We’re incredibly lucky to live in a time where technology connects us with countries all around the world. It’s not only improved communication, but it’s also allowed for the expansion of the video game realm. But as the saying goes, sometimes things get a little lost in translation.
With popular games being made all over the globe, the game’s language might not be English (or any other language that isn’t native to that country). To market to other countries, the game has to go through a translation process and that’s where things can go a little… Hilariously wrong. Here are 10 game translations that we can’t stop laughing at.
10 10. “Your fists of evil are about to meet my steel wall of niceness.”
Fatal Fury Special is notorious for having some pretty hilarious translation mishaps and this just happens to be one of the best. Originating in Japan, the game is of the Fighting genre and focuses on the use of combos to fight against your foe.
Just like any big fight scene, there has to be some kind of trash talk between fighters, so why not call your opponent’s fists “evil”? Based on the original Japanese version of the quote, it seems that this translation was probably quite literal and not localized to account for the English language.
9 9. “I feel asleep.”
If taken literally, this quote from Metal Gear (NES) would have a totally different meaning. Perhaps you’d think it simply means you’re tired. After all, that would be a reasonable assumption to make. But nah, this is just a classic misspelling of “fell” that has made this phrase drift into meme status.
Granted, translating to another language is a long and tedious process. Perhaps this was an oversight due to one of the translators “feeling” asleep, too?
8 8. “Shine get!”
An attempt was made, but you didn’t quite make that jump, Mario. This is a pretty popular quote originating from Super Mario Sunshine. While it’s fairly obvious that it’s intended to say something like, “Get the shine” or "Shine Got" this makes for a much more memorable version.
As such, it has been forever immortalized in the Hall of Memedom. On the other hand, maybe Mario has a secret dream to become the next Jesse McCartney?
7 7. “I am Error.”
This great quote comes from Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. This is an older installment of the Zelda series belonging to the NES and was originally made in Japan. This one is a little easier to follow, once you know the actual Japanese translation.
Apparently, the villager was saying that his name was Error and nothing more. Given that there’s another character named Bug, it’s more than likely this wasn’t even a mistranslation at all but instead a joke between programmers. Either way, it’s pretty funny to encounter during gameplay and even more relevant to Millennial humor today.
6 6. “Ooh. You make me so angry, ya big silly!”
Once again, Fatal Fury Special finds its way to this list. This quote is said by the main character, Terry Bogard, right before he’s about to go up against Geese.
When you think about it, this is quite an effective method for catching your opponent off guard. How well would you be able to fight if you were called a ‘big silly’? You might be laughing too hard to put any force behind your punches or even realize the fight started. Well played, Terry. Well. Played.
5 5. “Congraturation. This story is happy end. Thank you.”
Well, you at least know that the story of Ghost n’ Goblins (NES) ended happily and that you’re being offered congratulations. How this got so poorly translated, however… It’s difficult to tell.
This also leaves a lot of questions about the “thank you”. Thank you for what? Thank you for playing the game? Thank you for the happy ending? Perhaps it was meant to be open for interpretation.
4 4. “A winner is you!”
Okay, so maybe we can understand this one, but come on – how could this not get included?
This comes from the game Pro Wrestler that came out on the NES in 1986. Pro Wrestler is another fighting game and as such, your goal is to win fights against your competitors. If you win, this message shows up to congratulate you on your victory. You worked so very hard to kick butt and you deserve to know that “a winner is you”. Dawww. Such a heartfelt message.
3 3. “You spoony bard!”
Thank you, Final Fantasy II, for this wonderful gem. Said by one of the main characters, it’s meant to be an insult toward the man who ran off with his daughter. According to the original Japanese quote, it was something close to “You son of a *****”. And yet, translation led to this.
Unsurprisingly, this quote reached meme status and has become wildly popular. Even knowing what it’s supposed to mean, it’s difficult not to imagine a bard angrily waving a spoon.
2 2. “Confirm the origin of fire!”
It would seem that Harvest Moon for Super NES would like you to get philosophical. Confirm the origin of fire! Where did it come from? Where will it go? Does it wish for all your bacon to burn? So many unanswered questions, but what is known is the origin of this hilarious mistranslation?
In the original Japanese version, the character is checking to make sure that the stove is turned off. In a way, the translation works – but only if you know what it was originally meant to say. We like this version better anyway.
1 1. “What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets.”
You probably already know this one if you’re a fan of the Castlevania series. It’s a pretty well-known fact that the localization of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is less than perfect. Still, many argue that’s part of the game’s charm.
This quote comes during a showdown between Richter and Dracula, right before they fight each other at the very beginning of the game. According to the Japanese text, the actual quote from Dracula is meant to say, “Foolish drivel!” Clearly, something got a little (a lot) lost along the way.