How Whitewashing In Video Games Is Worse Than In Movies - Escort Mission: Nioh 

The lead character is based on a true story. And it changed the course of trade history between Europe and Japan.

Just an FYI.... the main Character, William Adams, in Nioh is an actual historical figure, he was one of only a few westerners to become a samurai. He actually existed.

You seriously mean to tell me that a Japanese developer in a Japanese multimedia company, making a game about a period of Japanese history turned into a Japanese fantasy setting where you fight Japanese mythological monsters, where you play as a white man based on an actual historical figure who was an English sailor who got shipwrecked on Japan and couldn’t get home, so he became one of the only known and historically provable foreigner samurai…You meant to tell me that… This Japanese dev studio is….Being racist….to themselves?

Correction, Yokai aren't demons, they're more like spirits. They can be either good or bad. Oni are the japanese equivalent to demons

"I don't know, Wikipedia... a teleprompter" Escort Mission is getting self aware

"Some white dude with blond hair" is William Adams, the first english person to sail to Japan, and became an advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Team Ninja decided to make the game a more... fantastic retelling of the first samurai coming to Japan.

You're really gonna say Nioh is white washed? It's a Japanese made game that features actual historical figures. You either did zero research or just are purposely ignoring these facts.

The Japanese sure did bad making a game loosely based on their historical figures and folklore. Japanese should stick to making games with Japanese characters only.

Jesus Christ Cracked, you missed the whole point. First of all, the game is made by a Japanese studio, in Japan. Second, it is based on the true story of the first English Samurai, along the era of Tokugawa Ieyasu conflict. Also, in the game the PC is Irish, and his spirit actually speaks Gaelic. Also, you mean the asian instrument used in japanese folklore? Or how Yokai and Oni are often represented in Japan? Saying that the game is appropriation in any way not only tarnishes Team Ninja's vision, it is also an insult to history and Japanese culture. This is why you dont do good with games, Cracked.

Soooo, how can we make that "Jack" game happen?

Asian guy living in Asia here, I'll echo what others have said, Nioh is a Japanese game made by the Japanese, based on actual history about one of the first Western samurai, William Adams. He was given a title and name, Anjin Miura, by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and served in his court to establish trade between Japan and the West. Also I'm going to unsubscribe now, I'm not interested in white guilt, PC, SJW stuff, things that Cracked weren't known for.

You DO know that Ni-Oh is a Japanese game about a real foreign official, right?

Cracked's lack of research is one of the reasons why I have this name.

"A teleprompter..." LOL

I honestly would love to play as some dude from the Congo throwing down against the jersey devil or mothman

I would totally buy the game Jack. A big game hunter going from Africa to North America to kill Sasquatches and Chubacabras only to find out that they're all being controlled by the New Jersey Devil.

It was made by Japanese developers, so what you're saying is that Japanese ideas and attempts are inferior to you're multi-cultured higher views, sounds a bit racist Cracked, for shame /s

Yokai does not mean "Demon", the correct translation for Demon is Kishin. Yokai on the other hand means "Strange Spirit" or some other oddity in nature, Yokai have more in common with fairies and other Fae creatures from Celtic mythology than they do with biblical demons, which in turn is another misnomer, the correct word from the biblical and pre-biblical era is Daeva, which is the root word for the modern "Devil" term.

you guys know there's no whitewashing in "the great wall", right? it's a chinese movie. it's not whitewashing, it's a token white guy

I'm starting a go fund me to find a cure for the camera mans tremors. Also, to have the finger he uses to continuously fuck with the zoom button surgically removed. Please find it in your heart to donate.

I'm sorry, the whitest name possible is Richard. Just look at the nicknames

Just a minor correction the game is not white washed. The main character is william adams an englishman who became a samurai and is responsible for opening ties between japan and britain. He actually has quite an interesting story though this game does not follow it at all. Its also developed by a japanese company so its not just western whitewashing . great video though love this series.

These are too short and you never make enough of these.

The main character of Nioh, William Adams was loosely based on the sailor of the same name. So, how is it whitewashed? I haven't even played the game and I know that much.

Commentary on a Japanese-made game about a white guy from a company led by a white guy that pretended to be Asian in order to sell his book. Cute.

I thought this was going to be about the painfully long cut scenes in the best video games. This was much better because it made a greater point (& not just a guy-whining). It really got me thinking about my own cultural biases, thanks Cracked

Design wise it makes sense to have the protagonist be an outsider who is unfamiliar to the setting, because so is the player.

I just hate how if you make your character black you often cant actually see their features. I and there are like 7 shades of white and 3 shades of not white

The game is actually wildly authentic. It's fictionalized real life events and Japanese folklore, made by a Japanese developer. The main character was an actual white man that had a lot of influence on events in Japan in that era. Get triggered less and do your research, this is a sad knock against your credibility, you just saw a white man in Japan and assumed the worst which is actually racist.

Love that the impression was so bad that THE Michael Swaim had to let us know that's what it was. LMMFAO!!!!

Can't wait for Rags' video on this one.

Man why is everything on cracked steeped in enforced white guilt. I've replied below. Since this post seems to have gotten bigger than I would have expected

I looooooove "escort mission" so so much-thanks for keeping it going and keeping it funny guys because it awesome!

"i would pre order the shit out of jack" hahaha fkn aye me too

The instrument in Kung Fu Hustle is prominent in Japan as well...and called a koto. And the game is made by Japanese developers based on an Akira Kurosawa script. The joke about just checking Google or Wikipedia basically applies to the entirety of this video.

Too bad it was based on real history. William, Edward, the Queen where all real. William was the first western to find Japan, and he was affiliated with Edward who was notorious for hosting spiritual rituals. But no, lets just melt everything down to race bait

Nioh is made by a Japanese developers and William is based on the historical figure who was the first westerner to become a samurai

Amrit: nectar // western equivalence: ambrosia Fold your tongue backwards and reach for your brain, you'll find the amrita.

I love that zoom in when he says Japan

It's been too long since the last episode

William Adams lived a fascinating life, and a Japanese video game developer made a cool game based on him. Why is this a problem?

So nice still seeing Jack in videos.

on man, the game of the year edition of 'Jack' is gonna have so much DLC, like the Battle of the Alamo feat. zombie minute men

""That is a "Youkaih", a DEMON.."" >*Licks dry lips* WRONG!!

But... Nioh was made by a Japanese developer and William is based on a real English guy that became a samurai. There's also a black samurai in there, that's also based on a real person. So, yeah, really poor research and execution on this one guys.

Lot of good humor in this episode, but, yeah, you've picked the wrong game. The dude's reaction when he was reminded about Princess Mononoke was great acting ))

Saoirse is a Selkie, a Celtic Mermaid. Also one of the later bosses in the game has a Moth girl(Janome-cho) as a spirit so it isn't so obscure that William's is the only humanoid looking one.

nioh was made by a Japanese company. the great wall was a Chinese production. end of story on both.

So basically The Japanese telling an original fictional story about a real person in a real time period using typical almost clichéd elements common in Japanese pop culture story telling with no significant (if any) directions from white people is some how White Washing... a term used for the racist cultural appropriation and exploitation by the west of none western cultures or more specifically in which white people are cast in historically non-white character roles by the North American entertainment industry. Seriously Cracked... first you bring in the stupid After Hours B team that wrote their script about Historical understanding with the Historical Understanding of a person that only knows Ancient History by watching Kevin Sorbo TV shows. Now a video about White washing.. about a real person who has his story changed by the Japanese removing the whole.. he is forced to stay in Japan abandon his wife and kids, forced to be a Samurai advisor to a shogun elements and instead makes a bunch of mystical elements common in Japanese story telling borrowing from western mysticism which is also common in modern Japanese story telling and calling that White Washing. Research.. it is your friend. Know it. Love it. Live it.

I was about to write a strongly worded essay about how stupid cracked is but the I scrolled through the comments and then realized I was to late

The guy in the thumbnail looks like Jaime lannister

I'm happy to see a badass Irish protagonist. We're very underrepresented, and when we are we're often portrayed as drunks in video games. Shame on cracked for Trying to incite guilt.

30 seconds in. Already LOLed to "Dawn of Martha"

In these comments you can see people get angry at cracked for doing the same kind of articles they've been doing for literally the past 20 years

An Escort Mission, an OPCD, and an After Hours, all released at roughly the same time? All my Christmases have come at once! ...of course, that means that I'm not gonna have another Christmas for a long time, so...

Who knew how much humor there was to be dragged out of white guilt?

Video games have been superior to movies since METAL GEAR SOLID. I'm still trying to cope with losing Meryl!

I think I would play a game where you're a guy from the Congo but now in colonial America to fight chipacabras and sasquaches.

Really funny video, all the way to the end. Thanks Cracked.

nioh was developed by a Japanese studio so it's not so bad that the protagonist is an Irish Samurai

"SJW's" should do research before complaining about something.

This was a lot better than the clickbaity title would indicate

Was happy then sad, then happy again. Great roller-coaster ride of a show.

You guys are reaching a lot with this one.

Remember when cracked was just about pop culture and not about virtue signaling?

that moment you realize William Adams is a real person

The game is Japanese though. The main whitewashing is turning an English guy into an Irish guy.

... Nioh was made by a Japanese developer. The argument made here could sill make sense, but only if from the direction of "why does a Japanese company decide they need to whitewash their product to get commercial success" or something of that nature.

Video games became movies ten years ago -- it's why so many people stopped playing triple A titles and moved to indie games. I have a Switch and a PS4 at home, but I swear to Christ I get more excited to go to the barcade and play Tapper and Turtles in Time while I drink bourbon.

3:35 the yokai is just called an Oni

I would love Jack! You could the Jerry devil as a boss. Fight a fucking dragon hydra (political cartoon). Get over one with windigos. Help make the protagonist a hunter that overcomes a slaver ship because he defeated all the monsters where he is from and is going to the new world for a new challenge.

If you complain about Scarlett Johansson playing a Japanese Character but are fine with black actors playing white characters (The Harry Potter musical, the dark tower or Deadpool 2 for example) then you are a hypocrite. It’s stupid and unnecessary either way.

CRACKED: Look How Cool We are at Virtue Signaling

I was going to make a long list on why this video was inaccurate but I'm glad to see the rest of the comment section is getting most of them. But I'll still add a little more. Another comment said that this is a game made by a Japanese studio (this is accurate). But to take this further, taking one video game (that doesn't prove your point when you research into it) and claiming the medium as a whole whitewashes is baffling. Japanese domestic video game market is so different to USA's (and Australia... where I'm from) that it makes trying to make the whitewashing point even harder. Is it yellowwashing for them to put Japanese characters in American or Europe settings? Or am I racist for using the term yellowwashing?

I REALLY WANT L33T TO PLAY PERSONA 5. I want him to explain the game to N00B. That video will last forever! NEVER SEE IT COMINGGGGGG.

Want to upvote for interesting topic but want to triple downvote for terrible script, argument, and game example

I can't understand that last line, "Robin Williams dying of ProJared."???

Anyone else notice the camera work got a shaky on this one?

this comment will be the top comment

I wish you'd done even a tiny bit of research about the game so that the whole point of this video doesn't just end up making you look like buffoons. It'd be a really good point if it was valid.

You guys are great! Keep it up!

its funny ni-oh being used as the example for games becoming movies when it was originally a unproduced akira kurosawa script

It was made by Japanese developers, and in anime characters only ever actually look Japanese when it's supposed to be gritty and realistic.

1st it was developed by a japanese game company. 2nd it was based of of true events.even the main charecter was real and a widely known in japanese he was even given land and a taught the japanes his extensive sailing knowledge gaijin goomba even did a video thoroughly explaining it.

Didn't see any oven fries in the after video.

There's a dude in the game called the Obsidian samurai, literally a black slave that ended up becoming a retainer to Oda nobunaga. I guess they blackwashed this game since that couldn't possible have been historically accurate. cough

Remember when this dude dated Sarah on that Collegehumor show?

That was a Robin Williams impression?

That ending! I cant breathe, laughing too hard.

So based on Nioh wouldn’t the more accurate description of “Jack” be that the game is about a Mexican, that was raised in Japan, who got lost in America and had to fight off demons with guns?

This is weird, but this video didn't show up in my feed. I found it a few days after it came out

This makes me wanna go back and replay the Onimusha games....... In fact there's a franchise that deserves a reboot!

Was the camera guy drunk, or was this filmed on a raft at sea?

You guys thought this was a slam dunk but you done goofed.

Gear of war has the most diverse characters out of all the games I have played.

His controller isn't even on

But this game was made by a Japanese game studio, whats it mean now?

They know this game was made by a Japanese developer right?

I get what your trying to say craked but the guy in nioh is a real historical figure