Weird Translation?

[Oathkeyper97]

So I've recently played through the Japanese versions of KH1FM and Re:CoM on the 1.5 collection. Now I've moved on to KH2FM on 2.5. I absolutely love the fact that I have the opportunity to play these games in the original language, and I must say that it's money well spent. I'm especially exited about 2FM, seeing as it's my favorite game ever. However...

Something interesting that I've learned about the series from spending my time on KHI is that KH2's Japanese-to-English translation... isn't the greatest. From what little Japanese I know (as in white-guy-who-watches-anime levels of knowledge), and how much of the game I've played so far, I actually have been noticing quite a few differences. And some of them are pretty big. For instance, in the Room Where Nothing Gathers cutscene after the first Hollow Bastion visit, Xaldin says "Do my eyes deceive me? Does he really have the power to wield the Keyblade? He is nothing but a boy!" But then, in the original Japanese cutscene, the same lines of dialogue include the word "hikari" (light) and the number 10.

Needless to say, I'm both weirded out and interested by this. So, I have a question. Is there any place on the ever-convenient interwebs that contains a more accurate translation of the game's dialogue? And actually, another question as well: does anyone know any other major translation differences off the top of their head? This is just a really intriguing topic for me. Thanks!

 

[Chuuya]

Well there is that weird translation of KH1 of in the beginning when Donald says, "Daisy, can you take care of the-". Then Daisy says, "Of course." When I did some research, in the Japanese version both Donald and Daisy said something completely different. Forgot what. ^_^'

 

[VoidGear.]

Somehow, Square Enix likes to do that. They did it with Final Fantasy X and they're never gonna stop D:
Sadly, I don't know of any good place where you could find the most accurate translations of the Japanese version. :s

 

[Blackdrazon]

Well there is that weird translation of KH1 of in the beginning when Donald says, "Daisy, can you take care of the-". Then Daisy says, "Of course." When I did some research, in the Japanese version both Donald and Daisy said something completely different. Forgot what. ^_^'

Q&A: Is this Kingdom Hearts Translation Completely Wrong? « Legends of Localization

There you go!

 

[Audo]

For instance, in the Room Where Nothing Gathers cutscene after the first Hollow Bastion visit, Xaldin says "Do my eyes deceive me? Does he really have the power to wield the Keyblade? He is nothing but a boy!" But then, in the original Japanese cutscene, the same lines of dialogue include the word "hikari" (light) and the number 10.

"The Hero of Light seemed quite shocked. It's 10 years too early for a child like that to wield the Keyblade."

Is there any place on the ever-convenient interwebs that contains a more accurate translation of the game's dialogue?

These youtube videos released before 2.5 came out had translations of the new KH2FM scenes. I can't speak for how accurate they are since I don't know the translators in question but--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRD_ZsYKYVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeo6rRJW1_U

And actually, another question as well: does anyone know any other major translation differences off the top of their head? This is just a really intriguing topic for me. Thanks!

There's a pretty well known translation error towards the end of the game involving the Roxas/Sora battle. In the English translation he says "Why did he pick you?" but in the Japanese he says "Tell me! Tell me why you were chosen!", referring to the Keyblade.

Here's also a break down of the significant Axel/Roxas scene and the differences between the original Japanese and the localization:
naissance par le sommeil - THIS IS A KH3 SPOILER FREE TUMBLR : A breakdown of the localization of the famous...

If you're interested in localization in general, this is a pretty interesting read:
From Japan, With Changes: The Endless Debate Over Video Game 'Censorship’

Well there is that weird translation of KH1 of in the beginning when Donald says, "Daisy, can you take care of the-". Then Daisy says, "Of course." When I did some research, in the Japanese version both Donald and Daisy said something completely different. Forgot what. ^_^'

That's actually an example of good localization/translation work lol

Somehow, Square Enix likes to do that. They did it with Final Fantasy X and they're never gonna stop D:

I mean, it's localization. Every videogame company does it, they have to.

 

[maryadavies]

RE: Localization

Even scantilators and fansubbers do it on occasion, since Japanese is NOT easy to translate from, I've always gathered. I've always maintained that JP to English is a art, not a science.

I think these two articles are very interesting from Manga Stream:
Somewhere in Translation 06: Literal vs. Liberal Part 1: Context
Somewhere in Translation 07: Literal vs. Liberal Part 2: Profanity

I think these articles apply to professional translators too..when they don't flub up. And they're human, so I forgive them. ^^

 

[Oathkeyper97]

Thanks so much, everyone, for the info and the links and stuff! I feel edumacated.

 

[Ultima Spark]

The "10 years too early" quote is a metaphor for youthful inexperience (something similar was said in Japanese FF9 as well). It'd sound a bit too awkward in English if said literally.

 

[Audo]

The "10 years too early" quote is a metaphor for youthful inexperience (something similar was said in Japanese FF9 as well). It'd sound a bit too awkward in English if said literally.

Not to mention, in English we'd take the phrase literally. And with this, we'd think Xaldin was saying something more pertinent than just that Sora's inexperienced. I remember people trying to attach Xaldin's comments to BBS (which happened 10 years ago~~) before 2.5 came out, for example, thinking he was saying something connected to the lore.