Mai Shiranui
For whatever reason, Mai had all of her dialog redone for FF Special. She doesn't share a single line across both games, a condition shared only by Krauser.
The SNES versions give her shorts in-game for obvious reasons, but don't touch the character artwork at all. Which is nuts, because both SNES ports move the lettering off the portraits and if you look at the clean version above, you can clearly see that Mai ain't wearing jack under her robe. How in the world did they get that past Nintendo not once but twice?
Manual
Fighter title
| My translation | FF2 MVS | FF2 AES | FFS Arcade | SNES FFS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Enticing Lady Ninja | The Gorgeos Ninja | The Knock-Out Ninja | The Enchanting Ninja Maid | Ninja Master |
Arcade translations from The Arcade Flyer Archive, home translation from RQ87, SNES translation from the manual on the Internet Archive.
Spelling mistake is on the flyer, it's not just me. It's the only one (if you don't count "muetai") so it stands out a bit. (The Neo Geo CD version of Fatal Fury 2 goes back to this title but fixes the spelling error)
Besides that, these are all pretty similar. FF2 doesn't specify Mai is a female ninja, but you don't generally call men "gorgeous" so I can see where that came from. "Ninja maid" might make some people think of cleaning-type maids, but I think it sounds okay. The AES version updates from "gorgeous" to "knock-out", which is brilliant. Pretty girls are knock-outs, and also Mai will knock you out. It's great.
Then the SNES version dulls it down completely. Was "enchanting" too sexy, Monolith?! Geez.
Quote
| My translation (FF2) | FF2 AES | FF2 CD | SNES FF2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| With your skills, can you even lay one finger on my body? I wonder. | I swear if that cracker eating old geezer makes one more comment about my costume, he's going to need a walker after I get through with him. | If you want to touch my body, you need to work first. | So you think you're good enough to beat me? Just try it and see! |
Home translations from RQ87, SNES translation from SNES manual on the Internet Archive.
...wow.
This is fascinating, because you can see how each one relates to the Japanese line, but they all go off in wildly different directions.
The AES version...was clearly written by the editor, who was having a fantastic time. It's interesting that it's very clearly painting Jubei as a dirty old man, when that was somewhat toned down in FF2. It's also got that particularly SNK flavor of girl power that must've been the editor.
Then they retranslated for the CD version, and it's closer to the Japanese, but loses a few things. Like Mai directly putting down her opponent's skill and instead saying they need to work for it. It's more bland as a result, if a bit higher in implied sexiness.
Then the SNES version is just completely generic. There's a bit of a relation if you assume "touch" was replaced with "beat", which doesn't feel like a bad assumption, but it could've also been completely rewritten. Impossible to tell from here.
| My translation (FFS) | SNES FFS | Sega CD FFS |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone who fights me better watch out! But, I'll hold back for Andy. | Let up with the quotes already! Let's just get to the action! | Andy is the ONLY one I hesitate to fight... |
SNES manual from the Internet Archive, Sega CD from Sega Retro.
And these are all completely different.
The Japanese quote starts off generic, but the line about Andy is cute.
The SNES line is inexplicably changed. It's cute in how it breaks the fourth wall a little, but it has nothing to do with the Japanese line and I have no idea why. I can't think of any reason to change it. Just strange.
The Sega CD line is somewhat related, but having Mai "hesitate" to fight Andy makes it sound to me like she doesn't think she can beat him. That's not right, she's holding back because she's sweet on him. The Japanese makes it clear she's doing it as a favor to him, like she doesn't want to hurt him too badly. No idea why they'd change that either!
Fatal Fury Special
Normal intro
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| If you underestimate me because I'm a woman, you're in for some pain. | Babe?! You're about to sing soprano, pal. | You're about to sing soprano, pal. |
Mai talks in a very cute and feminine way in Japanese, which I showed by not even trying to render it into English. There's a reason translation isn't my day job. Anyway, just keep that in mind; she's supposed to sound young and cute.
This is a line you could make a pretty reasonable argument that SNK went too far in localizing, but I love it. Yeah, she sounds kinda Jersey, but it's the same intent (Mai telling off a chauvinistic opponent) given a very American feel. At least they didn't have her speaking like a Valley Girl. (It would, honestly, fit.)
SNES version cuts out the "Babe" for mysterious reasons. Instead it just turns into Mai threatening the player, which...okay, fits in with the rest of the intros.
Normal win
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Just like I said, you shouldn't underestimate women. | I told you. No one calls me babe without paying for it. |
This is the only time a fighter's intro/win quotes match up like this, and I think it's super cute. The official translation even keeps the matching, which is pretty neat. (though it was probably easier to pick Mai's lines out of the crowd...hm, maybe that's why she's got a bit of extra work on her?)
Either way, it's a nicely localized set of lines that keep the same feel and the same call/response as the Japanese in English. I keep saying it, but it's way beyond what I think anyone would expect out of an arcade company in 1993.
This line is the same in the SNES version, so the call-and-response is completely lost there. Bummer!
Intro vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| Don't you dare hold back, Andy. | Don't hold back, Andy. Come on to me. | Don't hold back, Andy. Don't you like me? |
Look, there's just not that many ways to translate that sentence. I tried to jazz it up a bit, so did the official translator/editor. I'm honestly not sure what that guy was getting at with the "come on to me", but I have no way of asking now. Guess it's an early shift from Andy vaguely liking Mai to the later characterization; such shifts did sometimes show up in English first.
The SNES version cuts out the bit that sounds like innuendo and replaces it with a completely new line. Well, that was bound to happen.
Win vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I'm sorry, Andy! | Sorry, Andy! |
The fact I'm including basic stuff like this tells you I'm giving this 100%. (I used to have a comment in here about how I'd stop giving 100% as soon as I hit KoF but then I took a deeper look and it turns out SNK cut a ton of win quotes from KoF so uh...120% all the way.)
Andy doesn't have a win quote against Mai. Andy is a shitty boyfriend.
Intro vs Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You’re Andy’s brother, right? But you don’t look that strong to me, you know? | So you're Andy's brother. You don't look so tough. |
Translation provided by Upthorn! Thank you!
This is how you can tell Upthorn is a professional, he actually bothered to try and get across how Mai sounds in Japanese in English.
So it's the same basic idea in the official translation, but oddly enough, it isn't punched up. It's very straight and flat, more like FF2 or uh...me. It's pretty noticeable after her intro and win quotes. I think that there was probably a straight translation done by someone who was decent at English and Japanese, then an editor swept in with the weird changes, but I can't prove anything.
Intro vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| If you're going to copy me, be more elegant about it. | If you're going to copy me, do it with class. |
They're the same. Special has some bits that are nuts, and some bits that are basically FF2-level. It's really weird. Mai has a couple lines that clearly had care and attention paid to them, and then you also get stuff that's me-level. Editor just didn't have time to get to it?
Win vs Tung/Jubei
| My translation | Official translation | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| You okay, gramps? | Dear. Are you okay, Gramps? | Dear: Are you okay, Gramps? |
I think the "Dear" there is supposed to be "Oh dear" or something, because that would make sense. It's just that something went wrong in the editing...typo? Copy-paste problem? At least it's more effort than the previous line.
The SNES version messes with the punctuation and ends up making even less sense.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| If I don't act more ladylike, he's not gonna like me. | Maybe I should be a bit less masculine. |
The conditional is lost in the official translation, so Mai just sounds like she's considering being more ladylike for no reason. It also doesn't seem to go with the picture...I'd expect the picture to have a "I need more training" or something. Weird.
...I really don't think the quintessential video game titty ninja really needs to be less masculine. Just saying. (plus Andy is clearly just not attracted to women, so becoming more feminine ain't gonna do shit)
Fatal Fury 2
Intro
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Ninja fight to the death! You'd better be ready! | Fight to the death! That's the way of the Ninja. Prepare for death. |
The English is really cute and I like it. It feels a bit more worked-on than most FF2 quotes, but still sounds a little weird. "Prepare for death" makes Mai sound a lot more confident, though.
Normal wins
| My translation | Official translation | SNES/Genesis |
|---|---|---|
| Is that the limit of your strength? | Is that all your power? | Is that the best you can do? |
| To live in defeat is humiliating! It suits you well. | Living under defeat is humiliating. It's suitable for you. | Living with defeat is humiliating, but it is suitable for you! |
| My fist is a gale! No one can stop it! | My fist is a gale. No one will stop it. | My fist is a gale! No one can stop it! |
| You certainly are a fiery one. But spirit alone isn't enough to defeat me. | No doubt you're a burning man. But you can't stop me on guts alone. | You've got guts, but it's not enough to stop me! |
Standard FF2 translations. A bit Engrishy and could be phrased better, but you could say the same thing about mine.
Takara cleaned everything up nice for the home ports, and the net result is that they're all pretty improved.
Win vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation | SNES/Genesis |
|---|---|---|
| Do you understand now that I'm the real one? | Now you realize, I'm the real one. | Now you see why I'm number one. |
I'm pretty sure the official translation doesn't need that comma.
The home ports drop the idea of the winning Mai being the real one and just have her say she's number one, which is slightly off. Not sure why that got changed.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation | SNES/Genesis |
|---|---|---|
| O-hohohoho! Andy, I'll allow you to become my disciple. | Oh, Andy, I'll make you my disciple. | Andy, I have decided to make you my disciple. |
Yes, that's a fine example of a noblewoman's laugh in Japanese. It's not there in English.
"I'll allow you to become" vs "I'll make you" is a bit of a subtle difference, but it's there. The Japanese could be more literally translated as "I'll give you (becoming my disciple)", with the general idea that she's forcing him under the guise of doing him a favor. Meanwhile she's just straight up forcing him in English. The home ports touch the line up a bit, but don't fix the discrepancy. I don't think Takara really looked at the Japanese script all that hard while doing the home ports.
But you know, looking at all this stuff in-depth like I've been doing...I can't find any evidence that Mai liked Andy before Special. That they're from the same ninja school, yes, that they know each other, yes...but not that Mai has any romantic interest in Andy. The most I can find is actually Andy maybe possibly liking her in his FF2 backstory, but it's incredibly vague.
Mai's FF2 backstory does feature Terry totally fucking up a tea ceremony by being a big dumb American, though. It's great.