MagicEngine

BlackIchor · Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:22 pm Post subject: Dracula X opening language

LOL, now that I got Dracula X working, there was one thing I noticed that really struck me as odd. The opening narration is in German, while the rest of the game's voice overs are strictly in Japanese. An odd choice on Konami's part...the Japanese part I can understand, since the game was released in Japan exclusively. Out of curiosity, does anybody know why they did that?

Jabberwok · Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2003 9:10 pm Post subject:

I suppose they talk German in Transilvania...

It's a small country in the middle of europe, maybe it's near Germany?

Maybe Konami wanted the game to sound more 'authentic'?

Who knows?
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If you translate Pole Position in French with babelfish you get 'Position de Polonais'... I think it's hilarious... from a French point of view.

Kaminari · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:51 am Post subject:

They should have made the narrator speak in Romanian, then Wink

Vlad 'Dracula' Tepes was an historic ruler of Romania; his castle was supposedly located in the Transylvanian forest. Romania is a Central European country, more influenced by the Latins than by the Germans. But of course the German language has a flavor all its own, especially to Japanese people who live far, far away... in another galaxy Mr. Green

Jabberwok · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 1:54 am Post subject:

Danjuro · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:29 pm Post subject:

Not to say in most Koei's wargames taking place in 20th century, good old Europe is overruled by some kind of Germany... Coincidence? I don't think so : I see a scheme there with japanese editors which names start with a 'k'.

Hey look! It's a troll!

BlackIchor · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2003 4:20 pm Post subject:

That is a good point. I didn't really think about it before, so it was probably done for some measure of historical authenticity and realism. Though only Konami of Japan could probably answer that question for sure, I'd say that's probably it.

Specineff · Elder Joined: 29 Aug 2002 Posts: 258 Location: Arizona

Or, could have been due to budget constraints. Getting some person in japan to read some lines in german is easier than with romanian. Some have accused Konami of being stingy in that regard in the past. For example, Metal Gear 2 for MSX uses broken, cheap ass russian when two Czech characters talk. The Hackers who translated the rom took the time to find the right dialog and put it back in the code. So why did Konami do that? Cheapness? Ignorance? Or simply the language barrier that gave us "All your base"?

Sorry.. ranting again.

Hmm. Are you sure it's german? Maybe it's romanian alright, and sounds like deutsche. I will need to play it.

Peace out.

Spec.
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Proud owner of a Dreamcast, Saturn, Turbo Duo and a registered version of ME since 2002.

Kaminari · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2003 3:58 pm Post subject:

Jabberwok · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2003 10:14 pm Post subject:

If you want to hear real Romanian go rent Dracula ( from francis ford coppola made in 92 i think ) & listen to the dialog in the opening sequence ( when he freaks out ). My sister had a Romanian friend & she told me that the sub-titles are a little off Wink

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If you translate Pole Position in French with babelfish you get 'Position de Polonais'... I think it's hilarious... from a French point of view.

phxlbrmpf · Visitor Joined: 18 May 2003 Posts: 2

It's definitely German, obviously spoken by a native speaker who did a pretty good job. Only occasionally does the opening speech sound a bit corny. The main character's name, Richter, is a German name, and translates into 'judge'. What the Konami guys obviously didn't know is that Richter's a common German last name. Nobody would ever call their son Richter. Wink

Unfortunately, I can't tell if the subtitles in the intro are okay or not, as my Japanese's not good enough (yet).

Perhaps Konami used German because they thought it sounded so 'spooky'? I must admit that I've yet to hear someone speak Romanian, but I doubt it sounds 'creepy', as I've read the language itself is pretty similar to Spanish and Portuguese.

detheavn · Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 Posts: 28

Kaminari · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2003 9:17 pm Post subject:

Sure, sure... although that was definitely not the case in the middle of the 15th Century, when Vlad Dracul then his son Vlad Tepes of Wallachia ruled over Romania - under the protection of Turkey and against the colonial projection of Hungary. At this time, the people was most certainly not interested in German (or any other tongue) as a 'secondary' language.

Romanians (and Japanese, for that matter) only started to speak German very recently. But I don't think they waited for Konami to release their game either Wink

Standard history lesson, eh...

Jabberwok · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 12:45 am Post subject:

Still, for an intro it kicks ass right? That's what I think...
_________________
If you translate Pole Position in French with babelfish you get 'Position de Polonais'... I think it's hilarious... from a French point of view.

Kaminari · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:00 am Post subject:

Indeed

detheavn · Member Joined: 08 Jun 2003 Posts: 28