#susie is still the secretary and has to deal with the fact she is now serving the guy that killed her dad

[icy-dark-star]

Meta Knightmare Returns au where Star Dream doesn't get destroyed and Meta becomes the HWCs new president

[kaialone]

Kirby Planet Robobot Translation Comparison: Meeting Susie

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the cutscene where Kirby first encounters Susie.

You can also watch this cutscene for yourself in English and Japanese.

For the comparison, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

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Meeting Susie:

????:

ウフフ…

Uhuhu...

Heehee...

????:

こんな所に まで、 ゲンジュウ民が 来���なんて…

I am surprised to see that a native has made it this far...

I didn't expect to see a native inhabitant all the way out here.

????:

あぁ、もうしおくれました。 ワタクシ「ハルトマンワークスカンパニー」の、

Oh, please excuse my late introduction. I am working for the "Haltmann Works Company",

Excuse my manners. Let me introduce myself.

????:

社長秘書を つとめております、 「スージー」と もうします。

as the secretary of its president. I am called "Susie".

My name is Susie, executive assistant of the Haltmann Works Company.

Secretary Susie:

いご おみしりおきを。

Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Secretary Susie:

……ごらん くださいませ。

...Please take a look around.

Just look at this planet.

Secretary Susie:

この ほうふな 水に きれいな 空気を…

An abundance of water, and a clean atmosphere...

Clean air, fresh water...

Secretary Susie:

この星には、ばく大な しげんが ねむっている のです。

A wealth of resources rests upon this planet.

There is a wealth of natural resources to be found here.

Secretary Susie:

アナタ方 ゲンジュウ民は、 その ねうち さえ わからずに…

And still, you natives remain ignorant of its value...

But all of you who live in this world take that wealth for granted.

Secretary Susie:

と、いうわけでして…

Regrettably, that is precisely why...

Regrettable, but at any rate...

Secretary Susie:

アナタ方は、われわれの 「キカイ化しんりゃくプロジェクト」に とって、

In order to see our "Mechanization Invasion Project" through,

Our Mechanizing Occupation Project is now under way...

Secretary Susie:

ジャマな 存在と はんだん されました。

it has been decided that you pose an obstacle.

and your people have unfortunately been identified as...obstacles.

Secretary Susie:

ここまで ごそくろういただき、 たいへん おそれ入りますが…

Since you have gone through the vast effort of coming here, I am truly sorry to say this, but...

Our most sincere condolences, and I'm sorry you had to come all this way...

Secretary Susie:

すみやかに…

Now I must...

but I'm afraid...

Secretary Susie:

くじょ されて くださいませ！

Exterminate you on the spot, if I may!

you must be destroyed!

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Comparisons & Thoughts:

Overall, the official English translation of this game does a great job at adapting the cutscenes, and this first one is a good example of that.

The text is very faithful to the original, with barely any notable differences, though there are still some points I want to go over.

Most importantly, this scene serves as our introduction to Susie, so a lot of this will be me talking about her.

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So to start off, here are some general aspects regarding Susie.

A minor detail about her is that she is generally referred to by her full title “Secretary Susie” in the Japanese version of the franchise, including the dialogue boxes of this game.

In English, she is usually just referred to as “Susie”, more than likely because writing out her full title in English would often be too long for the dialogue boxes.

So this is an understandable change made out of necessity, but it does make her lose just a bit of the completely professional vibe she gives off in the original.

It also worked as a parallel to her employer, who is also usually only referred to by his full title.

Another detail is her manner of speaking.

In the Japanese version, Susie almost always speaks in a very polite and formal manner, matching her professionalism.

There’s also occasional moments of what I guess I would describe as “playful femininity” here and there, to an extent that doesn’t break the “professional secretary” character.

At the same time, she will often talk about awful things or flatter herself without dropping the formality, giving her dialogue a sort of backhanded vibe. What she says is technically constructed in a reserved and polite style, but is actually insulting or boastful on her part.

In my translation, one of the ways I tried to adapt her formal speaking style by having her use very few contractions, but that is just one way to do it.

For the most part, the English version retains that formal vibe of her pretty well, especially in this cutscene here.

But there are moments where the English version does play a bit more loose with her dialogue, making her sound more casual or openly insulting.

When these moments come up, I think they are there to make her sound more snappy, and possibly to better match the sort of “sleazy villainous salesperson” trope as it’s used in English media.

There’s also the fact that different levels of politeness are a bit harder to express with just written words in English compared to Japanese.

That being said, the differences in Susie’s vibe between versions are fairly subtle, and probably only something you’d notice when taking a very close look.

When there are any moments where the difference actually is strong enough to be notable, I will be pointing them out.

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Moving on to the actual text of this cutscene, a subtle detail is that in Japanese, Susie introduces herself by saying “I am called Susie”.

This is a proper formal way to introduce oneself, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s also alluding to the fact that “Susie” is eventually revealed to not be her actual full name.

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A small difference is that the English version uses “Mechanizing Occupation Project” rather than “Mechanization Invasion Project”, but it’s not a big deal.

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Lastly, in the Japanese version Susie says that she must “exterminate” Kirby, while in English she says that he must be “destroyed”.

Normally this wouldn’t be worth bringing up, and “destroy” is a perfectly acceptable translation of the verb here.

But, the term used in Japanese here, くじょされて/kujosarete ends up being a bit of a catchphrase for Susie in future media, so from that perspective it’s neat to see its first appearance here.

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And that’s all for this cutscene, really not a lot to say about this one, because it really is just that close to the original.

I also love most of their phrasings, it’s all very well-written.

The differences between the Japanese and English versions of this game’s text become more pronounced as the story goes along, so feel free to check out the next part!

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