Goom Goom Is a Cad
After Chapter 5, the player can embark on a sidequest called “Looking for a gal!” This involves meeting an extremely minor character called クリチェロ Kurichero in Japanese and Goom Goom in English. Goom Goom is an unsavory former sailor who wants a girlfriend to meet him in a haunted cave, for some reason. Though he is crass, he is also the butt of the joke.
The writing telegraphs that Goom Goom wants to meet Goombella (who herself even says she might “qualify as a cute Goomba gal” like he wants). The player can instead present him with any of the party members. The different versions of his reaction to Vivian follow the same pattern of changes we have discovered so far.
In the original Japanese script, Kurichero says, 「おお！ これは かわいい… ってキミ… どうちなの？… オトコ… だよね… ようするに オスじゃん！ダメだよ～ ちゃんとしてよ～ ちゃんと おぼえてよ～」 “Ooh! You’re cute… but… what’s up with you? You’re a boy… aren’t you? To sum up, you’re male, right?! No good! Take this seriously. Seriously, remember it.” If Vivian is a trans woman, this is rude to the point of bigotry. Vivian’s response to these insults might be the only occasion she is bluntly impolite: 「こんなヤツ アタイから おことわり！」I tentatively think this means something like, “I have to turn down this jerk!”
In the 2004 English release, Goom Goom rejects Vivian for a completely unrelated reason: “Whoa! You sure are cute… But, um… That whole goth shadow thing is a bit… Creepy! There, I said it! This is all so very wrong!” Vivian’s uncharacteristic rudeness is preserved: “You’re not really doing much to impress me either, bud!”
The 2023 fan patch softens Goom Goom’s response: “Whoa! You sure are cute… But, um… I can’t quite tell… Are you a…? Or…? Ack! My brain can’t take this! It’s all too confusing for me!” This version increases how offended Vivian is relative to the 2004 English release: “Whuh… RUDE! You’re not really doing much to impress me either, bud!” As usual, the Thousand-Year Door+ script aims to depict Vivian more respectfully as a trans character. Avoiding the overt trans panic joke with Goom Goom may keep the tone of the scene from becoming too extreme.
The 2024 Japanese script removes the entire joke. While all versions have Kurichero pass on Vivian, and anyone but Goombella, for not being a Goomba, this is now his only reason for rejecting Vivian: 「おお！ これは かわいい… ってキミ… クリボー じゃないし！ダメだよ～ ちゃんとしてよ～ ちゃんと おぼえてよ～」“Ooh! You’re cute… but… you’re not a Goomba! No good! Take this seriously.” While it is nice the script is no longer offensive, the writers should have replaced the original lines some new joke or interesting detail, instead of with nothing. Perhaps Kurichero could say he hates her hat or does not like fire magic, or drop lines more like in the English version.
The Goom Goom scene in the 2024 English script is almost the same as the 2004 English script: “Whoa! You sure seem nice… But, um… That whole goth shadow thing is a bit… Creepy! There, I said it! You’re too goth for me!” For some reason, unlike in every other version, Goom Goom calls Vivian “nice” instead of “cute.”