John Hokanson Jr. (isamu@USAGI.COM)
Sun, 5 Sep 1999 13:47:19 -0700
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 8.5, Build 4.71.2173.0 Message-ID: <000001bef7df$d89ba800$8c5b443f@isamu> Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 13:47:19 -0700 From: "John Hokanson Jr." <isamu@USAGI.COM> Subject: Re: Compromise of Standards> -----Original Message----- > From: Sakura Taisen Mailing List > [mailto:SAKURATAISEN-LIST@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU]On Behalf Of Jose > Barragán > Sent: Friday, September 03, 1999 9:38 PM > To: SAKURATAISEN-LIST@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU > Subject: Re: Compromise of Standards > > > >I'm a purist. I didn't start out that way. I watched Ranma dubs like > >most of you... then got sick of Sarah Strange's horrible acting. I > >watched Tenchi dubs... then was horrified at Tenchi's annoying voice. > >It's because of dubs that I am a purist. That being said, my > purist views > >can often be seen in my arguments. But in this case, it's not a driving > >force- only an aspect in an entire equation. > > > On the contrary, I think it is the driving force behind any argument you > make regarding translations. You were the one who said that if you could > translate games for the DC, you'd leave the game intact, in Japanese, and > just make it playable on US DCs, and you did not say that jokingly. Face > it, Terrence, you're a total otaku. :P He wants the Japanese experience translated in to English, and not modified to become an "American" experience. What's wrong with that? Nothing! If I see an Akira Kurosawa film, or an anime, or anything like that, I might want to see it in original form so I can form my own interpretations of it. Not what the American translator thought of it. Working Designs fans are content to have Vic tell them "the way it ought to be", while I want to know the "way it originally was". It's a difference in opinion, and there's nothing wrong with it. So thump your chest and call us fanboys, but I have no shame. I've always thought, if Vic doesn't put a tremendous value on the original experience of the product he's "translating", why doesn't he make his own games? You play an RPG for the story above all else (at least I do). It certainly *seems* like he's working of the hard work of others. > > > > >I'm still bitter at this nonchalant attitude that is prevalant among > >Americans. > > > >"Who cares if they change the translation? If it's in English, then > >that's all that matters. At least they brought it out." > > > No one said that on this ML. On the contrary, somebody did. I figure there's a about nine or ten cliche statements that WD fans make, and that's one of them. > And I must object to your saying this is an > 'American' attitude. That's just racism on your part, it seems. I don't > see what a person's attitude has to do with their nationality. Nevertheless, many American gameplayers are like that.
> > > Uh...this makes no sense to me whatsoever. I don't think anyone > who buys WD > says that. I think people who buy WD games like their jokes and their > translation styles...if you don't, well, there's always the Japanese > original. Terrance is right though. There needs to be a middle ground. What you describing is two extremes. Yet another cliche statement by WD fans: "If you don't like the American version, learn Japanese." ...except, I don't have the disipline to learn Japanese. So if I'm faced with having an Americanized version of a Japanese game, or the original Japanese game in Japanese, I think that stinks. Why is it so wrong to want an English language version of a Japanese game without the Americanization? There is nothing wrong. I wish I had enough money to start my own translation company... > I don't even know why you _care_, Terrence, since you're so > anti-translation, you only own imports, blah blah blah. > Terrance never said he was anti-translation. I hear this a lot from pro-WD people. "If you don't like WD, you're anti-translation." What a load of C-R-A-P. > > > >Is it really too much to expect a game which came out 3 years before(i'm > >talking the saturn version, or 2 years for the mpeg which is pretty much > >PSX version) to be equal, heck... BETTER than the original? > > > >But no, that's not how it works. The sheer fact that it has roman > >characters supercedes any flaws a game has. It's not the game we're > >after, it's the language it's in. > > > A lot of people would say WD's version is better because of the humor they > add to what would otherwise be dull conversations with villagers and such. > That's their opinion. Other people would say the opposite. > > > > > >That's really the bottom line. I think as fans, you should care what > >happens to a license when it gets picked up. I think as fans, you should > >care what you buy. > > > So let's all buy the Japanese versions even though there's an English > version out!! Let's buy the version we can't understand, because > even if we > can't understand the dialogue at all, it's better than reading a few lines > of dialogue that have been changed from the original! Whoo hoo! A few lines? You wanna reconsider that statement?