Super Mario Odyssey: “You just want to yank it, don’t you?” and “There’s even a deep end.” [JPN vs ENG]

Today’s post is a short one and a reader request:

“…I dunno something about this line just seemed localization-only to me lol <attached picture> What was it in Japanese?”

The picture is above, and is from the Lake Kingdom brochure. There was another line this reader was curious about too, which I will address in this same post as its short:

“…and there’s this other line that says like “there’s even a deep end” that also felt localization-only. <attached picture> Can you look into it too if you have time? Thx!”

That second one gives me a chuckle. I felt it may be interesting to look into, so let’s see!

Let’s first take a look at the “yank” line:

Japanese	Lit. Translation	Official Localization
開けなければ分からない　独特の感触	A peculiar feeling – You need to open it without really knowing why.	You just want to yank it, don’t you?

The Japanese, when literally translated, becomes quite a mouthful. It’s more like a brochure advertisement when read this way too. The Japanese is expressing an incredible urge to do something without really knowing why, as the literal translation reads. So that is the idea that needs to be conveyed here.

To shorten that, one may make it like “It makes you want to open it for some reason!” It’s less like a brochure ad but gets the meaning across in a more fluid way. To shorten it even more, we arrive at what the localization did:

“You just want to yank it, don’t you?” Here it still is directly addressing “you” in the second person, as an ad may, while also expressing the need to yank it.

So that one is actually rather accurate to the original, aside from the “peculiar feeling” not really being a separate entity.

Onto the next one:

Japanese	Lit. Translation	Official Localization
一部深くなっている場所がある	There is a deep section.	There’s even a deep end.

Who knew simply adding “even” would change the sort of tone of this short line? It certainly comes off as more humorous.

The Japanese is stating it as it is, that there is indeed a deep section to this small pool. The localization added the “even” as a fun way to express how it is still a brochure-style ad trying to “sell you” this site. It does come off as something a salesperson may say to sell you something that is otherwise mundane by stating something expected/given as something special.

But, in terms of meaning, it is pretty much the same. The “even” is the only difference here, which may have raised a localization alarm for the reader, but is a nuance change rather than a general meaning change.

In short:

Both translations are pretty close to the original, with nuance differences. The “yanking” line eliminates the “peculiar feeling” bit (which was separate) and leaves it implied in the line itself. The “deep end” simply added “even” to add a bit of a humorous sales pitch to it, but otherwise is the same. An example of fun localization without straying too far from the meaning.

Summary infographic:

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That’s that!

I will continue to look at fun differences between the versions of sorts of games when I get time!

Any dialogue you’re interested in? Feel free to send in comments or via email! Providing the images/context/lines are a big help too.