Let's Mosey: A Slow Translation Of Final Fantasy VII: Part One

Let's play Final Fantasy VII in Japanese! I'll compare the Japanese script with the original English translation. It'll be fun.
In our first installment, we'll describe the little nuances of the first words Cloud speaks in Japanese.
Read more: kotaku.com/lets...
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[@gatotsu2501]

I feel like the minor change in style for the English version of Cloud's opening line kind of works (probably unintentionally) as a bit of cultural adaptation. The idea is to convey that Cloud is exhibiting this Cool Guy Action Hero persona; obviously it's a trope that exists in both American and Japanese pop culture, but I've noticed the execution tends to be a little different. The Japanese Cool Guy Action Hero - Toshiro Mifune, (Space Adventure) Cobra, etc. - tends to be alternatingly gruff and formal in his mannerisms, crude at a glance but never without time for a poetic observation or philosophical soliloquy here or there, either mockingly or in full sincerity. (Perhaps this is derived from the archetype of the rogue samurai? An outlaw and renegade with the education and mannerisms of a knight.) Meanwhile, the American Cool Guy Action Hero - Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Lethal Weapon"-era Mel Gibson - is characterized specifically by his blue-collar mannerisms and terse, flippant demeanor. He's more likely to invent new swear words than make soliloquies, and the height of his verbal acuity comes through in short, simple, koan-like one-liners. (He's a cowboy - a glorified farmhand - not a noble retainer.) American Cool Guy Action Hero seems more likely to say "When this job's over, I'm outta here" than to mock-soliloquize about "saying our farewells". I'd be interested in breaking down how Cloud's speech and mannerisms change (if they change) once we discover in the latter portion of the game that the cliche-spouting Cool Guy Action Hero he was initially hamming it up as was actually a totally artificial persona created out of desperation.

[@kingcapisce892]

That was an incredibly astute analysis.

[@Chill-mm4pn]

That's what I love about the Japanese cool guy archetype. That layer of depth beneath a gruff exterior. Awesome analysis.

[@nerdychocobo]

So in short - it's meant to sound like something duke nukem would say

[@lealdoandrade]

Good analysis

[@IAmEnormous]

You know what else a cowboy would say? "Let's mosey."

[@Ikaruwa]

Tim Rogers continues to prove to me he is my favorite member of the games industry. This is 100% tailored to fit my interests.

[@spencerschnurmanaterschnur9359]

Let me guess you think Spiderman is a narc too

[@danieljohn9257]

100% tailored to fit my interests…this and Tim Rogers himself. 😉🤙🏼

[@luizfalves]

I'd like a 980-part series of this.

[@_Adie]

"I accidentally moved to Japan and learned how to speak and read Japanese" Okay, now how do I recreate this kind of accident? You know, for scientific purposes, of course

[@midknight1339]

Just read Megatokyo ;)

[@Leinad44]

I never knew Solid Snake narrated Kotaku videos!

[@geoserenity]

He kept you waiting for a new video, huh?

[@DennisMHenderson]

its Xavier Renegade Angel tho

[@CaptainFalcoyd]

My first thought. The MGS-sounding music adds to the effect.

[@kameleongreen]

I want more.

[@TerryTurner]

Justin Nicolay yeah 👍

[@kotaku]

We're thinking about expanding it into a longer series where Tim translates the opening act explaining the Japanese. We'll see! Share it if you like it.

[@NathanielMosher]

Please do!

[@EvelynL.1112]

Justin Nicolay YES!!!!!! The Japanese dub is the original dub! So I wanna know WHAT they really MEANT to say!!!!!

[@copycat2384]

this combines all my favorite things. nostalgic video games, in depth look at language and cultural differences, and being overly critical of something that is universally loved!

[@wr_central]

This was incredibly interesting. Would love to see more.

[@Taric25]

The Duke Nukem voice acting was so incredibly on point.

[@skins4thewin]

This has been fun to watch after playing the Remake. It's pretty amazing how close they got the environments to look to the original.

[@rileyburke7235]

How do you accidentally move to Japan?

[@pixelfenix]

One thing lead to another and without a clear conscious decision he was now in Japan

[@diverman467]

Riley Burke I just assumed he tripped...over the Pacific ocean...simple when you think about it :)

[@espeonfreak]

"FUCK. Not again!"

[@Siresly]

It's Timpossible.

[@Petey0707]

It happens. Almost happened to me.

[@MalikEKC]

Love this video. I have no idea when I laughed so loud when he said “note the exclamation point outside the quotes. I love it”

[@jono0007]

Another quality Tim Rogers video. Truly a master. MORE TIM ROGERS

[@Ferelmakina]

This is fascinating. Your linguistical background makes it very interesting. Please continue doing this.

[@chase9692]

Very sweet. I dont think I was ever so connected to a game like FF7. The dialog and story was a different kind of experience I have not been able to find since. You can really tell how much care and time was placed into development. Most game to me seem sort of whimsical and random at times, or just out right broken up by dialogue and different events. This is a new level of enjoyment for me. Thank you for your time and effort. This is very appreciated and nostalgic for me.

[@TylerJMacDonald]

Surely Tim doesn't check these comments anymore, but I just want to point out that the graphic for this series is nearly identical to the album cover "A Long Vacation l" by Eiichi Ohtaki, which Tim said was one of his favorites in the boku no natsuyasumi video

[@shadow1psc]

I definitely want to see more of this.

[@adellario]

Tim, please do more! This is fascinating.

[@BenRitter]

980 parts. I'm in.

[@NowOnAFM]

Very entertaining video. It's intriguing to learn the intricate differences between the Japanese and English script. It's also nice to know that a few of those Cloud personality quirks carried over to the modern era. "Not Interested" is almost his English catchphrase now. Looking forward to more of these. You don't need to go through the whole script. Maybe just the major story scenes and some eye-opening differences throughout the script.

[@aaronlobato5268]

I just spent 30 minutes attempting to translate the first 2 sentences at the station. Only been studying Japanese for a month. This gives me hope.

[@KunjaBihariKrishna]

How did you manage after one month? I'm two weeks in, but I just focused on learning how to read. That part was suprisingly easier than I expected. And for the most part, that seems to be about all that duolingo was good for where japanese is concerned

[@PierceArner]

I am greatly looking forward to the rest of this series. This episode was excellent.

[@CF565]

This is super cool. I've played through this game so many times I can almost recite whole sections of dialogue, but I don't speak Japanese, so it's really great to see it broken down by a knowledgeable source to get a different perspective on something so familiar.

[@aedric]

This is one of my favorite videos, and series on the internet. It’s incredibly cool to see someone take specific knowledge and use it to open up a set of stories to folks who have gotten an incomplete picture up until this point.

[@solame4983]

I love this series so much.

[@UnionizedCrackerbarrel]

Duke Nukem Impression 10/10

[@MrBeautyAngel]

i love this, I love final fantasy in general and its what made me want to learn Japanese. PLEASE do more like these!! especially with final fantasy X-2 with Yuna, Rikku and Paine. Thank you.

[@uruzchubun8081]

*Starting route to Walmart* *Take left onto 99th st* *Take a right onto main st* *Rerouting......* *You have now arrived in Japan* How do you accidentally find yourself in Japan?

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Step 1: Drive to an international seaport in California. Step 2: Park on a conveniently docked carboat. Step 3: Pass out for a few days.

[@TheLifestream]

Can't wait to see more. We attempted doing our own retranslation a while ago, working with a few translators. Got up to the playground scene before losing steam. It's interesting seeing how they've had compromise to fit. I think newbie might sound a bit more natural than new guy in a sort of authoritative tone. It's not a bad translation to begin with, but it has issues, like lines mixed up, or nuances. I'm really hoping alexander o smith is involved with the remake. His work on coo was amazing.

[@mrbanks456]

I didn't know Kotaku could produce this chill as fuck content.

[@Steve-up1gw]

Thank you Tim Rogers, this is an excellent idea for a series.

[@fitzzz2429]

This video is subtly hilarious and I like it

[@linceed]

All these years later, still a valuable learning tool as well as quintessential tim rogers

[@CollMomo1]

you and Brian David Gilbert from Polygon are the 2 best things that happened to the gaming analysis/review industry ! You actually share many commonalities ! He might be the innocent bloom while you are the mature somewhat comically/inspiring sinister ego of him. I know those are many opposing adjectives but you habit them so well, it's impressive (it's a compliment btw) Don't change !

[@BraveVincere]

This. This is why I love kotaku. Your content is just on another level in both deliverance and randomness. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[@flyfaster6252]

My gf have been learning Japanese on the side as a hobby and I was just recommended this series. Excellent work, can’t wait to see them all.

[@Brendan_0wl]

this is absolutely fascinating, thank you for all of your time and effort tim, love these videos and learning about the quirks of language

[@kura-pika]

This is awesome! Really fascinating actually. I love learning about how languages differ and am just really interested in how they work and funny things like that, and the fact that you have compared the text on my favourite game ever is amazing. Really awesome. Also your voice is great to listen to haha you seem really clever and you're also funny. Instant subscribe👍 square should hire you to translate their games!

[@tehloukas]

This was super interesting, both as an avid FFVII fan and as a Japanese learner, I can't wait to see more.

[@Croyles]

I never knew they had to squash stuff into the text boxes. I thought they just increased the number of text boxes if necessary. That explains quite a lot.

[@bagofdragonite149]

I can't wait to learn more. I just move to Japan and most of my learning has been restricted to speaking with friends. This is really engaging to me since I know the game inside and out. I hope you continue this series until the end!

[@darkshard45]

This video is everything I love about translating and editing.

[@heyasuki]

I'd pay Tim to do the whole game. Tim you rock!

[@Soki7000]

This is really interesting and, having around 2 years experience learning Japanese now, it’s fun to dissect the meanings before you explain it. Looking forward to watching the rest of these!

[@mako7518]

This is really cool. FFVII has always been one of my favorite games and I bet it gives off a whole different feel in Japanese. I can already tell by how different JCloud and ECloud are.

[@bassguitarist48]

I'm excited to see more of these. I've been studying Japanese for 3 years and so it's cool to see the differences between the versions. I can't wait for the next video!

[@Insanegrox]

"No, I have no interest in your names, I mean, we won't see eachother again anyways." This is how I would translate that line.

[@mikicerise6250]

Or even just, "Save it. We won't be seeing each other again anyway."

[@Barrylocke]

@@mikicerise6250 Wow, very punchy!

[@bpfurlong]

I love the way you narrate videos. Happy New Year!

[@NathanielMosher]

More please! This is really fascinating as a beginner Japanese learner. It is cool seeing some of the words I am learning in a context where I might be more likely to see them.

[@MisterAcolyte]

I'm really glad I somehow stumbled upon this video series.

[@ianjhobbies]

Great start to the series and can not wait to see more.

[@obeastness]

This is a pretty good find for me, I've been studying Japanese for about a year and I'm a big fan of FF7 as well.

[@edhc44]

Some 15 years ago I started learning japanese for this exact purpose (well, FFVII plus any othre J-RPG). Since I never got through the second year, I'm glad someone is doing it! Tim, your stuff is fantastic. I mean, this is Tim... Right?

[@NateIsCorrupt]

I am loving this video. I would like to the the rest of the game to see if there are any major differences.

[@user-kv1eg6cv4z]

I'm just tuning in to these videos. Absolutely great, this hits multiple niches for me perfectly. Like the fact that I'm a gaijin trying to learn Japanese and have three years of experience in college but can't understand a single word in video games because it's all super direct as opposed to the hyperformal style I learned. Also I love FFVII and this basically doubles as a line by line analysis of the story, which is also great because... I love FFVII. Also this is my favorite approach to studying the Christian Bible and when my pastor does an analysis of the Hebrew or Greek subtleties in certain passages I get pumped. So yeah this pretty much satisfies all of my deepest nerd longings. Thank you.

[@Hikikomorisama]

You sound like david hayter lol

[@erictko85]

This is utterly brilliant

[@UniGya]

To summarize the difference between the exchange between Biggs and Cloud in English and in Japanese is that Japanese Cloud is disinterested in the people he's working with while English Cloud is disinterested in the job as a whole. Like E-Cloud is just there for a paycheck while J-Cloud is there to do his job but not to make friends, or that J-Cloud is saying he's better than Biggs and the other small fry while E-Cloud is saying he's better than the entirety of AVALANCHE. At least that's how I saw it. Feel free to correct me if anyone understands the nuisances better

[@MrWinnieP]

Love this, please make it a series

[@JustGrasss]

Keep it up Tim

[@darius1695]

2:38 Funny how you pointed that out because I think Resident Evil/Biohazard 2 literally has that same trope. If I'm not mistaken, it's Leon's first day from the job. Our boy was fresh out of the academy.

[@jameswillert8163]

I am so thankful for this translation, perhaps more than I should be... but it makes so much more sense now! (when does the 980 part extended version come out??)

[@retrozocker0815]

Very interesting and helpful video, I am in the process of learning Japanese and hope to be able to play some yet unreleased in the west and not fan translated JRPGs in the future, I was just thinking the other day about playing a game I already played in English in Japanese with a dictionary by my side to learn words that are common in games but not maybe classes ;-) Would love to see many more videos like this and keep explaining the sentences detailed like you did here and thanks for keeping me motivated :-)

[@baranches]

Wow, these vids look like a tremendous work. Hat off.

[@KenPurchase]

Wait, why has this series suddenly changed from "Found In Translation" to "Let's Mosey"? What is the content of the mysterious "Private Video" at the end of the playlist? Shenanigans are at play here and I demand answers! Hopefully it just means part 11 is finally on the way. OR DOES IT

[@cantrip7]

"Found in Translation" may have been too mean toward the original translator for Tim Rogers' style.

[@YareYareYaroze]

MORE! That was great!

[@4eversupersonicgirl]

hot dang 2 minutes in and i'm interested. now i have to get back into the FF franchise. thanks for this.

[@BetoDangles]

I love this so much

[@danhectic5629]

i just found out the language can be changed on PS5 allowing the Japanese version of FFVII to be played. i just bought copies of Dragon Quest V & Mother 1&2- finally at age 42 i WILL become competant at Nihongo!

[@flamesword3397]

9:12 theres a weird pun on that line (i could be misinterpreting your word for word translation as i only speak english) maybe the line is more like: "Don't bother telling me your names. Its not like you'll see me tomorrow." Implying that cloud might not be there or that he dosent think these people will make it.

[@shado2us]

More please, Kotaku!

[@Blackage2]

That's interesting, in the FFVII Remake english trailer from PSX, Cloud just puts up his hand and says "Not interested", that's more in line with the original Japanese dialog. :O

[@capnandy462]

I really like how Cloud spikes the tone to ultra-formality for only one word; to my mind that reads as a parody of formality, which makes it hang well with the rest of his words, and I think the suggested re-translation missed that. I’d suggest this: “No need, Champ. Once this job’s done, I’ll be bidding you boys a fond adieu.” Same meaning, gets the nickname in to bring through his patronizing tone, and lets him still get weirdly over-formal both to blunt the insult while simultaneously making it clear that yes, he’s insulting you and it’s on purpose.

[@ZevSong]

I love this series!

[@pwnedd11]

It's a long story, but I have started and stopped FFVII multiple times. I'm restarting soon, and I'm going all the way through. But question for Tim: Would you recommend the original English translation or the FFVII Reunion fan translation (from qhimm)?

[@uvurob]

I really enjoyed this.

[@bartholomewpicca9899]

"The very first action most players execute voluntarily is the... looting, of a Corpse..."

[@sinuhezarzuelero6054]

Nuance. Beautiful nuance. I can't get enough.

[@stalkerzhs1864]

This probably explains why, for the first time in many playthroughs of ff7 the first time i really felt like cloud was a young 21 years old, was when i played in in japanese

[@dacankiin]

Good series of videos. It would be interesting if someone added subtitles in different languages. I understood some things but I could not understand everything.

[@Accolade1901]

I need more of this.

[@yashaouchan]

Fantastic translations. Please keep these up.

[@gamingwithlaura7]

This is so entertaining and informative! Love it!

[@Kufunninapuh]

I love this series already!

[@Literal32]

I want a whole new translation to this game without the character limitations so we can have a more verbose version of final fantasy vii

[@Ninchennase]

We'll have that in the remake I hope... at least a bit more of it.

[@juuy2223]

yess i love this series! I'm replaying FF7 right now after 20 years and I also learned Japanese since, this is perfect

[@TechnoSyndro]

4:03 The problem with using "Got a ______" is that any time you found an item that started with a vowel you would end up with an incorrect article. "Got a Elixer" is not proper English, and back in the PS1 era I doubt the localization team had the resources to have a function added that parses the first letter of the object being received to decide whether to use A or An. With that in mind I think "Received ______" is a perfectly fine term to use, even without an article following it "Received Potion" sounds a little more natural than "Got Potion", at least to me.

[@ezrawalker]

Yeah, excellent breakdown. Love the tone.

[@williamwheeler5128]

Please do more of these!

[@Petey0707]

MOAR

[@carlshield6500]

Does David Hayter work for Kotaku now? On a serious note, very insightful video. I look forward to more.

[@turnkey_hole]

I think that the localization definitely could have been a lot less duke nukem. I'd be interested in where the translator grew up. I feel like: "Not really interested in what y'all call yourselves, y'know. When the job's done, I'll take my leave." Would have been acceptable on space and catch a lot of the subtext. Especially since the flavor hints at Cloud's smalltown hick background.

[@mikicerise6250]

Me dan igual vuestros nombres. Total, no nos volveremos a ver cuando acabe este encargo. If I could fit that into Spanish, which is usually longer than English, they could have fit it into English. :p

[@sonickchri]

thanks for your obsessive efforts, appreciate that it's not just me that obsesses over these things :) also, i learned some more Japanese. why is "New" and "Guy" capitalized? Not important, though.. Received = received it into your inventory (because you obtained it somehow). "Got" sounds too informal to me for what should be the meta text in a game.

[@udriveu]

Loved this! Keep going!

[@klickety]

I will watch a million of these

[@awesomeradicalbro]

I’m in my final year of my Japanese degree but still have not played through FF7 yet! So although this is gonna be a great watch I’m saving it until I beat the switch remaster. Keep it real Tim and good work x

[@SuzumeMizuno]

Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing it!

[@magigackt]

@Tim Rodgers what are your views as someone who played both translations on cloud as a character? Do you agree with the whole cloud is emo standpoint?

[@manfredmoose]

this was a whole lot of fun