Acts of Nintendo's past or present racism in video games?

[ProjectilePuff]

Nintendo isn't perfect, especially in the past, And that includes some racism. Any signs of racism in past or present Nintendo games? And what of the consequences?

 

[TimeSmash]

The only thing I can think of is Jynx, which was more of a faux pas than actually being a portrayal of blackface. However, it's best that they changed it because it was one of those things where once you noticed it did resemble blackface, it wasn't great.

Then there's Beyond Good and Evil, which was accused of being racist with the rhinos in Mammago, although that game came out for multiple platforms. It was more of a stereotype, and maybe the voices were a little much, but I didn't really think anything of till it was pointed

Also I never played it but Mike Tyson's Punch Out is accused of being incredibly racist

 

[Zink Imp]

This probably wasn't intentional, but that mole boss with the spike on his head in Super Mario Galaxy. I swear, when falls on his stomach after you first hit him, it always sounded like "n*gger" to me. Again, probably not intentional.

But um...Ganondorf is the only dark skinned character in Zelda. And he's the bad guy.
Heh.

 

[TimeSmash]

But um...Ganondorf is the only dark skinned character in Zelda. And he's the bad guy.
Heh.

What about Gorons? Or Twinrova (but again, evil). Sheik used to be dark skinned, dunno what happened with that. Din was darker skinned too I believe

 

[SomewhatMystia]

What about Gorons? Or Twinrova (but again, evil). Sheik used to be dark skinned, dunno what happened with that. Din was darker skinned too I believe

Don't forget Nabooru!

 

[CyberHyperPhoenix]

Punch-Out.

Punch-Out is really up there with some of the stuff it has

 

[Dastardly Ridleylash]

Punch-Out.

Punch-Out is really up there with some of the stuff it has

Hey, everybody loves Pizza Pasta the Italian and Vodka Drunkenski the Soviet! That's why they never appeared in any other Punch-Out game; they were too amazingly-recieved.

 

[Zink Imp]

What about Gorons? Or Twinrova (but again, evil). Sheik used to be dark skinned, dunno what happened with that. Din was darker skinned too I believe

Don't forget Nabooru!

I wouldn't count Gorons. I was kinda only think about TP for some reason. But it's still weird that the main villain comes from the only dark-skinned race of characters.

 

[TimeSmash]

Hey, everybody loves Pizza Pasta the Italian and Vodka Drunkenski the Soviet! That's why they never appeared in any other Punch-Out game; they were too amazingly-recieved.

The fact that these were the actual names saddens me

 

[Spak]

Other than Falco being racist about monkeys, I can't think of anything else in the racism category. I can think of sexism, though; in older Pokemon games, the attack IV determined the gender of the Pokemon. It was impossible to have a female Pokemon that naturally has more attack than a male of the same species (assuming the same nature).

 

[TimeSmash]

Other than Falco being racist about monkeys, I can't think of anything else in the racism category. I can think of sexism, though; in older Pokemon games, the attack IV determined the gender of the Pokemon. It was impossible to have a female Pokemon that naturally has more attack than a male of the same species (assuming the same nature).

Now that you say that, this was also somewhat of a trope in some FE games. But not as explosive haha, there was only a point or two of difference I think. Maybe it wasn't FE actually.

 

[Minato]

Yeah, like people said, Punchout. Also what Spak said about seeing sexism more if anything being more apparent.

I can't remember if there was racism in Fire Emblem games. All I remember is that there was a whole lot of incest lol

 

[finalark]

But um...Ganondorf is the only dark skinned character in Zelda. And he's the bad guy.
Heh.

Actually, the entire Gerudo tribe is pretty eyebrow raising.

I haven't played OoT in years, but a quick look at the LoZ wiki reconfirms my memories. The Gerudo tribe is a group of desert-dwelling dark skinned people who are known for their brutal violence. Plus its an entire race of warrior women who rarely have male children. But the second one is born he's tossed on the throne entirely by virtue of being a man. Hmmm....

I really doubt Nintendo intended to offend anyone, it's pretty much the same boat as KH where all of the evil characters are dark-skinned while all the good ones are ambiguously white/asain. I really doubt anyone intended to fire a few shots at any specific groups, but it is noticeable if you pause and think about it for a second.

 

[SomewhatMystia]

Yeah, like people said, Punchout. Also what Spak said about seeing sexism more if anything being more apparent.

I can't remember if there was racism in Fire Emblem games. All I remember is that there was a whole lot of incest lol

I think the Gamecube and Wii FE games had a racism subplot. At least, the first one did, with the Beorc (Humans) and Laguz (beastmen), who were often given the derogatory title of 'subhuman.' I think it was Soren, your starting mage, who ended up having a reasonably sizable part in the subplot and a fair bit of his development was getting over it.

Not 100% certain if we're talking more 'realistic' racism or if fantasy racism counts.

 

[HeavyLobster]

All of this stuff really tends toward a lack of cultural sensitivity rather than outright bigotry. I tend to dislike terms like "racism" and "sexism" in general because it tends to lump together any number of things of various seriousness, from mildly insensitive comments to horrific acts of genocide and oppression to any sort of criticism of Hillary Clinton. So let's call this what it is. It's general Nintendo hamhandedness in dealing with certain issues like cultural diversity that tend not to be high on the Japanese's radar. Also note that stuff like Punch-Out's blatant stereotypes weren't really regarded as big of a deal back then but wouldn't fly today, like pretty much everything in old Looney Tunes cartoons, which were filled to the brim with things like gun violence as slapstick and ethnic/regional stereotypes.

 

[Crome]

Punch-Out.

Punch-Out is really up there with some of the stuff it has

Punch out makes fun of everyone though, not one specific group.

But um...Ganondorf is the only dark skinned character in Zelda. And he's the bad guy.
Heh.

Impa can be pretty dark sometimes, depends on the game.