Fun Club What are common misnamings/misinformation about gaming things that drive you up the wall?

[MagiCarbo]

* EPD IS All Nintendo first party. If you want to distinguish internal games from external titles, sure. But all Nintendo games are essentially EPD productions.

* The people who whine about motion controls have never actually used them, or played some broken waggle shit from 2007 and judge their opinion on that.

 

[Gingerbread Man]

WonderBoy / Monster World Western titles

1. Wonder Boy (JP: Super Wonder Boy)
2. Wonder Boy in Monster Land (JP: Super Wonder Boy: Monster World)
3. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (JP: Monster Lair)
4. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (JP: Monster World II: Dragon no Wana)
5. Wonder Boy in Monster World (JP: Wonder Boy V: Monster World III )
6. N/A (JP: Monster World IV)

EDIT: Also, it’s not a “D-Pad”—it’s the “+ Control Pad”!! Almost nobody ever gets this one right, despite Nintendo never calling it a “D-Pad” anymore—and I’m not sure they ever actually called it that in the first place; I tried to find the original source of the term “D-Pad” but only came up with dead ends, and I’m not convinced it was ever an official Nintendo term to begin with like most people seem to think, but I could be wrong. Either way, though, that’s absolutely not what it’s called now, and if it ever was officially called that it certainly hasn’t been for multiple decades now.

It was SEGA coining the term, wasn't it?. "D-Pad" was used at least in some Iwata Asks articles, though it would be interesting to check how Nintendo Japan handled the term!

The idea that Nintendo cheaped out with the Switch and bought some decrepit outdated mobile SoC when that is not at all what the Tegra X1 was in 2015-2016 when Nintendo decided to use this chip.

Also the constant misinformation of Nintendo's "poor track record" with backward compatibility makes me realize that people really don't do the basic amount of research before typing.

Yeah, the BC misinformation is very annoying, because it is very easy to see that, well, they cared. "Zelda doesn't have a timeline, it was all made up for the book" too.

 

[Serif]

Yeah, the BC misinformation is very annoying, because it is very easy to see that, well, they cared. "Zelda doesn't have a timeline, it was all made up for the book" too.

Don't get me started. The literal in-game text defeats this.

 

[BlackthornOrion]

* EPD IS All Nintendo first party. If you want to distinguish internal games from external titles, sure. But all Nintendo games are essentially EPD productions.

This actually reminded me of another one. I pretty frequently see people talk about EAD, which hasn't been a thing for almost a decade, when they mean EPD.

 

[E.Gadd]

See this punk?

How do you say his name?

Did you say "Buh-bomb"? If so how dare you

 

[MagiCarbo]

This actually reminded me of another one. I pretty frequently see people talk about EAD, which hasn't been the case for almost a decade, when they mean EPD.

I'm willing to be most Nintendo fans still think Miyamoto is still in charge of all the Nintendo games. He isn't, Shinya Takahashi is. PlayStation fans are pretty familiar with WWS/PS Studios heads like Shuhei Yoshida and Hermen Hulst, so it's funny that seemingly few Nintendo fans even know what Takahashi does outside of Directs.

 

[Joy-Boy]

Is it too soon to bring up the fact that the localization for FF7R is pronouncing Cait Sith wrong (despite it being correct in katakana)

They have planted their flag

 

[Joe]

I drive others up the wall, I'll always say Demon Crest and Demon Souls

To be fair, "Demon's Souls" was always incredibly clunky in my opinion.

 

[jirou]

Hate it when people say Dark Souls instead of Doug's Souls... it's in the text

 

[Mekanos]

They have planted their flag

Yeah, it's dumb as hell lol

I doubt any of the other languages will use this pronunciation either

 

[Joe]

See this punk?

How do you say his name?

Did you say "Buh-bomb"? If so how dare you

"Buh-bomb" is drilled into my brain because of that one scene from the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie

 

[SiG]

People calling zL and zR "L2 and R2".

Saying that the Nintendo Switch button layout is "weird" compared to the Xbox standard, insisting that Nintendo should adopt because "XInput came first". What is this zoomer nonsense?

See this punk?

How do you say his name?

"Bobby"

 

[E.Gadd]

"Buh-bomb" is drilled into my brain because of that one scene from the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie

Damn. I really need to rewatch this movie

 

[slide's]

People calling zL and zR "L2 and R2".

that is annoying but also it reminds me that Nintendo still has no official name for their L3/R3 equivalents, just slightly ambiguous in-game diagrams and (I think) they’ve sometimes said “press the stick like a button” or something lol

also it’s ZL and ZR, not zL and zR. gotta be vigilant in these pedantry threads

 

[Stilt Village]

Doesn't really bother me but I still see so many people stay Stickerbrush Symphony when that's not even a word. It's Stickerbush Symphony because a sticker bush is a thorny plant, like the bramble levels it plays in.

This one is really weird because I tried looking into it and I think it somehow spread from coverage of the GBA port (which is where the typo originates from) that came around at just the right time in internet history. I have no idea how it could have happened otherwise, not that many people would have ever seen its sound test, and other oddities like Snakey Shantey never got any traction.

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

When people misspell Mega Drive as Genesis. What’s up with that?

 

[Weebos]

Whenever somebody calls a turn-based strategy game like XCOM an RTS.

I get that some folks use RTS as a shorthand for strategy, but Real-Time Strategy is literally the opposite of Turn-Based Strategy.

 

[Tye]

It was SEGA coining the term, wasn't it?. "D-Pad" was used at least in some Iwata Asks articles, though it would be interesting to check how Nintendo Japan handled the term!

I’m not nearly as familiar with SEGA systems as I am with Nintendo systems, so maybe that’s the case, yeah. But then why do people use the term for Nintendo systems, and what’s up with them using the term in that Iwata Asks too? I’m also curious if it’s just a localization error or what.

Regardless, they’re talking about the NES there, and on modern Nintendo systems, at the very least everything from DS/Wii and up for sure, it’s officially called the “+Control Pad”, never “D-Pad”.

People calling zL and zR "L2 and R2".

Saying that the Nintendo Switch button layout is "weird" compared to the Xbox standard, insisting that Nintendo should adopt because "XInput came first". What is this zoomer nonsense?

Yeah, this is another one that absolutely annoys me. Same with calling the L and R buttons “L1” and “R1” or “LB” and “RB”—not only is it incorrect, but it’s also a longer name! It’s not even more convenient, it’s just wrong! lol

Even worse, though, is calling the Left Stick and Right Stick “L3” and “R3”—it’s a confusing name even on PlayStation! Just saying “click the Left/Right Stick” is much more intuitive. Whenever I hear L3/R3 I’m like “what the hell does that mean, what other pair of buttons are there??” for a moment before I remember it means clicking the sticks, lol. Giving a different name to the same input depending on how you use it is just needlessly complicated.

And yeah, it astounds me that so many people think that Nintendo should change their button layout when theirs came first!! Xbox—well, okay, Dreamcast, actually—is the one that’s to blame for the inconsistency, not Nintendo.

 

[Joe]

Calling a ground pound a "butt stomp"

 

[SiG]

that is annoying but also it reminds me that Nintendo still has no official name for their L3/R3 equivalents, just slightly ambiguous in-game diagrams and (I think) they’ve sometimes said “press the stick like a button” or something lol

also it’s ZL and ZR, not zL and zR. gotta be vigilant in these pedantry threads

I believe they refer to it as "Left Stick" and "Right Stick" respectively. Most games just change the font a bit and keep the "LS" or "RS" moniker.

I do believe you're right, though, it should be "ZL" and "ZR".

When people misspell Mega Drive as Genesis. What’s up with that?

"Why do people pronounce Super Nintendo as 'SSSSSSSSNESSSS'?"

"It's 'ESS-NESS', dammit!"

 

[slide's]

I believe they refer to it as "Left Stick" and "Right Stick" respectively. Most games just change the font a bit and keep the "LS" or "RS" moniker.

yeah I specifically meant when it functions as a button rather than the stick itself, which is still such a strange feature to me that I’m not sure if there is a naming convention or way of symbolizing it consistently that I’d be happy with lol

 

[SiG]

yeah I specifically meant when it functions as a button rather than the stick itself, which is still such a strange feature to me that I’m not sure if there is a naming convention or way of symbolizing it consistently that I’d be happy with lol

Yeah, I was refering to the buttons part, the one that 8bitdo insists on called "L3" and "R3"...

Speaking of which, I can't believe given the number of Nintendo-style button layout gmaepads they've created, they still mislabel the shoulder "triggers" as "L2" and "R2" even in their latest Switch controllers.

 

[Tab]

I'm now very interested to find the earliest official usage of "D-Pad" by a company. The manual for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn both refer to it as the "D-Button", so I assume it's an off-shoot of that. The Playstation 1's manual refers to the separate buttons together as the "Directional Buttons".

Actually, I just found it. As far as I can tell, the first usage of "D-Pad" officially was the Sega Dreamcast

EDIT: Actually, it turns out that may have actually been Nintendo. I've found differing N64 manuals that either call it the "D-Pad" or "+ Control Pad".

 

[Gingerbread Man]

Speaking of ZL/ZR...

On the Nintendo 64 controller, Z was basically an alternate L/R button depending on how you hold the controller (so, for example, in Zelda games, it was the de-facto L button).

On the GameCube controller, Z was a secondary right shoulder button -- the "main" actions were mapped to R. The Classic Controller had ZL and ZR as secondary buttons too, and so did the Classic Controller Pro. Though the CC Pro had ZL and ZR behind L and R.

The 3DS Circle Pad Pro also had ZL and ZR behind L and R, but the way it was supposed to be held made ZL and ZR the primary buttons.

This was inherited by the Wii U GamePad and then the Switch, which had ZL and ZR as primary buttons. This feels... wrong. "L" and "R" are more intuitive name for the main left and right shoulder buttons, "ZL" and "ZR" are perfect names for secondary buttons and the whole lineage starting from the GameCube makes it clear. And Nintendo got it right with the GamePad prototype! Why did they change their mind?

 

[SiG]

It was SEGA coining the term, wasn't it?. "D-Pad" was used at least in some Iwata Asks articles, though it would be interesting to check how Nintendo Japan handled the term!

Coinsidering that interview was published by Nintendo of Europe, I don't think they did the additional terminology check/bible that NOA would usually possess.

I'm now very interested to find the earliest official usage of "D-Pad" by a company. The manual for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn both refer to it as the "D-Button", so I assume it's an off-shoot of that. The Playstation 1's manual refers to the separate buttons together as the "Directional Buttons".

Actually, I just found it. As far as I can tell, the first usage of "D-Pad" officially was the Sega Dreamcast

EDIT: Actually, it turns out that may have actually been Nintendo. The N64's manual also says "D-Pad"

For the longest time, all NIntendo game and console manuals refer to the pad as the +Control Pad (the "plus" symbol is actually heavily stylized/a specialized glyph to look like the actual pad itself). Without the cross glyph, they would simply refer it as the Control Pad.

 

[Tab]

Coinsidering that interview was published by Nintendo of Europe, I don't think they did the additional terminology check/bible that NOA would usually possess.


For the longest time, all NIntendo game and console manuals refer to the pad as the +Control Pad (the "plus" symbol is actually heavily stylized/a specialized glyph to look like the actual pad itself). Without the cross glyph, they would simply refer it as the Control Pad.

You are correct, the image I saw was not from an official manual. Meaning the Dreamcast is likely the first official usage by a company.

 

[Tab]

I know I'm double posting here, but I figured I should check more obscure consoles to be thorough, and sure enough:

The 3DO referred to it as the "Directional Pad", albeit without the "D-Pad" shortening. The TurboGrafx-16 referred to it as the "Four-way controller" if you were wondering. I can't find one for the Phillips CD-I. The Atari Jaguar's doesn't have a detailed breakdown of the controllers buttons as far as I can tell.

 

[Tye]

For the longest time, all NIntendo game and console manuals refer to the pad as the +Control Pad (the "plus" symbol is actually heavily stylized/a specialized glyph to look like the actual pad itself). Without the cross glyph, they would simply refer it as the Control Pad.

They definitely do refer to it as “Plus Control Pad” when pronounced, though, at least in recent generations. And, as the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller diagram posted above shows, they do just use a normal “+” character before “Control Pad” as well.

 

[blue2425]

Doesnt drive me up the wall but it tweaks my brain everytime I here it. I have a friend that instead if saying they completed a "level" they say they completed a "board"....they claim it's a US east coast thing...

 

[BlackthornOrion]

Doesnt drive me up the wall but it tweaks my brain everytime I here it. I have a friend that instead if saying they completed a "level" they say they completed a "board"....they claim it's a US east coast thing...

US east coast checking in, never heard anyone use the phrase "completed a board"

 

[Ozeiyo]

"Drive me up the wall" is perhaps too much of a descriptor, but I feel the need to mention the Direct phrasing "That was the The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom game."

People meme on it in Direct Speculation but I find the double "the"'s to be of relentless annoyance.

Don't forget to enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom game in your Nintendo Switch system!

 

[Joe]

Don't forget to enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom game in your Nintendo Switch system!

Nintendo Switch family of systems.

 

[PixelKnight]

US east coast checking in, never heard anyone use the phrase "completed a board"

I only ever heard ‘clearing boards’ in the context of 1980s single screen games in the arcades as a kid (Pac-Man, Missile Command, Donkey Kong, Bubble Bobble etc) and their home computer ports here in the UK.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Resident Evil numbering.
RE2,3,4,5,6 and 7 all use numbers, and then RE VIII uses Roman numerals just because it fits really nicely into ‘village’.

7 is a weird one. The Japanese title highlights 7 inside of "Z", but the western one highlights VII inside of "EVIL".

My proposals for the RE2/3 remakes.

That somehow, Nintendo wasn't that much present in Europe in the 80's-90's and that everybody here was just playing Gianna sisters.

I won't foist Gianna on them, but a lot more people were definitely doing something else. And these numbers are even from before the time when they properly split "Other" apart from Europe.

Whenever somebody calls a turn-based strategy game like XCOM an RTS.

I get that some folks use RTS as a shorthand for strategy, but Real-Time Strategy is literally the opposite of Turn-Based Strategy.

Similarly, when any RPG with a menu gets referred to as a turn-based game.

 

[Hailinel]

They definitely do refer to it as “Plus Control Pad” when pronounced, though, at least in recent generations. And, as the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller diagram posted above shows, they do just use a normal “+” character before “Control Pad” as well.

"+Control Pad" is Nintendo's official terminology for it, and it's enforced when it comes up. I was a game tester at NOA in the late GameCube/early Wii era and when we had to file a bug any time a game referred to it as anything else.

 

[Tye]

"+Control Pad" is Nintendo's official terminology for it, and it's enforced when it comes up. I was a game tester at NOA in the late GameCube/early Wii era and when we had to file a bug any time a game referred to it as anything else.

Yeah, exactly, see! I’ve never heard it referred to as just “Control Pad”.

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[Stilt Village]

US east coast checking in, never heard anyone use the phrase "completed a board"

It must be an Albany expression.

 

[DaToonie]

OK "driving me up a wall" is definitely more extreme than how I'd describe it, but people referring to tracks in racing games as "stages" or "levels" always gets a

out of me.

 

[Joe]

OK "driving me up a wall" is definitely more extreme than how I'd describe it, but people referring to tracks in racing games as "stages" or "levels" always gets a

out of me.

I once saw a YouTuber refer to Mario Maker levels as "maps" and it bothered me more than it should have.

 

[MSnap]

Whenever somebody calls a turn-based strategy game like XCOM an RTS.

I get that some folks use RTS as a shorthand for strategy, but Real-Time Strategy is literally the opposite of Turn-Based Strategy.

I saw someone call Baldur’s Gate 3 an RTS

 

[MSnap]

I know I'm double posting here, but I figured I should check more obscure consoles to be thorough, and sure enough:

The 3DO referred to it as the "Directional Pad", albeit without the "D-Pad" shortening. The TurboGrafx-16 referred to it as the "Four-way controller" if you were wondering. I can't find one for the Phillips CD-I. The Atari Jaguar's doesn't have a detailed breakdown of the controllers buttons as far as I can tell.

For some reason I always assumed D Pad was a Sega thing because they used A B and C, and next would be D

 

[Tye]

OK "driving me up a wall" is definitely more extreme than how I'd describe it, but people referring to tracks in racing games as "stages" or "levels" always gets a

out of me.

They’re officially called “courses” in Mario Kart, not “tracks”. (It’s also “courses” for 2D Mario games as well, not “levels” as most people say!)

 

[Bobo]

I once saw a YouTuber refer to Mario Maker levels as "maps" and it bothered me more than it should have.

I have also heard people refer to levels as “boards” which always sort of baffled me.

 

[DaToonie]

They’re officially called “courses” in Mario Kart, not “tracks”. (It’s also “courses” for 2D Mario games as well, not “levels” as most people say!)

Yeah I'm aware of that, but have always used "tracks" for every racing game, and find level/stage to be particularly unfitting is all.

 

[hologram]

* The people who whine about motion controls have never actually used them, or played some broken waggle shit from 2007 and judge their opinion on that.

I don't like motion controls. You may surprised to hear that I have in fact tried them more recently than 2007

 

[topsekret]

Doesnt drive me up the wall but it tweaks my brain everytime I here it. I have a friend that instead if saying they completed a "level" they say they completed a "board"....they claim it's a US east coast thing...

I had a computer science professor who used this. We had an assignment where we had to make Mario "boards."

It used to drive me crazy when people refer to stages, levels, courses, tracks, etc... in multiplayer games as "maps." A map isn't a place--it's an abstract representation of a place (usually 2D) for navigation purposes. But being in the Splatoon community for long enough, I got used to it and it started rubbing off on me.

I believe there was even either a Squid Sisters or Off the Hook dialogue that poked fun at this (which I'm paraphrasing cause I can't find the original, bonus points if anyone can):
"Check out the new map!"
"They're 'stages' not 'maps.'"

 

[freedomseekr]

Y's

I made that typo eons ago and I still don't know how it got permeated. Probably that apostrophe-like thing in the logo for Seven.

(Also, on the subject of Ys, people have pronounced it as "whys" when it's pronounced "ees")

It used to drive me crazy when people refer to stages, levels, courses, tracks, etc... in multiplayer games as "maps." A map isn't a place--it's an abstract representation of a place (usually 2D) for navigation purposes. But being in the Splatoon community for long enough, I got used to it and it started rubbing off on me.

I think that may be due to some early FPS, like Doom, referring to their levels as MAPs and it just stuck.

 

[carbvan]

People LOVE labeling King Dedede and Meta Knight as villains. Hell, even the Smash Bros. trailer for King K. Rool has Kirby vs Meta Knight is a reel of heroes vs. villains!

It's ridiculous! Meta Knight hasn't been truly evil in like 2 decades. Dedede is a bastard and a bit of a jerk but he also hasn't been truly evil in awhile, he just gets mind-controlled.

 

[topsekret]

I think that may be due to some early FPS, like Doom, referring to their levels as MAPs and it just stuck.

Yeah, it definitely originated from FPS games. Heard it a bunch from friends in middle school and high school when playing when playing GoldenEye, Halo, etc...

 

[Fuffelpups]

Custom Map
Map Editor

It’s deeply rooted in strategy games as well as shooter.