Raiden vs. Rayden -- The Mortal Kombat Spelling Kontroversy
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- čas přidán 14. 07. 2022
- A lot of people have asked me to cover this one, so here it is! Pretty much everything you'll ever need to know about the spelling change from Raiden to Rayden (or, as some erroneously believe, from Rayden to Raiden). This spell change was done to avoid a potential lawsuit, saving Acclaim from being targeted by Seibu Kaihatsu. Were they being overly cautious? Maybe. Then again, maybe not! We do live in an extremely litigious society in the US. Better safe than sorry!
Some people really hated the name change. Others actually prefer it! Where do you stand? Prefer Raiden, or Rayden? Or don't care either way? Let me know down in the comments below!
Huge shout-out to two artists who did some edits on the Raiden vs. poses used in this video's thumbnail!
• ApoloYoichi - www.deviantart.com/apoloyoichi
• EddieMattosDesign - www.deviantart.com/eddiematos... - Hry
Update ‐ In response to this video, Ed Boon himself confirmed that Acclaim had actually asked Midway if they'd change the name to Rayden permanently! They said no, of course. Ed *hated* the spelling of Rayden!
Source: twitter.com/noobde/status/1548776251631972353?t=ywofPjLiK1Lyxz1jlfkikA&s=19
Can a deity's name even be copyrighted?
Ed Boon will take no mercy if anyone spells Raiden with a y instead of spelling it with a i.
Rayden should be his own character apart from Raiden. An American Shaolin Monk on a run from Shao Khan.
@Ninja_Hayate Mk1 (2023) alternate time line possibility
@neogeomaster3027 He was later renamed to Big Bear. Raiden returns to CvS I think.
I had only ever known the spelling as Raiden so this was really fascinating. It seems like a significant amount of MK content has it with Y spelling.
He was always Raiden in the Arcade Mortal Kombat games, it was only the home console versions of them that spelled it as Rayden. Even some of the action figures of him have his name with that spelling, which is what most people became more familiar with because they didn't have a lot of time to play it in the Arcades.
When I was younger I did prefer it being spelled as "Rayden" but I've come to prefer the original spelling of "Raiden", I was always curious of which was the original spelling and this video helped~
We didn't have to consult with the Elder Gods to get the answer. :D
@@pabloignacioscaletta indeed~lol
I'm just glad this video wasn't sponsored by Raiden: Shadow Legends
Raiden makes more sense due to its Japanese roots, but Rayden matches the ingame pronouncication perfectly, even into the Netherrealm era.
His shirt looks like an image you would unlock in the Krypt.
I was a very young kid when Mortal Kombat came out that I wasn't able to read yet at the time and Raiden's name didn't strike me different if I was playing on my home console or at the arcades. It wasn't until I grew older and gained access to the internet that I discovered the name controversy and thought it was pretty epic that such a small detail could have a big effect on the community.
I definitely preferred “Rayden” as a kid because of MKII on Sega, and I knew that was the spelling in a lot of tie-in media like the movies, comics, etc. I’d always thought they kind of retconned the official spelling to be “Rayden” outside of the arcade games. These days, I prefer the original spelling since it’s fallen back into fashion. Great video, man!
Thank you Cap! I saw your comment here and IG and definitely see where you're coming from, going from Team Rayden to Team Raiden!
It's only after I played MGS2 that I learned "Rye-Den" was the correct pronunciation but he will always be Ray-Den to me.
Rye Den on the plains, Ray Den the camp.
I prefer to called it rye-den since it makes sense since he was originate from japan and every other foreigners who speaks proper japanese did say raiden correctly.
Does anyone even remember the movie quote "Your mother's from LA"
The whole copyright issue is silly, its just a name that is 雷-rai(thunder) 電-den(lighting). Basically "thunder lighting". Outside of the game "Raiden", there is also the character "Raiden" in Metal Gear Solid 2(though MGS2 came out around 7 years after MK). All 3 of them use the same Kanji, as its just a word, so the whole sweating from copyrights sounds goofy. Only problem is how ppl in different parts of the world pronounce it.
In the last movie's script, it's Raiden with the I
I always wondered why The name was spelled differently,but thanks for explaining it to us.
Ed Boon said on Twitter that he hated Raiden's name being spelled with a y. He said he remembers arguing with Acclaim about it, and they refused to change it back to Raiden, so that's why all of the home console ports of the first two MK games spell it that way.
new tabmok upload is always awesome
Dude your videos are THE BEST!
Thanks for clearing this up, this was very confusing for me. I always wondered if it had anything to do with Raiden, the wrestler character from Fatal Fury being a reason they did this as that came out around the same time.
Thanks for the comments! After I posted this video, I got confirmation from James "MK" Fink (who worked at Acclaim at the time) that it was 100% due to the Raiden shoot-em-up game and not the Fatal Fury character. They didn't even know about Fatal Fury at the time!
I called him Rayden until a few years after Midway changed it. Occasionally I go back to calling him Rayden to reference the 2D classics.
I always wondered about that. Thought it was always with a Y early on. Figured they changed it because the Y looked tacky. No idea arcades did it with an I the whole time
Very intriguing video. I've always wondered if it was like a translation thing. Love the shirt, it combines two of my favorite things: Mortal Kombat, and Ramen, and it took me a second to catch that little nod to some rumours that were going around at the time. Not gonna spoil it for the rest of the comments though, that's for them to think about!
Babe wake up, Tabmok uploaded a new video
I literally didn't even notice the changed spelling for the console versions
Long time no see tabmok looking fresh as ever anyway welcome back
If it was in order to avoid a lawsuit by SNK because of the luchador Raiden in Fatal Fury, then what's the deal with changing the Y to an I from Mortal Kombat 4 onwards?
Calling Raiden (heel)/ Big Bear (baby face) a Luchador is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?
Wow. Interesting. I wonder when they decided to spell Raiden and when the devs were no longer afraid of infringement. Personally, I remembered Raiden being spelt with a Y in the og game for the SNES, but I can't recall the others; ty for highlighting the other forms of media, especially the movies, DotR and the other console games. I kinda got used to spelling it with an I after a while.
The other home console ports of MK have the Rayden spelling too. It was only the Arcades that had it as Raiden, and then the Rayden spelling carried over to pretty much everything else.
This was great i love the deep research thanks MK brother !
I would be entirely unsurprised if, some time in the future, someone steps forward and states "yeah the first change was copyright, but we realized how angry some people got, so we took GREAT care to cultivate that. Basically, all the name changes are active trolling." Or "We actually wanted to go even further and have a scene where the script says "Rayden", the captions say "Raeden", it would be pronounced "Ra-deen" and on a piece of parchment, adressed to him, would be the name "Raide", you know, just to mess with people".
Great video. please make a video exploring why Reptile always hangs out at the Bottom of the Pit.
Raiden (Mortal Kombat)
Raiden (Metal Gear Rising)
Raiden (King of Fighters)
Raiden is common in video games.
When I first played the SNES MK1, I thought his name was Raven.
This is a great video and got me thinking of playing Raiden!
This never would have gone anywhere in court even if that company was silly enough to try to sue.
True, but just to have to waste money on legal fees is such a hassle. Given the choice between avoiding a lawsuit or winning after being sued, it's usually better to avoid it in the firsr place.
Man I thought I was going through another Mandela effect cuz I do remember his name being spelled with a Y as a kid. I’m glad it’s covered
Woah… I thought this was a Mandela effect thing at first- like the alternate universe “Berenstein Bears” that people remember, but doesn’t actually exist. But this one is real.
On a side note, “Raiden” is also the name of a legendary Japanese sumo who was allegedly so strong that he could lift his opponent’s off their feet and break their hip bones just by squeezing- the closest thing to a fatality that’s legal in sumo wrestling (although very unlikely). I’ve often wondered if the Mortal Kombat development team knew about him.
The profile cards from '94 are my personal headcanon
Extreme detail. You are a genius.
I have a long time chinese friend and she told me..yes Raiden is spelled with an I.
Raiden is also the chinese thunder god( the mith and a lot of fictions described him as a fat guy with big drums in the clouds...so you can see raiden in a lot of different games)
This has been something that bothers me as I've gotten older. As a slight otaku, the "incorrect" pronunciation of Raiden does get under my skin a little. Because of that, I do like the spelling Rayden better, because then it looks more unique anyway. Of course, I've learned to not be bothered too much by it, and of course I'm a hardcore Dragon Ball fan yet I say Saiyan "wrong" like most American fans, so I guess that makes me a hypocrite lol
Being that Raiden is an American character, I feel like the pronunciation kind of works. His name has been Americanized from the start, rather than pronouncing Jack's codename wrong in Metal Gear where it would be someone just getting it wrong, MK Raiden had always been pronounced that way. Or as a better comparison, it's not like us westerners getting Ryu's name wrong for years. He's a real Eastern character, Raiden's an American idea of an Eastern character for better or worse, name included. Just part of the charm that came from that unique blend MK had at the time. After all these years it would be weird to hear his name pronounced the "proper" way especially with the other white haired, lightning themed very popular video game character that shares the spelling but having the other pronunciation.
As for spelling, this franchise has an intentional spelling mistake in the title which became a trope of the series. Kinda moot to discuss if MK is spelling things like a name wrong isn't it? I do agree though, the Y spelling does make it stand out more.
Here in Brazil we call the saiyans by their original name: saiyajin
That's a fair point. MK does have that old school martial arts movie aesthetic that I think Raiden's name lends itself well to. I do want to note that I wasn't campaigning for Raiden's name to be pronounced "correctly", just that it was something I've noticed and dealt with. It's obviously not a huge problem and is pretty subjective, which I thought I had conveyed using quotes around words like correct and pronunciation and such.Was trying to add to the discussion, not argue necessarily one way or another.
Top tier content as always
A Rai/Ray of light to be sure.
I prefer Rayden, because it looks how it sounds and it makes sense cause he has like, rays of lightning.
This is just my own personal head Cannon as far as the storyline goes, but considering that Mortal Kombat 11 introduces the concepts of multiple timelines I consider Mortal Kombat Conquest the canonical ending to the entire story
Well, back in those days of the arcade era, I played MK games 90% of the time in home consoles. First SNES, later in PS1. I didn't got familiar with Rayden only for that, but 'cause for me it made a lot more of sense. You know, "rayo" is spanish for "lightning", but I didn't speak English back then and I thought "rayo" was spanish for "ray" and Rayden uses "rayos".
When emulation begin to spread, I still didn't speak English, but I started to prefer Raiden since I was able to play the original games much more that when I had to put actual quarters in it. I was still wrong about the meaning of ray, but nevertheless I ended up liking Raiden more.
Raiden all the way. That said, Rayden also works as a play on words of sorts, "ray" of light (or lightning?). A stretch but fun to think. But maybe everyone is wrong. Maybe his name is actually similar to Mario as depicted in the live action movie (mario mario and luigi mario, hence the mario brothers). That way we could say his full name is actually Raiden Rayden
I first saw his name as Rayden on SNES. That's his real name, to me. It's not only unique, but it kinda' fits the quirkiness of spelling "C" words with a "K", like they do.
I even named my main loadout on MK11 for him "Rayden".
Very interesting video, I always knew him as Raiden and thought Rayden was a typo whenever I saw it, lol
Raiden looks better for a spelling. Definitely preferred
Rayden is in Capcom vs. SNK 2, and he hates Zangief.
I was first exposed to MK1 at the arcades (never forget the 1st impression the bottom of the pit made and Sub's fatality), but spent far more time with the console games growing up since my arcade was pretty far and I barely had opportunities for them. The problem I've always had with the name being spelled with the I, which probably stems from MGS2, is the pronunciation being RAE-den when it should be RIE-den if they wanted to go with the I, in my mind at least, again likely cause of MGS2. But its interesting none the less, I always assumed the original spelling was with the Y and they decided to change it at some point, I never knew it was a dispute thing between creators and companies.
I never really knew why Raiden's name was spelled differently and ultimately spelled wrong but now I know
You forgot to mention his name is spelt with a Y in a storyboard for MK:DA.
This has to be a Mandela thing because I always remember it as raiden
RAYDEN with a Y!
I prefer Raiyden
I’m used to the I spelling, so I prefer that
Started playing Mortal Kombat on a 386. It's Raiden of course!
Shockingly found this by looking as raiden with the eye
Still can't wait for that Meat video
honestly, once i became a teenager I thought the change was because the I was emphasized in the Japanese language. So to actually have it spelled phonetically was why the change was made.
More ya know.
Raiden is also the name of a Metal Gear character. Which came after MK.
While I don’t have a preference. It could be interesting to use both for two separate characters. One with the original MK1 personality and the other being the more modern characterisation of the Thunder God.
*Nectar Of The...........Well, Nectar Of ME!* XD
"Raiden" pronounces in japanese: rah-ee-den
I am at fault for not typing Raidens name the same everytime! But what if Raiden dies and comes back as a different variation of "Rayden, Reydan, Reyden, Raijin, Raiyden (idk what if whenever he does die he changes the name Everytime 🤣)
I grew up with Raiden with an I.
I prefer Raiden with an I of course! That was the creators' original intentions!
If they're gonna pronounce it like they do in the games, they should of gone with "Rayden" tbh, as the "Raiden" namesake isn't pronounced like that.
Team Raiden !
Thanks for this awesome explanation
Interesting detail
I get the concept. Thanks for the explanation. Y'know that reminds me of similar pronunciations of the Ryu naming and spelling controversy from Street Fighter, especially the Shirai-Ryu issue. Now I know what anyone else is thinking. *" Duh. Everyone always says the name of Shirai-Ryu with the pronunciation of Ryu as in 'Rai-you'"* which is true in any case. But for me personally, I don't speak it like that. I always say the name of Ryu in a proper way with a proper syllable that goes *"Ree-you"* hence why I pronounced it as the the Shirai-Ryu with the *"Ree-you"* pronunciation as in Ryu. Hell, the later Street Fighter games got it right. As far as the pronunciation of the Raiden spelling goes, I always preferred it with the I instead of a Y.
Why is there a fakking "controversy" over this?
His name is *literally* the name of the Japanese God of Thunder, Lightning and Storm, Raiden.
Also know as Raijin.
There IS an official pronounciation.
Everyone saying "Reyden" or "Rayden" is wrong...
There is no debating it.
Its not an opinion, Its fact.
"God Of Useless!"
Cool vid. Yeah I remember back in the day with williams, acclaim home ports using Rayden to avoid copyright issues. Glad they've stuck with Raiden since. Theres another fighting game with a character named Raiden a fat dude lol 😆
While the correct spelling is Raiden, shouldn't the pronounciation be Rye-Den instead of Ray-Den?
its due to the creators taking a name from a language they weren't educated in. Even Tekken announcers pronounce names incorrectly. Tekken 1 and 5 announcers get Yoshimitsu's name wrong, for example.
Ed boon even pronounce it rye you. As in shirai ryu. which is scorpion's clan. Its been wrong for nearly decades straight and kept mispronuncing it wrong.
Gaijin goomba even analyze scorpion about his abilities, his origin and he got it the name shirai "ryu"(ree-you) correctly.
Ed boon being ed boon is sometimes a troll on twitter and an absolute boomer. he will always says "rye you"(ryu) wrong just like ryu from street fighter
Ed boon will always say "rai you" for as long as he have watch the 90s street figher movie with jean claude van damme
As a kid, I was more used to Y since I wouldn't get to play any of the Arcade Mortal Kombat games (for more than just a few minutes or so) where Raiden was spelled with an I till I was an adult.
I'm fine with either spelling, but I feel that Raiden with an I makes more sense since it was spelled that way in the original Arcade games & even MK4 onward.
Johnny bought a car!
Im a Raiden guy myself, Rayden just looks wrong to me.
i always liked raiden more
it needs to be rayden with a Y because if you're talking about taking a name from japanese culture, it's pronounced wrong and always has been. Raiden from metal gear has the same name. hes never called Rayden. The game Raiden and every instance of Raiden is pronounced Rye-den, never as Rayden. and thats without being picky of the R sound that doesn't exist in English. (for anyone that wants to get extra technical) its not a name you can pronounce without knowledge in the Japanese language. There's also raiden from King of Fighters who again, is pronounce Rye-den. The mk character is the only exception and its because ed boon and tobias took the name without understanding anything regarding the language of origin. Shirai Ryu, scorpions clan is also pronounced horribly incorrectly for someone who is supposed to be Japanese.
Can you do a video talking about the pronunciation of Shang Tsung?
tsu, like when you say cat soup.
It's Shang sung (as in when you sung a song). Don't pronounce the _"T"._
@@jerelminter This is false. the t is spoken and isn't silent. There's a difference between "tsu" and "su." If you think this isn't true, you have no experience with foreign languages.
You ride the tongue out with the t, and go into su, like how you would say, "cat soup" without the space to break the words into two.
I've always preferred "Raiden" over "Rayden" personally.
Not just because of the real world mythos behind it, but mainly due to the name sounding more... official, you know? Like it just sounds more authentic for an actual God of Thunder to have when its spelled with an "I" instead of a "Y", imo. *(Spelling it with a Y being waaaaaay to 90's, if you catch my drift. I prefer the subtlety of the other name instead.)*
Calling him *"Rayden"* to me, sounds more like something Johnny Cage would use when he decides to clown around. Maybe even using *"Ray-Ray"* when he really wants to annoy the crap out of him.
That said, interesting retrospective on the name change!
There was another Raiden, a Mexican luchador in the first Fatal Fury. I thought it was because of him, not the shooter.
0:35 yo where's this clip came from
Raiden
It's actually raijin
Raiden for me
But what isn't it pronounced Rai-den rather than Rai(Ray)den?
How was it spelled in later games like MK9, 10 and 11?
Starting with MK4 they went with Raiden, consistent, on every port. They've never gone back to Rayden since.
@@tabmok99 Welp, Moss Co. should count their blessings that Raiden V Director's Cut was even a blip on any Shmup Fan's radar. And let's not forget about Metal Gear Rising's Raiden, either! Raiden is also the name of Sin Kiske's Instant Kill in Guilty Gear!
True! There's more than enough Raidens to go around!
If you're going to mispronounce "Raiden" at least spell it phonetically right. He's RAYDEN.
The spelling isn't important to me, what kinda bothers me is the pronounciation. Every other game that uses the name Raiden (like Metal Gear or Genshin) pronounces it as "rye-den", while Mortal Kombat pronounces it as "ray-den". But then again, that's how the game has been mispronouncing it for decades, so fixing it now would be too late.
Absolutely right! If you notice, on the show Hi Score Girl, they actually do pronounce it that way -- and it's a little off-putting!
Y. I. Otter...
GRAMMAR KOMBAT!
"Raiden" is a Japanese word, I really don't get why they have to spell it with a "Y"????
It made no sense
What a ridiculous reason for a ridiculous change. Raiden the god is far older than either Mortal Kombat or that shmup. How in the hell can you copyright the name of an ancient shinto god? What the actual fuck? Does that mean you can sue people who actually believe in Raiden? Does their religion infringe on the copyright of a *fucking arcade game?* Good lord how stupid. I always thought the "Rayden" spelling was a mistake by the home console porters, and have never regarded it as legitimate at any point. And why should I? It's not just using the name randomly, Raiden in Mortal Komat is... the god of lightning. Like the character is literally intended to be the god of the same name, changing the spelling after his debut would be like Marvel changing the spelling of Thor to... Thurr... or something. It's crazy, and the fact that it got changed back just validates that his name is actually "Raiden" and the Rayden thing was just a colossal lapse in judgement the licensed material had to suffer through for a few years.
I think the name Raiden in pretty much in any video game related is pretty common.
In the early 2000's when Metal Gear Solid 2 was a popular game, the 2nd half of the game you play as the protagonists and his name is Raiden.
Rayden w/ a Y because kids can't spell .....ever.
XD
But if hes based on Raijin.
Why wasn't it
RAI-DEN . Whatever *superman's away, but not DC Superman*
I prefer his Japanese name: "Raijin".
But they made a decision for like 20 years. They could not change his name