Region-Locked Playable Characters In Fighting Games

The practice of region-locking is a common one across multiple forms of media. Many video games themselves are region-locked, with various consoles and cartridges being designed for usage in only certain regions. Reasons can range from licensing pertaining to only a specific region to maintaining pricing strategies, which limit buyers from paying less for products in different regions.

Whatever the reasons, this sort of region-locking can limit certain playable characters in video games from being used by international audiences. This is most common with Japanese fighting games, especially before the introduction of systems like updates and DLC. The absence of these systems often led to multiple versions of the same game being marketed to consumers, with newer iterations promising additional content. The following characters were, at some point, “region-locked” from international versions of their games.

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Dee

Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection

Dee hails from Capcom’s Darkstalkers series, known as Vampire in Japan. The series is known for its usage of monsters based on gothic literature and folklore around the world. One such character is Donovan Baine, a dhampir who struggles with a dark side. He is accompanied in his adventures by Anita, a young girl who has great power but is unable to express her emotions. Donovan empathizes with Anita, and has taken it upon himself to restore her emotions, hunting darkstalkers along the way.

In Donovan’s ending in Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, he succeeds in restoring Anita’s emotions, but ends up further tapping into his own darkness in the process. Dee is a “what-if” version of Donovan who has succumbed to his inner darkness, akin to Evil Ryu in the Street Fighter series. His design reflects that of Demitri Maximoff, the sinister vampire protagonist of Darkstalkers. Dee’s ending implies he was killed by Anita in a final act of mercy.

Dee is exclusively playable in “arranged” versions of Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3), Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, and Vampire Savior 2, which were present only on the Japan-exclusive Playstation 2 compilation, Vampire Darkstalkers: Collection. Dee is a particularly strange case as far as “region-locked” characters go. There seems to have been no real incentive to keep his character exclusive to Japanese audiences, aside from the compilation itself having this distinction.

4

Hakushon Daimao

Tatsunoko vs Capcom

• Platforms: Wii, Arcade video game
• Initial release date: December 11, 2008
• Developers: Eighting, Capcom
• Genres: Fighting game, Action game

Hakushon Daimao is a genie from The Genie Family, a 1969 comedy anime from Tatsunoko Production. This genie must grant wishes to whoever sneezes near his bottle, but tends to screw them up through incompetence. Daimao was among the first batch of characters representing Tatsunoko in the Japan-exclusive Wii crossover fighting game, Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes.

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However, the international release, Ultimate All Stars, removed Daimao. In his place, two Capcom characters (Frank West and Zero) along with three from Tatsunoko (Joe the Condor, Tekkaman Blade, and Yatterman-2) were added. The inclusion of an extra Tatsunoko character was likely meant to replace the now-vacant spot on the roster.

Daimao’s removal was said to be due to a lack of agreement with international rights holders. The anime had previously been released as Mago Panciones Etcí in Italian and Bob in a Bottle in English. The lack of Japanese availability for the character could also tie into the online play feature, a consideration for many fighting games that may be one reason why region-locked characters are becoming a less common practice.

3

Pepsiman

Fighting Vipers

Fighting Vipers is a 3D arena fighter with a unique wrinkle. Each playable character has armor that can be destroyed, allowing their opponent to deal even more damage. Its best-known characters internationally include Bahn (who appeared in Project X Zone alongside many more well-known characters from Sega, Namco, and Capcom) and Candy (who inspired a Sonic character who bears her original Japanese name, Honey). That said, there is one more character involved in the Japanese Sega Saturn release who has garnered some international awareness.

Pepsiman is a Japanese mascot for Pepsi. He appeared in several Japanese commercials for the product, as a superhero who delivers a Pepsi to those in need. His eponymous game, Pepsiman, is an endless runner, reminiscent of the kind that would later become popular iOS games such as Temple Run and Subway Surfers. It later became a cult classic.

Before Pepsiman, the character made his video game debut in the Sega Saturn version of Fighting Vipers. He is one of two characters to debut in the console version of the game, alongside Kumachan. He is unlockable in arcade mode, by simply putting the controller down and letting the current opponent beat the player. This leads to him challenging the player before they are K.O.’d. If the player wins this fight, he is unlocked. The reasons for his exclusivity to Japan are not clear. It’s likely a combination of the fact that Sega didn’t hold the rights to the character and he was a Japanese mascot, having little audience elsewhere at the time.

2

Norimaro

Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter

Norimaro is a strange character, especially without proper context. He appears to be a caricature of a nerdy schoolboy, albeit with a physical appearance suggesting he is much older than one would presume such a character to be. He was created in part by the Japanese comedian, Noritake Kinashi, who also voiced him in the game. His fighting style is comparable to Phoenix Wright in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, using largely non-combat attacks with played-up slapstick elements.

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It is unclear exactly why Norimaro was unavailable for international releases of the game. Katsuya Akimoto, a graphic artist formerly affiliated with Capcom, claimed in a now-deleted tweet that Marvel was behind his lack of overseas appearances, with his region-locking allegedly being a compromise. That said, it is worth noting Norimaro is jointly owned by Nippon TV and Arrival. Whatever the case, the region-locking makes sense, to the extent that Norimaro is not particularly well-known to gamers outside of Japan.

Recently, international fans of the series got an opportunity to play this nerdy gag character by way of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. However, there is a caveat: Norimaro is only playable in Japanese-language versions of the game (which are available in international releases). Strangely enough, Norimaro’s assets have been readily translated for international release, likely meaning the order to remove him came late into development.

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Console Exclusives

Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness

Cyberbots is a spin-off of Capcom’s beat-’em-up, Armored Warriors. It is essentially a mecha fighting game, though each mech has a human pilot. One of the most prominent characters is protagonist Jin Saotome, who was playable in both Marvel vs. Capcom and Tech Romancer, another Capcom mecha fighting game.

Though Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness was released internationally in arcades, the console ports were kept domestic, likely because the game didn’t do well with audiences outside Japan. These ports included three new playable pilots as well as some additional mechas. Princess Devilotte de Deathsatan IX is the most prominent of said characters, with her fanfare allowing her to appear in various Capcom Crossovers. Other characters include Chiyomaru Kagura and Tessan Hagure, a pair of former members of the Earth Forces (acting as a single pilot character). The final playable pilot exclusive to the console is SHADE, a cyborg who is now a pawn for the Earth Forces.

Like with Dee, these exclusives seem to be incidental to the market for the game. Devilotte has become a popular enough character to occasionally appear in games which see international release, such as Project X Zone and Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. Though Cyberbots finally became playable on international consoles with the advent of compilations like Capcom Arcade Stadium and Capcom Fighting Collection, it was the arcade version which already had an international release. This once again locked international players out of the opportunity to play as the console-exclusive characters.

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