Mario Kart 64: International Version vs. Japanese Version

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I was surfing through YouTube and I checked out a video of Mario Kart 64 checked out the differences between the International and Japanese versions. It was pretty interesting and I thought I like to share it with the rest of you guys and see what are your thoughts about it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lJjWcmZoag[/youtube]



Differences between the International and Japanese versions of Mario Kart 64
1. In the International version Mario is the voice announcer in the introduction while the Japanese version has children speaking instead of Mario.
2. Luigi, Peach, Wario, and Toad's voices sound different in the Japanese version than the International version. Also the voice clips from that version were reused in Mario Party 1-3.
3. Toad, Bowser, and Donkey Kong (also known as D.K.) are also known as Kinopio, Koopa, and D. Kong respectively in the Japanese version.
4. The Mushroom Cup is also known as the Kinopio Cup in the Japanese version.
5. In the game select screen it's Mario who is speaking while the Japanese version has another voice announcer.

I already knew most of this, but thanks for posting it anyway. Here's another Mario game with international differences.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMXE10zeyQ[/youtube]

Oh, i was never aware that the Japanese version had different voices. It's odd, why replace English voices with English voices? Nice find!

You might be interested in this video about "Mario Kart R". It's the beta version of Mario Kart 64 and it even has Magikoopa as a playable character (got replaced later with Donkey Kong).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYnWfkENKSk[/youtube]

I think they have done that to make the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64 very unique from its International counterpart since the game's release. Different voices from both versions are equally good. I like both versions of Wario voices because the Japanese version gives him more of a menancing and gruff demeanor while the International version gives him a detestable but comedic and wisecracking personality added to his voice.

I also wanna thank you for showing me the beta version of Mario Kart 64. It's pretty surprising that Magikoopa (Kamek in the Western versions) was added to the roster before being replaced by Donkey Kong in the finalized version of Mario Kart 64.

I guess Charles Martinet wasn't available to record when they were working on the japanese version.

Is Kinopio really called toad in English?

Kinopio is the mushroom head right?
His name comes from Kinoko in Japanese which means mushroom.

I used to use the mushroom head a lot.

Toad (Mario)< Wikipedia link
"Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio (キノピオ?)"

Yep!

Haha?
Did the interpreters think he look like a toad/ frog? o__0|||

Could be a mistranslation or someones limited knowledge of English, which is what led us to the name Donkey Kong as well.

Most games have international differences. With Nintendo games it's a lot more obvious, but games from Capcom, Konami, and every other Japanese company have differences when compared to English ones (look at Capcom's Ace Attorney series alone!)

Nintendo does emphasize a lot on localization.
Even when the translated version came out really different, as long as the translators think that it would work better in the country, then it is accepted.