Final Fantasy VIII - Localisation Review (8)

This is an entry in a series of posts looking at the localisation of the beginning segment of the game, Final Fantasy VIII. You can find the first post here. Thanks for reading!

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	Japanese	English
Squall 1	何をしている！	What do you think you're doing!?
Biggs 2	なんだぁ～？きさまこそこんなところまで来て何している！お、おい！下にいる兵はどうなっとるんだ？！ウェッジ！ こんなガキども、さっさとかたづけろ！！ ウ……ウェッジ？わ……私は、もうこの電波塔には用がないから……か……か……帰るぞ。どけっどけっ！	Huhhhh? Likewise, MISTER! What do you think you're doing!? H-HEY! What happened to all the soldiers down below!? WEDGE! Take care of these twerps!!! W…Wedge? I...ah...Well...ah...I seem to be done here, so I'll just be on my... I-I'm leaving...Move! Move! Move!
Seifer 3	残念だったな。	Sorry to crash the party.

1. The Japanese literally reads, "What are you doing!" I like the way the English makes this sentiment slightly stronger because it shows that the translator took the exclamation point in the Japanese to slightly ratchet up the strength of the English. It also added in a question mark, which is strangely missing from the Japanese.

2. What drew my attention here was the way Biggs referred to Squall's party, and the Japanese origin of these words. First up was "mister", translated from the word kisama (きさま), a derogatory way to address someone. The English language has a huge amount of words that fall into the bracket of "a derogatory way to address someone" so this word often produces a wide range of translations. The JMDict dictionary offers "you bastard" and "you son of a bitch", but in this context of Biggs noticing Squall's party for the first, him using these swear words would be jarringly excessive. No matter how much I wrack my brain for an alternative, I can't come up with anything that trumps "mister." Google's dictionary defines the word as a "variant form of Mr, often used humorously or with offensive emphasis." I think this perfectly captures the scene's tone; it carries an air of denigration but is also humourous. This is also true of Biggs' use of the word "twerps", translated from the word gaki (ガキ). This is another derogatory form of address, but one typically directed at children. In other words, this remark can be interpreted as Biggs dismissing Squall's party because of their age (which is understandable given that they are just seventeen whereas Biggs appears to be an adult). For this term, the JMDict dictionary offers translations of "brat" and "kids." Such Japanese to English dictionary definitions are often too limited to be of value (as highlighted with kisama) but in this case I think "brats" is a plausible alternative. It is similar to the Japanese because it is also a derisive term typically directed at children, and this part is lacking from "twerps." Nonetheless, I'm loathe to criticise the usage of this term as it adds to Biggs' characterisation as a slightly likable and humourous individual given the rarity of the term "twerps." In contrast, if Biggs had said "brats" he have seemed more severe.

3. Zannen (残念) is an adjective Japanese people frequently to comment on lamentable situations. A Japanese to English dictionary defines it, "sorry; regrettable, regretful; disappointing; mortifying." In Japanese it's perfectly natural to say an adjective and leave it at that. However, this is not usually the case for English. For example, it would be far more natural to say, "That was unfortunate," than just saying the word, "Unfortunate." In this case, Seifer is sarcastically remarking that it is regrettable/unfortunate for Biggs that he won't be able to escape (because Seifer has turned up). I suppose the English conveys this meaning because Seifer is crashing Biggs's party i.e. his attempt to escape. I think a translation of, "Not so fast," would better convey Seifer's Japanese sentiment, but is is an inferior translation overall because the game's original English contains both the sarcasm of the Japanese, and gives Seifer some unique spunkiness.

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	Japanese	English
Biggs	こら、ウェッジ！どこへ行っていた！おまえは、今月の給料ナシ！	WEDGE! Where were you!? No pay for you this month!
Wedge 4	ひええ。こなければよかった。	...Should've stayed home!

4. This is one of the lines from Final Fantasy VIII that has so far given me the most food for thought. First, I don't think the combination of ellipses and an exclamation mark work well together. If only the ellipses are present, it seems that Wedge is grumbling under his breath. If only the exclamation is present, it seems like Wedge is yelling. I think both of these are viable ways for Wedge to speak, but I think the line doesn't work when featuring both of these punctuation points. That said, I discussed this remark with a friend (and speaker of Japanese), and he saw absolutely no problem with this issue. He also wasn't fully convinced by my second issue with Wedge's dialogue, the accuracy of the translated meaning. In the Japanese, he comments, "I wish I hadn't come." He does not specifically mention a place. I feel in this instance Wedge is saying that he wishes he hadn't come back to Biggs' location. A previous post showed how Wedge decided to take a walk while Biggs was making repairs, and I think it makes more sense for Biggs to refer to this than to refer to the mission as a whole. Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree, but I'd better favour a translation along the lines of, "Gah, I shouldn't have come back."

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	Japanese	English
Selphie 5	Ｂ班班長？Ｂ班班長！伝令です！ＳｅｅＤおよびＳｅｅＤ候補生は１９００時に撤収。【海岸】に集合せよ！	Squad B Captain? S'cuse me! I have new orders! All SeeD members and SeeD candidates are to withdraw at 1900 hours. Assemble at the [shore]!
Seifer	撤収！？まだ敵はいるんだろ？	Withdraw!? There are still enemies around!
Selphie 6	あたしはただの伝令だからそ～んなこと言われたって	I know, but I'm just a messenger.

5. Selphie's initial way of addressing Seifer is slightly different in Japanese. Literally, it reads, "Squad B Captain? Squad B Captain! I'm a messenger!" (The rest of her dialogue matches the English). Presumably the situation is that when Selphie first sees Seifer she isn't completely sure he is the squad captain (hence the question mark), but then after releasing he is indeed the squad leader, she tries to get his attention (hence the exclamation mark). For the translation, this repetition was replaced with "S'cuse me!" This remark has the same intention of the Japanese, to get Seifer's attention, but is far more natural than repeating Seifer's name twice. This is also true of the decision to change Selphie's self-identification as a messenger to her announcing new orders. I don't think the translation is distorted because announcing new orders is the exact job that a battlefield messenger does. Overall, great work!

6. There is a slight change of content here. Selphie's whole line literally reads, "I'm just a messenger so being told such a thing..." Obviously this sounds unnatural, but the gist of it is that is emphasising that Seifer's comment is wasted on her (due to her status as a messenger). Perhaps the "I know" was designed to convey this part of her dialogue, but I feel that this changes the meaning slightly as it shows Selphie acknowledging Seifer's point. In contrast, the Japanese focuses on Selphie conveying the futility of Seifer saying such a thing to her. I would like to propose an alternative translation of, "What do you want me to say? I'm just a messenger!"

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Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above points or Final Fantasy VIII's localisation as a whole, so please comment if you've got something to say :)