i would love to see a retrospective of the history of video games in europe sometime in the future! it may not be as drama-filled as the crash of '83 but it does sound intriguing
It's definitely very different. I think SEGA was much more popular until Sony arrived, at least in my country that's how it was. Americans however, are always immensely nostalgic over Nintendo. Here, Nintendo only got really popular once the Gameboy arrived. I believe Nintendo didn't have many PAL releases on their consoles during the 2D era so SEGA took advantage of this. It's also interesting how Sony managed to build a fortress here where even the PS3 at its lowest was outselling the Xbox 360. The UK might be a little different on this though since they were in love with Halo at the time.
In the NSO footage, I noticed that Jon's profile icon is the Wise Waddle Dee from Forgotten Land. I love how that Waddle Dee is just part of his identity now after the "Waddle Dee Knows" stuff.
Jon continues to be the sole popular advocate for Endless Ocean, and as a lifelong fan of the games (literally, EO1 came out when I was 2), I appreciate it being mentioned here.
There are some Master System games that were Brazil exclusives bc a company called TecToy was handling everything Sega related in the 90's here for this reason they even ported some Game Gear games to Master System themselves (I think that's the case for Sonic Blast), MS was very popular here in Brazil too, much more than NES, they also developed a regional version of wonderboy (search Mônica e o Castelo do Dragão for images) and they localized Phantasy Star to portuguese which is incredible bc even today JRPGs usually don't get translated to portuguese very often
I have a friend who's always dismayed on the "bad" accents in Xenoblade and I have to remind them that it was localized in Europe cause NoA didn't want believe it would succeed.
@@YdenMk-II that’s what I don’t get, I get criticizing how the actual voice acting and direction can be (specifically with 2 apparently not having much in the way of… actual voice direction) But it’s really not valid to criticize the voice acting just because “you don’t like the accent”
@@YdenMk-II Xenoblade Chronicles actually has some really good voice acting, remarkably so. Especially when you consider a lot of JRPGs aren't exactly known for stellar voice acting. The British accents are also very refreshing for a change. The voice actors in Xenoblade Chronicles are so charming and hugely expressive, it hooked me in as well as the music and world building.
Holy shit, I totally forgot Last Window existed. I just recently restarted and finished Hotel Dusk after first playing and dropping it back in 2009 and I've been wanting another game like this and even looked up some information on Cing and their games and only saw they went bankrupt sometime after Hotel Dusk. Guess I'm gonna go play Last Window now, I'm so excited! 🥰
I like those games so much that I'm determined to make a spiritual successor to them in the future. The characters, setting and overall pacing of the story it's just perfect.
At the time, I wasn't aware that the Nintendo DS was region-free, but once I learned that I went and got a copy of Last Window off eBay. Both it and Hotel Dusk are such intriguing stories even if they come off a bit too contrived on some plot elements lol.
Thank you for including Terranigma. It was the first game that actually made me cry when I beat it back then. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful and touching story!
It did the same to me, I absolutely loved it and that ending properly made me emotional for the first time, I will never forget it and the music keeps coming back to me…
Last Window was the first game I've ever imported and it quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Thank you for highlighting this underrated gem 🙏
I was born and raised in Mexico, where I learned the history of video games from a North American perspective. Now, I moved to Germany almost 2 years ago, and ever since I've been learning this other European narrative. It's fascinating how these two (usually) related parts of the world had such a distinct history. This is the video I needed. Thank you, Jon.
As someone who lives in the UK, one of my favourite video games is an adaptation of the "Wacky Races" cartoon that released on the PS2 only in europe. The controls are snappy, the gimmicks make sense, the sense of speed is great and it is such an underrated classic that it's genuinely one of the reasons that i am happy to be in the UK.
The majority of Tingle's formative life was in the late N64 era and the entirety of the GameCube era, which is also the time when everyone tried really hard to be edgy and look like _real_ "grownups." Tingle was hated for being a weird comic relief character born in an era when being funny was a sin for "babies." He hasn't quite entirely recovered since. Also something about... slave labour in Wind Waker. I'm sure it's unrelated.
Funfact: I (german guy) never liked Tingle much, but I didn't hate him either. He was just odd. But the games he was in were odd too, so whatever. And then I played Four Swords Adventures. Tingle is a terrible person in this game. He will steal from the player(s), for his own gain, with the future of the world in the balance, but he plain-out does not care. Another Funfact: Omega Force originally intended to have Tingle in the Story of (the first) Hyrule Warriors. Aonuma told them that this would hurt sales in the West and they should take him out. The Team at Omega Force actually misunderstood what he meant and took Tingle out of the Game entirely, instead of just out of the "Legends" Mode. He was reintroduced into the Game via DLC, but as part of a package because it was once again surmised he wouldn't sell on his own. There even is a friend of mine who plain-out refuses to buy Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition because Tingle is on the Cover. That's just childish in my book. Though I have to agree that Definitive Edition, despite its moniker(and incredible wealth of content), has the worst Box Art out of the three versions.
This is probably the best game-related RU-vid video I've watched all summer 😃 This guy has the voice and the charisma that is perfect for these kinds of videos. More please, and with the same European viewpoint. Too few videos are talking about stuff outside the USA. Watching this is educational, something to learn here, EU or the USA does not matter as long as there is something to learn from it🙂
Fun fact: The Game Boy, GBA and DS actually doesn't have region locking (Nintendo only started to have region locking on their handheld games with DSi-exclusive software), so if any Americans want to import a Europe-only game (or vice versa) for one of those systems, you can play it on the system that you already have.
I never thought about it until watching the end of this video, but it would have been pretty cool to get a Doshin stage in Smash Bros. where the land is altered by the titular giant as you play (and maybe he could even step into the fray occasionally to segment the stage).
It's good that we are in a very good spot from a game-accessibility standpoint now. There is barely any regionlocking going on with the switch and the few pieces of it can usually be gotten around semi-easily. And more games tend to have more languages supported in the same copy of the game too.(I was genuinely surprised to see literally everything being present in Kirby Star Allies, but I sure won't complain)
A couple of notable NES games you missed were (Mr.) Gimmick and Hebereke, a.k.a. Ufouria: The Saga; an honourable mention goes to Banana Prince, but its European release was in German rather than English.
@@goatbone Of course, but given they're both PAL they got the same games (at least I think) and so the same exclusives. But I get what you mean, the title should have probably mentioned PAL instead to be more precise.
@@mds_main There are actually some game release differences between Australia and Europe, for example Warioware Twisted was not released in Europe, but it was released in Australia.
Your revelation about screen crunch with sonic is such a revelation! I had that on game gear and an among those who could never beat the first boss stage. I'll be seeking out that master system version!
I still remember going to Japan back in the day and being amazed at Smash Bro's Melee... It was still to release in Australia and didn't for quite a while.
The "Classic Serie" Mario game was the one I played on one of those "150 games in 1" bootleg GBA cartridges as a kid. This is the first I'm learning about _why_ it was so different from the original game.
12:52 I like how you just casually provided a simple explanation for one of the most vein-poppingly, trauma-inducing frustrations of my childhood. This and the Carnival Night Zone barrel, SEGA. You have a lot to answer for. Gonna go...just lie down...now...
some of the developers of Terranigma have been trying to run anniversary campaigns on twitter and change org to push for some form of global rerelease, sadly to not much avail, but it seems more like just a lack of effective outreach than a genuine lack of interest, so I really hope this mention leads to some groundswell.
"Disaster: day of crisis" is one of my top Wii games; it's incredible fun and varied in levels and mechanics. I think it's one of the few games that showcase how motion controls can make playing immersive. . . . . . . -Other games are -Metroid Prime 3 -Star Wars: the Force unleashed -Super Mario Galaxy -Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix -No more heroes
There's something ironic about this video, which details all about European games which never went to the US, being sponsored by Hello Fresh, a company that only exists and delivers in the US (minus Alaska and Hawaii)
This video reminded me of something. People always go on and on about how being a “collector” of physical media is the only way to preserve these games. But the Famicom Disc System was designed to be written over. So even if you secured a Disc with the the label you are looking for, there’s no guarantee it will even have the game you want.
Finally somebody talks about our videogame history. It's tiresome to hear about the videogame crash as this big thing when it only affected North America. In general the USA can be a bit egocentric when it comes to history.
Technically, Germany got a Deutsch version of Dragon Quest Monsters on the Gameboy Color. They even got the Dragon Quest name where the US/English version was released as Dragon Warrior Monsters.
sonic blast only came to brazil cause tectoy (sega’s distributor in brazil) made the port. the master system was a big success here in brazil because of tectoy, that made a great job selling it here.
I'd love to see Terranigma get the HD-2D treatment. As an American I didn't play the game until two summers or so ago on my SNES classic with the game modded onto it. The emulation was far from perfect, and it caused me a lot of frustrations. Despite that though it was such a charming and wonderful adventure that I'd love to revisit. I still remember a number of the music tracks because of how catchy they are.
I'm just happy that the Americans have any way to play Another Code R: A Journey into Lost Memories in their language. My favourite Wii game and an absolute masterpiece!
Man, the Buzz games, those take me back. We had those too, dubbed into Swedish. I played them a lot as a kid, though it's been so long I don't remember specifically which ones (other than Monster Rumble, but I preferred the quiz ones).
Oh I enjoyed Hotel Dusk greatly. The film noir genre, rotoscope art style, and cast of peculiar characters captured my interest. So when I heard Last Window wasn't coming to the States, I asked a college friend who went on an exchange program to the UK to purchase it for me (it's cheaper than Amazon) and I reimbursed him upon his return. It's a great sequel for sure that sheds more light on Kyle himself. I was a tad disappointed that not all supporting characters have their own dark secrets similar to HD, but other fans may find it more realistic than the former's numerous coincidences. And LW's chapters being compiled into an in-game book (with bonus scenes) was a wonderful surprise.
It's funny that you mention micro computers going strong in Europe because I listen to this gaming podcast hosted by 3 British guys and they always talk about those micro computers with such fondness and I'm just like who uses them? 😂 Crazy how different it was back then
Excellent video! I really enjoyed it. I've always wondered what it was like to be a Euro gamer, with so many missed titles surely there must be some regional exclusives too? Thank you for making it, I found it very informative. Well done.
Vib-Ribbon is similar to Animal Crossing for the GameCube in that you can take the disc out and the game will still run, something me and my brothers were happy to do, since we had multiple GameCubes, and this meant we didn't have to share a town, take turns using the disc, or buy multiple copies of one game (* cough cough * New Horizons...). Too bad Animal Crossing doesn't also share the ability to import your own music into the game lol
Winter Gold for the SNES is a European exclusive and has some of the best graphics on the system. It was published by Nintendo and uses the Super FX 2 chip
I’m so glad this list included Terranigma. It’s an absolute banger of a game. Got my copy in 2000 for a fraction of what it would cost and it’s one of my most treasured games that I’d be reluctant to sell for even two thousand times what it originally cost me.
Nothing is more America than banning a game about Maths and logic puzzles because it doesn't adequately train one's brain, but guns are fine and dandy.
Gameboy Gallery 5 in 1 is one of my favourite Gameboy games. I still play it from time to time. It's such a shame that the cart doesn't save my top scores when I reload the cart.
18:42 - How is that possible, that Klonoa series failed? I've never played volleyball one, but you said it's one of the best multiplayer game on PSX. The main series - platformers are also rock solid and Klonoa 2 even won a GameSpy award for best platformer of the year, yet the series keeps failing over and over at market. Heck, even the new remasters are not doing fine and I think that the game still hold up well for today standards. Maybe it's not to advanced, but it's a nice simple side-scrolling platformer with brilliant music and great story
Failed in terms of sales. There's a reason why everyone is begging everyone they can to buy the new collection. Which thankfully, is selling very well now.
My first console was the Master System II (with in-build Alex Kidd, which for some reason my parents pretended was a really "lucky" thing I should be thrilled about. I mean, I was, so I guess it was probably cute from their perspective...? Anyway...) The first two Sonic Games on the system hold a massive amount of nostalgia for me, so I remember being shocked in the early days of the internet to find very little info about them due to Master System's comparative lack of popularity in the states. Fun video as always Jon, even after all these years there were some games on here I had no idea about!
You missed the Sunsoft NES game "Mr. Gimmick". Outside of Japan it was only released in Scandinavia, however Sunsoft has recently announced that the game is coming to Switch. There was also "Ufouria: The Saga", but that one eventually got a Wii Virtual Console version.
Thanks for mentioning the Tingle series! As an unironic Tingle enjoyer, I was so let down when Rupeeland got a PAL release and not an NTSC-U release. It took me years, but I finally managed to collect them all- but for Balloon Trip of Love, I got a reproduction cart online of a slightly older version of the fan translation, which admittedly has a bug or two with some text still being in Japanese. I also bought an awesome English language reproduction jewel case for it. As for Balloon Fight- well, I don't really think it needs a fan translation, as I was able to play it with my niece with no problems whatsoever when we went on our camping trip back in May. Rupeeland is actually quite a fun game imo, even though I suck with the price negotiation. The combat system is a lot like For the Frog Whom the Bell Tolls, so it's like the Zelda franchise came full circle a bit by making that the combat system, and it is still quite Zelda like with collecting items and dungeon crawling too. The Tingle series overall is VERY underrated and I think any Zelda fan worth their salt needs to at least give it a try!
Hey John, perhaps you are not a fan, but the Bomberman series got a bunch of games that North America never did. They are: Super Bomberman 3 (SNES), Bomberman Kart (PS2), Bomberman Hardball (known as Bomberman Battles in Japan) (PS2), Bomberman Story DS, Bomberman 2 DS (known as Custom Battler Bomberman in Japan). All of them were available in Japan, but the European versions are the only way to play them in English. Some of them are really great games (Super Bomberman 3, Bomberman Kart, Bomberman 2 DS) and some of them are Bomberman Hardball. That one in particular is the weirdest choice out of all of these. The game has the standard multiplayer bomberman battle boards along with 3 bomberman takes on sports. The sports are tennis, golf, and baseball, hence the name "Battles" in Japan. Oddly, they changed the name to "Hardball" for Europe in reference to the baseball part of the game. This is a bizarre choice, considering that Baseball is a sport primarily played in North America and Japan. Practically no one even knows of Baseball in Europe and especially not in 2005. Why not release this in North America with that name??? I guess it has to do with the fact that Ubisoft (a French company) published it for Europe and that Hudson Soft was likely unable to secure a publisher for North America, but had already localized it for the USA and named it. Of all the Bomberman games to export from Japan in that era, I just feel like this was a terrible choice. There were so many that never left Japan and are good games, but Bomberman Hardball gets the nod.
I was kind of hoping to see the fairly good Asterix & Obelix game in here. Really fun 2D platformer that I used to play a ton with my older brother when we borrowed our uncles Super Nintendo. Obviously you can't have all the EU exclusive games in there (and maybe this did release in the states, although I kind of doubt it), but it would have been cool to see.
As someone who only recently bought a bunch of games as I stayed with my girlfriend in Germany, that massive USK rating just ruins some covers. xD And worst thing, it has a pegi rating on top, which is much smaller and less intrusive. Ah well.
Terranigma is the best game that no one talks about. It is my favorite SNES game, and one of my favorite games of all time. It is awesome to see how your actions can impact the whole world, and it has some truly emotional moments. Hopefully it gets some sort of re-release in the future.
Hearing about all of these games we didn't get makes me sad again. I played Xenosaga II with zero idea of what was actually happening since it's right in the middle. Ack.
When they announced the HD 2D remake of Live A Live, I thought for a second that it was Terranigma. I really hope we get a legit release of Terranigma some day. That'd be cool.
Yh the narrative that Nintendo saved gaming really needs to die. Yes Americans were a large gaming market that when their market crashed it was damaging, but it was evident Europe and other places around the world thrived still in gaming. It's always annoyed me that europe usally was treated last with anything when it came to gaming heck somtimes we'd get a game just as when it's sequal hit America. Thank god the modern age I'd much better.
Im from Europe and i do own a few EU games never came to NA. I have a complete Terranigma snes, Disaster:Day of Crisis wii, Project Zero wiiu, Breath of Fire III psp, Tales of Eternia psp, Forbidden Siren 2 ps2, Siren:Blood Curse ps3
There’s a NES game that only released in ONE part of Europe (Scandanavia weirdly enough) but never made it outside of that except for bootlegs and reproduction carts: Mr. Gimmick (or Gimmick! In Japan)
Does anyone else remember Yoyo's Puzzle Park for the PSOne? I had an illegal copy of the game when I was a kid and I recently found out that this game never came out outside of Europe and Japan. I can't even find a genuine legal copy for sale online anywhere. It's like the game just disappeared from history.
