Andy Bogard
Still here, still doesn't want to sleep with Mai.
Story
Story 1
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Ripper: Here's the current winner, Mr. Geese. | Ripper: Mr. Geese, that's the current champion. |
| Geese: ... | Geese: Hmph! |
Story 2
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A Bogard, huh... | One of Bogard's,huh... |
Okay, so read super literally the official translation is sort of accurate, but it's also clearly not what Geese is saying here. This feels like a quick first pass and not something the editor got a hold of. It fits in with my "Real Bout was translated under extra hard time constraints" theory.
So yeah, not technically inaccurate, but not good either.
Story 3
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Heh, I'll test how strong you've become. Now, quickly rise through the tournament and face me... | I can't wait to test your strength. Hurry up and battle your way to me! |
Cut down, but that's clearly because of character limits. Geese is still eager to fight Andy and test his strength in English. I think this is pretty well done, really.
Story 4
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Andy: Watch me, Father. I'll defeat him with my own hands! | Andy: I hope you're watching, father ,for I shall win!!! |
| Geese: Hmph. You've gotten stronger. | Geese: You've gotten a lot tougher. |
This is pretty close. Andy's Japanese line is very standard anime, and it's localized a bit in English. I can dig it. Meanwhile, Geese's line is...not changed in any meaningful way.
Anyway, then Andy murders a man and neglects his girlfriend, as you do.
Win Quotes
vs Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I won't lose anymore, Terry! | I'll never lose again,bro! |
...yep.
I turned "niisan" into Terry's name, the official guys turned it into "bro". I dig it.
vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Never appear before me again! | Never show your miserable mug before me again,you scum! |
Well, that's punched up. "Miserable mug" is some nice alliteration.
Similar meaning, but wildly punched up in English: the SNK experience!
vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You should head back to Thailand, Joe. | Joe,head on back to Thailand! |
Same meaning, English comes across as somewhat sharper. But you know, same basic idea.
vs Franco
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You're very strong. You could make your kickboxing comeback anytime. | You were strong. You're ready for a comeback! |
...yep.
Real Bout was translated on some sort of absurd time crunch and didn't get a lot of love.
vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Mai. Go read the Shiranui scrolls again - carefully. | Mai,read your family scrolls. Shiranui is Japanese for loser! |
Of course I say that and then this comes up.
There are occasional noticeably edited lines, but they're not as focused as they are in other titles, if that makes sense. The editor was probably also scrambling for time.
That said, first sentence is the same, the only change is the addition of the second one. Which is weirdly insulting and childish in that SNK way, so it all works out.
vs Bob
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Superb footwork. I'd love a rematch. | Nice footwork,pal. We'll have to do this again! |
Yup.
There's some mild differences in tone/character voice, where the English is more casual, but that's about it
vs Billy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Consider giving up being a bodyguard. | Quit the bodyguard biz,pal! |
Again, same meaning, different choices in tone. Andy calls a lot of people "pal" in his win quotes, wonder if the editor just had a theme.
vs Hon Fu
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Phew, you were a tough opponent. My moves still lack polish. | A strong competitor. A few more years of training should do the trick! |
Thanks Kishi
This is (probably) mistranslated, and in a way that suggests it was by someone going very quickly. It comes down to figuring out if Andy is talking about himself or his opponent when he says that more training is needed, because the Japanese doesn't specify. Often in this case that means the speaker is the subject, and Andy is all about the training, so both Kishi and I went for Andy talking about himself. The official translator probably saw the line was a win quote and that the character was talking about a strong opponent and guessed the other way.
It's a pretty understandable mistake, all things considered.
vs Yamazaki
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| All right, I'm still going strong! | Come on, I'm just getting started! |
This is more individual translator phrasing differences than it first appears. Andy is basically just bragging about how he can keep going after beating Yamazaki, and the difference is in how the official translator did that vs me.
It's not a really interesting line either way.
vs Sokaku
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Mochizuki techniques don't work on me. | Mochizuki, you've lost your magic! |
This is cute! The basic intent got rephrased to make a little joke/pun, just like Terry's line against Yamazaki. I dig it!
vs Mary
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| So this is commando sambo, huh? Makes for a tough opponent. | Wow,that Command Sambo was one mean move! |
Kishi had to correct me on the spelling of commando sambo too, because "command" is so much more of a common word that you're automatically going to go for it unless you already know about the martial art.
What I'm saying is, this is an entirely understandable slip.
Other than that, the English line is somewhat stilted, but in a way that feels like the editor got a hold of it. It's the "one mean move" that convinces me, it just sounds like a cartoon, and the editor was all about sounding like a cartoon. Either way, the general idea of the line is there and it's punched up, not into another dimension.
vs Kim
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Was that your true strength, Kim Kaphwan?! | So you're the famous Kim. |
In Japanese, Andy sounds like he's trying to scold Kim for holding back or for being off his game. Basically, Japanese Andy is upset he won too easily. Meanwhile in English the line is just a flat statement that doesn't seem to have any sort of deeper meaning behind it. I'm really not sure where it came from, because it's not punched up but it's also not an obvious mistranslation. Very odd.
vs Chonrei/Chonshu
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Do you want to try and fight me again? | Try again,pal? |
The English is cut down (alternatively, I got too wordy) but the general idea is the same. The English is a fair bit more casual than the Japanese, though, Andy is pretty polite/distant to the Jins there.
vs Duck King
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You lack training, Duck! | Duck,ya need more practice! |
It's really a question of how much you want Andy to sound like a disappointed master in a kung fu flick. He's more casual/informal with Duck compared with say, Kim or the Jins, so this is a pretty good localization all told.
vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I'll never lose to you again! | Lose to you? You're funny! |
The basic idea is there. For a second I figured the tone meant the translator/editor didn't know this was a win quote against Geese, but then I realised that wouldn't stop them. I can see this going from "I won't lose to you!" -> "Lose to you? You're funny!" via the hand of the editor.
The "again" is lost, though, which is an interesting bit of nuance. The Real Bout character backstories establish that Terry and Andy both lost to Geese in FF3, and Andy was even coughing up blood in his FF3 ending, which the Japanese line makes some implied reference to. Gone in the English, though. Oh well.