Disclaimers:
I’m an amateur. My advantage over the original translation is that I have no deadline pressure, and I have the modern internet to help me. I’m assuredly wrong about some of my translations.
Translation is hard. When I point out a mistranslation, it’s not a judgment of the original translator(s). They had a deadline and poor resources.
Please no jokes in the comments about Karen being a Karen. I really hate that trend.
We’re going through the Diamond Mine, so naturally this will be stuck in my head the whole time I’m writing this post.
On the Mode 7 map, the Diamond Mine has different names in the Japanese and English versions.
But when you enter…
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ダイヤモンド鉱山 | Diamond Mine | Diamond Mine |
It doesn’t say Diamond Valley in the JP. Tim gives some flavor text when you enter:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
テム： 鉱山の中は 不気味なまでに 静まりかえっている。 | Will: The Diamond Mine was as quiet as a tomb. | Tim: It’s eerily quiet inside the mine. |
どうくつの おくの方から ときおり 聞こえる ドレイたちの 悲鳴に 背筋が 寒くなった．．． | A chill ran down Will’s spine when he heard the screams from the back of the cave. | The occasional screams of slaves coming from the depths of the mine sent chills down my spine. |
Something you’ll notice about the mine is that the cave walls are different colors in the Japanese and US versions of the game. They changed all the purple rocks to a relatively dull gray. Kind of unfortunate, in my opinion. I don’t understand why you’d do that.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リフトのり場 入り口） リフトには そこの とびらより 向かうこと。 | (Elevator Entrance) Use that door to get to the elevator. | (Elevator Entrance) Use that door to get to the elevator. |
There are numerous slaves to rescue in the mine. They’re all chained to iron balls, and before you destroy the balls, they all say the same thing.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ドレイ： お願いです！ この くさりを 切ってください！！ | Laborer: I beg you! Cut this chain! | Slave: Please! Please, cut this chain! |
If you hit the ball with your flute, it will explode. What a versatile instrument. After that, the (former) slaves are more talkative.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
この鉱山には 私も ふくめて 8人のドレイが 働かされています。 どうか 助けてあげて下さい。 | There are eight laborers including me forced to work in the mine. | Including me, there are 8 slaves working in this mine. Please rescue all of them. |
Please save us. |
1 down. Next!
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
助けてくれて ありがとう。 おれいに いいことを 教えます。 | Thank you for saving me. As a reward, I’ll tell you something. | Thank you for saving me. To show my gratitude, I’ll let you in on something. |
この鉱山には かくされた部屋が あって その入り口は カベと 見分けがつきません。 | This mine has a secret room. Its entrance blends into the wall. | This mine has a hidden room. The entrance is indistinguishable from the wall. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ですが カベのすきまから ふきこむ 風に気をくばれば 見つけられるって 話です。 | But you can find it by watching for wind blowing through cracks in the wall. | However, if you pay attention to the wind blowing through cracks in the wall, you can find it. |
もっとも あなたのような さらさらのカミなら なびくから すぐ わかるでしょうね。 | Of course, it would blow fine hair like yours around. Then you’ll understand. | I bet you’ll notice right away when it blows your fine hair around. |
That’s two slaves down. There are actually two destructible walls that blow Tim’s hair around. Behind one of them is the third slave:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ありがとう ございます。 落ばんで 生きうめになって いたんです．．． | Thank you. I was buried in the cave-in… | Thank you so much. I was buried alive in a cave-in. |
もうちょっと おそかったら どうなっていたことか．．． | What would happen if we took longer… | What would have happened to me if you were just a little bit slower? |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
私からの ほんの 気持ちを プレゼントさせてください。 後で 宝石商さんの ところへ 赤い宝石を３つ送っておきますね。 | We want to give you a present. I’m sending 3 Red Jewels to the Jeweler. | It’s not much compared to my gratitude, but allow me to give you a present. I’m going to send 3 Red Jewels to the Jeweler. |
After you break the second wall later, you’ll find a Dark Space where you’ll get a new ability for Freedan.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
フリーダンの力 ダークフライヤーは つるぎの とどかない場所にいる敵を たおすことが できるのだ。 | Freedan’s power - The Dark Friar can defeat enemies in places a sword can’t reach. | Freedan’s power, the Dark Flyer, can defeat enemies out of his sword’s reach. |
敵を すべて たおしていけば 必ず 道は ひらけるものだ。 | When you’ve defeated all the enemies the road will open up. | If you defeat all enemies, the path will surely open up. |
I can tell you for sure that Dark Friar is a mistranslation. Friar in English means a member of one of the mendicant orders of the Roman Catholic church. (That is, they rely on alms to survive.) It doesn’t, to my knowledge, have any other meanings. It’s obviously inappropriate to describe a long distance attack.
What I can’t tell you for sure is what フライヤー (furaiyaa) was intended to mean. The description of the move in the menu says that it’s a shock or impulse that flies (とぶ - tobu) from your sword. So Flyer is a likely candidate. However, when Gaia describes it, the word 焼きつくす (yakitsukusu - to burn completely) is used. So Frier/Fryer is also a candidate. I’ll use Flyer but I don’t know which one was intended.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ヤミの力 ダークフライヤーが 使えるようになった！ | Dark Friar can now be used! | The Dark Power called Dark Flyer can now be used! |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ダークフライヤーは ヤミの戦士フリーダンだけが 使える ヤミのちから。 | The Dark Friar is a dark power that only the Dark Knight, Freedan, can use. | The Dark Flyer is a Dark Power that only the Dark Knight Freedan is able to use. |
オーラのパワーを放ち 遠くはなれた 敵を 焼きつくすことができるのだ。 こうげきボタンで 力をためて 使うがよい．．． | Use the Aura Power to scorch a distant enemy. Use the Attack Button to save energy. | Letting loose the aura’s power allows you to burn distant enemies to the ground. Hold the Attack Button to store energy. |
We use the Dark Flyer to open up the path to the 4th slave:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ダイヤモンド鉱山の 深部にも はたらかされている人たちがいます。 | There are people who are forced to work deep in the Diamond Mine. | There are also people laboring in the depths of the Diamond Mine. |
この カギを使って どうか 助けてあげて下さい。 | Please use this key to save them. | Please use this key to save them. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リフトのカギを 手にいれて！ | You’ve got the elevator key! | Got the Lift Key! |
The Lift Key is supposed to be used back where that sign was near the beginning of the mine. Before you use the key, the lift gate will say this:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
このとびらには カギ穴が ひとつ ついているようだ。 | There’s one keyhole in this door. | Looks like there’s one keyhole in this gate. |
Before we use it, here’s the menu description for the key:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リフトのカギ | Elevator Key | Lift Key |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リフトのり場のカギを 使ってみる ことにした。 | He tries using the elevator key. | Used the Lift Key. |
カギが 不気味な音をたてて まわった。 | The key turns, making a strange sound. | The key turned, making an eerie sound. |
Once in the depths, there’s another gate immediately ahead. Let’s check it.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カギ穴が 二つ ついているようだ。 | There are two keyholes. | Looks like there are two keyholes. |
Two keyholes, and two open doors leading to other areas. I’ll go through the left entrance first.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
死体置場 | Morgue | Morgue |
Criminy, this game is dark sometimes. I don’t like the game’s choice of the word morgue. To me morgue has a connotation of temporary storage, especially while awaiting identification or autopsy. This place is clearly a permanent dumping ground for dead bodies. It’s like a cemetery but the slavers are too lazy to bury anyone. Awful. Anyway, there’s a key lying next to a corpse.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
鉱山のカギを 見つけた！ | You found the Mine Key! | Found a Mine Key! |
On the other side of the depths, we rescue the 5th slave.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ドレイ： あ ありがとう！！ この ご恩は 決して忘れませんよ。 | Laborer: Thank you! I won’t forget what you’ve done! | Slave: Oh, thank you! I won’t ever forget this kindness. |
このカギを もっていって下さい。 | Take this key. | Please take this key. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
鉱山のカギを 手にいれた！ | You have the key to the mine! | Got the Mine Key! |
Menu descriptions!
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
こうざんのカギA | Mine Key A | Mine Key A |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
こうざんのカギB | Mine Key B | Mine Key B |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
こうざんのカギを 使ってみる ことにした。 | He tries using the key to the mine. | Tried the Mine Key. |
カギが 不気味な音をたてて まわった。 | The key turns, making a strange sound. | The key turned, making an eerie sound. |
The gate gives a different description after you’ve used one key:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カギを 二つとも 開けないと とびらは 開きそうにないな．．． | Without both keys, the door won’t open… | The gate can’t be opened without both keys. |
The second key just gives the same message. Past this door we reach the end of the mine, and the final 3 remaining slaves. Surprise, it’s Remus, Imus, and Samus. Before you destroy their iron balls, they all say the same thing:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
どうか くさりを 切ってくださいっ！ | Cut the chain! | I beg you, cut the chain! |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
レムス： ありがとう。 ぼくらの こきょうの村は 海をこえた はるか 遠くの場所。 | Remus: Thank you. Our home village is far across the ocean. | Remus: Thank you. Our native village is somewhere far across the sea. |
もし おとずれることが あったら 村人たちの 力になってあげて ください。 | If you could go there, help the villagers to regain their strength. | In case you ever go there, please offer your help to the villagers. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
イムス： ありがとう。 ぼくらの こきょうでは 生き物が みな おかしく なってきて いるんです。 | Imas: Thank you. All living things in our home country have grown strange. | Imus: Thank you. Something is wrong with all the living things in our native land. |
石に 変わってしまう人や 原因不明の 病気で死ぬ人も 後を たちません．．． | People have turned to stone. Some are sick with unknown diseases… | There’s no end to people turning into stone or dying from an unknown illness. |
後をたちません (ato o tachimasen) is another form of 後を絶たない (ato o tatanai) which means endless/never ceasing.
The final slave in the mine is good ol’ Samus, whose message in a bottle we found not long ago. He turns out to be the one needed to progress the story.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
サムス ありがとう。 | Sam: Thank you. | Samus: Thank you. |
エリックくんから 聞きましたが あなたたちの仲間が きおくそうしつ になっているそうですね。 | I heard from Erik that your friend has lost his memory. | I heard from Erik that your friend has amnesia. |
Interesting that Samus recognizes that the Dark Knight Freedan here is friends with Erik.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ぼくらの部族に伝わる むかしを 思い出す歌が あります。 この歌を 聞かせてあげて下さい。 | Legend says that there is a song that brings back the past. Please let him hear it. | There’s a song passed down in our tribe that reminds people of times past. Please play this song for him. |
サムスは 不思議なメロディを 口ずさんだ。 | Sam hums a strange melody. | Samus hummed a strange melody. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
思い出のメロディを おぼえた！ | You’ve learned the Memory Melody! | Learned the Melody of Memories! |
サムス： ひとつ お願いがあるんですが．．． | Sam: I need a favor. | Samus: I have something to ask of you. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
あなたと 出会えた 思い出に ろうごくのカギと 風のメロディを いただいて いいですよね。 | May I have the prison key and the Melody of the Wind as a souvenir of our meeting? | I’d like you to give me the Prison Key and Melody of the Wind as a souvenir of our meeting. |
きっと 今後 使うことは ないはずですから。 | I’m sure I’ll never use it again. | I’m sure you won’t need to use them again. |
The game nicely clears out a couple of inventory spots for us. In OE, Sam uses the wrong pronoun and implies that he’ll promptly throw them in the closet and forget they exist. (Also, how is he taking a song that Tim has memorized? Video games!)
Here’s the menu description for the Memory Melody:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
おもいでメロディ | Memory Melody | Memory Melody |
Tim leaves the mine and returns to the inn, where he’ll play this song in front of Rob and the others:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
テムは 思い出のメロディを 静かに ふきはじめた。 | Will began playing the melody he remembered. | Tim began to quietly play the Melody of Memories. |
A very minor mistranslation here, but I think it’s interesting. I know this game had at least 3 translators. I wonder if a different person did this line than whoever did the part where Tim learns this melody? It uses the same name here as when you learn it.
When Tim plays the flute, the screen goes dark and sparkly.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： ここは どこなんだろう．．． | Lance: What is this place? | Rob: What is this place? |
カレン： なんだか とっても なつかしい 感じがするわ．．． | Kara: Somehow I feel a little homesick… | Karen: For some reason I feel terribly nostalgic. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
エリック： まるで お母さんの おなかの中に いるような感じ．．． | Erik: I feel like I’m back in the womb…. | Erik: It feels like being back in the womb. |
リリィ： 生まれてから 今までに 起こったことや 出会った人たちが つぎつぎと 頭にうかんでくる．．． | Lilly: Everything that’s happened and the people I’ve met are pouring into my head… | Lily: One after another, everything that’s happened and everyone I’ve met since I was born is coming into mind. |
How come Tim didn’t have a weird reaction like this when Samus played the song?
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： おれは サウスケープの町で育った | Lance: I was raised in the town of South Cape. | Rob: I was raised in the town of South Cape. |
そして おやじは 探険にいったまま もどってこなかったんだっけ．．． | When my father didn’t come back from an expedition… | Then, when my father went on an expedition and didn’t return… |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
自分の中で いちばん 大きい存在が なくなって どうしていいか わからなかったなあ．．． | The most important thing in my life was gone. I didn’t know what to do. | The biggest presence in my life disappeared, and I didn’t know what I could do. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カレン： あたしは お父さまが 他の国へ 兵隊を使って せめていくのが たまらなかった。 | Kara: I couldn’t stand my father using soldiers to invade other countries. | Karen: I couldn’t bear my father using soldiers to attack other countries. |
人が 死ぬのって 大変なことよね。 | It’s awful when someone loses their life. | It’s a terrible thing for someone to die. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
何年もかけて つみあげてきたもの が いっしゅんで なくなっちゃうん だもの。 | What had taken years to put together was destroyed in one moment. | What they’ve spent years building up is lost in an instant. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
エリック： モリスも やっぱり 死んじゃった のかな．．．？ | Erik: I wonder if Seth is all right…? | Erik: I wonder if Morris died as well? |
リリィ： 人って いやなことを忘れられるから 生きていけるんだよね．．． | Lilly: People live on because they forget about unpleasant things. | Lily: People can keep on living because they forget about unpleasant things. |
OE censors the the bit about death, and it comes out funny. Erik, my dude, Seth was swallowed whole by a giant sea monster. I assure you, he is most certainly not all right, whether or not he’s alive.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： あれ？ おれ 今まで 何してたんだろう。 | Lance: What? What have I been doing? What’s | Rob: Huh? What have I been doing? |
それに みんな どうしたんだ？ | happened to everyone? | And what happened to everyone? |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： ロブ！ きおくが もどったんだっ！ | Lilly: Lance! Your memory is back! | Lily: Rob! Your memory’s returned! |
カレン： もう！ 心配したんだからあ！！ | Kara: I was worried! | Karen: Geez! I was so worried! |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
エリック： どうなることかと思ったようっ。 | Erik: I wondered what would happen. | Erik: I wondered what would happen. |
ロブ： みんなに 心配かけちゃったな。 でも 今度 だれかが 同じ立場に なったら かんびょうするからさ。 | Lance: I guess everyone was worried. I’d take care of someone in the same situation. | Rob: Everyone was worried, huh? But next time this happens to someone, I can help take care of them. |
I find Erik’s sentiment here kind of odd, but I don’t see another plausible translation.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： 旅をすると ほんと いろんな けいけんするね．．． | Lilly: I’ve experienced much in my travels… | Lily: So much has happened while traveling. |
カレン： なんだか なみだが出てきちゃった。 | Kara: What’s wrong? You’re crying. | Karen: That made me a little misty. |
Karen’s sentence is A little/somewhat tears came out [auxiliary verb implying either total or accidental nature]. Whose tears came out? Who knows! It’s not as if OE made a blunder. I just think it’s more likely she’s talking about herself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Talking to Erik will automatically progress the scenario, so I’ve saved him for last:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
エリック： あのさ。 近くの森に かわり者の 発明家が いるらしいんだけど 行ってみない？ | Erik: Well, there’s an eccentric inventor in the woods nearby. Shall we go? | Erik: Hey, there’s supposed to be an oddball inventor living in the nearby woods. Should we check it out? |
ニールっていう 名前の人らしいん だけど．．． | I think his name is Neil… | Apparently his name is Neil. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
テム： ニールだって？！！！ | Will: Did you say Neil!!! | Tim: Did you say Neil!? |
それ 行方不明になっている ボクの いとこと 同じ名前じゃないかっ！！ | That’s the same name as my lost cousin!! | That’s the same name as my missing cousin! |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
いとこのニールも 発明家で 大空を鳥のようにまう エアプレイン っていう のり物まで発明したんだ。 | My cousin Neil, the inventor, flew in the sky in a thing called an airplane. | My cousin Neil was also an inventor. He even invented a vehicle called an airplane that flies in the sky like a bird. |
そして テムたち一行は 森の中の 発明家の家へ 何かうのであった。 | So Will and his group went to the inventor’s house. | So Tim and his group headed to the inventor’s house in the forest. |
As a kid I got the impression that Neil was missing because he flew an airplane and crashed it or something. He’s saying that Neil invented the plane, not that he flew in it. (Though you’d assume he would, as part of the inventing process.)
Next time, we’ll meet Neil and take a trip to the Nazca Lines. Yeah, we’re just gonna walk there. To Peru, from the Diamond Coast in South Africa. I think maybe this game’s world doesn’t match ours, geographically?
Erm. Definitely. See you next time!