Japanese Konami titles translated in English

Por Vampier

Prophet (2413)

31-05-2018, 00:06

Can't we just call if 'Bloodstained Ritual of the Night' these days?

Por syn

Prophet (2123)

31-05-2018, 00:41

"Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon" more fitting for an 8bit title

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TrmiocKcA

Por Timmy

Master (200)

31-05-2018, 00:47

Vampier wrote:

Can't we just call if 'Bloodstained Ritual of the Night' these days?

You mean, for the "Divine Sensation" game? Yes, that could work.

Por gdx

Enlighted (6213)

31-05-2018, 15:17

ghost_jp wrote:

As said previously, 悪魔城 (Akumajou) is a neologism - 悪魔 is used to modify 城, not as a possessive. So yes, "Dracula's Satanic Castle" is a perfectly good translation. "Devil's Castle" is a lazy and inaccurate translation. "Castlevania" is a great translation

I think "Dracula's Evil Castle" or "Dracula's Demonic Castle" are best translations but not "Dracula's Satanic Castle" because Japanese documentation refers to many demons (eg "悪魔の巣くう古城" -> A castle teeming with demons) but Satan or the satanism is evoked nowhere. About "Castlevania", it's not the title translation but it's a good alternative.

ghost_jp wrote:

With 魔城 (Majou), there is quite likely no demon involved at all. I work as a translator as well and I see people reflex-translating 魔 to "Demon's" a lot - "Magical" is probably a safer bet! As ghost_jp was trying to say, though, "castle of terror" probably gets the nuance across better.

I agree 魔 also has the sense of (supernatural) magic. Japanese titles are rarely translatable perfectly.

Por dr.slump

Rookie (22)

03-06-2018, 15:56

^ That was me, not ghost_jp

I would say (western) demons are inherently satanic, so I don't think it makes too much difference.

ghost_jp wrote:

Well, let think about our case, 悪魔城ドラキュラ. It is clear that the term 悪魔城 does quite not explain what is ドラキュラ. Actually this naming gave strange impression even to Japanese people in those days. I mean Konami intentionally deviated from the ordinary naming theory when they gave this name to the masterpiece.

it is a little strange, but I think there are other similarly named titles.
For example:
機甲界ガリアン (Panzer World Galient)
空想科学世界ガリバーボーイ (Imagination Science World Gulliver Boy)
As you can see, the literal English translations are also nonsensical. In fact it's sort of like a sub-title, except in Japanese it comes first. So following that logic the following are probably technically just as accurate:
Dracula - The Demonic Castle
Dracula and the Demonic Castle
Dracula of the Demonic Castle
Dracula in the Demonic Castle
etc

Por wimpie3

Champion (435)

06-06-2018, 07:52

OK guys, thanks for your help. So is it ok if I use the following translations:

わんぱくアスレチック (Wanpakuasurechikku) Naughty Athletic
モン太君のいち・に・さんすう (Monta-kun no ichi ni-san sū) 1, 2, 3 Arithmetic
ぽんぽこパン (Pon po ko pan) Ponpoko Bread
"コナミのゲームを１０倍楽しむカートリッジ
(Konami no gēmu o 10 - bai tanoshimu kā)" Cartridge to enjoy Konami's games 10 times more
イ−ガ−皇帝の逆襲 (I-ga-kōtei no gyakushū) Eager Empress Strikes Back
魔城伝説 (Majōdensetsu) Legend of the battle in terrifying castles
夢大陸アドベンチャ− (Yume tairiku adobencha) Dream Continent
悪魔城ドラキュラ (Akumajōdorakyura) Dracula Demonic Castle
甦る伝説キングコング２ (Yomigaeru densetsu kingukongu 2) King Kong 2 The Reviving Legend
火の鳥〜鳳凰編〜 (Hi no tori - hōō-hen) Firebird - The Phoenix Saga
がんばれゴエモン！からくり道中 (Ganbaregoemon! Karakuri dōchū) Persevere Goemon! A Tricky Journey
シャロム魔城伝説完結編 (Sharomu majōdensetsu kanketsu-hen) Shalom Demon Legend Complete Edition
コナミの新・１０倍カ−トリッジ (Konami no shin 10-bai ka-torijji) New 10 times more cartridge
ザ・プロ野球〜激突！ペナントレ−ス〜 (Za puroyagu gekitotsu / penanto re-su) Crash pennant race
王家の谷エルギ−ザの封印 (Oke no tani erugi-za no fūin) Seal of Royal Valley El Gisa
ゴ−ファ−の野望エピソ−ド II (Go-fa-no yabō episo-do II) Gopher's Ambition Episode II
牌の魔術師 (Pai no majutsu-shi) Tile Magician
激突ペナントレ−ス２ (Gekitotsu penantore-su 2) Crash Pennant Race 2
コナミの占いセンセーション, Konami-no Uranai Sensēshon) Konami's Divine Sensation

Por wyrdwad

Paladin (934)

06-06-2018, 10:21

Some of those could stand some revision!

Quote:

イ−ガ−皇帝の逆襲 (I-ga-kōtei no gyakushū) Eager Empress Strikes Back

Is it an empress, or an emperor? It's the same word for either in Japanese, and I always thought it was a male emperor, but I've never played the game, so I'm not sure.

That aside, I don't think "Eager" is correct -- that makes it sound like an adjective ("the eager empress"), when it's very clear from the title that it's the emperor's name. I've seen it transliterated as "Yie-Gah" before, so maybe "Emperor Yie-Gah Strikes Back" would be better.

Quote:

魔城伝説 (Majōdensetsu) Legend of the battle in terrifying castles

There is no "of the battle" in this title whatsoever, and there's only one castle -- not multiples. It's just "Demon Castle Legend," literally. If you want to go with "terrifying" instead of "demonic," then I'd go with "Legend of the Terrifying Castle" -- though I honestly think that sounds kind of stupid in English, like the name of a children's book published for Halloween or something. "Legend of the Demonic Castle" has a much more imposing ring to it, and despite the objections raised about using "demonic" here in previous posts, I still genuinely feel that's a far better choice here.

Quote:

夢大陸アドベンチャ− (Yume tairiku adobencha) Dream Continent

You missed the word "adventure," which is also in the title. "Dream Continent Adventure."

Quote:

ザ・プロ野球〜激突！ペナントレ−ス〜 (Za puroyagu gekitotsu / penanto re-su) Crash pennant race

You missed the first part of the name here. Its full title is "The Pro Baseball: Crash! Pennant Race." Which is a mouthful, so you'll probably want to simplify it.

Quote:

王家の谷エルギ−ザの封印 (Oke no tani erugi-za no fūin) Seal of Royal Valley El Gisa

I believe it's always written as "El Giza" -- I've never seen it as "El Gisa" before.

The rest are all accurate enough, though some still sound kind of awkward in English. But they get the job done, for what you're trying to do!

-Tom

Por Manuel

Ascended (19466)

06-06-2018, 10:36

Please comment on my ideas:
- RC700: "Naughty boy athletic"? Just Naughty is a bit weird, I think.
- Monkey Academy: what is the proper translation? I see something like Mr Monta's 1, 2, 3 < something >
- Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2: "Emperor Yie-Gah's Counterattack".
- King Kong 2: seems a bit literal... better ideas?
- King's Valley II: "King's Valley - The Seal of El-Giza"

Por gdx

Enlighted (6213)

06-06-2018, 11:27

Manuel wrote:

- RC700: "Naughty boy athletic"? Just Naughty is a bit weird, I think.

Both are incorrect because Wampaku is used to express boys always on the move
(like: That boy is a dynamo!). It's not used necessarily for a bad sense.
Look the pictures found with わんぱく on Google images.
The result mainly shows children having lots of energy.

Por wyrdwad

Paladin (934)

06-06-2018, 11:55

Yeah, I didn't comment on that one, but I've always personally translated わんぱく as "mischievous" in my head. Which I think is only an accurate translation depending on how you think of the word "mischievous" -- I've always felt that word had a positive connotation, referring to someone who's always up to something and always has some kind of scheme in mind, but as a result is always really fun and interesting to be around.

-Tom