What is wonderful about the video game market is that there are peculiarities peculiar to each territory. After addressing the case of South Korea in a previous article, we will now focus our attention on a funny detail about a country in North America. As you know, canada has a French-speaking region better known as Quebec.
In order to counteract this linguistic difference and not to harm its consumers, Nintendo and the publishers who have exported their products, in these vast regions, have decided to translate some of their leading titles into the French language, given attention of this public which does not necessarily use the language of shakespeare to be able to express itself. In this way, initiatives specifically planned for the occasion were carried out during the late 1980s and early 1990s and were applied to the Kyoto brand's exquisite products.
What's the difference ?
As you can see, the packaging and appearance of the console is similar to the US version NTSC. Only visible and notable change, a translation not only on the box but also in the instructions. Which differentiates a Francophone product from another, are the industrial codes associated with the product:
The double seal of quality Nintendo in English and French but also the mention SNES-CAN for super nintendo, or NES-CAN for the NES.
Most of the versions offered in these two languages are no different from their NTSC US counterparts. But there are exceptions like the case of the Zelda series, whose dialogues in game, have been completely translated in French!
Final Fantasy in French !?
To finish in beauty, here is a version francophone, rather difficult to find, the very first Final Fantasy on NES proposing this amusing feature, knowing that there is no French version pal!
I am not a Canadian or a Quebecer, but a simple French resident who finds all this quite original and who wanted to gather this curiosity in his collection.