Son Son II - in western magazines

[SGX Engine]

CVG - June 1989



The Games Machine - August 1989



Super Gaming - Summer 1991

[JoshTurboTrollX]

CVG was like the Euro version of VG&CE right?  I wonder if I could find something about Son Son II in my Video Games & Computer Entertainment mags.  ;)

Thanks!!

[SavagePencil]

I had never put the connection together between Son Son and Black Tiger.  That's an interesting thought.

[SGX Engine]

CVG was like the Euro version of VG&CE right?

Not exactly, no.

I wonder if I could find something about Son Son II in my Video Games & Computer Entertainment mags.  ;)

Thanks!!

I'll look to see if Video Games & Computer Entertainment has any coverage.

EGM mentioned "Son Son 2" in their second full issue.



I'd like to check if the Fall 1991 issue of Super Gaming had a review, but can't find any scans of it.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

CVG was like the Euro version of VG&CE right?

Not exactly, no.

Really? huh.  The fonts and the covers always looked so similar. The more you know!

[exodus]

why did two UK magazines review this game two years apart? and they sure like using the word "oriental" don't they

[CrackTiger]

why did two UK magazines review this game two years apart? and they sure like using the word "oriental" don't they

The people in various forums who go overboard to justify their use of the offense term banned here tend to identify as being from Europe, but usually the U.K. The line I see the most is "my buddy knows one who doesn't mind being called that, so it's okay". Often at other times, the same people take offense to generalizations made about people from their own country.

In the end, they make the opposite of their original argument, that it's not worth getting worked up over. It is a big deal... that they continue to type out three letters instead of five.

Basically asking "Please just don't be an asshole" is taken as an unreasonable request by some people.

[ccovell]

The U.K. in the '80s/'90s still was OK with saying "oriental" and "J*p".

And Super Gaming, good as it was, wasn't a preview of new games coming out in Japan, more like a "here's what we bought on our last Japan junket."  Hence the 1989 game featured in 1991.

P.S. Super Gaming was an offshoot by the writers of EGM, an American magazine.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Thanks for the Son Son scans.  Good reads.

Basically asking "Please just don't be an asshole" is taken as an unreasonable request by some people.

This is about me, isn't it. 

[turboswimbz]

The strange thing about the use of oriental there is that it came after the use of Japanese (although referring to the language)  I think it just may be a reflection of the time from that part of the world.

Still - awesome scans.

[Psycho Punch]

Hey, "oriental" is a bad word now? That's new to me.

[gilbert]

Hey, "oriental" is a bad word now? That's new to me.

I never know this either. Does this mean many brand names, such as certain hotel names, are offensive now?

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I demand that Occidental College change its name.

[dshadoff]

Hey, "oriental" is a bad word now? That's new to me.

I never know this either. Does this mean many brand names, such as certain hotel names, are offensive now?

I had never heard this either.
I am aware that many people prefer the word "Asian" nowadays, but that term is inclusive of the peoples of the Indian subcontinent as well (so as a descriptive term, the word is far more vague).

[ParanoiaDragon]

Oriental has been considered semi-offensive here(Southern Cali) for maybe around 20 years I'd guess.  That is, unless you're talking about Oriental culture, or an Oriental rug.  There might be other instances where it's ok to use the word, but I can't think of them at the moment.  But calling someone specifically Oriental instead of Asian has been a general no-no in my area.

[Purple1308]

CVG was like the Euro version of VG&CE right?

Not exactly, no.

I wonder if I could find something about Son Son II in my Video Games & Computer Entertainment mags.  ;)

Thanks!!

I'll look to see if Video Games & Computer Entertainment has any coverage.

EGM mentioned "Son Son 2" in their second full issue.



I'd like to check if the Fall 1991 issue of Super Gaming had a review, but can't find any scans of it.

I own that controller it has a horriable d pad and the turbo switchs are in a weird location

[seieienbu]

As I understood it, the orient was mostly referring to Eastern Asian countries.  When I was a kid it wasn't considered any deal at all to refer to someone from China, Korea, Japan, etc as Oriental.  Later on I was informed that oriental can refer to food, things, places, but not people; it is offensive to use it in that manner. 

Maybe it wasn't offensive when I was a kid but as people find it offensive now I don't use the term outside of referring to stuff.

[CrackTiger]

"Oriental" has been considered out-of-date or offensive since at least my early teens and that's likely only the age that I clued in. But it wasn't that I grew up in an oversensitive progressive community, just the opposite. It's regularly come up in news and entertainment since at least that time.

Like many insensitive language terms or concepts, you can rationalize outside of context like history, how something shouldn't be offensive. But many things (like swastikas) just happened to be tied to negative events, trends, misc for a lot of people. In most cases it comes from a many people using something intentionally to slight people for a long time and not simply a new generation of overly sensitive snowflakes looking for out of date terms.

I'm not overly sensitive and don't get offended or worked up over a lot of "politically incorrect" stuff and I really don't like the trend of young people coopting things like gender or sexuality identity for attention. I think that's the most offensive thing you can do to the actual minority of people dealing with things like that for real.

So although I don't think that many things should be offensive, in most cases it really is no big deal to not say something that affects many people negatively. It's no different than all the ways we've subconciously learned how to avoid being rude, just from living in society. Except that it's something you are concious of.

Like in Eddie Murphy Delirious when he said that racism levels have improved, since people don't call him that word anymore. But maybe they only wait for him to leave the room.

[gilbert]

Well. That's odd. Maybe the word is considered offensive in the west (and to Asians living in the west). For Asians living in, errr...  Asia we don't really care (or, probably, don't know about any implications).

[cccmar]

Possibly it's kinda like Eastern Europeans using 'negr' (sounds rather similar to one particular word in English) to address black people, because calling somebody straight-up black there is much more offensive, for historic reasons, and of course Afro-American doesn't apply geographically either. In other words, such terms are based on socio-cultural factors and the local history.
I've rarely ever heard Oriental used these days in Ireland, but there was a time when it could be heard pretty much constantly, both IRL and in the news, so there could be something to that.

[nopepper]

Although thankfully I dont recollect ever using the term towards Asians, it's also news to me that Oriental is derogatory in that context. I moved to CO in 99 (from Puerto Rico) and had never heard anyone point this out either, but there is not as big an Asian population here as in the CA and Pacific Northwest.

With the growing number of words that are added to the nonPC list, I wouldn't be surprised if soon we will all be using a form of newspeak, for chrissakes.

[OldMan]

With the growing number of words that are added to the nonPC list, I wouldn't be surprised if soon we will all be using a form of newspeak, for chrissakes.

++good

[soop]

As far as I remember, in the 90's the three latter version was never seen as offensive.  At a guess, I'd say it was probably due to the UK never being directly involved in hostilities with Japan the same way the USA was.  For us, it was literally just a convenient three letter shortening you'd see in a column on black market import pages.  I was surprised in the mid-2000's when I was told it was offensive (on a forum obvs).  And the only time I've heard anyone use the term "Orientals" was an autistic fellow I had an aquaintence with.

Mind you, we have our own offensive terms.  the term "Chinky" get's banded about very casually sometimes, and I can feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment

[turboswimbz]

probably due to the UK never being directly involved in hostilities with Japan the same way the USA was.  For us, it was literally just a convenient three letter shortening you'd see in a column on black market import pages.

I get Jap may not have been considered particularly racist, but neither were a lot of once accepted words, societies change and so do the pressures of polite conversation.  I don't buy this for one second.  Just because I say something offensive and is just convenient doesn't mean it isn't hurtful towards people, or was originally used in such a way.


I'd like to point out that counter to your argument:
The battles of Singapore and Hong Kong are quite relevant. (Both were under British control at the time, and contained British Military bases/fleets)
Further, the UK was heavily involved in most of the Pacific naval theater.

[JAPJAC]

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