#video game translation

[dkniade]

“就如天鹅绒包裹的白银利刃一般”

“Like a silver blade concealed by velvet” (actual meaning)

“He is a wolf in sheep's clothing” (official English localization)

Childe Character Details

“不仅总能实现诺言，而且如手术刀一般漂亮精湛。”

“He not only always keeps his promises, but is also wonderfully adept like a surgical knife.” (Very direct translation just for the sake of imagery)

“He not only keeps his promises, but does so with finesse and surgical precision.” (Official English translation)

Character Story 1

Number of times he’s been explicitly described as a blade (up until this point). Chinese: 2. English: 0

I’ve always found that first simile quite beautiful

[liquidsevens]

Solidus: "... (he mutters something. Mouth movement only. Leave the dying words up to the users' imagination)"

probably the most famous trivia for MGS2 revolves around all the content cut due to the aftermath of 9/11.

a lot of people think that extends to Solidus Snake's final words before he dies. many folks believe that before censorship, the script, and by extension, the game, contained some final words that may have even been fully voice acted.

in reality, there was nothing. it was always meant to be a moment where we, the players, try to imagine what he might have said. the storyboard above (and the text excerpt) is from "The Document of MGS2", an interactive disc that includes the WIP translation, character models, etc. for the game. if you're a fan of MGS2, especially its aesthetic, i highly recommend you explore it. its got a ton of content to just watch, read, listen, or generally mess around with.

Sources:

The Document of MGS2 (NTSC-U)

Agness Kaku (Translation)

[natarice]

A3 - Event Story - Nomadic Bartender (3/11)

Hisoka: "Ah... I think it's finally time to call it quits. Might as well just drink the rest of this myself and close up shop for good."

Guy: "Good evening."

Hisoka: "!! Welcome!"

Guy: "..."

Hisoka: "Um, can I help you?"

Guy: "I would like to work here."

Hisoka: "Aw, what... Sorry, but I'm not hiring right now."

Izumi: (The winter troupe is wrapping up the tenth round of performances with a magical bartender fantasy.)

Izumi: (It's an unusual setting for this group, because the characters, their professions, and the worldview are all inspired by the fantasy genre.)

Izumi: (At the same time, there's a certain sense of sadness from the fact that wizards are shunned in this world that makes it feel like a winter troupe performance.)

Banri: Anything dealing with magic is tricky because the way you handle it completely changes what you end up with.

Tsuzuru: That's true. I think if another troupe did this play, it would feel completely different.

Izumi: This definitely has a distinct winter troupe flavor to it.

Izumi: (Guy plays Wis, a wizard working as a bartender, drifting from bar to bar in search of a certain person.)

Izumi: (And Hisoka is Gin, the owner of the bar where Wis is now asking for a job.)

Banri: No issues with these two at all, thanks to them working together at the bar in real life.

Tsuzuru: The roles suit them well.

Izumi: Well, there is one thing I'm worried about...

---

Izumi: Well, I think we're just about ready for a readthrough.

Izumi: Does anyone have anything they'd like to discuss before we start?

Tsumugi: I'd like to say something.

Tsumugi: In the final scene, Wis uses magic to erase all of Gin's memories about him and wizards in general.

Tsumugi: Even though it's come up before, I'm a little concerned about Hisoka having to play a character who loses his memories.

Homare: Yes, I've been thinking about this too.

Azuma: Right. If that scene is too much for Hisoka, maybe we could come up with a different approach.

Tsuzuru: Let me know if you have any suggestions for script changes!

Izumi: Hisoka, what do you think?

Hisoka: I'll be fine. Because I know that forgetting isn't scary.

---

Izumi: (That's what Hisoka said, but...)

Guy: "This is a token of my gratitude."

Hisoka: "What kind of drink is this?"

Guy: "It's called a Whiz Bang."

Hisoka: "..."

Hisoka: "... Hm? So you can make drinks like this? But wait, the flavor... it's like a terribly nostalgic memory of someone..."

Izumi: You can see how incredibly sad Gin is here. And Guy's portrayal of Wis shows how hesitant he is to take away Gin's memories.

Banri: At first I thought the last scene was an positive way of ending things, but I really felt the pain there.

Tsumugi: Everyone has their way of interpreting and performing the scene, so i don't think either approach is wrong.

Tasuku: I think it's fine to let Guy and Mikage tie things up how they want to.

Guy: No, I think I'm getting tripped up by my own feelings. I'll work on it a little more.

Hisoka: Me too... I'm not really satisfied by my performance.

Izumi: Well, we only just started rehearsing. There's still time to figure things out.

---

Izumi: Well, let's wrap things up for today.

Citron: Good job, everyone!

Citron: An espresso luggage has arrived from Zafra!

Izumi: Coffee?

Tasuku: Someone sent us coffee beans in luggage?

Guy: Beans in luggage? Maybe he means beanbags.

Homare: Did they deliver beans or bags?

Banri: Pretty sure he means express package.

Citron: That's correct! Guy is always the Guy who gets it Wrong!

Guy: Isn't this "the pot calling the kettle black"?

Citron: And here is a fan letter for the Wrong Guy!

Guy: A fan letter? From Zafra?

Guy: ... It's from Mika. That's unusual. He doesn't usually write letters.

Izumi: What did he write?

Mika: "I sincerely apologize for not being to attend your performance."

Mika: "Preparations for the theatre festival in Zafra are currently underway."

Mika: "I pray, from the bottom of my heart, that your performance succeeds."

Mika: 'I have known from the start that your charisma as an actor--"

Guy: I'll spare you the rest.

Homare: But we were getting to the best part!

Tasuku: Judging by the number of pages, that letter will take a while to read.

Guy: I'll read it carefully.

Azuma: It's unfortunate that Mika missed Guy's performance back when we did Phantom.

Hisoka: Even though we performed it in Zafra, Mika still couldn't see it.

Guy: Right, we were with the Spring Troupe a lot of the time, and then the performance was interrupted.

Tsumugi: Maybe that's why Mika's letter is so long.

Azuma: Why don't you give him a call later?

Guy: Yes, I think I will.

Izumi: By the way, there's a theatre festival going on in Zafra?

Citron! Yes! It is a fun event where Zafra's theatre troupes get together and perform for many days!

Tasuku: Sounds pretty interesting.

Tsumugi: If the timing is ever right, I'd like to go.

---

Guy: ...

Mika: Yes?

Guy: It's me, Guy.

Mika: Sir! I hope you've been well. What can I do for you?

Guy: I received your letter. Thanks for sending it.

Mika: Oh, it was nothing! There was a lot I wanted to write, and so the letter ended up being so long... my apologies! But I wanted to show my support from Zafra!

Mika: I wanted to be there for opening night and the final performance at the very least, but it seems like that will be quite difficult to--

Guy: The first and last night? At the very least? I see...

Mika: Of course, if the festival wasn't going on, I would want to see the "full run"... !

Guy: So you're familiar with that term, "full run." It's not Zafran, though.

Mika: I learned it from Citronia-sama. Since you're performing as the lead actor, I want to see every single performance.

Guy: Oh, did Citronia tell you I was playing the lead this time?

Mika: Prince Tangerine did, though he mentioned that he'd heard about it from Citronia-sama.

Mika: He also passed on some advice about writing you a letter, because it would be difficult for me to go to Japan in person with the festival preparations here.

Mika: According to Citronia-sama, I would be able to encourage and support you by putting my thoughts and feelings about your upcoming performance on paper.

Guy: I see. It was Citronia's idea...

Mika: I believe that Citronia-sama is also looking forward to your performance very much.

Guy: I'll need to work even harder, then.

Mika: Please accept our best wishes and support from everyone here in Zafra, including Prince Tangerine and myself, of course!

Guy: Thanks.

---

Notes

Technically, Guy's character should be called Wiz (ウイズ) but I just really don't like that spelling for a name. So Wis it is!

As Guy's subordinate Mika speaks in keigo which still really trips me up, so that phone conversation is a little murky in places... sorry about that. I hope I've at least conveyed that Mika is the one true Guy stan.

[liquidsevens]

i love how this translation came out of nowhere

“bad guy” -

Dr. Slump (Bandai - PSX - 1999) 

[prokopetz]

On the one hand, an official localisation of Off doesn't feel like it's necessarily going to be an improvement story-wise – the vibe I get is that a lot of the game's reputation with Anglophone audiences is tied up with the fact that the fan translation is objectively terrible, and an English translation by someone who actually knows what they're doing is probably going to be considerably more hinged.

On the other hand, apparently they're also redoing the combat system from scratch, and Off with combat that doesn't fucking suck is a compelling brief.

[vaguely-concerned]

on the one hand I think inner demons could stand to have a bit more romanced rook specific content, but on the other hand the underlying in-built implication that 'yours is the one true voice of comfort and safety in my inner world' is a sentiment and intimacy so way beyond the romantic or the platonic or any secret third thing you could care to name that it makes me lose my entire poor little mind a bit. it's so big and fundamental — near-existential — that in that exact moment at least the distinctions kind of seem irrelevant.

all the people lucanis' mind conjures up along the way are relationships he has that are unavoidably mixed and fraught in some ways even when they're also full of love (they are fraught BECAUSE they're full of love) — the good in them inseparable from things that hurt him at the same time. (it's about: the basic disorganized attachment patterns this poor guy is dragging around with him. careful with those, they're dellamorte heirlooms. what you love also inevitably hurts you and you won't be allowed to have one without the other, you have to surrender parts of your soul to hold on to what little you have left: this is the story up until now.) and the idea that rook isn't that to him — that beneath the fear of wanting them when romanced (which is more its own separate thing because within this psychology, actively wanting something and not just clinging on for dear life to even a meager status quo lest you lose it is in itself dangerous bordering on catastrophic), this is a relationship where there isn't resentment, or guilt, or shame, or dread, or rage, or self-hate, or any of the other emotions that keep him paralyzed, unable to move this way or that. no debts, nothing owed of yourself and your soul's substance except what you can freely and safely and happily give. love and freedom don't coexist — but, I mean, you're almost starting to make me think........... unless...👀👀👀. the unconditional and undramatic 'you are here and I am here with you, you can be exactly how you are right now with me and it's safe for us both even though you're afraid it won't be, I'm not going anywhere' acceptance rook shows him here that he returns to them in the big romance scene, when it's rook who needs it. the way he's just. standing there in the center of it all, like a child desperately helplessly waiting to be found, hiding in the place he hopes you'll know to look first. (rook does know. it's one of the first things they say in there.)

in short the most important room in his little mind palace for the romance is the very first room — the one where rook isn't. where, in fact, rook cannot be, because they disprove the entire structure of the place with their existence and presence in his life. with everyone else he's putting words in their mouths about what they think of him, and rook is the one who actually gets to come in to speak their own words to him — and have him listen. ('he'll listen to you, he always listens to you', 'your voice is a comfort'.) of course rook isn't present anywhere else in there — at the risk of stating the obvious to a tedious degree, they aren't one of the locks, they're bringing the key. in the very finest 'the messenger and the message' sort of way.

[hermitcrabstar]

Who taught Kirbs to say that?

[liquidsevens]

i was about to watch this, but one thing led to another and i found out theres a spanish fan translation for this??? i LOVE marias videos but i have to play this for myself lolol

I made a lil video on The Tairyou Jigoku (The Overwhelming Hell)! it's a PS2 survival horror title that never left Japan...

[beingharsh]

1000xRESIST (2024), dev. sunset visitor 斜陽過客

[pigeonedlilac]

Welcome to the journey of me finishing my rarepair week drafts. Mayhaps a long one

This was for day 5 I believe?!!?

For the prompt of ‘family,’ hiitomo ft. Rinne :]

[mendelpalace]

GERMS: Nerawareta Machi is a first-person open world, survival-horror adventure game developed by KAJ for the PlayStation in 1999. It's a surreal and strange-looking game, sometimes evoking LSD: Dream Emulator with its uncanny environments and the low poly characters, some of whom have face textures, while others are just blank. The game just recently got an "unfinished, but mostly playable" English translation, and while it apparently isn't 100% finished (the site lists it as version 0.5), it at least seems beatable in this state. There's also a complete Spanish translation.

[dkniade]

I’m thinking of “The Divine Damsel of Devastation” and translation again, and I know I tried to translate half of Yun Jin’s newly appended line some time ago

But see… This song’s lyrics uses some idioms and concepts in traditional Chinese culture that the audience is expected to know, so when a term like 知音 (zhi1yin1) is used, it’s not explained what it means (here’s a more faithful translation on Reddit with some notes in the same thread)

Of course to an English speaker they might need to know the term literally means something like (one who) know the sound but it’s used to mean someone who knows your inner thoughts well. It’s an idiom from a story 伯牙善鼓琴 (“Bo Ya’s Adept at Playing the Qin”) where a qin (Chinese string instrument typically laid across the lap) player—伯牙 (Bo Ya)—falls in love with a woodcutter—钟子期 (Zhong Ziqi)—who can guess what he’s thinking (e.g. mountains, or rivers) from the way he plays the qin (but then Zhong Ziqi dies so Bo Ya breaks his instrument in grief). (Doesn’t Madame Ping and Cloud Retainer’s past relationship reference this story too? I dunno the details)

Soulmate has gained a romantic connotation, confidant is more so personal secret-keeper. I guess if I were to say it, the closest would be heart’s accompaniment (heart points to the psychological/emotional nature, accompaniment retains the supporting music imagery

Which is why I think my previous idea of retaining both the surface meaning and inner meaning of an idiom makes a very awkward translation, but, well, it truly is a shame that nuances are lost

[madame-helen]

[otomehonyaku]

Diabolik Lovers More,Blood ☽ Possessive Ruki and voyeuristic Yui (Heaven 02)

this is genuinely one of my favourite scenes in Ruki's route in MB... the cooing! the possessiveness! the horniness! once again props to @karleksmumskladdkaka because now I have a (long) list of scenes that I post videos of ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

[poison-breadth]

These are mad times of mechanical cats;

- Lo Ch'ing, "A Poem Is a Cat in One's Mind" (from Shih-jen chih teng)

[5bi5]

Tumblr girlies do YOU want a show that has more than 12 episodes a season? That won't get cancelled next year? That has beautiful talented queer women? That you can overanalyze to your heart's content? That will make you laugh, cry, and tear your hair out? That's problematic in many ways but still worth watching and loving? That has decades of lore and history? That has symbols and motifs and imagery and sometimes even live organ music? Then perhaps what you want isn't a fictional show at all but the violent sport of hockey.