FE7 Localization: Ursula’s “my lady Limstella” [JPN vs ENG]

Happy new year to all! Really sorry about the lack of posts lately… life has just been so busy.

A short and very trivial post today, mostly for posterity! A thread on reddit regarding gender pronouns got me curious to check a line in Ch 26 of FE7, where Ursula refers to Limstella as “my lady Limstella.”

Fans of FE7 are aware that Limstella isn’t really clearly referred to as male or female throughout the game, so this line sticks out a bit with that in mind.

The question that arises is: does the JP script also clearly define Limstella in this line to point at any intended gender?

Short answer: No, the JP uses a gender neutral title (“-sama” 様), so the gender-specific title is unique to the ENG/Localization.

You can see more details below. (Please be wary of spoilers for FE7).

Pokemon Emerald: Does Camper Lawrence switch pronouns before and after battle? [JPN vs ENG]

From Koh’s playthrough.

Today’s post is a small one from a reader request:

I was on Bulbapedia, and the Hoenn Route 113 page said this:

“In the Japanese version of Pokémon Emerald, Camper Lawrence uses feminine first person pronouns after battling him, even though he uses masculine first person pronouns before battling.”

Is that true? If so, was that a mistake on their part?

This was pretty interesting to hear, and would be an oddly specific quirk for a one-time trainer to have, so I took a quick look.

Short answer: This is false. Camper Lawrence does not switch pronouns. In fact, he only uses one masculine pronoun after the battle.

Let’s take a deeper look!

Pokemon: “We hope to see you again!” [JPN vs ENG]

Across the Pokemon series, the nurse at the Pokemon Center helpfully heals up the player’s Pokemon. When handing them back, however, she says:

We hope to see you again!

The line has been referenced in a lot of silly ways based on how it is a relatively “terrible thing to say in a hospital.” After all, hoping to see the player again means that Pokemon get injured and need healing…again. This rather dark outlook that spawned several humorous memes and webcomics.

So that made me wonder, what is that line in Japanese anyway? Can it be read the same way?

Short answer: “We look forward to serving you again!” is what the Japanese comes out to be. Similarly polite business speak, but it’s all about the little context and nuance which explains why it became a running joke in the English-speaking fanbase but not so much in the Japanese one.

Let’s take a deeper look!

FE7 Blazing Blade Localization: Did Guy elope with Priscilla in the JP version? [JPN vs ENG]

This post is part of a series on reader requested (and personal curiosity) comparisons between Fire Emblem games’ Japanese and English scripts.

Today’s post concerns a reader question via twitter regarding Guy and Priscilla’s A support ending in Blazing Blade:

https://twitter.com/MiloZ28997263/status/1269795838659686400

Short answer: Yes, it appears Guy did indeed elope with Priscilla in Japanese!

I had been unaware of this, but it was mentioned on Priscilla’s Fire Emblem wiki page under trivia, though with no source. So while this information may already be known to some, I write this mostly for posterity for those interested in taking a deeper look or wondering about its validity and wanting the original Japanese.

So let’s take a closer look!

FE9 Path of Radiance Localization: “I guess I’m a fish out of water myself…” [JPN vs ENG]

Today we look into what a reader brought up as part of a larger discussion of localization of the FE games:

Idioms tend to lack perfect equivalents in other languages, so what of Ranulf’s use of “fish out of water” in his Ike support in PoR?

They are referring to Ike and Ranulf’s C Support in Path of Radiance, where Ranulf says the following:

Then again, worrying about a beorc like this is definitely not normal laguz behavior. I guess I’m a fish out of water myself… Wait, did I just call myself a fish?

Short answer: Surprisingly, this idiom was rather well placed. He was still talking about being an oddball when it comes to laguz, and using imagery of floating on water like a fish in Japanese.

Let’s take a closer look!

FE10 Radiant Dawn Localization: “I swear you’d hit on a tree if I dressed it in a skirt.” [JPN vs ENG]

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today’s short post is by both popular request and personal curiosity (and sort of fits the theme of the day).

In Radiant Dawn Part 3 Chapter 1, there is a comedic scene between Shinon and Gatrie, which ends with Shinon saying the following:

You’re chasing after a laguz now? Gatrie, I swear you’d hit on a tree if I dressed it in a skirt. Tell me I’m wrong!

Let’s take a closer look at this line!

FE9 Path of Radiance Localization: Mia’s Fortune and Archrival [JPN vs ENG]

It’s been awhile! Happy New Year! Hopefully I’ll have time for more posts in 2020.

Today’s post is a personal curiosity involving Mia’s fortune in her support conversation with Rhys, as well as her “archrival” in general. The structure is a little wayward, as a forewarning.

The localization of her conversation is mostly very accurate, though the fortune itself actually differs slightly. Despite a lot of small detours from the Japanese here and there, the conversation ultimately reaches the same conclusion.

I also touch upon a few other instances of her mention of fortunes and archrivals.

Let’s take a look!

FE Three Houses Localization: Felix and Annette’s ENG A Support Dialogue Change in the Patch

Spoiler warning: This article involves info about a late-game A support conversation in Three Houses.

Yesterday I looked at how one of Bernadetta’s lines in her B support with Byleth changed in the 1.0.2 patch for Three Houses. The JP had remained the same, yet it was an odd situation where the English changed for some reason.

Today, u/entitq on reddit brought up how a change was made in Felix and Annette’s A support conversation as well.

This one was strange compared to yesterday, as a change was made to one of Felix’s lines that is rather inconsequential, yet completely different to the Japanese this time. Let’s take a look:

FE Three Houses Localization: Bernadetta’s ENG B Support Dialogue Change in the Patch

Spoiler warning: This article involves info about a B support conversation in Three Houses.

So there’s been news circulating around a line in Bernadetta’s English B support conversation with Byleth, and how it appears to be altered from how it originally appeared after an update.

A tweet from @Best_Lolicon stated:

https://twitter.com/Best_Lolicon/status/1172265937136959488

A thread on serenesforest by user Jedi also brought up this issue.

I was curious if the issue really was about potential “censorship,” and whether it was a case of the original Japanese having changed too (so the English changed with it), or if it was just the English that changed (to tone it down or alter it significantly).

The surprising result is… that the Japanese is the same as it was before, and that the new English ends up oddly closer to the (literal) meaning of the Japanese! Though with some subtleties lost, as may happen with literal translations.

FE Three Houses Localization: “I’m bappy too” [JPN vs ENG]

Spoiler warning: This article involves info about a late game support conversation Three Houses.

Today’s post comes from personal curiosity!

It involves a simple line in Lysithea and Cyril’s A Support conversation, so let’s take a look!