A seemingly-nonsensical enemy name in Earthbound hides a pretty straightforward pop culture reference that any Japanese player would’ve caught.
Tag: JRPG
The History Behind Crossbell’s Untranslatable Military Ranks
An early fan patch exposes some history that was rewritten in the official release.
The Origin of Final Fantasy’s Onion Knight [Translated Interview]
Final Fantasy’s Onion Knight has a perplexing name. There’s a lot of theories about where it came from, but a 2020 interview full of interesting FF3 anecdotes spells it out.
Did Soul Hackers 2’s Localization Take an L?
The first boss of Soul Hackers 2 is dismissed with a meme. How did it go in Japanese?
Did Xenogears Really Fear a Lawsuit from “Star Trech?”
An explanation of the untranslatable joke from the Japanese version of Xenogears that led to an infamous fourth-wall breaking joke in the English release.
Living the Live A Live Life: Part 6 (Akira)
Let’s learn about Japan’s relationship with giant robots and psychics in the final part of our analysis of Live A Live’s fan translation, set in the near future.
Living the Live A Live Life: Part 5 (Sundown & Cube)
It’s cowboys and robots in this edition of the breakdown of Live A Live’s 20-year-old fan translation. Both chapters are on the shorter side, but have some idiosyncrasies of Japanese to talk about.
Living the Live A Live Life: Part 4 (Kung Fu)
Set in historical China, the kung fu chapter contains thematically-appropriate Chinese text even in Japan. But was leaving it untranslated the right choice for Aeon Genesis’ patch?
Living the Live A Live Life: Part 3 (Oboromaru)
Set during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the shinobi-focused chapter is filled with regular Japanese words that weren’t localized at all, even in names!
Living the Live A Live Life: Part 2 (Masaru)
To become the strongest, our worldly warrior will have to face off against the best fighters in each discipline. References to real-world fighters and martial arts abound!