▲
2
▼
Gol Dodo (JP Version) had much darker skin than Zann (US version). In a forum post on their official message boards, Natsume responded as to why they changed his skin color:
"Normally, we're happy to see ethnically diverse characters in Harvest Moon games. However, Zann had a lot of characteristics that in the West are sometimes associated with hurtful and outdated stereotypes of native African people. The skull on his head, the fact that he spoke in broken English, etc. Unfortunately, it just wasn't possible to completely change his character design and rewrite all of his dialogue, so changing his skin color seemed to be the best fix. Again, we're happy to see ethnically diverse characters in Harvest Moon games, but not when they're reinforcing negative stereotypes that a lot of our players will find hurtful and offensive."
"Normally, we're happy to see ethnically diverse characters in Harvest Moon games. However, Zann had a lot of characteristics that in the West are sometimes associated with hurtful and outdated stereotypes of native African people. The skull on his head, the fact that he spoke in broken English, etc. Unfortunately, it just wasn't possible to completely change his character design and rewrite all of his dialogue, so changing his skin color seemed to be the best fix. Again, we're happy to see ethnically diverse characters in Harvest Moon games, but not when they're reinforcing negative stereotypes that a lot of our players will find hurtful and offensive."
Related Games
Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life
Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
Harvest Moon DS
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
Harvest Moon 64
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
Harvest Moon DS Cute
Harvest Moon
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns
Bubble Bobble Revolution
No More Heroes
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
Legend of the River King 2
Senran Kagura: Shoujo-tachi no Shinei
Battle Assault 3 featuring Gundam Seed
Samurai Deeper Kyo
Chulip
Half-Minute Hero
Sayonara Umihara Kawase
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
The King of Fighters XIII
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
Pocky & Rocky
Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven
Muteki-Ou Tri-Zenon
Guacamelee!
Rabi-Ribi
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Divekick
Wild Arms
Worms
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
Psycho Soldier
Final Fantasy IX
The Simpsons Game
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita
Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth
Wild Arms 2
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero