Ninja Gaiden vs. Ninja The Gaiden

[noiseredux]

I wish you guys would stop picking on me.

[flamepanther]

You should feel better for thinking it was the word "the", as opposed to the Japanese nerds who know how to write gaiden in kanji. Actual people from Japan are excluded from 'japanese nerds'.

Yeah, it's a real sad thing to be educated or cultured and know about more than one language, right? Who the hell would do that?

But I'm not sure how this applies to those of use who only recognize it as the Kanji for "gaiden" because of the game. When I was nine, I could tell it was Japanese writing, so it made sense that it had to be "gaiden" given that it was directly above that word. I still had no idea what the word meant, how to say it (I pronounced it "gay-den" at the time), and didn't really know any Japanese at all, and I still figured out what it was. It wasn't that hard.

What doesn't make sense to me is why they would ditch the original "Ninja Ryukenden" title but then replace it with another Japanese word that the target audience isn't going to comprehend. I'm assuming they thought most of us wouldn't be able to pronounce "ryukenden" but then I hear "gaiden" mispronounced a lot anyway. The literal meaning of the Western title has less to do with the game or the story, and it's not as though most of us would ever understand what either title meant. They could have called it "Ninja Shitajiki" and the general public would have been none the wiser. I can only assume someone thought the word "gaiden" sounded better? But again that assumes people are going to pronounce it properly.

[Jrecee]

I clearly stated that people from (or who lived in) Japan were excluded. Anyway, I was just trying to make him feel better. I never even noticed it myself so I don't know if I would have thought it was the word 'the' or not before reading this topic.

[Jrecee]

You should feel better for thinking it was the word "the", as opposed to the Japanese nerds who know how to write gaiden in kanji. Actual people from Japan are excluded from 'japanese nerds'.

Yeah, it's a real sad thing to be educated or cultured and know about more than one language, right? Who the hell would do that?

Ok I'm sure you knew what I was getting at. We're on a retro gaming forum and there's plenty of people who make an effort to learn Japanese just because they're obsessed with anime and robots, as opposed to any real cultural interest other than the fact that they're nerds who will buy into anything from Japan, even the stuff I'm sure Japanese people hate.

[flamepanther]

Ok I'm sure you knew what I was getting at. We're on a retro gaming forum and there's plenty of people who make an effort to learn Japanese just because they're obsessed with anime and robots, as opposed to any real cultural interest other than the fact that they're nerds who will buy into anything from Japan, even the stuff I'm sure Japanese people hate.

Yeah, and people who will like anything just because it's Japanese and/or who act overly snobbish about it are annoying, and rightly so.

On the other hand, I don't think learning Japanese in order to better enjoy anime, manga, and import games is such a bad thing. If I had the time and dedication to do it, it could be really useful. No more relying on other people to get around to translating things. No more worrying about subtitles or bad dubs. It could be a huge payoff if those are things that factor into your hobbies. I know it's a bit different, but think about the huge number of people abroad who learn English (or people in U.S. border states who learn Spanish) just so they can do business with more people.

[Hatta]

Yeah, and people who will like anything just because it's Japanese and/or who act overly snobbish about it are annoying, and rightly so.

Of course, it goes both ways. There are plenty of Japanese people who like anything and everything American, no matter how much it sucks. Case in point:

[Erik_Twice]

I wish you guys would stop picking on me.

Never live it down!

Anyways now that you mention it, it makes sense to be confused.

[Breetai]

I find it really funny the quips on the bottom of the cover:

"A strategic encounter" ; "The fight of your life". It seems very 90s to me (of course, it also has a Ninja in the cover, to compound the feeling of being from the 90s).

Ivo.

80s

[Breetai]

I clearly stated that people from (or who lived in) Japan were excluded. Anyway, I was just trying to make him feel better. I never even noticed it myself so I don't know if I would have thought it was the word 'the' or not before reading this topic.

I knew what you meant. For the record, though, you did not say "or who lived in".

No worries, though.

[Ivo]

I find it really funny the quips on the bottom of the cover:

"A strategic encounter" ; "The fight of your life". It seems very 90s to me (of course, it also has a Ninja in the cover, to compound the feeling of being from the 90s).

Ivo.

80s

The feel to me is rather late 80s, early to mid-90s, hence "very 90s" (but I think we also got some stuff later than the U.S.). This game in particular was released in 89 apparently.

Ivo.