/vr/ - Retro Games

What is it with certain localizations in some older games completely changing the plot of a game between versions? I'm not talking about obvious shit that had to be changed due to different censorship standards or culture things, like taking out the Swastikas in Bionic Commando or switching the names of the bosses in Street Fighter II, but I mean shit that really has no rhyme and reason for being changed at all.

Some examples off the top of my head:
>The main character in Street Fighter 2010 is not the Ken from Street Fighter I and II, but some random dude named Kevin.
>Contra always took place in the future in Japan, whereas they initially took place in the present in the US, forcing the latter versions to change the identity of Bill and Lance to their descendants in Contra III when they no longer could hide the futuristic setting of the series.
>The final boss in Double Dragon III is actually Cleopatra. Marian was never actually kidnapped, she's not even in the game at all.
>The main character in the Mega Drive version of Shadow Dancer is either: Joe Musashi or his bastard son Hayate.
That's not even getting into all the games that barely have any in-game storylines, yet the stories between the Japanese and American versions differ in their manuals (like all those Capcom, Sega and Konami games).