Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Master Higgins' love life is a mess, due to numerous translation mistakes! This is a deep-dive into Hudson Soft's Adventure Island and its ridiculous localization, where I take a look at the wild changes made to the English text when compared to the original Japanese language versions. The English translators did Higgins dirty, and turned him into an absolute womanizer. It's a series-wide tale of heartbreak, infidelity, and identity crises (yes, plural).
I will teach you the story of his totally different girlfriends. Know the difference between Princess Leilani, Princess Tina, Jina/Gina, Jeanie Jungle, Jeannie Jungle (two n's), and Jungle Jane.
Original games covered by order of release in Japan (English names used when relevant):
1. Adventure Island
2. Takahashi Meijin no Bug-tte Honey
3. Adventure Island II
4. Super Adventure Island
5. New Adventure Island
6. Adventure Island III
7. Adventure Island IV
8. Super Adventure Island II
9. Hudson Selection Vol. 4: Takahashi Meijin no Bลkenjima
10. Adventure Island: The Beginning
โญ Subscribe: youtube.com/channel/UCEZxL9rNR5rspAtxtCFUL7w?sub_confirmation=1
๐๏ธ If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Patreon. You'll receive a special shout-out in the credits, and access to exclusive behind-the-scenes stuff! patreon.com/ThaneGaming
SOURCES & ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Manual scans:
๐ Wonder Boy Sega Master System manual scan uploaded by Games Database
๐ Adventure Island I & II NES manual scans uploaded by Hubz for the Internet Archive
๐New Adventure Island manual scan by Konami
๐ Super Adventure Island I & II SNES manual scans uploaded by SNESManualArchive for the IA
๐ Adventure Island I & II GB manual scans uploaded by The Game Is Afoot Arcade
๐ Japanese "story" page for Super Adventure Island I & II (WIi Virtual Console)
nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_tmd/vc_tmd_02.html
nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_tmd2/vc_tmd2_02.html
๐ฆ Super Mario Bros. NES & Super Mario 64 manual scans by Nintendo
Interviews/articles:
๐ "When was the 16 shots per second discovered?" - Haruda's Bar featuring Takahashi Meijin
youtu.be/u-FnnXba8Hw?si=Yg0LEDCkrgYFKPAd&t=386
๐ฅ "The Adventure Island series has a twisted case of love" by ReyVGM via the Hardcore Gaming 101 forum hg101.proboards.com/thread/14815/adventure-island-series-twisted-case
Images:
๐งโโ๏ธ Adventure Island NES and Super NES sprites ripped by Deathbringer, Goemar, Superjustinbros, and Tonberry2k for the Spriters Resource
๐ Paper Mario: The Origami King items icons ripped by fawfulthegreat64
๐ฅ Super Mario Advance Birdo sprite ripped by Gussprint
๐ Hudson Soft Hubee & Takahashi Meijin 40th anniversary logos from THUNDERBOX
๐ Adventure Island NES poster uploaded by Retro Gaming Collectibles
๐ฅ Super Adventure Island Famicom box scan uploaded by RFH and Guard_Master for GameFAQs
๐ช New Adventure Island box art uploaded by Rockin' Kat for MobyGames
๐ฆด Jefferson County Courthouse, in Monticello, Florida by Ebyabe, under the "Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic" & "Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported" licenses. No changes were made commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jefferson_Cty_Crths_Monticello01.jpg
๐ฑ Distracted Boyfriend - Original Stock Photo by Shutterstock. Uploaded by Don Caldwell for Know Your Meme
Additional video footage:
๐ฆ Cat vibing greenscreen perfect loop by mayne วuสษษฏ
โค๏ธ Sailor Moon Super clip uploaded by skinnedfurby
๐ฟ Tarzan film clip uploaded by Elsie Lovelock
๐น The Simpsons clip uploaded by Internet King
๐ชญ DAN DA DAN OP clip uploaded by Netflix Anime
๐โโ๏ธ SpongeBob clips uploaded by SpongeBob SquarePants Official
๐ Avatar: The Last Airbender clips uploaded by Avatar Legends
๐ณ๏ธ Looney Tunes clip uploaded by Warner Bros. Classics
Sound FX:
๐ Wario World voice clips ripped by Sonikku A & Weario for The Sounds Resource
๐ฅ Super Mario Advance character voice clips ripped by CosmicLoop & Shiruba for TSR
0:00 - Introduction
1:12 - The real life Master Higgins
2:59 - Higgins' many love interests
10:58 - Japanese vs. English localization recap
13:47 - Another girl?!
15:14 - Conclusion
#adventureisland #nes #hudsonsoft
Master Higgins' love life is a mess, due to numerous translation mistakes! This is a deep-dive into Hudson Soft's Adventure Island and its ridiculous localization, where I take a look at the wild changes made to the English text when compared to the original Japanese language versions. The English translators did Higgins dirty, and turned him into an absolute womanizer. It's a series-wide tale of heartbreak, infidelity, and identity crises (yes, plural).
I will teach you the story of his totally different girlfriends. Know the difference between Princess Leilani, Princess Tina, Jina/Gina, Jeanie Jungle, Jeannie Jungle (two n's), and Jungle Jane.
Original games covered by order of release in Japan (English names used when relevant):
1. Adventure Island
2. Takahashi Meijin no Bug-tte Honey
3. Adventure Island II
4. Super Adventure Island
5. New Adventure Island
6. Adventure Island III
7. Adventure Island IV
8. Super Adventure Island II
9. Hudson Selection Vol. 4: Takahashi Meijin no Bลkenjima
10. Adventure Island: The Beginning
โญ Subscribe: youtube.com/channel/UCEZxL9rNR5rspAtxtCFUL7w?sub_confirmation=1
๐๏ธ If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Patreon. You'll receive a special shout-out in the credits, and access to exclusive behind-the-scenes stuff! patreon.com/ThaneGaming
SOURCES & ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Manual scans:
๐ Wonder Boy Sega Master System manual scan uploaded by Games Database
๐ Adventure Island I & II NES manual scans uploaded by Hubz for the Internet Archive
๐New Adventure Island manual scan by Konami
๐ Super Adventure Island I & II SNES manual scans uploaded by SNESManualArchive for the IA
๐ Adventure Island I & II GB manual scans uploaded by The Game Is Afoot Arcade
๐ Japanese "story" page for Super Adventure Island I & II (WIi Virtual Console)
nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_tmd/vc_tmd_02.html
nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_tmd2/vc_tmd2_02.html
๐ฆ Super Mario Bros. NES & Super Mario 64 manual scans by Nintendo
Interviews/articles:
๐ "When was the 16 shots per second discovered?" - Haruda's Bar featuring Takahashi Meijin
youtu.be/u-FnnXba8Hw?si=Yg0LEDCkrgYFKPAd&t=386
๐ฅ "The Adventure Island series has a twisted case of love" by ReyVGM via the Hardcore Gaming 101 forum hg101.proboards.com/thread/14815/adventure-island-series-twisted-case
Images:
๐งโโ๏ธ Adventure Island NES and Super NES sprites ripped by Deathbringer, Goemar, Superjustinbros, and Tonberry2k for the Spriters Resource
๐ Paper Mario: The Origami King items icons ripped by fawfulthegreat64
๐ฅ Super Mario Advance Birdo sprite ripped by Gussprint
๐ Hudson Soft Hubee & Takahashi Meijin 40th anniversary logos from THUNDERBOX
๐ Adventure Island NES poster uploaded by Retro Gaming Collectibles
๐ฅ Super Adventure Island Famicom box scan uploaded by RFH and Guard_Master for GameFAQs
๐ช New Adventure Island box art uploaded by Rockin' Kat for MobyGames
๐ฆด Jefferson County Courthouse, in Monticello, Florida by Ebyabe, under the "Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic" & "Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported" licenses. No changes were made commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jefferson_Cty_Crths_Monticello01.jpg
๐ฑ Distracted Boyfriend - Original Stock Photo by Shutterstock. Uploaded by Don Caldwell for Know Your Meme
Additional video footage:
๐ฆ Cat vibing greenscreen perfect loop by mayne วuสษษฏ
โค๏ธ Sailor Moon Super clip uploaded by skinnedfurby
๐ฟ Tarzan film clip uploaded by Elsie Lovelock
๐น The Simpsons clip uploaded by Internet King
๐ชญ DAN DA DAN OP clip uploaded by Netflix Anime
๐โโ๏ธ SpongeBob clips uploaded by SpongeBob SquarePants Official
๐ Avatar: The Last Airbender clips uploaded by Avatar Legends
๐ณ๏ธ Looney Tunes clip uploaded by Warner Bros. Classics
Sound FX:
๐ Wario World voice clips ripped by Sonikku A & Weario for The Sounds Resource
๐ฅ Super Mario Advance character voice clips ripped by CosmicLoop & Shiruba for TSR
0:00 - Introduction
1:12 - The real life Master Higgins
2:59 - Higgins' many love interests
10:58 - Japanese vs. English localization recap
13:47 - Another girl?!
15:14 - Conclusion
#adventureisland #nes #hudsonsoft
