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!