The Real Reason S Rank Is Used In Games
The Real Reason S Rank Is Used In Games
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This video takes a look at what S Rank means in games and why this would sometimes be changed when games were released outside of Japan.
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Footage credit (PIKACHUAKUMA):
Footage credit (Neatfreax):
Footage credit (: Devil_Hunter57):
Footage credit (SmvR):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_84BafqQ4I
oh finally, ive been meaning to look into this subject. but its such a minor thing i kept forgetting. thats neat!
I’m surprised they didn’t censor "SS" rank
I assumed it was a different grading system inJapan, good to have confirmation.
Thank you for these general video game interests videos, they’re a nice break from the cases of actual censorship/localization changes. Sometimes I just want facts and trivia and less gamer outrage (from the comments, not you).
A rank? Aw hell nah, redoing the level again!
Ngl I didn’t even think about why it’s a thing.
In the Viewtiful Joe video game series, the highest ranking you can get in each level is ‘V’ which stands for ‘Viewtiful’. 😉
I looked through google translate and it seems that "Shu" means "Hide"…?
How can it be?
Insert Sadistic dead meme thing i don’t even know about with the anime girls idk
S mean Superior??
But what about X Rank…
Always assumed s stood for super
I certainly wasn’t aware of that fun fact myself. But I would have to had believed this originated from Japan considering the wealth of games from Japan such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Ace Combat, Devil May Cry & more make use of the rank, whereas I recall my home country using A* [A-Star] as the highest awarded grade in education much akin to the commonly known A+.
I’ve rather liked the S-Rank myself, particularly how it’s often worded as an "Above & Beyond" rank in games such as the Devil May Cry series (It’s nice knowing that picking up a sword & fighting demons is Dope!, but that it takes master combo artistry to display Smokin’ Sick/Sexy Style!!! with it).
That’s fascinating. I somehow knew for the longest time that S Rank was the best (probably just obvious context clues), but I had no idea that this concept is specific to Japan. I thought this was just a thing around the world. Well…now I know.
Thanks man
Yeah S ranking in Japanese region is actually a lot of harder to get and therefore more rewarding, Japanese also feel it might be too hard for outsiders to also get so they usually just leave the s rank out for the most part.
Interesting! I have seen some games use letters other than S for high rank such as Splatoon (X-Rank) and some modern DBZ games (Z-Rank) but didn’t know the S grade was actually pulled from scholastic grades like our are ..
When I first play sonic unleashed I gat s rank I thought is stand for ‘Super’
S for Super!
And – back to censorship – even these ranks were "censored" sometimes. Some games in Germany had the "SS"-rank removed because of its similarity to the "Schutzstaffel" from back in Nazi Germany. Actually, for the very same reason the logo from the band Kiss was changed here.
And this is why localization is pointless. People are inevitably going to be exposed to new ideas and cultures, so why even bother delaying it? I swear the people who think that people needs to held by the hands are pretty racist and arrogant to think that the world simply cannot come to understand each other. We can if we actually tried.
I was super confused when I played Dance Dance Revolution back in the 90s and would get a rank of S. I had no idea what it meant. Some DDR machines used AAA as the highest score, but others used S, and I never knew why.
Then there’s Z rank from dragon ball
Wow, a video that’s only as long as it needs to be to inform the people watching? That’s some S rank content right there. I’m so glad this didn’t have, like, a long winded story about "The first time I saw S rank I was like, ‘wut’ and that’s what led me to making this video. I was playing a game and saw the S rank and it confused me" cue long winded backstory that has little to nothing to do with why S rank is used. Like most B tier channels.
We may not use S much in the west but Japanese don’t usually use F as the lowest grade instead E. Although it makes sense since we completely skip E.
One thing is why does sonic riders 1 have an x rank ?
I honestly just thought it was a Sonic thing. I don’t remember noticing it in any other game.
I remember playing MegamanX 4 on Playstation, and I mean the English version, not the Japanese version. One of the levels you had to get an S rank on a certain section of the level (kinda like a mini game) to unlock a Doctor Light powerup capsule (I think that’s what it unlocked, but I don’t remember for sure). I remember that there were ranks D, C, B, A, and S. I always wondered why S was better than A. I thought nothing could be better than A, by definition of A being the best grade you can get in school. I assumed it was based on an unofficial grading system just used in this game, and that S meant Super. I never knew that S was an actual grade used in schools in Japan (or anywhere for that matter). I just assumed that D, C, B, and A were international standards for school grades, used everywhere in the world. Now thanks to this video I know that Japan added an S grade, and that is the best possible grade in actual schools in Japan.
What’s surprising here is that this was the English version, and the translators didn’t to erase this bit of Japanese culture from the game.
i always just assumed…
Nowadays, "Platinum" in a Gold/Silver/Bronze system is the equivalent to S rank.
Fun fact, sonic riders series of games has taken the S rank system and made an S rank and a H rank, S painted golden, referencing super sonic, and H painted in silver rainbow, like hyper sonic
Never even thought about it to be honest… Then again, in spanish (or at least in Argentina) the initial part of the education system often uses the term "Sobresaliente" (Outstanding) for what US would probably call an "A+" while grading work. So I guess it was easier to accept it as the top score here 😛
That’s interesting. I always thought it just stood for "Special". Never found it odd to me.
So the real reason why It is usted is the way that It is really used? Whoa unexpected….
I feel like the only one in the world who thought of Phantasy Star Online 3 CARD Revolution when thinking of S Rank
I swear I’ve seen this in some Western games…
How’d you manage to waste a full minute of a 3 minute video on an intro
Just put the content upfront ffs
S rank I remember seeing that in sonic games and Megaman x5
Interesting; I always just assumed special
Dante: I always got three S’s in school!
S rank just makes achievements hard to get
I had no idea this was introduced into the West through videogames nor that it was something that came from Japan. Interesting
Its to reward skill,however the ranks in 3rd Strike are broken.
Notes like XS or MSF are nonsense.
So why aren’t A ranks instead Y ranks for yū? Or B ranks instead R ranks for ryō? Why would they change only the top grade to conform to the Japanese grading scale?
I swear, I thought that S meant Super all this time. I mean the first time I remember seeing it was in the original Marvel vs. Capcom, waaay back then, and I just thought "Super" made sense. Anyway, thanks for the trivia, CG.
There was a Japanese redditor who thought they found the origin of ‘S’ rank above the ‘A’ starting from the concert seating at music venues. which originated as an abbreviation for ‘Special’ https://www.reddit.com/r/truegaming/comments/6cav1j/s_rank_origin_in_japanese/
They also had this to say about the School Grading:
>Some universities in Japan have S grade in their score for GPA and others not. And GPA itself is relatively new in Japan, so most grades are designed in around ’90～’00 maybe. So it should not be the origin of S ranks in game.
>Traditionally, scores in Japanese university are 優(yuu=excellent)/良(ryo=good)/可(ka=fair)/不可(fuka=failed), or A/B/C/F, as far as I know. In high school, 優/良/可/不可, A/B/C/D/E, 10..1, 5..1 are I’ve heard.
Wait is Dante using summoned swords
Huh, the more you know
I always get a double S rank and they call me a racist
Regular Japanese Games: S rank
DRAGON BALL GAMES: Z RANK
Thanks for the bit of knowledge,
I do prefer S over A+ as it give you that feeling of accomplishment that you’ve achieved a whole new rank than having a " + " stuck on to of an exisiting rank.
Also it looks neater too.