What Did Capcom Change in Mega Man V’s Ending for the West?

By now, it’s no small secret that when Japanese games are localized for western audiences, some things get changed a bit, and Mega Man titles are no exception. There can be any number of reasons for this, be they data limitations, content restrictions for a particular region, or even just pure whimsy.

Whatever the reason, one of the games to see some slight alterations in the trip across the Pacific was Mega Man V for the Game Boy.

Specifically (though not necessarily the only instance), the ending scene which takes place between the mighty Sunstar (aka Sungod in Japan — that would be the “content restrictions” at work, I’d wager) featured a peculiarity about it that led to the following question for the website Legends of Localization, run by Clyde “Tomato” Mandelin of Mother 3 localization fame:

Hi, I’ve been following LoL for a while, and I’m curious about something pertaining to Rockman World 5 (Mega Man V)’s ending.

I’ve read somewhere that apparently in the Japanese version, final boss Sunstar/Sungod willingly blows himself up after being moved by Mega Man’s speech. By contrast, the English version has him involuntarily blow up as a result of a damaged fusion reactor. For a Mega Man game, I find this to be a fascinating character change, and I’d like some confirmation on just how the Japanese ending goes.

You can find Clyde’s answer to the question (complete with the script for both versions of the scene) here, but to give you the quick ‘n dirty version, a little bit of character development was seemingly lost in the transition as it appears Sungod was more open to sacrificing himself for the greater good than Sunstar was.

After reading that, which version do you prefer? A villain’s redemption, or a foe who seems to only respect his opponent’s will enough to warn him to get clear of the impending explosion? Sound off in the comments below!

Oh, and if you’re interested in other such tidbits, there are links to more at the bottom of that article.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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