Today’s post is on the shorter side!
I wanted to take a look at a small line of dialogue from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (pictured above) which I came across while playing through the game recently:
Topopo, I hear, really likes being high.
…Hey, stop smirking! High up off the
ground, is what I meant!
The joke revolves around the pun between high (location, opposite of low) and high (slang for being intoxicated by drugs, etc). So naturally this will awaken the most trivial of all trivial curiosities!
So what was this like in Japanese?
Short answer: As you may expect, the joke is actually purely an invention of the localization. There was no equivalent in Japanese.
For those interested in more details, please keep reading. If not, then see you next article!
This line comes from DLC quest titled “Industrial Sort of Tour” which is available from Chapter 5 onward at Port Anangham in the Empire of Mor Ardain.
When asking the quest giver about the whereabouts of certain characters, they say the following when hinting at the location of one of the others:
English:
Topopo, I hear, really likes being high.
…Hey, stop smirking! High up off the
ground, is what I meant!
Japanese: (Video used for reference).
ハイハバイハさんはとにかく高いところ
が好きらしいです。Haihabaiha seems to prefer high places.
You can already see how plain the Japanese is in comparison. Beyond the name containing the word “high” in pronunciation, there is no joke present that the English one replaces.
You can see the English in general is lengthier too. Unlike other games I’ve covered, which are often much older, it seems localization had freedom on the amount of text that could fit in these bubbles, and thus would not be constrained to any real limitations.
As such, it’s safe to assume they simply took the chance to insert a joke where it may have fit, considering the silliness that revolve around the Nopon already and how their names alone are often punny.
It is, in the end, rather inconsequential, considering this is a DLC sidequest, so the most minor of minor things… but still fun to see none the less, in how dialogue changes!
That’s that, pretty straightforward!
I’ve recently been playing through this game. As of this writing, I am somewhere in Chapter 9. Please be careful of spoilers in the comments below!
I’ve been noticing a lot of small things like this here and there that stick out in making me wonder about the localization and how the original Japanese must have went. Considering the differences in locale names and character names, I’m sure there are more fun things (and perhaps more major differences) to look into… once I finish the story and can freely research.
Any dialogue or moments that stuck out to you that piqued your curiosity? Let me know in comments or via email!
kantopia 