By Hagen Weiss
High-quality game translation of games should be almost unnoticeable to players. The text, graphics, and gameplay seamlessly work together to make for flawless user experience.
The same can’t be said for a poorly translated game. Awkward phrasing, formatting gaffes, and culturally irrelevant idioms can stick out like a sore thumb.
Below, we’ll take a look at the 5 worst video game translation mistakes.
1. “All Your Base Are Belong to Us” – Zero Wing
This infamous example of a poorly translated text quickly became an Internet sensation. Released in 1989, the Japanese to English mistranslation occurred in the opening of Sega’s arcade game, “Zero Wing.”
This mistranslation gained much attention in various online discussion boards and forums in the early 2000s. T-shirts, songs, and memes were all spin-offs based on this translation mishap.
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2. “I Feel Asleep” – Metal Gear
The original Metal Gear was known for some odd and random dialogue. The most glaring error was made early on in the game when a guard in the game exclaims, “I Feel Asleep!!”
Of course, what the guard meant to say was “I Fell Asleep” (as the main character sneaks around the guard). The phrase is another fan favorite for all-time video game mistranslations.
3. “Merciless Shivering Vase” – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
If you thought poor translations existed only in earlier games, think again. Ys VIII was first released in Japan in 2016. The game’s developers decided to source the translation to Nippon Ichi Software America (NISA).
The initial translations were less than stellar, to say the least. Some of the text was left untranslated midway through the phrase. A monster was referred to as the “Merciless Shivering Vase.” Overall, the sloppy quality made it seem like developers utilized machine translation rather than professional translators.
4. “And that is responsible for your mother’s stuff” – Tales of Berseria
Part of the Tales of… series, Tales of Berseria is an action role-playing game released in 2016. While highly lauded for its strong gameplay, this Japanese game suffers from poor translation near the end of the game. Lines, such as “And that is responsible for your mother’s stuff,” plagued the game-ending making it unintelligible for the gamer.
5. “Conglaturation !!!” – Ghostbusters
This is another mistranslation classic. Based on the film Ghostbusters, the US version of the Ghostbusters video game had this cringe-worthy text:
“Congratulations !!! You have completed a great game. And prooved the justice of our culture. Now go and rest our heroes!”
Considering this was the ending text to the NES game, the developers should’ve probably done a more detailed quality check on the translation.
Avoid Translation Errors With a High-Quality Game Translation Company
Translation errors can leave a lasting impression in the minds of gamers for years to come. That’s why you must ensure your game translations are of the highest quality.
iGlobe is a leading translation and localization agency for some of the top games in the world. Our team of translation experts will work with you to ensure your game translations are free of error.
E-mail：hello@iglobe.ca
Tel：+1 604 355 3023