Game news 20 years later, Nintendo corrects a translation in Paper Mario… and restores a character’s transidentity

Game news 20 years later, Nintendo corrects a translation in Paper Mario… and restores the transidentity of a character

More sister than brother

If Paper Mario: The Millennium Door still shines todayleading it to even receive a remake, It’s thanks to his writing. In fact, the dialogues of its characters always hit the mark and its storyline becomes, in fact, extremely pleasant to follow. If each ally of the plumber enjoys a fine characterization, one of them had suffered the pangs of localization when the original title was released in 2004. In fact, in the original script, it is revealed that the member of the obscure trio, despite his feminine appearance, is actually a man. Marjolène, his angry big sister, took great pleasure in throwing his gender back in his face at the slightest disagreement.

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This subtlety had then been consciously censored in the USA and Germany, removing any mention of transidentity in favor of a simple female characterization of the character. In these versions, the insults about the genre were then replaced by reproaches concerning its elegance, taking the opportunity to rename the trio as “Obscure Beauties”. But on the occasion of the title’s release on Nintendo Switch, the dialogues specific to each location correct this gap, reinstating the original characterization of the character. Viviane even takes the time to explain her discomfort to Mario, recounting that the bullying from her sisters got worse as she realized “to be their sister…and not their brother”.

Inclusivity

This evolution of morals is all the more important because it highlights the lack of inclusiveness from which the medium has suffered for many years. As attitudes begin to change, more and more titles feature women as the main character, but also think about members of the LGBT community. In fact, in Tell Me Why, a title from Dontnod Entertainment (Life is Strange), the player takes turns playing a woman, Alyson, and her transgender brother, Tyler, in an investigation concerning the event which led to their separation , children.

In this title, Tyler’s transidentity is several times subject to discussion and helps to open the player’s mind, leading him in particular, if this is not yet the case, to open up to the question. More and more titles address these subjects that were deliberately left aside before, becoming serious anchor points that players will, perhaps, be surprised to discover in a game like Paper Mario: The Millennium Door. The title is available since Thursday, May 23 on Nintendo Switch!