Times when the localization team really went rogue

[ciro64]

I'm not talking about your usual dialogue change to accommodate regional differences or filter inappropriate content, I'm talking about instances where they simply went ahead and kicked the bucket!

Spoiler: Mega Man 7 ending

There is a slight change to the ending. In the Japanese version, after Dr. Wily tells Rockman that robots cannot harm humans, Rockman stops charging his Buster and remains silent. In the English translation, the silence is replaced by a threat to kill Wily, although the text speed was not changed.

Damn, Mega Man!

Only this cutscene comes to my mind at the moment, so that's why I created this thead. I'm interesting to know if you guys know more cases like this!

 

[Glimbo]

Revelations: Persona on PS1 changes all party member appearances with one big one.
-----Japan---------- US-----

 

[Strategist]

Fire Emblem Fates is filled with random changes in the support dialogues, but the Beruka Saizo C Support is one of the more notorious ones

It was supposed to be:

C SUPPORT
Saizou: You’re…. The assassin from Nohr, Belka aren’t you.
Belka: …..did you want something? Hoshido’s shinobi…..Saizou.
S: Oh….? It seems that we already know one another’s names.
B: Yes…. The name Saizou of Hoshido is widely known in Nohr. The next king’s faithful retainer…. As well as an assassin of high ability.
S: Same here, from a young age to kill without hesitation, rumours of a little girl that was a ruthless murder weapon.
B: …I see. How many…. Have you killed?
S: What’s with that question….. you remember such things?
B: As an assassin counting is a daily routine in my job. But after I was taken in by Camilla…. I stopped counting. I don’t know if that’s good or bad for me… only that that had changed.
S: Is that so.
B: ….I’ve answered. So how about you?
S: I…. can never forget. Even if I don’t want to remember…. Even if I want to forget….. The faces and numbers of people that I’ve killed…. It’s been engraved clearly into my heart.
B: ……I see.
S: To have to join hands with an assassin from an enemy country like this must be fate. We both have Lords that we must protect….. Belka. Please take good care of me from here on out.
B: Yes.

Source: https://kantopia.wordpress.com/2016...ation-beruka-x-saizou-c-support-change-major/

 

[RustySK]

Working Designs.

Just... in general. They're like the poster child of awful localizations.
Albert Odyssey - Legend of Eldean and Magic Knight Rayearth come to mind as particularly egregious examples.

 

[Prism_Red]

Super Robot Wars Moon Dwellers.
There are a lot inconsistent terminology and translations, even people who followed the previous eps are getting confused midway, but since this is the first officially English translated modern SRW game, the fans kept silent.
This went on to the subsequent releases like V and X, thankfully it got better by T, and when 30 rolled around Bandai already hired people who are familiar with the original materials.

 

[Cu-Neo]

In Modern Warfare 2 in the Iconic mission "No Russian" for the Japanese mission they mistranslated the phrase "remember no Russian" to "Kill them they're Russian" which makes no sense because you are technically killing your own allies.

Also Allévoy.

 

[Tonberry]

The American localization of Splatoon is known for changing Marie's personality a bit. In the European and Japanese versions she's mellow and cool, while she comes off as more smug and sassy in the American version.
It's pretty innocuous, though, and I think she has her JP/EU personality in 2 and 3 anyways.

 

[Strategist]

Working Designs.

Just... in general. Albert Odyssey and Magic Knight Rayearth come to mind as particularly egregious examples.

I do have nostalgia for the Sega CD Lunar games, but the pop culture jokes are very hit or miss. Sometimes they are clever, but sometimes they miss the mark. And they get dated rather quickly. I wonder if young kids would get jokes about Tootsie Rolls.

Legends of Localization: Lunar: Silver Star Story’s Tootsie Pop Reference in Japanese

The English localization is known for inserting pop-culture jokes everywhere.

legendsoflocalization.com

 

[Logi]

Tales of Phantasia by DeJap

 

[RustySK]

I do have nostalgia for the Sega CD Lunar games, but the pop culture jokes are very hit or miss. Sometimes they are clever, but sometimes they miss the mark. And they get dated rather quickly. I wonder if young kids would get jokes about Tootsie Rolls.

Legends of Localization: Lunar: Silver Star Story’s Tootsie Pop Reference in Japanese

The English localization is known for inserting pop-culture jokes everywhere.

legendsoflocalization.com

Don't forget the Ike & Tina Turner jokes! Truly timeless knee-slappers, I'm sure the kids just love 'em.

I will grant them that there's a certain charm to their localizations.
A good localization should be willing to make some minor changes in the specifics so as to better convey the intended tone of a scene in my mind.
That said, the devil really is in the details there and you need to be EXTREMELY careful with those changes.

Working Designs meanwhile just took a sledgehammer to the original scripts instead.

 

[Strategist]

Don't forget the Tina & Ike Turner jokes! Truly timeless comedy, I'm sure the kids love 'em.

I will grant them that there's a certain charm to their localizations.
A good localization should be willing to make some minor changes in the specifics so as to better convey the intended tone of a scene in my mind. That said, the devil really is in the details there and you need to be EXTREMELY careful with those changes.
Working Designs just took a sledgehammer to the original scripts instead.

There's a Bob Vila joke when the team arrives in Vane. Sears literally doesn't exist anymore. The comedy is slowly being drained out of the game, lol.

 

[Stookymalarkey]

Working Designs.

Just... in general. They're like the poster child of awful localizations.
Albert Odyssey - Legend of Eldean and Magic Knight Rayearth come to mind as particularly egregious examples.

You're 100% correct! They even shoehorned in pop culture references that age like milk, and purposely make the games harder (compared to the original Japanese version) to the point of breaking the balance. At least a guy named StarGood undid the balance changes but we're still stuck with the cringe-worthy English dialogue.

 

[Yousef]

There’s actually an it’s over 9000 meme in ace attorney investigations 1

 

[MasterEn]

In Modern Warfare 2 in the Iconic mission "No Russian" for the Japanese mission they mistranslated the phrase "remember no Russian" to "Kill them they're Russian" which makes no sense because you are technically killing your own allies.

Also Allévoy.
View attachment 12819

so, the translation is English to Japanese, right?

if that's the case, then that translation makes sense. if i remember correctly, Japan and Russia never signed any peace treaty when WWII ended. they are still technically enemies and at war, for all intents and purposes.

 

[Glimbo]

One of my favorite games is Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. The US, EU, and Australia got essentially the same game as Japan. But in Brazil, they basically turned it into a licensed romhack to feature characters from a different IP. Title screen differences.

 

[ciro64]

Working Designs.

Just... in general. They're like the poster child of awful localizations.
Albert Odyssey - Legend of Eldean and Magic Knight Rayearth come to mind as particularly egregious examples.

This is hilarious LOL

One of my favorite games is Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. The US, EU, and Australia got essentially the same game as Japan. But in Brazil, they basically turned it into a licensed romhack to feature characters from a different IP. Title screen differences.
View attachment 12833 View attachment 12832

Mônica my beloved

 

[PhrawzT]

Cratermaze for the TG-16 comes to mind. The American game is a remake of Booby Kids for the Famicom, whereas the Japanese game was reskinned to be a Doraemon game. The Story in the beginning of the game was changed as well.

It was also one of the only TG-16 games I had growing up and I played the hell out of it.

 

[Cu-Neo]

so, the translation is English to Japanese, right?

if that's the case, then that translation makes sense. if i remember correctly, Japan and Russia never signed any peace treaty when WWII ended. they are still technically enemies and at war, for all intents and purposes.

https://callofduty.fandom.com/wiki/No_Russian#:~:text=or police officers.-,Regional Differences,Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered.


Discovered that the line is a meme in japan. That's pretty neat

 

[Bonkers225]

I think our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters will have stories regarding Pokemon.

 

[antii]

Revelations: Persona on PS1 changes all party member appearances with one big one.
-----Japan---------- US-----
View attachment 12815 View attachment 12816

Bro this change is insane like it was super unnecessary (w black character doe)

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

Not a game but my favorite will forever be the Ghost Stories Anime like bro that whole story got turned into a comedy

 

[SkunkyBeaumont]

Working Designs was the best localization we could get at the time, and there is a reason why we remember them fondly, although I definitely much prefer the unworked versions of the games, as a lot of the gameplay changes didn't age well. The idea at the time in the US Market was that if someone could beat a game in the duration of a rental, they wouldn't then go out and buy it.

 

[Strategist]

Working Designs was the best localization we could get at the time, and there is a reason why we remember them fondly, although I definitely much prefer the unworked versions of the games, as a lot of the gameplay changes didn't age well. The idea at the time in the US Market was that if someone could beat a game in the duration of a rental, they wouldn't then go out and buy it.

I appreciate the passion of Victor Ireland. He was definitively a big Otaku nerd businessman and brought over a bunch of franchises that would've stayed in Japan otherwise. Passion has its downsides of course, as he got too into putting his stamp on the games.

 

[bloodywing]

Fräulein, which means young lady. The English Version used Miss here.

grandia 2

 

[Strategist]

View attachment 12907

Fräulein, which means young lady. The English Version used Miss here.

grandia 2

Technically correct translation, the best type of correct.

 

[MasterEn]

https://callofduty.fandom.com/wiki/No_Russian#:~:text=or police officers.-,Regional Differences,Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered.


Discovered that the line is a meme in japan. That's pretty neat

View attachment 12851

i wish wiki websites weren't so bloated nowadays. my computer nearly froze when i was done reading about the controversy section.