notable reviews was a lukewarm review of Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World that supposedly angered the game's designer, Jon Van Caneghem, so much he wrote a lengthy response defending the game and lambasting the review that was also published in the magazine. He then named an enemy after Scorpia in the game's sequel, Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra. In a 2019 interview with Kotaku UK, Scorpia stated there was never any true bad blood between her and Caneghem, but expressed disappointment that he didn't make the monster she was named after "big and nasty".
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Character Design, Development, General, Inspiration, Real Life, Reference, Reviews
person MehDeletingLater calendar_month August 27, 2021
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Kid Dracula
Kid Dracula (1990)
subdirectory_arrow_right Kid Dracula (Game)
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Attachment In the Famicom release and the Japanese version of the Game Boy port, the first boss' forehead bears a manji, a Buddhist symbol for balance representative of love, mercy, strength, and intelligence. However, outside of East Asia, the manji is widely seen as a hate symbol due to Nazi Germany appropriating a modified version of it as the swastika. Consequently, the international release of the Game Boy edition removes the icon; the top of the boss' head is also made rounder to further reduce visual similarities to a Ku Klux Klan member.

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection reissue of the Famicom version similarly removes the manji from the boss' design, but does not alter the shape of his head. This change is also present in all versions of Castlevania Anniversary Collection rather than being limited strictly to the international release.
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Censorship, Character Design, Regional Difference, Version Difference
person Ophl calendar_month January 14, 2016
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Game Sack video discussing regional differences in numerous video games, including Kid Dracula:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbAPvxI56GM

The Cutting Room Floor article on the Game Boy version:
https://tcrf.net/Kid_Dracula_(Game_Boy)#Level_1_Boss

The Cutting Room Floor article on the Famicom version:
Source: https://tcrf.net/Kid_Dracula_(NES)#Stage_1_Boss
Franchise: Tomb Raider
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Lara Croft's design was based on the style of Swedish pop star Neneh Cherry, and the attitude of Tank Girl from the comic book series of the same name.
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Celebrity, Character Design, Development, Inspiration, Real Life
person DrakeVagabond calendar_month March 8, 2015
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Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)
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Attachment The Unibō enemies bear a striking resemblance to Gordo enemies from the Kirby series.
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Cameo, Character Design, Reference, Similarities
person Ophl calendar_month October 16, 2014
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Pokémon Red Version
Pokémon Red Version (1996)
subdirectory_arrow_right Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition (Game), Pokémon Green Version (Game), Pokémon Blue Version (Game)
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Attachment Dratini's sprite as found in Red, Blue, and Green (both the original Japanese release and the updated International release with different sprites) Versions has stripes on its belly. These stripes were removed in Yellow Version and have not reappeared since.
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Character Design, General, Release Difference
person Funland47 calendar_month April 15, 2013
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Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (1981)
subdirectory_arrow_right Mario (Franchise)
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According to series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario's appearance was the result of graphical limitations in the original Donkey Kong: his overalls allowed his arms to be visible against his body (as there was no room for outlines), his hat substituted for hair and eyebrows (and did not need to be animated when he jumped), and the large nose and mustache made up for the lack of space to depict a mouth.

Miyamoto additionally stated that the design was influenced by the decision to make Mario Italian-American, identifying his large nose in particular as a distinctly western feature.
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Character Design, Development, General, Inspiration, Sprite/Graphical Animation
person DidYouKnowGaming calendar_month March 15, 2013
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EarthBound
EarthBound (1994)
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The main antagonist of EarthBound, an alien known as "Giygas", was made by Shigesato Itoi and described as "a living being that deserves love." While the character first debuted with a different design as the final boss of Mother, Giygas' appearance in EarthBound was inspired by a childhood incident where Itoi accidentally walked into the wrong movie at a theatre and watched the 1957 Japanese horror film "Kenpei to Barabara Shibijin". Itoi was traumatized by the film, where he confused a lovemaking scene that ends in murder as a rape scene. He says it had a "sense of terror having atrocity and eroticism side-by-side, and that's what Giygas's lines at the end are":

Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness Ness, Ness...
I...feel..g..o..o..d...
It hurts... It hurts...
I'm so sad, Ness...
Friends...
You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas' attack!
Go b..a..c..k
I am...H...a...p...p...y...
It's not right, not right...
Ness!
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Character Design, Development, General, Inspiration, Real Life
person DidYouKnowGaming calendar_month March 1, 2013
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April 18, 2003 interview with Shigesato Itoi:
http://www.1101.com/MOTHER/03.html

April 24, 2003 interview with Shigesato Itoi:
http://www.1101.com/MOTHER/07.html

DidYouKnowGaming blog post:
http://didyouknowgaming.com/post/35853816334/earthbound-mother-2
Super Metroid
Super Metroid (1994)
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Samus Aran's appearance in Super Metroid was based on the actress Kim Basinger.
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Character Design, Development, Inspiration, Real Life
person DidYouKnowGaming calendar_month February 24, 2013
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Franchise: Sonic The Hedgehog
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During the reboot of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, several characters and aspects adapted into the comic from the 1993 Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon (commonly referred to as "Sonic SatAM") were noticeably altered for a variety of factors:

• Ixis Naugus (referred to simply as Naugus in the show) was changed to "Walter Naugus". His species (which was never actually stated in the show, though the pre-reboot comics depicted him as a rhino-bat-lobster hybrid) was changed to that of a troll, with a tail being added to his design to help make him look as such, alongside his attire being updated to more resemble a warlock. Additionally, despite what was initially believed, the term "Ixis" was originally applied to Naugus' cartoon production materials, and was not invented by former writer Ken Penders. This meant it was still usable in the comics, and was later given to the deity worshipped by the troll species.
• Muttski was changed to "Ben "Mutt" Muttski", and was changed from a non-anthropomorphic dog to an anthropomorphic one. Notably, his new name was given in honor of Ben Hurst, the main writer of "Sonic SatAM" who sadly passed away in 2010.
• Snively Robotnik (referred to simply as Snively in the show) was changed to "Doctor Julian Snively", with his first name being a nod to "Sonic SatAM", as Dr. Robotnik's original name in the show was Julian. According to Ian Flynn, he is no longer related to Dr. Eggman in the reboot due to Sega's mandates not allowing other media to invent family members for the main "SegaSonic" cast. Ironically, while his half-sister Hope Kintobor was removed from the reboot, Snively inherited her position as G.U.N.'s R&D Specialist.
• Maximillian Acorn (referred to simply as "The King" in the show) was changed to "King Nigel Acorn". His name was most likely changed due to being coined by former writer Ken Penders. Notably, his new name, speech pattern and mannerisms are shared with Nigel Thornberry from the animated series "The Wild Thornberrys": Nigel was voiced by British actor Tim Curry, who also voiced the King in "Sonic SatAM".
• Nicole the Holo-Lynx's new backstory in the reboot has her being created by Dr. Ellidy in an attempt to digitize the consciousness of his dying daughter Nikki. This may have been loosely inspired by Ben Hurst's plans for the cancelled third season of "Sonic SatAM", where it would have been revealed that Nicole was originally a normal girl until she was tricked by Dr. Robotnik into having her entire personality transferred into a computer satellite.
• Although the Wolf Pack originated from "Sonic SatAM", the only member of the group who was not created by Ken Penders was their leader Lupe the Wolf, who also originated from the show. As such, when the comic was rebooted, she was the only member of the group to be carried over.
• Aside from King Acorn, the only parent of a "Sonic SatAM" character to make it into the reboot was Sabina, the mother of Dulcy the Dragon and herself a character from the show. However, while Ian Flynn did confirm that she was still Dulcy's mother in the reboot, she never actually appeared in the comic prior to its cancellation. Additionally, given that Dulcy refers to her with present tense, it's likely that Sabina is still alive in the reboot, whereas she had died in the original continuity.
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Backstory/Lore, Character Design, Development, General, Inspiration, Multimedia Adaptation, Name Change, Passed Away, Real Life, Reference, Retcon, Similarities, Theory, Tribute
person chocolatejr9 calendar_month January 7, 2024
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Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023)
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During Summer Game Fest 2023, the game's creative director Brian Intihar revealed that the Venom featured in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 would not be based on the origin story of Eddie Brock. Instead, Intihar stated:

"…our goal was to tell an original story something you haven't seen in the comics and the movies yet. Obviously, we love Venom for a reason… all those things you love about the character are going to be there, but how the story plays out, who is Venom, you'll have to play the game to see."
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Character Design, Development, Early Idea, General, Real Life
person ProtoSnake calendar_month October 22, 2023
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