On certain occasions we have seen Spain represented in some famous titles worldwide, where the culture or important locations have made a somewhat peculiar appearance. If we wanted to know how developers see Spain, we would only have to take a look at the following list of games, where we partially observe, what is still a stereotype, a biased image of how our country is, which on certain occasions are usually caricatured. In this post we will not only see characters, but also used scenes and conversations.
Tony Hawk Underground 2
Good weather, beach, mountains, exquisite diet and monuments of all kinds. Barcelona awaits a lot of activities to do and everyone who has visited it keeps in his memory images of great and renowned places. Tony Hawk Underground 2 made a stop in the capital of Catalonia where we can move around the floor of the Park Güell, La Pedrera, the port and even the Barcelona Sants station. In addition, this reduction of spaces saves topics that are far from the reality about Spain like bulls in the middle of the streets.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tekken 6
The fighting games keep many references to our country, scenarios that cover important locations on the peninsula accompanied, on occasions, by festivities. However, in Tekken 6 we meet Miguel Caballero Rojo, a dark-haired Spaniard with an open shirt and curly hair who stars in the intense pelas with Andalusian phrases, which is presented on a stage set in La Tomatina de Buñol. In addition, in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 we have our own stage again, nothing more than in a Catalan tavern, with flamenco tablao and rumba in the background, a great mix.
Pang and Super Pang!
The virtual classic Pang! it had the backdrop to, again, Barcelona, with an image of the Sagrada Familia that was used on several levels. We will be able to observe the magnificent monument designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí, and one of the icons that represent Barcelona. It seems that the Catalan city quite likes foreign developers.
However, Super Pang! choose the city of Segovia. The game of exploding bubbles returned in 1990 with a background that projected an image of the Alcázar de Segovia, in which we can enjoy, like the previous one, the three time zones: day, afternoon and night.
Gran Turismo Sport
The developers of Gran Turismo Sport are constantly releasing new content for their title. They provide new updates, circuits and cars to game users periodically. And although two years have passed since this circuit came out, GT Sport players can race at Circuit de Barcelona, one of the main circuits in our country, opened in September 1991, a few months before the Barcelona Olympics. The route hosts several competitions, such as the Spanish F1 Grand Prix.
Torrent 3: The Protector
There was a special game that tried to recreate the capital of Spain, Madrid, in great detail, although it went unnoticed. A Spanish team, Virtual Toys, launched Torrente 3: El protector, the Grand Theft Auto attempt set in Madrid. The result left a lot to be desired. The textures of the buildings and the layout of the streets was grotesque. In addition, from a city with more than 6 million inhabitants, Torrente 3 covered emblematic places such as Plaza Mayor or Plaza de Callao where you could easily count NPCs with those of two hands.
Assassin’s Creed
The Ubisoft saga has set its stories in many European cities. In Assassin’s Creed: The brotherhood left a gap for the Spain of La Reconquista, where we visited the Alhambra in Granada. Although this map was only available for a DLC and multiplayer, where we dueled with the rest of the enemies while visiting the projection of a distant memory of one of the developers during his last visit to Granada.
Resident Evil 4
In a list of games with a Spanish setting, the most famous saga of surivival horror could not be missing. A representation of Capcom, which does not exactly achieve a faithful recreation of a town in the north of the peninsula. Most notable are the Latin voices of its inhabitants, rural people and the spectacular introduction of two national police officers take Leon S. Kennedy to his first destination. Listen to messages from: “Behind you stupid!” and «I’m going to make you mince». All very Spanish.
Street Fighter and Soul Calibur
Street Fighter has in its cast of characters the best-known Spanish fighter in video games: Vega. A Spanish wrestler with a mask and claw who wears a mixture of Japanese ninjutsu and Savate, and all this under a bullfighting outfit that they give him the title of Spanish Ninja.
If we go to the competition, Soul Calibur, brings us a pirate from the Valencian coast with weather-beaten gray hair and red eyes, Cervantes de León. According to the game documents that explain its origin and its Hispanic ancestors, our peculiar pirate went dark in search of the Soul Edge. You shouldn’t have left Valencia friend.
The Wheelman
In 2009 one of the games landed that would portray, with some problems, Barcelona. Our character I visited places like Plaza de España, Plaza Cataluña or the Sagrada Familia, which are recreated in detail. In addition, the developers demonstrate a great sense of humor with the dialogues: Mossos d’Esquadra speaking Catalan when trying to stop us and phrases such as: “He tries to sell me the Brand” are some of the jewels that you can hear when playing The Wheelman.
We know very well that our country and the cities that make it up have a peculiar charm that any Japanese developer marks once they visit our land. Although some representations are a bit exaggerated, it should be borne in mind that they are stereotypes and in some cases caricatured situations and people. Nothing to be alarmed about. Let’s hope to continue appearing in world-class games starring Spanish, small-town ninjas with a Latin accent and fights in flamenco tablaos.
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