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Chances are, you've once been playing a video game, and a chunk of diolouge comes along that completely baffles you. Maybe it's bad grammar, or misspelling, or occasionaly a collection of words that make no sense. (Eggplant red aardvark shampoo?)

So I want to hear your opinions on the worst offending game when it comes to terrible translations!

I'll start by casting in my vote for Harvest Moon, Friends of Mineral Town. Natsume must have been in quite a rush to get this game on the market, because little to no care was taken in reveiwing the translation job. On a daily baisis, you can get some garbled gems such as, "Have you read any Basil books?" or "I think you make father *charecter name*"

Then there's the overwhealming tendancy for Yes to mean No, and Vice Versa, which makes for frustrating moments.

Finaly, every now and again, a charecter will slip into using Kanji. Luckly this hasn't gotten in the way too much, but it is annoying, though a bit amusing as well.



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TURKEY! - (The only way not to get blocked for using Fowl Language)

In A.D. 2101 war was beginning.
"What happen?"
"Somebody set up us the bomb."
"We get signal."
"What!"
"Main screen turn on."
"It's you!!"
"How are you gentlemen!! All your base are belong to us. You are on the way to destruction."
"What you say!!"
"You have no chance to survive make your time. HA HA HA HA ...."
"Take off every 'zig' !! You know what you doing. Move 'zig'. For great justice."

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"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

Golden Axe 3, when you die it shows a map of which courses you took, and when it comes to the level you died on, it says "You Dead".

It isn't exactly a mistranslation, but in Resident Evil Outbreak the word "Electrocuted" is misspelled in the final scenario.

That's all I can think of right now, I'm sure there's others.

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The Cait Sith Avatar has Returned!

Check out my DeviantArt profile! ....If you don't mind that is

http://engrish.com/category_index.php?category=Video%20Games

Figured I'd save everyone the trouble of linking here.

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"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

I have to back up Silverlance's vote for Zero Wing.

It's that fumbling with the Engrish nonlanguage that has made CATS, and the game itself, such a cult favorite. Don't get why, though. Horizontial shooters just aren't my bag, so I've never gotten further than two minutes into it with the junky Zig.

And Natsume's Harvest Moon games are often swamped with 'em. Doesn't dampen the experience any, least not as of yet.

Edit

Forgot one: The very first Metal Gear on the NES. Solid Snake has a few infamous garbled lines in that game such as "I feel asleep" and "the truck have started to move." Not only is the MSX version superior gamewise, but the translation is worlds better.

This post has been edited by SilverFork on 30th August 2005 09:57

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Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Silverlance got to Zero Wing before I could.

Other than that, dump in pirate translations of the Telefang series, masked as "Pokemon Diamond".

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Breath of Fire II on the snes. "Nice to meat you!" says Bow.

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"Fire and steel
follow me through the lands
you will burn hordes of hell
in the deadly raging flames of revenge"

Rhapsody - Flames of Revenge

I believe I'm out of league, due to the fact that most french translations of a game (especially if it starts with the words Final Fantasy) are really nasty business. FF7 comes at the top, with so many stuff badly translated from an already bugged english translation.

Which really is the main problem: translation into english tend to use some english idioms and structures to accurately convey what was originally meant in the japanese translation, and french translations used to literally translate these idioms. Luckily with games being recognized as a legitimate media, translations now tend to more professionalism, using french idioms and expressions (sometimes bad ones from crappy movies like "Les visiteurs", but whatever...)

This post has been edited by Mr Thou on 30th August 2005 09:54

I was playing Metal Gear on an emulator not long back, and the translation was god-awful. I played about ten minutes, and it was littered with gems like 'I feel asleep!' and is the only game in which the translation has really put me off playing.

I know everyone is going to say this....Zero Wing.

All Your Base Are Belong To Us!

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Life....Hopes...Dreams. Where did they came from and where are the headed? These Things...I am going to destory!
-Kefka

Quote (Snow_Storm @ 30th August 2005 21:01)

I know everyone is going to say this....Zero Wing.

All Your Base Are Belong To Us!

It having been mentionned three times before that post, including as the very first reply in the thread, I'm pretty sure everyone already has said it.

Anyways.

"I, Garland, will knock you all down!"

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"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

Oh come on ppl! This is a FF site!

I'm shocked that the phrase "YOU SPOONY BARD!" hasn't been mentioned yet.

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kame, tortue, tortuga, schildkröte, tartaruga, turtle

"Arthur Dent?"
"Yes."
"Arthur Philip Dent?"
"Yes."
"You're a total knee biter."

Quote (Kame @ 30th August 2005 21:59)

Oh come on ppl! This is a FF site!

I'm shocked that the phrase "YOU SPOONY BARD!" hasn't been mentioned yet.

But does that really count as a botched-up or badly localized line? I mean, it's a legit phrase, and "spoony" is an insult I'd expect a geezer like Tella to use, despite how silly 'n' outdated it sounds.

Or am I just missing something?

--------------------

Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

How about:

"I got a good feeling!"

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Music is a mysterious thing... Sometimes, it makes people remember things that they do not expect. Many thoughts, feelings, memories... things almost forgotten... Regardless of whether the listener desires to remember them or not...

- Shitan, Xenogears

Quote (SilverFork @ 31st August 2005 02:49)

Quote (Kame @ 30th August 2005 21:59)

Oh come on ppl! This is a FF site!

I'm shocked that the phrase "YOU SPOONY BARD!" hasn't been mentioned yet.

But does that really count as a botched-up or badly localized line? I mean, it's a legit phrase, and "spoony" is an insult I'd expect a geezer like Tella to use, despite how silly 'n' outdated it sounds.

Or am I just missing something?

Kefka's "Son of a Submariner!" seems to fit into that, too. I would hope that wasn't a mistranslation or whatnot, either, cuz I love that!

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Console RPG Cliches

Anything made by SNK. ANYTHING.

Quote (Galsic @ 31st August 2005 17:17)

Kefka's "Son of a Submariner!" seems to fit into that, too.  I would hope that wasn't a mistranslation or whatnot, either, cuz I love that!

Nah. Woolsey just stuck "submariner" in there to replace the curse. As great as the altered line is, it doesn't really make sense to me. Are nautical types really low on the social hierarchy nowadays, or is that just supposed to be a really derogatory phrase in FFVI's world? Kinda like Wakka's "Son of a shoopuff!" in FFX?

At least "spoony" has a reputation as an insult. Back in the day, that is.

To skeedaddle back on course, no one could forget this timeless classic outta many from Battle Rangers/Bloody Wolf: "You! Invaders! Get you the hot bullets of shotgun to die!"

--------------------

Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

I'm going with the ever popular Zero Wing


"All your base are belong to us!"

never gets old........that's how I combat awkward pauses

Quote (SilverFork @ 1st September 2005 02:59)

To skeedaddle back on course, no one could forget this timeless classic outta many from Battle Rangers/Bloody Wolf: "You! Invaders! Get you the hot bullets of shotgun to die!"

Coincidentaly I made that quote my MSN name after visiting Engrish.com via the link higher up the post. I swear, after I listened to that, I laughed for 10 straight minutes.

Anyhow. I still stick to my opinion that Friends of Mineral town is a terrible offender. They even have a misspelling guide

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TURKEY! - (The only way not to get blocked for using Fowl Language)

Problem is, Silverlance, Kame, and eternalsphere, that "I, Garland, will know you all down!", "YOU SPOONY BARD!", and "I got a good feeling" all kinda make sense in normal English, so I wouldn't count it as Engrish.

Same goes for "Son of a submariner"--not only a replacement of an expletive, but also a meaningful choice of term, considering Figaro castle's (so far) unique capabilities.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Aeris to Cloud:

This guy are sick.

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The first duty in life is to assume a pose,
and the second duty is...well, no one's found out yet.

in golden sun, you get an herb. not a herb, an herb.

--------------------

"Fire and steel
follow me through the lands
you will burn hordes of hell
in the deadly raging flames of revenge"

Rhapsody - Flames of Revenge

Quote (alphasmart @ 2nd September 2005 05:17)

in golden sun, you get an herb.  not a herb, an herb.

Sorry, man, the "h" is silent. That means it works off the vowel sound of the "e" and becomes, grammatically, "an herb."

:eng101:

Edit

Bloody Britons and Aussies.

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 3rd September 2005 11:26

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Quote

Same goes for "Son of a submariner"--not only a replacement of an expletive, but also a meaningful choice of term, considering Figaro castle's (so far) unique capabilities.

But then, wouldn't "Son of a subterrainer make more sense?

--------------------

Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Quote (Rangers51 @ 2nd September 2005 21:15)

Sorry, man, the "h" is silent. That means it works off the vowel sound of the "e" and becomes, grammatically, "an herb."

:eng101:

Not where I am it isn't . So it could be viewed as an error, depending where you live. But in the end, both ways are acceptable. *closes dictionary*

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I'm a general, not some opera floozy!

*insert humourous observation here*

The Germonik Scriptures are just plain messed up . Amusing perhaps, but still messed up with all the fractured sentences 'n all. Kinda reminds me of some people I've met on the internet, except perhaps maybe a tad or more better . Squaresoft, I seriously hope you didn't spend too much on translation.

Otherwise, nothing's glaringly obvious. I tend to correct glance over incorrect words and ignore punctuation, so it takes a major goof for me to be able to take note.

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 7th September 2005 02:47

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Role reversal at its finest.

Because I'm so nitpicky, I'm going to make another translational note. This sentence is from Mustadio's explanation of Bart Company's motives, from FFT. I have emphasized the error in question:

Mustadio: You know them? They're not just traders. They're a crime syndicate into everything from smuggling and slavery.

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"No matter what happens, I will always be with you... forever." ---- Pocahontas, Pocahontas

"Only those who are already at the top are rewarded without trying."----- Delita Hyral, Final Fantasy Tactics

http://www.ffshrine.org/fft/fft-midi/1-42-back_fire01.mid ---- My favorite FFT battle song

I'd consider that a typographical error, not true Engrish. For that matter, I don't know about the new ones, but the old Nintendo player's guides were so annoyingly typo-ridden, and that kind of typo was one of the many kinds that appeared.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Zero Wing of course takes the crown, but that's mainly cause some jokesters decided (brilliantly) to make a digitized voice and catchy tunes to accompany the bad dialogue. Quite a number of the games from that generation had really really poor translation. You kids these days have no idea! I look back and I really wonder what the heck I even liked about certain video games to begin with!

Quote

Which really is the main problem: translation into english tend to use some english idioms and structures to accurately convey what was originally meant in the japanese translation, and french translations used to literally translate these idioms. Luckily with games being recognized as a legitimate media, translations now tend to more professionalism, using french idioms and expressions (sometimes bad ones from crappy movies like "Les visiteurs", but whatever...)

Yeah, we had this in America for awhile too but thankfully the industry caught up. I know I'm one of the few people who actually appreciates Ted Woolsey's contribution.



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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"

I was just thinking about this the other day. The translation that immediately pops to mind is Breath of Fire 2. I remember there were a couple of points in the game where "yes" gave a "no" result and vice versa, sometimes in important situations that could effect the outcome of the game.

A few years ago in NY I saw this really gimmicky (but highly entertaining) band called Gaijin a go-go, and one of their songs called "Foreign Barbarian" talked about how they were in Japan, and "no means yes and yes means no." I swear, I thought to BoF2, and was like, "I know what you mean."