Topic: Why's it called that (video game etymology)

[TheBlackCat]

Lots of things in video games have weird names for no reason.  But sometimes there is actually interesting reasons behind the names, or some sort of meaning that isn't immediately obvious.  Symbols also have significance that may not be readily apparent.  You can also discuss the origin of specific terms commonly used in games today.

For instance, in Chrono Trigger one of the characters is named Magus.  Magus is actually a generic term for a magician, sorcorer, or astrologer.  The three wise men from the Christmas story are also called the three magi, which is the plural of magus.  It can also refer to a priest of the Zoroastrian religion.

In the Metroid series, Chozo (or Chouzou rather) actually means carved statue or sculpture in Japanese.  Having that as the name of the race was a result of miscommunication between the American and Japanese branches of the company.  In the Japanse versions of the Metroid games, the Chozo are referred to as chÅ�jin-zoku which literally means "race of bird-humans", although apparently the name Chozo is becoming more popular in Japan.

The name Ridley, the boss from the Metroid series, is named after Ridley Scott, the director of Aliens.

The triforce is actually the first step of a famous fractal called Sierpinski’s triangle

So does anyone have any other interesting stories about the meaning or origin of a name or symbol in video games?

[MegaByte]

Well since Metroid is hot stuff nowadays, I thought I'd mention how the Varia Suit came about as a mistranslation of Barrier Suit.

[broodwars]

Lots of things in video games have weird names for no reason.  But sometimes there is actually interesting reasons behind the names, or some sort of meaning that isn't immediately obvious.  Symbols also have significance that may not be readily apparent.

For instance, in Chrono Trigger one of the characters is named Magus.  Magus is actually a generic term for a magician, sorcorer, or astrologer.  The three wise men from the Christmas story are also called the three magi, which is the plural of magus.  It can also refer to a priest of the Zoroastrian religion.

It's also worth noting on that train of thought that the 3 "wise men" in Chrono Trigger are named Balthazar; Melchior; and Gaspar, I believe the names the of the 3 wise men from the story.  But most people probably noticed that.

[Mop it up]

I've looked for explanations as to why Birdo is named Birdo when clearly she is not a bird, but have found nothing.

[Stratos]

Also, related to Chrono Trigger, Masamune was the name of a world renowned Japanese swordsmith. I first learned about that from the bios info from Soul Calibur 2 as one of the swords in that game is also named Masamune.

I've looked for explanations as to why Birdo is named Birdo when clearly she is not a bird, but have found nothing.

Because Birdo shoots eggs?

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Developers tend to do this a lot with nomenclature in video games - presumably, they want the player to make a connection between this fantastical character/place (more often than not) and something in the real world. You see this all the time in Pokémon, as well as many enemies & bosses in Mario and Zelda games.

Just about every Pokémon has a fairly obvious origin for its name... Bulbasaur = Bulb of a plant + '-saur', common suffix of dinosaurs, and in Japan, Bulbasaur is called Fushigidane, which I believe translates as 'strange grass'. Most of those don't need explaining.


With video game etymology in general, it's usually either a portmanteau of two words that describe the character in question or it is simply derived from a translation, such as the Chozo example. To provide another example, look at the Wario moniker, which combines Mario and the Japanese adjective for bad, warui, to make what essentially means 'bad Mario'. Ditto for Waluigi.

[Ian Sane]

provide another example, look at the Wario moniker, which combines Mario and the Japanese adjective for bad, warui, to make what essentially means 'bad Mario'.

As a kid I thought the idea was that it was war-io, war being those big battle things where lots of people die.  It seemed that associating evil Mario with war was a logical idea.  Plus you got the upside down "M" on the hat with the "W".  I guess Nintendo more or less fluked into that.

[UltimatePartyBear]

I thought this would be a thread about more general video game terms, like why the harder to kill enemy at the end of a stage is called a boss.  Or why we call extra lives 1-ups.

[Ian Sane]

I think the boss thing came from Renegade.  The major enemies were the "bosses" of the gang.  Bit of an Engrish thing I guess.

I could get "boss" being a common unofficial term but there are games that outright use the term even when it makes no sense.  You'll play shmups where some big alien approaches and it will say "BOSS APPROACHING" on the screen or show the energy meter with "Boss" written next to it.  How is this a boss?  I get it as videogame slang but from a storyline perspective it makes no sense why the aliens would refer to their mothership or some giant alien as their "boss".  At least in Zelda they'll call the boss a "guardian".  We still call it a boss but the game doesn't.

Looking in the manual for the original Metroid it constantly refers to two "mini-bosses", that being Kraid and Ridley.  And it mentions it in such a serious way too as if that's the proper term and Samus herself would call them that.  And they aren't even mini-bosses, they're full on bosses.  A mini-boss is like a lesser boss you encounter halfway through a level.  The Chozo statues in Super Metroid are mini-bosses.  Kraid and Ridley are clearly just bosses.

Imagine using the term mini-boss at work for like an assistant manager.  Mini-boss is such a little kid word.  I'm blown away that any adult has used it in an official manual.

[Morari]

Cthon and Shub-Niggruath, two bosses from the original Quake, are both action gods from Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Likewise, a handful of the normal monsters (such as the Shambler) and many of the levels (Vaults of Zinn?) make reference to the Mythos.

[vudu]

It's also worth noting on that train of thought that the 3 "wise men" in Chrono Trigger are named Balthazar; Melchior; and Gaspar, I believe the names the of the 3 wise men from the story.  But most people probably noticed that.

Psh ... everyone knows Ozzie, Flea and Slash are where it's at.

[King of Twitch]

The wise men were not given names.



Yet another reason for Sakamoto to not be allowed near Metroid ever again.

[MegaByte]

But they were given those names in later tradition.  They've also been used elsewhere, such as the the names of the computers in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I find the recurring characters Biggs and Wedge in Final Fantasy more amusing -- these are the names of two of Luke's friends in Star Wars.

[broodwars]

I find the recurring characters Biggs and Wedge in Final Fantasy more amusing -- these are the names of two of Luke's friends in Star Wars.

It's always funny to read complaints about Final Fantasy supposedly "going more Sci-Fi and away from its roots" and whatnot considering one of the earliest traditions in the series is having two characters named after obscure Star Wars characters.   :

[apdude]

Anyone know where the recurring FF character name "Cid" came from?  I recall there was a reason for it but I can't remember where I heard it.

[TheBlackCat]

The wise men were not given names.

They aren't named in the Bible (it doesn't even say there were three of them), but they do have names in "unofficial" books (apocrypha) that nevertheless became part of the Christian tradition.  The names vary depending on the tradition, the names in Chrono Trigger are the names in the Western (Catholic) tradition, while the Eastern (Orthodox) tradition uses other names.

[TheBlackCat]

Two perhaps less obvious Pokemon names are the fighting-type Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.  They are named after Bruce Lee and Jacki Chan.  I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is named after which.

Also, Gengar, the ghost-type, was supposed to be named Phantom, but there were obsure trademark issues with that name.

[TheBlackCat]

I thought this would be a thread about more general video game terms, like why the harder to kill enemy at the end of a stage is called a boss.  Or why we call extra lives 1-ups.

Feel free to do so if you want.  I've edited the OP accordingly.  Although I always assumed they were called 1-ups because they raise your life count by 1.

Along these lines, the now common name "clan" for a group of affiliated online players originally comes from Netmech, the online version of Mechwarrior 2 and one of the first popular multiplayer online games.  In the Mechwarrior universe, the villains, genetically-engineering invaders (who you play as) are called clans.  In Netmech players who often worked together made up their own unoffical clans and the name has stuck.

Also, Vulcan, a common name for a basic machine gun (often with infinite ammo) in shooters is not named after the Star Trek race or the Roman god, but is instead named after the M61 vulcan, a gatling gun which has been the principle gun on U.S. fixed-wing aircraft for decades, and has been used in many other roles as well.

[Mop it up]

Anyone know where the recurring FF character name "Cid" came from?  I recall there was a reason for it but I can't remember where I heard it.

I'm now wondering that myself. Google was no help.

I've looked for explanations as to why Birdo is named Birdo when clearly she is not a bird, but have found nothing.

Because Birdo shoots eggs?

There's a bird that shoots eggs? They could've named her "Eggo" though I s'pose there would be some trademark issues with that...

[TJ Spyke]

Also, Gengar, the ghost-type, was supposed to be named Phantom, but there were obsure trademark issues with that name.

This is the first i've heard of there being any trademark issues. A lot of Pokemon had different names early on (for example, Chansey's English name was originally going to be the same as its Japanese name: Lucky).

[Louieturkey]

FYI the term 1UP actually was originally used in pinball machines where when 1UP was displayed it was the 1st player's turn to play and the 2UP for the 2nd player and so on.  1-up was I believe first used for an extra life in Super Mario Bros.  So pinball machiens coined the phrase but Nintendo purposed it for what it is used for now.

[Mop it up]

Was the term "1-up" used in Donkey Kong or Mario Brothers? I thought it was but I may be mistaken.

[ThePerm]

unless the original name was supposed to be Berto like Roberto, upon lookup i can see mop_it_up's fascination with Birdo because Birdo's Japanese name is Catherine (キャサリン, Kiyasarin). I wonder who was the very bored person who added the transgender connotation to the manual. I can just imagine being worked like a dog in the NES era early Nintendo America in the NYC days, and some disgruntled translator trying to see what they can slip by management.

also i have some speculation for why Birdo would be associated with Birds. The Yiddish word for bird is Faygele(et Deutsch Voegel), but its also has another connotation

[Mop it up]

I wonder who was the very bored person who added the transgender connotation to the manual. I can just imagine being worked like a dog in the NES era early Nintendo America in the NYC days, and some disgruntled translator trying to see what they can slip by management.

It's there in the original Japanese manual, so the NA translators didn't change anything.

[MegaByte]

Indeed, Birdo is still considered transgendered in Japan, even though they retconned it in the US.