Robert Garcia
Still has an accent, still feeling unsure about my translations.
Fighter title
| My translation | Arcade translation | Home translation |
|---|---|---|
| The Nobler Strongest Tiger | The Calculating Cool Guy | The Pretty-Boy Master of Mayhem |
Arcade sourced from The Arcade Flyer Archive, maunal sourced from Rage Quitter 87. Thank you!
It's similar to Ryo's copy of "The Stronger Invincible Dragon" and gets about the same idea across. It's Robert...but better. Cooler, more elegant, and so on.
The arcade translation has a bit of it, though it drops the Dragon/Tiger thing like Ryo's did. It still tries to get across that Robert is supposed to be the "cool guy" of the pair, but adds in a "calculating" I never associated with him. Huh.
Meanwhile the home port emphizies Robert being...pretty? He's got long hair, but I never figured him for a pretty boy. "Master of Mayhem" feels related to "methods of mayhem", Samurai Shodown's term for special moves. The editor sure was profilic.
Interview
What do you treasure? My car collection.
Who's your rival? Of course it's Ryo!
What's been on your mind recently? What on Earth does my little Yuri really think of me? Please, accept the feelings in my burning heart!
Finally, give us a word about your participation in the current tournament. For all the Robert fans across the country, I'm taking the championship for sure! Cheer me on!
Intro vs Yuri
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Whoa! If it isn't Yuri! Hold off on fighting me for a little bit, okay? | Robert: Oh, Yuri! I've been waiting for a little one-on-one. |
| Yuri: Sorry, Robert, but I don't plan on going easy on you! | Yuri: Always the kind feminist. Now shut up and show me your stuff! |
Kishi actually wrote down the correction I kept forgetting to do.
I can see how the editor came up with Robert's line ("hold off on fighting me so I can hit on you") but it makes Yuri's line sound weird. "Feminist" isn't the word I'd use there. Second half has the right idea, though there's a bit of nuance between Yuri declaring she's not gonna hold back and demanding Robert fight her.
It's a bit weird, but I can see the connecting line, basically.
Intro vs Eiji
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Oi oi, what's up with your look? You watch too much TV or something? Gimme a break! | Robert: Who are you and what are those clothes, nerd king? |
| Eiji: Hmph. You're pretty talkative. But your accent is terrible. | Eiji: Coming from a guy with a pony tail, I really must laugh. Hah! |
Accent, way of talking...it's a joke about how Robert uses Kaisai-ben/has an Italian accent. Since the English doesn't bother with writing out his accent, the line changes to Eiji making fun of Robert's hair as a reply to Robert making fun of his clothes. It breaks from Eiji's attempts at being a cool ninja guy, but it ends up as a cute and sensical rephrasing of a problem line. I like it!
"Nerd king" isn't as direct as asking if Eiji watches too much TV, but I think it gets across the same idea: implying Eiji's just some loser doing cosplay.
Intro vs Jack
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Gonna show me Jack the biker's skills, or whatever? | Robert: Face the fury of me, Jack, the biking Beelzebub from Bakerstown. |
| Jack: See fighting me as an honor, ya little punk. | Jack: You worm! I'm from Oshkosh! Feel the wrath of a cheesehead! |
Kishi helped out with the first line.
I feel like the editor was from Wisconsin. There's just not that much reason to keep referencing Oshkosh, even if it is a funny word.
Anyway, this was completely rewritten, as was probably obvious even in the arcade. There's some debate to be had over how much rewriting is acceptable in a translation/localization - how to weigh "this is nothing like the original lines it claims to be an adaption of" vs "okay but those lines were boring and unimportant" - but you look at this and you know an American worked on it and tried to make it sound funny and entertaining to other Americans. That's something for a 1994 arcade game. If nothing else, no one else was gonna put "the biking Beelzebub from Bakerstown" or "feel the wrath of a cheesehead!" in their games.
Anyway, there's also some serious formatting issues in Robert's line there. Last minute rush?
Bakerstown is a tiny little town in Pennsylvania, in case you were wondering. I keep getting it confused with Bakersfield, but that's because I'm from California.
Intro vs Lee
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Hey grandpa, too much exercise is bad for you, you know! | Robert: Watch it, old guy. Exercising too much is bad for your health! |
| Lee: Hehehe, eat your fill of my iron claws. | Lee: Impertinent whelp! Eat my steel, tumour of a dragon's wart! |
First line is pretty much the same. Be mindful of your limits and don't push yourself too hard, good advice.
Lee's line is also pretty similar, but the English punched it up a lot. Honestly, probably for the best. It makes Lee sound a lot more invested, though. It's also a good example of the SNK translator/editor trying to make the games sound like Saturday morning cartoons, which...honestly makes a lot of sense for the time.
Intro vs Robert
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Oh hey, now there's an impersonator. I must have gotten really famous, huh? | Robert: Oh, look, it's the great pretender. Meet Mr. Reality! |
| 2P Robert: We might look the same, but there's no faking a skilled fist. | 2P Robert: I may look like you, but that's where the sameness ends, twit! |
Kishi helped out here too!
I still really like the idea SNK had that 2P versions are just impersonators because the characters are just that famous. It's cute.
Anyway, Robert's line drops most of that concept and just calls the 2P a pretender without giving a reason for it. It does punch up the line a lot in the same cartoony style.
Meanwhile 2P Robert's line keeps the first part the same, but his claim to being more skilled is obscured in the English version. It ends up being implied. On the other hand, it uses "sameness" in a sentence, which is impressive.
Intro vs John
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: You got some sharp shades there. Lookin' good, pops! But when I win... | Robert: Wow! Nice shades there, Johnny. They're mine after this fight, huh? |
| John: You little weakling. Lemme beat you into shape. | John: You talk a good fight, Bobster bring it on! You pong-tailed putz. |
Robert's lines are good! Solid translation + editing, fit into the text boxes, and it sounds natural. I dig it.
John's line I'd say improved a bit, because now it sounds like an actual follow-up to what Robert's saying instead of a generic taunt. The missing comma after "Bobster" is bugging me, though. And sloppy editing strikes again with "pong-tailed" being a pretty obvious typo for "pony-tailed".
Intro vs King
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: And here's the lady warrior! Ooh, please, take it easy on me. | Robert: So I'm about to fight a woman. I like it! |
| King: Hummph, three minutes is all I need for you. Now, bring it on! | King: Macho meathead. 3 minutes, and it'll be over. Come on, wimp. |
Robert's line changes from being a bit condescending to just enjoying having King beat on him.
King's line is...pretty much the same. It adds in some insults, like we expect by now, but that's fine for AoF2 as it really is everyone sassing on each other constantly. "Macho meathead" is pretty good.
Intro vs Takuma
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Gh, Sensei! I'm gonna get my ass kicked, aren't I. What to do... | Robert: Oh no, it's you! This could be interesting. |
| Takuma: Come at me with all you have, Robert. | Takuma: Come at me with all you got, Robby-boy. |
Robert's line gets way shortened here, to the point where it loses a lot of distinctiveness and humour. Since the last few matches have been kicking it up a notch, it's a bit sad to see this one fall down. Space issues?
Meanwhile Takuma's line is pretty much 1:1. I'm...not sure why it needed to be two text boxes. It doesn't even need to be two boxes in the Japanese version! Anyway, the English version adds "Robby-boy" to Robert's nickname count.
Intro vs Temjin
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Buddy, with your height, you're not gonna be able to hit me. | Robert: Wow, old guy. I think you should reconsider doing this. |
| Temjin: Heh! If you're done gloating, let's get a move on! | Temjin: Heh, heh, I'll clean my teeth with you, son of a tapeworm. |
Kishi figured out Temjin's line. Thanks!
This exchange isn't completely rewritten, but it's pretty different. Looking at the arrangement of the characters it feels like they were dealing with some programming constraint I can't see or something. Then again, other routes have a lot of straight up adding or deleting text boxes, so...? I don't have the information to figure out what's going on.
Incidentally, what I translated as "buddy" is a disparaging term for a middle-aged man, so that's where the "old guy" comes from in the English. So there's more similarities than a quick glance would suggest.
Intro vs Ryo
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Ryo, there's only room for one champ. Sorry, but I'll be winning this match. | Robert: There is only one person who can be the champ -- me! |
| Ryo: Well, I don't know about that, Robert. I'll be coming at you with full power! | Ryo: Sorry, Robster, you're about to be a grape at a Beaujolais disco. |
Robert's line is pretty much the same in intent, with differences probably resulting from text box and other programming constraints.
As for Ryo's line...Beaujolais is a French province famed for its wine. So therefore...they make wine at their discos? Okay, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's a good image. We also see the flipside of John's "Bobster". SNK really loved the -ster suffix, didn't they?
Intro vs Mickey
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: Well, well, what's this? The champion of the underworld makes an appearance! | Robert: Mickey the man is back in the big time. Oh yeah! |
| Mickey: Heheh, you'll be a good punching bag. | Mickey: You'll make a fine punching bag, Bobby boy. |
Robert sounds way happier to see Mickey in English. The Japanese could be read as sarcastic, but the English makes him sound supportive of Mickey's attempt to get back into legit fighting. So that's weird. There's another instance of Robert's English lines matching the Japanese layout really closely, which is strange because I know they didn't have to do that.
Mickey's line is the same. "Bobby boy" picks up the alternate from Takuma's "Robby-boy". I like the alliteration better, but I think it does need the hyphen.
Intro vs Mr. Big
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: It's been awhile, big guy. You still wanna take me on? You just don't learn. | Robert: Long time, no see, leadbuns. Ready for a new beating? |
| Big: Don't think I'm the same as the last time. Now, come. | Big: If you think I'm like I was, you're in for a treat! |
Gotta admit, I appreciate "leadbuns" as a translation here. Robert's line is shortened, but it gets everything across and sounds good to boot. Nice!
Big's line is a bit strange, but it makes sense and gets the same meaning across. I think it's pretty solid, all things considered.
To the Police Commissioner
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Suit: Mr. Robert Garcia. The commissioner has requested to meet with you. Would you please come with us? | Suit: Mr. Robert Garcia? The police commisioner would like a word with you. Could you walk this way? |
| Robert: Huh? He wants to meet me? Heheh, it's tough being popular. | Robert: What, he wants to see me. Look, I swear she was over sixteen... |
The suit's line was translated by Kishi
The suit has the same line for everyone, so check Ryo's page for the few details.
Robert's line was one where I could honestly see it being a good translation or completely made up...and turns out it's completely made up. Japanese Robert just thinks the commissioner wants to see him because he won the tournament, English Robert has been getting up to some hanky-panky. Don't tell Yuri.
This is another line I'd have really loved to see them try to get past Nintendo.
Intro vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Geese:Welcome, Robert Garcia. A pleasure to meet you. | Geese: Welcome, my friend, Robert. It's a pleasure to meet you. |
| Robert: Who the heck're you? Why'd you bring me all the way here? | Robert: I bet it is, Rooster. Nice place you've got here. |
| Geese: My name is Geese... Geese Howard. I'm the man who will one day rule all of South Town. | Geese: The name is Geese, fancy pants. Geese Howard, ruler of Southtown. |
| Geese: I've been searching for people like you who possess superlative power. How about it? Care to join forces with me? | Geese: I need young men like you to join me in my plans. How about it? Care to join me? |
| Robert: What'd I do a silly thing like that for? C'mon and fight already! | Robert: Why? Are you coming apart? Geese: You rascal. Eat Geese knuckles! |
The bits that are the same as Ryo's were translated by Kishi! Thank you!
Like in Ryo's route, the Geese intro is kind of hard to format, but for different reasons this time. We don't have an extra text box in here, but we do have a mistaken line. The last two boxes are both Robert in Japanese, but I think they're Robert and Geese in English. It's hard to tell, since the text box doesn't move, but the conversation makes more sense that way.
Then again I was convinced it was Geese saying "Holy cow!" in Fatal Fury until the Genesis port proved it was definitely supposed to be Terry, so who knows. It's ambiguous.
Like English Ryo, English Robert already knows who Geese is and jokes about his name. Japanese Robert, like everyone else, doesn't know what's going on. Come on, pay more attention to local politics you guys!
The "join me"/"are you coming apart?" joke is a bit obscure on first glance, but it's funny, especially compared to the Japanese. I like it.
Win vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: How's that? Now you're trembling before my power! | Robert: I'm too much for you, huh. |
| Geese: Ggh, it seems I wasn't taking you seriously. | Geese: Heh, it's all over. |
| Robert: What? What's going on? | Robert: What is going on bud. Get back |
| Suit: This way, Mr. Geese. | Suit: This way, Mr Geese. |
| Geese: Though I lost this time, have no doubt that I'll be back to even the score. Until then, farewell. | Geese: I have lost this time. But I will be back. For now, my farewell. |
| Robert: Hey, you running away? Get back here! | Robert: Hey, get your chicken yellow backside back here. |
Again, everything that's the same on Ryo's route was translated by Kishi.
Robert's line is...similar, though shortened in English. I can see how they got there, though.
Robert doesn't get to try and attack Geese before the lights go out like Ryo and Takuma do. His line after the lights go out also shows a pretty serious lack of editing. Let me assure you, there is nothing after that "Get back" even though it reads like there should be.
I do very much appreciate the use of "chicken yellow backside" in the English version. It's a good, solid insult to yell after a guy who's running away. And they added an extra text box just for the "here" which is...not great but kind of inspiring anyway.
Geese Goes to Japan
Since Geese's migration is common to all characters, I put it under Misc.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Robert: I did it, I'm the number one! | Robert: Yeah! Yeah! Robert! |
| Yuri: Robert! | Yuri: Robbie pooh! |
| Yuri: Congratulations, Robert. You're not hurt, are you? | Yuri: Congratulations, ya big lug. |
| Robert: Yurikins! You came here just for me? | Robert: Why thank you, Yuri. You should not have... |
| Yuri: Mm-hm. Because I was worried about you, see... | Yuri: But I was rooting for you. |
| Robert: Heheh, so that's it. You're always gonna worry about the person you love, right? | Robert: Hah, heh. Really? I bet it was tough, huh. Watching me, worry... |
| Yuri: Robert, you-! | Yuri: Oh, Robert... |
| Yuri: Oh no! Are you okay? | Yuri: Oh. Geez. Are you okay? |
| Robert: That's some real pep there. Nice punch, Yuri... | Robert: Oooh. Geez. Watch that punch, Yuri. Oww! |
I can see how they got from every Japanese line to the English equivalent, but the end result is confusing. Robert's line right before Yuri punches him loses the most, which really doesn't help. Basically, it needed a few more passes for coherence before going to market.
Honorifics notes: Robert consistently calls Yuri "Yuri-chan", which is more or less a cutesy nickname. Yuri calls him Robert-san, which is more distant. So it's kind of interesting that the official translation goes with "Robbie pooh!" as Yuri's first line, which is a pretty cutesy nickname in itself. It's not a bad choice, it just makes Yuri sound closer to Robert.
I dropped the -san and tossed in one Yurikins, which I consider my limit. This is probably the place for an Italian diminutive, but I don't know Italian.
Also, while it doesn't make a lot of sense, I think English Robert's cheer of "Yeah! Yeah! Robert!" to be hilarious.
Win Quotes
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| vs self | |
| I must've really gotten famous if imitators are showing up. | Imitation may be a form of flattery, but what a wimp! |
| vs others | |
| Are you all right? Stop acting like a dumbass. | Are you okay? Have you had enough? |
| Sorry 'bout that. Looks like I was the victor in the end. | I told you! Guys with the cool hair always win, muzzle face. |
Again, I just had to guess on which English win quote went with which Japanese one, but I'm pretty sure about this order.
Robert's self win is way better in English than in Japanese, changing another iteration of "famous people get imitators" into a joke on the proverb "imitation is the highest form of flattery". His other quotes are weirder, but I'd say the first one actually makes more sense in English. It certainly makes Robert sound more caring.
The last one got punched up quite a bit. I'm not entirely sure what exactly "muzzle face" is supposed to mean, but it sure sounds insulting.