Temjin
Friend to all children.
Fighter title
| My translation | Arcade translation | Home translation |
|---|---|---|
| Champion of the Endless Steppe | The Delicate Destroyer | The Titan of the Tundra |
Arcade sourced from The Arcade Flyer Archive, maunal sourced from Rage Quitter 87. Thank you!
...huh?
So the Japanese is a pretty clear reference to Temjin's origins in Mongolia. Cool. Then the English just kind of goes off and does its own thing. I guess it's a reference to how Temjin is kindhearted under it all or something...? No idea.
Good alliteration, though.
The home version has more alliteration, in a way that makes it sound like it's almost trying to translate the Japanese version. Except that Mongolia is not tundra. That's further north, in Siberia. Mongolia is the eastern edge of the great Eurasian Steppe that grew tribes that changed the world many times over.
Interview
What do you treasure?
The city children!
Who's your rival?
Every single person who would destroy my dream is my rival!
What's been on your mind recently?
There've been a lot of punks running roughshod all around this town recently. There's gotta be something big going on...
Finally, give us a word about your participation in the current tournament.
I may not like violence, but for the sake of all the children, the championship is gonna be mine!
Intro vs Yuri
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A cute little girl like you is going to be my opponent? Hurry up and go home, you don't stand a chance. ...huh? | A girl? You can not hope to oppose me. Oh! |
| Ahahahahahah! That hair! That hair! Hahahahahah! Ah, it's just too goofy! | Hah hah hah hah what a hair cut. Hah hah hah. What a bozo. |
This is straight, with some awkwardness that's probably down to lack of context. I suspect the editor didn't get to this one.
The idea in Japanese is that Temjin is doing his line, and only then notices Yuri laughing her butt off, thus the "huh?" at the end. The word/sound in Japanese is vague enough that it could be a lot of things, though...imagine if you just saw a line with "hm" in it and no further context. I think they did well enough here.
Yuri's line just needs a bit of polish for voice. "Bozo" is a pretty good insult, though, more than I'd expect out of the very dry translation. Interesting.
Intro vs Eiji
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A ninja, huh. Well, have yourself a big helping of my power! Get ready! | Taste the rage coursing through my blubber, ninja runt! |
| What are you talking about? The fool who must prepare is you! | I'm sure that there will be much to taste, pork belly. |
Pretty sure the editor got to this one. Just a hunch.
Temjin's Japanese line doesn't mention rage or anything, but it does mention "ninja" and "taste", so I guess that's where that comes from. Eiji's line is, of course, entirely rewritten to match the joke.
Intro vs Jack
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hm-hm... What a sorry-looking opponent...what am I gonna do now? | Oh no! The ultimate enemy. What a power-house! |
| The hell you mumbling about over there? Hurry up and get started already! | Stop it! You're embarrassing me to no end! |
I'm going to make a guess about what happened here. The Japanese used means "bad/evil/poor quality/undesirable". I went with "poor quality", but I think the official translation went with more "evil", and tried to loop that into something about Jack's muscles. So where I have Temjin looking down on Jack, the official translation has him complimenting Jack instead.
I could've also gone with "cruel appearance" or something. "Sorry-looking" seemed to fit in with AoF2's habit of everyone sassing, but Temjin is the sort of character that would fight for justice. I can't exactly ask SNK about this...
Anyway, Jack's line in Japanese is just him yelling at Temjin to quit jawing and start fighting. It's got some similarities to a later line with King, which is interesting. The English is re-written to match Temjin's English line, but it...doesn't make a lot of sense? I guess the idea is that Jack is embarrassed by the attention, but that doesn't make any sense. Or is Temjin supposed to sound really sarcastic? I can't tell.
Intro vs Lee
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A masked warrior? What a weirdo. Can't take him seriously at all. | The masked avenger rides again! Hah, hah! What a funster! |
| Kee! You're one to talk about weirdos! | Keee! Shut up, weed head! |
This is pretty straight, with a bit of SNK flavor added. Not bad!
"The masked avenger" has occasionally been used to refer to Zorro, though I'm not sure it was in the 90s. Seems likely, though. "Zorro Rides Again" was the title of the first Republic film serial about the hero. So basically, the whole thing is just making an elaborate Zorro joke about Lee.
This is also the first instance of SNK using "funster", a word that's more famously associated with Samurai Shodown...which I will get to as soon as someone gets me some cheats so I can actually win a match. It's also the first time the "-ster" suffix shows up at all. Don't worry, we'll be seeing more instances in the coming games.
English Lee doesn't effectively call Temjin another weirdo, but he does use the incredible SNK insult of "weed head". I'm not sure if that's a joke about his hair or not. I'm not sure I want to know.
Intro vs Robert
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Whoa, what a stylin' guy! You're lookin' sharp, mister! | Wow, you are one stylish dude. I'm impressed! |
| Hahah, well you know, that's the glorious Robert charm! ...or something... | Well, what can I say? I am cool,stylish, and--sniff--unloved! |
Temjin's line is straight.
Robert's goes from half playing off the compliment to full-heartedly embracing it, then complaining about his love life. Not going well with Yuri, huh?
Intro vs John
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Oh, it's another stylish guy. You're what they call a "hot dad", right? | Whoa, another dandy. You sure know your style. |
| Heheh, thanks for the compliment. But flattery will get you nowhere! | Heh, heh. Thanks. But I'm still going to crush you. |
This is also pretty straight. Look, the only English phrase for "attractive middle aged man" I could find was "hot dad". I am assured you can be a hot dad without having kids, even if that seems like blatant cheating. "Dandy" doesn't have the same connotation of middle age, but sure, I'll allow it.
John's line is...also straight.
Whelp.
Intro vs King
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hmmm? I feel a mysterious bloodlust... Gotta be careful. | I sense a feeling of death here. I must be careful. |
| What are you mumbling to yourself about? That's really annoying, you know! | If you keep fooling around, I'm gonna kill you! |
Kishi helped out with King's line.
Temjin's line is straight, with some minor shifts thanks to translator differences, attempted character voice, etc. Point is, he senses an aura of death around King. ...who is a damn weird character to sense an aura of death around, so who the fuck knows what's up with that.
King's English line feels like it's rewritten to make the whole "feeling of death" thing fit better. In Japanese she just tells Temjin to stop talking to himself because it's annoying, with any sort of bloodlust on her part left unsaid. The official English loses the reason why she's mad at him, as well as making the bloodlust more explicit.
The official English does make the joke more obvious, I guess. It's kind of obscure in Japanese.
Intro vs Takuma
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Karate, huh? Pretty weak. If that's all you have, I'm sure to win! | Karate? It's no use. I don't know karate. You won't win. |
| Don't get cocky, Mongolian warrior! A battle isn't decided until it's over! | Yes, but I know karate and I will win. |
The extremely generic Japanese exchange is considerably livened up in English.
Temjin dissing karate is dropped, in exchange for a joke that makes him seem considerably dumber. Takuma's line is completely rewritten to follow up from the English line and complete the joke.
This is another one of those situations I run into where yeah, it's completely rewritten, but the original was boring...
Intro vs Temjin
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Yikes! There are two of me? Too scary! | Oh no, a clone. Talk about your occult phenomena! |
| I'm your what? You're my whaaaaaaaaaaat?! | It's a wild world we live in, huh? |
Kishi handled 1P Temjin's line for me. Thank you!
1P Temjin specifically blames the existence of 2P Temjin on "occult phenomena" in English, which I don't think he does in Japanese but I don't recognize the exact word which is why I had Kishi do it. I suspect that's something the translator/editor made up, though.
2P Temjin's reply turns from a fairly cute expression of astonishment into a far more dull and generic one. Can't win 'em all.
Intro vs Ryo
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| N-now! C-come at me any which way you please! | Whenever you're ready, you small yuppy, you! |
| What's wrong? You nervous or something? What a weirdo. | What, nervous? Resorting to silly insults won't save you! |
Temjin's supposed to sound nervous in Japanese. I'm not entirely sure why, given that Ryo is the only character he does this for, but all right. This is changed in English to...calling Ryo a "yuppy"? Huh?
For those not familiar with American slang, it's usually spelled "yuppie" and is an abbreviation of "young professional". It means someone that recently graduated college, has a high-paying job in the big city, and is generally affluent, self-absorbed, and concerned with status above all else. The term dates from the 1980s, so it wouldn't have been in use during the time AoF2 takes place...but usage in books peaks in the early 90s, so it's perfect for when AoF2 was translated.
...that said, given that Ryo is dirt poor, has a job at his family's struggling dojo, and lives in a crime-ridden hellhole, it's a very strange thing to call him. If anyone in the cast is a yuppie it's Geese.
Given that it's "small yuppy", I wonder if it's supposed to be "small guppy" and someone made the pong-tailed putz typo in reverse. That would make considerably more sense.
Ryo's line, meanwhile, drops him thinking Temjin's a weirdo and replaces that with trying to link the previous line to the idea of Temjin being nervous. It's not a bad attempt. I kind of like it.
Intro vs Mickey
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A boxer? You know, I wanted to be a boxer too, way back when. | A boxer. I wish I was a boxer. Teach me, huh. Teach me! |
| Who the hell cares about your boring past? Hurry up and fight! | Okay. You can study after you come out of traction. |
Temjin's line is changed from wanting to be a boxer in the past (but no longer), to eagerly wanting to be a boxer now. Huh. It's a neat little bit of characterization, though.
Mickey goes from telling Temjin to shut up about his past to offering to teach him after a beating. That's...kind of nicer? For Mickey? Huh.
I used to think it was "out of a traction", but apparently "out of traction" is in fact correct. Live and learn.
Intro vs Big
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Y-you're using weapons? That's cheating! That's it, I'm going home. | No fair. Using things like that to fight me. |
| Hey, the match has already started. Don't even try it, dumbass! | Hey! We've already begun. Watch yourself. |
This is mostly just missing character voice. Temjin saying that he'll go home because Big is using weapons is dropped, which makes Big's English line make less sense.
But mostly, it's straight to the point were it gets confusing. (to be fair, what Big was trying to say in Japanese confused me for a bit too)
To the Police Commissioner
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Suit: Mr. Temjin. The commissioner has requested to meet with you. Would you please come with us? | Suit: Mr Temjin? The police commisioner would like a word with you. Could you walk this way? |
| Temjin: Wow, what a great car! I really get to ride in this? I'm excited! | Temjin: Whoa! You bet! Nice car here. Are we taking this? Cool! |
The goon's line was translated by Kishi.
That's...actually a really good translation. Temjin sounds like an excited kid in English, just like in Japanese. It's a solid localization.
Intro vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Geese: Welcome, Temjin. | Geese: The mysterious Mongolian! |
| Temjin: Nnnggh! Where am I? Who're you?! | Temjin: The...hey! Who are you? Is this heaven? |
| Geese: My name is Geese. Geese Howard. I want to make use of the skills you've displayed, and, well... | Geese: No, my confused friend, I am the one and only Geese Howard. |
| Temjin: I can't just say no and leave, huh? Guess we'll just have to fight. | Temjin: Thanks. Oooh. Look at the time! Gotta get going... |
Kishi did the last couple lines.
The thing that stands out to me about this exchange is Geese not making an offer to Temjin in English. Instead he just introduces himself, then Temjin decides to leave of his own accord. It's quite different from the Japanese, where Geese makes his usual offer and then Temjin refuses out of hand. Interesting.
I'm not sure what to make of the first two lines in English besides "jokes".
Win vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Temjin: How's that? You're scared now, right? | Temjin: How about that,mongol magic! |
| Geese: Ggh, it seems I wasn't taking you seriously. | Geese: Heh, it's all over. |
| Temjin: Whoa! What's going on? | Temjin: Uuuooh! What is this? |
| 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. |
| Temjin: Where'd you go? Get back here! | Temjin: Where are you off to? Wait! |
The bits that are the same as Ryo's route were translated by Kishi!
Temjin's bragging to Geese is more nationalistic in English. Sure, whatever. They suddenly decided to make a big thing about him being Mongolian in the last act, when it's avoided throughout the rest of the game - that's interesting in its own way.
The rest is pretty straight, not much to say.
Geese Goes to Japan
Since Geese's migration is common to all characters, I put it under Misc.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Kid: Good morning, Mr. Principal! | Kid: Good morning, Principal Temjin. |
| Temjin: And good morning to you too. Ah, children are so innocent. How wonderful. | Temjin: Morning, Tem Buster. I just love kids, so innocent and sweet. |
| Kid: Hey everyone, look! Look at the principal's weird hair! | Kid: Waa! What a strange haircut! Wah hah hah! |
| Kids: The principal's got weird hair! Ha ha! Hair, hair! Weird hair! | Kids: Principal has a weird head. Principal has a weird head! |
| Temjin: Nnnngh-! Shut up about my hair! Shut up about my hair, I said! | Temjin: You little demons! Make fun of me, will you! |
Fuckin' kids. But it's good to see Jeff forced Terry into a real school, for as long as that lasted.
Anyway. These are pretty close, to the point where the kids making fun of Temjin's hair is too literal - the word is "head", but it can be used to refer to hair, which is pretty clearly what's going on here. No kid worth their salt is going to chant "Principal has a weird head". I struggled with it in my version and don't think I succeeded either.
I have no idea where "Tem Buster" came from. I guess it's supposed to be the main kid's name? They must've just made it up, but I'm not sure why.
"You little demons" is pretty harsh, though not unjustified. It feels a bit strong for Temjin.
Principals standing outside the school and greeting students is a Japanese thing, though never having gone to Japanese elementary school I'm not sure how big a thing it was/is. At my school the only reason for a student to see the principal was if they were in big trouble.
In conclusion, children are little shits and trying to help them is a fool's errand.
Win Quotes
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| vs self | |
| So there's someone with the exact same strength as me...I got lucky. | I can't help feeling we have met before. Oh...I need a nap. |
| vs others | |
| Flashy annoying guys get out! | All those looks and all that money, and still a wimp! Tragic. |
| I'd figured you were some well-known fighter, but I must have been mistaken. | Maybe I should have become a teacher. I'm getting bored. |
Kishi got the second one for me!
This is another one where I had to guess which quote went with which. I'm fairly sure about it, but there's always that bit of uncertainty.
Temjin, being a fun and lovable guy, doesn't put down his doppelganger. This is turned into a vague feeling of having met before in English. Not sure where the nap bit came from. It makes Temjin look a bit more dim than lovable.
The first win is considerably expanded in English. It's very direct in Japanese, and there's a big change in tone going to English.
Then the last one is just kind of there. The English is a nice little reference to Temjin wanting to educate kids, though, which is a bit of character you're not going to get until the ending otherwise. I like it.