/vr/ - Retro Games

>>5055970
MGS

>>5055970
All of Dragon Force

Breath of Fire II

Alundra

>>5055970

Earthbound

I'm sick of the "colorful localizations are great!" meme. Like there was truth to it being a good practice in some situations but I think everyone's mindset has gotten too extreme, to the point where anything remotely accurate is derided as being too stiff.

I get that katakana is pretty limited and sometimes you have to take some liberties with the approximation. I get that certain things have to be changed because they just end up sounding dry in English (usually when the Japanese is trying to imitate English to begin with). I get that certain things like personal pronouns and particles just don't translate whatsoever. But I can't be alone in thinking that a little more work can be done to maintain fidelity while also sounding like natural, engaging English.

>>5055970
Cid in FFVII

>>5056053
>not picking Baretto
I pity the fool!

>>5056056
He's a good one. But Cid's rage mode can't be beat.
As an aside, his dynamite limit is smirkworthy.

are all the main series final fantasy games up until ffx available on the ps1 if I get those collections or are any left out? I still get confused about the numbering system.

>>5056038

If you get all that what are you moaning about? Woolsey translations are very minor offenders compared to the likes of Working Designs and others, considering he localized some of the most critically acclaimed JRPGs in history it's safe to say the fidelity you're talking about was met for a majority of people. They're hardly 'colorful' at all in the grand scheme of things.

>>5056028
The hilarious thing? They could've just said "Contraband"

>>5056038
In the case of the famous Kefka line he's just saying "ヒーーー くっそー!". Not exactly an interesting line

>>5055970
>haha le so funny kefka

>>5056038
Part of the translation process is supposed to be adapting from one culture to another where possible. So yes, these "colorful" translations as you call them ARE good, as long as they don't go too far off the rails, but I think Woolsey translations are a good example of doing it right.

>>5057083
Mind actually translating that for those of us who can't read moon runes?

>>5057130
https://legendsoflocalization.com/son-of-a-submariner-kefkas-famous-line-in-detail/

Much better explanation than anything I could type.

Localizations > translations, especially when dealing with a shit-ass language like Japanese.

it has legend in its name for a reason

>>5056115
>>5057128
I'm not saying there isn't merit to these standpoints, I'm just saying it gets parroted too much nowadays whenever anyone suggests that translation accuracy Might Be Good.

>>5057130
>Hiiiiiiiiii , Kuso!

I'm no expert but I think he is basically screeching and then says "shit".

The best ones are those that were never brought over so, much like original hardware, you can experience it the way the author intended, in Japanese.

>>5057095
I never got what was wrong with this

t. non native english speaker

>>5056038
>I get that katakana is pretty limited and sometimes you have to take some liberties with the approximation.

How the hell is it taking liberties when katakana is meant to be an approximation of foreign languages. Why not just go with source, the butchered foreign word that the katakana is based off of?

>>5057654
>I'm just saying it gets parroted too much

Just because people all say the same thing doesn't mean it's being parroted. Or do you think people are parroting when they tell you the sky is blue? If enough people are trying to tell you something then maybe you need to stop whining and take the fucking hint.

>>5058373
Here's where the "Aeris/th" dilemmas come in.

>>5058389
Appeal to popularity.

>>5058574
>Appeal to popularity.
But you're also doing the opposite by saying that just because lots of people like localizations they must all be "parroting" it. As though a large group of people can't possibly independently like the same kind of thing without mindless copying/groupthink.

>>5058873
You're comparing an opinion on a fairly obscure topic to a readily observable scientific fact. If you deny the sky is blue, you're an idiot/post-modernist, colorblind, or looking at pollution. If you can't allow that it's possible for people in a niche field of interest to form an echo chamber, you're being intellectually dishonest.

>>5058885
I'm not that guy, my only point is that saying if everyone agrees on something they must be wrong and copying each other is just as bad as saying if everyone agrees on something they must be right.

>>5058894
I only meant to suggest to begin with that the argument has become facile. That's what leads to dead discussions.

>>5058363
Nothing wrong with that particular quote in itself per se, but it's rather the hilariously bad voice acting together with how the dialog was "localized" in quite a hamfisted manner that makes it the stuff of legends it is.
It's also notable how the whole "what is a man?" part is not in the original at all, but lifted straight from the writings of André Malraux for the English translation.
https://legendsoflocalization.com/lets-investigate-a-miserable-pile-of-secrets/

>>5055970
Nothing has come close.

what's a submariner anyway

>>5059603
Noun indacating a user of submarines

Informally it means son of a bitch

>>5058901
I love that cheesy part of it though, same thing with the og Resident Evil. Maybe I am fucked up but I love that b movie style voice acting.

>>5059579
Smith the god.

>>5059625
That's why it's so famous, people love the cheese.

>>5057143
Whoa there.

Tellah calling Edward a spoony bard. YEp.

>>5058901
The most interesting part is all the voice actors were based out of Japan,and some of the translation quirks (such as the Frozen Half's bestiary description using the japanese term "newhalf") makes me wonder if the Japanese side of things took the translation into their own hands at the time.

What's the tone of Lunar like in Japanese? Is it as full of inappropriate jokes as the working designs version? Obviously, the pop culture references wouldnt be the same but holy shit, IUDs, sex toys, theres a joke in almost every scene. Is the original crude and full of jokes?

>>5062087
There's probably a reason why Japanese Lunar is not particularly well remembered

>>5055970

>>5055983
I'm pretty sure MGS was written to be in English. The only time it really bothered me was in MGS3, you kinda have to assume when people are speaking Russian or German when they are speaking English. I didn't even notice until I think Sokolov says something like "Your German is good." I know, not retro.

>>5057658
kefka confirmed frogposter

>>5058894
That just makes it impossible to disagree with groupthink and appeals to popularity, and brings us back to case 1.
Let's just be honest for one second here.
>>5057654 is perfectly reasonable here, there's one position that's repeated like gospel (localization is always good) when it's far from a consensus, and even localizers themselves are vocal about not wanting to be held to the same standards as translators.

>>5057102
Arche HAS a sexual dream in Japanese here, but IMPLIED.
Translators ran with it and made up shit.
Those actually upset about the gba translation for all the wrong reasons about "censoring" (fucks like a tiger) missing the sexual dream and onsen episodes only uncut in the europe version.

>>5058363
Besides that the translator shoehorned commentary on religion vs atheism in a game that had none of it (instead a message about humanity able to overcome their differences and stand for their shared values, love and peace etc... which if you think about it runs counter in english to the original message), an old quote from an old book purely there to show off a literature degree (whereas the likes of alexander o'smith, even woosley, here, i said it, would wait for an opportune moment when showing off vocabulary and translating someone else's text aren't contradictory pursuits)... the voice acting for that part was corny as hell (Alucard's way of talking made me think he was mentally challenged, can't even pronounce words right)

I think people think way too much about what others like, and telling them it's wrong. (sometimes for a grand morality project)
Some expect an english version of a nip writer work.
Some expect maymays, jokes everywhere, and a return of an old meta joke that's a joke because how shitty the translation and acting is.
You can't please both.
FFS everyone talking about jp script or retranslations might have as well just killed their kitten for some.
"oh no i will see the weeb patch on youtube now" cry me a river.

>>5062087
It's significantly more somber in tone.

>>5057654
>I'm just saying it gets parroted too much nowadays whenever anyone suggests that translation accuracy Might Be Good.
No, you just see it so often because it's a backlash to the rash of "translation accuracy" autism and official re-translations of remade games from the 80s and 90s. People who care about translation accuracy tend to be extremely fucking dense, opinionated and completely unable to comprehend alternate viewpoints. So people have to keep explaining the fucking point of localization and related issues.

>>5062087
>>5062920
>The Saturn version of Silver Star Story was well received in Japan, with Weekly Sega Saturn Magazine recognizing it as one of the most memorable gaming experiences of 1997.
> Working Designs used the game's strong sales as justification to produce the English version of Eternal Blue Complete in North America

Yes. The only Sega CD exclusive that didn't sell a million copies in Japan. Must've been lacking WD's greatness, "git gud" "hardcore" "challenge" (in their words), and their avant-garde save system. They should have let WD develop Lunar 3... ah wait, they rejected the Magical Girls spinoff because girl cooties.

Quark's crystals is the same between both versions.

>>5063049
The devs were very upset by this because Taito US did it behind their backs, and the sequel never released in Japan.
It was okay because despite the loss of the cartoony megaman clone artstyle, the devs were incompetent hacks. But then, there would have been no way for it to be a series.

that said it's still one of these once in a blue moon cases. whenever games are on the receiving end of this, results aren't usually pretty (ranma, hokuto no ken, decap attack)

>>5063219
so much irony in this post

>>5063234
decap attack is awesome and hokuto no ken is a shit game regardless of region

>>5063249
decap attack took one rare colorful md game that made good use of the color palette, and instead of minimally changing it (because licensed anime) to an actually good alex kidd game and save that franchise, they changed ALL graphics to gore. poorly colored gore. also made it piss easy.

saw it as a kid and it was one of the fastest "nope" i had. but then discovered it in japanese and loved it.

the music is better, but that's it.