Why does JoJo have localized names?

Image via Bandai Namco

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a series known for its flamboyant, over-the-top presentation, cool poses, and ridiculous names. All-Star Battle R perfectly captures that absurdity with its gameplay and aesthetic. Even the odd names are present in All-Star Battle R, but several names had to change because of legal and localization. Most titles in JoJo reference famous popular bands or performance artists, many of which the game can’t legally use in the West.

Related: All playable characters in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R

Can you turn off the localized names in JoJo’s Bizare Adventure: All-Star Battle R?

The music industry is one of the most difficult to license. It will sometimes cost thousands of dollars to even refer to a song title or band name in other media, let alone get the rights to play a track in a movie or TV show. Media in Japan have different licensing laws, so the author of the JoJo manga was able to use band names and song titles without many repercussions. However, when it came time to bring the series to the Americas and Europe, JoJo had to change the names of many of its characters and terminology to avoid legal issues.

Despite the Japanese voice acting in All-Star Battle R clearly saying the original names of the characters and terms from Japan, subtitles will still use the localized names, and you cannot turn off the localization. You can switch the subtitles on or off in the Game Setting. The Game Setting is found in the Options selection from the Main Menu.

The author of JoJo gave a lot of his characters and terminology unusual names that reflect his music obsession. One of the villains from JoJo is called Vanilla Ice, and several Stands got ridiculous names like The Notorious B.I.G. and Sticky Fingers. Some localized names are better than others. Gold Experience became Golden Wind in the West, Sticky Fingers became Zipperman, Spice Girl became Spicey Lady, Stone Free became Stone Ocean, and Vanilla Ice became Cool Ice. Some terms stayed the same despite being named after a song title, including Heaven’s Door.

Check the list below and judge for yourself what localized names are good or bad:

• Vanilla Ice — Cool Ice
• Crazy Diamond — Shinning Diamond
• Echoes — Reverb
• Red Hot Chili Pepper — Chili Pepper
• Killer Queen — Deadly Queen
• Stray Cat — Feral Cat
• Gold Experience/Gold Experience Requiem — Golden Wind/Golden Wind Requiem
• Sticky Fingers — Zipper Man
• Aerosmith — Li’l Bomber
• Sex Pistols — Six Bullets
• Spice Girl — Spicey Lady
• The Grateful Dead — The Thankful Death
• Beach Boy — Fisher Man
• White Album — White Ice
• King Crimson — Emperor Crimson
• Stone Free — Stone Ocean
• KISS — Smack
• Foo Fighters (also known as F.F.) — F.F.
• Diver Down — Diver Drive
• Whitesnake — Pale Snake
• C-Moon — Full Moon
• Made in Heaven — Maiden Heaven
• Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap — D4C