XC2: Pyra, Poppi, and having a”sense of modesty!” [JPN vs ENG]

Today we have a reader request regarding a small scene in Xenoblade Chronicles 2:

…the line [on the screenshot] is from the Poppi QTpi quest when Pyra is lecturing Poppi about modest outfits… I mean really Pyra? lol was she saying this in Japanese or was this localisation maybe having some fun with irony with how Pyra herself is dressed?

I attached the screenshot of the line in question above! I thought it might be fun to look into. So what’s this like in Japanese?

Short answer: It’s mostly the same. It seems like both languages were going for a sense of irony as it revolves around Poppi wondering why Pyra is fine dressed as she is but tells Poppi to be more modest. However, English uses slightly different word choice to skirt around issues of skin exposure.

For those interested in more details, please keep reading. If not, then see you next article!

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XC2: What was the “really likes being high” joke like in Japanese? [JPN vs ENG]

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!

FE7: Blazing Blade Localization: Serra’s “Oh, that’s so sweet! You wanted to see me again!” line [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 we look at a conversation from FE7 (Blazing Blade) chapter 14:

A friend brought up the following:

“Remember that recruitment convo with Erk? Where Erk says Serra is the last person he wanted to see and she’s happy he wanted to see her at all? How did that work in Japanese?”

Short answer: The content is actually similar, but localization tweaked the original joke slightly but managed to convey close intent thanks to clever word choice.

Let’s take a closer look!

FE11: Shadow Dragon Localization: “I’d just always assumed Manaketes looked somethin’ like parakeets.” [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, I look into an old reader request involving some dialogue from Chapter 5 in Shadow Dragon! (Sorry it took so long!):

I’d just always assumed Manaketes looked somethin’ like parakeets. Sheesh…

I bolded the relevant part. This can’t work in Japanese, can it? Isn’t the Japanese for Manakete “Mamkute” even? Any wordplay at all in it?

Short answer: No wordplay is involved, it is a case of localization just punching up a line. It only exists in the localization.

Let’s take a closer look!

FE8: Sacred Stones Localization: Does Aias’s Death Quote Specify the Tactician’s Gender? [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, I look into a reader request from twitter:

“I have a quick request. If you defeat Aias in Eirika’s Ch13 (FE8), he compliments Renais’ tactician. Do you know what he says in Japanese, specifically if he says the tactician is female? Thank you in advance!”

Short answer: Aias does not specify any gender of the tactician in Japanese either.

Let’s take a closer look!

FE8: Sacred Stones Localization: Garcia, Dozla, & Drinking [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. Last time, I looked into a bit of Farina and Karla’s support conversation from Fire Emblem: Blazing Blade (FE7).

Today, I look into a reader request who emailed me:

“I recall reading…. somewhere…. that they changed Garcia and Dozla’s support conversations to remove alcohol references.

If you have time, could you look at it?”

I have heard of this too, but never looked into it. It’s listed under trivia on Garcia’s page on the Fire Emblem wiki, for instance, though it lacks any citation.

So let’s fix that!

SSB4: Japanese 3DS Version Back Cover Translation

A user named Aseeph bought this to my attention today, so I translated/edited it for anyone who is interested! My edit is first, and the original Japanese image is second.

Thanks for bringing it up, Aseeph!