Joe Higashi
Starting his journey to become the wacky one.
Manual
Fighter title
| My translation | FF2 MVS | FF2 AES | FFS Arcade | SNES FFS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Young Muay Thai Champ | The Youthful Muetai Pro | The Kick Boxing King | The Kick-Boxing Demon | The Young Muetai Champ |
Arcade translations from The Arcade Flyer Archive, home translation from RQ87, SNES translation from the manual on the Internet Archive.
Muay Thai is the accepted English form, Muetai is a literal romanization from the kana. SNK had...a lot of trouble with martial arts names.
So with that out of the way...most of these are similar, but there's a bunch of weird details. The MVS version goes with "pro" instead of "champ", which is kind of odd when it's literally "champ" in katakana, but sure. Joe is a professional fighter, after all. The AES translates Muay Thai to kick boxing, which is fine. It's less specific, but would be more familiar at the time. "King" feels like the editor going for alliteration, which is normal.
Then they punched it up a bit for Special, because Joe is now a demon instead of a king. Okay?
And finally the SNES...is a regular translation of the Japanese? What? How? Hardly anyone else's is! What are you doing, Monolith.
Quote
| My translation (FF2) | FF2 AES | FF2 CD | SNES FF2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| So I'm facing someone who doesn't know who I am. Better get ready. | What, you don't know me? Well, after I bop your bean maybe I'll apply for one of those credit cards. | What, you don't know me? Well, after I bop your bean maybe I'll apply for one of those green credit cards. | So you're tellin' me you've all forgotten the name Joe Higashi? I'm gonna make sure you never forget it again! |
Home translations from RQ87, SNES translation from SNES manual on the Internet Archive.
The idea of the Japanese line is that his opponent doesn't know how strong Joe is, so they should get ready for a beating. And all the official translations do get that across!
...in some very...interesting...ways.
The AES and CD quotes are the same, except the CD version specifies a "green" credit card. This seems to be a reference to a series of American Express commercials from the 80s. Here's an example, and another. (Thanks to Kishi for tracking them down!) We also see the first known usage of "bop" by the editor. The legend begins here.
Then the SNES version is not a bad translation, though the Japanese is more that his opponent has never heard of Joe, not that they know Joe but have forgotten him. The rest is fine, though.
| My translation (FFS) | SNES FFS | Sega CD FFS |
|---|---|---|
| Sorry Terry, Andy, but the championship is mine! | You Bogards are my buddies an' all, but only one of us can be "King of the Fighters" -- an' it's gonna be me! | In a world where only the strong survive, I would be king. |
SNES manual from the Internet Archive, Sega CD from Sega Retro.
The SNES has a pretty distinctive voice in general, though it's basically the same for all fighters, which is kind of weird. This does sound like it's at least intended to be a translation of the Japanese, if wildly expanded. I think this is the first time I've seen "King of the Fighters" anywhere - usually the tournament is called "The King of Fighters".
The Sega CD version went off to do its own thing again. As it does.
Fatal Fury Special
Normal intro
| My translation | Official translation (FF2) | SNES (FF2) | Official translation (FFS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heh heh... The man who commands the storm enters the ring! | Hee, hee, hee...here comes the stormy man. | Hee, hee, hee... Here comes the Human Storm. | Heh, heh. Tempest Man enters the ring. Whoosh, whoosh. |
Commands/summons/calls/etc. There's probably a better way to phrase it, but the only things I could think of were like "Storm Caller" and that sounds just as dumb. Oh well.
Looking around, it seems like "to summon a storm" can be idiomatic for "to cause a big stir/commotion", so Joe is also kind of saying "the man who'll cause a commotion enters the ring". I went with the storm reading because of Hurricane Upper (the official translations might've done that as well, or it could just be the literal reading) but it could be read differently.
This is where Special starts noticeably having a better translation than FF2. Even if I can't tell you where the hell "whoosh, whoosh" came from, "Tempest Man" is way better than "the stormy man".
And "the Human Storm" is even better! Someone went over the home ports.
Normal win
| My translation | Official translation (FF2) | Official translation (FFS) | SNES (FFS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don't feel bad, I was just too strong. | Don't be discouraged, I'm too strong! | Cheer up. I'm just too strong for you! | Don't get your hopes up... I'm much too strong for you! |
Again, the line gets a workover to sound more natural. Same intent for all, but Special is a lot better than 2 (and my lazy-ass translation). Only thing I'd touch up if I was doing this for real would be to change the period to a comma.
It's interesting how Joe gets the pass that makes him sound more natural without the extra work that makes Terry sound completely insane.
The home ports change it up again in a way that's kind of odd when you think about it. Joe's trying to (sarcastically?) encourage his opponent, but the SNES/Genesis line is more of a put-down. Huh.
Intro vs Terry or Andy
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| Both of you brothers stand out too much. | You guys sure stick out like a gorilla at a lingerie show. | You guys sure stick out like sore thumbs. |
Translation provided by Upthorn! Thank you!
I can't track this down to a definite reference, but it's a good image, isn't it?
Lingerie shows: too saucy for Nintendo.
Win vs Terry/Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| From here on out it's The Legend of Joe! Enjoy it! | The legend of Joe Higashi expands. Soon to be a major motion picture. |
The Garou Densetsu -> Joe Densetsu joke doesn't translate at all, so I don't blame the translator for working around it. I actually think it's a pretty neat rephrasing of a line that wouldn't work at all in English. It loses the idea that Joe is taking over the franchise, but the idea of Joe getting a major motion picture is so charming I can't get upset.
Thinking about it, since the editor worked at SNK Japan...I wonder if Joe later getting a movie career is a reference to this line. It's possible.
Intro vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You're the one ruining my image with those weird boxers, aren't you?! | Ruin my image with strange pants, will you! |
パンツ comes from the word for pants, but it means underwear. Which is why I went with "boxers". So yeah, it's the start of that joke about Joe running around in his underwear. And it's understandable confusion, really.
Other than that, it's pretty straight! The official version is missing a question mark it really should have, but eh.
Intro vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| I didn't think I'd be fighting a woman. | Whaa! No one said I'd be fighting a girl. Then again, why not? | Whaa! No one said I'd be fighting a girl. |
...Joe really did get most of the good localization. This is a good, in-character way to write the same line. The "Whaa!" needs a question mark, but if I started copyediting on top of everything else I'd go insane.
You know, more than usual.
SNES version cuts Joe rolling with it. Violence against women, I guess? But then he has a match with Mai anyway, so...
Intro vs Cheng
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| I'm a genius, so just come at me any way you want. | Any way and anywhere you come from, I'll be ready! | Anywhere and any place you come from, I'll be ready! |
But...why Cheng.
No seriously, why Cheng is the big question here. What the hell do Cheng and Joe have to do with each other? Like they're still hanging out together in FF3, but...why?
Anyway the official translation drops some of Joe's self-aggrandizing but it's still a nice, solid translation that flows better than mine anyway.
It's actually getting hard to talk about these because they're all just...good. Joe's lines are past the blandness you get with FF2 and the minor characters, but not to the weird shit you get with the Terry/Geese/Krauser. Just solid work all round.
The SNES version is rephrased...to actually make less sense this time. "Anywhere" and "any place" are the same thing, so the line is redundant and loses the alliteration. Huh? Come on, Monolith, I know you're better than this.
Win vs Geese or Krauser
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| No, no. That kind of power just ain't enough to win against a guy like me. | No, no, no! You still aren't fit to lick my shoe soles. | No, no, no! You still aren't fit to fight me. |
I'm a bit uncertain about this one. Corrections welcome.
The official translation loses a bit, and "lick my shoe soles" is a bit off the normal phrase (plus, Joe doesn't even WEAR shoes!) but...they got the intent down and threw in an only slightly-mangled idiom. Good job.
I kind of like the "still" in the official translation as well. Technically Joe didn't canonically fight Geese or Krauser, but it gives the impression that this is a continuing story where they've met before. It's neat.
Shoe soles: too saucy for Nintendo.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation (FF2) | SNES (FF2) | Official translation (FFS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oraora...! The legend of Joe has begun! | It's the beginning of Joe's legend. | Thus begins Joe's legend. | Hyaah. The legend of Joe Higashi begins a new chapter. |
Fuck you, I'm not translating oraora. Go watch some Jojo.
...honestly, considering oraora as a general martial arts sort of sound..."hiyaah" is probably the best equivalent for a early-90s US audience. Localization strikes again. Even if I've never seen it spelled "hyaah" before. (and losing the exclamation mark makes it look...weird)
There are minor differences in the Japanese, namely oraora vs...I'm not sure, like singing or sighing?, but the main thrust of the line is the same. And once again, the Joe Densetsu joke just doesn't translate. It's fine. (Fatal Joe? Joe Fury?)
Special has the legend of Joe beginning a new chapter instead of just beginning, which makes it sound like Joe already had a legend going. Which kind of misses the joke, but we've gone over how the joke doesn't translate already. Special also uses his full name, which I guess makes him sound more self-important? More than declaring his legend has begun did, maybe.
The home ports of FF2 get some nice rephrasing that make the line sound much better. Good job, Takara.
Fatal Fury 2
Normal wins
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Ahhhh...this just isn't enough to settle my burning blood! | Kuuu. What a wimp! I didn't even break a sweat! |
| You're just right for a warm-up! | It's just a warm-up. |
| My strength is a mystery of the Far East. Ha ha ha! | My power is a mystery of the far east. Ha, ha, ha... |
FF2 is fairly straight and uninspired, as usual. The first line is the most different, though I can understand the rewrite...it's a really anime thing to say. But they hardly ever care about that in FF2, so I feel like there must have been another reason. It's not a bad rewrite, just a little out of style for this game. The "kuuuu" there is the same as in one of Terry's lines, it's just a kind of sighing noise.
The last line is weird, but it's what he's actually saying so it's just Joe being weird.
Win vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Heh heh...! We don't need two men who command the storm. | You don't need two strong men. |
It's the same phrase as in his intro. While "two strong men" sounds better than "two stormy men", it's inconsistent. Stick to one awkward translation! (and it loses the unique part of it. There are a lot of strong men around!)
Not sure why they dropped the laugh.