Zelda: Majora’s Mask – Comparing Cremia and Romani’s “Adulthood” Dialogue [JPN/ENG]

In the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, the innocent Romani is excited to try Chateau Romani for the first time without fully understanding the circumstances as to why her older sister Cremia is suddenly allowing her to try it. I got curious to see what the conversation was like in Japanese, so decided to look into it.

So, here it is: (Note, the dialogue alternates between Cremia and Romani, as one can tell by the tonal differences):

Japanese	Literal	Localized
あら、こんばんわ 今夜のむ ミルクをしぼってるの！ 「シャトー・ロマーニ」よ 飲むの はじめて！ おねえさま！ いままでは 「あんたは オトナになってから」 って 言ってたのに どうして？ ・・・・・・・ あんたは、オトナになったのよ ロマニー・・・・ おねえさまが、みとめるわ じゃあ、ロマニーにも お面 くれるの？ そうね つくってあげる・・・ ‘ 今夜は 私のベッドで いっしょに 寝ようね ロマニー はい、おねえさま おやすみ・・・・ また・・・ あした・・・ね また あしたね！	Oh, Good Evening. We’re squeezing milk to drink tonight! “Chateau Romani!” This is the first time I’ll drink it! Why now though, sister? Up until now you’ve said “When you’re an adult.” … You…are an adult, Romani. Your elder sister acknowledges it. So, does Romani get a mask too then? That’s right. I’ll make one and give it to you… Tonight, let’s sleep in the same bed, hmm Romani? Okay, sister Good night… See… you tomorrow…okay? See you tomorrow!	Oh…Good evening. We’re milking the cows tonight! It’s “Chateau Romani.” It’s the first time I get to drink it! Until now, my sister always said “Wait until you’re an adult.” But why now? ……… You’ve become an adult now, Romani…I see it in you. I’m acknowledging it. Then, does Romani get a mask, too? Well, yes, I’ll make one for you… Sleep with me in my bed tonight, OK, Romani? Yes, sister. Good night… See you…tomorrow…OK? See you tomorrow!

Very small differences! The localizers stayed pretty true to the original text and meaning, and only added very slight things to make the English flow better. Both are just as cryptic and warm, so that was nice to see.

As trivia, fans theorize that since Chateau Romani is reminiscent of alcoholic drinks in the real world (adults only, night bar based, etc), that Cremia is effectively euthanizing her sister by putting her to sleep so she doesn’t have to suffer the moon falling (and so end of the world) when awake.

Now that’s rather dark. Implied dark, but dark all the same. A truly wonderful game this is!

—

And that’s that. If you would like to see more of these sort of brief comparisons, feel free to leave a comment or suggestion (or email me under “Contact”).