Wednesday, June 27, 2018

RIP Duff McWhalen - Mega Man X5 Maverick Names Changed for X Legacy Collection


If you watched today's trailer for Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2's X Challenge mode, you might have noticed something interesting: the Mega Man X5 Mavericks were going by their original Japanese names. Most of us assumed this change was only for the trailer, but it turns out that's not the case. According to a statement acquired by GameSpot, Capcom are actually removing the Guns N' Roses references all together.

A Capcom spokesperson writes:

"In our mission to make these collections an authentic Mega Man X experience, we took the opportunity to better align the naming of the Mega Man X5 Mavericks across all regions for better narrative cohesion across the series, making the names more aligned with the original Japanese version release. We hope that fans appreciate our intent to unify the Mega Man X Maverick-naming convention all these years later."

And there it is. Duff McWhalen, Axle the Red, Grizzly Slash, The Skiver, and so on are no more.

As the tale goes, the Guns N' Roses names came from Claire Redfield herself – voice actress Alyson Court. Miss Court was married to Capcom USA's localization writer at the time – a purported Guns N' Roses fan – and named the bosses in his honor. "He asked me 2 do it &, since he was a GnR fan, I changed the names 2b GnR references," Alyson tweeted in 2011. "At first my hubby laughed & liked it [the GnR names]. Then when fans started complaining he got mad at me. I meant well."

The Guns N' Roses names were a pretty divisive topic back in the day. I've always been in the camp that liked 'em but I understand why this will be a welcome change for many. Even so, rest easy, my big 'ol duffy boy. Here's to you.

Source: GameSpot

72 comments:

  1. Even though I really like Duff McWhalen, most of the other names were too odd for me since I don't know anything about Guns N' Roses, so I like the idea that the normal naming conventions being used.

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  2. *Insert Zero's X1 death theme here*

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  3. RIP Duff McWhalen, best Maverick name ever. Can't blame them for changing it but still a sad day.

    If they're gonna do this they should go on and make the Alia alerts optional, and retranslate X6. They clearly aren't going with the "original experience over all else" method, so no excuse not to fix the other faults.

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  4. Thank god. It was a joke to even have them for this long.

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  5. "At first my hubby laughed & liked it [the GnR names]. Then when fans started complaining he got mad at me."
    Yikes.

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  6. Well, let's hope they fix this terrible mistake with a patch.

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  7. Why can't we have an OPTION to switch between the two?

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    Replies
    1. Agree, this is a better approach.

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    2. Because they're only concerned with keeping it authentic for the purists.

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  8. Excellent decision by Capcom. As much as I like the voice of Claire Redield in the RE games, the logic of renaming a series' characters just to please your "hubby" was pretty goddamn stupid...

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    1. Read the article again, they were going to rename them anyway. Remember that japanese naming conventions leds to Mavericks with names like Octopuld and Antonion...

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  9. First of there have never been "cohesion" between the regions for Maverick names.

    Second Grizzly Slash sounds infinitely superiors to Crescent Grizzly which I don't believe is even a GnR reference.

    Lastly good riddance if the point was to please a hubby. Your heart and efforts were in the wrong place and aimed at the wrong thing pAlyson, you make games better with game content not your marital life.

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    1. Saul "Slash" Hudson, guitar

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    2. Grizzly Slash waa a reference to a drum player of the GnR who was nicknamed "Slash".
      and there is a "cohesion" between the names. yes, they change it in the translations, but not at random.
      exemple magna Hyakulegger==> Magna Centipède. Why? Well, hyakku mean 100 in japanese, but western fans of course don't know it except if they speak japanese, so they have to chanche the name to convey the same meaning to english palyer than the original one did to japanese. hence hyakkuleg=> centipède. and the "er" suffixe is something you commonly found in super robot show or tokusatsu (ex kyoru sentai Zyuranger, Great Mazinger, etc...), but once again, does'nt mean anything to western audiences, so they get rid of it. Hence you get a name that is a sort of "english version" of the Japanese name.

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    3. Who's Slash?

      Slash, a drummer?

      Am I really reading this?

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    4. not everyone in the world know the members of the GnR and ther nicknames. anon2 could have checked before posting, but it's not as if it was the important part of the post. Anon1 thankfully gave the correct one anyway, it's fine.

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  10. Poor Alyson. First she gets replaced as Claire's voice actress in the Resident Evil 2 remake, and now Capcom goes and erases her (infamous) tribute to Guns N' Roses from Mega Man X5 history. Maybe most Capcom executives are AC/DC fans, and they've blacklisted her now that she's admitted that she did the GnR names?

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    Replies
    1. She was replaced ages ago, since Revelations2
      Most of the original RE voice actors have been replaced already

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    2. Not really. it was known for a long long time that she was the one behind the gun's and roses names. and as far as i know, capcom did'nt particularly care, they just accepted to change them because fans have been asking for it.

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  11. Thank you, Capcom. A welcome change.
    Hope you address some other issues to make it a much better experience all around :)

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  12. Wonder if that means they made Zero's attack names Japanese in X5, seeing as that and Xtreme 2 are the only games to give them English names, and not just keep the original Japanese names.

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  13. Thank god they finally did this

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  14. Hmm, anyways the X5 mavericks has alternate names:
    -Crescent Grizzly
    -Tidal Whale
    -Volt Kraken
    -Shining Firefly
    -Dark Necrobat
    -Spiral Pegasus
    -Burn Dinorex
    -Spike Rosered

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    Replies
    1. Tidal Whale sound awesome. :'D

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  15. What she did was highly unprofessional. I'm glad they got a good laugh at the expense of making fun of my favorite gaming series. Is it too much to ask for people to take their jobs seriously?

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    1. How is an homage to Guns n' Roses "making fun of" Megaman? They did amazing music back in the day, it's not like they were named after crappy musicians for the lulz

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    2. In my opinion, she didn't take her job serious enough to translate the names correctly. Also, as a kid I got a lot of flak for playing Mega Man. So when I got X5, it was like the game was now making fun of me for playing it and being interested in the story and the lore. I know that a lot of fans don't care about the story at all, but I do.

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    3. it's just video games my dude

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    4. Since X5 was intended to be the last game, I was always in favor of them having a little fun with what was going to be the last entry. Dark Dizzy & Grizzly Slash will always sound cooler to me too.

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    5. See, when I played this game as a little child back in the early 2000s, I had no idea who Guns n' roses were and I though the name was fine, but now that I know I can just say...that it really doesn't change my opinion at all.
      Is it really dumber than Boomer Kuwanger or Icy Penguigo? Megaman X6 has a big pink clam guy called Shield Sheldon, isn't that really silly?
      What about this Mattrex guy? see, cause he's a dinosaur!
      Mega Man names were always really dumb, Mcwhalen looks really stupid to begin with with his fat head, goofy whale teeth and lack of peripheral vision (never mind the fact that a lot of people didn't even notice he had eyes on the sides to begin with), no matter what name you give him, most people would never be able to take him or any of the metal furries that X fights "seriously" anyway.

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    6. Umm, how is what she did unprofessional? Her husband at the time was the one who was actually responsible for the localization. She was a voice actress and did not work in vocalization. Even if the suggestions came from her, it was up to him to decide if they were appropriate and take responsibility for the consequences. It's like if I work as a chef and I ask my spouse who does not cook for recipe suggestions. If the recipes turn out poorly and the customers don't like them, it would be on me as the professional who ultimately decided to serve them to the customers, not on my spouse.

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    7. turianx9, you should be lucky I'm not the one who translated those names, if I got my hands upon this new translation, it's going to be something like these:

      Batty Wickitywack
      Greasy Grizzly
      Krackhead Kraken
      Lightbug Overglow
      Madrex Angrosaur
      Rosie Redonald
      Water Whale-on

      Aaaaaaaand the last one: Winghorse Donkeyfly!

      Winghorse Donkeyfly for life!

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    8. Winghorse Donkeyfly for life!

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    9. There is something very wrong with all of you.

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    10. turianx9, we are so very wrong but you... no wrong at all LOL (but if you say you're wrong too, what is it then?)

      Do you like the name Winghorse Donkeyfly? It's just for kidding mannnn, don't take it seriously.

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    11. I kinda like the name Lightbug Overglow.

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    12. Winghorse DonkeyflyJuly 8, 2018 at 5:56 PM

      Tiny Proto Man, it's a combination of Lightbulb + bug and Overflow + Glow.

      Delete
    13. turianx9... Highly Unprofessional?? Seriously... When I was a kid, when I would find an ''Easter Egg'' like that. I would feel like I discovered something ohters may have not discover and I always felt like the game was made by humans who were trying to tell you something... A little bit like when an actor or a Looney tunes talks to the screen. I got me involved even more and I don't even know the first thing about Guns'And'Roses

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  16. Now we get the pleasure of hearing redundant names like Burn Dinorex and illogical ones like Dark Necrobat (this name makes no sense; his abilities have nothing to do with death, just darkness). Hurrah...

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    Replies
    1. Read his backstory/bio in the manual.

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    2. they did'nt said they where going to use the original japanse names either, just that they're going to respect the naming convention of the series. this probably mean using english name that are translation/ equivalent of the japanese one like they do anywhere else in the serie.
      (for exemple, changing hotarunicus for firely or something like this since "hotaru" does'nt mean anything for non-japanese speaking fans, like they did for certains mavericks like morph moth and magna centipede before)
      Also, if we're talking about logic, Dark Necrobat powers had nothing to do with Dizzy Reed, as good as a keyboardist he is, or with dizziness. And bats or wampires are frequently associated with death. And Dark Necrobat was inspired by Dracula according to designer comments.
      Don't get me wrong, i don't particularly hate the GnR name, some of them even sound cool, and wathever the name of the mavericks are don't stop me from enjoying the game aniway. And i don't have anything against the band either. but in my opinion, this change was not a proffesional thing to do, and it was'nt just a mistake like Sage/Serge either, so it's understandable that Capcom decide to go back on them after the fans reactions it caused.
      Now, this is of course only my opinion, yours differs, i respect that.
      Just hope they take the occasion to fix others translations issues.

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    3. Right, so by your logic, Dark Dizzy is supposed to be about death? What?

      Delete
  17. I'll kinda miss the GnR namesake, but well.
    I hope there's a chance to Capcom could fix the X6 translation that I thinks it's more far important than this.

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  18. Watch them not even TOUCH X6's script. If you're trying to align over-all continuity, then hell, THAT thing needs it the most, not the maverick names.

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    1. "THE BADDLE HAZ JUSD BEGUNN! JUST DIE, X! XXX! JUSDIE!"

      "I'LLSHOWYOUWHATATERRORISALLABOUT!"

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    2. YOU CAN TO DO IT ZERO!

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    3. Pretty sure Sigma's erratic speech in X6 was because Gate kinda fucked up his resurrection.

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  19. If they went through all this trouble to rename the X5 Mavericks, then I sincerely hope they re-translated X6. I love broken English as much as the next guy, but seriously...

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    Replies
    1. That would be sweet! Still, I kinda like Metal Shark Player over Metal Shark Prayer.

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    2. Yeah, i also want a better translation. That "I hid myself while i repaired myself" line, is makes me feel ill.

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  20. I'm not really bothered by it to be honest, i'm just glad to be getting a x collection on the current generation systems.

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  21. What?! Noooooooooo I really like those names. I thought they were fitting and clever... :(

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    1. There's nothing clever in Duff McWhalen or Mattrex. Mattrex sounds like Mattress, c'mon!

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    2. You cannot tell me that the Duff McWhalen doesn't fit the look of the character. Duff is a great name for a big, bulky whale. I may even prefer it slightly over the generic "Tidal Whale"

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  22. The only GnR Maverick name I liked was Grizzly Slash 'cause that sounded like it could be his actual name. The rest I am glad to see gone. But that's just me.

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  23. Good! Now this Collection is looking better and better by the day.

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    1. I also hope they fix the "Octopardo" part. I never knew they where talking about Launch Octopus until years later. Just... just why?

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    2. Because that is the Japanese name (lazy X5 translators again)

      (ランチャー・オクトパルド, Ranchā Okutoparudo)

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  24. big oof
    Personally I never minded that American X5 Maverick names, I guess an option to change between the two would be nice.

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  25. I'm fine with this since X5-X8 are on the low end of the MM spectrum anyway. It just felt like the passion had gone out at that point and they were making sequels out of obligation.

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  26. Funny how much the fans hated the Guns & Roses references in X5, yet Neon Tiger's theme is a direct ripoff of the song 'My Michelle' from the same band, so it was actually keeping with the theme.


    Odd how nobody really complains about that fact.

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    Replies
    1. One thing is taking inspiration about an awesome song and place it into the game.
      And the other is just putting 'in your face' references of a band to please your "hubby".

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    2. to be honest, never listen to their music.

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    3. There are ways to be inspired, and then there are ways to just straight-up mimic something.

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  27. Very good news! I want the original names

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  28. I found those names appealing, the scripts for X2 and X6 in the other hand...

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  29. Be happy Capcom isn't naming Vile Sigma and Sigma M.Vile

    I'd like a VaVa option too, but that will never happen.

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    Replies
    1. Didn't the M stand for Mike? As in Mike Vile? He does kinda look like a Mike(no offense). That settles it. From this day forward, I'm calling him Mike.

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    2. Master for Dictator/M.Bison. Mike for the Mike Tyson expy.

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