The Botched Localization of Persona
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2017
- I take a look at the controversial localization of the first Persona game: known as Revelations Persona.
Originally uploaded to Censored Gaming. It has been re-uploaded to my channel with permission. This version does not carry the CG watermark. - Ігри
Very well made video, clean and concise narration and editing
No
Yes
Yesnt
Mhm
Not no
The only black persona user in existence
all just because black people are such an uncommon sight in it's homeland.
And the most powerful because he can say the n-word
Mark's persona is the weakest in the game.
Why?
*Because he doesn't need it*
Zen from Persona Q would like a word with you
Cielo: Am I a joke to you?
Renamed "Chris" made me laugh.
Can't you just tell I was resisting the urge to crack jokes in this one?
Funnily enough, I heard that Reiji in the PSP version was voiced by Chris Sabat. Makes his localization name a lot more amusing in hindsight.
What about Kenta "Toro" Yokoichi being renamed to "Chunky"
>Mark gets thrown in jail and says he didn't even do anything
Oh shit....😭
Didn't he also do graffiti? They knew what they were doing
@@elijahfyffe5176 The Japanese know nothing about black people outside stereotypes.
@@wiseguy240Winston That's what I was joking about. They made him even more of a stereotype
@Shaquille Europe at least he can breathe
Why they wouldn't rename Eriko to Erica and Reiji to Reggie is beyond me.
Or maybe just call Eriko Elly or Ellie
chinese I take it?
@@fakegrant Elly = Ellen, I guess, also why Nate was from Nanjo, which was his last name. Kei could’ve been Keith
The sad part is that even with the fixed localization on the PSP, the only thing people care about when referencing Persona 1 is Black Mark and him dancing crazy. Persona 1 is a cursed game and greatly overshadowed by the Persona 2 duology.
they're both remembered for some good and crazy things sometimes.
I feel extremely sorry for the people that got introduced to the series through this horrible localization lol
Don't, we're doing just fine!
At least the encounter rate was lowered. That seems like the only good thing
It's a shame Persona 1 never really had an ideal release. The PSP version comes close, but lacks the original PSX soundtrack. Yet the PSX release suffers from a questionable localization. (though Americanization aside, the translation is surprisingly faithful, for the most part)
I personally really love the psp port. Yeah some great pieces of the original soundtrack isn't there but it didn't really bother me. I personally really loved Bloody Destiny
@@GuardrailBandit I'm grateful for it too. I just wish they had included an original soundtrack option, or done even more new music for it.
@Gian Ruiz Here you go: mega.nz/file/HJEXHJqC#ky5Ra5W8n5zJr12JMDWWHuH1w0zFpwnbZvCCTymzMAI
how i can remember in psp port you can change ost to the old one
@@Elapso That's only in P2
Encounter rate lowered?!?!?!?!!? Every step was a different battle and it felt like a chore walking through the dungeons with the constant battles. I almost didnt finish it
Kinda hilarious that they decided to remove the earring from... The Earring Boy
I remember Nate calling mark and brad monkeys, so that didn’t go over well in the localization.......
I refuse to belive that 2017 was 7 years ago
Basically Atlus said "Americans are too Dumb so let's make the game easier, and too Xenophobic so let's change ALL the Japanese references"
Basically.
great video, bet the original localization is hilarious
i'm okay with having a black person in the cast of persona it shows something different but i'm not okay with making that black person talks like he came out of a got damn rap video
Whatever you do,
don't read his twitter: twitter.com/2dollarhat
SnicketySlice his account was suspended
It was. Very sad.
SnicketySlice what did he say on the link
"Mark" actually talks very normally in this incarnation of the game, pretty much like an average highschooler.
You mean the fantastic Localization
"fantastic" pfft nice joke
They even renamed the SMT If... prtoagonist Tamaki to Tammy :'D oh deeaarr
I found out something on my own. The first game in the Megami Tensei series in the US was actually the virtual boy game Jack Bros. However it wasn’t an rpg.
That is correct. It's something I rectified for the Persona 1 analysis.
The ESRB probably was sleeping on this localization because there's frequent use of "damn" and "hell", and even a reference to voyeurism in the dialogue when you talk to one of the NPCs, but the ESRB just slapped a K-A rating on this and called it a day.
To be fair, the E10+ rating wasn't invented yet
@@el-karasu6070 That's what I was thinking. Earthbound had a similar situation.
@@aphronadeshiko what's wrong with voyeurism
"renamed Chris" LOL
I kinda want revelations dlc for every persona game where they poorly modify the team and turn the Chariot member black. Imagine: Revelations: persona 5 Ryuji is black and okumora is replaced with some knockoff Mcdonalds.
Spaceman Ronald Mcdonald vs Black Ryuji with blond fro
@@sirspookybones1118 It's like the funky student in p4
@@elijahfyffe5176 wiggidy wack, yo
@@sirspookybones1118 Yusuke being a graffiti artist
Aigis in Revelation:Persona 3 would just be Metis then
once you go black yo never go ba......
oh wait he can.
The original boy with earring design is so cool. I wish they bought it to the USA.
They kind of brought it over. Atlus didn't change Naoya's design when he showed up in P2:EP for like half a cutscene
Naoya and everyone: Per...so...na!
Mark: Ni...gg...a!
DAS RITEEEEEE
*Persona shows up*
it doesn't help that his initial Persona is the Nigerian god Ogun
Mark is the most powerful persona user because he can say the n word
"I am a shadow... The true self"
@@3agle280 bruh
Atlus of America, back then is, Nintendo of America now for the localization department.
Nintendo's been like that ever since the 80's; No Devil World for the US, Censorship on all games as standard (until Mortal Kombat SNES, where it's up to the 3rd Party to determine censorship by then), No culture clashes, No controversial social issues (like Captain Rainbow's Birdo), and avoiding unintentional infringement as a result of Shout-Outs or accidents (like the Red Cross). The only positive? Improved English compared to earlier games' poor English.
I am glad that Persona got a proper translation and re-release.
...but good lord I think the newer version totally butchered the game's atmosphere an soundtrack. That's something this version will always have over it.
I'm glad horrible localisations are no longer a thing this reminds me of 4kids
Got shadow realm'd
Ah yes, 4kids... The abomination that ruined Saturday cartoons...
Horrible localizations are still a thing, even worse some people defend such practices
These are the choices that make people think we are disrespectful :) please don't ruin your games by changing it's main focus. Where that game started is very important. it should be treasured, not changed ^.^ Which is probably why they fixed that in the future.
Yea it's the complete opposite now, to the point where the English cast uses honorifics and even say some Japanese words
Bobby Rare Who cares what people think? We shouldn’t change anything because 99% of the time excessive localizations are shit, not out of respect.
At the time it was needed japanese culture was seen as odd back then. Now that japanese culture is accepted here in the united states there is no need to Americanize things anymore.
@@YOTSUBA_desu i disagree with "we shouldn't change anything", the meaning of some things are completely different in different cultures, changing some things to preserve the feel it's supposed to have is ok in my books, it just takes a lot of finesse and intimate knowledge of both cultures, which is something this localization lacks.
The Armati thing cracks me up..! Great video mang.
this is the version I played. I liked it, but I will never stop laughing over the fact that Mark and Nate look like they belong in a magic treehouse book
In my university years I researched East-to-West video game localisation practises; the good news is localisers are more and more thorough and accurate in their research work.
nerd
@@aetherland1883 kinky
Yo doesn’t Nanjo call Mark a monkey like all the time ... huh
Not ALL the time, but him and Aki do call him that in the PSP version at least, Aki going a step further by making monkey noises. Mark also gets arrested by demon-possessed cops (one of which he has history with), and is the only character warned to be careful with his gun. Atlus USA really didn't think that change through.
@@espurrseyes42 the real question is, is it a very racist localization? Or is it unintentionally racist due to the whole, Mark being black in the western release thing but the dialogue is faithful? Because I know something I've seen in like, anime and such, is the whole calling the goofy character a monkey in reference to their general behaviour. So this could just be an unfortunate case of too faithful in some areas that would have been better off changed.
@@frog1405
No, this is definitely an accident. I just find it funny that, in their attempts to westernize the game by changing character names and even their races, they turned what was an innocent few moments of Mark being made fun of into what could be seen as racist stereotypes and jokes out of context.
@@espurrseyes42 that's what I figured but I also wasn't 100%, but good to hear that it is indeed an accident
I think nanjo doesn't call him like that in the psx US version 'cause they thought it was racist
I honestly want to know what was going on in the localization team's head when they did this, and how didn't think any of this might have come off as racist.
Though I might be answering my own question if I have to ask if they were thinking.
I think they intended to be racist
People are more interested at mark being turned black then half of the cast being turned white.
Bc they used alot of racist stereotypes
I think that's because Mark had a far more radical change, his whole design is different, and going from light skinned to more white is not as striking as going from light skinned to black
@@somebodyyoudontknow3980
A race change is a race change” is what I’ve heard from so many people.
Reality is the changes for all the characters should be treated the same because it’s all one big race change.
And one change made a Japanese character go from dark hair and dark eyes to blonde hair and blue eyes yet nobody bats an eye?
It’s the most biased and odd shiz ever how the anime community reacts towards asian characters being turned white than Asian to black.
Like the death note live action
They turned most of the cast white
Not only that but most of the white characters in the live action have non of their original Japanese surnames some have no Japanese names? Yet I barley see anyone pointing this out but the moment they turn one character black people lost their minds.
And it’s Funny because the black guy who played L actually did a decent job and acted somewhat like his character? While the white actor who played misa and light did horrible?
Yet people got more upset at the black one?
Same with dragon ball evolution
There wasn’t much backlash for a white goku but a black jet black had people malding for months.
Either all is ok or non.
If you don’t care about a white goku or white light than you shouldn’t care about a black mark or jet black end of story.
@@LoopyLemon775 look I actually agree overall. I don't like explicit race changes either, but I just wanted to offer up an explanation of why people don't care. It's simply not as drastic. Trust me if the characters went from black to white then there would just as much as an uproar about it
@@somebodyyoudontknow3980
That’s kinda the problem.
So many folks in the anime community or in general cry and whine about race changes in live action
But have no issue when a character go from full on Japanese we talking dark hair and dark eyes to Caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Even the Japanese name is erased?
It’s honestly on the same level?
Something of a past shame eh?
Yup!
About the character Mark. Mark wasn't his actual name in the Japanese version; Mark is his nickname. Mark's actual name is Masao Inaba.
Playing Revelations: Persona on a discounted PlayStation Classic is what got me into the Persona series. Persona 3 Portable is my favorite now, but I still have a soft spot for Revelations: Persona.
Me about to make a Persona fangame with a black persona user: I-
Mark: Hi
You can do better than Mark
What's the setting to your fangame?
@@tikalthewhimsicott2736 I'm not sure yet, I've been thinking of an arena type
@@solarrrrrrrr An arena? How would it play out?
@@tikalthewhimsicott2736 Maybe be like an arena for Persona users.
-But I’m also thinking a runaway plot-
Haha, this is so cool! I played through the PSP version recently but had no idea the original western release was like this. Really interesting, thanks!
I don't know what's worse, this bad localization, or the fact that the remake changed most of the soundtrack. Dammit Meguro.
I was polarized on that
On one hand I was sad it was all changed on other I was singing those tunes from the top of my lungs, they were kinda catchy
wtf do you mean the remake's soundtrack isnt as good as the ps1 version
@@alicemargatroid52 it doesn't even loop well
PSP's soundtrack is mostly good, many people consider Bloody Destiny the best piece and i can't agree with that, it is good, but not when the game is so japanese that you are fighting the last boss on beginner difficulty for more than half an hour in a game you're meant to play on the go.
I love the PSP version soundtrack :(
Finally, someone who didn't translate tensei as metempsychosis
"metempsychosis" is the word ATLUS used way back in the release of Nocturne and hasn't been officially retracted yet, fans didn't get it out of nowhere
@@zaqareemalcolm I mean, the two words ARE synonyms. Maybe they just thought it sounded cooler.
Mark is the best character
I can feel the localization team resisting the urge to switch Mark and Hidehiko's nicknames.
What's worse, this localization, or having the second black ranger talk to himself. Thanks, Atlus USA
the only way to play Persona 1 is either with vandalized characters and dialogue, or with a vandalized soundtrack
and honestly what they did to the ost of the psp version is a complete dealbreaker for me
There's a fan mod adding in the PSX soundtrack, but I think it only fully fixes the SEBEC route? I've not tried it myself yet
*Tobin stepped up a wild performance*
ATK/DEF debuff
A reminder to everyone that Super Guido existed
And now we have spanish, translation for the non-english speakers
What's the song at the beginning called!?
The Oompa Loompas come out and start singing/talking shit about that tree.
That should have a foreign persona protagonist that's black in Persona 6 seeing that the characters are always transfer students in the later games
Or just have it set in a country that isn't Japan for some variety in the setting.
@@Klonoahedgehog They made a game mainly for Japanese people. Foreign audience are afterthoughts.
@@cunnyman on the other hand, Persona 5 was initially gonna be a backpacking-road-trip-around-the world-thingy before the 2011 earthquake happened so
@@Klonoahedgehog since its made in Japan by Japanese ppl idrc that the games are set in Japan but it would be nice to see a lil diversity
Mark the only black in persona
owh, so that is why! i really got confused when i type mark on google and it shown a two difference mark, my first persona game i played was revelation. but, i am glad i play p3p afterthat and now i fall in love with this game
Wow Shin Megami Tensei Translated sounds badass. Also Godess Odyssey: Persona is an awesome title
Interesting...I wonder what made ATLUS decide to stop "localising" Persona like this, with 3 onwards?
I'm a month late but they were trying to make Persona marketable to the average American in the 90's. But as time went on more weebs started exiting and they were no longer a small group. Atlus USA shifted to that market and no longer had to make drastic changes so the game could sell.
They stopped doing this right after 1 with Eternal Punishment
i like the black mark better
anyone knows the ost used in this video?
So confused by early localization efforts, shit like Dango being donuts in Goemon.
>English play character, well known in America, probably less heard of in Japan
i still play this on the psx
This is almost like something out of 4kids dub-
I've been a gamer for years ( emphasis on years) and only recently have I given the persona series any time. I wanted to start with the original but switched to the PSP version because It looked more refined. I had no idea how much better overall the game was going to be.
As far as I'm concerned an original westen realise doesn't exist.
I honestly really hate localizations. Persona is a very Japanese video game series, and I like it to be that way! It'd be like if someone took High Noon and changed it to be a movie about Samurais in the Japanese version, you just don't do that!
Here's the thing, many things don't translate over well, localization is a necessary evil since without it chances are most wouldn't understand or would get the wrong message since it comes from a different culture where some things just don't come as second nature to us. Ideally the tampering should be minimal, but some is always necessary.
Ps: Persona 1 localization is horrible though, I agree with that. Localizations are very easy to get wrong unfortunately.
Why does my playstation classic have the original version then.
My face is H W I G H T
*Sigh* 90's translations.
Wait until this guy finds out about jack bros
I don't think a lot of things are too odd.
Except that they completely changed a character's race that's weird as hell.
I mean, as he pointed out, they changed a few of the characters' race, Mark is just the most noticeable one
For some reason, I cannot buy Persona PSP from Playstation Store on my PSVITA...
Is Atlus up to something?
I’m a bit late, but if you’re still looking for it, the full name is “shin megami tensei:persona” so check the games that start with s in psp games category
If Mark was originally black and they changed him to white/asian, they would get a lot and much more backlash than this will ever get.
Bro shut up
You better not be hating on my buddy Gray
Huh, yeah your right.
Ignorant
It really says something that Mark being turned black was more controversial to some fans rather than the game being completely whitewashed of anything Japanese.
Wait Mark is black in the US PSX version? Dam
Wow thats the only black guy
Its like that for most anime in general really....dbz pretty much dont remember that black people exist, and I had hoped at least one of the protagonists in persona 5 would have been black, but unfortunately there was one, and he was a background character as a bodyguard for some club......
Then again, its not easy to talk about because people flame you for saying things they don't want to hear nowadays, and make up every possible excuse for why they don't want black people(yeah, that's basically the one color many people seem to be against). In fact, give it some more time, somebody will more than likely come along and say something similiar to how wrong it is, hope or expect such a thing.
If the MC was black though that would be awesome!
Xyzzulous they should let you customize the character
Green A.J. Production That would make me happy. I mean it would have been nice considering you name the protagonist and give them personality.....due to not being able to do so i pretty much just give them thier canon names.
Green A.J. Production I like the idea of an actual design rather. Joker wouldn’t be as iconic if we had many versions of him.
Ooh yeah
i listened to this today, and as atlus is: "Let's remaster P3P, but not actually remaster it at all."
Titania is already english wth this is beyond localization, but americation
... and Reiji renamed
*CHRIS*
Though the rerelease was an improvement, the music was totally not fitting, it needed that sweet PSX ost, not something inspired by Persona 3 or 4.
Wow! Mark was black?🤔
Awesome!
I never knew that!🤷
so basicly the P3 and Pokemon diamond smooth petit childish filter is for localization western market are they suverying on roblox or something? are we supposed to share with roblox taste now 😂
0:05 where is this cgi from?
Smt 5 reveal
wait, zio is "force"?
why didn't they just call it thunder, or....wait is it a star wars reference??
Zio isn't force tho,zan is force and zio is flash
Zan is also called Force in Nocturne iirc
Finally, someone who doesn't insist on separating Persona from the rest of Shin Megami Tensei
Anyone else get persona q vibes from this?
Why is no one talking about the ending I had where you returned to the school covered in spider webs and the last boss was a spider version of mary?
I Like Japanese Traditional Persona
And that is why I loathe localization in games, anime, etc.etc.
It would be very hard to understand many endemically Japanese expressions, cultural differences, etc. without some degree of localization. Literal translations tend to sound awkward.
i hope you figured out what localization means sometime these last 4 years
Yo bro good video but i don't think you needed to drop the maki spoilers like that for a 6 minute video on the localization
The game is 22 years old. Spoilers are fair game at this point.
I think It's best just to avoid spoilers if at all possible no matter the time frame.
If anyone was truly interested in the story of a game from 2 decades, they would've already played the game before watching videos about it. Or they wouldn't even care enough to play it in the 1st place because of its age. Now if it came out like, last week, then I'd understand, but no, spoilers for old stuff doesn't exist.
Don't be dumb.
How is that dumb? As opposed to waiting for like, what, 50 years to be allowed to discuss essential plot points in a story to make a valid example in a video? Yeah right, not happening.
Guido sardina?? FFS hahaha
From what I know everybody’s last name isn’t mentioned it’s only Nate trinity also just like he said, in the video you are able to access the snow queen route using cheats but the engine that’s running revelations persona is unable to read Japanese text so it throws around a bunch of wingdings which are symbols meant to represent letters
persona 1's america localization is botched but it has more soul than p1p
Bruh it’s not even the same game
How do you think your own method is too obtuse lmao
Wait, Moh Shuvuu was a Persona already?
No, still just an enemy demon here, the way getting personas in this game work is you get demon's spell cards through negotiation and those are used as material for creating personas from a list (ie. its presented as "fusion" but its really more like rpg item synthesis), and there aren't many demons in this game that have a persona equivalent
It's only until Persona 2 that they had Moh Shuvuu be a playable Persona.
@@zaqareemalcolm thanks for clearing that up. Moh Shuvuu was in my list of SMT demons who are yet to become persona (alongside most of the Devil Summoner demons).
Nice to know that she was already in a Persona game, just one that doesn't have 3d characters.
I'm glad this style of localization is dying down. Not only has potential to cause issues with sequels (looking at you, Long Title: Ace Attorney: The Neverending Subtitle) but also kinda takes away the magic of consuming foreign media. I find certain adaptations to be perfectly acceptable (such as, in the case of japanese, saying "rice balls" instead of "onigiri"), but changing the whole setting and characters is going too far. I mean, the US itself has been exposing the rest of the world to their culture for decades now thanks to Hollywood and more.
Why is mark black 😟
🤯😡🤬
Original still better tho ngl. Especially the OST.
Ni
Butchered version of persona 1
Honestly, despite some questionable choices, i think the Americanization of this game was kind of cool overall and gets too much criticism. I even think people overthink the whole making Mark a black guy thing due to PC culture (though his speech was definitely really cringy). Giving characters and locations western names just helps western players connect better with the lore, characters, and story, and there is nothing at all wrong with that. I remember in Persona 2 where everyone retained their Japanese names it was just unnecessarily cumbersome to keep them straight since I have no context for Japanese language or names. In short, I don't think localization is a bad idea. It just sometimes isn't done as well as it should be.
Kevin M Packard most likely people were mad about the snow Queen route being cut out of the game.
This was wayyy back in the day.
PC culture wasn’t as big as you think it was.
They changed asian characters white???
If you think PC culture would do that then you’re wrong.
Making a POC white is a sin when it comes to PC culture
😂
It would’ve been a really cool localization if mark stayed black as I feel like a little more diversity in the persona series is kind of an interesting idea, but I think the cap looks stupid