I think everyone knows that games undergo changes from one region to another. In Japan, the original names of characters and places can be completely different from the American version we know. In this article, we will talk about the names of Nintendo characters in Japanese.
The idea for this article started when I saw my friend Rodrigo Coelho’s video, who has a channel about Nintendo on YouTube. If you want to see the video, I will leave it below; he is really cool!
Table of Contents
What does the name “Nintendo” mean?
In Japanese, “Nintendo” is written with the following ideograms [任天堂] which can be literally translated as “Leave your destiny in the hands of Heaven or Paradise“.
This happens because the ideogram [天] means heaven and paradise, while [堂] means sanctuary or temple; together [天堂] conveys a complete sense of paradise. The first ideogram [任] conveys the idea of responsibility and obligation, forming the concept of makaseru [任せる] which means, I leave it in your hands or to leave something for someone to do.
Some claim that the name Nintendo was chosen because of the proverb Unwoten’nimakaseru [運を天に任せる] which means to leave luck to the heavens or to accept the fate that has been imposed on you.
Others claim that the Kanji [任] was chosen because of Hanafuda, which was initially played by gangsters. Words like responsibility are part of Yakuza ideals. Not to mention that the word paradise has everything to do with the illustrations of the Hanafuda game that gave rise to Nintendo.
Names of Nintendo games in Japanese
The names of Nintendo games also tend to be altered. For example, The Legend of Zelda in Japanese becomes Zeruda no Densetsu [ゼルダの伝説]. The classic Pokémon in Japan is called Poketto monsutaa [ポケットモンスター] or literally Pocket Monster.
The World of Light, story mode of Super Smash Bros Ultimate in Japanese is called Tomoshibi no Hoshi (灯火の星) which, when written backward using the Chinese reading, becomes the name of the Kirby game in Japanese: Hoshi no kaabyi [星のカービィ].
The NES and SNES consoles in Japan are called Famikon [ファミコン], an abbreviation of Family Computer or Super Family Computer. The names of characters from the Zelda and Metroid series are usually just a transliteration of the English.
Most of the time, Japanese names are written as a transliteration of English in katakana, but there are exceptions. Franchises like Fire Emblem, Mother, and other characters that appear in Smash Bros will be listed in the article.
We wrote an article discussing the names of Pokémon in Japanese. If you want to read it, just click here.
Names of Nintendo characters in Japanese – SUPER MARIO
If you don’t remember the names of the American characters on the list, just watch Rodrigo Coelho’s video at the beginning of the article.
Responsive Table: Scroll the table sideways with your finger >>
| Japanese | Romanization | American |
|---|---|---|
| ルイージ | Ruīji | Luigi |
| チコ | Chiko | Luma |
| マリオ | Mario | Mario |
| バトラー | Batorā | Polari |
| ピーチ姫 | Pīchi Hime | Princess Peach |
| マンタロウ | Mantarō | Ray |
| ロゼッタ | Rozetta | Rosalina |
| ボムテレサ | Bomu Teresa | Bomb Boo |
| ジュゲム | Jugemu | Lakitu |
| キラー | Kirā | Bullet Bill |
| ポイハナ | Poihana | Cataquack |
| プクプク | Pukupuku | Cheep Cheep |
| タコボー | Takobō | Electrogoomba |
| アナゴン | Anagon | Gringill |
| カメック | Kamekku | Kamek |
| ノコノコ | Nokonoko | Koopa Troopa |
| パタパタ | Pata-pata | Koopa Paratroopa |
| クワカブト | Kuwakabuto | Mandibug |
| ミニメカクッパ | Mini Meka Kuppa | Mecha-Bowser |
| パックンフラワー | Pakkun Furawā | Piranha Plant |
| トゲトゲパックン | Togetoge Pakkun | Piranha Plant |
| ココサンボ | Koko Sanbo | Pokey |
| カボクリボー | Kabo Kuribō | Pumpkinhead Goomba |
| ドッスン | Dossun | Thwomp |
| トゲベーゴマン | Toge Bēgoman | Topman |
| オニマスドン | Onimasudon | Tox Box |
| 砂風くん | Suna Kaze-kun | Tweester |
| ウニゾー | Unizō | Urchin |
| ハナチャン | Hana-chan | Wiggler |
| カチコチキング | Kachikochi King | Baron Brrr |
| ポルタ | Poruta | Bouldergeist |
| クッパ | Kuppa | Bowser |
| クッパJr. | Kuppa Jr. | Bowser Jr. |
| クワカブトキング | Kuwakabuto Kingu | Bugaboom |
Names of Nintendo characters – Super SMASH BROS in Japanese
There’s nothing better than using the character names from Super Smash Bros to see the differences in the names of Nintendo characters in Japanese.
Responsive Table: Scroll the table sideways with your finger >>
| American | Japanese | Romanization |
| Mario | マリオ | mario |
| Donkey Kong | ドンキーコング | donkiikongu |
| Link | リンク | rinku |
| Samus | サムス | samusu |
| Yoshi | ヨッシー | yosshii |
| Kirby | カービィ | kaabixi |
| Fox | フォックス | fokkusu |
| Pikachu | ピカチュウ | pikachuu |
| Luigi | ルイージ | ruiiji |
| Ness | ネス | nesu |
| Captain Falcon | キャプテン・ファルコン | kyaputen・farukon |
| Jigglypuff | プリン | purin |
| Peach | ピーチ | piichi |
| Bowser | クッパ | kuppa |
| Ice Climbers | アイスクライマー | aisukuraimaa |
| Sheik | シーク | shiiku |
| Zelda | ゼルダ | zeruda |
| Dr. Mario | ドクターマリオ | dokutaa mario |
| Pichu | ピチュー | pichuu |
| Falco | ファルコ | faruko |
| Marth | マルス | marusu |
| Young Link | こどもリンク | kodomo rinku |
| Ganondorf | ガノンドロフ | ganondorofu |
| Mewtwo | ミュウツー | myuutsuu |
| Mr. Game & Watch | Mr.ゲームウォッチ | geemuwocchi |
| Meta Knight | メタナイト | meta naito |
| Pit | ピット | pitto |
| Zero Suit Samus | ゼロスーツサムス | zero suutsu samusu |
| Wario | ワリオ | wario |
| Snake | スネーク | suneeku |
| Ike | アイク | aiku |
| Diddy Kong | ディディーコング | didiikongu |
| Lucas | リュカ | ryuka |
| Sonic | ソニック | sonikku |
| King Dedede | デデデ | dedede |
| Olimar | ピクミンオリマー | pikuminorimaa |
| Lucario | ルカリオ | rukario |
| R.O.B. | ロボット | robotto |
| Toon Link | トゥーンリンク | tuunrinku |
| Wolf | ウルフ | urufu |
| Villager | むらびと | murabito |
| Mega Man | ロックマン | rokkuman |
| Wii Fit Trainer | WiiFitトレーナー | Wiifit toreenaa |
| Rosalina & Luma | ロゼッタチコ | rozettachiko |
| Little Mac | リトル・マック | ritoru makku |
| Greninja | ゲッコウガ | gekkouga |
| Palutena | パルテナ | parutena |
| Robin | ルフレ | rufure |
| Shulk | シュルク | shuruku |
| Bowser Jr. | クッパ | kuppa Jr. |
| Duck Hunt | ダックハント | dakkuhanto |
| Corrin | カムイ | kamui |
| Inkling | インクリング | inkuringu |
| Ridley | リドリー | ridorii |
| King K. Rool | キングクルール | kingukuruuru |
| Isabelle | しずえ | shizue |
| Incineroar | ガオガエン | gaogaen |
What do you think of the names of Nintendo characters in Japanese? Did you expect these radical changes? I hope you enjoyed the article. If you liked it, share it and leave your comments.
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