Not in Japanese

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You might be looking hard to find your favorite game in Japanese, but you can't seem to find it! Why not? Well, just as some cool Japanese games never made it to America or Europe, some cool American and European games never made it to Japan! This is not an exhaustive list (that would be impossible!); try looking a game up in a database such as GameFAQs to be sure that a Japanese version was not released.

Also, sometimes games are released in Japan but are still in English, so be careful! Arcade-style games and platform games with little dialogue are probably the most vulnerable to this.

The list[edit]

  • An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
  • Battletoads (Genesis; the Famicom version is indeed in Japanese)
  • Bobby's World
  • Cannon Fodder
  • Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
  • Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest
  • Dick Tracy (Genesis)
  • Dick Tracy (NES)
  • Donald Land - This game was only released in Japan but was still in English.
  • Family Dog
  • Formula One: Built to Win - The game was only released in North America despite its anime style girls.
  • Happily Ever After (NES)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (NES)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Taito)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Ubisoft)
  • Inspector Gadget
  • Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings
  • Looney Tunes B-Ball
  • Lucky Luke (SNES)
  • M.C. Kids
  • Metal Warriors
  • Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Game Boy)
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (SNES)
  • Monster in My Pocket
  • Mortal Kombat and its sequels
  • NBA Jam and its sequels
  • Putty Squad
  • Saban's Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers
  • Shadowrun (Genesis) — Not to be confused with the Japanese Mega-CD game, which is entirely different.
  • Shaq Fu
  • Speed Racer in My Most Dangerous Adventures - Based on a anime that was never released in outside of North America.
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  • Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
  • Super Alfred Chicken
  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan) — Yep, this game famous for being released only in Japan was still in English!
  • Super Mario USA — Though the American SMB2 was released in Japan under this name, it was still in English.
  • Stone Protectors (Genesis; the Super Famicom version is in Japanese)
  • SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade) — Its Famicom port was still in English too.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Turtles in Time — This time the home port was indeed in Japanese
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES) — The SNES and Genesis Tournament Fighters games did get released in Japan.
  • TaleSpin (Genesis)
  • TaleSpin (NES)
  • Time Trax
  • Tiny Toon Adventures Cartoon Workshop
  • Tiny Toon Adventures: ACME All-Stars
  • Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure
  • Toejam & Earl
  • Toejam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  • Zombies Ate My Neighbors