In celebration of the release of Super Smash Brothers for Wii U in the United States, here is a brief comparison between the way Lucina (from: Fire Emblem: Awakening / Fire Emblem: Kakusei) is portrayed.
Victory Lines:
(English)
“The future is not written!”
“Father, I won!”
“You’ll never defeat me.”
VS Marth: “This is the Hero King?”
VS Ike: “And they called you the Radiant Hero?”
(Japanese)
未来を替えて見せます！
“Mirai o kaetemisemasu!” (Watch me change the future!)
勝ちましたよ、お父様
“Kachimashi ta yo, otousama” (I won…father.)
負けるはいけません！
“Makeru wa ikemasen!” (I cannot lose!)
VS Marth:
これが英雄王の力？
“Kore ga eiyuuou no chikara?” (This is the Hero King’s power…?)
VS Ike:
これがそうえんの勇者？
“Kore ga souen no yuusha?” (This is the Radiant Hero…?)
Taunts
Poses, saying “Come at me!” (English)
Poses, saying “Kakattekinasai” (Come on). (Japanese)
Sheaths sword, “I cannot lose.”
Sheaths sword, “Makeraremasenkara” (I cannot lose.) (Japanese)
-From text alone, their tones sound similar/the meaning is not too changed. However, from listening to the actual voices, one can hear the tonal difference. The Japanese version retains her modest yet determined personality from her source series, however, the English one speaks in a more condescending/overconfident style of tone.
-Notes specifically on fighting Marth and Ike, her Japanese version says it more in awe/appreciation that she got to fight two legends, as opposed to the mocking way of having overcome them. However, the mocking tone can come into play when one considers the usage of “ga” as opposed to “wa” after the “kore” that may place extra emphasis on the this, hence the version we end up with.
-The Japanese default victory line which says “I cannot lose” is said in a more “I have no choice but to win” sort of way, which fits with the source context of coming from a doomed future where she must win or else all is lost. But, saying “You’ll never defeat me”, while it has the same meaning (if she cannot lose, she must win), it changes the implication on her personality entirely for the one on the receiving end.
-Regarding taunts, only the first has a notable difference in saying “Come at me!” (Eng) versus “Come on [already].” While “nasai” is a form that can be used in a demanding way, her tone is more cold and professional, compared to the former. However it can also have an air of condescension to it (in the literally “talking down on” like a mother chiding a child kind of way).
-I get the impression that perhaps, due to 8-4 Ltd having handled Fire Emblem: Awakening’s localization, that perhaps an in-house translator not familiar with the original personality translated these lines. As said, when you read them above side by side, they have similar meanings for sure. However, if one was familiar with her source personality (as indeed, in her source game in English she remains closer to how her Japanese one was in both FE: A and Smash Brothers), then they would have likely chosen words that fit that personality of hers more.
-Of course, this is all just guessing on my part! For all we know perhaps I just read/hear them completely differently than the majority of people! I recall seeing offhand comments on forums agreeing she seemed different in English though, so perhaps I am not alone.
Again, this is just a very small thing I found interesting in this vast game. It is just a few lines and should not really matter much!
