It's all so tiresome....
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Pikmin 2 actually already had to deal with this ages ago when it was first localized. Check it out. A lot of the names were changed, and tons of the descriptions were changed in tone. Originally, a lot of them had a very unsavory feel to them, like you're playing as a bunch of galactic scammers. This was changed to be more friendly in the west.
Japan has a lot of extremely negative stereotypes about merchants, particularly traveling merchants who sell odds and ends. They're viewed almost like gypsies are in Europe, minus the pickpocketing and baby stealing. It's a cultural norm that doesn't translate well to the west.
Merchants were traditionally the lowest caste in Japan during the samurai era. That's right. Even lower than the peasants. Considering how often merchants sell out their own countries its understandable.
Its hard not to feel unsavory when the entire premise of the game is sending thousands of creatures who devote their life to you to their deaths entirely for profit. While your partner is an unfeeling sociopath devoted entirely to eating.
Even with the name changes, it still felt like you were plundering a post-apocalypse Earth where everything was just slightly off.
If you play it right you don’t have to kill any Pikmin at all.