Talk:DJ Boy

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    • It's important to note... both arcade versions (Japanese and US) are emulated now in Mame. They are basically identical apart from the title screen and Wolfman Jack voice samples (only in the english version). The home versions for the US Genesis and the Japanese Megadrive are each very different from the arcade version, and in turn different from each other. The "controversial" elements really arose in the Japanese Megadrive version. Japanese games of that era tended to not include politically correct sensibilities like US titles of the time so the tended to include more risque stuff (see for instance the controversy over Streets of Rage 3/Bare Knuckle III). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.180.216.72 (talk) 15:42, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

I dispute the objectivity of this piece... it reads as though the author has an axe to grind with the game. DJ Boy wasn't a gem, but it was most certainly not one of the worst video games ever made. His assertion that most people would agree with this statement was not verified with so much as a single quote, making it a careless assumption at best and wishful thinking at worst.

JR

JR, if you'd read the history section of the page, one of the editors placed that information on there because it was on more than one list as one of the worst video games ever made. I do not have an axe to grind with DJ Boy (as I am the original author of this article); on the contrary, I was a major fan of Kaneko and sorry to see them go. But I'm not going to be blinded by a game that because of cultural insensitivities and differences turns out to be racist just because I like the company.
I will grant you that the editor who placed it there did not follow up on his quote, and we will fix that. But for you to assume because one editor made a lazy change that we've got an agenda here is to be as guilty of the same error that you accuse us of.--み使い Mitsukai 03:26, 10 February 2006 (UTC)


One of the "lists" is hardly evidence for this being "widely considered one of the worst video games ever." That list is a forum, that is not based on popular votes, only opinions by posters. People dispute the person's opinion as well. The person's "list" includes NARC which is actually hugely popular (but often mocked by people who oppose the US "war on drugs" even though the game takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the topic, much like the film "Reefer Madness" does, which people often forget!). Such a list is based purely on ideological reasons, when in truth most "worst game ever" lists judge mostly on gameplay. A game like Ethnic Cleansing, while being overtly racist, is also a terribly put together game, and has a tiny audience. The thing with a game like Ethnic Cleansing is that it is simply a POOR GAME, and the only reason it is still promoted, is for ideological reasons, by people who want to use the game to promote their racist message. I don't see anyone doing that with DJ Boy (that is: selling the game in order to raise funds for some "White Power" group or something). A game like DJ Boy is considered obscure now, but at the time it was released in many formats, indicating there was not a huge widespread controversy about it that merits calling it the "worst game ever." Ever see "Custer's Revenge"? This game didn't make wiki's "racist video games" list, when oddly enough the plot of the game is to "rape an indian maiden tied to a pole." Of course some say the indian maiden appears to be smiling, so perhaps it's not considered racist. But that game is far more controversial than DJ Boy. It was controversial when it came out and is still controversial for those who know about it, which is most people knowledgeable about gaming history going back to when the Atari 2600 was king. Ask gamers about offensive games of the past (other than Mortal Kombat and Night Trap which single-handedly lead to the game ratings system or later titles like Carmagedden and the GTA series) and Custer's Revenge will come up before this title. The Ninja Kids is another game that features "racial stereotypes" in portraying dark brown skinned thugs with giant red lips wearing ripped clothing who carried knives. This was recently released to the public unaltered in the form of Taito Legends. Of course somebody might argue that since the characters in the game are living "Dolls" rather than meant to be actual humans, that such stereotypical portrayals can be excused. I guess the thing is, there are tons of "offensive" games out there, even mainstream games that contain offensive material, but society and media choose only to focus on certain ones. Take for example the common fighting game convention of having black men portrayed as knife wielding thugs. Games that promote the "gangsta" stereotype might similarly being seen as racist. But since a boss in this game looks like a cross between Mrs. Butterworth, Marge Simpson and a sumo wrestler, this one gets singled out. So either we should focus on many more games by building that list, or give this one a pass for now, my 2 cents anyway. -X

[edit] Racist "Plot" ?

Since I can't read japanese, what was the plot of the game that was so racist? Rescuing a captured girlfriend/wife/princess was a popular "plot" for many video games in this time period. Double Dragon is a prime example (came out two years before this one). According to the Game Players Guide to Sega Genesis Games, D.J. Boy is on his way to a skate competition when a rival skater gang tries to stop him from competing (presumably by threatening his significant other). In the Genesis version the first boss, called "Big Momma" (and "Junior" her little kid who also attacked you) was changed to white. I haven't played through the whole game, but so far the only thing I can see to support the racism charge is the "caricatured" first boss. Some more information is needed. Hip Hop culture has obviously been explored in a lot of games, and is not something associated solely with African Americans. It should be noted that most fighting games contain enemies of a variety of races. If all the enemies in the game were black and only hero was white, that might have made the racism charge stronger.

  • Okay in the Japanese Megadrive version the ending is a bit different than the US version (the Japanese version shows the defeated bosses and some pictures of combat while you hug your weeping girlfriend and you give the thumbs up signal at the end). The final boss in both versions looks like the "Big Mama" character in a red karate gi and headband (no fart attacks, flying pastries or midgets, just straight martial arts). I think the fire-breathing pirate is supposed to be the kidnapper you see in the comic strip at the beginning. Mystery solved! But what did the angry black woman have to do with anything? Was she just a warrior that wouldn't give up to defeat DJ Boy? We may never know... Edit: In the US Genesis version the character in the karate outfit is still clearly a modified sprite of the "Big Mama" boss, but features a different skin tone. It might be that this is supposed to be a different character (Double Dragon, Mortal Kombat and many other fighters used pallette swapping if characters to save memory), or it might be that the Big Mama character is supposed to have trained herself in combat and gotten a tan or something. In the Megadrive version they look exactly the same, just with different clothing and fighting styles. The cutscenes and ending text never explain the character's presence or motivations. DJ Boy merely thinks to himself "Easy!" after defeating her the first time.

The "OverClocked" article [[1]] is in jest, but I think it makes a good point, if this game is attacking African Americans, it's also attacking "giglos", "skinheads", "punks", "clones", "clowns", "midgets" and "the obese" (not to mention skaters!).

  • I cannot speak about the arcade version, but in the Sega Genesis version (US) and Mega Drive version (Japan), the second boss doesn't appear to be a "homosexual stereotype" since he's just a blond muscle man with sunglasses dressed in a "Chip 'n' Dales" outfit (collar with black bow-tie, no shirt, black bvd style swimsuit, black shoes and white socks). His knees knock together after he's beaten and a cinematic shows him apparently "deflating" (I guess his muscles were all due to steroid use??), but this is a far cry from a character like Zangief.
  • MonkeyvsRobots (linked in the article) claims this is part of the plot:

"The fat blackface/gassy/stereotype/bloomer-wearing bitch turns out to be the mastermind behind the plot to kidnap your poor girlfriend. Why? Why, why, why. Too high concept for me, I guess."

So I guess that is where the "racist plot" idea comes from. I wonder if anyone has actually beaten the game to see how it was portrayed? Edit: On Round 5, you refight all the bosses again, but with much more health ("Big Momma," Chip 'n' Dales dude, punch Clowns, DJ doppelganger.. then some firebreathing pirate/punk guy!). The pirate guy admits that the girlfriend's name is "Mary" (via the crazy cutscenes), though the game's Epilouge calls her "Maria". Weird game...!

  • I see this game is listed in the category of "Racist Video Games" along with only two other entries.. Ethnic Cleansing(where you go around in an FPS killing racial minorities and Jews in some kind of one-man race war, the game is sold by a white supremecist group apparently) and KZ Manager, a nazi concentration camp game. Pretty harsh! I mean, "Big Momma" is definately offensive, but is this really comparable to the other two games? Does every game with a black villian and non-black hero in it qualify as a "racist video game"?

[edit] Animal Cruelty?

This charge seems a bit odd to me. There is a cat suspended from a balloon, which at first sounds terrible. However in game, the cat is smiling and not choking or suffering. When you jump and kick it, the balloon pops and the cat falls to earth safey and scampers off happily, after dropping a hamburger that restores your health. Doesn't seem so bad to me. If kids were to play this game and get the idea to tie balloons to their cats (which wouldn't do any harm unlesss the cat was very small and you had a very large helium balloon or something I guess), they might just as well imitate the practice of punching people in the face while on roller skates!

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Djboyscreenshot.gif

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BetacommandBot (talk) 20:55, 13 February 2008 (UTC)