This is the first entry in a series of posts looking at the localisation of the first chapter of the game, Phoenix Ace: Ace Attorney. Thanks for reading!
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Mia 1 |
...なるほどくん | Wright! |
| Phoenix 2 |
あ、しょ、所長 | Oh, h-hiya, Chief. |
| Mia 3a |
ふう。なんとか、間にあったわね。どうかしら？ 初めての法廷は。 | Whew, I'm glad I made it on time. Well, I have to say Phoenix, I'm impressed! Not everyone takes on a murder trial right off the bat like this. |
| Phoenix 3b |
こ、こんなにドキドキするの小学校の学級裁判のとき以来です。 | NOT TRANSLATED |
| Mia 3c |
...それはそれは。ずいぶん、ごぶさたしてるのね。 | NOT TRANSLATED |
| Phoenix 3d |
え、ええ、まあ。あの… 所長。今日は、すみません。いそがしいのに... | NOT TRANSLATED |
| Mia 3e |
ううん、かまわないわ。カワイイ部下の初舞台だもの。‥‥それにしても。 | NOT TRANSLATED |
| Mia | 初めての法廷で殺人事件をあつかうなんて、すごい度胸ね。感心するわ。 | Well, I have to say Phoenix, I'm impressed! Not everyone takes on a murder trial right off the bat like this. |
1. The Japanese contains the honorific “kun”, which has numerous uses, including for when a senior addresses a junior. Naturally, English doesn't have a range of honorific suffixes like the Japanese language so they can sometimes be tricky to translate. However, in this case the exclamation mark alone does a good job of conveying Mia’s senior status because it sounds like she is calling Phoenix to attention.
2. In the Japanese, Phoenix stutters over the word chief (shochou), but in the English he stutters over an added “hiya” before he says “chief.” I like this touch. If Phoenix had stuttered the word “chief”, it could have seemed that Mia's presence was the cause of Phoenix’s anxiety, when it is actually the fact that it is his first trial.
3a. The English chops up the order of the information slightly after Mia’s “Whew, I'm glad I made it on time.” In the Japanese, she then asks, “So, your first case. How are you feeling?” Phoenix responds, “I haven't felt this nervous since my trial in elementary school.” To a Western audience, the notion of a trial in elementary school would likely seem strange. For new players unaware of the series’ whacky tendencies, the idea of a trial in an elementary school might have been jarring. In contrast, in Japan a school trial (gakkyuusaiban) is not an entirely unheard of prospect. Apparently, there are teachers who may do such a thing when a student consistently fails to hand in their homework.
2. In the Japanese, Phoenix stutters over the word chief (shochou), but in the English he stutters over an added “hiya” before he says “chief.” I like this touch. If Phoenix had stuttered the word “chief”, it could have seemed that Mia's presence was the cause of Phoenix’s anxiety, when it is actually the fact that it is his first trial.
3a. The English chops up the order of the information slightly after Mia’s “Whew, I'm glad I made it on time.” In the Japanese, she then asks, “So, your first case. How are you feeling?” Phoenix responds, “I haven't felt this nervous since my trial in elementary school.” To a Western audience, the notion of a trial in elementary school would likely seem strange. For new players unaware of the series’ whacky tendencies, the idea of a trial in an elementary school might have been jarring. In contrast, in Japan a school trial (gakkyuusaiban) is not an entirely unheard of prospect. Apparently, there are teachers who may do such a thing when a student consistently fails to hand in their homework.
3b. Mia replies, “Hmm, well, that is a long time, isn't it.”
3c. Phoenix then stumbles over his response, “Mmm, yeah, I guess so. Hey chief, thanks for coming today. I know you're busy and all.” This line, and a lot of the script (and just Japanese writing in general) contains ellipses. My feeling is that while they have their place in the English language, it is usually limited to awkward situations, or when one simply has no idea how to respond to something. I think when translating these parts into English, they can be ignored or substituted with some small remark, such as, "Hey", or, "Hmm."
3e. Mia replies, "Don't mention it. I couldn't miss the debut of my cute little protege now could I? That said…" After that, the game's English realigns with the Japanese script.
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Larry |
誰が‥‥いったい誰が、カノジョを‥‥！教えてくれよぉぉぉ！ 成歩堂ぉぉぉ‥‥！ | Aww, Nick, ya gotta tell me! Who took my baby away!? |
| Phoenix 4 |
（”カノジョ”を殺害した犯人、か‥‥) | (Hmm... The person responsible for your girlfriend's death?) |
4. The English is slightly different because it does not follow the Japanese in using quotation marks around the word girlfriend (kanojo). I think this implies that Phoenix doesn't necessarily believe that the girl in question was actually Larry's girlfriend. Given what later games tell us about Larry's lack of luck in love, I think it is reasonable to assume this is the intended angle of the Japanese.
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix 5 |
ぼくの名前は成歩堂 龍一。３ヶ月前に弁護士になったばかり。今日は初めての法廷だ。さて。今回の事件は、いたってシンプル。
|
My name is Phoenix Wright. Here's the story: My first case is a fairly simple one.
|
5. Phoenix’s English self-introduction lacks some of the information of the Japanese. After saying his name, he adds, “I just became a lawyer three months ago. Today is my first case." I'm honestly can't think of a reason why this was cut from the English version.
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above points or Phoenix Wright's localisation as a whole, so please comment if you've got something to say.
If you enjoyed this post, I bet you'll like the next post in this series:
http://www.localireview.com/2015/03/3.html
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above points or Phoenix Wright's localisation as a whole, so please comment if you've got something to say.
If you enjoyed this post, I bet you'll like the next post in this series:
http://www.localireview.com/2015/03/3.html
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