10 Mistranslations In Zelda Games That Change EVERYTHING

[@mojoplays]

Which mistranslation surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments! Click here for more Zelda videos: kzbin.info/aero/PLCXa2CCtHXq2rf_GV6DPLSCZxS9sNWLHJ

[@wuyuyipi1224]

It is just a pure failure pretty much no version other than Japanese got to keep the BoTW/ToTK adventure log as Link's diary. We are so robbed.

[@Token-j1n]

@@mojoplays This whole video is typical WatchMojo. Hyperbole with a sprinkle of nonsense for clicks.

[@danielstokes2127]

As a fan of Zelda theories it is concerning that there are so many mistranslations that can affect the theories. I also get the feeling that the localizer that did the pen pal quest didn’t see the game models before hand.

[@a.jthomas6132]

That localizer you mention is doing a terrible job on the translation.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

The "pen pal" quest isn't as badly translated as he makes it sound. I saw another video making the same claim, but comments on the video from people with a better understanding of Japanese culture and parlance stated that there IS a romantic undertone implied in the quest. Which is part of the reason the American version put more emphasis on something that the Japanese version glossed over - that Finley is old enough to have the mind and emotional maturity of an adult but that she hasn't gone through her final growth spurt, which seems to happen for most Zoras at around 50 years old. It's mentioned by Finley's mother if you happen to talk to her, but only by Finley herself in the English version. The creator made another video addressing this as well, after verifying it through research.

[@TwilightWolf032]

Definitely not! I have worked as a freelancer translator for 5 years or so, and all we receive are strings, as in just the text separated in boxes (think of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet), with the source language on the left and the target language on the right. Depending on the client, we could request images relevant to the string if we had need for more context, but the vast majority of my clients refused to let me talk to the developers, request images or even cared about the quality.

[@danielstokes2127]

@ that definitely makes the job harder and makes localization trickier

[@altermann1991]

That bit about Calamity Ganon refusing to let go of reincarnation instead of giving up on reincarnation is honestly a rather shocking mistranslation that changes the whole meaning of the scene. In the english version it adds a lot of finality to the fight that made Ganondorfs reappearance in TotK feel a bit cheap.

[@themastersword1621]

I loved this version of Ganondorf in TOTK, but I definitely would have liked more of that "survival of the fittest" mentality to have been carried over into the English release.

[@beauwalker9820]

Would of given him some depth instead of just, "I'm evil!"

[@MalzraAirwynn]

@@beauwalker9820 Honestly not that much more depth, it's still pretty paper thin motivation for everything he does.

[@polarknight5376]

He wanted to make hyrule great again.

[@strife2746]

Agreed. He just seemed so bland in his motivation. He wants to shroud Hyrule in darkness just for the sake of it and that's boring. Although this added layer of context isn't much for motivation, it's a whole lot better than just causing chaos just because you can.

[@Token-j1n]

This video kind of just echoes the factoid floating around in the community. In Japanese, he is pretty much the same as in English.

[@GameMasterKyro]

I'd like to point out that the A Link to the Past ones only exist in the SNES versions. They specifically revised the GBA version to not only fit the lore of OoT better, but also to have a better and more accurate translation.

[@DaSheepKiller]

Too bad they didn’t do that for any other new version of a game. As an example, Skyward Sword HD’s dialogue is exactly the same as the original, aside from a lot of dialogue during tutorials that just got removed.

[@GamingKingdom91]

The error and bagu guys were supposed to be a joke on 'error and bug' (aka game bugs and errors) Whats funny is that to this day people think that error saying 'i am error' is well..an error when its actually bagu who is the actual error 😂

[@a.jthomas6132]

The mistranslation on the original Japanese contents has become a contentious issue in every Zelda game. The best example is how the journal entries in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom treats Link like a blank Slate character as each entry is pointing at the player. The Japanese version shows Link more personally, his own thoughts, his feelings towards Zelda, his interactions with other characters, and his doubts of whether or not he is worthy of being the Legendary Hero Hyrule needs.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

It's not that the English version treats Link as a blank slate character, it's that it completely removes the context of the quest log being written from his perspective entirely. Zelda's diaries still treat Link as a defined character. But they also change the context of her living in his house. My only guess as to why is that NOA's localizers thought their cohabitation might cause issues with certain watchdogs. Personally I find it hilarious that the princess of all people would end up in a Common Law Marriage.

[@candyneige6609]

It's a common misconception that the quest log was written by Link in the Japanese version, after all, if it was, we would've seen "私" (watashi) or some other first person pronoun being used extensively in the quest log, plus we would also have the quest log being written in first person instead of second person in every other language, including English, and we would even see Link actually writing and updating the quest log from time to time, all of which aren't actually the case. The reason why so many people thought so is very interesting. During the development of Breath of the Wild, and by extension, Tears of the Kingdom, while working on the quest log, the developers had an interesting problem, how to be able to adress at both Link and the player at the same time, and while in English, this is very simple, as they just had to use the second person pronoun "you" and be done with it, but in Japanese, things aren't so simple, as while there is a default second person pronoun, "あなた" (anata), it is considered impolite and therefore shouldn't be used, so they had to solve the problem whithout using "あなた" (anata), and usually, to adress someone in the second person in Japanese, the name or profession of the person being addressed is used along with the "さん" (-san) suffix to denote that it's in second person, which is a problem on its own as it's too specific, so if they used "リンクさん" (Link-san), then the quest log would explicitly adress Link and would not adress the player, and likewise, if they used "プレーヤーさん" (player-san), then the quest log would explicitly adress the player directly and would not adress Link, and would also break the fourth wall, what the developers want is ambiguity, so that the quest log could adress both Link and the player at the same time, in other words, they want to lean on the fourth wall, and so what they came up with was both interesting and genius, they just remove the pronoun altogether, and this allows the quest log to adress both Link and the player at the same time without using "あなた" (anata), it's as if the "あなた" (anata) were invisible. Unfortunately, some Japanese players have misinterpreted the invisible "あなた" (anata) as "私" (watashi), and wrongly thought that the quest log was actually Link's diary, or in other words, the quest log was written by Link, thus creating the common misconception of the quest log being written from Link's perspective.

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

wouldn't have been an issue if this version of Link didn't act like a blank slate. Another grievance I have with "new" Zelda.

[@candyneige6609]

@@OnionChoppingNinja Except that even the Japanese version treat Link as a blank slate. The reason why so many people, especially Japanese, thought otherwise is simply because they've misinterpreted the quest log as being written by Link, when in reality, it was written in second person and not in first person, meaning that it couldn't be written by Link.

[@Bloodstar-o7]

​@candyneige6609 "it was written in second person and not in first person, meaning that it couldn't be written by Link." Read the post above about Japanese language. Removing the reference to anata and Link means the context is ambiguous. Most Japanese would interpret it as first person as it is common to omit watashi when referring to oneself.

[@alexkay6676]

I took his "giving up on revival" as him refocusing all the power he accrued into that beast to take down Link and Zelda. He would then be able to return to trying to revive himself.

[@knowledgeseeker4614]

The fact there are so many mistranslations with the series is pretty concerning.

[@Xunkun]

"All Your Base Are Belong To Us." Consider it a tradition.

[@a.jthomas6132]

Very true. The writers or some official members of Nintendo of America should be removed for this. I personally would like to see more of Ganondorf’s motivation in TOTK.

[@SeiryuuX]

And here I thought we would get a blank slate from the removal of Treehouse...

[@jordanhansen5934]

4Kids would like to have a word with you

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

Major ones at that

[@MichaelRocks39]

I have a theory that the TOTK mistranslation of Ganondorf's motivations were intentional. Nintendo of America has had a tendancy to want to stay away from religion and politics for a while now, and the idea that "the younger generation has gone weak and we must bring back the days of strength and power" has had a very prevalent political context in the US for a while now. I could see that being an issue for either side had it been included in the English translation of TOTK.

[@Chris-gx1ei]

We as the Player are getting taught that this perspective of Ganondorf is unfair against those with dissadvantages, That's why we fight for the Weak, That's the message Behind that, protecting those who are weak, not simply because someone is evil, but because of the disadvantages they'll have

[@Irisverse]

Oh man, I can just see all the "Ganondorf was RIGHT and here's why" videos right now.

[@Token-j1n]

With the Ganondorf one, he states what was said in this video in the English version too.

[@cathygrandstaff1957]

It’s basically Hitler’s motivation with one of his reasons for trying to eliminate the Jews from Europe was believing the Jews had made Europe weak. However Ganondorf’s motivation aligns with him being Power aligned, you see the same thing in Chaos aligned characters in Shin Megami Tensei since in that alignment’s view might is right and those who don’t have the power to survive have no right to.

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

"Making the mother of all omelettes here, Link! Can't fret over every egg!" "Played college ball, you know. Try University of Gerudo! I could've gone pro if I hadn't joined the Gerudo Army! I'm not one of those Hylian pansies! I could rip the Zonai King in two... with my bare hands!" "Don't fuck with this Gerudo!"

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

The situation with Finley and Sasan isn't quite as cut and dry as you make it sound. Another Zeldatuber I watched said the same thing in one of his videos, but corrected himself in a later one - the language used that they use to describe their feelings is actually more emotionally loaded than non-native speakers of Japanese usually understand. However, after meeting in person they temper their expectations and agree to wait for her to grow up before pursuing a romantic relationship. Tears of the Kingdom downplayed it during their side quest, where the two have taken to adventuring together.

[@cathygrandstaff1957]

It sounds like both had lead the other to have unrealistic expectations: Finley had neglected to mention she’s still a child and Sasan had been lying about being muscular. It’s good Sasan at least seems just as turned off by the thought of him dating a child as the rest of us are.

[@user-sn1hi7my7x]

In earlier Zelda games, localizers were worried about religious references. For example: ALTTP was originally titled, “Triforce of the Gods.” Also, Death Mountain only existed in the “Dark World”. Light World counterpart was called Hebra Mountains. Localizers changed the name because it sounded close to the word Hebrew.

[@MirandaShadowind]

And in hindsight, that explains why we have the Hebra region in the more recent games.

[@lpfan4491]

It is still amazing how a church is an actual location in Alttp and they just couldn't be bothered censoring it, so they just renamed it into a "sanctuary".(Weirdly, Nintendo also didn't remove it from the sequel Albw, despite Christianity no longer being a major religion in Hyrule after Alttp)

[@Chris-gx1ei]

Here is another Misstranslation: In Wind Waker when facing Ganondorf with the Master Sword for the first time Ganondorf says that this Sword is used to keep the seal on his magic intact and by releasing the Sword his full magic returned. This wouldnt be a threat at all since the Master Sword even defeats Ganon when he is an Omnipotent God, so he would be a threat regardless, but at least we have a chance to kill him. However in Japanese and other Languages (like German for example) he says that the Master Sword is the Key that is used to lock Demons - especially *his Demons* - away, and by removing the Sword we potentially unleashed a huge horde of Monsters that would haunt the word under Ganon's rule, multiple entities that can crush humans like an egg. This was completely mistranslated to a point that it even got out of context. Ganon getting thanks to us full access to his Power from OoT? Yeah shouldnt be a problem Us unleashing a Horde of Demons under Ganon's Control resting beneath the Ocean? Sounds way more threatening if you ask me, I mean there were tons of Darknuts and Moblins in Hyrule Castle alone and on the surface we saw many more of them, I can say we are lucky they didnt rise from the Ocean like Ganon did after the removal of the Master Sword

[@lpfan4491]

Wind waker is weird and inconsistent localization wise. Ganondorf's speech about his original motives for taking Hyrule(Before becoming mad with power) was also extended because it presumably wasn't saucy enough?(The reason it is odd is that usually localizations sap away from the intended character depiction rather than amplify it)

[@Token-j1n]

​@@lpfan4491 Localizations don't "sap away" from the intended character depiction lmao. That's a misconception pedalled by weebs that don't understand Japanese. There are methods of conveying a personality in Japanese through specific word usage that can't be translated, there are styles that are taken in certain ways only in Japanese and other things that don't exist in foreign cultures. As a result, they will be modified. That's not sapping away.

[@hass556]

Yea this is unacceptable because we end up building theories based on false information. Nintendo of America needs to hire better translators. Other languages don’t seem to have these problems.

[@Crestfallen_Warrior]

German certainly has bad translations, too.

[@Chris-gx1ei]

​​@@Crestfallen_Warrior The German translation is closer to the Japanese Version than the English, despite lacking some parts of Informatio but it stays true to the Japanese original in many cases, even closer than the English ones, in Totk Ganondorf hinted in the German Version towards a Past where everything was in a state of Darkness and Combat, which is left out in the English I recomend watching videos of QuestWithAaron, he analyses the Japanese Translations and even some significant words used in there that are difficult to translate while showing its meaning. Yet the Context of the Translations are pretty much similar to how it is written in German

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of the changes are intentional. I don't really like the fact, but given the types of changes being made, it seems like they've got their own version of the story they want to tell.

[@elliot_rat]

maybe do more research before spreading fanon

[@XanderVJ]

​@Chris-gx1ei Ditto for the other European languages. NOE is just more respectful towards the original Japanese than NOA is, including their British English translations when they had British localizers. There are still a few occasional mistranslations here and there, of course. But only rarely do they become as narrative-changing as NOA's.

[@beccacroce7380]

Auru also showed up as Zelda's tutor in the manga version of Twilight Princess. Also I just noticed that his name is one letter off from Rauru, the sage of Light who would have connections to Zelda since he was the one in charge of the Temple of Time.

[@gabrielpena1371]

I get a minor mistake or two when translating for a game, but some of these are some pretty big blunders that mess with the lore.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

They are likely intentional. Sometimes localizers change details either to "fix" issues they think they found or to try to put their own spin on the narrative. It's no different to me than all of the "new facts" that were added to the Zelda encyclopedia that "retcon" things like "Termina was never real" - the foreword of the book even says the authors took creative liberties to explain some of the mysteries rather than leave it up to the players' imaginations.

[@Token-j1n]

@@gabrielpena1371 The one with Demise and Ganondorf's motivation are false. Or at least, it's not necessarily stated to be what this video describes.

[@micahconville2756]

Funnily enough, the title itself was a mistranslation. The original title was Hyrule Fantasy with The Legend of Zelda as the subtitle

[@King_Luigi]

Well... I wouldn't say that was a mistranslation. It just shortened the name. By the time the 1st game made it out of Japan, the 2nd game was already out in Japan. They may have decided not to carry that part of the name over since the 2nd game didn't use it either.

[@WindMageMaster]

The Demon King is still reborn (via hatred manifest) as has been confirmed in dev books. The designers also made Demise resemble Ganondorf to signify a connection. So the English version of Demise’s speech isn’t exactly inaccurate to lore, but it’s not a spiritual reincarnation as many of the fans seem to believe. I also don’t get why people think Sasan is a full grown man. He has the most child-like face and I thought he was a teenager until the internet decided to label him otherwise. They still should’ve stuck with the original version- I can see why people would view it as off, but acting as though the game is displaying a grown man getting with a child is a leap. If anything, the Anju & Kafei situation is a bit more uncomfortable.

[@KairuHakubi]

What they should have done is done the extra work to make an adolescent zora model. It's weird that they are ALL either tiny toddlers or full adults. Goofy teen human should have a sexy teen zora girlfriend. The idea that they just go through spurts is dumb, and a pure consequence of the laziness of the models (in BotW all the kid characters were like that regardless of species) Not that anyone should be 'uncomfortable' about any of these situations. chrissakes it's a fantasy series.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

​@@KairuHakubi HUMANS go through growth spurts. Not as dramatically, but still. That said, yes, they should have. Mipha seemed to have been meant as an example, given she has adult proportions but is shorter than Link.

[@KairuHakubi]

@@OtakuUnitedStudio yes exactly. She's supposed to be a relatively young one, his actual age, and her little brother is the babbu type. so we see 100 years later he's in his prime, his dad is old, and presumably had Mipha survived, she could have grown another foot if not more, but would have been either in her prime or just past it by the time Link saw her again. We do have some other 100+ year old zora women talking about how they remember Link, at least one of them was hitting on him as I recall.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

Kafei wasn't a kid to begin with, he was cursed.

[@KairuHakubi]

@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 i mean technically everyone was a kid _to begin with_ but... that's not what these sensitive modern types are talking about. They don't actually care about people being hurt, they just don't want to be icked out by what they're told is gross this week.

[@a.jthomas6132]

When Zelda said “ Oh Link.. I’m home” in the English Localization in Tears of the Kingdom, I believe it is not just she really returned to the Hyrule she belongs to. But Link is also her home. In Japanese however, Zelda said this: "ただいま... リンク" (pronounced as I'm home Link). These words depicts that is either someone close to family or a person you shared space with (aka lover). This hints that Link and Zelda are indeed lovers.

[@omegasoup4164]

The Finley side quest in BotW actually WAS intended to be romantic in the Japanese version of the game! I think all the English translation did was put a lot more emphasis on the fact that Finley was of age in spite of her looks, which didn’t really help much but at least they tried

[@Hananotaka]

It seems to me that it’s an issue of sprites. My impression of the Japanese is that it’s two teenagers of roughly equivalent mental ages; if anything, Finley is a bit more mature. But the game has only sprites for “kids” and sprites for “adults.” Finley gets the Zora kid sprite, and Sasan gets the generic Hylian adult sprite. A whole bunch of people would have been less skeeved out if there were teenager sprites, or if Finley was given an “adult” sprite, but I think the developers liked the comedy of the more childlike Finley bossing Sasan around, and generally being more responsible.

[@lpfan4491]

​@@Hananotaka*Model(A sprite is a 2D image) Also, it is most likely because japanese media is not as critical of midgets as western media is. "She is a 300 year old vampire!" is an actual trope and not an excuse or joke as many people over here treat it as.

[@polarknight5376]

@@Hananotaka That makes sense, but I think it's meant to be that Zora simply stay as children for longer than Hylians. I think I recall that somewhere in Mipha's diary she mentions that Link grew up faster than she did even though he was younger? So Finley and Sasan could be the same age, but Sasan would be an adult sooner than Finley?

[@alweebsimpbiote1480]

​@@polarknight5376She says that in her memory scene, too. Also, there's the fact that it takes Sidon a hundred years to grow from a little boy into a young man.

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

​@@HananotakaI'd say the correct term is models, not sprites, since that's 2D, while a model is explicitly in 3D with all the polygons and whatnot

[@friend_trilobot]

The added nuance for totk Ganondorf makes so much sense and matches with the themes the broad strokes of the story already communicate - Zelda, Rauru and Ganondorf are all rulers whose actions are contrasted with each other. Ganondorf wants a time of power where men can take what they want if they are strong but is so consumed by the power of the secret stone that he essentially become so powerful no individual can stand in his way, and he controls and corrupts all he touches. Rauru at first takes his power for granted thinking he is strong enough to keep ganondorf at bay but when this fails he does the inverse of ganondorf and distributes his power to others and they fight as a team as that is the only chance against ganondorf, and in the spirit of this he sacrifices himself to seal ganondorf in a state of light-vs-dark equilibrium on the hope of what someone else (link) can do eons later. Zelda follows in Rauru's footsteps, sacrificing herself for the hope of enabling link and future sages to finish what she started, but also becomes powerful in her own right and acts as an individual like ganondorf by becoming a literal dragon, but she is not powerful as a tyrant who bends everything to her will, but as an embodiment of her people, acting on their behalf, not unlike when link wears the fierce deity mask and becomes a sort of avatar of the hopes and struggles of the npcs he's interacted with in majora's mask. Her tears arent just for herself or her inability to reunite with link, its also for the suffering her kingdom has felt which she was unable to stop during the calamity and the rebuilding efforts cut short by her time traveling and the upheaval. But the icing on the cake is link who becomes the ideal that ganondorf claimed to want: a hero who claims power. Link doesn't have a secret stone though he wields silver of the power of Zelda's vicariously. But even with this, link in many ways does what ganondorf was unable or unwilling to do: oppose a powerful king while being not nearly as powerful. As the hero, Link is defined by courage, symbolically jumping off a ledge even if it might mean certain death. But keeping with the theme, link is able to succeed bc, as Mineru famously says, "you are not alone." Be doesn't wield the power of a secret stone directly but he finishes the work Zelda began - both fighting ganondorf and rebuilding the kingdom - and is aided by 4 other secret stones through the sages, and best of all he does it through Rauru's literal arm. And in this way wields more power than ganondorf will ever have through his individualistic approach.

[@megasean3000]

One of the ones I know best is the name Link to the Past. It always confused me, since there is no time travelling in that game, and would have been better used for Ocarina of Time, where there is time travel. The Japanese name of the game is actually Triforce of the Gods, which makes a ton more sense given the context of the story.

[@MaxM210]

The Skyward Sword translation of Demise's speech really has kind ruined the English speaking Zelda community's understanding of the series and personally, I think it has seriously damaged the overarching narrative for the series in english speaking countries as a whole. A big part of that actually goes beyond skyward sword and covers the whole series, in that the way we use the word "Demon" is very different to how the japanese use similar phrases like "Oni" or even "Demon King". In english, our concept of a "Demon" is based almost entirely on Abrahamic religion and the biblical demons, which are creatures of pure evil. The term "Demon King" isn't one we really use in english because "Devil" or "Satan" are terms used to refer to the biblical notion of "the ruler of hell, where demons reside" and "The Devil" is a specifical biblical character with a specific biblical concept. But those ideas aren't present in Japanese mythology. Japanese demons and Yokai are far closer to Trolls, Gnomes, Fairies and the like. Majora's mask uses a lot of very specific culture references involving "demons" that couldn't be properly translated because we don't have a good equivalent. In English Demons are very specific Evil alternates to angels. In Japanese they're more mischievous, not entirely malicious creatures. Never once is a "hell" or "Demon realm" ever mentioned in any Zelda game, but the fandom has decided there must be a demon realm because The Demon King came from a fissure in the Earth, and biblical Hell is "bellow the Earth" even though That's not ever stated in game. "Demise" isn't even his name, it's just the localizers trying to simplify his title as "Bringer of Demise" or "person of Demise". He's never names in the game, he's just "The Demon King, The Bringer of Doom". The Demon King in Skyward Sword is not meant to be understood as a "Devil" in Japanese, but in English we have such a specific concept of what a "Demon King" is, that it's totally warped our perceptions of how to view this character. When I found out That The Demon king did not make any threats of direct reincarnation in the Japanese it really occurred to me how wrong my understanding of the series was. Ganondorf is not supposed to be a literal, direct incarnation of "the Devil", he's supposed to be a metaphorical resurgence of the greed and malice The Previous Demon King represented. Vaati, Maladus, Zant are all supposed to be representations of the idea that Hyrule is cursed to eternal conflict, not literal manifestations of a reincarnating omni-fiend. The series is made way less interesting by the idea that Ganondorf is driven not by the greed that dwells in all man's hearts, but instead by just some other evil spirit that compels him to be evil. It takes away all of Ganon's agency and reduces him. And from a larger standpoint its completely screwed over the Zelda community's ability to think critically about the timeline or even what the Demons in the Zelda series are even supposed to be.

[@bernhardhametner2004]

What a fantastic summary of the spirit of these games. Couldn't have said it better myself

[@scrappy2082]

please have a fire hydrant by your side cuz your writing is fire man 🔥✍️

[@AzureRoxe]

It happened again with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom with Malice and Gloom. In Japan, both are supposed to be a sort of Miasma [similar to some previous games mentioning that Ganon can create a Miasma that makes people ill]. The English translators completely misunderstood everything.

[@kevinfromsales9445]

I agree with Link, Ganon and Zelda being far more interesting as individuals who aren't connected to each other with their own strengths and weaknesses and connecting everything to past events ruins their own perosna and motivations. However how would you explain the multiple Zeldas and multiple Links always being chosen by the Triforce and coming together to stop Ganon? Simply reincarnation or just coincidence? There is no other explanation than Demise cursing both Link and Zelda and their descendants for eternity or as long as we'll be getting Zelda games for that matter.

[@lpfan4491]

If they did not want that association, then they should not have tied this guy to Ganondorf audiovisually. As far as I am concerned, both ideas can co-exist. Afterall, every Link besides WW is driven to the opportunity for Adventure by some sort of prophecy or even the reincarnation itself, but each of them develops into a diffrent kind of Hero and their own entity that could decline to help, but doesn't out of genuine and personal kindness.

[@normal6483]

I love this video, and I hope we get something similar for Kingdom Hearts one day. Only a few niche KH fans know about the "aitsu" mistranslation or the meaning of "taisetsu na hito", but it legitimately changes the whole arc of the series.

[@bernardovillarreal6628]

WTH? Why would Nintendo not fix such big mistranslations that changes such games stories? 😮

[@a.jthomas6132]

@@bernardovillarreal6628 We need better translators because this is getting ridiculous.

[@bernardovillarreal6628]

@ like the big change that makes for TotK Ganondorf is major as a character. I was disappointed to know that his motives was the classic child like villain. Now knowing that it was more than that, he had actual reasoning behind his actions other than I want to rule the world.

[@777idkineedausername]

Because the Nintendo of America wants to put their own spin on things, as well as make the game more appealing to the American market. Bossing around subsidiaries is what killed Sega after all.

[@a.jthomas6132]

@777idkineedausername Just like how spin the relationship status of Link and Zelda? Yeah they really did rewritten the original source in a dirty way. Because the Japanese shows they are more romantically involved in the Japanese take in TOTK.

[@Nintendofan91]

Because Nintendo doesn’t care about the story of the Zelda games. They’ve said on multiple occasions that the narrative is an afterthought.

[@fishnewt1331]

Disclaimer: Localizing Japanese translations is not an easy task. Unlike English, where we have different slangs and specific terms and phrasings to describe certain things, Japan’s vocabulary simplifies certain things in broader terms. A KZbinr by the name of QuestWithAaron explains it better (and I recommend their channel for Zelda translations), but in essence, gendered language and context heavy naming schemes makes localizing as much of a guessing game and coming up with the best compromise to translate in cases from a what is functionally a vastly different culture and a different way of speaking. Again, QuestWithAaron demonstrates this when going into things like Link’s diary entries or the Lost Woods names.

[@elio7610]

That can mostly be solved with translation guidance from the original writers.

[@Chris-gx1ei]

Then how do you explain stuff like in Wind Waker? What justifies Ganondorf's line "The Master Sword seals away my Demon Tribe" in Japanese to be recontextualized to "The Master Sword keeps the seal on my magic intact" in English?

[@zynux8252]

Sorry but this is largely cope. Yes, translation is difficult, obviously. However when for years upon years consistently non-professionals are more accurate then what the official localizers are putting out then it is merely an issue of incompetence or they are intentionally changing things for a variety of reasons. But the excuses have largely run out.

[@Token-j1n]

​@@zynux8252 Calling something "cope" doesn't nullify their points. The process of localization can involve mistakes. TP had a bit of an awkward localization due to difficulties in communication as it was released in the west before Japan, so I've heard. It isn't incompetence when the majority of the time, it is largely the same. I've seen many Japanese speakers/translators talk about how Zelda localization is really not that bad, myself included.

[@zynux8252]

@@Token-j1n Fair enough, but the issue is that people continually use the excuse of "well, translating is hard!" to handwave poor localization and incompetence that shouldn't be continually being made while unpaid enthusiasts constantly correct them. These "errors" aren't one off incidents. Mario, Zelda, and so many other Nintendo franchises have had garbage localization for 3 DECADES now with no sign of improvement. At this point, the "well translating is hard" doesn't cut it, and is no longer an adequate explanation of why this keeps happening to such extents.

[@Thephoenixofstories]

English: “Do not think this is the end! The history of Hyrule will be written in blood!” Japanese: “Do not think this all ends here! Instead, think of this as the beginning of a blood drenched struggle between Light and Shadow!”

[@AppleJackSix]

Most of these more modern Zelda game examples are not mistranslations. They are all completely intentional.

[@GrimmShadowsII]

I guess it depends on how you want to define mistranslation. To me it just means the translation is wrong doesn't matter if it's by mistake or intentionally.

[@AppleJackSix]

@ that’s fine, but most people don’t define it that way.

[@lpfan4491]

@@GrimmShadowsII "Mistranslation" both implies a mistake and a translation. If something is purposefully changed, then it is both purposeful and not translated from anything.

[@ventrillo9]

I had a feeling Ganondorf felt so one noted in Tears of the Kingdom, now I know it's just bad translation and direction from the American team that makes him feel too simple for it.

[@WindMageMaster]

One noted as compared to…? All of his past appearances with the one exception being the ending of Wind Waker? I agree that the JP version is preferable, of course, but I’ll never understand why fans somehow think Ganondorf was *always* some complex layered villain until TotK. It’s only the ending of one game where he shows any layers to his motivations.

[@elliot_rat]

they done my boy dirty

[@XanderVJ]

Honestly, Ganondorf is not that much better in Japanese. He's just a run of the mill social Darwinist, which is a pretty cilche motivation in fantasy stories. Now, that doesn't need to be a bad thing, but unfortunately the game doesn't do anything interesting with it.

[@Chris-gx1ei]

​​@@XanderVJ Ne me one villain in fictional stories or videogames that follows that Philosophy that only the Strong may Succeed The only Villain with a mindset similar to Ganondorf would probably be Ridley.

[@stuffz1757]

For the record it's not like there's extra lines or cutscenes in the Japanese version of the game, so the only real difference lies in the context that can be gleaned from the choice of words they used in the Japanese script. The idea of his motivation is still clear even in the English script as well you just need to read between the lines.

[@_thenovanerd]

How did nintendo let so many mistralations get through?

[@JediMB]

Maybe not so much a translation error as a conscious choice to strip out connections to religion, but my favorite bit of trivia regarding A Link to the Past now is that Venus, her waterfall "friend", and their cursed counterpart in the Dark World were actually goddesses in the Japanese version of the game; not great faeries.

[@zeltroid]

I’m sorry this sounds harsh, but let’s be real, some of these are flat out unacceptable. The side quest in BOTW angered me to the point that almost stopped playing the game completely. Then the MAJOR lore stuff involving some of the most significant characters in the game is shocking. Nintendo of America really needs to step it up.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

The pen pal side quest isn't actually as badly translated as he makes it sound. This was a misconception that was spread for a while, but the first person to make a video on the subject made a second correcting himself after receiving a lot of comments - the language used in the Japanese version also makes it sound like they two developed a crush on each other from reading the letters. Their reaction is slightly different but mainly in a "I'll wait for her body to catch up with her mind" sort of way. It was also considered kind of creepy even in Japan.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

This side quest pissed you off that much?

[@UndertakerU2ber]

@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 You never know what the commenter might have gone through in their personal life...

[@yordansic]

@@UndertakerU2ber Not an excuse.

[@UndertakerU2ber]

@@yordansic Them being a victim of that type of abuse as a child is a valid excuse of being "pissed off" at a scene that seemingly normalizes such abuse.

[@777idkineedausername]

Please keep in mind that it is not just translation, but localization. The game is rewriten for a new audience from another group of creatives adapting it. Weather they do a good job or not is subjective.

[@ElliotKeaton]

_"from another group of creatives adapting it"_ That toxic mentality is the problem. Their job isn't to be creative. It's to properly convey another group's creativity.

[@galliussbattlefield3621]

If I'm not mistaken, in the Spanish version of Twilight Princess, Auru (or "Perícleo", as we call him) introduces himself as Zelda's tutor. Even if Spanish translations have plenty of mistakes as well (I still remember that partial translation of that last puzzle in Oracle of Seasons's Explorer's Crypt, that made a lot more sense in English...), they did it the right way here (that puzzle I was referring to was "Below me, red; right from me, red; only I shall shine blue". As "Debajo, rojo; a mi derecha, rojo; sólo podré brillar en azul", it feels very confusing)

[@BKaitsuki]

'' minor character '' WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT BAGU????? woaw. Do you know Bagu is like one of my favourite Zelda line.

[@mrcat3493]

So Ganon wants to Make Hyrule Great Again, in Tears of the Kingdom?

[@Zelda_Thorn]

"but obviously since this game got a sequel, that's not the case" come on. TOTK makes it clear that calamity ganon was merely a build-up of the real ganondorf's leaking malice. basically one big phantom ganon

[@KairuHakubi]

I mean, that's a super valid idea, but they were FAR from clear about that, or anything else. Especially since the two "weird glowy evil goop" materials have totally different names and properties. That said yeah, obviously the fact that there's a sequel doesn't have anything to do with THIS version of him reviving, because it's a different one.

[@Zelda_Thorn]

@@KairuHakubi i mean it's certainly true they've not been expressly clear about it but to me at least it makes sense that malice and gloom would be different. one is the raw hatred and malice from someone who's been trapped for millennia, and the other is the conscious and sophisticated method that a revived ganondorf uses to weaken you without outright killing you (because he wants a worthy opponent). they're as different as blood and infected pus 🤷‍♀

[@KairuHakubi]

@@Zelda_Thorn that's fair, evil beings can have more than one ichor inside them.

[@stuffz1757]

Calamity Ganon is OOT Ganondorf, TotKs Ganondorfs malice created OOT Ganondorf. It's Skyward Sword > Era of Chaos > Zonai descend > Rauru and Sonia found Hyrule > Imprisoning War > Minish Cap > Four Swords > Hyrulean Civil War > Ocarina of Time. TotK Ganondorf > OOT Ganondorf > Ganon > Calamity Ganon

[@KairuHakubi]

@@stuffz1757 Thank you for taking me back to the good old days of the internet where people would rattle off these..... _unique_ interpretations of the stories of games.

[@SorceressRose]

Honestly when I first read the original ambitions of Ganondorf in the JP in TotK, I was taken aback, because that's so much better than what we've gotten. The Ganondorf for English speakers just feels... very... one dimensional, lacks depth, his motivations just were very eh. But TotK in general just suffers from a very poor story, where it barely feels like a sequel and the newly introduced characters either have poor writing behind them or barely appeared when some of them are suppose to be main characters, but are held back by plot and the writing. BotW/TotK are amazing games, but the stories are definitely after thoughts and it's hard not to think BotW's story was better, even though it had much less of a story and the mechanics like finding memories worked for it, not so much TotK as they tried to capture the same formula from BotW and I believe they shouldn't have done that.

[@MalzraAirwynn]

Honestly IMO the JP motivation isn't really that much more interesting. I suppose there's slightly more depth to it than just being evil but it's not like the JP ganondorf displays any real nuance to his character either, he's still pretty evil and shallow in both versions. He's still far from a fleshed out character.

[@vadoslink446]

Par for the course. Story is always very low on the list of their priorities. I think compared to the stories of the franchise in general TotK handled characters a bit better than most of the other games (I mean just compare the sages of TotK to the ones of AlbW or OoT...they're far more developed and active) but compared to games that actually focus on story like Xenoblade for example, they feel pretty barebones. I really don't understand where people ever got the idea from that Ganondorf used to be any deeper than simply being a powerhungry tyrant. Even the WW version dropping that one line of coveting Hyrule's wind doesn't change that.

[@davidwhidden9337]

The moment time travel was brought into the story I just stopped caring. Time travel requires such finesse to get right and this game just....just no. The more one thinks about the events of TOTK, the more one realizes it messes the events of BOTW. Let's use the Master Sword as an example. Link in the present, sends the damaged blade to the past, unknown time, but before BOTW. This means that in BOTW there has to be 2 swords. The one in Zelda's head, and the one just chilling by the Deku Tree. If there is only 1 sword, how does Link pull it from the Deku Tree to become the knight to the princess when it's in Zelda's head?

[@Token-j1n]

@@SorceressRose This video doesn't even describe Ganondorf's motivations in English properly, and in jp, he never said he harbors dislike towards the Zonai tribe. In both English and Japanese, he says he wants to return hyrule to a state of chaos and how he thinks people have become "too cowardly".

[@Shinntoku]

11:00 I actually don't think this error is as big as people make it seem. Revival and reincarnation are different things, so it would necessarily be inaccurate to say Calamity Ganon gave up on reincarnation and started putting all his power into revival instead

[@BrownMan-gg7dx]

@5:20 he is somewhat a reincarnation of ganondorf tho. He told Link his hate would live on and be passed down through generations. That "hate" is ganondorf. He's basically the successor of Demise and if you look at that way, he is somewhat of a reincarnation of him.

[@skeletorgames8641]

Can’t be a reincarnation. Demise is still technically alive, but trapped I. The sword, isn’t he?

[@elliot_rat]

you do realize that the whole "timeline" fanon thing isn't real, right?

[@BrownMan-gg7dx]

@@elliot_rat the creator said it was canon.

[@BrownMan-gg7dx]

@@skeletorgames8641 but he said his hatred will be passed down and live on. That hatred is ganondorf. Im not saying ganondorf is a reincarnation but Ganondorf is the hatred Demise spoke of. It's one of the reasons he keeps coming back They're all the same ganondorf. Just reincarnated and put in different timelines (games)

[@stuffz1757]

No. Only Four Swords Adventures Ganondorf is confirmed to be a reincarnation of OOT Ganondorf, we do not know the connection or lack thereof between TotK Ganondorf and OOT Ganondorf.

[@grimmyreap9920]

The ones in BotW and TotK are probably the worst because they really ruin the idea of Ganon/dorf

[@a.jthomas6132]

They did the same thing with Link in the journal entries. While NA version is addressing to the player, the Japanese version showcase Link having his thoughts, feelings, his relationship with Zelda, and his doubts if he is worthy of being the Hero Hyrule needs to be.

[@grimmyreap9920]

@ to that point everyone dogs on Nintendo for poor Zelda characterizations, but I’m starting to think it’s the translations that are causing this

[@a.jthomas6132]

@@grimmyreap9920 I believe it is a combination of both but yeah. The mistranslations are the real cause of this misconceptions. America Nintendo did tried to make Link and Zelda be in a friendzone but there strong suggestion that they are in a relationship. Heck Zelda Saids “I’m home, Link” in Japanese is depicting s either someone close to family or a person you shared space with which confirms she and Link are lovers.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

​@@a.jthomas6132 All of those things are still addressed in Zelda's diary inside the castle.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

​@@a.jthomas6132 The American version has Zelda about to ask the Great Deku Tree to pass on a love confession to Link, but he stops her and says she should tell him herself when they reunite. They did NOT try to make them look friend zoned.

[@masonschwalm2010]

3:17 I guess you could say that he wants to… Make Hyrule Great Again!…😂

[@kharlanhero4428]

I never understood Ganondorf's motivations in TOTK. He felt like the villain stereotype of just wanting control and power

[@vadoslink446]

BotW also completely butchered Revali's character. In a moment of self-reflection, he actually changes his mind about Link and admits that he's better than him and that he's the key figure to saving Hyrule. In the English version, they decided that he shouldn't have an arc....instead he's just a petty loser that still thinks Link only managed to free Medoh because he got lucky. This isn't even an instance of them falsely interpreting japanese....they literally just rewrote his character to make him simpler and less likable.

[@scrappy2082]

FINALLY SOMEONE BROUGHT UP THE DEMISE MISTRANSLATION you have no idea how much it bothers me that one of the most important scenes in terms of Zelda lore got botched in translation and has never been fixed anytime i see ppl saying Ganondorf is Demise' reincarnation i die a little inside

[@ShinseiWarujima]

You shouldn't as it is a fairly accurate translation. The exact Japanese phrasing uses the word "gonge" (literally translated as "incarnation"), referring to the Buddhist concept of a buddha incarnating themself as a local deity (kami) and assisting the people. In this sense, Demise is equating himself to a buddha, with Ganondorf being his kami manifestation-or incarnation.

[@thomasnongyow7899]

One had to wonder why Zelda games are not translated faithfully but are localized. If they are translated into English, there would be no issues with mistranslations. Why the changes between the Japanese and English versions?

[@selenityshiroiYT]

I'm a great believer in localisation over direct translation. Because getting the overall feel of a scene is much better than having a direct translation (especially if something in the original is tied up in a culturally specific thing that doesn't have a direct equivalent). And whilst looking into direct translations can be interesting, to understand and learn more about the original context, if the localisation is done correctly you won't even notice there was a change because you walk away with the same emotions and understanding as the original. All of the above is actually why they did Zelda poorly in several instances. Because they HAVEN'T kept the tone and feel of the originals. Changing the villain's motives and story (not once but several times) is not a successful localisation.

[@lpfan4491]

​@@selenityshiroiYT It kinda depends. Revali has been in big contention because they changed his dialogue to correspond to the rude tone he has in japanese and people were not great fans because it made him weirdly feel like more of a jerk than he was supposed to be. Even if it looks like a perfect localization on paper, it may still blow up in your face. That is why it is as much science as it is art, we are walking over very thin rope when we cross the language barrier.

[@Token-j1n]

​@@selenityshiroiYT They didn't change Ganondorf's motives in ToTK lmao. That's such a common misconception. In both Japanese and English, he talks about returning the world of Hyrule to a state of chaos and how the people have become more cowardly.

[@jet30yblack47]

So Ganondorf motivation is to Make Hyrule Great Again?

[@a.jthomas6132]

More like he wanted to control of all creations so he can bring Hyrule back to a time where it is roamed by demons.

[@Chris-gx1ei]

More like he wants to cause war and bloodshed because in his eyes these things are better than Sex

[@TheSonicFairy]

it's gonna be huuge, you'll love it

[@Pyradonis]

Didn't the GBA version of A Link To The Past change the uncle's dialogue somewhat to make it more or less clear that Link's family are protectors of the royal family?

[@HinoxToenail]

Since i play botw with japanese voice, i found out that in one of the cutscenes, revali says: "good luck sealing the darkness" in the subtitles while he actually was just laughing at link in the voice acting😂

[@AzureRoxe]

The English translation team needs to be either fired or heavily admonished cause they've ruined so much in every Zelda title.

[@Songofthe_sea]

Honestly wish I was fluent in Japanese so I can play the game as intended

[@mr.m1785]

Oh wow. Never knew the whole Demise curse thing was fake.

[@Token-j1n]

It isn't. In Japanese, Demise still talks about his hatred and malice reincarnating.

[@mr.m1785]

@@Token-j1n Ahh. The video said to the contrary, so, uhh. Guess that one's debunked?

[@Token-j1n]

@@mr.m1785 Lmao look it up. There are multiple fan translations that exist on Reddit or Zelda Universe forums. Here's the exact jp dialogue mentioning his hatred reincarnating: 我の憎悪は... 魔族の呪いは... 悠久の時の果てまで輪廻を描く... My hatred... The curse of the Demon Tribe... It shall go on continuously reincarnating across the flow of time この憎悪と怨念が... その権化が貴様らと共に 血塗られた闇の海を永遠にもがき彷徨い続けるのだ!! This hatred and grudge...its incarnations shall go on strugglingly wandering along with you lowlifes within a "Dark Sea" stained with your blood, forever!

[@Token-j1n]

@@mr.m1785 Look it up. Demise references reincarnation in his end speech "... My hatred... The curse of the Demon Tribe... It shall go on continuously reincarnating across the flow of time!" " This hatred and grudge...its incarnations shall go on strugglingly wandering along with you lowlifes within a blood-stained "Dark Sea" forever!"

[@yatanogarasu]

That's why I use JP voice-overs, they are much more original in so many ways. The giving up on reincarnation was the most surprising when I first heard it.

[@WindMageMaster]

I think they were just trying to say Ganon gave up trying to regain form as he was doing in his cocoon and assumed his beast form, but using the word “reincarnation” the way they did threw people off.

[@linknoir78]

Im glad the German Translation is quite accurate to the Japanese text

[@snowboundmage]

I know of one certain mario mistranslation that had a large impact on the internet. Cant even mention it without getting people angry lol.

[@BobtheExile]

The German version of Ocarina of Time has Impa state in no uncertain terms that she founded Kakariko Village as a safe haven for runaways, refugees, and the like. The English version states that she was born and raised in Kakariko. Is there something there?

[@elliot_rat]

well if i ever fail to make it into the animal care career at least i know i can do a terrible job at localizing zelda games

[@Atrus999]

I personally like the idea of Demise being reincarnated. I think that mistranslation was a good move.

[@elio7610]

That is not a good reason for an inaccurate translation. A translation should just be accurate to the original text.

[@Atrus999]

@elio7610 How is making the story better NOT a good reason?...

[@elio7610]

@@Atrus999 I would rather know what the original creator intended even if the creator's idea was bad. If the localizers think they can write something better then they should write their own story, not change someone else's story.

[@ElliotKeaton]

Every author should edit their work so that their villains motives are entirely driven by them being a reincarnation of Satan being pissy.

[@johnsesia9050]

No mention of "10th enemy has the bomb" from the first game?

[@King_Luigi]

That's technically not a mistranslation. It's worded a bit weird, but it's still referencing an actual in-game mechanic. Lord knows _how_ the person who wrote that knew about it back then though.

[@lpfan4491]

Zelda 1 is weird. Like, I am fairly sure at least one of the hints is entirely made up(Was it the penninsula one? Idk), but it was still 100% accurate to what is actually in the game. How did they know?

[@King_Luigi]

@@lpfan4491 Yeah, several of the hints were made up, including the peninsula one (that remains a mystery). Which is a shame, because the original hint from the peninsula guy was pretty important (arrows use rupees). The hint about the bomb was _also_ made up, but still managed to point out a hidden mechanic. (Though the details behind it are more complicated than they'd be able to explain in-game.)

[@teko4752]

In early French dubs. The Master Sword was called " Excalibur ". Then in recent Zeldas and the ports of the games it was called so. They renamed it " L'épée de légende " ( The sword of Legends ).

[@TwilightWolf032]

Another thing to note about the Oocca, they're called "Tenkuujin" in Japanese (literally "sky people"). In Japanese they refer vaguely to a tribe of people that lived in the sky that descended upon the surface and created Hyrule, making Hylians the descendants of the Sky People. But in the English release, they give a name to the race of human-headed birds, that being Oocca, giving the impression that those nightmarish creatures have existed since before Hyrule was created as they are now and being responsible for creating the human-like race of Hylians, who then created Hyrule. That's one of the reasons why I HATE the liberties localizers take when localizing games, they completely mess up the lore, either because they don't understand what the original was trying to accomplish or because they think they can do better (they can't, nor should they try even if they could)!

[@ElliotKeaton]

Glad a big channel is talking about how NoA often messed up big things in the translations.

[@Token-j1n]

But it isn't often. Some of the "examples" in this video aren't even applicable. Demise's speech in Japanese references reincarnation and the "I will rise again" was translated from "I shall repeat this". And Ganondorf's motivation in ToTK is the same as in English.

[@ctmmd3051]

There's not a more unforgiving mistranslation than "Irule"

[@DanielSmith-zo1db]

These are some serious cases

[@tamar7065]

WAIT, "Zelda is your...." WAS A MISTRANSLATION THIS WHOLE TIME??? Dear god I have been wondering about this since the 90's

[@stuffz1757]

Golly almost feels like people should pay attention to that Demise speech mistranslation when they say TotKs backstory can't be before OOT, because Ganondorf "reincarnates." Almost as if they're fucking wrong, and it's just the true founding.

[@MaxM210]

YES. It has baffled me to no end that people use the Inaccurate translation as proof Totk's history couldn't come before.

[@wuyuyipi1224]

I personally don't really understand Japanese, but luckily I know Chinese, and for almost all Zelda games, I played both English and Chinese version (if there is one) because all the miss translations. I am usually able to figure it out by cross referencing the two versions, especially considering Chinese is a culturally and language wise much closer to Japanese, it really helps me on building my Zelda lore knowledge.

[@TheGeekApprentice]

I know I’m small potatoes, but the music choice for this video feels…odd? I mean, it’s giving How to Train Your Dragon vibes (which I love), but why not more simple Zelda music? Probably just a me thing.😂

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

It most definitely does NOT give me How to Train your Dargon vibes, It'd be great if it did. More generic bombastic in your face Hollywood vibes.

[@demonicdude1328]

Elden ring is probably still the hardest if you are a solo player and dont summon. However summons and spirits can easily trivialize the difficulty and most people use them in their playthroughs.

[@Tranceporter33]

Ganondorf would have really like me if I were Rauru. I would have fed him to the Moldugas halfway through the first meeting.

[@Chris-gx1ei]

Ganondorf lifts them probably daily looking at his muscles and at the fact that he is always a magician before becomming Satan in Flesh. Fighting a Molduga would lorewise only be his everyday workout

[@splashingblast1016]

So baffling for us Westerners to get table scraps, while the Japanese exposition is the real meat to the canonical story. Nintendo, always misleading Westerners since the 90s.

[@goodnightmyprince6734]

Yeah I feel left out

[@Token-j1n]

This comment is such an exaggeration of the situation lmao. It's really not as common as you suggest.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

Isn't Twinrova Ganondorf's stepmothers? I think the games say surrogate mothers.

[@stuffz1757]

Twinrova is OOT Ganondorf's Surrogate mothers, but they're relation to TotK Ganondorf is unknown. Imo I see them as daughters of TotK Ganondorf, and the surrogate mothers of OOT Ganondorf.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

@@stuffz1757 I think the Japanese translation is different and says stepmothers.

[@stuffz1757]

@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 I mean I feel like those two things mean the same thing. Surrogate doesn't have to mean they physically gave birth to them, it can mean they just raised him.

[@GrimmShadowsII]

​@stuffz1757 true but stepmother means married to biological father. It could mean something different in Japanese and this is a rare example of the translation process changing the word to better convey the original intention.

[@EggmanlandResident]

NOA's "Treehouse" group has been pretty bad at translating and localizing for decades now. With Fire Emblem Fates being one of the most notorious examples of that.

[@Mysticgamer]

I'm indifferent to the dub changes, but I can't help but notice that they had no problem with incest.

[@yomama9390]

the only people who thought error was an error were people who never played zelda 2

[@kurthill9070]

5:29 To those still caught up in the illusion of duality, this ought to be proof (source of fiction or otherwise) that everything serves the light; especially the darkness.

[@KierranJamieson]

What's the piece of music you have playing under your VO several times through this?

[@UndertakerU2ber]

Title: Adventure Awaits Artist: Sound Adventures

[@EverythingInMyBrain]

Hearing the narrator pronounce bagu as “bag-oo“ instead “bah-gu”pained me.

[@KinnySonata]

I remember when I did the bank of wishes side quest in breath of the wild and also being socked by the man and the zora. Really does look like a man dating a minor. Glad to know it's just a silly mistranslation.

[@azraelvrykolakas157]

Did people think Ganondorf was literally demise? It seamed pretty clear from the speech he's just tainted by demise. The same way he's graced by the triforce of power. I also thought the crack in the earth was an obvious enough tip off demise and his armies were inspired by the fomorians the constant enemies of the tuatha de danann thus acociating demises strength directly to the strength of members of that pantheon such as the triple goddess. While Ganondorf use the power of the triforce to corupt the world or even raise an army to kill everything on it he can't actually challenge the forces that created it directly he's simply not on that level. But demise is. More over i don't think its only inspired by the original myth i think they clearly saw the second helboy movie. And that greatly inspired the entire game. Golden mech with red glowing energy that reforms itself when damaged. People journeying to a underground market they're not sure if it exists, a journey down to the surface of a world they're not sure has anything on it. A deal with the goddess of death to cure the main character of a poisonous ornate triangle caused by the main villian, longest side quest involves trading with a demon. Said deal takes place in Scotland, Scottish music and symbolism plays when you seal away demise with a ornate triangle. It's mixed around a little but the threads are still there.

[@yuseifudogamer4717]

4:33 there is no mistranslation like this to my knowledge. Granted, it's been a while since I've played Twilight Princess, so if I'm wrong, I'm welcome to it. That being said, the most I recall them saying is that they were closer to the goddesses than even the Hylians.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

The Oocca created Hyrule? I thought they were descendants of the Loftwings. An uncomfortable romance. Yeah this is a bit ew-ey. Zelda is your... If he says sister I'm going to kill him!

[@stuffz1757]

According to Shad they did, but it doesn't really work with the lore of Skyward Sword which shows that the Hylians were the first people to rediscover the land. It's also debatable as to what they mean by "Hyrule" as that can refer to the land or kingdom since they're both called the same thing.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

@@stuffz1757 Weren't Hylians brought up to the sky and then found out about the surface later?

[@stuffz1757]

@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 Hylians or humans as they were called at the time, were sent into the Sky via the Goddess Hylia. The other races like the Kikwi, the Gorons, the Mogma, parrela and ancient robots stayed on the surface to fight Demise with Hylia. After the end of Skyward Sword tho it's likely that the Hylians/humans returned to the surface so the lore about the Oocca creating a capital that floats in the sky before the creation of the Hylians is kinda messy now that we have Skyward Sword. It could still work if you assume "Oocca" is just a name that a certain group of Hylians adopted and their capital that they built was Skyloft which they didn't build just turned it into the City in the sky but either way the lore of the Oocca requires assumptions and theories to make it fit.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

@@stuffz1757 I don't think there were normal humans in Skyloft. You could argue that they descended from Groose since he is theorized to be the ancestor of all Gerudo who also have round ears but that's a whole other theory.

[@Jormunguandr]

Demise lied to me 😢

[@fabiononis4066]

I don't remember how it was translated correctly, but i saw finley romance as a misunderstanding for the two. i mean: when he realized that finley is a Child it suggests that they became friends instead of dating... But i dont recall the Italian translation of the dialogue maube i just see it in that way because it would be gross instead😂

[@ReeseCraven]

Well, now I’m pissed.

[@dreamimgflowerd976]

Honestly I think the translations became worse with BotW. They got rid of so many fun easter eggs and callbacks to other Zelda games. The horse god is named Malon in the Japanese version, which was lit one of my fav easter eggs and I can't forgive the localisers for robbing us of that.

[@SnowWolfAlpha]

Japanese is hard so I'm not surprised mistakes occur. I'm sure things get mistranslated from English to Japanese too.

[@Bloodstar-o7]

Fun fact is, the mistranslation of Bug to Bagu is itself a bug. :D

[@lpfan4491]

Not what a bug is.

[@Bloodstar-o7]

@lpfan4491 _"A software bug is a design defect (bug) in computer software._ A computer program with many or serious bugs may be described as buggy. The effects of a software bug range from minor ( _such as a misspelled word in the user interface_ ) to severe (such as frequent crashing)."

[@lpfan4491]

@@Bloodstar-o7 That stretches the definition so thin that it essencially becomes pointless.

[@Bloodstar-o7]

@@lpfan4491 how is it pointless or stretching anything?

[@petermiller4953]

Translating Japanese to English is difficult. You'd need a native speaker from Japan to translate what is being said to English

[@lpfan4491]

Eh. Being a native speaker of japanese or english does not make too much of a diffrence because one could also make the opposite mistake of reading the japanese correctly and then turning it into engrish mush. One just needs a high understanding of both languages.

[@Volumixen]

In Japanese, he isn't known as "Demise", but rather "The Bringer of Demise". If I am not mistaken.

[@CurrentlyDuck1]

I'm gonna be honest, I like the English version of Demise's curse better. It gives more weight and purpose so Ganon's existence and helps explain why he reincarnates so many times.

[@wak773]

my god, how hard is it to be accurate????

[@jendorei]

I like how you didn’t show any footage of the Japanese versions so we can’t check if any of the claims made in this video are true :)

[@DecoytheSkeletalBoy]

10 Mistranslations in Zelda Games that Change VERY LITTLE IN THE BROAD SCHEME OF THINGS.

[@ShinseiWarujima]

Talks about mistranslations from Japanese to English, but then *mispronounces* "Bokoblin." The irony. For those wondering, the official Japanese spelling is as "ボコブリン," which is pronounced with two long O sounds, like the Spanish word "loco."

[@joeb7325]

Zelda's my what?

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

"If he says sister, I'll kill him!" (let's see hoe many people here are old and obscure enough to know what that reference is about)

[@WandererEris]

"As good as Matt Mercer is in the role..." Uh, no. Matt Mercer used his generic bad guy voice that doesn't have the gruffness that Ganondorf should have. It's a pretty poor performance, in my opinion.

[@KalEmberTTV]

what's the background music from?

[@UndertakerU2ber]

Title: Adventure Awaits Artist: Sound Adventures

[@KalEmberTTV]

@@UndertakerU2ber omg thank you so much! I have been actually trying to find that for awhile

[@maumu707]

*10 Localization Choices In Zelda Games That Barely Change A Thing

[@kaialone]

I don't think what you're saying about the JPN version of Demise's speech is entirely accurate, though it's been a while since I've seen it in Japanese. I'd have to double check. Also personally, I think the most notable mistranslation is prolly the line in WW that in Japanese p much confirmed a split timeline, but in English it was the complete opposite.

[@lpfan4491]

I don't recall ever hearing about WW contradicting the timeline split in any language, so that would be news to me.

[@Token-j1n]

@@kaialone Yeah, that's just fans misinterpreting a line.

[@kaialone]

@Token-j1n Nometheless, it was still mistranslated

[@Token-j1n]

@@kaialone But it wasn't. Saying i will rise again was pretty clearly metaphorical. In Japanese, he says that "this will happen again/ I will repeat it".

[@kaialone]

@Token-j1n I thought you meant the WW thing

[@eduardodeleon-dg1ys]

I love legend Zelda game make more

[@Mario87456]

Demise’s speech was NOT mistranslated. You people have no evidence for it.