Thursday, February 28, 2008
GG3 - Part 7
Ganbare Goemon 3 (English) - Part 7
By some uncharacteristically good luck, I was able to get this translated on a Wednesday evening and upload the video on Thursday, February 28, 2008, a lot sooner than I had originally anticipated. How long did it take to translate this? Half an hour. That short amount of time is a testament to how much dialogue there really is in this in this video, which runs over 9 minutes. That being said, this video is proof that I was becoming a slower reader rather than a faster one. Anyway, enough about that. Let's talk about some scenes.
Scene 35: Every Gardener's Greatest Dream
Cook: Oh! I’ve been waiting for you! You own this field! In the olden days, this area was called Ninnin Village. I’ve been protecting this field for you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to meet you! Oh! The Kappa’s favorite food is the bio cucumber! Should I plant the seed?
Sasuke: Do it!/No.
Cook: Well, I accept this seed, and I’ll put in the field. *Sprinkle, sprinkle.* Ah! I’m so sorry, but I’d like to see this happen quickly here. I have a house in the north. I’d like you to go there and try flipping the new growth switch. Please do this for me.
---
Administrator: Oh! An errand from the cook? Okay, I’ll put the growth switch on for you. You should hurry back to the field!
---
Cook: Oh! I’ve been waiting! I harvested it for you! A splendid bio cucumber! As expected, it was ready almost instantly, thanks to the growth machine. Ooh, look at the brilliant yellow! It looks so delicious. So, please take it!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a bio cucumber. The cucumbers of the future are yellow!
Every farmer in the world is gonna want one of those growth machines! Too bad it won't come around until there are only yellow cucumbers. And what the heck does a "bio cucumber" taste like, anyway?
What is written in the English script as "*Sprinkle, sprinkle* is written as "paraparatto" in Japanese, which is an adverb describing something falling in large drops or sprinkling. I have no idea what a really good English translation for that could be.
This scene also solves the mystery of what you need the field for. Remember way back when, when Goemon and co. got a field for giving a bean to the guy at Ninnin Village (who, ironically, has the same name as the "Cook" in this scene)? Well, this is that same field, which brings up another question: What happens if you don't get the field before coming here? I'm pretty sure you can't go back to the Edo Period after you arrive in the future. And you don't need the field to proceed through the game...or do you? Maybe Bismaru never comes to Hagure Town or something. But if you can continue without obtaining the field, then are you stuck when you get to this point? I don't really feel like testing that out...
Scene 36: The Mighty Water Imp, Kihachi
Kappa: I am Kihachi the Kappa! Please remember that from now on. Oh! You have my absolute favorite food, the bio cucumber! I want to eat that! Hey, what do you say?
Sasuke: Well, okay./I’m not willing!
Kihachi: Seriously? You’ll let me have it? Thank you! I can’t wait to eat it! Mmm...delicious! Oy! I’ll give you my doorsteps as a present! Here!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained Kihachi’s doorsteps. ??? They’re actually code plates! The group really obtained 3 code plates!
The title is directly from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon...I think. It's how Kihachi describes himself when you meet him in that game. I hope I got it right. I don't have the game with me right now, so I can't check. Oh well, that's the name of his theme music on the MNSG album.
Kihachi may instruct the ninjas to remember his name, but there's no indication that they remember him at all when they meet him in MNSG. Of course, since this is "the future", the Kihachi of MNSG probably doesn't know them, but the Kihachi of GG3 does, assuming they're the same person...err, Kappa. So, it makes sense that the ninjas wouldn't know who he is in GG3, but they should remember it in MNSG...unless they completely forgot about the events of this game, which seems unlikely. Ack! My head is starting to spin! Let's just move on to the next scene.
Scene 37: Fight or Flee
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ robot expert, Kyo, is here!
Goemon: One after another...how many of you are there?!
Omikuji: There’s a reason we say 5 Omikuji Siblings!
Ebisumaru: Are you sure you’re not all just one person?
Sasuke: Come to think of it, they never appear more than one at a time!
Yae: It’s a shame we can’t see 5 hooded halfwits at the same time!
Omikuji: Grr! G-Give back the code plates you’ve collected! Return them immediately!
Goemon: What the hell are you talking about?! We can’t get into your base without them!
Omikuji: Well, so be it! I’ll show you how strong we really are! You can test our real strength! Unite, brothers, in the giant lottery robot! Come! Ka ka ka ka ka! Be afraid! Be very afraid! I’ll be boarding immediately to destroy all of you! Farewell!
Ebisumaru: G-Goemon, what are we gonna do?
Goemon: Humph! It’s settled! You know what to do! As for the giant, approaching robot...Run away, everybody!
Sasuke: What good is running away going to do?!
Yae: Goemon...this is no time for jokes!
Goemon: S-Sorry about that! Well, I changed my mind. Let’s go!
Goemon wants to run away from a fight?! That seems oddly out of character for him. Hmm...
I was a little confused about what the word "bibitta" meant for a while. And then I found out that it's probably related to "bibiru", which has to do with being scared out of your wits. I translated it as "Be afraid! Be very afraid!", but I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a lot stronger than that. I was wondering how far I could go with that translation, but I decided to stick with that instead of going overboard and putting in more stuff than what's actually there.
Also, am I the only one who thinks it's funny that Kyo laughs like Popeye ("Ka ka ka ka ka!")? Does anybody else even remember who Popeye is?
Scene 38: A Lottery Nobody Wants to Play
Kyo: Wa ha ha! Aren’t you surprised?!
Kichi: Until now, you idiots have been cruelly teasing us...
Shokichi: But not anymore! That won’t happen again!
Chukichi: We will give you plenty of thank you gifts for the way you’ve treated us!
Daikichi: The 5 Omikuji Siblings of Love and Justice!
Kyo: Time to play the deluxe lottery!
iMovie still doesn't like the character heads that show up when the opponent says something. So, I put the specific character names in the script instead of calling them all "Omikuji." The names, with their corresponding colors, are as follows:
Kyo = Black
Kichi = Green
Shokichi = Orange
Chukichi = Blue
Daikichi = Gray
I think I might have gotten Shokichi's line wrong, but other than that I might be okay.
One last thing before I go: I thought for sure I finally had a handle on what was causing the frame rate issues with the past videos, but it looks like I was wrong. So...I don't know what to say, except sorry that they're so hard to watch. Why the GG3 ending was able to avoid it is still beyond me.
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this anyway. Only two more to go.
Monday, February 25, 2008
GG3 - Part 6
Ganbare Goemon 3 (English) - Part 6
So, another week, another video. This one was released on February 25, 2008. I've got a lot to say about this one, so let's just get started, shall we?
Scene 30: Baby Needs a New and Shiny Prize
Demimua: I think my baby is going to be born soon. But I lost the charm my husband gave me, so I’m very nervous. Ah! You’re holding the charm my husband gave to me. Please, let me have it at once!
Yae: Well, of course!/I refuse!
Demimua: Oh! Thank you so much! With this, my heart is at ease! I’m sorry I can’t give you much, but please accept this.
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a lemon. It’s extremely sour.
The title doesn't REALLY have much to do with what's going on here. It was just my feeble attempt to make a reference to the Decemberists. You can find the line at the beginning of Part II of The Tain.
But, who knows. The charm could be shiny for all we know (it's almost certainly not new). It struck me as odd at first that this woman would place so much importance on an old charm, but then I realized that an "omamori" is supposed to have some kind of protective or at least reassuring power (like a crucifix).
Thanks to a good friend, it has also come to my attention that the name Demimua may be related to the way the Japanese pronounce Demi Moore ("Demi Muua"). They may be making a reference to the "Vanity Fair Controversy" (go here). The timing seems about right, since this game came out at the end of 1994.
Oh, and it was around this time that I realized that Goemon is probably saying all the things when you have choices like that. All four main characters have a distinctive way of speaking and emphatic masculine particles and words like "Teyandei" ("What the hell are you talking about?!") gave it away. Still, I'll keep doing these types of things the same way so as to reduce confusion.
Scene 31: The Cat Strikes Again
Merchant: Thief! Somebody please catch him!
Cat Thief: That’s still impossible! What happened last time won’t happen today! (Meow) Today, I won’t be eating the fish and leaving it as evidence! (Meow) Catch me if you can! (Meow)
---
Cat Thief: Ow! D-Damn it! (Meow) I lost everything I’ve worked so hard to gather, and then you caught me anyway! My life is just one mistake after another! (Meow)
Shop Master: Oh! Thank you very much! You took care of that sneaky little cat thief for us! I’m so happy, see how the tears of joy fall from my face! I’d like to give this item to you as thanks.
Narrator: Sasuke received the surge kunai. Lucky! This different color...
Yes, I called him "Cat Thief" again even though "Nekokichi" may actually be his name. It's for consistency's sake. It's really not very important in the grand scheme of things anyway.
There was a part where the "Shop Master" said something about his face and everything else getting wet from his "tears of joy", but I couldn't think of any way to put that in there without making it sound weird.
Oh, little side story from me. The very first time I played GG3, I ran into a nasty glitch at this part. Instead of getting the surge kunai, Sasuke was stuck with the firecracker bombs. There was no way to switch to the kunai from the bombs. So, since the surge kunai is required to continue the game, I had to start again from the beginning. It sucked, to put it nicely.
Scene 32: I'm not a Ghost!
Tamiko: Who’s there? I’m sorry, but I can’t help you right now. I’m busy with something...
Ebisumaru: Eek! Noppera-bo!
Tamiko: Eh? Ah, the face. I just packed this white wrinkle cream on my face. But I’m not really satisfied with this. I need something more...Oh! You, you have a great thing there! If you let me have that lemon, I will give you something rare and wonderful!
Ebisumaru: Hand over the lemon./I’m not interested!
Tamiko: Thank you! With this and a beautiful face, everything will be perfect! O, ho ho ho ho! Ah, that’s right, the rare gift! Yes, this! A cucumber seed. Nowadays they are very rare, indeed. But if you want to eat it, you still have to find a field to plant it in.
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a cucumber seed. Do they not have fields in this age?
The title is mostly a message to myself. I was convinced pretty much until I got this translated that this wasn't a normal human.
The Nopperabou is a ghost that has no facial features, but otherwise likes look a human being. I guess Ebisumaru was a little too freaked out to realize that this girl actually has a visible mouth. Anyway, Nopperabo are usually harmless, doing nothing more than frightening humans. You can learn more on the Nopperabo Wikipedia page.
This is actually one of the scenes where I went through it with every characters before eventually settling on Ebisumaru for some reason.
Why she wants a lemon so badly is still beyond me.
Scene 33: He's Stronger Than He Looks
Muscleman: Huh! I am the famous muscleman and hidden, unsung hero! Everyone calls me John! What do you want from John?
Ebisumaru: Move the rock!/Can I have your autograph?
John: All right, if you give me 100 ryo, I’ll think about it.
Narrator: Will you pay 100 ryo?
Ebisumaru: Pay./Goodbye, John!
John: Okay! Let’s get going!
---
John: Oh! This rock is very light! This will an easy problem to deal with! Well, there you go! Goodbye!
Yeah, in case you couldn't tell, I wasn't feeling too creative this week. I'm getting over a cold, and I've been getting even less sleep than usual. My apologies.
Scene 34: The Bath Lover
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ bath lover, Daikichi, is here! Grr! The code plate again?! Furthermore, you have no manners, coming here just as I get out of the bath! As soon as I get out of the bath, I like to drink fruit milk. That’s really the only thing you can do.
Goemon: What?! I think lemon-lime soda is better! And then I turn on the electric fan, put my hand on my hip, and drink the soda while relaxing in the cool air. It’s really heavenly!
Omikuji: H-Hand on your hip?! I never imagined you would be so stubborn! Anyway, I don’t have time to take this slowly. I have to hurry back to the Mechanical Pack, before I get the chills!
Yae: I don’t really understand what that conversation was about...
Sasuke: Was that really an adult conversation?!
Ebisumaru: Goemon, I like coffee and milk the best...
Wow. I have to agree with Yae and Sasuke here. This has to be one of the dumbest conversations in the entire game.
Omikuji scenes have been pretty tough to translate in general. The conversations are so weird.
"Ramune" (the type of soda Goemon mentions) has its own Wikipedia page. Yuck! They've got wasabi flavored, and curry flavored, too. I think I'll just stick with lemon-lime. Goemon's got the right idea there.
Also, I've got a correction to the script, courtesy of Sarahsuke. I made an error in translating "Karakuri Paaku". It should be "Mechanical Park", not "Mechanical Pack" (I put that in because I was totally clueless about what that meant...I don't know what I was thinking. Lack of sleep again.), so the line should be "I have to hurry back to the Mechanical Park" instead of "I have to hurry back to the Mechanical Pack."
Well, that's all I can think of for now. There'll be three videos after this one, and I'm hoping to finish them either before or right after I go on Spring Break (March 13). I'll be taking a break from translations until after I get back.
I was hoping to have a second video ready this week (all of you with a calendar will notice that I have two weeks to do three videos). But, it didn't work out, so I'll try to get two sometime later. See you then!
Monday, February 18, 2008
GG3 - Part 5
Ganbare Goemon 3 (English) - Part 5
First released on February 18, 2008, this is Part 5 of my mission to translate the major scenes in Ganbare Goemon 3.
There were more road blocks while translating this one than usual. Of course, I'll discuss them in good time...meaning now.
Scene 25: Hey Bulldog
Taruyama: *Grr!* (I’m so hungry...) *Whine, whine, whine!* (You have something good!) *Whine, whine!* (Give it to me!)
Sasuke: (The dog wants the dog food.) Give./Don’t give.
Taruyama: *Whine!* (Thank you very much!) *Whine, whine!* (I want to thank you...) *Howl!* (...by giving you some treasure.) *Whine, whine, whine!* (Look! You can use this!)
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a charm. But this dog is a real smart aleck!
I know this dog probably isn't a bulldog, but coming up with this title was too easy for me. Why wouldn't I name the scene after a Beatles song?
As for the dog, Taruyama is almost certainly a male, and a vulgar one at that (which is probably the main reason he's referred to as a "smart aleck"). I figured this out not from the name, but by the words he uses. There's some masculine sentence endings ("ze", for example, which Goemon also uses frequently), and he speaks in a way that would be considered somewhat rude and low-brow by the Japanese.
Figuring out what to put outside of the parentheses was a bit of a problem here. When I was first transcribing it, I had written "Whine" every time "wan" and "waon" had shown up, hoping that I could come up with something to better represent the sounds of a dog whining. Even though there's two dogs at home, I couldn't come up with anything, so I eventually decided to just put a * at the beginning and end of each "whine." I was going to put them in parentheses, but the human translation is in parentheses. Even later, after I sent the first draft of the script to Sarahsuke, I changed the translation for "waon" from "*Whine!*" to "*Howl*", since it's basically just a slightly different, prolonged version of a wan/whine.
Scene 26: Devil's Savior
Devil: It’s so terrible. The nuns in this town locked me in there because of my swaying hips. I didn’t do anything bad. To express my gratitude, I want you to have my treasured performing hula hoop.
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a performing hula hoop. Push the green button while holding up on the control pad to stick to the pegs!
Devil: Good luck with your bending hips. Well then, bye bye.
Goemon: Humph! Goemon, the greatest thief in the world, will be bogged down with a ring like that! Hey, Ebisumaru!
Ebisumaru: Is that so? Well, this is my specialty! I can move my hips better than anybody else. Back and forth and back and forth...
I thought it might be interesting to contrast the devil, who's supposed to be the ultimate evil and the one who traps peoples' souls, with a savior, who by definition saves people. Just a thought.
I actually wanted to make some sort of Elvis reference in the title, since his hip-shaking was also frowned upon. But, sadly, I couldn't think of anything.
So, I actually thought this scene was pretty funny the first time I saw it, even before I dissected it. First, there's the idea that you walk into a church, destroy a mirror, and Satan pops out. Only in a Goemon game, right? Then, it wasn't too hard to figure out why Ebisumaru seems to trail off at the end, and Goemon is left speechless. My hypothesis was that Ebisumaru had become hypnotized by watching the devil dance.
Well, as you may be able to tell, both hypotheses were only half true. The devil that comes out of the mirror is probably not Satan as Westerners know him (that's my opinion, anyway; I suppose that could be up for debate). I should probably do some research into whether the Oniroku is a specific reference to something in Japanese mythology one of these days. Also, I don't think Ebisumaru says anything specific about being mesmerized by the motion of the devil's hips, but I guess it's sort of implied.
Even though the devil uses a typical exclamatory particle ("yo") several times, there isn't even one exclamation point in his sentences. The Goemon games are chock full of exclamation points, so this guy must be speaking really blandly.
Oh, one more thing. "The green button" on the Super Famicom is equivalent to the "Y" button on the Super Nintendo. In case anybody was confused by that.
Hmm...he said the nuns were responsible for locking him away. I wonder if Bismaru had anything to do with that.
Scene 27: Bomb's Away
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ burning man, Shokichi, is here!
Sasuke: Hey! Isn’t this the hooded halfwit who threw us in prison?
Yae: Heh, hooded halfwit...well said, that’s a clever title!
Omikuji: Ooh! How rude! When you snuck out of the prison, I never thought we would chase you all the way to this place. You disrespected The Great Shokichi! But I have a secret weapon that will give me the upper hand here! Prepare yourselves for the Omikuji Bomb! Gu ha ha ha! Prepare to experience the destructive power of the Omikuji Bomb! What the--?!
Goemon: That was lucky! Thanks for giving us back the conch shell!
Omikuji: D-Damn it! That conch shell was a vital part of Lord J-Jurokubei’s plan for the Giant’s Revival! His plans will fail without it! Damn it, why didn’t I remember I had that?!
Ebisumaru: Plan for the Giant’s Revival? What do you mean by that?
Yae: Ebisumaru, he’s not here anymore...
Sasuke: Goemon! Call Impact right away so we can go destroy the dam!
Goemon: Damn it! I forgot all about that! We have to destroy the dam so we can save two towns. Okay...it’s been a long time since I used the conch shell...There!
Sasuke: Why are you wasting your time polishing it?!
Goemon: Hey, come on! I know I don’t usually act like this, but this calls for a change in attitude.
Heh heh..."Bomb's Away"...as in, "The bomb is away"...get it? Okay, I'll shut up now.
"Hooded halfwit" was first suggested several months ago by Sarahsuke as a potential translation for "baka zukin" for those who want to "get alliterative." I didn't have any better ideas, so I decided to go with that in the end. Thanks, Sarahsuke!
Well, there were two problems for me in this scene. The first is the part where Goemon is presumably cleaning the conch shell. I'm not entirely sure what the "kyu" is supposed to be, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's Goemon spitting. Again, I had no idea what to put there, so I left it blank, and tried to match the "...There!" with the end of the sound (though it's probably pretty tough to tell because of the skipping). Looking back, I probably could have put *Spit* or something like that. Oh well. The second problem is the very last sentence in the scene. I still have no idea what that means exactly, but it was my attempt to at least say something.
So...if Shokichi had the conch shell...where's the Omikuji Bomb? Hmm...
Scene 28: The Wicked Dam
Sasuke: I’m glad the conch shell has come back safely...
Goemon: Well, we have to head north towards the wicked dam!
Ebisumaru: Wicked dam is such a terrible name...
Goemon: Hey! I came up with that name!
Everyone: Argh!
Yae: Well, let’s hurry over there!
This one was probably the easiest to write this time around. Not much to say, so let's move on to the last one.
Scene 29: Meet Mr. Refreshing
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ own Mr. Refreshing, Chukichi, is here! Grr! You destroyed the fort in the dam like you destroyed this place’s boss. From now on, we will call you the Quartet of Hooligans!
Goemon: Quartet? That’s for sure!
Ebisumaru: It’s definitely interesting...
Omikuji: Lord Jurokubei tries so hard to save society but you always ruin everything and make things difficult for us, the 5 Omikuji Siblings, the allies of justice! We always have to go to the hot spring in the snowy mountains to relax because of you! If you go there, we will beat you until you’re black and blue! Remember that!
Ebisumaru: Oh! Where is this hot spring?
Sasuke: I love taking hot baths! I can’t wait another minute, I want to go!
Yae: Yes, we should definitely go there!
Goemon: (Gulp)
Meh. This was probably a title that I had put in as a placeholder and hoped to change later, but I either couldn't think of anything better or didn't want to spend the time to think of a replacement, so I just left it the way it was and exported the movie.
I'm actually not sure if I got this one right. I have reason to believe that the Omikuji actually go to the hot spring to avoid being beaten until they were "black and blue". Maybe Jurokubei is an abusive leader? Anyway, my ultimate goal is to make videos that make sense, while sticking to the original Japanese dialogue as much as possible. Sometimes, it can be tough to do both. I think if you do it too much, you end up getting games like "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon" that are filled to the brim with "WTF?!" dialogue.
And it looks like Goemon's thinking of Yae's body again. Get your mind out of the gutter, Goemon.
Thus ends another GG3 video. Let's see, what else is in the news...oh, yeah! I finally beat the DS game yesterday. Umm...all right. Go, Goemon!
Also, comment, comment, COMMENT! I really appreciate it when people leave meaningful feedback (i.e., more than just a rating). And I'm still looking for help with this project from anybody who can read Japanese. Let me know if you're interested.
First released on February 18, 2008, this is Part 5 of my mission to translate the major scenes in Ganbare Goemon 3.
There were more road blocks while translating this one than usual. Of course, I'll discuss them in good time...meaning now.
Scene 25: Hey Bulldog
Taruyama: *Grr!* (I’m so hungry...) *Whine, whine, whine!* (You have something good!) *Whine, whine!* (Give it to me!)
Sasuke: (The dog wants the dog food.) Give./Don’t give.
Taruyama: *Whine!* (Thank you very much!) *Whine, whine!* (I want to thank you...) *Howl!* (...by giving you some treasure.) *Whine, whine, whine!* (Look! You can use this!)
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a charm. But this dog is a real smart aleck!
I know this dog probably isn't a bulldog, but coming up with this title was too easy for me. Why wouldn't I name the scene after a Beatles song?
As for the dog, Taruyama is almost certainly a male, and a vulgar one at that (which is probably the main reason he's referred to as a "smart aleck"). I figured this out not from the name, but by the words he uses. There's some masculine sentence endings ("ze", for example, which Goemon also uses frequently), and he speaks in a way that would be considered somewhat rude and low-brow by the Japanese.
Figuring out what to put outside of the parentheses was a bit of a problem here. When I was first transcribing it, I had written "Whine" every time "wan" and "waon" had shown up, hoping that I could come up with something to better represent the sounds of a dog whining. Even though there's two dogs at home, I couldn't come up with anything, so I eventually decided to just put a * at the beginning and end of each "whine." I was going to put them in parentheses, but the human translation is in parentheses. Even later, after I sent the first draft of the script to Sarahsuke, I changed the translation for "waon" from "*Whine!*" to "*Howl*", since it's basically just a slightly different, prolonged version of a wan/whine.
Scene 26: Devil's Savior
Devil: It’s so terrible. The nuns in this town locked me in there because of my swaying hips. I didn’t do anything bad. To express my gratitude, I want you to have my treasured performing hula hoop.
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a performing hula hoop. Push the green button while holding up on the control pad to stick to the pegs!
Devil: Good luck with your bending hips. Well then, bye bye.
Goemon: Humph! Goemon, the greatest thief in the world, will be bogged down with a ring like that! Hey, Ebisumaru!
Ebisumaru: Is that so? Well, this is my specialty! I can move my hips better than anybody else. Back and forth and back and forth...
I thought it might be interesting to contrast the devil, who's supposed to be the ultimate evil and the one who traps peoples' souls, with a savior, who by definition saves people. Just a thought.
I actually wanted to make some sort of Elvis reference in the title, since his hip-shaking was also frowned upon. But, sadly, I couldn't think of anything.
So, I actually thought this scene was pretty funny the first time I saw it, even before I dissected it. First, there's the idea that you walk into a church, destroy a mirror, and Satan pops out. Only in a Goemon game, right? Then, it wasn't too hard to figure out why Ebisumaru seems to trail off at the end, and Goemon is left speechless. My hypothesis was that Ebisumaru had become hypnotized by watching the devil dance.
Well, as you may be able to tell, both hypotheses were only half true. The devil that comes out of the mirror is probably not Satan as Westerners know him (that's my opinion, anyway; I suppose that could be up for debate). I should probably do some research into whether the Oniroku is a specific reference to something in Japanese mythology one of these days. Also, I don't think Ebisumaru says anything specific about being mesmerized by the motion of the devil's hips, but I guess it's sort of implied.
Even though the devil uses a typical exclamatory particle ("yo") several times, there isn't even one exclamation point in his sentences. The Goemon games are chock full of exclamation points, so this guy must be speaking really blandly.
Oh, one more thing. "The green button" on the Super Famicom is equivalent to the "Y" button on the Super Nintendo. In case anybody was confused by that.
Hmm...he said the nuns were responsible for locking him away. I wonder if Bismaru had anything to do with that.
Scene 27: Bomb's Away
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ burning man, Shokichi, is here!
Sasuke: Hey! Isn’t this the hooded halfwit who threw us in prison?
Yae: Heh, hooded halfwit...well said, that’s a clever title!
Omikuji: Ooh! How rude! When you snuck out of the prison, I never thought we would chase you all the way to this place. You disrespected The Great Shokichi! But I have a secret weapon that will give me the upper hand here! Prepare yourselves for the Omikuji Bomb! Gu ha ha ha! Prepare to experience the destructive power of the Omikuji Bomb! What the--?!
Goemon: That was lucky! Thanks for giving us back the conch shell!
Omikuji: D-Damn it! That conch shell was a vital part of Lord J-Jurokubei’s plan for the Giant’s Revival! His plans will fail without it! Damn it, why didn’t I remember I had that?!
Ebisumaru: Plan for the Giant’s Revival? What do you mean by that?
Yae: Ebisumaru, he’s not here anymore...
Sasuke: Goemon! Call Impact right away so we can go destroy the dam!
Goemon: Damn it! I forgot all about that! We have to destroy the dam so we can save two towns. Okay...it’s been a long time since I used the conch shell...There!
Sasuke: Why are you wasting your time polishing it?!
Goemon: Hey, come on! I know I don’t usually act like this, but this calls for a change in attitude.
Heh heh..."Bomb's Away"...as in, "The bomb is away"...get it? Okay, I'll shut up now.
"Hooded halfwit" was first suggested several months ago by Sarahsuke as a potential translation for "baka zukin" for those who want to "get alliterative." I didn't have any better ideas, so I decided to go with that in the end. Thanks, Sarahsuke!
Well, there were two problems for me in this scene. The first is the part where Goemon is presumably cleaning the conch shell. I'm not entirely sure what the "kyu" is supposed to be, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's Goemon spitting. Again, I had no idea what to put there, so I left it blank, and tried to match the "...There!" with the end of the sound (though it's probably pretty tough to tell because of the skipping). Looking back, I probably could have put *Spit* or something like that. Oh well. The second problem is the very last sentence in the scene. I still have no idea what that means exactly, but it was my attempt to at least say something.
So...if Shokichi had the conch shell...where's the Omikuji Bomb? Hmm...
Scene 28: The Wicked Dam
Sasuke: I’m glad the conch shell has come back safely...
Goemon: Well, we have to head north towards the wicked dam!
Ebisumaru: Wicked dam is such a terrible name...
Goemon: Hey! I came up with that name!
Everyone: Argh!
Yae: Well, let’s hurry over there!
This one was probably the easiest to write this time around. Not much to say, so let's move on to the last one.
Scene 29: Meet Mr. Refreshing
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ own Mr. Refreshing, Chukichi, is here! Grr! You destroyed the fort in the dam like you destroyed this place’s boss. From now on, we will call you the Quartet of Hooligans!
Goemon: Quartet? That’s for sure!
Ebisumaru: It’s definitely interesting...
Omikuji: Lord Jurokubei tries so hard to save society but you always ruin everything and make things difficult for us, the 5 Omikuji Siblings, the allies of justice! We always have to go to the hot spring in the snowy mountains to relax because of you! If you go there, we will beat you until you’re black and blue! Remember that!
Ebisumaru: Oh! Where is this hot spring?
Sasuke: I love taking hot baths! I can’t wait another minute, I want to go!
Yae: Yes, we should definitely go there!
Goemon: (Gulp)
Meh. This was probably a title that I had put in as a placeholder and hoped to change later, but I either couldn't think of anything better or didn't want to spend the time to think of a replacement, so I just left it the way it was and exported the movie.
I'm actually not sure if I got this one right. I have reason to believe that the Omikuji actually go to the hot spring to avoid being beaten until they were "black and blue". Maybe Jurokubei is an abusive leader? Anyway, my ultimate goal is to make videos that make sense, while sticking to the original Japanese dialogue as much as possible. Sometimes, it can be tough to do both. I think if you do it too much, you end up getting games like "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon" that are filled to the brim with "WTF?!" dialogue.
And it looks like Goemon's thinking of Yae's body again. Get your mind out of the gutter, Goemon.
Thus ends another GG3 video. Let's see, what else is in the news...oh, yeah! I finally beat the DS game yesterday. Umm...all right. Go, Goemon!
Also, comment, comment, COMMENT! I really appreciate it when people leave meaningful feedback (i.e., more than just a rating). And I'm still looking for help with this project from anybody who can read Japanese. Let me know if you're interested.
Monday, February 11, 2008
GG3 - Part 4
Ganbare Goemon 3 (English) Part 4
Hmm...I was going to include the video in this post, but it seems like I accidentally threw away the Quicktime file already, and I don't really feel like waiting for it to export again. It took about 20 minutes the first time. Oh well. The link up there should be good enough.
Anyway, yes, I know this is a long one (released after a longer-than-usual waiting period, on February 11, 2008). I was actually concerned that I might not be able to fit as many scenes as I had hoped I could, but thanks to some brutal cutting, I managed to fit as much as I originally planned. The long duration of this video is due almost completely to one scene. Speaking of scenes, it's time for some commentary.
Scene 18: All Squawk, No Bite
Koronda: Ga ha ha ha! I am this prison’s boss! (Squawk!) We’re going to donate your friend here to Lord Jurokubei. (Squawk!) But before we do that, I’ll be beating all of you! (Squawk!)
---
Yae: Thanks, Goemon! I owe you one!
---
Goemon: Humph! That was easy!
Ebisumaru: He talks big, but he wasn’t so tough.
Goemon: Come on, Sasuke and Yae are waiting.
Ebisumaru: Well then, let’s go!
The "gyaa" that Koronda has at the end of most of his sentences is a scream or, as I've used here, a squawk. This is similar to the way Kurobei and other cats end sentences with "nyaa" (Meow).
"Koronda" is the past tense of "Korobu", which means "to fall down/over." Kind of interesting when you look at the shape of his body. It seems that, like many enemies in the Goemon series, his appearance is based off of a Daruma doll, even though (again like many enemies in the Goemon series that are based off of a Daruma) he has arms.
Scene 19: Try to Run, Try to Hide
Goemon: This time period has the exact same walkers as the Edo period...
Ebisumaru: And Sasuke was able to find 4 of them. He did a good job.
Sasuke: When I was in the prison, I had a chance to listen in on the enemies’ conversation...
Yae: Kyaa! There’s a huge, weird robot coming from behind!
Goemon: Run!
Well, I was listening to "Break On Through" by the Doors when I was trying to come up with a title for this scene. Several minutes after the song had ended, I still had no idea what to call this scene, so I just went with my initial gut feeling.
Scene 20: Time for an Upgrade
Ebisumaru: Well, we did great, didn’t we!
Goemon: But the Wise Man’s inventions, the mechanical walkers, are terrible! They’re so fragile! Sasuke!
Sasuke: Be that as it may, Goemon, I won’t tolerate you insulting the Wise Man like that! Anyway, I heard from the enemy that the Wise Man was developing a new model of the mechanical walkers somewhere around here.
Yae: I wonder why the Wise Man is working with the enemy...
Ebisumaru: If that’s true, then we’re in big trouble!
Goemon: A new model of the mechanical walker...it won’t be a problem for this sly thief to get!
Sasuke: If I’m not mistaken, the prison’s factory building is to the south. We should gather information about how to enter the factory!
I never realized Sasuke was this impatient, even if it is about somebody presumably insulting the Wise Man. Then again, we've seen that his sense of humor is a bit screwed up. He really should lighten up. That's gotta be bad for his circuits.
Scene 21: The Cat Thief
Merchant: Thief! Somebody catch him!
Cat Thief: That’s impossible! I am the greatest thief in the whole world! Catch me if you can, though I’m certain you can’t! (Meow)
---
Cat Thief: What?! How did you find this place? (Meow) I ate too much of the fish I stole...I regret eating so much; I can’t move! (Meow)
Shop Master: Oh! You! Thank you very much for catching that sneaky cat, he’s really not as big as he claims. I want to give you this to express my gratitude!
Narrator: Ebisumaru obtained the reflection shuriken. Store energy and throw the shuriken, and it will bounce off things like walls!
I have no idea what the suffix "kichi" means in this case (I translated "nekokichi" as "Cat Thief"). I know it can refer to an enthusiast or a maniac, but I don't know if that works here. "Thief" makes much more sense, I think.
"Shujin" (which I translated as "Shop Master") actually just means master, or the head (of a household, for example). I put the "Shop" part in there to match it to his assumed profession.
Scene 22: Stupid is as Stupid Does
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ Factory Manager, Kichi, is here! If you think you can get away from us so easily, you’re gravely mistaken!
Goemon: Pfft! You think I can’t escape? Haw, haw, haw, oh, that’s funny!
Ebisumaru: I heard you guys were stupid, but I never imagined you would actually be this stupid!
Omikuji: Oooh! I’d better keep quiet about my deep fried food before you idiots steal that, too.
Yae: A ha ha! You’re talking about fried food now? How stupid can you be? There’s no tofu here!
Sasuke: Don’t waste your time with this moron. It’s pointless to even try to talk to him. Quickly, let’s just get out of here!
Omikuji: Damn it! You tell me I’m stupid, but I think you’re the stupid ones! You can’t escape from this place and from us! There are many traps and mechanical bandits, and a door that requires 8 flat objects known as code plates to open. You have to set the plates correctly, or else you can’t enter the hidden base. You idiots don’t know anything about this door, so...
Sasuke: Aha, I see! If we collect the 8 flat code plates and set them in the door correctly, something good will happen.
Goemon: Well, we just picked up one of the plates!
Omikuji: What?! The code plate?! Argh! I can’t do this alone! I have to go for now. Farewell!
Goemon: Okay! Our objective is clear now, so let’s go!
Sasuke: The Wise Man and Omitsu must be in that base!
Ebisumaru: The problem is figuring out the locations of the remaining code plates.
Yae: We’ll just have to search the thieves' hideouts one by one.
Goemon: Mechanical bandits...I’ll destroy every one of them!
I don't need to tell you where I got the title for this, do I? I had a lot of ideas floating around my head, and this is one that I hoped I wouldn't have to use. One of my first instincts was to go with "When You're Stupid, You're Just Stupid", which is (I think) a line from "The Emperor's Club." This would've been my little homage to my mentor and favorite teacher in high school, as this movie was one of his favorites and he "quoted" this sentence several times in class. Unfortunately, he wasn't one for specifics, and I couldn't confirm on IMDB that the line even existed, so I just took the easy way out instead. Either way, it fits in with the general theme of the conversation, which is a "You're stupid!"/"No, you're stupid!" type of thing. Really mature, guys.
Oh, boy, was this one tough to write, and it certainly shows. The hardest part is the fried tofu bit, and I was really close to changing it to better fit what was going on, so that I don't confuse anybody with the randomness of the conversation. To get an idea for what I was going to put in, just replace the dialogue between Kichi (Omikuji) and Yae with the following (this is right after his hood ignites, I believe):
Omikuji: Oooh! You call me stupid, but I am rubber, you are glue...
Yae: A ha ha! Are you really gonna come back with something like that? How stupid can you be?
Yeah. Both options suck, really. But, in an effort to keep the translations somewhat accurate, I decided to go with the more confusing one. This is my best attempt, hopefully I don't have to do stuff like that too many more times.
I also left myself WAY too much time while recording the original video, apparently. There are subtitles on here that last over 9 seconds. I get kind of nervous when that happens, because it makes me feel like I might have missed something important.
I was going to show Sasuke grabbing the code plate, but cut it out for time. I later realized that it would be difficult to translate what's said when he grabs the plate anyway, since the symbols on the plate spell out one or more Japanese words when put together. I'll see if I can let you guys know what the full message is when you put the code plates together later on in the game. It would be really confusing if I did that later and said what sound was on the plates now ("ra" for example...and how would I translate a small "tsu"?). As a result, such lines will also be cut out of future videos.
Scene 23: Kites and Colds
Takosuke: Oh! That machine might be able to bring my kite back down! Please help me!
Sasuke: What do you need me to do?/I don’t want to!
Takosuke: I’m going to body slam the wall as hard as I can, and immediately after that I want you to punch with the machine. Get ready! Yay! My kite is back! And my cold is better, too. I know, I’ll give you and your friends this cold medicine, so you can feel better, too!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained cold medicine. With this, they won’t have to worry about colds anymore!
The word "tako" means "kite" in Japanese, so this is another name that is a pun. I don't remember if the other fat guys in this game were also called Takosuke.
Scene 24: You Should Really See a Doctor About That
Yorozuko: My father has a really bad cold, so we can’t open the store. (Sniff) I wish we had bought some cold medicine before. Ah! That medicine! Do you suppose this cold medicine can save my father’s life? Can I have it, please?
Sasuke: With pleasure!/I don’t want to give it to you!
Yorozuko: Thank you! Yorozuko is so thankful! I want to give you something to thank you, so wait right here. If my father drinks this medicine, his head cold will be cured in the blink of an eye! This delicious dog food will be my way of expressing my gratitude. It’s very tasty! Bye!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained dog food. Ebisumaru is drooling.
I'm not 100% sure about this, but I have a feeling that Yorozuko might be a combination of the word "yorozuya" (merchant) and "ko" (child, or young woman). Basically, that would mean she's either the merchant's daughter or a young female merchant, and both of them seem to make sense given the context of the scene. But that would make the line that I translated as "Yorozuko is so thankful!" even more awkward, so I just assumed it was her name.
By the way, I briefly entertained the thought of calling this scene "Take your Fun-Fun" as a reference to "Arrested Development", but quickly discarded the idea when I realized that nobody would get the reference.
Another week, another Goemon video. Even though I'm not really fond of this one in particular, I'm still very much enjoying making them.
Comments are very much appreciated, of course; feedback of any kind is very important to me. Remember that I'm also looking for help in translating these scenes. Tell your friends. (Hey, there's an Arrested Development reference!)
Hmm...I was going to include the video in this post, but it seems like I accidentally threw away the Quicktime file already, and I don't really feel like waiting for it to export again. It took about 20 minutes the first time. Oh well. The link up there should be good enough.
Anyway, yes, I know this is a long one (released after a longer-than-usual waiting period, on February 11, 2008). I was actually concerned that I might not be able to fit as many scenes as I had hoped I could, but thanks to some brutal cutting, I managed to fit as much as I originally planned. The long duration of this video is due almost completely to one scene. Speaking of scenes, it's time for some commentary.
Scene 18: All Squawk, No Bite
Koronda: Ga ha ha ha! I am this prison’s boss! (Squawk!) We’re going to donate your friend here to Lord Jurokubei. (Squawk!) But before we do that, I’ll be beating all of you! (Squawk!)
---
Yae: Thanks, Goemon! I owe you one!
---
Goemon: Humph! That was easy!
Ebisumaru: He talks big, but he wasn’t so tough.
Goemon: Come on, Sasuke and Yae are waiting.
Ebisumaru: Well then, let’s go!
The "gyaa" that Koronda has at the end of most of his sentences is a scream or, as I've used here, a squawk. This is similar to the way Kurobei and other cats end sentences with "nyaa" (Meow).
"Koronda" is the past tense of "Korobu", which means "to fall down/over." Kind of interesting when you look at the shape of his body. It seems that, like many enemies in the Goemon series, his appearance is based off of a Daruma doll, even though (again like many enemies in the Goemon series that are based off of a Daruma) he has arms.
Scene 19: Try to Run, Try to Hide
Goemon: This time period has the exact same walkers as the Edo period...
Ebisumaru: And Sasuke was able to find 4 of them. He did a good job.
Sasuke: When I was in the prison, I had a chance to listen in on the enemies’ conversation...
Yae: Kyaa! There’s a huge, weird robot coming from behind!
Goemon: Run!
Well, I was listening to "Break On Through" by the Doors when I was trying to come up with a title for this scene. Several minutes after the song had ended, I still had no idea what to call this scene, so I just went with my initial gut feeling.
Scene 20: Time for an Upgrade
Ebisumaru: Well, we did great, didn’t we!
Goemon: But the Wise Man’s inventions, the mechanical walkers, are terrible! They’re so fragile! Sasuke!
Sasuke: Be that as it may, Goemon, I won’t tolerate you insulting the Wise Man like that! Anyway, I heard from the enemy that the Wise Man was developing a new model of the mechanical walkers somewhere around here.
Yae: I wonder why the Wise Man is working with the enemy...
Ebisumaru: If that’s true, then we’re in big trouble!
Goemon: A new model of the mechanical walker...it won’t be a problem for this sly thief to get!
Sasuke: If I’m not mistaken, the prison’s factory building is to the south. We should gather information about how to enter the factory!
I never realized Sasuke was this impatient, even if it is about somebody presumably insulting the Wise Man. Then again, we've seen that his sense of humor is a bit screwed up. He really should lighten up. That's gotta be bad for his circuits.
Scene 21: The Cat Thief
Merchant: Thief! Somebody catch him!
Cat Thief: That’s impossible! I am the greatest thief in the whole world! Catch me if you can, though I’m certain you can’t! (Meow)
---
Cat Thief: What?! How did you find this place? (Meow) I ate too much of the fish I stole...I regret eating so much; I can’t move! (Meow)
Shop Master: Oh! You! Thank you very much for catching that sneaky cat, he’s really not as big as he claims. I want to give you this to express my gratitude!
Narrator: Ebisumaru obtained the reflection shuriken. Store energy and throw the shuriken, and it will bounce off things like walls!
I have no idea what the suffix "kichi" means in this case (I translated "nekokichi" as "Cat Thief"). I know it can refer to an enthusiast or a maniac, but I don't know if that works here. "Thief" makes much more sense, I think.
"Shujin" (which I translated as "Shop Master") actually just means master, or the head (of a household, for example). I put the "Shop" part in there to match it to his assumed profession.
Scene 22: Stupid is as Stupid Does
Omikuji: The 5 Omikuji Siblings’ Factory Manager, Kichi, is here! If you think you can get away from us so easily, you’re gravely mistaken!
Goemon: Pfft! You think I can’t escape? Haw, haw, haw, oh, that’s funny!
Ebisumaru: I heard you guys were stupid, but I never imagined you would actually be this stupid!
Omikuji: Oooh! I’d better keep quiet about my deep fried food before you idiots steal that, too.
Yae: A ha ha! You’re talking about fried food now? How stupid can you be? There’s no tofu here!
Sasuke: Don’t waste your time with this moron. It’s pointless to even try to talk to him. Quickly, let’s just get out of here!
Omikuji: Damn it! You tell me I’m stupid, but I think you’re the stupid ones! You can’t escape from this place and from us! There are many traps and mechanical bandits, and a door that requires 8 flat objects known as code plates to open. You have to set the plates correctly, or else you can’t enter the hidden base. You idiots don’t know anything about this door, so...
Sasuke: Aha, I see! If we collect the 8 flat code plates and set them in the door correctly, something good will happen.
Goemon: Well, we just picked up one of the plates!
Omikuji: What?! The code plate?! Argh! I can’t do this alone! I have to go for now. Farewell!
Goemon: Okay! Our objective is clear now, so let’s go!
Sasuke: The Wise Man and Omitsu must be in that base!
Ebisumaru: The problem is figuring out the locations of the remaining code plates.
Yae: We’ll just have to search the thieves' hideouts one by one.
Goemon: Mechanical bandits...I’ll destroy every one of them!
I don't need to tell you where I got the title for this, do I? I had a lot of ideas floating around my head, and this is one that I hoped I wouldn't have to use. One of my first instincts was to go with "When You're Stupid, You're Just Stupid", which is (I think) a line from "The Emperor's Club." This would've been my little homage to my mentor and favorite teacher in high school, as this movie was one of his favorites and he "quoted" this sentence several times in class. Unfortunately, he wasn't one for specifics, and I couldn't confirm on IMDB that the line even existed, so I just took the easy way out instead. Either way, it fits in with the general theme of the conversation, which is a "You're stupid!"/"No, you're stupid!" type of thing. Really mature, guys.
Oh, boy, was this one tough to write, and it certainly shows. The hardest part is the fried tofu bit, and I was really close to changing it to better fit what was going on, so that I don't confuse anybody with the randomness of the conversation. To get an idea for what I was going to put in, just replace the dialogue between Kichi (Omikuji) and Yae with the following (this is right after his hood ignites, I believe):
Omikuji: Oooh! You call me stupid, but I am rubber, you are glue...
Yae: A ha ha! Are you really gonna come back with something like that? How stupid can you be?
Yeah. Both options suck, really. But, in an effort to keep the translations somewhat accurate, I decided to go with the more confusing one. This is my best attempt, hopefully I don't have to do stuff like that too many more times.
I also left myself WAY too much time while recording the original video, apparently. There are subtitles on here that last over 9 seconds. I get kind of nervous when that happens, because it makes me feel like I might have missed something important.
I was going to show Sasuke grabbing the code plate, but cut it out for time. I later realized that it would be difficult to translate what's said when he grabs the plate anyway, since the symbols on the plate spell out one or more Japanese words when put together. I'll see if I can let you guys know what the full message is when you put the code plates together later on in the game. It would be really confusing if I did that later and said what sound was on the plates now ("ra" for example...and how would I translate a small "tsu"?). As a result, such lines will also be cut out of future videos.
Scene 23: Kites and Colds
Takosuke: Oh! That machine might be able to bring my kite back down! Please help me!
Sasuke: What do you need me to do?/I don’t want to!
Takosuke: I’m going to body slam the wall as hard as I can, and immediately after that I want you to punch with the machine. Get ready! Yay! My kite is back! And my cold is better, too. I know, I’ll give you and your friends this cold medicine, so you can feel better, too!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained cold medicine. With this, they won’t have to worry about colds anymore!
The word "tako" means "kite" in Japanese, so this is another name that is a pun. I don't remember if the other fat guys in this game were also called Takosuke.
Scene 24: You Should Really See a Doctor About That
Yorozuko: My father has a really bad cold, so we can’t open the store. (Sniff) I wish we had bought some cold medicine before. Ah! That medicine! Do you suppose this cold medicine can save my father’s life? Can I have it, please?
Sasuke: With pleasure!/I don’t want to give it to you!
Yorozuko: Thank you! Yorozuko is so thankful! I want to give you something to thank you, so wait right here. If my father drinks this medicine, his head cold will be cured in the blink of an eye! This delicious dog food will be my way of expressing my gratitude. It’s very tasty! Bye!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained dog food. Ebisumaru is drooling.
I'm not 100% sure about this, but I have a feeling that Yorozuko might be a combination of the word "yorozuya" (merchant) and "ko" (child, or young woman). Basically, that would mean she's either the merchant's daughter or a young female merchant, and both of them seem to make sense given the context of the scene. But that would make the line that I translated as "Yorozuko is so thankful!" even more awkward, so I just assumed it was her name.
By the way, I briefly entertained the thought of calling this scene "Take your Fun-Fun" as a reference to "Arrested Development", but quickly discarded the idea when I realized that nobody would get the reference.
Another week, another Goemon video. Even though I'm not really fond of this one in particular, I'm still very much enjoying making them.
Comments are very much appreciated, of course; feedback of any kind is very important to me. Remember that I'm also looking for help in translating these scenes. Tell your friends. (Hey, there's an Arrested Development reference!)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Tenguto no Gyakushu
I finally beat Ganbare Goemon: Tenguto no Gyakushu yesterday. It's about time. I started the game sometime during Fall 2007, and I've been playing it on and off ever since. I ran into a major hurdle a while back, but overcame it on Friday and realized that the guide I was using had missed a step in the process of getting to the last part. Grr...stupid Goemon guides, all the ones I've used so far have been extremely vague, or downright false in some cases. It's actually pretty irritating.
Anyway, the game definitely ranks on the lower end of the Goemon scale for me. The N64 and SNES games are still far superior. The final battles in Tenguto were also disappointingly easy (which contrasted with the difficult random encounters), but I guess I shouldn't complain. They were long, but the bosses didn't put up a very good fight.
So, I'm working on the DS Goemon game right now, as well as some other games that I've been neglecting due to schoolwork and a roommate who hogs the TV. Man, every time I think about all the games I've had forever but still need to beat, my head starts to spin. There's a lot, let's just say that.
Anyway, the game definitely ranks on the lower end of the Goemon scale for me. The N64 and SNES games are still far superior. The final battles in Tenguto were also disappointingly easy (which contrasted with the difficult random encounters), but I guess I shouldn't complain. They were long, but the bosses didn't put up a very good fight.
So, I'm working on the DS Goemon game right now, as well as some other games that I've been neglecting due to schoolwork and a roommate who hogs the TV. Man, every time I think about all the games I've had forever but still need to beat, my head starts to spin. There's a lot, let's just say that.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
GG3 - Part 3, and Progress Report
Ganbare Goemon (English) - Part 3
This one was released only 16 and a half hours after the last one, on the morning of January 29, 2008. I'm just going to say right off the bat that this video has some of my favorite jokes so far, and that's probably why it was released so soon after the last one. I was really excited to share it. Of course, I'll go into more detail about my favorite jokes later.
Again, this one was pretty easy to translate, so I'm just gonna jump in to the scene analysis.
Scene 13: The Time Warp
Bismaru: Strong...they’re too strong...The great and clever Bismaru was charmed by someone else for once. But I guess you can’t blame him. I still have to take Omitsu away, though, because Lord Jurokubei ordered it. Bismaru pod, time warp! Until we meet again, farewell!
Sasuke: Ooh! He made a time warp!
Yae: Hoo hoo...He’s got a lot of nerve, running away!
Sasuke: Impact, time warp!
Yae: Phew...somehow, we’re okay. Eh? Something’s behind us!
Sasuke: Oh no! I can’t get away!
I think this scene is the main reason that this video is the longest so far in terms of time (by 25 seconds), even though it has the least amount of dialogue. I had a bit of a dilemma with this one. I thought it was very much out of character that Bismaru would say he was charmed by Goemon; I considered the possibility that it may have been the other way around (that Goemon and the others were so smitten with Bismaru, they didn't notice that he actually managed to escape, or something like that). But, what seems to be part of the Japanese dialogue is there, and it really does make sense when you remember that Goemon is an ancestor of Jurokubei (uh-oh...I hope everybody who reads this is familiar with the ending to this game). In other words, if Bismaru is in love with Jurokubei, it seems logical that he would also be in love with Jurokubei's ancestor.
Scene 14: Separated in the Future
Sasuke: What is this place? Is this the futuristic Edo? Ah! Yae! Are you all right?
Yae: Unn...I’m okay. Sasuke, where are we?
Sasuke: I think we arrived in the future, one way or another.
Yae: Where are Goemon and Ebisumaru?
Sasuke: Perhaps the impact of coming out of the warp sent them to a different place. That’s what I think, anyway.
Yae: Seems that way...
Sasuke: There’s no sense in us staying here. We should head towards the town!
Yeah, I don't think the writers were trying to put any jokes in here. After all, Sasuke and Yae are often considered to be the most serious characters. It's really kind of plain, I think, but it is necessary to move the story forward. Let's move on.
Scene 15: The Plum and the Curtain
Yae: It looks like we can’t continue from here.
Sasuke: Should we go back?
Omikuji: Ha ha ha ha! You! You’re the ones chasing the great Bismaru! But doing that is like trying to throw a dried plum at a shop curtain!
Yae: What is that supposed to mean?!
Omikuji: In Japan, there’s an old proverb that says if you throw a dried plum at a curtain, nothing happens. It just drops to the floor. In other words, it’s pointless to even try! Don’t you think you’re getting wiser here?
Yae: I can’t believe I have to talk to this idiot. What a ridiculous way to get arrested...(headache)
Sasuke: Well, what are you gonna do?
Omikuji: Hey! It’s incredibly rude to call me an idiot! Quickly, throw them into the prison!
First of all, I'm pretty sure the metaphor that Omikuji mentions (throwing a dried plum against a shop curtain) isn't a real saying in Japan. A "noren" is a short curtain that hangs from the top of the doorframe in most Japanese stores. Basically, this saying isn't referring to the drapes you put over your windows.
If you want to know more about what the name Omikuji refers to, I recommend Wikipedia. Now, I'm not going to give you the link to the actual page, but I will give you a link to a post in the Ganbare Goemon in English topic that has the link to the page. It's here. The more plugs for that site, the better, I say.
Again with the visual problems. Besides the usual frame rate issues, the barrier that's supposed to separate Sasuke and Yae from moving forward flickers on and off randomly. Otherwise, it doesn't really make sense that Yae says "we can't continue from here" when it seems like nothing's stopping them. But hey, they're able to jump over the barrier anyway, so I guess they could've continued forward if they had tried hard enough.
Scene 16: Ebisumaru's Eating Habits
Goemon: Uggh...Did we end up in the future?
Ebisumaru: Goemon...I’m so useless...I can’t move another step...
Goemon: What the hell are you talking about?! There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re probably just hungry!
Ebisumaru: That’s not true! I’ve been eating a lot of this grass, and I think it made me sick! I’ve been throwing up.
Goemon: Ebisumaru...even in the future, you’re eating grass?
Ebisumaru: B-But Goemon...I’m starving...
Goemon: Oh, shut up! Come on, we have to go look for Sasuke and Yae!
Probably my favorite scene so far. I figured out that Ebisumaru was eating grass pretty early on, and for some reason, it just made me laugh whenever I thought about it. I mean, what is he, a cow? And Goemon's reactions are just as great. Apparently, this isn't something unexpected for him. This scene just strengthens my belief that Ebisumaru is one of the best video game characters I've ever seen (he's definitely the funniest). I find almost everything about him to be incredibly amusing; I cracked up the first time I saw his walk in this game and Ganbare Goemon 4, for example. I thought it fit him so well.
Honestly, I don't know if this scene is REALLY as funny as I think it is. But it'll always stand out in my mind.
Scene 17: Plan of Escape
Goemon: Sasuke! You’re safe!
Ebisumaru: I was really worried! Huh? Where’s Yae?
Sasuke: I’m so ashamed! I underestimated our enemy, who was called Shokichi or something, and he threw Yae into a different prison. Not only that, but the conch shell seems to be in enemy hands.
Goemon: Damn it! Let’s go, you two!
Ebisumaru: Yes!
Sasuke: I’m going to go first and blow up the prison doors for you. I’ll also prepare our escape vehicles in the back. Yae’s freedom will be entrusted to you two!
I think it's funny how Ebisumaru says he was "really worried" about Sasuke when he wouldn't even move in the previous scene. Other than that, I really have nothing to say about this scene.
Overall, I find that I'm better able to utilize my resources to translate more of this stuff on my own. At the rate I'm going, it could take years before I'm even moderately proficient in written Japanese, so it's great to have so many great tools at one's fingertips.
OK, I'm going to end by apologizing for not having Part 4 ready this week. This is a result of being overly ambitious, extremely busy, and a little bit stupid. But, on top of all that, it simply wasn't possible to get a translation this past weekend even if I was ready. I started this blog two days ago to make up for this fact. But, progress is being made towards getting Part 4 done, so hopefully it'll be up next week sometime (cross your fingers).
This one was released only 16 and a half hours after the last one, on the morning of January 29, 2008. I'm just going to say right off the bat that this video has some of my favorite jokes so far, and that's probably why it was released so soon after the last one. I was really excited to share it. Of course, I'll go into more detail about my favorite jokes later.
Again, this one was pretty easy to translate, so I'm just gonna jump in to the scene analysis.
Scene 13: The Time Warp
Bismaru: Strong...they’re too strong...The great and clever Bismaru was charmed by someone else for once. But I guess you can’t blame him. I still have to take Omitsu away, though, because Lord Jurokubei ordered it. Bismaru pod, time warp! Until we meet again, farewell!
Sasuke: Ooh! He made a time warp!
Yae: Hoo hoo...He’s got a lot of nerve, running away!
Sasuke: Impact, time warp!
Yae: Phew...somehow, we’re okay. Eh? Something’s behind us!
Sasuke: Oh no! I can’t get away!
I think this scene is the main reason that this video is the longest so far in terms of time (by 25 seconds), even though it has the least amount of dialogue. I had a bit of a dilemma with this one. I thought it was very much out of character that Bismaru would say he was charmed by Goemon; I considered the possibility that it may have been the other way around (that Goemon and the others were so smitten with Bismaru, they didn't notice that he actually managed to escape, or something like that). But, what seems to be part of the Japanese dialogue is there, and it really does make sense when you remember that Goemon is an ancestor of Jurokubei (uh-oh...I hope everybody who reads this is familiar with the ending to this game). In other words, if Bismaru is in love with Jurokubei, it seems logical that he would also be in love with Jurokubei's ancestor.
Scene 14: Separated in the Future
Sasuke: What is this place? Is this the futuristic Edo? Ah! Yae! Are you all right?
Yae: Unn...I’m okay. Sasuke, where are we?
Sasuke: I think we arrived in the future, one way or another.
Yae: Where are Goemon and Ebisumaru?
Sasuke: Perhaps the impact of coming out of the warp sent them to a different place. That’s what I think, anyway.
Yae: Seems that way...
Sasuke: There’s no sense in us staying here. We should head towards the town!
Yeah, I don't think the writers were trying to put any jokes in here. After all, Sasuke and Yae are often considered to be the most serious characters. It's really kind of plain, I think, but it is necessary to move the story forward. Let's move on.
Scene 15: The Plum and the Curtain
Yae: It looks like we can’t continue from here.
Sasuke: Should we go back?
Omikuji: Ha ha ha ha! You! You’re the ones chasing the great Bismaru! But doing that is like trying to throw a dried plum at a shop curtain!
Yae: What is that supposed to mean?!
Omikuji: In Japan, there’s an old proverb that says if you throw a dried plum at a curtain, nothing happens. It just drops to the floor. In other words, it’s pointless to even try! Don’t you think you’re getting wiser here?
Yae: I can’t believe I have to talk to this idiot. What a ridiculous way to get arrested...(headache)
Sasuke: Well, what are you gonna do?
Omikuji: Hey! It’s incredibly rude to call me an idiot! Quickly, throw them into the prison!
First of all, I'm pretty sure the metaphor that Omikuji mentions (throwing a dried plum against a shop curtain) isn't a real saying in Japan. A "noren" is a short curtain that hangs from the top of the doorframe in most Japanese stores. Basically, this saying isn't referring to the drapes you put over your windows.
If you want to know more about what the name Omikuji refers to, I recommend Wikipedia. Now, I'm not going to give you the link to the actual page, but I will give you a link to a post in the Ganbare Goemon in English topic that has the link to the page. It's here. The more plugs for that site, the better, I say.
Again with the visual problems. Besides the usual frame rate issues, the barrier that's supposed to separate Sasuke and Yae from moving forward flickers on and off randomly. Otherwise, it doesn't really make sense that Yae says "we can't continue from here" when it seems like nothing's stopping them. But hey, they're able to jump over the barrier anyway, so I guess they could've continued forward if they had tried hard enough.
Scene 16: Ebisumaru's Eating Habits
Goemon: Uggh...Did we end up in the future?
Ebisumaru: Goemon...I’m so useless...I can’t move another step...
Goemon: What the hell are you talking about?! There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re probably just hungry!
Ebisumaru: That’s not true! I’ve been eating a lot of this grass, and I think it made me sick! I’ve been throwing up.
Goemon: Ebisumaru...even in the future, you’re eating grass?
Ebisumaru: B-But Goemon...I’m starving...
Goemon: Oh, shut up! Come on, we have to go look for Sasuke and Yae!
Probably my favorite scene so far. I figured out that Ebisumaru was eating grass pretty early on, and for some reason, it just made me laugh whenever I thought about it. I mean, what is he, a cow? And Goemon's reactions are just as great. Apparently, this isn't something unexpected for him. This scene just strengthens my belief that Ebisumaru is one of the best video game characters I've ever seen (he's definitely the funniest). I find almost everything about him to be incredibly amusing; I cracked up the first time I saw his walk in this game and Ganbare Goemon 4, for example. I thought it fit him so well.
Honestly, I don't know if this scene is REALLY as funny as I think it is. But it'll always stand out in my mind.
Scene 17: Plan of Escape
Goemon: Sasuke! You’re safe!
Ebisumaru: I was really worried! Huh? Where’s Yae?
Sasuke: I’m so ashamed! I underestimated our enemy, who was called Shokichi or something, and he threw Yae into a different prison. Not only that, but the conch shell seems to be in enemy hands.
Goemon: Damn it! Let’s go, you two!
Ebisumaru: Yes!
Sasuke: I’m going to go first and blow up the prison doors for you. I’ll also prepare our escape vehicles in the back. Yae’s freedom will be entrusted to you two!
I think it's funny how Ebisumaru says he was "really worried" about Sasuke when he wouldn't even move in the previous scene. Other than that, I really have nothing to say about this scene.
Overall, I find that I'm better able to utilize my resources to translate more of this stuff on my own. At the rate I'm going, it could take years before I'm even moderately proficient in written Japanese, so it's great to have so many great tools at one's fingertips.
OK, I'm going to end by apologizing for not having Part 4 ready this week. This is a result of being overly ambitious, extremely busy, and a little bit stupid. But, on top of all that, it simply wasn't possible to get a translation this past weekend even if I was ready. I started this blog two days ago to make up for this fact. But, progress is being made towards getting Part 4 done, so hopefully it'll be up next week sometime (cross your fingers).
GG3 - Part 2
Ganbare Goemon (English) - Part 2
I uploaded this, the second video in the series, on January 28, 2008.
I'm pleased to report that this one was pretty easy to translate, despite the fact that I found I had made an unusually high number of mistakes in the paper copy of the script. I guess I'm getting sloppy.
For some reason, I left out the scene where Yae gets her mermaid jutsu, as well as the other 3 characters getting their respective abilities. Honestly, I don't remember why I decided to do that. So, without further ado, let's just move on to scene scripts/analysis.
Scene 7: Dancing Shoes
Hanakichi: I got a little too excited while dancing during the festival and broke the strap on my sandal. Doggone it! Boo hoo hoo...Oh! That thing you have there...Is that the legendary crimson sandal strap? Please give it to me!
Goemon: Give / Don’t give
Hanakichi: Thank you! You saved me! I can be happy and dance again! To express my gratitude, I want to give you this enigmatic bean.
Narrator: Goemon and allies received an enigmatic bean. What on earth did he mean by “enigmatic bean”?
I guess there can be several explanations for where I got the title for this scene, but the one that comes to my mind right away is the song "I'd Rather Charleston" (At least, I think that's what it's called.). The line goes: "You're just a fellow who has got his brain in his dancing shoes." I think that describes this guy perfectly.
As far as I know, Hanakichi doesn't mean anything, so I just assumed it's the guy's name, and others agreed with me as well.
Scene 8: Yae
Yae: I finally found you guys!
Sasuke: It’s Yae! Perfect timing! We found a note in the shrine here and we were just about to go back to Hagure Town, because we need to get to a secret area in Ninnin Village.
Yae: Do you suppose the conch shell is in a cave? But nobody can get into that place without being able to travel underwater.
Sasuke: But if the Wise Man borrowed Yae’s body, maybe she would be able to enter...
Goemon: Y-Yae’s body? Come on, you can’t do that...gah, nosebleed!
Ebisumaru: G-Goemon! What are you thinking?! By the way, Yae, why were you looking for us?
Yae: Umm...Yeah...Actually, while I was on patrol, the ninja cat Kurobei told me about the Wise Man’s situation and I thought I could help.
Goemon: I didn’t know Kurobei knew about that. Hey, Yae, I’m sorry to drag you into this situation...
Yae: Well, we’re friends. Why would you apologize now, I’m already a part of this. Let’s go!
Hey, if I called Scene 3 "Sasuke", I can call this one "Yae", right? Wow, I'm so creative. I don't really know if I was considering any other good options for titles.
This one caught my attention pretty early on (even before I got a full translation) for one reason: Goemon's sudden nosebleed. For those of you who read a lot of manga (and that doesn't really describe me), you know what I'm getting at here. I took this as a sign that just talking about Yae's body was enough of a turn-on for him to get a nosebleed just out of the blue like that. Now, personally, I am very much against a GoexYae pairing, but this is the first real piece of evidence I've seen in any of the games that supports a possible relationship between those two.
Apparently, this is the first scene where I employed my usual practice of reading the Japanese script in slow motion to gauge time. There's a lot of time for each subtitle from here on out, and I didn't exactly display a lot of editing prowess in handling it.
Scene 9: Bird Gathering Ninjutsu!
Cook: Something terrible happened! The important chickens ran off! If we had the right food, we could catch the chickens right away. Ooh! Is that the enigmatic bean? Please, by all means, give it to me!
Yae: Give / What the hell are you talking about?!
Cook: Thank you so much! With this, I should be able to bring them back! With the power of this bean, bird gathering nijutsu! Oh, how they assemble! You were very helpful! To thank you, I will give you one of our fields!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a field...So they’re proud land owners now?!
The title is a reference to Scene 2, where I used the name of the ninjutsu used as the title.
The ninja that Yae talks to is called "Itasan", which means cook. Itasan is a name that is attached to several NPCs in this game, but they all seem to be farmers rather than cooks. I almost called this guy "Mr. Ita", and I probably would've done the same for all the other Itasans that the group runs into. But, I suppose now I've gotta call them "Cook", even though they're clearly farmers or ranchers.
By the way, does anybody know if there's any significance to the parcel of land the group gets for helping bring the chickens back? It's not like you trade the deed later, but I can't remember if it's worth anything at all.
Scene 10: Bismaru's Mechanical Bodyguard
Bismaru: Oh, ho ho ho ho! I’ve been waiting for you. Look at this town, it’s so lovely and cleared away! Now it’s your turn! I give you the mechanical bodyguard!
Robot: G-Goemon...Gaaaah!
---
Bismaru: So shameless! Useless piece of junk! I will take the girl and smash you with my own enormous robot! Farewell!
Omitsu: Kyaa! Help me, Goemon!
Goemon: Damn it! Omitsu’s in trouble again!
Ebisumaru: Waah! We’re in big trouble! What are we going to do?
Yae: Ah! Look! That ugly robot is running away!
Sasuke: Goemon! Use the conch shell to call Impact!
Goemon: Okay! Huh? Is this thing broken or something?
Sasuke: You have to take a bigger breath!
Goemon: Argh! Fine, I’ll change the way I do this! I will overcome this! Let’s go!
"The Mechanical Bodyguard" makes more sense than "The Tricky Bodyguard", right? The word "karakuri" means tricky, but, according to Sarahsuke, it can also be used to describe "a mechanical device to tease, trick, or take a person by surprise." Also, this is the title Kabuki Forever gives himself in the GG3 Ending.
Scene 11: Impact is too Slow!
Goemon: Goemon Impact is a time machine? Well, at any rate, that pest is running away really fast!
Sasuke: Yae, pull that new switch there.
Yae: Okay! This yellow switch, right?
Ebisumaru: We’re not going nearly fast enough! Is something broken in here?
Sasuke: What do you mean by that?!
Goemon: Hey! Stop fighting over that! We have to chase this guy!
Ebisumaru: At this rate, it’ll be nighttime by the time we get there...
Ah. So that's why Impact's "rampage" is so sluggish.
Originally, I thought Ebisumaru was yelling at Yae for something. After all, the implication from Scene 2 is that he doesn't really like her (I probably should've mentioned that...). But, I guess he was yelling at Sasuke for something instead.
Scene 12: Bismaru Elegant
Bismaru: Bonjour! You’ve got some nerve coming here. It is dangerous for you here! It must have been love at first sight that brought you to this place! Unfortunately for all of you, however, this will be goodbye. Bismaru Elegant, transformation!
I liked writing this scene. In fact, I think Bismaru is a really fun villain to write for. You can go completely over the top with him, and it won't seem out of place.
Yes, you read that right. Bismaru is in fact a male, homosexual transvestite. Recall that Goemon, Ebisumaru, and Sasuke all refer to Bismaru as "he" or "him" in Goemon's Great Adventure. According to Sarahsuke, the term used to describe Bismaru is "okama."
And I don't know why Bismaru's head disappears for a long time like that. It reminds me of Bismaru's pod disappearing all at once in the ending, and something else that I'll mention in the next post.
And that wraps up the Part 2 analysis. I'll get Part 3 up as soon as I can.
I uploaded this, the second video in the series, on January 28, 2008.
I'm pleased to report that this one was pretty easy to translate, despite the fact that I found I had made an unusually high number of mistakes in the paper copy of the script. I guess I'm getting sloppy.
For some reason, I left out the scene where Yae gets her mermaid jutsu, as well as the other 3 characters getting their respective abilities. Honestly, I don't remember why I decided to do that. So, without further ado, let's just move on to scene scripts/analysis.
Scene 7: Dancing Shoes
Hanakichi: I got a little too excited while dancing during the festival and broke the strap on my sandal. Doggone it! Boo hoo hoo...Oh! That thing you have there...Is that the legendary crimson sandal strap? Please give it to me!
Goemon: Give / Don’t give
Hanakichi: Thank you! You saved me! I can be happy and dance again! To express my gratitude, I want to give you this enigmatic bean.
Narrator: Goemon and allies received an enigmatic bean. What on earth did he mean by “enigmatic bean”?
I guess there can be several explanations for where I got the title for this scene, but the one that comes to my mind right away is the song "I'd Rather Charleston" (At least, I think that's what it's called.). The line goes: "You're just a fellow who has got his brain in his dancing shoes." I think that describes this guy perfectly.
As far as I know, Hanakichi doesn't mean anything, so I just assumed it's the guy's name, and others agreed with me as well.
Scene 8: Yae
Yae: I finally found you guys!
Sasuke: It’s Yae! Perfect timing! We found a note in the shrine here and we were just about to go back to Hagure Town, because we need to get to a secret area in Ninnin Village.
Yae: Do you suppose the conch shell is in a cave? But nobody can get into that place without being able to travel underwater.
Sasuke: But if the Wise Man borrowed Yae’s body, maybe she would be able to enter...
Goemon: Y-Yae’s body? Come on, you can’t do that...gah, nosebleed!
Ebisumaru: G-Goemon! What are you thinking?! By the way, Yae, why were you looking for us?
Yae: Umm...Yeah...Actually, while I was on patrol, the ninja cat Kurobei told me about the Wise Man’s situation and I thought I could help.
Goemon: I didn’t know Kurobei knew about that. Hey, Yae, I’m sorry to drag you into this situation...
Yae: Well, we’re friends. Why would you apologize now, I’m already a part of this. Let’s go!
Hey, if I called Scene 3 "Sasuke", I can call this one "Yae", right? Wow, I'm so creative. I don't really know if I was considering any other good options for titles.
This one caught my attention pretty early on (even before I got a full translation) for one reason: Goemon's sudden nosebleed. For those of you who read a lot of manga (and that doesn't really describe me), you know what I'm getting at here. I took this as a sign that just talking about Yae's body was enough of a turn-on for him to get a nosebleed just out of the blue like that. Now, personally, I am very much against a GoexYae pairing, but this is the first real piece of evidence I've seen in any of the games that supports a possible relationship between those two.
Apparently, this is the first scene where I employed my usual practice of reading the Japanese script in slow motion to gauge time. There's a lot of time for each subtitle from here on out, and I didn't exactly display a lot of editing prowess in handling it.
Scene 9: Bird Gathering Ninjutsu!
Cook: Something terrible happened! The important chickens ran off! If we had the right food, we could catch the chickens right away. Ooh! Is that the enigmatic bean? Please, by all means, give it to me!
Yae: Give / What the hell are you talking about?!
Cook: Thank you so much! With this, I should be able to bring them back! With the power of this bean, bird gathering nijutsu! Oh, how they assemble! You were very helpful! To thank you, I will give you one of our fields!
Narrator: Goemon and allies obtained a field...So they’re proud land owners now?!
The title is a reference to Scene 2, where I used the name of the ninjutsu used as the title.
The ninja that Yae talks to is called "Itasan", which means cook. Itasan is a name that is attached to several NPCs in this game, but they all seem to be farmers rather than cooks. I almost called this guy "Mr. Ita", and I probably would've done the same for all the other Itasans that the group runs into. But, I suppose now I've gotta call them "Cook", even though they're clearly farmers or ranchers.
By the way, does anybody know if there's any significance to the parcel of land the group gets for helping bring the chickens back? It's not like you trade the deed later, but I can't remember if it's worth anything at all.
Scene 10: Bismaru's Mechanical Bodyguard
Bismaru: Oh, ho ho ho ho! I’ve been waiting for you. Look at this town, it’s so lovely and cleared away! Now it’s your turn! I give you the mechanical bodyguard!
Robot: G-Goemon...Gaaaah!
---
Bismaru: So shameless! Useless piece of junk! I will take the girl and smash you with my own enormous robot! Farewell!
Omitsu: Kyaa! Help me, Goemon!
Goemon: Damn it! Omitsu’s in trouble again!
Ebisumaru: Waah! We’re in big trouble! What are we going to do?
Yae: Ah! Look! That ugly robot is running away!
Sasuke: Goemon! Use the conch shell to call Impact!
Goemon: Okay! Huh? Is this thing broken or something?
Sasuke: You have to take a bigger breath!
Goemon: Argh! Fine, I’ll change the way I do this! I will overcome this! Let’s go!
"The Mechanical Bodyguard" makes more sense than "The Tricky Bodyguard", right? The word "karakuri" means tricky, but, according to Sarahsuke, it can also be used to describe "a mechanical device to tease, trick, or take a person by surprise." Also, this is the title Kabuki Forever gives himself in the GG3 Ending.
Scene 11: Impact is too Slow!
Goemon: Goemon Impact is a time machine? Well, at any rate, that pest is running away really fast!
Sasuke: Yae, pull that new switch there.
Yae: Okay! This yellow switch, right?
Ebisumaru: We’re not going nearly fast enough! Is something broken in here?
Sasuke: What do you mean by that?!
Goemon: Hey! Stop fighting over that! We have to chase this guy!
Ebisumaru: At this rate, it’ll be nighttime by the time we get there...
Ah. So that's why Impact's "rampage" is so sluggish.
Originally, I thought Ebisumaru was yelling at Yae for something. After all, the implication from Scene 2 is that he doesn't really like her (I probably should've mentioned that...). But, I guess he was yelling at Sasuke for something instead.
Scene 12: Bismaru Elegant
Bismaru: Bonjour! You’ve got some nerve coming here. It is dangerous for you here! It must have been love at first sight that brought you to this place! Unfortunately for all of you, however, this will be goodbye. Bismaru Elegant, transformation!
I liked writing this scene. In fact, I think Bismaru is a really fun villain to write for. You can go completely over the top with him, and it won't seem out of place.
Yes, you read that right. Bismaru is in fact a male, homosexual transvestite. Recall that Goemon, Ebisumaru, and Sasuke all refer to Bismaru as "he" or "him" in Goemon's Great Adventure. According to Sarahsuke, the term used to describe Bismaru is "okama."
And I don't know why Bismaru's head disappears for a long time like that. It reminds me of Bismaru's pod disappearing all at once in the ending, and something else that I'll mention in the next post.
And that wraps up the Part 2 analysis. I'll get Part 3 up as soon as I can.
GG3 - Part 1
Ganbare Goemon 3 (English) - Part 1
I was really excited about this project, and had kept it a secret until I knew for certain that it could work. The video was made public on January 22, 2008, only one day after I uploaded the GG3 Ending.
When I decided that I would play through all of Ganbare Goemon 3 to get the ending, I also had the idea of recording every major scene (and a few minor ones) along the way so that I could make a series of videos that would contain said scenes, completely translated. Ganbare Goemon 3 is my favorite of the SNES Goemon games, so I really didn't mind doing this. As for how many are going to be in this series, I originally said 7 or 8, but it looks like there's probably gonna be more.
I ended up breaking a few of my own rules with this one. I tried as much as I could to have only one-line subtitles, because they're easier to read that way, but it just didn't work out. I had left myself a lot less time in the scenes than I had hoped. Apparently, this was before I started my usual practice of gauging the amount of time I should keep a particular piece of Japanese dialogue on the screen based on how long it takes me to read it. (The emulator slows down and mutes when it records something.) So, as a result, I have two-line subtitles (which actually aren't as bad as I remember them being), English subtitles where there's no Japanese dialogue, and parts where one person is speaking in Japanese and somebody else is speaking in English. I totally screwed up there.
And don't even get me started on the archaic language. Apparently, even native speakers can barely understand some words, and that made translating this a real chore. I almost abandoned this particular project, it was so bad.
For the first time since starting Ganbare Goemon in English, I ran into a joke based on a pun where I had no idea how to handle it. I always worried about what I would do when such a joke would come up, and looking back on it now, I might have mishandled it. More details on the joke when I talk about the specific scene it's in.
The skipping problem was really bad this time around, and I was starting to grow really irritated. At this point, I thought something was wrong with my I-Movie program, which doesn't make a lot of sense since the GG3 Ending escaped that fate and the QuickTime video I got from my I-Movie file worked just fine. But, regardless of the cause, I decided the best way to remedy this situation would be to put the dialogue in the comments. This is a Goemon video, after all, so I didn't expect a lot of comments anyway. (This is where YouTube's 500 character limit in comments really started to annoy me.) But, that may have been interpreted as being somewhat rude, and now that I've got this, I'll take the dialogue out of the comments and put them here instead!
The script of the scene will usually be followed by commentary. For the dialogue, a "---" indicates a significant passage of time that isn't included in the video. Usually, this means a fight, and I normally use a "Cross Dissolve" transition during these parts.
Scene 1: You're Lost Little Girl
Lost Girl: A bandit chased me up here. (Sniff) I don’t suppose you can take me back to town?
Ebisumaru: Agree / Refuse
Lost Girl: I’m so happy! Just drop me off at the town entrance.
---
Lost Girl: Thank you very much, strong gentlemen, I’m okay now! Ah! But my words are not enough to show my appreciation, so I want to give you this crimson sandal strap as a present! Take it!
Narrator: Goemon and allies received a crimson sandal strap. That’s not very helpful without an actual sandal!
The title of the scene came from a song by The Doors of the same name. I planned to use similar outside references for the titles of as many scenes as I possibly could, but ended up actually doing it for a disappointingly low amount.
As you can probably tell, the person talking during "decision scenes" like this one will be decided based on who I'm playing as at the time. I can say that Ebisumaru is playing right now because his attack is better than Goemon's for fighting overworld enemies.
I had also originally intended to show Ebisumaru leading the girl back the entire way, but that idea was discarded almost immediately. It's a waste of space.
Scene 2: Mimicry Transformation Ninjutsu!
Ghost: Oh, ho ho ho ho! From here, none shall pass! (Meow)
Kurobei: Goemon! Ebisumaru! Long time no see! (Meow)
Goemon: Oh! It’s the ninja cat, Kurobei! What are you doing here?
Ebisumaru: Did something happen to Princess Yuki again?
Kurobei: Not so! (Meow) I’m keeping the townspeople from going down this road. (Meow)
Goemon: I asked you to do that? Ha ha ha ha ha!
Ebisumaru: Ha ha ha, good one, Goemon! Well, let’s go, it’s almost lunch time!
Kurobei: H-Hey, wait a minute! (Meow) I need to give Goemon a special present today! (Meow)
Ebisumaru: Food!
Kurobei: Wrong! (Meow) I want to give you an amazing transformation ninjutsu! (Meow)
Goemon: Oh! That’s great!
Ebisumaru: (So does that mean Yae might have to become our colleague?! Gu hoo hoo hoo...)
Kurobei: Ninja arts, mimicry transformation ninjutsu!
Narrator: Goemon and allies learned the mimicry transformation ninjutsu. If two people play together, they can be the same character!
Goemon: Kurobei, you’re a shining individual!
Ebisumaru: Wow! You’ve filled me with of overwhelming hope!
Kurobei: Well, I’ll leave you some money, but I have to say goodbye now. Farewell! (Meow)
There's a joke in this scene that I think didn't really work. After Kurobei explains why he's here, Goemon starts laughing. I personally think it's because Goemon is making fun of him for getting stuck with a crappy job like that, but I'm probably way off.
This is the first time I really noticed Ebisumaru using distinctly feminine language. I believe he ends his "overwhelming hope" line with "wa", which is a particle used by women to indicate emotion or admiration. Maybe he's said similar things in past scenes that I've done, but this is the first time I caught it.
Kurobei's "Meow" at the end of almost every sentence wasn't made up. He really does end his sentences with "Nya" or "Nyaa", which is the Japanese word for "Meow." In fact, Japanese baby talk for cat is "Nyaa nyaa."
Scene 3: Sasuke
Sasuke: Huh! G-Goemon? What are you doing here in the mansion?
Ebisumaru: The Wise Man screwed up while using the time machine to look at girls...
Goemon: Ah! Ebisumaru, keep quiet about that! Actually, the Wise Man...
Sasuke: What?! Is that really true? In that case, we have no choice but to go into the future after him!
Ebisumaru: Well, do you have a time machine? Is it somewhere in this mansion?
Sasuke: No, it’s not here!
Goemon: Augh! Then how are we going to go into the future?
Sasuke: I think the Wise Man wrote it down and hid the note somewhere. If we use the conch shell, we should be able to call...
Ebisumaru: I can use the c-conch shell?
Goemon: Ebisumaru! Be a nice guy and wait a little before using the old guy’s great...
Sasuke: Uh! Looks like someone set off my self-destruct switch a little while ago...
Goemon/Ebisumaru: Sasuke!
There's actually a funny story about the title to this one. I was pretty close to calling this one"Good/Evil Switch?! We Don't Need No Stinkin' Good/Evil Switch!", but that was way too long and didn't really have anything to do with the actual content of the scene. For those of you who don't know, there's a widespread (and unsubstantiated) belief that Sasuke attacks Goemon and Ebisumaru because somebody flipped some switch on his back that allows him to change spontaneously from "good" to "evil" and vice versa. After you defeat him, the theory goes, Goemon and Ebisumaru change him back to normal by flipping the good/evil switch. I can assure you that this theory is bogus; the only switch mentioned in the entire scene is the "jibaku suitchi" ("self-destruct switch) that Goemon (presumably) hits. The real reason that Sasuke attacks them is revealed in another scene.
This is where the pun I mentioned above can be found. The word for conch shell is "horagai", and the word for bragging/boasting is "hora." I'm pretty sure I used the wrong word. I think I should've had Ebisumaru say something like, "Was he boasting about me?" (referring to the note the Wise Man wrote), and Goemon would say "Ebisumaru! Wait a little while before assuming the old guy is calling you a nice guy!" Something like that. I don't know, I think I mishandled it.
Oh, and before I forget, one more thing I should mention. I read somewhere that the Japanese don't really have any nicknames. That being said, I found it a bit odd that Goemon sometimes refers to Ebisumaru as "Ebi" and Ebisumaru sometimes refers to Goemon as "Goe". I guess it's OK because they're good friends, but I was under the impression that even good friends don't have nicknames for each other. Oh well. I still call them by their full names in all translations.
Scene 4: Sasuke?!
Goemon: Ah! We’ve got a problem here!
Ebisumaru: Looks like Mr. Tanuki exploded, too...
Sasuke: We’ll travel using this walker, an invention of the Wise Man’s.
Ebisumaru: Huh?! This is surprising!
Goemon: S-Sasuke?! Didn’t you just blow up?
Sasuke: That was just a joke. Anyway, we have to hurry to Festival Village.
Ebisumaru: Why do we have to go to Festival Village?
Sasuke: The time machine was purchased there, so that’s where we can learn more about it.
Goemon: I can’t believe Sasuke made a joke...
The title is a callback to the title of the previous scene. No surprises there, right?
I love the fact that Sasuke's idea of a joke is pretending to blow up. I wonder if the Wise Man told him it would be funny.
Scene 5: Run, Goemon, Run!
Goemon: Sasuke, I was surprised when you attacked us back there!
Sasuke: I’m sorry! There was a strange uprising, and everything in the mansion became that way. Everybody started acting blindly.
Ebisumaru: Well, we can’t have that! I am certainly...
Goemon: Huh?! What’s with this tremor?
The title is a reference to "Forest Gump" (or "Star Wars", if you prefer, though Forest Gump was what I was originally thinking there).
There was a bit of confusion here during the translation because I made a mistake copying the Japanese symbols. It made absolutely no sense when I got the first version of the translation, so I took a closer look and realized I had "misspelled" one word. This was corrected right before I sent the script to Sarahsuke.
Scene 6: The Wise Man's Vacation Home
Sasuke: Well, well...It looks like we were able to reach safety.
Goemon: What the hell are you talking about?! What place is safe while that weird machine is chasing us?!
Ebisumaru: Yeah! And I’m so hungry, I feel like I’m about to die!
Sasuke: I don’t care! Festival Village is right over there, and the Wise Man’s vacation home is just beyond it. Actually, that place...
Ebisumaru: That place must have a ton of food in it! I wonder whether there’s even enough for me to eat...(mumble, mumble)
Sasuke: (Unn...) It’s necessary for us to go there because the conch shell should be hidden somewhere in the house for safekeeping. It would be advantageous if we can get it.
Goemon: All right then, enough talk! Let’s go! Sasuke! Ebisumaru!
Ebisumaru: Yes, Goemon! I can’t wait for the feast!
Sasuke: (Those two are certainly enthusiastic about going to the Wise Man’s vacation home. I guess they don’t realize how difficult it’s going to be to get through there. The Wise Man is a tricky individual, after all.)
Of all the scenes in this video, this is a personal favorite because I was able to translate a sizable portion of it on my own ("sizable portion" being the first 4 or 5 lines). Also, I think it's hilarious that Ebisumaru is so obsessed with food, he's totally convinced that a huge feast will be waiting for him at the Wise Man's vacation house. In case you couldn't tell, Ebisumaru is probably my favorite character, mostly because he's the most fun to write for (both here and in fanfiction).
I hope you guys enjoyed my (long and boring) scene analysis. I'll be doing more soon, so check back periodically.
I was really excited about this project, and had kept it a secret until I knew for certain that it could work. The video was made public on January 22, 2008, only one day after I uploaded the GG3 Ending.
When I decided that I would play through all of Ganbare Goemon 3 to get the ending, I also had the idea of recording every major scene (and a few minor ones) along the way so that I could make a series of videos that would contain said scenes, completely translated. Ganbare Goemon 3 is my favorite of the SNES Goemon games, so I really didn't mind doing this. As for how many are going to be in this series, I originally said 7 or 8, but it looks like there's probably gonna be more.
I ended up breaking a few of my own rules with this one. I tried as much as I could to have only one-line subtitles, because they're easier to read that way, but it just didn't work out. I had left myself a lot less time in the scenes than I had hoped. Apparently, this was before I started my usual practice of gauging the amount of time I should keep a particular piece of Japanese dialogue on the screen based on how long it takes me to read it. (The emulator slows down and mutes when it records something.) So, as a result, I have two-line subtitles (which actually aren't as bad as I remember them being), English subtitles where there's no Japanese dialogue, and parts where one person is speaking in Japanese and somebody else is speaking in English. I totally screwed up there.
And don't even get me started on the archaic language. Apparently, even native speakers can barely understand some words, and that made translating this a real chore. I almost abandoned this particular project, it was so bad.
For the first time since starting Ganbare Goemon in English, I ran into a joke based on a pun where I had no idea how to handle it. I always worried about what I would do when such a joke would come up, and looking back on it now, I might have mishandled it. More details on the joke when I talk about the specific scene it's in.
The skipping problem was really bad this time around, and I was starting to grow really irritated. At this point, I thought something was wrong with my I-Movie program, which doesn't make a lot of sense since the GG3 Ending escaped that fate and the QuickTime video I got from my I-Movie file worked just fine. But, regardless of the cause, I decided the best way to remedy this situation would be to put the dialogue in the comments. This is a Goemon video, after all, so I didn't expect a lot of comments anyway. (This is where YouTube's 500 character limit in comments really started to annoy me.) But, that may have been interpreted as being somewhat rude, and now that I've got this, I'll take the dialogue out of the comments and put them here instead!
The script of the scene will usually be followed by commentary. For the dialogue, a "---" indicates a significant passage of time that isn't included in the video. Usually, this means a fight, and I normally use a "Cross Dissolve" transition during these parts.
Scene 1: You're Lost Little Girl
Lost Girl: A bandit chased me up here. (Sniff) I don’t suppose you can take me back to town?
Ebisumaru: Agree / Refuse
Lost Girl: I’m so happy! Just drop me off at the town entrance.
---
Lost Girl: Thank you very much, strong gentlemen, I’m okay now! Ah! But my words are not enough to show my appreciation, so I want to give you this crimson sandal strap as a present! Take it!
Narrator: Goemon and allies received a crimson sandal strap. That’s not very helpful without an actual sandal!
The title of the scene came from a song by The Doors of the same name. I planned to use similar outside references for the titles of as many scenes as I possibly could, but ended up actually doing it for a disappointingly low amount.
As you can probably tell, the person talking during "decision scenes" like this one will be decided based on who I'm playing as at the time. I can say that Ebisumaru is playing right now because his attack is better than Goemon's for fighting overworld enemies.
I had also originally intended to show Ebisumaru leading the girl back the entire way, but that idea was discarded almost immediately. It's a waste of space.
Scene 2: Mimicry Transformation Ninjutsu!
Ghost: Oh, ho ho ho ho! From here, none shall pass! (Meow)
Kurobei: Goemon! Ebisumaru! Long time no see! (Meow)
Goemon: Oh! It’s the ninja cat, Kurobei! What are you doing here?
Ebisumaru: Did something happen to Princess Yuki again?
Kurobei: Not so! (Meow) I’m keeping the townspeople from going down this road. (Meow)
Goemon: I asked you to do that? Ha ha ha ha ha!
Ebisumaru: Ha ha ha, good one, Goemon! Well, let’s go, it’s almost lunch time!
Kurobei: H-Hey, wait a minute! (Meow) I need to give Goemon a special present today! (Meow)
Ebisumaru: Food!
Kurobei: Wrong! (Meow) I want to give you an amazing transformation ninjutsu! (Meow)
Goemon: Oh! That’s great!
Ebisumaru: (So does that mean Yae might have to become our colleague?! Gu hoo hoo hoo...)
Kurobei: Ninja arts, mimicry transformation ninjutsu!
Narrator: Goemon and allies learned the mimicry transformation ninjutsu. If two people play together, they can be the same character!
Goemon: Kurobei, you’re a shining individual!
Ebisumaru: Wow! You’ve filled me with of overwhelming hope!
Kurobei: Well, I’ll leave you some money, but I have to say goodbye now. Farewell! (Meow)
There's a joke in this scene that I think didn't really work. After Kurobei explains why he's here, Goemon starts laughing. I personally think it's because Goemon is making fun of him for getting stuck with a crappy job like that, but I'm probably way off.
This is the first time I really noticed Ebisumaru using distinctly feminine language. I believe he ends his "overwhelming hope" line with "wa", which is a particle used by women to indicate emotion or admiration. Maybe he's said similar things in past scenes that I've done, but this is the first time I caught it.
Kurobei's "Meow" at the end of almost every sentence wasn't made up. He really does end his sentences with "Nya" or "Nyaa", which is the Japanese word for "Meow." In fact, Japanese baby talk for cat is "Nyaa nyaa."
Scene 3: Sasuke
Sasuke: Huh! G-Goemon? What are you doing here in the mansion?
Ebisumaru: The Wise Man screwed up while using the time machine to look at girls...
Goemon: Ah! Ebisumaru, keep quiet about that! Actually, the Wise Man...
Sasuke: What?! Is that really true? In that case, we have no choice but to go into the future after him!
Ebisumaru: Well, do you have a time machine? Is it somewhere in this mansion?
Sasuke: No, it’s not here!
Goemon: Augh! Then how are we going to go into the future?
Sasuke: I think the Wise Man wrote it down and hid the note somewhere. If we use the conch shell, we should be able to call...
Ebisumaru: I can use the c-conch shell?
Goemon: Ebisumaru! Be a nice guy and wait a little before using the old guy’s great...
Sasuke: Uh! Looks like someone set off my self-destruct switch a little while ago...
Goemon/Ebisumaru: Sasuke!
There's actually a funny story about the title to this one. I was pretty close to calling this one"Good/Evil Switch?! We Don't Need No Stinkin' Good/Evil Switch!", but that was way too long and didn't really have anything to do with the actual content of the scene. For those of you who don't know, there's a widespread (and unsubstantiated) belief that Sasuke attacks Goemon and Ebisumaru because somebody flipped some switch on his back that allows him to change spontaneously from "good" to "evil" and vice versa. After you defeat him, the theory goes, Goemon and Ebisumaru change him back to normal by flipping the good/evil switch. I can assure you that this theory is bogus; the only switch mentioned in the entire scene is the "jibaku suitchi" ("self-destruct switch) that Goemon (presumably) hits. The real reason that Sasuke attacks them is revealed in another scene.
This is where the pun I mentioned above can be found. The word for conch shell is "horagai", and the word for bragging/boasting is "hora." I'm pretty sure I used the wrong word. I think I should've had Ebisumaru say something like, "Was he boasting about me?" (referring to the note the Wise Man wrote), and Goemon would say "Ebisumaru! Wait a little while before assuming the old guy is calling you a nice guy!" Something like that. I don't know, I think I mishandled it.
Oh, and before I forget, one more thing I should mention. I read somewhere that the Japanese don't really have any nicknames. That being said, I found it a bit odd that Goemon sometimes refers to Ebisumaru as "Ebi" and Ebisumaru sometimes refers to Goemon as "Goe". I guess it's OK because they're good friends, but I was under the impression that even good friends don't have nicknames for each other. Oh well. I still call them by their full names in all translations.
Scene 4: Sasuke?!
Goemon: Ah! We’ve got a problem here!
Ebisumaru: Looks like Mr. Tanuki exploded, too...
Sasuke: We’ll travel using this walker, an invention of the Wise Man’s.
Ebisumaru: Huh?! This is surprising!
Goemon: S-Sasuke?! Didn’t you just blow up?
Sasuke: That was just a joke. Anyway, we have to hurry to Festival Village.
Ebisumaru: Why do we have to go to Festival Village?
Sasuke: The time machine was purchased there, so that’s where we can learn more about it.
Goemon: I can’t believe Sasuke made a joke...
The title is a callback to the title of the previous scene. No surprises there, right?
I love the fact that Sasuke's idea of a joke is pretending to blow up. I wonder if the Wise Man told him it would be funny.
Scene 5: Run, Goemon, Run!
Goemon: Sasuke, I was surprised when you attacked us back there!
Sasuke: I’m sorry! There was a strange uprising, and everything in the mansion became that way. Everybody started acting blindly.
Ebisumaru: Well, we can’t have that! I am certainly...
Goemon: Huh?! What’s with this tremor?
The title is a reference to "Forest Gump" (or "Star Wars", if you prefer, though Forest Gump was what I was originally thinking there).
There was a bit of confusion here during the translation because I made a mistake copying the Japanese symbols. It made absolutely no sense when I got the first version of the translation, so I took a closer look and realized I had "misspelled" one word. This was corrected right before I sent the script to Sarahsuke.
Scene 6: The Wise Man's Vacation Home
Sasuke: Well, well...It looks like we were able to reach safety.
Goemon: What the hell are you talking about?! What place is safe while that weird machine is chasing us?!
Ebisumaru: Yeah! And I’m so hungry, I feel like I’m about to die!
Sasuke: I don’t care! Festival Village is right over there, and the Wise Man’s vacation home is just beyond it. Actually, that place...
Ebisumaru: That place must have a ton of food in it! I wonder whether there’s even enough for me to eat...(mumble, mumble)
Sasuke: (Unn...) It’s necessary for us to go there because the conch shell should be hidden somewhere in the house for safekeeping. It would be advantageous if we can get it.
Goemon: All right then, enough talk! Let’s go! Sasuke! Ebisumaru!
Ebisumaru: Yes, Goemon! I can’t wait for the feast!
Sasuke: (Those two are certainly enthusiastic about going to the Wise Man’s vacation home. I guess they don’t realize how difficult it’s going to be to get through there. The Wise Man is a tricky individual, after all.)
Of all the scenes in this video, this is a personal favorite because I was able to translate a sizable portion of it on my own ("sizable portion" being the first 4 or 5 lines). Also, I think it's hilarious that Ebisumaru is so obsessed with food, he's totally convinced that a huge feast will be waiting for him at the Wise Man's vacation house. In case you couldn't tell, Ebisumaru is probably my favorite character, mostly because he's the most fun to write for (both here and in fanfiction).
I hope you guys enjoyed my (long and boring) scene analysis. I'll be doing more soon, so check back periodically.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Ganbare Goemon 3 Ending
Ganbare Goemon 3 Ending in English
This was done at the request of Sarahsuke and uploaded to YouTube on January 21, 2008. Spoilers to Ganbare Goemon 3 can be found in this video, of course, so click at your own risk.
There's a lot of awkward dialogue here, and the last sentence is really hard to understand (well, it is for me anyway...I don't know, maybe I'm just an idiot...wait, what do I mean, "maybe"?). I don't know, I thought I had it figured out at one point, and now I've completely forgotten it. But I still really like how everybody freaks out when he shows up out of nowhere.
The archaic language (which was present in most, if not all, the videos before and since) was a slight hurdle here. Jurokubei has a lot of it. Just imagine them all talking as if they were in a Shakespeare play, though this would've taken place in a much earlier time period. (Speaking of Shakespeare...well, I'll mention it in a later post...a MUCH later post). And the fact that both Jurokubei and Ebisumaru had really long speeches didn't exactly make this one easy to understand.
For some reason, there were very few problems with the visuals here. The only major one I can think of right now is that, when Jurokubei is leaving in Bismaru's pod, the pod vanishes in a split second instead of doing one of those wavy things and fading out slowly. Also, Kabuki Forever doesn't flash when he gets hit. For some reason, this particular video didn't have the skipping problem.
There were some small audio problems, but this wasn't a big deal at all. The volume would fluctuate every so often, but I don't think it was very noticeable (was it?).
To be honest, I'm not sure if I like how this one turned out. The dialogue is relatively awkward, and this was the first time I had to really experiment with how to do sound effects (I'd rather not just copy what the Japanese dialogue says...). But, those who told me what they thought said they liked it, so I decided to get to work on the next thing.
This was done at the request of Sarahsuke and uploaded to YouTube on January 21, 2008. Spoilers to Ganbare Goemon 3 can be found in this video, of course, so click at your own risk.
There's a lot of awkward dialogue here, and the last sentence is really hard to understand (well, it is for me anyway...I don't know, maybe I'm just an idiot...wait, what do I mean, "maybe"?). I don't know, I thought I had it figured out at one point, and now I've completely forgotten it. But I still really like how everybody freaks out when he shows up out of nowhere.
The archaic language (which was present in most, if not all, the videos before and since) was a slight hurdle here. Jurokubei has a lot of it. Just imagine them all talking as if they were in a Shakespeare play, though this would've taken place in a much earlier time period. (Speaking of Shakespeare...well, I'll mention it in a later post...a MUCH later post). And the fact that both Jurokubei and Ebisumaru had really long speeches didn't exactly make this one easy to understand.
For some reason, there were very few problems with the visuals here. The only major one I can think of right now is that, when Jurokubei is leaving in Bismaru's pod, the pod vanishes in a split second instead of doing one of those wavy things and fading out slowly. Also, Kabuki Forever doesn't flash when he gets hit. For some reason, this particular video didn't have the skipping problem.
There were some small audio problems, but this wasn't a big deal at all. The volume would fluctuate every so often, but I don't think it was very noticeable (was it?).
To be honest, I'm not sure if I like how this one turned out. The dialogue is relatively awkward, and this was the first time I had to really experiment with how to do sound effects (I'd rather not just copy what the Japanese dialogue says...). But, those who told me what they thought said they liked it, so I decided to get to work on the next thing.
GG2 Intro v. 2 and GG3 Intro v. 2
Ganbare Goemon 2 in English (version 2)
Ganbare Goemon 3 in English (version 2)
The updated GG2 intro was uploaded on January 13, 2008, and the revised GG3 intro was uploaded on January 15, 2008, which would mean these videos were made right before and right after the current semester started, respectively.
I had intended to update the GG2 Intro pretty much since the beginning. Like I said below, it became apparent fairly quickly that I had made some mistakes in the translation and the identity of the speakers. These were some major changes; the biggest one was that Magginesu was no longer "the strange foreigner from the hotel", but "the strange foreigner who set up the lottery." The word I mentioned in the post regarding the first version of the GG2 intro mentioned the word "fukubiki". Thanks to a site provided by the wonderful Sarahsuke (which you can find here), I was finally able to find the meaning to this elusive word (stupid paper dictionary...). Since then, that site has been an invaluable resource to me, as my knowledge of Japanese is still somewhat...lacking. This video also got a theoretical boost in video quality.
The GG3 intro had some less dramatic changes. I made some minor adjustments to the script in order to make things a little more interesting or understandable, and this one also got the stripe subtitles that I've been using in my videos since then.
However, something I got wrong soon came to my attention. The Wise Man talks about why he's going in the future, and I had him accidentally revealing that he wants to "look at the girls", and then he verbally stumbles and claims he is instead going "to do important stuff." The "important stuff" part is actually not a part of the Japanese dialogue. Unfortunately, I had already gotten rid of all the raw video files (the huge amount of memory it was taking up on my laptop was causing some serious fragmentation), so uploading yet another video was not a desirable option. Instead, I mentioned this in the video description on YouTube. This would probably be a good time to mention that these translations are not "word for word", but I try to make them as accurate as I possibly can. I believe that a translation with a few minor mistakes is better than no translation at all.
This was also when I started to notice an ugly problem rearing its head. Both of these videos had a problem where they would skip. The GG2 one wasn't too noticeable (still annoying, though), but the GG3 intro was especially bad; it would only show the first frame of each second. In other words, viewers would miss 29 frames a second, and the fact that a given subtitle wouldn't be up for too long made it very difficult to read. In order to remedy the situation, I put the full scripts in the video descriptions (they weren't that long, fortunately). And then I got to work on two big projects...
Ganbare Goemon 3 in English (version 2)
The updated GG2 intro was uploaded on January 13, 2008, and the revised GG3 intro was uploaded on January 15, 2008, which would mean these videos were made right before and right after the current semester started, respectively.
I had intended to update the GG2 Intro pretty much since the beginning. Like I said below, it became apparent fairly quickly that I had made some mistakes in the translation and the identity of the speakers. These were some major changes; the biggest one was that Magginesu was no longer "the strange foreigner from the hotel", but "the strange foreigner who set up the lottery." The word I mentioned in the post regarding the first version of the GG2 intro mentioned the word "fukubiki". Thanks to a site provided by the wonderful Sarahsuke (which you can find here), I was finally able to find the meaning to this elusive word (stupid paper dictionary...). Since then, that site has been an invaluable resource to me, as my knowledge of Japanese is still somewhat...lacking. This video also got a theoretical boost in video quality.
The GG3 intro had some less dramatic changes. I made some minor adjustments to the script in order to make things a little more interesting or understandable, and this one also got the stripe subtitles that I've been using in my videos since then.
However, something I got wrong soon came to my attention. The Wise Man talks about why he's going in the future, and I had him accidentally revealing that he wants to "look at the girls", and then he verbally stumbles and claims he is instead going "to do important stuff." The "important stuff" part is actually not a part of the Japanese dialogue. Unfortunately, I had already gotten rid of all the raw video files (the huge amount of memory it was taking up on my laptop was causing some serious fragmentation), so uploading yet another video was not a desirable option. Instead, I mentioned this in the video description on YouTube. This would probably be a good time to mention that these translations are not "word for word", but I try to make them as accurate as I possibly can. I believe that a translation with a few minor mistakes is better than no translation at all.
This was also when I started to notice an ugly problem rearing its head. Both of these videos had a problem where they would skip. The GG2 one wasn't too noticeable (still annoying, though), but the GG3 intro was especially bad; it would only show the first frame of each second. In other words, viewers would miss 29 frames a second, and the fact that a given subtitle wouldn't be up for too long made it very difficult to read. In order to remedy the situation, I put the full scripts in the video descriptions (they weren't that long, fortunately). And then I got to work on two big projects...
Ganbare Goemon 3 Intro v. 1
Ganbare Goemon 3 in English
The translated intro to my personal favorite of the SNES Goemon games, uploaded on November 17, 2007. The story behind this one is a bit noteworthy.
I had transcribed the Japanese symbols, as usual, and taken them to my grandparents' house. My grandma was going to Japan the next Saturday, so I knew if I didn't get the translation then, I would have to wait until January before I could get it. That was simply unacceptable in my mind, so I did everything I could to get that translation. Due to time constraints, I got a rough, general overview, but I didn't think this was sufficient. Fortunately, I ended up seeing her a couple more times that week, and on Wednesday, I finally got a decent translation, though I still felt that there were several holes that needed filling. I figured this was good enough, though, since I had hoped to update at least the GG2 in English video at the start of the new year anyway.
After an eventful Thursday, I sent the script to Sarahsuke on Friday or Saturday. She pointed out several things that I had missed. I have to say that, out of all the times I've sent her a script, this was when she was the most helpful. This was when I learned what the suffix "sama" means, for example.
Notice that this is the last video where I used normal subtitles.
The translated intro to my personal favorite of the SNES Goemon games, uploaded on November 17, 2007. The story behind this one is a bit noteworthy.
I had transcribed the Japanese symbols, as usual, and taken them to my grandparents' house. My grandma was going to Japan the next Saturday, so I knew if I didn't get the translation then, I would have to wait until January before I could get it. That was simply unacceptable in my mind, so I did everything I could to get that translation. Due to time constraints, I got a rough, general overview, but I didn't think this was sufficient. Fortunately, I ended up seeing her a couple more times that week, and on Wednesday, I finally got a decent translation, though I still felt that there were several holes that needed filling. I figured this was good enough, though, since I had hoped to update at least the GG2 in English video at the start of the new year anyway.
After an eventful Thursday, I sent the script to Sarahsuke on Friday or Saturday. She pointed out several things that I had missed. I have to say that, out of all the times I've sent her a script, this was when she was the most helpful. This was when I learned what the suffix "sama" means, for example.
Notice that this is the last video where I used normal subtitles.
Ganbare Goemon 4 Intro
Ganbare Goemon 4 in English
This was a big one. The infamous intro to Ganbare Goemon 4, with English subtitles, posted on November 8, 2007. My curiosity regarding Sasuke being dressed as a woman at the beginning got the best of me.
I had a rough draft of the script in October of the same year, but it wasn't until Sarahsuke offered to proofread the scripts for me a few weeks later that I decided to give this one a try. I fixed it up one last time and sent it to her, and was pleased to find out that it was relatively problem-free, in her opinion. So I got to work putting in the subtitles, using a different style from Ganbare Goemon 2 in English, and uploaded it.
This translation goes against a popular theory (and I use the word loosely) regarding what's happening in this scene. I've read before that it was believed that the giant robot Impact had stumbled upon Planet Impact, where the people worship him as some sort of god. Obviously, my version of the story says nothing of the sort, as Impact describes Planet Impact with a word that is used to talk about one's original home. Therefore, Impact is originally from Planet Impact, which brings up another problem. Didn't the Wise Man build Impact? This one doesn't seem to get an explicit answer, but my hypothesis is that the Wise Man made that story up. The rest of the circumstances regarding Impact's true origins (how and why he came to Earth, the conch shell, etc.) are still shrouded in mystery.
This was a big one. The infamous intro to Ganbare Goemon 4, with English subtitles, posted on November 8, 2007. My curiosity regarding Sasuke being dressed as a woman at the beginning got the best of me.
I had a rough draft of the script in October of the same year, but it wasn't until Sarahsuke offered to proofread the scripts for me a few weeks later that I decided to give this one a try. I fixed it up one last time and sent it to her, and was pleased to find out that it was relatively problem-free, in her opinion. So I got to work putting in the subtitles, using a different style from Ganbare Goemon 2 in English, and uploaded it.
This translation goes against a popular theory (and I use the word loosely) regarding what's happening in this scene. I've read before that it was believed that the giant robot Impact had stumbled upon Planet Impact, where the people worship him as some sort of god. Obviously, my version of the story says nothing of the sort, as Impact describes Planet Impact with a word that is used to talk about one's original home. Therefore, Impact is originally from Planet Impact, which brings up another problem. Didn't the Wise Man build Impact? This one doesn't seem to get an explicit answer, but my hypothesis is that the Wise Man made that story up. The rest of the circumstances regarding Impact's true origins (how and why he came to Earth, the conch shell, etc.) are still shrouded in mystery.
Ganbare Goemon 2 Intro v. 1
Ganbare Goemon 2 in English
For organizational purposes, I've decided to include each video in a separate post, with one exception (which you'll see later).
This is the one that started it all. "Ganbare Goemon 2 in English" was uploaded to YouTube on November 4, 2007 as an experiment to see whether something like this could really work and whether it would be well-received. I already had a script for the Ganbare Goemon 4 intro, but I thought it was so bad, I didn't really do anything with it...yet.
To my delight, several loyal members at GI (to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their support) accepted this video and encouraged me to keep going with the other games in the series. One member in particular, Sarahsuke, offered to help by proofreading my future scripts (as this particular video is chock full of mistakes), and thus, the project was able to move forward.
As I said before, this particular video has some errors with it. Not only did I make some translation mistakes ("fukubiki" is the biggest one; we didn't know what that meant, so I assumed it was the name of a hotel or something), but I often mixed up the speakers of certain lines. You may notice that the speaker of each line isn't explicitly stated, so I usually made an arbitrary choice based on what was being said if it wasn't completely obvious. This was long before I caught on to the distinctly unique speech patterns of each character.
I don't know why a small part of me expected this to be rejected by Goemon fans (inferiority complex, perhaps?). But I'm glad it wasn't, because it gave me the green light to keep going.
For organizational purposes, I've decided to include each video in a separate post, with one exception (which you'll see later).
This is the one that started it all. "Ganbare Goemon 2 in English" was uploaded to YouTube on November 4, 2007 as an experiment to see whether something like this could really work and whether it would be well-received. I already had a script for the Ganbare Goemon 4 intro, but I thought it was so bad, I didn't really do anything with it...yet.
To my delight, several loyal members at GI (to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their support) accepted this video and encouraged me to keep going with the other games in the series. One member in particular, Sarahsuke, offered to help by proofreading my future scripts (as this particular video is chock full of mistakes), and thus, the project was able to move forward.
As I said before, this particular video has some errors with it. Not only did I make some translation mistakes ("fukubiki" is the biggest one; we didn't know what that meant, so I assumed it was the name of a hotel or something), but I often mixed up the speakers of certain lines. You may notice that the speaker of each line isn't explicitly stated, so I usually made an arbitrary choice based on what was being said if it wasn't completely obvious. This was long before I caught on to the distinctly unique speech patterns of each character.
I don't know why a small part of me expected this to be rejected by Goemon fans (inferiority complex, perhaps?). But I'm glad it wasn't, because it gave me the green light to keep going.
Friday, February 1, 2008
First Goemon Fanfic Finally Complete!
I said I would be talking about my Goemon fanfics here as well, and I'm already going to deliver on that promise. My first Goemon fanfic, "A Vengeful Darkness", (really stupid title, I know) is finally complete. Actually, I published the last chapter on December 30 of last year, but I just now, as in about 10 minutes ago, uploaded the final version of the final chapter. Starting in the first or second week of the new semester, I began uploading revised versions of the chapters to replace my old, (probably) crappier versions of the same chapters. You can find the first chapter here.
Some stats for you (since the topic at GI is basically dead, I'll only post these here):
Title: A Vengeful Darkness
Total Words: 80241 (including Author's Notes)
Chapters: 33
Average number of words/chapter: 2432
Pages: Approximately 164 using the program AppleWorks 6, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, and single space.
I always thought I could write a pretty good-sized (not good, just "good-sized") essay about this story...where I got my inspirations, how I went about planning this out, my writing style...you know, that sort of thing. Maybe I'll actually do it if I can't fix the outline for my next (non-Goemon related) fic anytime soon.
Some stats for you (since the topic at GI is basically dead, I'll only post these here):
Title: A Vengeful Darkness
Total Words: 80241 (including Author's Notes)
Chapters: 33
Average number of words/chapter: 2432
Pages: Approximately 164 using the program AppleWorks 6, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, and single space.
I always thought I could write a pretty good-sized (not good, just "good-sized") essay about this story...where I got my inspirations, how I went about planning this out, my writing style...you know, that sort of thing. Maybe I'll actually do it if I can't fix the outline for my next (non-Goemon related) fic anytime soon.
So how does this work?
This post will give you, the reader, a better idea of how exactly I make my videos. This is copied directly from one of my posts in the official "Ganbare Goemon in English" topic at GI. I'm going to take this opportunity to put in a plug for that site. If you love Goemon and you're not already a member, you should join. And post! I'm tired of going there and seeing a ghost town.
1. Writing out the script by hand. I copy every symbol in the subtitles, no matter how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things, or how obvious the meaning is. You can see a page of the "Ganbare Goemon 4" handwritten script here.
In case it's confusing, most lines get written at least two (sometimes three) times: First in Japanese, then in Romaji (Japanese words spelled with English letters), then in English, if I can figure out what it's saying on my own. I know my handwriting looks like it came from a shivering kindergardener, but bear with it. That's not what I want to emphasize. GG4 is the only script I have with me, and this is actually a copy of the original (my grandma took all my originals to Japan). I tried to choose a page that has what I mentioned above, as well as some Kanji. Kanji characters are always the hardest to write and interpret (naturally). They tend to take a lot longer to write, more because I try to get every little detail and make it as close to how it appears on the screen as possible (so there's no confusion about which symbol it actually is) than anything else. "Wakusei" was one of the few that I was ever able to translate on my own because I had a pretty strong feeling it meant "Planet" based on where it appeared in the dialog. Sorry, but I didn't realize there was some Kanji that didn't have Romaji to go with them until after I scanned this in.
2. The script gets translated. My favorite step. I take the script to my grandparents' house, with a video on my computer of the scene I'm translating (usually from YouTube, though the GG3 one came straight from the game). According to my grandmother, this is keeping her from forgetting the Japanese language, so we both benefit from it. Anyway, she goes through it line-by-line, telling me what each sentence means, while I provide information on the context whenever necessary. I take detailed notes to at least get a rough idea of what's being said. The GG3 translation was rushed, so that took about half an hour, while the GG2 and GG4 ones took much longer (GG4 just because it's the longest scene, GG2 because some parts of it didn't make sense to me until I sat down and really thought about it).
3. Revising the script. I take the notes I made during the translation phase and adjust my script to better fit the characters and the story, and to hopefully make it entertaining (though I feel like I'm failing at that). After I've gone through it, Sarahsuke looks it over and gives me her two cents about how to improve the translation. I use her advice to revise the script one last time.
4. Making the video. The video footage comes from a ROM of the game (no surprises there, right?). I use I-Movie to edit my videos. The only difficulty here is figuring out how long I want the subtitles to stay on screen and cutting the clips as finely as possible to match that time and hopefully reduce the amount of time when there are no (English) subtitles on the screen. Really, though, it's not a difficult process. It may be slow and a little repetitive, but I think it's also kind of fun.
5. Uploading the video to YouTube. I don't think I need to go into a detailed explanation here. But this is where the video finally goes public, and you guys show me some love. To be honest, I'm really surprised that I'm the first person (as far as I know) to put this on YouTube. There's gotta be at least one person in the world who's fluent in both English and Japanese and who knows how to make a simple video and post it on the Internet.
Anyway, I digress. Here it is, the entire process, from start to finish:
In case it's confusing, most lines get written at least two (sometimes three) times: First in Japanese, then in Romaji (Japanese words spelled with English letters), then in English, if I can figure out what it's saying on my own. I know my handwriting looks like it came from a shivering kindergardener, but bear with it. That's not what I want to emphasize. GG4 is the only script I have with me, and this is actually a copy of the original (my grandma took all my originals to Japan). I tried to choose a page that has what I mentioned above, as well as some Kanji. Kanji characters are always the hardest to write and interpret (naturally). They tend to take a lot longer to write, more because I try to get every little detail and make it as close to how it appears on the screen as possible (so there's no confusion about which symbol it actually is) than anything else. "Wakusei" was one of the few that I was ever able to translate on my own because I had a pretty strong feeling it meant "Planet" based on where it appeared in the dialog. Sorry, but I didn't realize there was some Kanji that didn't have Romaji to go with them until after I scanned this in.
2. The script gets translated. My favorite step. I take the script to my grandparents' house, with a video on my computer of the scene I'm translating (usually from YouTube, though the GG3 one came straight from the game). According to my grandmother, this is keeping her from forgetting the Japanese language, so we both benefit from it. Anyway, she goes through it line-by-line, telling me what each sentence means, while I provide information on the context whenever necessary. I take detailed notes to at least get a rough idea of what's being said. The GG3 translation was rushed, so that took about half an hour, while the GG2 and GG4 ones took much longer (GG4 just because it's the longest scene, GG2 because some parts of it didn't make sense to me until I sat down and really thought about it).
3. Revising the script. I take the notes I made during the translation phase and adjust my script to better fit the characters and the story, and to hopefully make it entertaining (though I feel like I'm failing at that). After I've gone through it, Sarahsuke looks it over and gives me her two cents about how to improve the translation. I use her advice to revise the script one last time.
4. Making the video. The video footage comes from a ROM of the game (no surprises there, right?). I use I-Movie to edit my videos. The only difficulty here is figuring out how long I want the subtitles to stay on screen and cutting the clips as finely as possible to match that time and hopefully reduce the amount of time when there are no (English) subtitles on the screen. Really, though, it's not a difficult process. It may be slow and a little repetitive, but I think it's also kind of fun.
5. Uploading the video to YouTube. I don't think I need to go into a detailed explanation here. But this is where the video finally goes public, and you guys show me some love. To be honest, I'm really surprised that I'm the first person (as far as I know) to put this on YouTube. There's gotta be at least one person in the world who's fluent in both English and Japanese and who knows how to make a simple video and post it on the Internet.
History
So have you ever wondered how this "Ganbare Goemon in English" thing got started anyway, or how Goemon has been a part of my life in general? Well, I'll tell you. It's long, so I suggest you make yourself really comfortable for awhile.
Fast forward to summer 2007. I just finished my first year of college, which, for reasons I still don't quite understand, made me feel really nostalgic (it must have been all the Super Smash Bros. we played...). Anyway, I had just ordered a Wii on the Internet and done some research on the Virtual Console. I looked at a list of currently available titles, and lo and behold, the prequel to MNSG, "Legend of the Mystical Ninja", was available for download. My mind returned to the game that remained in the back of my head for so long because of its quirky humor, and I decided that I would order it and the sequel, "Goemon's Great Adventure", off of half.com (my best friend at the time) when I got back home.
The story begins almost 10 years ago. A friend had just introduced me to a game called "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon", and I loved watching him play it so much, I decided I had to rent it and try it for myself. I thought that, faulty camera and other bugs aside, it was great.
Fast forward to summer 2007. I just finished my first year of college, which, for reasons I still don't quite understand, made me feel really nostalgic (it must have been all the Super Smash Bros. we played...). Anyway, I had just ordered a Wii on the Internet and done some research on the Virtual Console. I looked at a list of currently available titles, and lo and behold, the prequel to MNSG, "Legend of the Mystical Ninja", was available for download. My mind returned to the game that remained in the back of my head for so long because of its quirky humor, and I decided that I would order it and the sequel, "Goemon's Great Adventure", off of half.com (my best friend at the time) when I got back home.
Both games arrived at my house the day after Memorial Day, 2007. Excitedly, I got to work playing through a game that forced me to keep the same stupid grin on my face the entire time, as well as its equally admirable sequel. I did a lot of research into Goemon and found that the series was much more expansive than I originally thought, with a sizable following in Japan even though it never really caught on in the US. I joined a forum dedicated to the discussion of all things Goemon, Goemon International, under the username Diehard_Fan (based on one of my favorite lines in MNSG; I've never actually seen the film "Die Hard").
Goemon actually changed my life in several ways. One way, perhaps the most major, was that I decided I would try to teach myself Japanese. I'm 1/4 Japanese (my paternal grandmother is Japanese; more about her later), but I don't really have an ear for languages, so I never bothered to learn much Japanese, or any other language for that matter. But this time was different. I wanted to learn to at least read the language so I could understand what was going on when I played the Japanese Goemon games on an emulator. (There's another way Goemon has changed my life. Having a father who works in the entertainment industry, I found the use of emulators to be morally reprehensible before now, as I considered it a form of piracy. I'm still against them in most cases; perhaps I'm a hypocrite, but I can't think of any other reasonable way to get my hands on the Japanese games.)
Anyway, moving on to Labor Day, 2007. I'm still teaching myself Japanese, albeit quite slowly and only to the knowledge of my parents and my sister. I'll remember this as a disastrous day. My dad dropped a section of our pier on his foot, but even worse, my grandma (the one I mentioned above) stepped on a stone in the middle of a parking lot and fell. She was rushed to the hospital, where the doctors determined that she was lucky enough to get out of it with only a few fractured bones, and that she would more than likely be healed before long.
Before I go on, I should probably clarify something. I'm originally from Los Angeles. I attend a university that's thousands of miles away from there, but it's really close to my grandparents' house. I spend most Saturdays there, and since there's no Internet, there's not really much to do there except read and do homework after whatever jobs I need to do around the house to help them out.
So, around the beginning or middle of October, I'm looking through YouTube for videos related to Goemon, and I come across something interesting. Somebody uploaded two songs that were included only in the Japanese version of what we know as Goemon's Great Adventure. The songs are "Smile Again" and "Double Impact", and the person who uploaded them was requesting romaji (Japanese words spelled using Roman letters) lyrics of the songs. I thought to myself, "Hey! I can read Japanese. I can do that!" Oh, but wait just a minute! There's a Kanji character (A Chinese symbol) at the end of Double Impact. I don't know how to read Kanji. But then an idea hit me. "Wait a minute. Grandma's Japanese. Maybe she can help me."
I scribbled the symbols and the lyrics for the entire song down onto blank sheets of printer paper and took them to my grandparents' house that Saturday. Not only did my grandmother help me with the Kanji, she gave me a line by line translation of what the song was saying (somewhat different from translating scenes, as the grammar in these songs is off). Being confined mostly to sitting on the couch and growing quite bored of it, she asked me to bring more the next week.
Following her instructions, I brought the lyrics for Smile Again next. The same thing happened: we sat down and discussed the song completely. I found that I was enjoying myself, spending time with my grandmother while learning about her culture and native language at the same time.
The middle of the following week was the semester break, and that's when I decided to try something a little different. I found the opening to the intro of "Ganbare Goemon 4" on YouTube and took it with me. Once again, I copied the script in its entirety, and we went over the whole scene. Unlike the songs, however, I was taking careful notes about what was going on.
Sometime between then and the next weekend, I got the bright idea to try this with some of the other scenes in the various games, but this time, I would post videos with subtitles of the English translations on YouTube. I decided to start with "Ganbare Goemon 2".
It was difficult, but my grandmother was able to translate it. On November 4, 2007, I uploaded "Ganbare Goemon 2 in English" to YouTube, and announced the start of this project to the members of Goemon International (sometimes referred to as GI from here on out).
My grandma, now healed almost completely, continues to help me in this endeavor to this very day. What started as trying to give her something to do while sitting in bed or on the couch turned into a nearly weekly ritual to increase my knowledge and subsequently that of others. I hope you continue to enjoy watching these videos and learning what's really being said in these scenes.
Wow, that was really long. And it seems like I lied in the previous post. This one really did contain more information about me, probably more than you wanted to know. Well, don't worry. More Goemon is coming soon.
Obligatory Introduction
Greetings, denizens of the Interweb! My name is Chris, and I'm the one who's responsible for the series of videos tentatively titled "Ganbare Goemon in English" (I say "tentatively", even though I've been releasing these videos since last November...). Some of you may know me as beatlesfan931 on YouTube or Diehard_Fan on Goemon International. This blog will serve as a place where I can keep you, the loyal fans of all things Goemon, updated on what project(s) related to the Mystical Ninja I'm currently working on. Although it will contain mostly information on the translation videos, you'll most likely also hear about some of my other attempts at contributing something to the Goemon fandom (this means fanfictions mostly, but I've been hoping to get some other stuff, too...we'll see). In fact, this post will probably contain more about me personally than any other post I make here in the future. If you want to talk to me about something (And honestly, who wants to waste their time doing that?), I suggest you IM/email me:
AIM: psychoninja34
YIM/MSN/email: beatlesfan931@sbcglobal.net
I've also got a personal blog, which I'll be reviving shortly in celebration of the formation of this one. You can find it here. Yes, I know it seems weird to link to a competing site, but I've had that one lying around for a couple years, and I really wanted to put only Goemon-related stuff here. I tend to find more blogs of this kind at blogspot than xanga anyway, so I'll just have to use both sites. I've already given you the link to my YouTube account (where the Ganbare Goemon translations are posted), but I also want to mention my fanfiction.net account. I've also got accounts on Myspace and Facebook, ask me privately if you want the URLs.
So, that was a bit long, I know. But don't worry, it's almost over. I'll close by posting my results for this quiz I just took to determine which character from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon I'm most like, which you can find here. I took this quiz sometime last summer, but I already forgot what my results were, so I decided to take it again:
#1: Yae
#2: Sasuke (This was my predicted #1 result)
#3: Ebisumaru
#4: Spring Breeze Dancin'
#5: Wise Man
#6: Omitsu
#7: Goemon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)