Joe Higashi
He got some surprisingly normal translations this game. Also some crazy ones. Such is SNK.
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Japan's Hotblooded Muay Thai Man
Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Joe: From now on, things are gonna be funny, interesting, and just plain awesome around here! | Joe: Now I can kick back and enjoy life. |
| Franco: Whooooooah! Me too! Take me tooooooooooooo! | Franco: Yaaaah! Me too. Mee too! Waa hah! |
| Joe: Shut up! I don't need a gorilla! | Joe: Oh ,quiet! Ya big , silly gorilla! |
| Franco: Nuuuuuuuuuuuurh! Monkeys and gorillas are friends! | Franco: Who are you calling gorilla , monkey man? |
| Joe: Who's a monkey?! | Joe: Who you calling money man? Die ,scum! |
I wasn't entirely sure about the first line, but it's something like that. This obviously wouldn't fit in English, but I'm not sure Joe would ever kick back and enjoy life.
I'll get more into how Franco Bash speaks in this game on his page, but he elongates a lot of sounds here. I did my best, but it's not the kind of thing that looks good in English. In the official translation they also had to worry about character limits, so he just makes some weird noises.
There's a difference between Joe declaring he doesn't need a gorilla and telling Franco to shut up because he's a big, silly gorilla. I think this ending is another continuation of the "Joe trying to take over the series" joke, so perhaps Joe Densetsu would drop Franco from the character roster.
There's a big difference between Franco declaring that gorillas and monkeys are friends and snapping back at Joe's line. Joe's reply is also way more aggressive in English, as is pretty common. I didn't have the impression that the editor got to the endings as much, but looks like they at least hit Joe.
Win Quotes
vs Terry
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Stop trying to look cool! | Don't be so full of yourself! |
I guess there's a connection between trying to look cool and being full of yourself. At least, it doesn't feel completely made up or anything.
It's not really an exciting line either way.
vs Andy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hey hey, get serious! Get serious already! | Get serious ,or get in traction! |
I always thought Andy's problem was being too serious. I suppose the idea is that Joe thinks Andy isn't fighting him for real.
Joe is a bit more aggressive in English. This isn't the first time tractions have come up, for whatever that's worth.
vs Joe
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You asshole! Don't imitate me! | That was one creepy dude! |
Well, this is just made up. I guess the ultra-literal "bad guy" I translated as "asshole" could turn into "creepy dude", especially for a game that had to get into American arcades, but there's no mention of imitation in the official translation. It's not an especially interesting line in Japanese, but the English version doesn't feel connected to anything. Very odd.
vs Mai
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Don't fall in love with me! | Don't get too sweet on me , toots! |
Meanwhile, this is pretty well done! The literal translation is polished up a bit and sounds like something a guy like Joe would say. Good job all around.
vs Tung Fu Rue
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hey, gramps, can you still stand? Sorry 'bout that. | Hey , sorry'bout that old timer. |
You can pretty easily see how this one ran into character limits. It's especially harsh when you can get "can you still stand" into one word in Japanese and, well...hard to do that in English. The idea is that Joe is asking if he's been too hard on Tung.
In that sense, the English is a fairly decent edit down to the bare essentials. It gets across Joe's somewhat flippant apology and that he's more casual to Tung than the Bogards pretty well.
vs Sokaku
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You some kinda magician?! | What are you , a magician? |
This is basically the same in both languages. Not much to say here.
vs Billy
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Whoa, that was close. Don't wave dangerous things around! | Hey! You might poke an eye out! |
Again, a super-literal version of the Japanese line would run into character limits, so the translators/editor engaged in some ruthless editing. What's left is...still pretty good! Joe is clearly telling Billy off for waving his pole around. Getting warned about poking/shooting eyes out is a fairly common experience for kids, especially back in the 80s/90s, so it's got a nice ring of familiarity to it. All in all, a good localization. Joe's on a roll!
(It's not an obvious connection, but I'd feel somewhat remiss if I didn't at least mention A Christmas Story and "you'll shoot your eye out, kid". It was a pretty formative Christmas movie for many children of that era.)
vs Geese
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Get ready, Geese! | Prepare yourself , Geese! |
Yep.
...sorry, there's not much to say here!
vs Krauser
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You ain't fooling about your strength! | Boy , you're one mean competitor! |
I feel like the connection between these two is fairly obvious, even if SNK and I picked very different ways of expressing it. The basic idea is that Krauser's strength is the real thing, it's not fake or half-baked or whatever. The exact phrasing is difficult to handle literally, which is part of how the official translation and I ended up phrasing it differently, but the concept is there. Overall, I think this line turned out pretty well too.
vs Laurence
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Do you seriously think that beard looks cool? | Hey , lose that sily mustache! |
Ahahahahahaha.
The Japanese word can mean "beard" or "mustache" but "facial hair" would throw off the rhythm of the line. I went with "beard" because I think Laurence's beard is more obvious than his mustache, but they're both pretty terrible so it's not like either choice is wrong.
The English is a little more direct, to the line's detriment, but I'm pretty sure this is another character limit problem. They did their best, and I respect that.
Mostly I respect Joe for finally calling out the facial hair, though.
vs the Jin brothers
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Hey kiddo! It's naptime! | Hey , little guy , isn't it nap time? |
Just punch kids out to get them to take their naps. It's the fighting game way.
Anyway, the connection here is clear. I think the English version is actually softened a little, since in Japanese Joe is very direct. A deliberate toning-down for American social mores or just a wobble of the usual SNK weirdness? Impossible to tell.
vs Yamazaki
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Whoa, someone crazier than me! | At last , someone crazier than I am! |
Japanese Joe is surprised (but maybe a bit pleased), while English Joe is definitely pleased. The "[a]t last" makes it sound like he's been deliberately looking for someone crazier than he is, which isn't implied in the original.
vs Cheng
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Next time treat me to a full-course alligator meal! | After this , how' bout some gator? |
The dark law of character limits strikes again. In Japanese, the joke is that Joe is inviting Cheng to an entire multi-course alligator meal, which is an incongruous and funny image. In English he just invites Cheng for some gator, which doesn't sound nearly as fancy. The joke about Joe forcing Cheng to treat him is also lost in English.
They did what they could, but character limits are cruel.
vs others
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Whew, I got too much energy left over! | Wow! Now I'm pumped! |
It's the same basic idea, though there's a subtle nuance difference. In Japanese, Joe started off with a bunch of energy and fighting didn't burn enough off, but in English he gained energy from fighting.
Still, the idea is there, and "pumped" is a nice little localism. I dig it.