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General discussion (archive)Poor localized versions(33 posts)(33 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted November 24, 2013
Back in the day, when the original Carmageddon came out in Brazil, it was completely localized. I remember enjoying it very much.

Recently, playing the game in english for the first time (thanks to gog and the android version), I realized how poorly the game was localized to my country.

After just checking the sound files from my original CD, I can tell that:

They removed the intro narration.
Max and the in race announcer are played by the same guy.
Most of Max's screams are still from the original version and it shows (when you compare the local voice with the original).
Since Die Anna had very few actual words in her repertoire, they simply replaced those with more screams, removing the necessity of having another voice actor.
The few words screamed from peds are not translated (so you'll hear pedestrian cops scream "Hey, stop!" instead of "Ei, pare!")

And you guys? Any accounts of poor localization on your countries?
Posted November 24, 2013
Zero Wing
Posted November 24, 2013
Anything by those bastards at 4Kids.
Posted November 24, 2013
Final Fantasy VII is (un)famous for its terrible French localisation. Grammar errors, nonsensical sentences, etc.. Charming attempt but awful work of a translation, for such a big game. Sequels were OK though.
Posted November 24, 2013
well,you and me got to admit that the most recent games that are being localized here in Brazil have a quite decent job
take MK09,great localization(some grammar error,but I've expected that) and now GTAV(one of the best localizations I ever seen).and apparently Arkham Origins also has a great dub work and translations,but for me the best are from Blizzard,the dub is just great and not ear bleeding and there's very little grammatical errors.
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Falci: Back in the day, when the original Carmageddon came out in Brazil, it was completely localized. I remember enjoying it very much.

Recently, playing the game in english for the first time (thanks to gog and the android version), I realized how poorly the game was localized to my country.

After just checking the sound files from my original CD, I can tell that:

They removed the intro narration.
Max and the in race announcer are played by the same guy.
Most of Max's screams are still from the original version and it shows (when you compare the local voice with the original).
Since Die Anna had very few actual words in her repertoire, they simply replaced those with more screams, removing the necessity of having another voice actor.
The few words screamed from peds are not translated (so you'll hear pedestrian cops scream "Hey, stop!" instead of "Ei, pare!")

And you guys? Any accounts of poor localization on your countries?
Post edited November 24, 2013 by l0rdtr3k
Posted November 24, 2013
Ace Combat 3.

Apparently translating the whole thing was too much like hard work, so they removed all the cutscenes, all the in-mission dialogue, your AI wingmen, nearly half the levels, and pretty much the entire plot.
Posted November 24, 2013
Nobody should ever buy any game in Germany since they're not only poorly localized but also censored. That aside, the worst localizations are game breaking. Legend of Kyrandia - Book 2 has a recipe for a potion that wants you to use a toadstool. It's a play on the word since you're actually looking for the stool of a toad. Nonetheless, in the German version it's translated as the mushroom kind, which leaves no hint to the actual item you need to use.
Posted November 24, 2013
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l0rdtr3k: well,you and me got to admit that the most recent games that are being localized here in Brazil have a quite decent job
take MK09,great localization(some grammar error,but I've expected that) and now GTAV(one of the best localizations I ever seen).and apparently Arkham Origins also has a great dub work and translations,but for me the best are from Blizzard,the dub is just great and not ear bleeding and there's very little grammatical errors.
Yes, I really enjoyed the Diablo 3 dub, too bad they used Orlando Drummond (local voice actor responsible for Popeye, Scooby Doo, Grimm from Billy and Mandy, among others) only for a few minor voices.

Also, having the monk sounding like Dr. Benton Quest (from the last version of Johnny Quest) was awesome! :D

I was checking Scorpion's dub in the PT-BR version of Injustice the other day on youtube. They didn't actually replace the "get over here/come here" sound files. I think it was for the better. :P
Posted November 25, 2013
The PAL version of Twisted Metal: Black removed character storylines altogether because they were contained in allegedly violent cutscenes. I've watched a few on YouTube and they're no worse than most of the stuff you see in games and films, so thanks a fucking bunch.
Posted November 25, 2013
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Cardian: Nobody should ever buy any game in Germany since they're not only poorly localized but also censored.
This is true for most shooters and many action games.
I play mostly RPGs and adventures and there it is rarely a problem.
I play all games in german that come from germany (gothic, deadelic adventures, ...)

Worst localisation I know is Oblivion.
There is the "TrdschH" ( short for Trank der schwachen Heilung, in english it would be "PoomiH" for Potion of minor Healing") and a healing spell with the name "fireball".

In Final Fantasy X the voice acting is english (translated from japanese) and the subtitles are german (also translated from japanese without looking at the english translation). So the voices and the text do not fit in the cut scenes. Some people say the german translation is very good if you ignore the sound and just read all text.
Posted November 25, 2013
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Mad3: In Final Fantasy X the voice acting is english (translated from japanese) and the subtitles are german (also translated from japanese without looking at the english translation). So the voices and the text do not fit in the cut scenes. Some people say the german translation is very good if you ignore the sound and just read all text.
On the other hand, the German localisation of Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core for the PSP was one of the best localisations I have ever seen. It seems to have been translated directly from the Japanese as well - no trace of the English, although the cutscenes are in English with German subtitles.

As far as bad ones are concerned...mhhhh, I would say the German version of Super Metroid probably warrants a mention. Sam and Max Season 2 as well deserves highlighting for being a real clusterfuck, although the other Sam and Max games weren't done particularly well either.

There were hilariously risqué mistranslations in the German version of The Emperor's New Groove as well, but I need to see what really caught my eye again.
Post edited November 25, 2013 by jamyskis
Posted November 25, 2013
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Cardian: Nobody should ever buy any game in Germany since they're not only poorly localized but also censored.
Nonsense. There are many excellent or at least very good German localizations of foreign games. (Hand of Fate wasn't one of them of course, and the most Sierra adventures are bad translated as well.)

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Mad3: This is true for most shooters and many action games.
At least BioShock series, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mafia series and Batman Arkham series were localized very well.
Post edited November 25, 2013 by RS1978
Posted November 25, 2013
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Mad3: I play all games in german that come from germany (gothic, deadelic adventures, ...)
Ok, this is true. I also watch german movies in German, because it is the original version. Concerning RPGs: FFVII had a terrible translation, all Bethesda titles are horribly dubbed (especially bad since there is no original voice track on the discs, only an alternate french track....) and I really hate it when stuff gets lost in translation (which happens far too often). Then again, there are some examples of "so bad it's good" voice overs like in Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth that just seem to fit the setting.
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RS1978: At least BioShock series, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mafia series and Batman Arkham series were localized very well.
I haven't played the others with the dubbing but the Arkham series... the voice actor for Christian Bale does Batman which just doesn't click for me in the Arkham setting and the german voice of Joker? Laughable compared to Mark Hamill (pun intended).
Post edited November 25, 2013 by Cardian
Posted November 25, 2013
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Cardian: Ok, this is true. I also watch german movies in German, because it is the original version.
German movies tend to get dubbed by amateurish voice actors who really do overact with really thick American accents. Run Lola Run and Anatomy were butchered in that way.

I can only think of two German films that were well-dubbed in English. The first is Der Schuh des Manitu, which Bully Herbig and Christian Tramitz dubbed themselves (the original cut, not the Extra Large cut, which replaced them with the aforementioned amateurish overactors), the other is Das Wunder von Bern, which by way of exception used very good British voice actors (the British accent lends itself much more to the German language for dubbing than American anyway).
Posted November 25, 2013
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Cardian: Then again, there are some examples of "so bad it's good" voice overs like in Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth that just seem to fit the setting.
As far as I know, Woodruff was done by a French (!) agency, the same who did the Coktel and Sierra games, Syberia series, Still Life series (most of the Anuman titles here on GOG), Neverwinter Nights 1 and a lot more with one common feature: They're all awful, absolutely unusable. For those localizations I can only second your recommendation: Do never buy them. ;)
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Cardian: I haven't played the others with the dubbing but the Arkham series... the voice actor for Christian Bale does Batman which just doesn't click for me in the Arkham setting and the german voice of Joker? Laughable compared to Mark Hamill (pun intended).
It's nearly impossible to compete with Conroy and Hamill if they're playing Batman and Joker, but that makes the German localization not to a bad one.
Post edited November 25, 2013 by RS1978
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussion (archive)Poor localized versions(33 posts)(33 posts)
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