by Deep » Tue Sep 05, 2023 12:44 pm
I know, I know. Some people think and keep thinking that TSC Remaster has questionable English translation. Now, I’m no expert on any language. But I can definitely say that this version is fine. There 5% of stuff that could’ve been addressed, but it’s not as crucial as people make it out to be. I’ve been gathering some evidence. If you have some more - feel free to share them.
There are two main issues I think could be adjusted.
1 – Lack of honorifics
English is language of information. There is no honorifics. There is only one pronoun of “You”. You can do Mister or Miss, or even Sir, but they don’t work that well or have same meaning to -san, -sama, -kun, -chan, etc. These nuances are missing from that English version, I’d bring them back where they’re supposed to be. For example: when Tokio engages in conversations with Kusabi, he calls him Kusabi-san. However, when he’s alone thinking, talking to somebody else or writing his diary up, he drops the honorific, because he really doesn’t give a fuck about the guy. Another example: Kusabi dislikes Hachisuka and doesn’t use any honorifics when he talks to her or about her. Another example: Koichi calls Akira onii-chan. In English version Koichi calls Akira – you. They dropped it here altogether.
2 – Swearing
Kusabi says bad words a lot. There is nothing wrong in swearing, where it’s needed. Japanese, just like English has only a handful of bad words. When you only speak in bad language it’s just tells everybody level of your education and culture. In the end it’s sounds repetitive in text, and that I think why some people were put off by it. Not that I agree, it works if you think about policemen within their field of work. If you have no experience with Japanese police or police in general, you can look up how on they apprehending criminals in Japan (it’s all free on YouTube). I’d tone down some stuff here and there, but if you just bite the bullet and keep playing, it’s not that jarring. Other than that, some minor and not so significant errors can be fixed.
The other topic I’d like to share some light on some translation choices that had being made in English version. I’m nitpicking the hell out of the game, so if you think these don’t mean much – they don’t. It’s just for some fun trivia knowledge.
24 Wards
There is no such thing as 24 Wards, because it is only one 24th Ward. Or district, or city, if you will. Now, 24th Ward has population only of 100 000 people. City or town with that kind of population is fine. For those who can’t trust common sense and can’t use brainpower here, in the game 25th Ward (I wonder why it’s called that) they changed 24 Wards to 24th Ward. Think about how many districts in your city. Maybe 5 or 10, it depends. Real life Tokyo has 23 districts, threated like some separate entities. The 24th one is fictional, of course.
Big Cock
Kusabi is gay and loves talking about cock and ballsacks. He refers to others as all things dicks related. English version of Big Dick is actually a good adaptation. It refers both to a policeman and a cock. Akira is tall guy, thus Big, but it’s already obvious. However, Chinchilla…I think is not. Now, hear me out. In Japanese version of the game Kusabi calls Akira as Chinchira and Dekachin. Dekachin is Big Cock, as is (and detective too). Chinchira on other hand, is not. I'm aware of slang term of "chin-chin" however, it can also relate to a cute animal (because murder look of Akira surely resembles puffy squirrel) and also can relate to Chinpira (Chimpira), the low-ranking yakuza punks. Thugs from the hood, if you will. Now, the reason why I think Kusabi actually referring to Akira being a thug is because there is other example of Kusabi miss-pronouncing some terms. This actually could be a translator overthought. When Kusabi and Sumio talk about Method Tank couple, Kusabi wants to say “Avant-garde” (Abangarudo) describing them. However, he makes a mistake and says “Avangelion” (Abangerion), which is a joke about Evangelion in itself. It’s missing from English version due to…tough thing to be translated, I suppose. You may thin of it as a discussion topic. Back to the Chinpira. Does Akira look like a big thug or a small cute animal?
100 Quiz Kumite
There is another full thread about it.
tl;dr: they had to change 50% of questions, because Westerns have no clue about Japanese 80s-90s mass media or culture. However, I’ll go out on a limb and say that some of the changed questions could’ve been better adapted or actually kept. Questions about horse fatigue, TV show Millenium, Three Kingdoms, Dolly the Sheep and PlayStation release date could’ve been kept. But what’s done is done. Now that I know actual reasoning behind the changes, I think it’s not that big of a deal.
Bad music on Radio
When we first see Kusabi in his car, he says he doesn’t really like music on radio. In fact, he was talking about Japanese genre – enka. It’s slow traditional Japanese music that you can hear in old movies. There is no slow country music in States (I might be wrong), that’s why they dropped the reference altogether.
Chat nicknames
Almost all names in Kamuidrome chats were changed. I have no explanation.
Nakategawa is a pedophile
For some reason people assumed that because Naka prefers “young girls” he’s a 1st Degree Pedophile. In Japanese version in that specific line, it says that “he is into Lolita’s”. This is may have different meaning if you’re lolicon yourself. Busted. However, in reality it refers to fashion style of young Japanese women. Not underage children. Sure, Japan obsessed with sex (Travis goal in NMH is to have sex, katana charging, etc) and all things considered. But I highly doubt that what is going on in the story of this game.
Parade fairytale
First tale in Parade is about some nightmare-eating chimera. In Japanese version it specifies actual mythical creature Baku. Dropped for obvious reasons.
Spectrum Blockbuster
Some residents of Typhoon went in the night to rent a movie in Blockbuster. It’s actually a Tsutaya net of electronic shops that still exist in Japan. But it’s a same thing and a good adaptation.
Plastic Mask
When Morikawa and Nakategawa talk about emotionless face of Kamui, they refer to some plastic mask. In Japanese version it’s a Noh mask that is used in drama theaters in Japan. Of course, reference is dropped to not confuse people even more.
Red
Tokio’s turtle name is Red. However, in Japanese versions turtle is called akamimi, which means red-eared, just like the species of the turtle itself. Its very uninspiring name, like calling your brown dog - Brown.
Yuu’s phone call
When Yuu has a call with Tokio to say the Kamui Site, she spells out every letter separately over the phone, like double-u, double-u, double-u. In English it’s just www.
Lunatic puzzles
In Japanese version they had ASCII code with katakana. Of course, it was changed to Ceasar code, which is a good change for English-speaking audience.
P.S. extra trivia F.S.R.
In the beginning of game, Peter asks Sumio for 5. 5 what? Sumio confused and thinks that 5 is not much. In reality Peter (Kusabi) is referring to 50 000, in Japanese 10 000 is “man”. Like a grand for 1000, you know. It’s quite a hard joke to reiterate in English. Like in TSC, he asks Sumio for 50 000 (go man). 5 – go.
P.S.S. extra trivia Suda51
He is not fifty-one, it’s five-one. 51 would be gojuichi. But I think ghm kind of gave up on that.
Conclusion.
There are a lot of such small things in the game that already properly adapted or dropped altogether due to difficulty of translating it. It’s not an easy game to decipher by any means. These are just some examples of stuff we are missing out on when we don’t know the language and culture of the game, movie, book, song, etc. This post isn’t about bashing the English version like some dumbfucks already thought. It’s about learning shit together and getting better at stuff we like to explore and discuss.
I know, I know. Some people think and keep thinking that TSC Remaster has questionable English translation. Now, I’m no expert on any language. But I can definitely say that this version is fine. There 5% of stuff that could’ve been addressed, but it’s not as crucial as people make it out to be. I’ve been gathering some evidence. If you have some more - feel free to share them.
[b]There are two main issues I think could be adjusted. [/b]
1 – Lack of honorifics
English is language of information. There is no honorifics. There is only one pronoun of “You”. You can do Mister or Miss, or even Sir, but they don’t work that well or have same meaning to -san, -sama, -kun, -chan, etc. These nuances are missing from that English version, I’d bring them back where they’re supposed to be. For example: when Tokio engages in conversations with Kusabi, he calls him Kusabi-san. However, when he’s alone thinking, talking to somebody else or writing his diary up, he drops the honorific, because he really doesn’t give a fuck about the guy. Another example: Kusabi dislikes Hachisuka and doesn’t use any honorifics when he talks to her or about her. Another example: Koichi calls Akira onii-chan. In English version Koichi calls Akira – you. They dropped it here altogether.
2 – Swearing
Kusabi says bad words a lot. There is nothing wrong in swearing, where it’s needed. Japanese, just like English has only a handful of bad words. When you only speak in bad language it’s just tells everybody level of your education and culture. In the end it’s sounds repetitive in text, and that I think why some people were put off by it. Not that I agree, it works if you think about policemen within their field of work. If you have no experience with Japanese police or police in general, you can look up how on they apprehending criminals in Japan (it’s all free on YouTube). I’d tone down some stuff here and there, but if you just bite the bullet and keep playing, it’s not that jarring. Other than that, some minor and not so significant errors can be fixed.
The other topic I’d like to share some light on some translation choices that had being made in English version. I’m nitpicking the hell out of the game, so if you think these don’t mean much – they don’t. It’s just for some fun trivia knowledge.
[b][size=150]24 Wards[/size][/b]
There is no such thing as 24 Wards, because it is only one 24th Ward. Or district, or city, if you will. Now, 24th Ward has population only of 100 000 people. City or town with that kind of population is fine. For those who can’t trust common sense and can’t use brainpower here, in the game 25th Ward (I wonder why it’s called that) they changed 24 Wards to 24th Ward. Think about how many districts in your city. Maybe 5 or 10, it depends. Real life Tokyo has 23 districts, threated like some separate entities. The 24th one is fictional, of course.
[b][size=150]Big Cock[/size][/b]
Kusabi is gay and loves talking about cock and ballsacks. He refers to others as all things dicks related. English version of Big Dick is actually a good adaptation. It refers both to a policeman and a cock. Akira is tall guy, thus Big, but it’s already obvious. However, Chinchilla…I think is not. Now, hear me out. In Japanese version of the game Kusabi calls Akira as Chinchira and Dekachin. Dekachin is Big Cock, as is (and detective too). Chinchira on other hand, is not. I'm aware of slang term of "chin-chin" however, it can also relate to a cute animal (because murder look of Akira surely resembles puffy squirrel) and also can relate to Chinpira (Chimpira), the low-ranking yakuza punks. Thugs from the hood, if you will. Now, the reason why I think Kusabi actually referring to Akira being a thug is because there is other example of Kusabi miss-pronouncing some terms. This actually could be a translator overthought. When Kusabi and Sumio talk about Method Tank couple, Kusabi wants to say “Avant-garde” (Abangarudo) describing them. However, he makes a mistake and says “Avangelion” (Abangerion), which is a joke about Evangelion in itself. It’s missing from English version due to…tough thing to be translated, I suppose. You may thin of it as a discussion topic. Back to the Chinpira. Does Akira look like a big thug or a small cute animal?
[b][size=150]100 Quiz Kumite[/size][/b]
There is another full thread about it.
tl;dr: they had to change 50% of questions, because Westerns have no clue about Japanese 80s-90s mass media or culture. However, I’ll go out on a limb and say that some of the changed questions could’ve been better adapted or actually kept. Questions about horse fatigue, TV show Millenium, Three Kingdoms, Dolly the Sheep and PlayStation release date could’ve been kept. But what’s done is done. Now that I know actual reasoning behind the changes, I think it’s not that big of a deal.
[b][size=150]Bad music on Radio[/size][/b]
When we first see Kusabi in his car, he says he doesn’t really like music on radio. In fact, he was talking about Japanese genre – enka. It’s slow traditional Japanese music that you can hear in old movies. There is no slow country music in States (I might be wrong), that’s why they dropped the reference altogether.
[b][size=150]Chat nicknames[/size][/b]
Almost all names in Kamuidrome chats were changed. I have no explanation.
[b][size=150]Nakategawa is a pedophile[/size][/b]
For some reason people assumed that because Naka prefers “young girls” he’s a 1st Degree Pedophile. In Japanese version in that specific line, it says that “he is into Lolita’s”. This is may have different meaning if you’re lolicon yourself. Busted. However, in reality it refers to fashion style of young Japanese women. Not underage children. Sure, Japan obsessed with sex (Travis goal in NMH is to have sex, katana charging, etc) and all things considered. But I highly doubt that what is going on in the story of this game.
[b][size=150]Parade fairytale[/size][/b]
First tale in Parade is about some nightmare-eating chimera. In Japanese version it specifies actual mythical creature Baku. Dropped for obvious reasons.
[b][size=150]Spectrum Blockbuster[/size][/b]
Some residents of Typhoon went in the night to rent a movie in Blockbuster. It’s actually a Tsutaya net of electronic shops that still exist in Japan. But it’s a same thing and a good adaptation.
[b][size=150]Plastic Mask[/size][/b]
When Morikawa and Nakategawa talk about emotionless face of Kamui, they refer to some plastic mask. In Japanese version it’s a Noh mask that is used in drama theaters in Japan. Of course, reference is dropped to not confuse people even more.
[b][size=150]Red[/size][/b]
Tokio’s turtle name is Red. However, in Japanese versions turtle is called akamimi, which means red-eared, just like the species of the turtle itself. Its very uninspiring name, like calling your brown dog - Brown.
[b][size=150]Yuu’s phone call[/size][/b]
When Yuu has a call with Tokio to say the Kamui Site, she spells out every letter separately over the phone, like double-u, double-u, double-u. In English it’s just www.
[b][size=150]Lunatic puzzles[/size][/b]
In Japanese version they had ASCII code with katakana. Of course, it was changed to Ceasar code, which is a good change for English-speaking audience.
[b]P.S. extra trivia F.S.R.[/b]
In the beginning of game, Peter asks Sumio for 5. 5 what? Sumio confused and thinks that 5 is not much. In reality Peter (Kusabi) is referring to 50 000, in Japanese 10 000 is “man”. Like a grand for 1000, you know. It’s quite a hard joke to reiterate in English. Like in TSC, he asks Sumio for 50 000 (go man). 5 – go.
[size=85]P.S.S. extra trivia Suda51[/size]
[size=50]He is not fifty-one, it’s five-one. 51 would be gojuichi. But I think ghm kind of gave up on that.[/size]
Conclusion.
There are a lot of such small things in the game that already properly adapted or dropped altogether due to difficulty of translating it. It’s not an easy game to decipher by any means. These are just some examples of stuff we are missing out on when we don’t know the language and culture of the game, movie, book, song, etc. This post isn’t about bashing the English version like some dumbfucks already thought. It’s about learning shit together and getting better at stuff we like to explore and discuss.
