LiL Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PL8NyM9oubVEQJrsJf7mOLpQmv4ZSkQC4q.html&si=RimqGUyxz_QtENi7 @Dwedit reminded me of the "gossip shop" hint given by the Fortune Teller. In Japanese, it's 宝箱のことは闇世界の洞くつに住む、じょうほう屋にきけ～；"ask the information trader who lives in a cave in the Dark World about (the) treasure chest(s)". @trace6314 taught me about a Japanese myth in which catfish cause earthquakes which could be why the in-game one gives Link the Quake Medallion. @jamilp2869 and @RinkuSonic41 suggested the Kyameron, an enemy made of water, is named after James Cameron who wrote and directed the 1989 film The Abyss in which aliens can form beings from water (I haven't seen it). @Skawo found that Echoes of Wisdom's mountain is called "Mt. Hebrew" internally which supports the idea that Mt. Hebra's name comes from the Japanese word for the language, "Heburai-go". @adventureoflinkmk2 pointed out that Kiki's total fee is 110 rupees, not 120. @thepsyshyster8243 suggested that the "geru" in "Gerudoga" refers more to its 'gel'-like quality than its dungeon's corresponding light world region. @fallensoulkun suggested "Peese" is a reference to the peace sign since it can allude to crab-like monsters in Japanese media. Thank you for engaging with the video, everyone!
I think it's really funny that Nintendo supposedly censored religious references in A Link to the Past. When I was a kid, there was no question to me or anyone else that played the game that the "sanctuary" was a church and that the guy inside was a priest. I think it contributed to the immersion, too. It made Hyrule feel like a place that could exist in the real world.
'You're Not Qualified' is a bad localization, but 'You've Qualified' and 'You Failed to Qualify' do make sense if you think of the maze as a race. It means you beat the time, and is often used in car racing.
I love this series. Im obsessed with language, how language actually shapes the way people think and perceive things, and how localization and translation are two wildly different things. I hope you do more of them. I mean, theres the dragon quests, the final fantasys, SaGa, etc.
Triforce of the Gods sounds badass as a title but I would think that from the current lore it should be named Triforce of the Goddesses since Ocarina of Time introduced Din, Farore and Nayru (like how Wise Men became Sages because more than half were women). I still find it baffling how Nintendo of America was so adamantly against any religious symbolism in the localised games...
@@specialnewb9821 This feels surreal yet shows how early Zelda took a lot from the Arthurian Legend (and Peter Pan for this design) but I'm glad the franchise gained its own mythos. I know that there's a TV Tropes talking about that shift from the real world religion references into Hylia's religion. This is also probably why Islam chants got patched asap in OoT.
@@jamilp2869 Oh, I didn't know about The Abyss. That holds more water (sorry) than the Titanic suggestion. Looks like water is used to create a human-like shape in the film much like how the Kyameron is an enemy made from water. Good find!
@@NorkiNorkiGaming Riiight. Especially since Titanic came out after this game was made, and The Abyss was still... making waves... when LTTP was released.
what i just noticed from watching this video, and im surprised you didnt mention, is the reason a catfish gives you the quake medallion is because in japanese mythology, the catfish is associated with earthquakes. really interesting how the developers put in so many little cultural details that just cannot be localized properly
Interesting note, this exact thing happens in Lufia 2 as well. I knew about the Catfish Cave with it creating Earthquakes in the town of Sundleton, but its funny because I never connected the dots with LTTP where a "catfish" like Zora gives you a Quake Medallion.
Imagine if the US version had kept the names MC Hammer and the Stalin tank armor... people would have thought it was a bizarre joke. I know there are some purists that hate any changes from the source material, but I think NoA did a fantastic job with ALttP especially given the standards of time, quick turnaround, and extremely tough space/character limitations. Also, I feel like recontextualizing many of the religious references to more myth, legend, and history in the US version works well for the feel of the game, especially this being kind of an explanation of the "lost past".
@@rhombusx Apart from the hint about paralysed enemies and the "strange middle-aged guy", they definitely did a great job. In fact, their policy on religious content at the time makes the localisation even more impressive in my opinion!
This is pure speculation on my end, but Pirogusu might come from Pirague, which is a French interpretation of the Spanish word Piraga, which is in turn derived from the Carib word piraua. It refers to any sort of canoe or small boat, essentially, so I guess that's fitting for water treading enemies in a water dungeon!
Amazing video, was really hoping for something like this to exist with ALTTP being my favourite game of all time. The translation itself seems quite good, for example I can totally get behind the 'powerful glove' becoming the 'Titan glove'. But it's odd for sure that even PAL territories used the EN translation as a basis with how it handles religious themes. But then again as we've noticed from Totk recently (hope your channel goes on long enough to reach that game one day) even in recent times that sadly still seems to be the translation practice to this day.
This channel has been such a great find! I got quite a bit to say regarding my own interpretations of some of the names, but so little time. For now, I'll just say that ゲルドーガ seems more of a reference to the Gel or ゲル enemies. Hopefully I'll find time later this week to comment on some other names.
21:24 The French name of the village is Cocorico. I suspect that the localiser avoided the name _Kakarico_ simply because phonetically "kaka" is the word for poop (this is also the case in many anime with names that have Japanese names that are phonetically like swear or vulgar words).
23:16 at least in the English version, that screen does play the Kakariko Village theme, but it switches to the overworld theme after you defeat Aghanim in Hyrule Castle.
One infamous mistranslation is that there is a fortune teller hint that tells you to go seek out a "Gossip Shop". I was watching several first time players stream the game, and they all got badly lost when they encountered that hint, spending hours wandering the map looking for that gossip shop.
@@Dwedit Oh, really? I don't seem to have encountered that one... EDIT: Wait, I did see that! There must have been a reason I didn't put it in the video. Is the hint supposed to mean that one of the Fortune Tellers' Huts becomes a treasure minigame in the Dark World? I guess I didn't think much of it during my comparison playthroughs...
The Gossip Shop hint is supposed to lead you to the Purple Chest sidequest. Since Nintendo was stuck with that mistranslation in the game, Nintendo Power issue 83 page 86 makes the claim that the broken-down house with the purple chest inside is called the gossip shop.
25:24 I think it's something more like Eye + Golem + Idol. 32:17 It's crazy that Gerudo and possibly the origin of Gorons appeared in A Link to the Past, and we didn't even know! 32:44 Some remnants of this in the 'Tail Cave' in Link's Awakening, which houses Moldorm. 25:1935:5040:2043:20 Really cool seeing what all the enemy designs are 'supposed' to represent! Flowers, sea anemone, amoebae, slugs, water striders, grasshoppers... Honestly seeing some of these changes makes me feel like ALttP is somehow an even better game than I thought. It would be amazing to be able to play through the game with a re-translation patch with this level of detail, properly referencing everything. Apparently there is a hack called ALttP Redux that includes a Japanese-faithful retranslation... hopefully it has most of what's included in this video. Great video Norki, looking forward to your next one!
Good job yet again with this one! I can’t help but bring up a couple of Pokémon comparisons! 14:04 The onomatopoeia “biri biri” is also used for the Pokémon Voltorb: Biriridama (ビリリダマ) “electric ball” 32:19 You also bring up the “goron goron” sounds for rolling around and obviously bring up that that is also where the name of the Gorons comes from. The Pokémon Graveler and Golem have a similar etymology in Japanese: Gorōn (ゴローン) and Gorōnya (ゴローニャ), respectively as they are also rolling rock creatures.
Very informative channel! I couldn't help but fixate on the possibility that the Ropa was meant to be spelled as Roper, a fantasy monster that looks similar to what the guide describes (a tall mass with tentacle-like limbs). It's weird to me considering Zelda's track record of coming up with its own names for the enemies.
This is my first contact with your channel. Going through your previous work, it’s obvious you have a passion for educating and for Zelda. This video is amazing, and I’m excited to chew through the other two Lost in Localizations and maybe the vocab/trivia eventually. Nearly 23 hours of content with TP alone is hefty to say the least. If I were to make a suggestion, I’d say to retouch the 3D Zelda titles under the Lost in Localization format?
@@Painted_Owl I actually only wanted to make LiL - Ocarina of Time, but when I started working on it I felt it necessary to cover all the previous games first (except Link's Awakening). I'm finally nearly done collecting gameplay footage for OoT!
19:28 The name Peese probably is a reference to the peace sign (✌). Double Peace posing is generally an allusion to crab-like monsters in japanese shows and other medias. Not uncommon to hear the words "kani-kani" or "peace-peace" together with the pose.
Just found your vids yesterday, and im hooked! Ive been learning japanese for about 6 months now, and I hope that they will help with my grammar ( Its terrible lol).
I never knew there were so many biblical references in one of my favourite games! I wonder if there's significance in the final temple being a pyramid, considering the Egypt vs Israelites Old Testament story. 🤔
@@TheDrapetomanic I didn't say "mistranslated" except in the case of the Japanese word for "temple" accidentally becoming "sanctuary" in the English manual. ETA: The Japanese manual was saying it would use the word "dungeon" to refer to the "temples" (among other things), so the English manual should have read "palaces" to remain consistent with itself. It instead reads "the sanctuary" which is a translation error.
@@RinkuSonic41 Titanic wasn't released until 1997 and I THINK it was during research for the film that James Cameron got into deep sea diving so he wouldn't have been associated with that sort of thing during ALttP's development. Would've been good if true, though!
@@BJG8966 The enemy named "Cameron" is the water-like blob that pinballs around the rooms in the Water Shrine. It doesn't resemble sea life despite its entity name of "FISH". But your guess is as good as mine!
@41:40 Dont the Japanese also use a sort of 'royal we' when they are of a certain social dynamic status level? Since Sah is village chief, that might track
@@NorkiNorkiGaming I seem to recall a couple times when he says 'we' in English or something implying a group when speaking to him through through telepathic tiles. Since Sahasrahla and Aginah are descendants of the Seven Sages, I always assumed it was at least the two of them and maybe that there were other elder descendants not seen in-game that were hiding out who he was convening with telepathically. Not sure if I read that somewhere, but I've thought that for a long time.
@@jessemarkham6887 Yeah, it is pretty good all things considered. I had actually talked to one of the translators over Twitter DMs about some potential issues some people raised and they were very nice about it.
@5:31 it might be a stretch to say thats a reference to Gandalf considering theres an extra syllable and the Do is not Da. also, it might be just a narrative oversite in the video , saying it has 'neither' is probably not right. It doesn't have Dragmire and Mandrag, but Ganondorf and Ganon are pretty evident.... and picture 5:45 is Agahnim and not Ganon, isnt it?
@@themadmallard Well, they'd already established that the antagonist's name is Ganon so they couldn't really change that for his human form. "Ganondalf" would be a bit too close to the Tolkien character, too. However, I do agree. I simply meant to point out that they more closely resemble each other in Japanese while nodding towards Tezuka's love of Tolkien. Yes, it has neither Dragmire nor Mandrag. That was my point. As for the picture, you're probably right. I'm really not sure myself.
Is there any such lost in translation videos covering Secret of Mana that you know of? I know that one has its story truncated due to English characters talking up too much space so a lot got lost. If not I'd love to hear what the full story is supposed to be
I would also be interested in an in depth look at Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) and its sequel Trials of Mana, which has both a fan translation and an official translation decades after the fact. Though, he will likely have to start with Seiken Densetsu first (Final Fantasy Adventure / Sword of Mana) first. And that's not mentioning a series on Final Fantasy would likely get him considerably more views 😂
@@cube2fox It's cut and pasted a lot. I only recorded a single playthrough of each song, then attempted to seamlessly link them together in editing. It seems I failed...
@@ICLAIMTHISNAME I covered this in LiL - TLoZ 😉 I suggested it was a mix of "skull" and "sutaru", but another user had another suggestion which is in that video's pinned comment.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming Thank you for replying and making the video. I learnt some interesting things from watching this and will check out the other edited videos!
@@AzumarillConGafasBv Well, there's translation, but most of the time is spent reading the manuals, in-game text, the official guides, and dozens of issues of Famitsu. Then I have to sift through the results that pop up when I search for enemy names and whatnot. Then I have to write a script, confirm my thoughts with Haruka, ask her to record her part, and then edit it all together. THEN I like to record all the music. It's taken me 10 months to make the 3 Lost in Localisation videos so far.
As I learned Japanese I felt I had many issues with localization. Many Japanese references are often removed and even very simple phrases that can make sense in English are changed. I think if translators kept translations more literal it would help people understand Japanese culture better.
@@djinnspalace2119 Understandable. My previous content gained a slight following because of the Japanese so it feels I should continue to incorporate it for the viewers who were interested in learning.
@@TheRealBatabii If the mountain name actually came from the Japanese word for Hebrew AND the localiser translated it with that intent then "yes"? I definitely doubt the latter, though.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming I have looked into the files of Echoes of Wisdom a couple days ago and that game's Mount Hebra IS called Mount Hebrew internally. Make of that what you will :V
@@Skawo Wow, that's a great find! I'd still go with "heh-brah" as its pronunciation because of its spelling and the katakana it was romanised from, but "hee-brah" is arguably acceptable, too.
Exactly the opposite: part of Nintendo of America's skittishness represented how people in the U.S. at the time were more likely to be actively religious (weekly religious service attendance, etc.) than in Japan or many European countries.
Why the awful music? It never sounded this tinny or distorted on my mono-speaker 80s TV when Zelda 3 was new. This music sounds like a cheap arrangement, compressed into a low-bit mp3, then played through a broken speaker. Please use decent music or no music. I KNOW Zelda 3 sounds better than this, I've put enough hours into it. Thanks for the Japanese/English clarifications!
If you're a Japanese teacher, why are you using text to speech instead of just saying it yourself..? I know other commenters are going lambaste me for what can easily be called a nitpik, but I found it to be very disruptive to the flow of your commentaries.
@@TheTrueNehme It's my native friend, not text-to-speech. I'm not native so my intonation is odd sometimes. And I thought some people would dislike it when I chose to write the script that way, but I also thought people will dislike my content regardless of what I do so I committed to it anyway. I'm sorry to hear it was disruptive to you, but I can't please everyone. Thank you for watching!
This speaks volumes about the quality of Google's Japanese text to speech, doesn't it? 😅 This is a well researched video that earned an instant subscribe. My only nitpick is the English narration could stand to be a little less monotonic and more lively. I actually initially thought this had something to do with Clyde Mandelin, who runs a site on video game translation called Legends of Localization.
@@steve_yu I'm actually surprised that you're the first person to say that about my voice in this video. I didn't like it during editing and was concerned about uploading this, but I wondered if it might actually be a positive (something people could fall asleep to, maybe). I'm glad not many people seem to dislike it, but I agree that it would be better with more enthusiasm.
LiL Playlist:
ua-cam.com/play/PL8NyM9oubVEQJrsJf7mOLpQmv4ZSkQC4q.html&si=RimqGUyxz_QtENi7
@Dwedit reminded me of the "gossip shop" hint given by the Fortune Teller. In Japanese, it's 宝箱のことは闇世界の洞くつに住む、じょうほう屋にきけ～；"ask the information trader who lives in a cave in the Dark World about (the) treasure chest(s)".
@trace6314 taught me about a Japanese myth in which catfish cause earthquakes which could be why the in-game one gives Link the Quake Medallion.
@jamilp2869 and @RinkuSonic41 suggested the Kyameron, an enemy made of water, is named after James Cameron who wrote and directed the 1989 film The Abyss in which aliens can form beings from water (I haven't seen it).
@Skawo found that Echoes of Wisdom's mountain is called "Mt. Hebrew" internally which supports the idea that Mt. Hebra's name comes from the Japanese word for the language, "Heburai-go".
@adventureoflinkmk2 pointed out that Kiki's total fee is 110 rupees, not 120.
@thepsyshyster8243 suggested that the "geru" in "Gerudoga" refers more to its 'gel'-like quality than its dungeon's corresponding light world region.
@fallensoulkun suggested "Peese" is a reference to the peace sign since it can allude to crab-like monsters in Japanese media.
Thank you for engaging with the video, everyone!
I think it's really funny that Nintendo supposedly censored religious references in A Link to the Past. When I was a kid, there was no question to me or anyone else that played the game that the "sanctuary" was a church and that the guy inside was a priest. I think it contributed to the immersion, too. It made Hyrule feel like a place that could exist in the real world.
Ah yes, my favourite Sahasrahla quote: "GGs! Now go an' rek 'im, lad!"
This is the best youtube video i've watched this year for sure
'You're Not Qualified' is a bad localization, but 'You've Qualified' and 'You Failed to Qualify' do make sense if you think of the maze as a race. It means you beat the time, and is often used in car racing.
@@TheGerkuman You're right! And it's a very succinct way to get the point across.
I love this series. Im obsessed with language, how language actually shapes the way people think and perceive things, and how localization and translation are two wildly different things.
I hope you do more of them. I mean, theres the dragon quests, the final fantasys, SaGa, etc.
15:37 - "...problem now."
I am absolutely loving these! I've binged the first 3 episodes, can't wait for the next one!
Triforce of the Gods sounds badass as a title but I would think that from the current lore it should be named Triforce of the Goddesses since Ocarina of Time introduced Din, Farore and Nayru (like how Wise Men became Sages because more than half were women).
I still find it baffling how Nintendo of America was so adamantly against any religious symbolism in the localised games...
They knew their market couldn't handle anything of the sort at the time... And honestly, for the most part, still can't.
@@ThatWolfWithShadesDefinitely explains why they have to take out all the sauce before serving up the material.
Tbf, Link praying to a crucifix in official art is weird af.
@@specialnewb9821 This feels surreal yet shows how early Zelda took a lot from the Arthurian Legend (and Peter Pan for this design) but I'm glad the franchise gained its own mythos.
I know that there's a TV Tropes talking about that shift from the real world religion references into Hylia's religion.
This is also probably why Islam chants got patched asap in OoT.
"Gods" does not exclude female deities, it just does not specify. It would be unnecessary to change the title to "Goddesses".
Please keep growing, your content is awesome
Kyameron could refer to James Cameron who made the movie The Abyss with amazing water effects that had never been seen. 40:31
@@jamilp2869 Oh, I didn't know about The Abyss. That holds more water (sorry) than the Titanic suggestion. Looks like water is used to create a human-like shape in the film much like how the Kyameron is an enemy made from water. Good find!
@@NorkiNorkiGaming Riiight. Especially since Titanic came out after this game was made, and The Abyss was still... making waves... when LTTP was released.
what i just noticed from watching this video, and im surprised you didnt mention, is the reason a catfish gives you the quake medallion is because in japanese mythology, the catfish is associated with earthquakes. really interesting how the developers put in so many little cultural details that just cannot be localized properly
@@trace6314 Wow, I didn't know that! Thanks for pointing it out!
Interesting note, this exact thing happens in Lufia 2 as well. I knew about the Catfish Cave with it creating Earthquakes in the town of Sundleton, but its funny because I never connected the dots with LTTP where a "catfish" like Zora gives you a Quake Medallion.
Wasn't there a catfish pokémon linked to that as well,
@@ikagura whiscash is the catfish mon, a ground/water type.
Imagine if the US version had kept the names MC Hammer and the Stalin tank armor... people would have thought it was a bizarre joke. I know there are some purists that hate any changes from the source material, but I think NoA did a fantastic job with ALttP especially given the standards of time, quick turnaround, and extremely tough space/character limitations. Also, I feel like recontextualizing many of the religious references to more myth, legend, and history in the US version works well for the feel of the game, especially this being kind of an explanation of the "lost past".
@@rhombusx Apart from the hint about paralysed enemies and the "strange middle-aged guy", they definitely did a great job. In fact, their policy on religious content at the time makes the localisation even more impressive in my opinion!
This is so intriguing, it really gives you more insight to the intention behind the naming when you compare the 2. Keep these vids coming!
Can't wait to watch this! *makes popcorn* Always a pleasure to see a new upload 😀
@@BlusViews I'll write "FIRST!" for you, lol
These are literally the best videos I’ve ever found on UA-cam. An incredible amount of work. Thank you
This is top tier content thank you
@@ivanvz Thank YOU!
Wow, this video is demonstrably underrated. May you get the views and likes you deserve for such quality content!
@@Painted_Owl Thank you so much!
Seriously incredible breakdown.
This is pure speculation on my end, but Pirogusu might come from Pirague, which is a French interpretation of the Spanish word Piraga, which is in turn derived from the Carib word piraua. It refers to any sort of canoe or small boat, essentially, so I guess that's fitting for water treading enemies in a water dungeon!
Amazing video, was really hoping for something like this to exist with ALTTP being my favourite game of all time. The translation itself seems quite good, for example I can totally get behind the 'powerful glove' becoming the 'Titan glove'. But it's odd for sure that even PAL territories used the EN translation as a basis with how it handles religious themes. But then again as we've noticed from Totk recently (hope your channel goes on long enough to reach that game one day) even in recent times that sadly still seems to be the translation practice to this day.
Also, having those awesome renditions of the game music dynamically switching when you are in various locations is a nice touch 😊
This channel has been such a great find! I got quite a bit to say regarding my own interpretations of some of the names, but so little time. For now, I'll just say that ゲルドーガ seems more of a reference to the Gel or ゲル enemies. Hopefully I'll find time later this week to comment on some other names.
@@thepsyshyster That's a good point that I didn't even consider! Looking forward to reading your other interpretations!
21:24 The French name of the village is Cocorico.
I suspect that the localiser avoided the name _Kakarico_ simply because
phonetically "kaka" is the word for poop (this is also the case in many anime with names that have Japanese names that are phonetically like swear or vulgar words).
Dang, I thought the Hebra area in Breath of the Wild was them trying to come up with something original for Hyrule's geography
Just a reminder that back before the 2000s, Nintendo of America had a strict policy regarding religious references in games.
This is such an interesting video, you can tell you poured so much time and effort into it. Please keep making content like this!
23:16 at least in the English version, that screen does play the Kakariko Village theme, but it switches to the overworld theme after you defeat Aghanim in Hyrule Castle.
@@skywardtardis Hmm, I wonder if the Japanese version was the same, actually?
Good algorithm
The eyegoal thing could be an eye golem. Hence the star of David.
One infamous mistranslation is that there is a fortune teller hint that tells you to go seek out a "Gossip Shop". I was watching several first time players stream the game, and they all got badly lost when they encountered that hint, spending hours wandering the map looking for that gossip shop.
@@Dwedit Oh, really? I don't seem to have encountered that one...
EDIT: Wait, I did see that! There must have been a reason I didn't put it in the video. Is the hint supposed to mean that one of the Fortune Tellers' Huts becomes a treasure minigame in the Dark World? I guess I didn't think much of it during my comparison playthroughs...
The Gossip Shop hint is supposed to lead you to the Purple Chest sidequest. Since Nintendo was stuck with that mistranslation in the game, Nintendo Power issue 83 page 86 makes the claim that the broken-down house with the purple chest inside is called the gossip shop.
@@Dwedit Interesting! I found the Japanese text in my document. I put it in this video's pinned comment. Thanks for reminding me of it!
Zelda 1 had a lot of stuff like this where hints that actually tell you where to find things are altered to be vague as helkl
25:24 I think it's something more like Eye + Golem + Idol.
32:17 It's crazy that Gerudo and possibly the origin of Gorons appeared in A Link to the Past, and we didn't even know!
32:44 Some remnants of this in the 'Tail Cave' in Link's Awakening, which houses Moldorm.
25:19 35:50 40:20 43:20 Really cool seeing what all the enemy designs are 'supposed' to represent! Flowers, sea anemone, amoebae, slugs, water striders, grasshoppers...
Honestly seeing some of these changes makes me feel like ALttP is somehow an even better game than I thought. It would be amazing to be able to play through the game with a re-translation patch with this level of detail, properly referencing everything. Apparently there is a hack called ALttP Redux that includes a Japanese-faithful retranslation... hopefully it has most of what's included in this video.
Great video Norki, looking forward to your next one!
32:47 That explains the name of the Tail Cave in Link's Awakening.
Good job yet again with this one!
I can’t help but bring up a couple of Pokémon comparisons!
14:04 The onomatopoeia “biri biri” is also used for the Pokémon Voltorb: Biriridama (ビリリダマ) “electric ball”
32:19 You also bring up the “goron goron” sounds for rolling around and obviously bring up that that is also where the name of the Gorons comes from. The Pokémon Graveler and Golem have a similar etymology in Japanese: Gorōn (ゴローン) and Gorōnya (ゴローニャ), respectively as they are also rolling rock creatures.
@@StudioQuigleyGaming Thanks, "StudioQuigleyGaming"! I'll assume you'd prefer I don't use your first name 🤭
@@NorkiNorkiGaming Using my name’s fine! I’m not keeping it a secret or anything. Lol.
Very informative channel!
I couldn't help but fixate on the possibility that the Ropa was meant to be spelled as Roper, a fantasy monster that looks similar to what the guide describes (a tall mass with tentacle-like limbs). It's weird to me considering Zelda's track record of coming up with its own names for the enemies.
@@sebc255 Oh, I didn't know about the roper! Thanks for letting me know.
This is my first contact with your channel. Going through your previous work, it’s obvious you have a passion for educating and for Zelda. This video is amazing, and I’m excited to chew through the other two Lost in Localizations and maybe the vocab/trivia eventually. Nearly 23 hours of content with TP alone is hefty to say the least.
If I were to make a suggestion, I’d say to retouch the 3D Zelda titles under the Lost in Localization format?
@@Painted_Owl I actually only wanted to make LiL - Ocarina of Time, but when I started working on it I felt it necessary to cover all the previous games first (except Link's Awakening).
I'm finally nearly done collecting gameplay footage for OoT!
@@NorkiNorkiGaming oooh, let’s goo. I’ll be here for it.
certified A Link To The Past classic.
19:28
The name Peese probably is a reference to the peace sign (✌).
Double Peace posing is generally an allusion to crab-like monsters in japanese shows and other medias. Not uncommon to hear the words "kani-kani" or "peace-peace" together with the pose.
@@fallensoulkun Oh, that's interesting. Thanks!
In short, they altered the Bible.
@@Almost_Healthy Pretty much! LOL
We pretty much got the sequel, Bible 2.
The mini-Moldorm's name being "Tail" in Japanese made me think of Link's Awakening's first dungeon, Tail Cave, which has a large one as a boss
This makes much more sense now. Should've been named "Mold Cave" in English.
Just found your vids yesterday, and im hooked! Ive been learning japanese for about 6 months now, and I hope that they will help with my grammar ( Its terrible lol).
I hope my content helps!
I never knew there were so many biblical references in one of my favourite games! I wonder if there's significance in the final temple being a pyramid, considering the Egypt vs Israelites Old Testament story. 🤔
@@BurtKocain You may be on to something there. Then again, maybe not, lol
"Sanctuary" wasn't mistranslated, it was deliberate because Nintendo wanted no reference to religion in games in the west.
@@TheDrapetomanic I didn't say "mistranslated" except in the case of the Japanese word for "temple" accidentally becoming "sanctuary" in the English manual.
ETA: The Japanese manual was saying it would use the word "dungeon" to refer to the "temples" (among other things), so the English manual should have read "palaces" to remain consistent with itself. It instead reads "the sanctuary" which is a translation error.
40:44 being the name Cameron and the creature a fish, I guess it's implied as a reference to James Cameron, director of Titanic?
@@RinkuSonic41 Titanic wasn't released until 1997 and I THINK it was during research for the film that James Cameron got into deep sea diving so he wouldn't have been associated with that sort of thing during ALttP's development. Would've been good if true, though!
@@NorkiNorkiGamingmaybe a stretch, but camaron is shrimp in Spanish
@@BJG8966 The enemy named "Cameron" is the water-like blob that pinballs around the rooms in the Water Shrine. It doesn't resemble sea life despite its entity name of "FISH". But your guess is as good as mine!
@41:40 Dont the Japanese also use a sort of 'royal we' when they are of a certain social dynamic status level? Since Sah is village chief, that might track
I watched a couple of emperors' speeches and asked a native friend so I could confirm this and it seems that the royal "we" isn't a thing in Japanese.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming I seem to recall a couple times when he says 'we' in English or something implying a group when speaking to him through through telepathic tiles. Since Sahasrahla and Aginah are descendants of the Seven Sages, I always assumed it was at least the two of them and maybe that there were other elder descendants not seen in-game that were hiding out who he was convening with telepathically. Not sure if I read that somewhere, but I've thought that for a long time.
37:52 hold up, it's just 110 rupees, assuming you don't lose the Kiki
@@adventureoflinkmk2 You might be right. I thought it was 120 when I wrote the script.
Link you are the princess
@@captainpowers That would be even worse, lol!
Honestly there are a couple good retranslation hacks now :P
Redux's translation is good
@@jessemarkham6887 Yeah, it is pretty good all things considered. I had actually talked to one of the translators over Twitter DMs about some potential issues some people raised and they were very nice about it.
@@jessemarkham6887yep, i talked to them once
Man-drag Ganon lol
He does come from an all female race. I don’t blame him.
@5:31 it might be a stretch to say thats a reference to Gandalf considering theres an extra syllable and the Do is not Da. also, it might be just a narrative oversite in the video , saying it has 'neither' is probably not right. It doesn't have Dragmire and Mandrag, but Ganondorf and Ganon are pretty evident.... and picture 5:45 is Agahnim and not Ganon, isnt it?
@@themadmallard Well, they'd already established that the antagonist's name is Ganon so they couldn't really change that for his human form. "Ganondalf" would be a bit too close to the Tolkien character, too. However, I do agree. I simply meant to point out that they more closely resemble each other in Japanese while nodding towards Tezuka's love of Tolkien.
Yes, it has neither Dragmire nor Mandrag. That was my point.
As for the picture, you're probably right. I'm really not sure myself.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming should have led with this, but good video and a good thing to identify and catalog this stuff
Is there any such lost in translation videos covering Secret of Mana that you know of? I know that one has its story truncated due to English characters talking up too much space so a lot got lost.
If not I'd love to hear what the full story is supposed to be
@@ChronoSquare I don't really know anything about Secret of Mana, but I could maybe look into it someday. Could be interesting!
I would also be interested in an in depth look at Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) and its sequel Trials of Mana, which has both a fan translation and an official translation decades after the fact. Though, he will likely have to start with Seiken Densetsu first (Final Fantasy Adventure / Sword of Mana) first. And that's not mentioning a series on Final Fantasy would likely get him considerably more views 😂
Very interesting! Only the background music sounds strangely wobbly at times. (slowed down?)
@@cube2fox It's cut and pasted a lot. I only recorded a single playthrough of each song, then attempted to seamlessly link them together in editing. It seems I failed...
@@NorkiNorkiGaming Ah, I'm sure the next one will be better :)
The jumping skulls are called stal and stalfos are the skeletons. So what does stal mean?
@@ICLAIMTHISNAME I covered this in LiL - TLoZ 😉
I suggested it was a mix of "skull" and "sutaru", but another user had another suggestion which is in that video's pinned comment.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming Thank you for replying and making the video. I learnt some interesting things from watching this and will check out the other edited videos!
BWAHAHAHA The hookshot name 😭
@@AntoniaRenard Makes me wonder if the game should have had a different ESRB rating with that word in there 😂
lol I hope you make a video on Simon quest
This where the fun begins, would you do a video about either Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon (DS) or Fire Emblem Three Houses?
@@AzumarillConGafasBv Ocarina of Time will be next. These videos take a LOOONG time to make so I can't make promises, unfortunately.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming no worries!, I understand translating and interpretation can take a WHILE, I'll wait for more videos, these look fun!
@@AzumarillConGafasBv Well, there's translation, but most of the time is spent reading the manuals, in-game text, the official guides, and dozens of issues of Famitsu. Then I have to sift through the results that pop up when I search for enemy names and whatnot. Then I have to write a script, confirm my thoughts with Haruka, ask her to record her part, and then edit it all together. THEN I like to record all the music. It's taken me 10 months to make the 3 Lost in Localisation videos so far.
The Nihongo version is just so much…better. 😢
Is it possible for Mount Hebra to be based off the biblical Mount Hebron, instead of the word Hebrew?
@@steve_yu Definitely! Will look into that, thanks!
As I learned Japanese I felt I had many issues with localization. Many Japanese references are often removed and even very simple phrases that can make sense in English are changed. I think if translators kept translations more literal it would help people understand Japanese culture better.
True, and sometimes translations are just inaccurate. I'm guilty of things like that myself.
Do keep in mind that back then, there were character letters.
Great video, but you need to lower the background music by at least 6dB.
I appreciate the feedback; will bear in mind for future videos!
@@NorkiNorkiGamingYou could consider auto ducking, which would lower the music when someone speaks and raises it when nothing else is happening.
@@essaysandmore That's a great tip, thank you!
i am interested but the pacing is a too slow since i do not speak or learn japanese, so hearing the japanese voice just completely breaks the flow.
@@djinnspalace2119 Understandable. My previous content gained a slight following because of the Japanese so it feels I should continue to incorporate it for the viewers who were interested in learning.
if "hebra" is based on "hebrew" wouldn't it be pronounced like "hee bruh"
@@TheRealBatabii If the mountain name actually came from the Japanese word for Hebrew AND the localiser translated it with that intent then "yes"? I definitely doubt the latter, though.
@@NorkiNorkiGaming I have looked into the files of Echoes of Wisdom a couple days ago and that game's Mount Hebra IS called Mount Hebrew internally.
Make of that what you will :V
@@Skawo Wow, that's a great find! I'd still go with "heh-brah" as its pronunciation because of its spelling and the katakana it was romanised from, but "hee-brah" is arguably acceptable, too.
@@Skawo So I wasn't the only one to think it sounded like "Hebraic".
Why are americans scared of religion
Nintendo NA wanted to avoid controversy probably, that's why they didn't allow religious references
Exactly the opposite: part of Nintendo of America's skittishness represented how people in the U.S. at the time were more likely to be actively religious (weekly religious service attendance, etc.) than in Japan or many European countries.
Why the awful music? It never sounded this tinny or distorted on my mono-speaker 80s TV when Zelda 3 was new. This music sounds like a cheap arrangement, compressed into a low-bit mp3, then played through a broken speaker. Please use decent music or no music. I KNOW Zelda 3 sounds better than this, I've put enough hours into it.
Thanks for the Japanese/English clarifications!
@@Reepicheep-1 LOL! I didn't think it was that bad. I'm definitely inexperienced with recording and producing music, though. Thanks for watching!
If you're a Japanese teacher, why are you using text to speech instead of just saying it yourself..? I know other commenters are going lambaste me for what can easily be called a nitpik, but I found it to be very disruptive to the flow of your commentaries.
@@TheTrueNehme It's my native friend, not text-to-speech. I'm not native so my intonation is odd sometimes. And I thought some people would dislike it when I chose to write the script that way, but I also thought people will dislike my content regardless of what I do so I committed to it anyway. I'm sorry to hear it was disruptive to you, but I can't please everyone. Thank you for watching!
This speaks volumes about the quality of Google's Japanese text to speech, doesn't it? 😅
This is a well researched video that earned an instant subscribe. My only nitpick is the English narration could stand to be a little less monotonic and more lively.
I actually initially thought this had something to do with Clyde Mandelin, who runs a site on video game translation called Legends of Localization.
@@steve_yu I'm actually surprised that you're the first person to say that about my voice in this video. I didn't like it during editing and was concerned about uploading this, but I wondered if it might actually be a positive (something people could fall asleep to, maybe).
I'm glad not many people seem to dislike it, but I agree that it would be better with more enthusiasm.
34:05 lol I definitely wasn't expecting that
I can be a bit silly sometimes 😝