Yagyuu Jubei
Can't have a Hattori Hanzo without a Yagyuu Jubei too, huh.
Challenges
vs self
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| I'd heard there was a branch family to the Shinkage school. So it's true. | Wouldn't you like to be a Yagyu too? |
Kishi got this one.
The official translation is a clear reference to the famous "I'm a Pepper" Dr Pepper ad campagin from the late '70s/early '80s. Sure, why not. That makes sense.
The Japanese is a cute samurai twist on the usual SNK "mirror matches are because of imitators" conceit. The English completely rewrites it for a joke, but in a weird way the joke...kind of makes sense? Branch families don't get the same name as the main family, so you can kind of squint and read it as the doppelganger making a bid to join the main family and become a Yagyuu too.
Okay yes it's a stretch but it's more than I expected out of a line that was completely rewritten for a jokey reference to an ad campaign that was over a decade old at that point.
vs others
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Fear not my sword nor my spirit. Clear your thoughts and come at me! | Don't be afraid of what I hold in my hands. |
| Can you withstand the Yagyuu Suigetsutou? | No,I'm not related to that guy in Fatal Fury! |
Okay, I can vaguely see what happened with the first line. It's weird to not just say "sword" right there, but the word used in Japanese is a combination of "sword" and "soul" I wasn't entirely sure how to properly render in English either. Overall it's probably a reference to "the sword is the soul of a samurai", but again, hard to render in English. Point is, the official translation bears some resemblance to the original line.
It does cut the second sentence, which is also tricky to render in English. The word in Japanese is 無心/mushin and in this case probably refers to the Buddhist concept of being free from worldly/distracting/obstructive thoughts. So basically, don't get lost in fear and come at him without hesitation. But, you know, character limits.
The second line is completely and obviously rewritten to make an SNK crossover joke. The "Yagyuu Suigetsutou" is the attack where he charges and does an upward slice, for reference where he sends out a ground projectile. Thanks to Ricky Khoury for the quick correction.
Win Quotes
vs self
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You might be able to ascend to the Yagyuu name, but only if you should show the proper spirit and training! | How sad. I bet you even thought you could win. |
This is also completely rewritten. The Japanese line is playing off the challenge quote in a cute way, where 2P might be able to join the main family if he applies himself more. The English line is just a standard diss.
How sad.
Win with killing normal
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| One moment of distraction, and your life is over. Don't take the Yagyuu lightly. | I'm too fast, right? No? Then. Why's your leg on the ground? |
There's a connection here, even if it's pretty vague. But I can kind of see how "a moment of distraction" turned into "I'm too fast" and "your life is over" into "your leg on the ground". At very least there's a sort of thematic connection, which is more than the previous line has.
It's a very SNK line, to be sure, and there's a blatant typo to boot. But it's less out of place than the others.
Win with special move
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| That which lives must one day die; that which exists must one day be destroyed. | Come,come,my friend. All lives must come to an end. |
The Japanese almost sounds like a quote or saying, but I can't track it down to an actual source. The basic concept is pretty common to religions across the world, but the phrasing is very Buddhist. The English gets away from that particular phrasing, but the idea is still there.
The editor touched this one lightly, is what I'm saying.
Win otherwise
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| You have some strength. Come join the Shinkage school at once! | Hey, you're not that bad. You're not very good, either. |
This one, on the other hand...
The first part is a legit translation, the second part is made up. The idea in Japanese seems to be that the opponent showed some skill in fending off Jubei enough to not die, and therefore is worthy of an offer to join the Shinkage school. Meanwhile in English it's another light put-down.
I detect some similarities with Geese's special move win quote from Fatal Fury 3. SamSho was about two years earlier, but the editor was always willing to go back to a favorite phrase.
Clear
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| My Shinkage style is invincible! Uwahahahahahaha! | No one can equal to me. Wah hah hah haaah! |
Nuance difference: in Japanese, it's Jubei's style that is invincible. In English, it's that he's unparalleled, with no particular reference to his style.
In fact, though Jubei's style of swordsmanship comes up constantly in Japanese, it's never mentioned in English. Did the translators not want to bother translating "Shinkage"? Did they think players might get confused? Is this on purpose, or just coincidence? No idea.
That's a good belly laugh he's got going on there in either language, though.
Story
Stage 4
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Jubei: How dull. | Jubei: ...boring fights. |
| Jubei: ! | Jubei: ! |
| Jubei: Who's there?! | Jubei: Who are you? |
| Amakusa: Kukuku... Behold, I am the vengeful spirit of Amakusa. Now, cry and plead unto the dark god! | Amakusa: Call me Amakusa, Amakusa! |
| Jubei: Amakusa...are you strong? | Jubei: Amakusa...the tough? |
| Amakusa: Long have I watched the Yagyuu of the Shinkage style. Why not take those fine sword skills and offer them to the dark lord? Come, walk the path to hell. | Amakusa: You are a master swordsman. Join me and the dark guy. |
| Jubei: Ha - Before my Shinkage style, both gods and sorcerers are as naught! | Jubei: A fine proposal but, alas, I must pass! |
| Amakusa: Heheheh...then prepare yourself for death! | Amakusa: Then die,you crazy funster! |
| Jubei: Weak dogs bark the loudest. | Jubei: Have at you, smelly! |
Jubei's first line is actually pretty good. It's abrupt, but so's the Japanese.
His fourth line...is a bit more awkward. I can see how they got "Amakusa...the tough?" but it doesn't sound right at all. Given the rest of the scene has the editor all over it, I wonder if what happened was that the editor wrote "Amakusa...the tough guy?", it ran into character limits, and someone just chopped it down without particularly worrying about how much sense it made. I don't know how likely that is, but it would kind of make sense.
Amakusa's offer is heavily chopped down in English, but is more or less accurate. It drops the idea that he's had his eye on Jubei's family for a long time, but it at least gets that Jubei's a master swordsman and there's not actually an offer here besides "hey join me".
Jubei's reply, though, is completely changed. In Japanese he's basically bragging that he doesn't need Ambrosia, he can beat everyone up himself. In English he just says he must pass on the offer with no reason given. It still makes sense in context, which is pretty good as far as these things go.
Also, he uses the sentence ender "wa" here, like Wan-Fu. It must've sounded tough and masculine at one point, that's the only explanation I can see.
Jubei's last line is also completely different. In English it sounds more like a challenge quote than the dismissal it is in Japanese. The editor again.
Ending
| My translation | Official translation |
|---|---|
| Jubei: Ugh... I believed I had finally found one to train my style even further... | Jubei: Unh. I thought I had found someone worthy.... |
| Messenger: Jubei-sama. | Messenger: Sir Jubei. |
| Jubei: You are? | Jubei: You are? |
| Messenger: I'm real sorry, but my sister got taken by that Amakusa guy, so I had no choice but to jump in back there... | Messenger: Pardon sire, my sister has been taken by Amakusa. I know I got in your way before, but... |
| Messenger: But since you managed to beat him, here... | Messenger: But look, I have brought you this. |
| Messenger: As small token of my thanks...please read this pathetic collection of hides. | Messenger: A thousand pardons. Please read this. |
| Message: Mysterious person, Yui Shousetsu, sparks riot in the capital. Surrounding area in an uproar. | Message: Yui Shosetu terrorizes Rozeki Castle. |
| Jubei: Ahahaha...so men like this still exist in this world! Then, I go! | Jubei: Hah,hah, hah. My legend enters a new chapter. Away! |
Jubei's first line is a bit confusing, but I think he is talking about wanting to find someone to sharpen his style by being a worthy opponent. Clearly Amakusa wasn't it. The English isn't wrong, but the player does have to guess that Jubei wanted a worthy opponent not, say, a worthy banker.
Honorifics come up again. I left it in, but the official translation went with "Sir Jubei", which is honestly good and fitting.
The messenger's story is kind of odd, but mostly because he mentions getting in Jubei's way. Like...I just played that bit, it was just me and Amakusa. Other than that, he speaks very politely, though with a bit of a roughness. A working class stiff talking to the upper crust, exactly as you'd expect for this scene. The official translation just has him speak very politely, which is fair.
One difference: the messenger says he's handing the message over because Jubei managed to beat Amakusa despite the interference, but that's dropped in English. Instead it's just more apologizing for getting in Jubei's way.
The next line is just way cut down to fit it in the space provided. There's not a lot missing.
The message itself also got massively cut down, and specifies "Rozeki Castle" when the Japanese is just "the capital". I honestly have no idea where "Rozeki Castle" came from, as I don't see anything in the Japanese that could be read that way. Searching for it just brings up this game, so it will remain a mystery.
The Japanese message seems to refer to the Keian Uprising, led by Yui Shousetsu. That was in 1651, more than a century before this game, but...eh, whatever, don't worry about it.
Jubei's line is completely different, but similar in feel. In Japanese he feels a bit more driven by fighting strong people than increasing his legend, but those are both pretty standard motivations and overlap a lot in this sort of thing.