Nintendo Entertainment System 100 Man Dollar Kid Maboroshi no Teiou Hen Japan
1Casino Kid is likely the most popular title put out by Japanese developer SOFEL in the NES/Famciom era. This was an excursion for the company, who had previously been dealing in information technology (and would return to that line of business after experimenting a little with the gaming world). Casino Kid is the American version of *deep breath* 100 Man Dollar Kid: Maboroshi no Teiou Hen. The two are perfect examples of anime cleansing from the original product as it ventured overseas. Let's take a look:
Dramatic scene, with a Goku-esque gambler and manga action lines. It's actually sort of gripping, considering how I loathe gambling. :p
Americans saw this cover. BORING. Faux 3D text, a gray/black gradient background, two playing cards taking up the majority of space, and a sunrise-backed/western outlaw-derived title? Yawn. At least the Japanese box had some dynamic style to it. This is repellent to me.
The game saw some sprite changes, as well. The Japanese is on the left, American on the right.
The Japanese version flaunts its anime protag with a decadent display of stars, while the American one has a logo a bit reminiscent of Hard Rock Cafe, for some reason. If we combined the two, I think it'd look pretty snazzy.
The intro for Japan's 100 Man Dollar Kid has the actual names of some of Las Vegas' famous spots. To avoid getting sued, SOFEL removed those for the American localization. I especially enjoy the Mouseshoe Hotel alteration. XD
I couldn't find shots of the same area in both variants, so I can't vouch on how much things were changed around here, but the protags most certainly were. They are both in the center on the shot, but here's even better proof:
The protag's hair has been bleached and tamed with some gel. Beyond that, though, his anime-influenced face lives on!
I think it's clear from this evidence that SOFEL remastered their game to erase the majority of its anime heritage. While the main character's face may appear the same, it's obvious that SOFEL, like many other developers in this time period, felt that their own cultural artistic style was a gamble not worth taking during American localization.