No reason for the change was disclosed. Perhaps the localizers thought "impact" better reflected his abilities? Maybe they thought "pile" carried some kind of connotation? Who knows – it's up for speculation.
Beyond the whole name thing, the website also brings us some new information about Impact/Pile Man himself. According to his profile, Impact/Pile Man's body "consists of three pile driver robots who call themselves the Impact Brothers: Kui-ichiro, Kui-jiro, and Kui-saburo." That's pretty neat, yeah? You can read more about the big guy here.
While you're at it, check out some voice samples: Japanese version here, English version here.
Source: Official Rockman 11 website
That's one robot master weapon Mega Man wouldn't want to copy.
ReplyDelete"YOU'VE GOT... PILES!"
what a loaded pile of...
ReplyDeleteI'll never understand Capcom...
haemorrhoidman!!
ReplyDeleteGot Equipped With...PILES SMASHER!
Oh man...Impact Man's lines there are pretty cringey. lol Far too "animated" or "articulated". You know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or does Impact Man's Japanese voice sound a bit like a kabuki actor?
ReplyDeletei thought the same, so maybe it does.
DeleteGoing by the description, Impact Man makes more sense not to mention sounds way cooler.
ReplyDeletePile Man sounds like a legit real mechanical device used at garbage dumps or something.
That would explain why the weapon is called Pile Driver. I prefer the name "Impact Man", but I slightly prefer the Japanese VA.
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest: if they called him Pile Man overseas, literally everyone would jump at the chance to call him "Pile of **** Man" or something like that. We've seen this before with Hard Man and Wood Man ��
ReplyDeleteOh well, Impact Man has a much better ring to it anyway, just like Mega Man/Rock Man and Vile/Vava! ��
Actually, they did the same before with Mega Man Star Force 2's bosses but of course that's another series (Still not used to "Brachio Wave" being changed to "Plesio Surf").
ReplyDeleteBosses have been getting their names changed in the west since the X series, it's just that this is the first time it has happened for the classic series.
DeleteLike how over-the-top he sound in japanese.
ReplyDeleteTRANSFORMER MAN
ReplyDeleteWhat is a Man?! A miserable Pile!! (Of circuits.)
ReplyDeleteI'll see myself out.
Wake me up when September ends.
ReplyDeleteIt simply gives me the impression of pile driver or pile bunker (the Japanese really like the term "pile bunker" in their fictional media a lot for some reason).
ReplyDelete"consists of three pile driver robots who call themselves the Impact Brothers: Kui-ichiro, Kui-jiro, and Kui-saburo"
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Capcom did not localize those names. Do they have an English translation?
(explanation no one asked for) It's cause a pile is a kind of large stake or spike you drive into the ground.
ReplyDeleteAs for their naming, "kui" is a Japanese word for pile. Then Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo are just bland Japanese male names. They literally mean "first son, second son, third son." It is kinda odd they left the Japanese names. They coulda named them, like, Spike, Strike, and Pike or something.
Oooooh, I like your naming idea, Midori!
DeleteThanks! Again, still confused as to why they didn't just localize them. Oh well.
DeleteMaybe they were afraid of potential backlash from changing "exotic" Japanese names to "boring" English ones, despite the fact the Japanese names are the ho-hum sounding ones. You know how this age of fans can be with their "no name changes or it's not true to the original" snotty attitude.
DeleteI can think of one reason why, and it's due to fans and their tendency to overreact to localization changes these days.
Delete