Zelda – Windwaker: The “Complimentary ID” in Japanese? [JPN vs ENG]

Today, I look at what I would say is an example of good localization found in the Legend of Zelda: Windwaker.

The player receives something called the “Complimentary ID” which results in a silly dialogue exchange where it is literally an item that has the shop keeper (Beedle) compliment the player –rather than offering any actual tangible goods to your purchases free of charge. A different kind of complimentary than what one may expect!

And that is where the question comes in: What was the ID’s name, and the scene like, in Japanese?

In short: It does revolve around “compliments” (or praise), but the localization team seized the opportunity to make this even more fun in the English language with a pun that was different, yet worked with the original Japanese intent.

Let’s take a closer look!

Advertisement

Zelda – Windwaker: Is the “Hero’s New Clothes” a reference to “The Emperor’s New Clothes?” [JPN vs ENG]

My friends over at Source Gaming are doing a special Zelda week (February 22^nd through March 1^st) to celebrate the upcoming release of Breath of the Wild on the Switch.

They have made plenty of Zelda-themed content for the week, such as various facts about the first game of the series, and a piece on defending Skyward Sword  from backlash.

So, today, on my end, I look at a great example of localization found within Windwaker. The localization team behind the game managed to place a fitting cultural reference to an old story in an appropriately humorous moment in the game.