EX Billy
Lost without his Geese.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| EX Billy: Heheh...oh, my sweet Catrina... | EX Billy: Hey hey! Catrina , my poopsy! |
| Mai: W-what's up with you?! You're grinning and licking your bo. | Mai: What are you grining at ,dwee? |
| EX Billy: T-t-this bo is my b-b-beloved... | EX Billy: W ,w ,will you be ny ,baby? |
| Mai: Ick! Guh-ross! | Mai: Like ,no way ,foll! Puke! |
| EX Billy: A-a-anyway, Mai.... | EX Billy: T ,t ,then how ' bout you ,Mai? |
| Mai: Ack! Don't say a person's name so casually! | Mai: Gee-rooss! Get lost , polehead! |
Oh boy.
This seems to have given English-speaking audiences a very different impression of EX Billy, thinking that he's looking to get with girls now that Geese is gone, but he's held back by shyness. I know I originally had the idea that Catrina was a new character that happened to look like Mai because of sprite limitations. But no! He just loves his pole! That's the joke!
This is about the only time in English that EX Billy's stutter is written out, but it's there for all lines in Japanese. It's pretty extensive too, with nearly every word getting a stutter. Both I and the official translator/editor toned it down so it wasn't as hard to read in English.
It doesn't show up when he's talking to his bo, though. Because it's his beloved.
EX Billy does say Catrina-chan here, indicating affection. That's probably where the "my poopsy" comes from, and it is, technically, a legitimate term of affection. I went with "my sweet" instead.
The key difference is in Mai's first line. In Japanese she's quite clear that Billy is licking his bo while grinning. This is entirely dropped in English, giving rise to the whole confusion between her and this mysterious Catrina. In Japanese it's obvious that Catrina is just EX Billy's name for his bo.
Then EX Billy's line compounds the issue. Again, it's very clear in Japanese that he's saying his bo is his beloved, where in English he just straight hits on Mai. I'm not sure how this happened - the editor clearly got to this ending, so maybe it was something they wanted to do? Or dropping the reference to EX Billy licking his pole made the editor want to match the previous line? I'm not sure.
Mai reacts with disgust in both languages, but because the previous line was changed, it changes the implication a lot. Just talking about this line in isolation, though...it's pretty good! Mai is talking in an over-the-top, slangy sort of way in Japanese, and that was right in the editor's wheelhouse. So in tone it's fine, but the "no way" is inaccurate because it's playing off a previous and inaccurate line. Ah well.
Then EX Billy tries to change the subject. The English just keeps going and makes it sound like EX Billy is now hitting on Mai, but there's no indication of that in Japanese.
Japanese Mai doesn't want to be addressed by this creepy weirdo, English Mai objects to being hit on by a creepy weirdo. They're both just continuing with their respective jokes.
Man, what a difference. And all because of the rolling effects of cutting out one bit of information. There's a lesson in there...somewhere.
Win Quotes
vs Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A h-h-hero ain't w-w-worth s-s-squat either... | The heroes are all through! |
So here's the big difference in win quotes: EX Billy loses his stutter and generally sounds more like an SNK character, but the translation may or may not be accurate. Make of that what you will.
In this case, EX Billy is looking down on Terry by saying that he wasn't that hard to beat. I let my inner editor go a little and used "worth squat". There is an implied comparison in the Japanese, which is why I said "either" and I assume why the official version says "heroes". But I think the idea in the Japanese is that EX Billy was expecting more of Terry.
vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Y-y-you're still acting c-c-cool, even after l-l-losing... | Even when I lose , I'm cool ! |
Here's a problem that will crop up again and again: confusion about who EX Billy is talking about. It's obvious in content: it's a win quote, he's talking about his opponent, but the official version has him saying he lost...right after he won.
You know, there's not a lot of text in RBS. I have no idea how the translator/editor thought this wasn't a win quote, or why they thought it made sense to have the character say he lost. Like, I'm forgiving on lack of context errors...but there's only two things a line can be, and based on the numerous style differences, it looks like endings were separate from win quotes! So how?
Very mysterious.
vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I-i-it's exhausting, f-f-fighting an i-i-idiot... | Fools tire me! |
Yeah, pretty close. The big difference is in tone, which is the case across the board.
vs Mai/Mary
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| S-s-such a piercing s-s-scream...heheheheheh... | You're yellow. Scream ya baby! |
In this case, "yellow" idiomatically means "high-pitched, piercing". The idea is that EX Billy likes hearing those high-pitched screams. The official translation misses this in a way that feels like it was translated literally and then the editor had to do some patch-up work, or possibly the editor was also the translator and just didn't know that secondary meaning. So instead we get the English idiomatic definition of "yellow", which is "cowardly".
vs Tung Fu Rue
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| C-c-ccreepy old m-m-man... | You're a creepy old geezer! |
Yep. Same problem as Joe: technically accurate, but loses the EX Billy flavor.
vs Billy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Y-y-you're just G-g-geese's lapdog... | Geese ,you flea-bitten dog! |
And here the English is confused between Billy and Geese. This one I'm a little more inclined to be charitable with...except that it still shows a lack of looking at the translation holistically, because later one there will be another Geese quote. (for Geese himself, natch)
Anyway, EX Billy is mocking regular Billy for being Geese's dog. He's being pretty insulting about it too, which is why the English goes for "flea-bitten". Honestly, it's a level of punching up I can deal with, I just didn't go with it because I wanted to focus on the insult of being Geese's pet. There's probably a way to get both across.
vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A-a-are you r-r-really Geese...? | Are you really my Geese? |
Yep.
Interesting that the English added "my Geese". It seems to push EX Billy more towards being regular Billy without Geese...his quote against regular Billy notwithstanding.
vs Krauser
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Y-y-you're too s-s-strong... | You're a real powerhouse! |
Yep x2.
The English drops that Krauser is "too" strong, which makes it sound more openly complimentary.
vs Laurence
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Y-y-you smell like a c-c-cow... | You smell like sweaty bulls! |
So the "sweaty bulls" isn't in the Japanese, but they are a form of cow.
I wonder if the editor saw a chance to get something close to "sweaty balls" in the game and went for it.
vs the Jin brothers
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A k-k-kid's scream is g-g-good too... | Wow , for a punk , you scream loud. |
The Japanese is like the line against Mai/Mary: EX Billy likes hearing high-pitched screams. The English has screaming and kids in there, but the connection is completely lost.
vs Yamazaki
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| A-a-are you a m-m-masochist t-t-too? | Are you a pain addict like me? |
Yep.
Billy Kane: canonically a masochist.
Then again, was anyone ever in doubt?
"Pain addict" feels like a euphemism, really. Not sure why they went with that, since it's not like there's a difference in meaning...
vs EX Billy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I-I-I'll kill you for i-i-imitating me... | Act like me and you die! |
Yep, this one is fine, mod the usual caveats.
I couldn't make it show up on the Neo Geo and I'm too lazy to download a Saturn emulator, so no screenshots. Sorry.
vs others
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| M-m-more... B-B-Burn more... | Burn ,baby , and burn some more! |
It's close. The English adds in what is probably a Disco Inferno reference, which feels...appropriate.