Castle Shikigami 2 [NA release, specifically]

[icepick]

Mobile Light Force 2, the gameplay was left entirely untouched, save for the lack of a true Tate mode.

Whoa. I was just looking in Target for this last night, because I have a project (which requires a true 90°/270° screen mode). Thank you!

Good lord Capcom has tons of cash and the Resident Evil series has god awful dialog and voice acting.

However, Resident Evil and Silent Hill (for two) are still in their original language when they come to the West. Those games had the English dialog to begin with, and thus the story pretty much comes over here unchanged.

SoA forced them to translate and dub the port and personally I think they did an excellent job with the NA release of Shiki 2. If you are want to read a good story then pick up a Joe R. Lansdale novel not a shmup.

It's perfectly fine if you like it; It's expected that a portion of people would. If you're trying to tell us that we can't say that we'd like a better translation, though, then, good luck.

Anyway, I was thinking of translating it as well, but man... RF? Not happening. Maybe once I get a VGA box, but, until then... Hey, might there be a Japanese language FAQ for the game, with all of the dialogue? Maybe nobody would take the time to do that, especially since nobody's taken the time to write an FAQ for the XS Games release, with full story (as far as I can tell)...

[visuatrox]

If you are want to read a good story then pick up a Joe R. Lansdale novel not a shmup.

I want the full experience, and play the game in the form that the original developers intended.

I understand that some people just don't care about the story, and prefer a cheap price tag. Sure I could read a book, but games are a combination of sound, graphics, story and gameplay. When it comes to shmups the story is probably the least important part, but still I dislike modifications on any kind of art form (movies, music, paintings etc..).

Although personally I don't care anymore what happens with the US/EU ports, as I just import the Japanese versions anyway.

[black mariah]

This is all as stupid as whining about box art, or fucking anime fans that bitch about shitty translations when they don't speak a goddamned bit of Japanese. It's a fucking VIDEO GAME. It isn't exactly high art. Fucking deal with it.

[BrianC]

Gradius V got a pretty good localization.

[Ghegs]

This is all as stupid as whining about box art, or fucking anime fans that bitch about shitty translations when they don't speak a goddamned bit of Japanese. It's a fucking VIDEO GAME. It isn't exactly high art. Fucking deal with it.

I fail to see the logic in "if you don't speak the language the text was originally in it's stupid to complain about the translation". Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Those who are at the mercy of the translator are always in danger of missing out - a mistranslation or leaving out a single word (or using a synonym) can potentially change the meaning or the story altogether. This applies to everything, from books to movies to manga.

As for whether the story actually matters...well, obviously it does to some of us here. So shut up and learn some respect towards other people.

[CecilMcW00t]

Yeah I can totally see how the translation would upset some of you as regards to actually wanting to understand the story. >_<

But omg it is hilarious! And during some of the 2P dialogue scenes I saw when I playing with a bud of mine the original Japanese voices sometimes come in out of nowhere for one or two lines! XD

Pure comedic gold! And other times the actor will speak lines that are in parenthesis... I never turn cut scenes off way too funny... Heck I have watched House of the Dead all the way through so I know I have problems...

[Nemo]

Well, I'd certainly like to hear their reasons for XS doing what they did, doing a sloppy job and selling the game for $10 new instead of putting in a little more effort and selling it for maybe $20, but I nevertheless like to support ALL versions of something I like where I can. I expect as CS2 was a budget port, they didn't have the time/resources to do better than they did, but that they took the steps of 1. NOT making it MLF3, 2. including the tate modes, and 3. using the original artwork says a lot. Not supporting that is like sending them a message that even their extra effort was a waste of time--that there's no interest in the games, period, rather than the games aren't good enough.

Have you seen the games Xs sells? Junk like Super Trucks Racing, Superbikes TT, and Monster Bass! (they actually put an exclamation point in the title), for them Shiki is just another random game they can package and sell for cheap and hopefully make a little bit of money. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't know a thing about half the games they sell or even played half of them, and they certainly don't know a thing about shooters. The only reason they kept the original name and provided a decent cover was the response from people on this site, yet they still managed to screw-up just about everything else. Personally, I don't see the effort and they didn't provide any because they aren't expecting to make a lot of money off the game so their attitude is "why even try", it's just another serving of hay in their bargain bin fodder.

SoA forced them to translate and dub the port and personally I think they did an excellent job with the NA release of Shiki 2.

I'd like to see some proof SCEA made them dub the game because they have let other games be released with only Japanese spoken dialogue. And if they are going to translate it, do it correctly. I may not be able to speak Japanese, but I sure as heck know the drivel they provided isn't accurate. If they just left the original game completely alone, it would have been a whole lot better than it is now.

Yeah I can totally see how the translation would upset some of you as regards to actually wanting to understand the story. >_<

But omg it is hilarious! And during some of the 2P dialogue scenes I saw when I playing with a bud of mine the original Japanese voices sometimes come in out of nowhere for one or two lines! XD

Pure comedic gold! And other times the actor will speak lines that are in parenthesis... I never turn cut scenes off way too funny... Heck I have watched House of the Dead all the way through so I know I have problems...

Owning the original, it is amusing seeing how badly they butchered the game, but at the same time it's insulting because they've made a mockery of a great game. It's not like I play shooters because they have these amazing narratives, but there is an experiental factor that exceeds just the gameplay and the sanctity of the original work should always be maintained.

[Minzoku]

Have you seen the games Xs sells? Junk like Super Trucks Racing, Superbikes TT, and Monster Bass! (they actually put an exclamation point in the title), for them Shiki is just another random game they can package and sell for cheap and hopefully make a little bit of money. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't know a thing about half the games they sell or even played half of them, and they certainly don't know a thing about shooters. The only reason they kept the original name and provided a decent cover was the response from people on this site, yet they still managed to screw-up just about everything else. Personally, I don't see the effort and they didn't provide any because they aren't expecting to make a lot of money off the game so their attitude is "why even try", it's just another serving of hay in their bargain bin fodder.

There's where I admittedly have a problem taking a solid stance either way... is it that they don't bother because they don't care, or they don't bother because there's no market, anyway, because everything's becoming FPSes now and/or that anyone who would care is importing anyway? If they thought more people cared and would pay more for something better, they'd certainly do a little better than a five-minute 'hack' job.

Of course, I just sat here for THIRTY minutes scrounging to translate two lines and not make it sound like complete ass, but it's arguably because I'm minimal of Japanese proficiency, while you'd figure even they'd get at least a moderately proficient speaker.

[Neon]

I can kind of see where Nemo is coming from...also, to me, paying $10 for an enshittified US release contributes nothing to anything. Just gives another shooter to people who are too lazy/don't care enough to get their consoles import modified. Hurts the genre as a whole.

Eh, just tired and cranky...time to go do something useful.

[black mariah]

It's stupid to complain about it because for all you know the original text was incredibly dumb to begin with.

[Neon]

Well I mean, if you like the game, then you should import so you can have TATE. playing a tate shooter in yoko sucks, harms the graphics and gameplay.

[black mariah]

Of course, I just sat here for THIRTY minutes scrounging to translate two lines and not make it sound like complete ass, but it's arguably because I'm minimal of Japanese proficiency, while you'd figure even they'd get at least a moderately proficient speaker.

Ah, you've hit upon why so many translations are shit. Too many translations are done by a translator that doesn't understand that it may be necessary to rewrite parts for clarity and you end up with Babelfish style text.

[Blade]

See, Game Developers should just pool their resources when it comes to localization. I mean, why can't they just have a Game Translation Company specifically for that purpose?

Oh well.

Anyway, can someone tell me if the game is out at a lot of stores or is it like most any other Atlus game....gone within a Week of hitting the shelf. I only managed to get Mobile Light Force 2 (shudders) but at least the game is fun and the music isn't half bad.

And if you've played games like Guilty Gear X or X2 enough, you just get used to Japonish (like Engrish, only English trying to be Japanese in grammar) like it's a third language.

BTW, did they take out Tate?

[Bangai-BingO]

I think Xs did a fine job with the game, definitely worth the $9 I paid for it. The translation is really bad, but I really don't play shmups for the plot...coupled with the cheap price, and the ability to turn the voices off, I don't see the poor translation adversly affecting the gameplay much.

Anyway, can someone tell me if the game is out at a lot of stores or is it like most any other Atlus game....gone within a Week of hitting the shelf. I only managed to get Mobile Light Force 2 (shudders) but at least the game is fun and the music isn't half bad.

I think the game had an extremely limited realease. It was only in stock at ebgames.com for only 2 or 3 days, and most retail stores only received 1 or 2 copies. However, Walmart.com still currently has them in stock. I would think this game is a must buy for any shmup fan, especially for such a cheap price.

[neoalphazero]

The game does seem to be a bitch to find. I stumbled across my copy in a discount bin at Shopko after checking Gamestop, EB, and several small game shops in three different cities (needed a excuse for a road trip ). *-neo

[CecilMcW00t]

The ONLY thing I have found wrong with the game is the translation of the story. But the rest of the game is still intact. They didn't remove things like some companies do, and they left in TATE. IMO that is NOT a shoddy port. It's not an excellent port by any means, but you get an awesome shooter for $9.

So yeah I can totally see where you are coming from but to call the ENTIRE port crap just because of the story mode is a little bit much, maybe?

[black mariah]

...to call the ENTIRE port crap just because of the story mode is a little bit much, maybe?

Quite. A shit translation doesn't make the game suck.

[Ganelon]

Well, since previous XS efforts left in all the JP stuff, someone should try and see if the JP text is still available (which is very likely considering how some people have gotten glitches where the text turns to Japanese) and see if iit's easily modifiable to replace it with the JP voices.

[Minzoku]

Well, here's something I found myself thinking the other day:

Were you into the whole "Zero Wing" craze? Is the Engrish in Zero Wing and Blazing Star and etc. hilarious to you?

If so, why is CS2 an insult? Because CS2 could have been saved but wasn't? Not a good argument--as a friend of mine pointed out, everyone should have been complaining about the translation and trying to make a new one, rather than joining in on laughing at it. It's very unfair to say one game doesn't deserve a bad translation while another one does, just because you don't particularly care about the other game.

If not, no further questions, your honour

[Blade]

Well, here's something I found myself thinking the other day:

Were you into the whole "Zero Wing" craze? Is the Engrish in Zero Wing and Blazing Star and etc. hilarious to you?

If so, why is CS2 an insult? Because CS2 could have been saved but wasn't? Not a good argument--as a friend of mine pointed out, everyone should have been complaining about the translation and trying to make a new one, rather than joining in on laughing at it. It's very unfair to say one game doesn't deserve a bad translation while another one does, just because you don't particularly care about the other game.

If not, no further questions, your honour

See, I didn't laugh at the poor translation of the Game, I laughed at the Remix of the Poor Translation of the Game.

Edit: GET YOU THE HOT BULLETS OF SHOTGUN TO DIE!

[Nemo]

Well, here's something I found myself thinking the other day:

Were you into the whole "Zero Wing" craze? Is the Engrish in Zero Wing and Blazing Star and etc. hilarious to you?

If so, why is CS2 an insult? Because CS2 could have been saved but wasn't? Not a good argument--as a friend of mine pointed out, everyone should have been complaining about the translation and trying to make a new one, rather than joining in on laughing at it. It's very unfair to say one game doesn't deserve a bad translation while another one does, just because you don't particularly care about the other game.

If not, no further questions, your honour

This is an easy one. Those weren't true translation jobs, they were uses of English by Japanese people who didn't know any better, thus they yielded Engrish. English speaking people can't get away with using Engrish, it's not funny, it's insulting. It's like if a little kid hits you in your package, you can laugh it off because it's doesn't really hurt and they don't know better. Now if a grown man does the same thing, that's grounds for an ass-whipping.

[Blue Lander]

I wonder if, after reading the Castle Shikigami 2 script, the voice actors said "What the fuck is this? It doesn't make any sense. I'm not reading this."

[Blade]

And probably one of the other Voice actors said, "Hey, it's a gig. We get paid."

[Minzoku]

This is an easy one. Those weren't true translation jobs, they were uses of English by Japanese people who didn't know any better, thus they yielded Engrish. English speaking people can't get away with using Engrish, it's not funny, it's insulting. It's like if a little kid hits you in your package, you can laugh it off because it's doesn't really hurt and they don't know better. Now if a grown man does the same thing, that's grounds for an ass-whipping.

How do you mean? Zero Wing was translated--Kiken even showed me the Japanese version the other day, with Japanese and everything, which I thought was awesome because I finally got to see the actual game. Japanese folk saying Engrish, you should correct them because they want to know better... like how all the foreigners at work would ask me to correct their Spanglish and Frenglish and etc. because they wanted to speak well rather than continue to be ignorant.

And if a little boy hits you in the crotch, you're supposed to say, "Hey now, that's rude and you'd better not do that anymore because no one likes it." Otherwise, he grows up to be the grown man that hits you in the crotch again.

What I'm guessing happened is the translator person did a rush job, scribbling out dialogue in note style. The voice actors got this gibberish and, unable to determine whether their lines are accurate, read them anyway. [I've noted several occasions where they try to speak their lines coherently despite the actual written dialogue.]

[Blue Lander]

I think what he means is with Zero Wing, some Japanese guy with an english dictionary did the translation. With Castle Shikigami 2, a native English speaker did the translation, and should have known better.

I've got the Japanese version of Zero Wing for the MD, too. One of these days I'd like to hunt down the UK version, but I don't know if it'd work with my TV.

[dave4shmups]

"If you are want to read a good story then pick up a Joe R. Lansdale novel not a shmup."

I agree with this quote, and what Black Mariah said. If you want a story, go get a frickin' book, or an RPG. Unless you're fluent in Japanese, quit whining.

And as far as art goes, XS games left the art intact in Shiki 2. And if you really want awesome Japanese box game art, get a Megadrive or a Super Famicom. Keep in mind also that the most of the art in ANY video game is the game itself-and as long as that's intact, complaining about the art is pretty silly.

Honestly, people on this site are constantly complaining about SCEA's anti-2D policy-did it ever occur to those of you who do this that maybe one of the reasons why SCEA has an anti-2D policy is that they're picking up on the fact that any shmups that they allow in are relentlessly bitched about by the same people who are calmoring for more 2D games??

Boy, I just can't wait for the Metal Slug 4+5 pack to come out next month so people can bitch about that too.

[Nemo]

This is an easy one. Those weren't true translation jobs, they were uses of English by Japanese people who didn't know any better, thus they yielded Engrish. English speaking people can't get away with using Engrish, it's not funny, it's insulting. It's like if a little kid hits you in your package, you can laugh it off because it's doesn't really hurt and they don't know better. Now if a grown man does the same thing, that's grounds for an ass-whipping.

How do you mean? Zero Wing was translated--Kiken even showed me the Japanese version the other day, with Japanese and everything, which I thought was awesome because I finally got to see the actual game. Japanese folk saying Engrish, you should correct them because they want to know better... like how all the foreigners at work would ask me to correct their Spanglish and Frenglish and etc. because they wanted to speak well rather than continue to be ignorant.

And if a little boy hits you in the crotch, you're supposed to say, "Hey now, that's rude and you'd better not do that anymore because no one likes it." Otherwise, he grows up to be the grown man that hits you in the crotch again.

What I'm guessing happened is the translator person did a rush job, scribbling out dialogue in note style. The voice actors got this gibberish and, unable to determine whether their lines are accurate, read them anyway. [I've noted several occasions where they try to speak their lines coherently despite the actual written dialogue.]

I'm not saying Japanese people who use Engrish don't want to know better, I'm saying when they use it, it's understandable. It's not so much about the words as it is the source. If a white person and a black person both drop an N-bomb, that's going to be viewed very differently by a third party. And I wouldn't even give Xs credit for doing a rush job, I agree with the person that said Xs probably used something like babelfish and thought that was kosher. But regardless of what they did and didn't do, it seems like we can both agree that translation was shoddy at best and had they put forth some effort, it could have been much improved.

[Minzoku]

I think what he means is with Zero Wing, some Japanese guy with an english dictionary did the translation. With Castle Shikigami 2, a native English speaker did the translation, and should have known better.

Are you certain? There is where I would have to see who is actually doing the translating. With any Engrish, it could be either or, because a lot of people I know who speak ONE language end up making gobs of errors and don't make a bit of sense because they're too busy trying to write or type and not busy enough reading what they've written and making corrections. It's like this observation of a Spanish kid who was getting Cs in Spanish and being asked, "Hey, you speak Spanish! You should be getting As!" to which he replied, "Oh, and you get all As in English?"

I'm struggling to translate the game on my own, and I'm hitting a lot of walls where I honestly don't understand what's trying to be said. Literally, one line reads "[to] cook [to] return", and that's it. I can't even figure out from context what that's trying to say, so I had to 'make' it fit.

I say it's likely a rush job, because some of the in-game translation looks like notes, which were then handed straight to the voice actors who did their best with it... you know, as well as one can improvise lines that are completely out of context with probably no notations for emphasis or how it should sound [should it be a scream, a whisper, deadpanned, etc.]... It's more difficult to 'care' when it's really rushed--you should see me at work when things get really bad

As far as a solution, it's going to be more accurate to get TWO translators--one native "To" speaker and one native "From" speaker--to act as checkers for each other. The thing is most good translators are already being snatched up for 'important' jobs like government and business work, and translating all these anime that're coming over the ocean and all that. I'd like to think that more are being made to step up to the plate, but that depends on our public education system and how many of them are serious enough to stick with it long enough to learn more words than "anime" and "kawaii" and "pokemon"...