Translations: Kaze No Densetsu Xanadu II (PCE-CD) - Announced!

[cpt. Misumaru Tenchi]

if you were to compare a Japanese and an English dub of an Indian movie, there's no real reason that one would be better than the other.

I agree with you. Both will be worse because... no, I won't repeat myself once again.

Finally, I do think there's something to be said for dubs allowing people to focus on the visuals more. I tell my Japanese friends to watch movies with subs most of the time, but for Citizen Kane, I would insist on a dub.

Yes, that might be a problem - not everybody can watch the visuals and read the subs. But I have no problem with that.

Why don't we dub songs?

We do. It's just usually not very practical. There has to be a separate vocal track that you can remove, and reworking the lyrics so that they still fit is tough.

But if that's the original group's work, than it's OK. I'm just taking it as another version of the song. I was talking more about translated words being sang by different people.

People translate poetry all the time, though. It's imperfect, but unless you learn the language, it's all you're going to get.

And that's quite understandable. With written words properly translated I don't feel like I'm missing something.

Besides, I like Akio's (Ryotaro Okiayu's) voice, he's a very famous seiyuu. He (or that Baltier of yours) sounds awful as her father to you?

I meant the voice "type" that Ryotaro Okiayu--thank you for supplying the name, by the way--uses for Akio Furukawa doesn't fit coming out of Balthier of FFXII's mouth. I thought, actually, he was a perfect fit as Nagisa's father.

See? You said it.

And as a side note, I'm pretty sure Ryotaro Okiayu doesn't actually voice Balthier in FFXII's Japanese original release, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

I'm also sure and was too lazy too to check it out. Used Balthier's name just for reference.

I suppose I should go on to mention that Japanese voice acting, as well as all other voice acting, is like everything else in the world: there's a lot of grimy stuff, but there are some gems in between the grout. This can be applied to JRPGs, good food, toys, live-action TV shows, manga, anime--hell, even people.

I agree. In my mind it all comes just to listening to the show in original language it was made in. You can call it my private deviation.

cpt. Misumaru Tenchi: All you're doing is repeating yourself. Your first or second post pretty much sums up your position on dubbing.

I'm afraid you're right, I've got carried away a little and I'm sorry for that. But sometimes it's good to repeat something to make others understand.

I watched all of BGC back in the day subbed. The english dub is horrible.

Yes, it is.

And even if it was great, I was exposed to the original so much that an English one will never compare. That's unfortunate IMO. Because I don't actually understand Japanese (yes, I can read subs without problems just fone. But if you can't understand the language, even if you can hear the emotional infliction in the spoken language, you're still not getting the full experience).

And that's why subtitles are there.

Many other shows I watched in English dub first and have no problem not watching them in Japanese original dialogue. Cowboy Bebop, Ghost In the Shell series, Paranoia Agent, Mushishi, etc. Not only do I prefer the English dub, I can also put the series on and just listen to it while doing other stuff (like coding, etc). I don't even have to watch it (or always be looking at it).

I rather prefer to always look at the screen while watching.

That and my sons can at least enjoy the shows/movies too.

That might be a good argument, but for me it's not. Personally I prefer to teach the children how to appreciate cultural stuff in it's original form. I take accustoming them to dubs as harming them. Yes, I know it firstly might be hard for them to watch and read at the same time, but practice makes perfect.

So he actually was able to remember and recognize some of the japanese kana words. As in what they corresponded to, without my help. I was impressed. The young learn fast.

One of the reasons I would show my children only subbed shows or games. I've learned english just from... watching subbed anime and english voiced shows or playing the games

[AngryRobotsInc]

One of the reasons I would show my children only subbed shows or games. I've learned english just from... watching subbed anime and english voiced shows or playing the games

That is a very, very poor way to learn any language.

[cpt. Misumaru Tenchi]

Back to the days, I was too poor to pay for any lessons and english was not a foreign language which I could learn at school. It really is a poor method, but as you can see I'm managing somehow - at least you're able to understand me.

[reyvgm]

One of the reasons I would show my children only subbed shows or games. I've learned english just from... watching subbed anime and english voiced shows or playing the games

That is a very, very poor way to learn any language.

I don't think so. I learned English by watching TV and reading videogame magazines. But then again... TV wasn't saturated with scum-of-the-earth "reality" shows either...

[AngryRobotsInc]

Back to the days, I was too poor to pay for any lessons and english was not a foreign language which I could learn at school. It really is a poor method, but as you can see I'm managing somehow - at least you're able to understand me.

Doesn't change the fact that it's a poor method. You likely learned more from interaction with fluent speakers than you ever did from that method.

Anyway, Xanadu II here looks pretty, and I'm always up for some PC Engine games, but how does it play? Anything like Ys?

[cpt. Misumaru Tenchi]

You likely learned more from interaction with fluent speakers than you ever did from that method.

And wasn't it for the best? Interaction, contact with fluent speakers and everyday language is IMHO much better than stupid book excersises, which fills your head with nothing more than dandy theories and rules.

[Ryusui]

Back to the days, I was too poor to pay for any lessons and english was not a foreign language which I could learn at school. It really is a poor method, but as you can see I'm managing somehow - at least you're able to understand me.

You're good enough that I mistook you for a native speaker.

[cpt. Misumaru Tenchi]

Thank you very much, it's a pleasure to hear that. I'm trying my best, but I know I still gotta lot to learn. I think my vocabulary is limited and my grammar also has a few issues.

[SamIAm]

Anyway, Xanadu II here looks pretty, and I'm always up for some PC Engine games, but how does it play? Anything like Ys?

It plays quite a lot like Ys, yes. It's the old "no attack button, just ram into enemies any way other than head on" system, It's also overhead, it's town/dungeon, you buy equipment etc. The unique feature is that you have no personal experience points, but rather "proficiency points" with weapons and armor. The more you attack enemies that take more than one hit to kill, the stronger your sword gets. The more you take damage, the stronger your armor gets. Your HP grows in a vaguely similar way.

It's loads of fun, with virtually none of the stresses that a lot of really old RPGs have. I'm actually itching to finish the first draft of the translation so I have an excuse to give it another play-through.
March 28, 2011, 09:04:29 AM - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)
One thing you all might be able to help me with: I am not getting many submissions from female voice actors. I've got enough guys that I think I'll be able to pick out a pretty good team, but I haven't even gotten enough female submissions to cover all the parts. Know a girl who can act? Send them my way. Many of the parts are short and easy.
April 02, 2011, 12:20:44 PM - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)
See previous post: I still need female voice actors. I've got a couple of friends on board, but the more the merrier.

[Kronus_Arm]

Nice, I can't wait for this. You guys are the ROM Hacking counterpart of XSeed in this matter.

Have a beer!

[enigmaopoeia]

Seeing as you're in need of female voice actors, I don't mind to audition.
Although I never done any voice acting, save for some things I done with friends for fun. Will you still be interested, or are you looking for someone who has done voice acting for a while?

Thanks!

[SamIAm]

Oh, by all means, please do an audition! I got an one from another first-timer today, and she was damned good. I'd say half the people who've submitted to me are first-timers, actually. So yes, please audition!

[enigmaopoeia]

Sorry for bumping, and I am kind of late to post this.  I was watching a Xanadu video and this caught my attention.
They list down the following names in English:

アリオス = Areios.
ソフィア = Sophia.
ダイモス = Daimos.
リュコス = Lykos.
ピュラー = Pyrra.
メディア = Media.
ヌース = Noys.
クレーネ = Kleene.

Funny enough this book spells the hero's name as Anemos, and his full name is spelled as Areios Alektor.

[Kiyoshi Aman]

I'd probably go with Medea rather than 'Media', since people will figure it'd be pronounced ミヂィア rather than メディア otherwise. Plus, it fits the overall Greek tone set by the other names.

(EDIT: Never trust Japanese for Romanizations of non-Japanese words; they're (typically, though not always) wrong.)

[BRPXQZME]

It depends on the language, actually. They're usually pretty good at classical Latin.

[SamIAm]

Yeah, I'll probably go with Medea. Leucos or Leukos is something I'm also thinking about, but for some reason I like the former a bit more. In my opinion, the original Japanese is off enough from the Greek sources that it's kind of up to me anyway. I at least want the English names to be immediately pronounceable in the same way that the Japanese ones are, especially since some people aren't going to use the English dub.

[snark]

ヌース = Noys.

Regarding this one, may I recommend Nous?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nous
Since Sophia was mentioned, which is Greek for wisdom, it follows that it's counterpart is Nous, which is the intellect.

[enigmaopoeia]

^ Yeah, I mentioned the Nous spelling in an earlier post.

[Validus]

YEEAAAHHH

I hate the PC Engine FX community, they give us TurboGrafx fans a bad name. Im glad there is love being shown for the PC ENgine, dont let the doushe bags at PCEngineFX have you think bad of turbgrafx fans.

[marurun]

Validus, your engrish gives PC Engine fans a bad name. I believe this Xanadu II translation thread is not an appropriate place for your personal disagreements with the folks at pcenginefx.com. Perhaps you'd like to say something on topic.

SamIam, have you had enough contenders for the voice acting roles? Please let us know if you need more applicants in your bid for quality voicing.