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Trainer-c

Nob Ogasawara's duties as translator.

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Trainer-c
, 22nd November 2008 at 01:56 PM (2051 Views)
For the edification those that follow the Pokémon games, and have been working under the assumption that Nob Ogasawara was directly in charge of naming characters, Pokémon, Places, Items and such. The following paragraphs are written by the man himself in regards to his involvement in the creative process.

Question: Nob, did you name any of the american pokemon ? Or was it just dialogue translation ?

Quote Originally Posted by Nob
In their infinite wisdom, they never saw fit to trust me with anything "creative" like that until like DP. I did get to name some like the Hop, Skip, Jump trio, this and that. I don't remember all that many, though. I'm still annoyed Phantomb and Scaribou never made the cut. Maybe all for the best, eh.
Question: I'm curious to know what the content (names/story/language/etc) is really different from the US version.

*edit* I heard it was darker or some such.


Quote Originally Posted by Nob
So, anyways, I can't comment on Platinum. Has it even been officially announced for localization?

On older releases, I hardly ever got to translate the stuff in capitals (Pokemon, items, abilities, natures, places, moves, etc.) until like DP. So yeah, I winced at this and that especially since we'd have to tailor jokes and such to conform with the new localized names.
Stuff like Attract, for instance. That should've been Infatuation right from the start, but I was vetoed.
Even when I finally earned enough trust to get to work on glossary terms, other people'd have veto rights, so...

The localized versions all had to conform to E10 ratings and territorial laws like those governing gambling. Any references to god, death, farting, magic mushrooms, drunks, suggestive double entendres, etc., had to be toned down.
The guy who gives you a Nugget or two instead of his nuggets of wisdom? He's actually giving you a Golden Ball, which is another way of saying "testicle", so yeah, he's going, "Here have my..."
The sneezy hiker? He's not sneezing. He's laughing his rear end off because he's off his face on mushrooms.
Mr. Coffee from FRLG is just a drunk passed out on the road.

Changing stories and so on wasn't allowed. We didn't change the game's coding. There may've been some additional text for dramatic or explanatory purposes, but that's about all.
The quotes above make it pretty clear that Mr. Ogasawara had very little involvement in aspects such as naming characters until Diamond and Pearl. The bulk of his work in the Titles from generations I to III was with the actual game dialogue text.

And, to top things off, Nob Ogasawara is (spoiler warning) credited in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, meaning this is probably the last title he worked on, not the first title without him.

That's all for today. Until next time, this is your friendly neighborhood Trainer-c saying stay cool. =D

Ciao! [/Masuda]

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Categories
Video Games , Pokémon , Soapbox

Comments

  1. Nekusagi's Avatar
    Wait, all that stuff was actually in the original text of Platinum?

    I have only one thing to say to that: :D

    And as for the necessity of editing out to appease the soccer moms: :<

    Stupid ESRB. Pokemon could be so much bettaru...
  2. Trainer-c's Avatar
    Well, Nob was talking about stuff throughout the series. The Drunk, and the guy high on shrooms were in RBY. I don't remember which game the "Nugget of Wisdom" guy was from. I think that might have been RBY or GSC.

    I do know that there was lots of text in DP that had to be toned down for localization. The church in Hearthome, the Sinnoh Legend that mentions man marrying Pokémon, the other legend that mentions man slaying Pokémon. And of course Cyrus's goal of being Kira... I mean, god of a world of his creation.

    Yes. The soccer moms really need to take up another hobby. At least the Soccer (Ex)-Attorney Jack Thompson is out of the picture.

    For what it's worth, the translation team did a decent job with the Legends of Sinnoh, outside of the religious stuff, and every gambler becoming a PI, I don't think DP got as big a work-over as RBY.

    Pokémon is much deeper than people outside of the fandom give it credit for. I'll never look at Viridian City's grumpy old coffee guy the same way again.
  3. Nekusagi's Avatar
    On the other hand, given how little they seem to have edited out of Shadows of Almia
    , I'm wondering how THAT one escaped with an E rating.

    And the Nugget joke was also in D/P. On one of the post-game routes (forgot which one), and I quote from the strategy guide, "you will find a man rambling about 'my Nugget'. Talk to him and you'll receive a Nugget."

    In light of what Nob said, I'm a little freaked out by that guy now.
  4. Trainer-c's Avatar
    I think that with each game the translation team are leaving things that can be left untouched. I think the ESRB doesn't examine Pokémon titles nearly as hard as they would say Resident Evil, or even Zelda, or other T-rated titles. That would explain how some things can slide under the radar.

    They were able to leave the implied deaths of the Pokémon in some of the Legends of Sinnoh in DP.

    So the Nugget guy was in DP. He's going in the category with the Juggler that says "Oops I dropped my balls".
    The people at GameFreak really have a thing about balls, don't they?
  5. Nekusagi's Avatar
    And "rods".

    "What if I'm in the washroom and my rod hooks a big one?"- Angler in RSE

    Then there's the guy in D/P who talks about "reeling in" women or something.

    Apparently blatant phallic innuendos are A-OK...
  6. The Outrage's Avatar
    Any references to god, death, farting, magic mushrooms, drunks, suggestive double entendres, etc
    ._.

    He's actually giving you a Golden Ball, which is another way of saying "testicle"
    Learned that from a certain house sitting hamster.

    I don't remember which game the "Nugget of Wisdom" guy was from. I think that might have been RBY or GSC.
    I remember the nugget of wisdom in FRLG, so its probably RBY.

    The people at GameFreak really have a thing about balls, don't they?
    Considering that the Pokeball is practically the non-Pokemon symbol of the franchise, why not?

    And people thought Pokemon was kiddie :P



    Also more for Ranger2:
    Updated 22nd November 2008 at 06:20 PM by The Outrage
  7. Nekusagi's Avatar
    I'm talking more about
  8. The Outrage's Avatar
  9. Nekusagi's Avatar
    The comment shows up under the "recent comments" anyway. ._.

    (spoiler'd to prove my point.)
  10. The Outrage's Avatar
    Yeah, I realised that, spoilers also do nothing for threads when its on the first post and you hover over the thread title before clicking.
  11. Dogasu's Avatar
    Where's this "sneezy hiker?" I want to check my Japanese copy of LeafGreen to see for myself.

    Also, what's the source for this interview?
  12. Trainer-c's Avatar
    The quotes come from the same Something Awful thread where Mr. Ogasawara first broke the news that he wouldn't be working on the games anymore.

    It's not so much a formal interview as it is him answering questions people asked after his initial post.

    The Sneezy Hiker is just North of Lavender/Shion Town it's the Hiker near the entrance to the Rock Tunnel.

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