Back in August I translated Robin’s amiibo event in full. A few days ago, GameExplain released a video of all four “first encounter” dialogues in the English version of the game. I took a look at Lucina’s dialogue, and surprisingly, things changed! So I decided to look into the others (Marth, Ike, and Robin) as well to see if things changed in those.
This is by no means a “they changed everything so don’t buy this game” post! This is just to show how things can sometimes change through localization and is a way to satiate curiosity.
Note, this is just the first encounter for now. If I find videos, or when the game comes out, I will be able to compare second encounters as well. I will update this post to reflect those.
Enjoy! Feel free to email or comment with more requests related to FE in general.
I compare the NoA dialogue (left) to my translation from a few months ago (right). I edited the translation slightly to make it sound less awkward in one or two places, but it is the mostly the same as last time. Note the differences as you read, and look at the commentary afterward!
| Nintendo of America Localization | More Literal Translation |
| Wh-where?! What?!
Who are you? This isn’t the– You, please–tell me where I am Huh? Who am I? Um…that’s a good question. Oh, wait. I’ve got it. My name’s I’m a bit out of it. Just a second ago, I was launching the other fighters… Ugh. This isn’t the first time I’ve Believe it or not, I’m considered a Hey, now tell me–who are you? Corrin? Well, I’ll make sure to Thanks for picking me up off the I really appreciate it. I should give How about the thing I use when Or maybe this other thing? I don’t I’ve never seen it before. Er, at least Which gift do you want? Thank you again for helping me get How odd. I swear we’ve never met, but I Anyway, I should set off. I’d like to Maybe I can learn something that will |
Nn…gh…
…ah! Where am I…? Are you the one who woke me? Huh? Who am I? Uh… Oh, that’s right, Robin. Before coming here, I feel as though Did I blow them away? Nn… Actually, this is the second time I’ve been found lying unconscious. Hey, speaking of which…what’s your name? Oh…? You’re called Kamui, huh? I want to show my thanks to you Kamui One is my favorite and most convenient thing for when formulating a plan. And…hmm? Which one do you want? Thanks, Kamui. For some reason, I feel that Anyway, I should get going. I can study various things, |
For the full translation information, check out the translation page itself. Of course there are some minor differences due to some tweaks I made to it to flow slightly better.
There aren’t as many differences to this one! Let’s take a look in order:
A first minor difference is he calms down a lot faster. He asks if Kamui/Corrin if they are the one who woke him, and thanks them. In the NoA one he pleads them to tell him who he is.
The next part about launching. I was not sure about this one back when I translated it, but it seems to really be a Super Smash Brothers reference after all. Both Japanese and English contain it, the Japanese one mentioning “futtobasu” (ふっとばす – the word they use specifically in Smash Bros. to refer to “launching” an opponent. I used the word “blow away” which was a more literal translation). Back in my original translation post, I was under the impression they would not reference out-of-game stuff, so I took it as an exaggeration as to how one of his previous (strategic) battles went. Apparently, it really was an SSB4 reference. Robin appears in that game with Lucina, and since this is an amiibo based event, they probably figured the Robin amiibo is used over there too, and thought to throw in that reference.
On that note, however, Lucina too makes a Smash Brothers reference in the NoA version, but never referenced it at all in her Japanese version, which is why I was a little iffy toward this one at first. But this one clearly mentions it, so no issues there.
The next part talks about how this isn’t the first time he stumbled into something in a daze, but that he’s a pretty good tactician. In Japanese, he directly references the starting of Awakening more directly, and also makes more of a self-defeating quip regarding being a tactician rather than saying he’s considered a good tactician.
Lastly, the most important thing I am glad they kept, even if it was worded a little differently. The mention of “How odd. I swear we’ve never met, but I feel some sort of kinship with you” compared to “For some reason, I feel like this isn’t the first time we’ve met. I feel that you and me have a very similar existence…” It shows the two avatars have a connection through the player themselves. I bring this up because in Lucina and Marth’s conversations, NoA changed the references to simply being “comforting.” They both say Corrin is “comforting” in English, but in Japanese go a little deeper saying they give them a “nostalgic feeling” which implies so much more familiarity. This is a better way to say it, because it deepens that connection between Corrin and the other play avatars (Chris and Robin for Marth and Lucina respectively).
So, overall not as many changes compared to Lucina’s dialogue, just a few minor things here and there with a Super Smash Brothers reference. The main point is here NoA didn’t add any references, simply wrote what was presented, compared to Lucina who got a SSb4 reference put in there, replacing some deeper dialogue that was in its place. They did make a few changes to Robin (being more flustered, and a bit more self-praising), but that’s pretty much it.
Marth and Ike will be getting their posts soon, too! Let me know if there are other things to look into, such as name comparisons and the like. : )
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The game isn’t even out yet and I’m already getting comparisons started thanks to all these pre-release videos…I will look at Marth and Ike as well. Lucina’s was fairly different, but Robin’s seems more spot on, even with the SSB4 reference in there. If anyone finds videos of the “second” dialogue (as above is only the first encounter) please let me know, and if not, I will get there myself when the English version releases…eventually.
Please pass this post on to anyone else who may be interested to see changes between Fates and If!
For the GameExplain first encounters (English), go here.
For LinkMstr’s video of first encounters (Japanese), go here.
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Way to be humble, North American Robin.
I found the bit about him being “a pretty good tactician” to be out of the blue. The Japanese Robin mentioned that in a less random manner
Thanks for the article!
No problem : ) It was sad to see that lack of humility where it was xD mostly due to the out of the blueness, as you said.