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kaialone · 4 years

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Spirit Tracks Translation Comparison: The Lokomo

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the cutscene in which Anjean tells Link and Zelda about the Lokomo people, and how they should proceed.

You can also watch this cutscene for yourself in English and Japanese. If you want, you can check out the EU English version, too.

For the comparison, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

Characters in this part who had their names changed between versions:

Sharin = Anjean, Valve = Gage

Returning to Anjean:

Anjean:

おぉ見事石版をとってこられたようじゃの！

Oh, good job! Looks like you got the lithograph!

Ah, so you managed to obtain the rail map!

Anjean:

お主らなら本当に各地の神殿の結界をはりなおせるかもしれんの！

You two might really have what it takes to fix the barrier of all the temples! (1)

You two just might be able to restore the Spirit Tracks in every realm!

Zelda:

しかし石版には少ししか線路が描かれていませんでした

But, the lithograph seems to only have a few tracks etched into it.

But, Anjean, the rail map has only a small part of the Spirit Tracks on it.

Zelda:

神殿とはどこにあるのですか？

Where exactly are the temples?

Where are the temples you were talking about?

Anjean:

結界の役目を担う神殿は４つあるのじゃ！そしてここから一番近い神殿はここじゃが…[DS]

There are four temples in charge of the barrier! And the closest of them is right here, but... [DS]

In each of the four realms is a temple. Look, my dear. The closest one is here...[DS]

Anjean:

確かにこのままでは神殿にはたどりつけんな

You definitely can't reach that temple the way things are now.

But I don't think you can make it to the temple as things are right now.

Anjean:

この石版はフォースの力で線路を表しておるんじゃ

The lithograph shows the tracks with the power of Force. (2)

The rail map has imparted energy to a length of the Spirit Tracks here.

Anjean:

魔物の力によって石版に蓄えられたフォースまでなくなってしまったようじゃ

The power of the monsters seems to have stripped the lithograph of the Force stored inside it, too.

But because of the Demon King's power, much of the energy was lost.

Zelda:

そんな… 神殿に行くことはできないのですか？

Oh no... Does that mean we cannot go to the temples?

So...we can't go to the temples, Anjean?

Anjean:

方法はないわけではない… 石版にフォースの力を宿すには…

わしの一族のものに会いこの石版にフォースの力を増幅してもらうのじゃ

It's not like there's no way to do it... To fill up this lithograph with Force...

You have to meet with one of my people, and recharge the Force inside of it. (3)

Not yet. But there is a way to restore energy to the rail maps.

You can ask my people to help you.

Zelda:

シャリンさまの一族の方… そのような方がおられるのですか？

Someone of your people... You mean there are people like you, Lady Sharin?

Your people, Anjean?

Anjean:

うむわしらロコモ族は代々神のお作りになった結界と

神殿を守る命を授かった天界に近き一族なのじゃ

Indeed, we Lokomo are a people close to the heavens, given order to protect the barrier (4)

and the temples created by God, and have done so for generations.

Indeed. We are called the Lokomos. We are servants of the spirits.

They have entrusted us with protecting the temples and the Spirit Tracks.

Anjean:

わしらは聖なる楽器をあやつって石版にフォースの力を宿す力を持っておる

We have the power to fill the lithographs with Force, by playing sacred instruments.

By playing our sacred instruments...

We generate energy that powers the Spirit Tracks.

Zelda:

楽器…ですか？

Instruments...?

Sacred instruments?

Anjean:

そうお主の持っておる「大地の笛」もその１つじゃ

Yes, and the "Flute of the Land" that you possess is one of them, too.

Yes, and the Spirit Flute you hold is one of them.

Zelda:

わたしの笛が…！これはお母さまからいただいたものだったのですが..

My flute...! It was given to me by my mother, but...

This flute was a gift from my grandmother. I didn't know it had any powers.

Zelda:

ご先祖さまから伝わる大事な笛だと伺いました

I have been told that it was a special flute, handed down from my ancestor.

I'd only heard that it was something precious handed down from my ancestors.

Anjean:

わしがおぬしの先祖にあたる者に渡した物じゃ！

I’m the one who gave it to that ancestor of yours!

Yes! And it was I who gave it to your ancestors!

Anjean:

何度もくれとせがまれたのでこの国の平和を築くという条件であげたのじゃ

She kept bugging me about it, so I gave it to her, under the condition that she would keep this country peaceful.

But only under the condition that they protect the land for all time.

Anjean:

その時はこんな一大事になるとは思ってなかったが…

At the time I didn't think things would end up getting this bad, though...

Of course, back then, I didn't think things would take such a perilous turn.

Anjean:

まあ持ってたのがおぬしらでよかった…

Well, I'm glad you're the ones who have it...

I'm glad that after all these years it has found its way into your hands.

Zelda:

この笛そんな大事なものだったのですか..

I had no idea this flute was so important...

Zelda:

私が小さい時にお母さまがよく吹いてくださいました

When I was little, my mother would often play it for me.

My grandmother used to play it for me when I was a little girl.

Zelda:

この音色を聞くといやなことがあってもがんばれるような気がして…

When I listen to its sound, I feel like I can keep going, even when things are unpleasant...

If I was sad or upset, the sound of this flute would make me feel better.

Zelda:

でもお返しした方がよさそうですね

But I suppose it would be for the best if I returned it to you.

But even so, I suppose its rightful place is with you, Anjean.

Anjean:

いやそれはきっと必要になるおぬしらが持っていた方がよい！

No, you'll definitely need it, so it's better if you have it!

No, you two will have need of it. Please take it with you! For now...

Anjean:

それよりも今はわしの一族に会い石版に再びフォースの力が宿るようにするのじゃ

More importantly, right now you need to meet with my people and fill the lithographs with Force again.

You must go find the other Lokomos and restore the energy of the rail maps.

Anjean:

そうすれば線路が再び浮かび上がるはずじゃ

If you do that, the tracks should emerge once more.

Once you do, the Spirit Tracks will reappear.

Anjean:

まずは森に行き森のロコモ族バルブという男に会いなさい

First, I want you to go to the forest and meet with a man called Valve, the Lokomo of the Forest. (5)

Go to the forest first, where you must talk to the Lokomo Gage.

Anjean:

[DS] この塔より南西の方にバルブの住むホコラがある

[DS] The shrine where Valve lives lies southwest of this tower.

[DS] South of the Forest Temple is a sanctuary where you can find Gage.

Anjean:

きっとおぬしらの進むべき道を示してくれるはずじゃ

He should be able to show you where to go.

He will be able to tell you where to go next.

Zelda:

はいわかりました！

Alright, understood!

Got it!

Zelda:

リンクいきましょう！

We should get going, Link!

Let's go, Link!

Zelda:

あ…でも今は機関車がありませんしどうやって森までいけば…

Oh, but... we do not have a train right now. How are we supposed to reach the forest...?

Oh...but we don't have a train. How are we going to get to the forest?

Anjean:

これに乗っておいき

Use this.

You may take this.

Anjean:

この汽車はいにしえの時代に神がお使いになった神の汽車じゃ…

おいそれと普通の人間が乗れるものじゃないんじゃが…

今はそんな事も言ってられんしそれにお主らなら神もお許しになるじゃろうて！

This train was used by God in the ancient times. The Train of God...

Ordinary humans aren't supposed to just ride it around like that, but...

We don't have much of a choice right now. And I'm sure God will make an exception in your case!

This train is a symbol of the spirits. People don't ordinarily ride around in it.

But these are no ordinary circumstances.

I'm sure the spirits wouldn't mind lending it to you.

Zelda:

ありがとうシャリンさま！！

Thank you, Lady Sharin!!

Thank you, Anjean!

Translation Notes:

I realize it’s worded a bit awkwardly when translated as literally as I did, but by ”the barrier of all the temples”, Anjean basically means “the barrier that’s being created by all the temples”.

“Force” is a concept that occasionally comes up in Zelda games. Not to be confused with the Triforce, “Force” is an energy that dwells within all living beings and the world. In the English localizations, it’s usually adapted as Force Gems when it’s shown in crystalized form, or even just energy or life force when it’s not physically shown.

What I translated as “people” here is 一族/ichizoku in Japanese, which could also be translated as “clan” or even “family”, but I think “my people” worked best in this context.

The Lokomo are literally called ロコモ族/Rokomo-zoku in Japanese, named after “locomotive”, so one could romanize them as “Locomo”, too.

What I translated as “the Lokomo of the Forest“ could also be translated as “a Lokomo of the forest”, but he does seem to be specifically assigned to the forest, so the former made sense to me.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This is only a short scene, but it features some important exposition, and some particularly curious changes in the English version.

I will start with what I consider the biggest change in this scene.

In the Japanese version, Zelda states that her flute was given to her by her mother, while the English version has her state that it was her grandmother.

This seems like a strange and unnecessary change, but I have a theory about why they did it.

I think whoever decided on this change might have wanted to imply that Zelda’s grandmother was actually Tetra, and thus that Zelda knew Tetra personally, and got the flute from her.

This might also explain why the English version didn’t mention that Zelda is specifically the great-great-grandchild of Tetra in an earlier scene.

As for why they would do this, I’d assume it would be because Tetra is a popular character, and they thought it would be better to have a closer connection with her?

But even if we assume that wasn’t their intention at all, and they just changed it to her grandmother for a completely different reason, this change certainly made many English-speaking fans believe that Tetra was Zelda’s grandmother.

So it definitely caused a misconception in the fandom.

But regardless of that, in the Japanese version of the story, it’s made clear that Zelda did not know Tetra personally, which is why part of her relationship with Anjean involves Zelda indirectly learning things about Tetra through her.

Now, one may prefer the idea of Zelda having known Tetra personally, and that’s understandable. But it would still be a change from how it was in the original Japanese version.

Related to the above, as Anjean and Zelda actually talk about Tetra here, she is simply referred to as Zelda’s ancestor.

As I mentioned previously, this is pretty much always what Tetra is referred to as throughout the story, being a recurring plot point.

In earlier scenes where she was mentioned, the English version correctly adapted this as “ancestor”, but in this cutscene here they instead go for the more generalized “ancestors”, which muddles the fact that this was specifically meant to be Tetra.

If they really did intent to change it so Tetra was Zelda’s grandmother instead, they might have done this to support that rewrite. But this would also make it inconsistent with the prior scenes.

Whatever the case may be, the English version will continue to use “ancestors” in future scenes as well, thus removing the recurring references to Tetra that are a part of the story in the Japanese version.

Still on that same topic, an especially notable difference in Anjean’s dialogue here is this:

She kept bugging me about it, so I gave it to her, under the condition that she would keep this country peaceful.

But only under the condition that they protect the land for all time.

In the Japanese version, where Anjean is more explicitly talking about Tetra, she also goes into more detail about why and how she ended up giving her the flute.

This is another one of the kinds of details I miss, since it gave us another small look into these characters and their relationship.

Just like in her first appearance, Anjean is talking about Tetra in a way that could almost come across as dismissive, but we can also tell from her general mannerisms that she was actually friendly with her.

For me, it gives off this impression that Anjean and Tetra were probably the kind of friends that might tease each other, or even come across as harsh, but really are good friends at the end of the day.

Either way, in addition to making most references to Tetra more vague, the English version also lacks these small insights into her interactions with Anjean.

Going back to the beginning of the scene now, the Japanese version has Anjean specifically state: “There are four temples in charge of the barrier!”

The English version instead has her say: “In each of the four realms is a temple.”

This change was probably made since “the barrier” has been written out, but it technically creates a small error here.

If you consider the Sand Realm its own realm, there would be five realms, not four. And even if you don’t, that would mean there are two temples in the Ocean Realm.

The phrasing in the Japanese version in turn actually leaves the possibility open for there to be other temples that aren’t related to the barrier, which we later learn is the case.

In the Japanese version, the lithographs specifically need “Force” to work, while the English version just refers to it as “energy”.

I talked about Force a bit in the translation notes already, and like I mentioned there, it’s supposed to be an energy that dwells within all living beings, and so forth.

It’s a recurring element in Japanese Zelda games, but the English localizations don’t always adapt it the same way, making the concept more obscure.

For example, the items called “Force Gems” that appear later in Spirit Tracks are also simply called “Force” in Japanese, and the “life force” mentioned in Phantom Hourglass was also originally called “Force”.

Even the Sands of Hours from that game are supposed to be made out of Force.

I’m guessing the English version changed “Force” to “energy” here because the general concept of Force isn’t as prominent in English Zelda games, so it might just be confusing if it was mentioned here without context.

Adding to this, the English version also says that the energy was lost because of “the Demon King’s power”, rather than “the power of the monsters”, which is probably also to simplify the idea?

Anjean’s explanation of the Lokomo features some minor differences, aside from the already familiar changes like “God” to “spirits” and mentions of “the barrier” being replaced with “the Spirit Tracks”.

In the Japanese version, Anjean says that the Lokomo are “close to the heavens”, which the English version leaves out, possibly due to religious implications?

Strangely though, the English version does allow Anjean to mention “the heavens” later in the story.

Perhaps there was a limit to how many times they could mention these things? That’s my best guess, assuming it’s not just a result of different writers working on different parts.

Anjean also mentions that the Lokomo have been performing their divine task “for generations”, which isn’t mentioned in English.

This is crucial information if one wishes to figure out the general timing of this game’s story, as this means the initial defeat and sealing of the Demon King Malladus occurred multiple Lokomo generations ago.

Since Lokomo live a lot longer than humans, this must have been a timeframe of at least several centuries.

Also, as a bit of trivia, the English version of this game uses “Lokomos” as the plural for Lokomo, but the English version of The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia uses “Lokomo” as the plural instead.

I personally prefer the latter, which is why I go with that as well.

Seemingly minor difference, but look at this line from Zelda here:

When I listen to its sound, I feel like I can keep going, even when things are unpleasant…

If I was sad or upset, the sound of this flute would make me feel better.

The English version treats Zelda being cheered up by the flute’s sound like it’s something from her past, presumably when it was being played for her as a child.

But the phrasing in the Japanese version implies this is something that is still true today.

And if you think back, you may recall that in an earlier scene, we do see Zelda playing the flute by herself in her room, as she waits for Link to answer her request.

So the implication here might be that in the present day, Zelda still plays the flute on her own, in order to cheer herself up or calm herself down.

Anjean’s directions are slightly different between versions.

In Japanese she directs the children to “southwest of this tower“, and in English to “South of the Forest Temple“.

Both lead to the same place of course, but I think the English version changed it since just “south” might be easier to remember than “southwest”?

Story content aside, another factor to consider during localization is making sure the text is easy to understand for the player from a gameplay perspective.

All in all, the localization in this cutscene is another pretty faithful one.

Most of the changes are just the same general ones that appear constantly, like “the barrier” being written out.

You can tell Anjean is a bit more serious in English, like I mentioned before, but the content of what she actually says is generally the same, too.

The biggest difference is the way the references to Tetra are handled here, especially since the localization was a lot more accurate about it previously.

And again, I can’t say for sure if changing Zelda’s mother to her grandmother in English was also an intentional rewrite to make it seem like it was Tetra. But as I said, it did make many fans believe it really was Tetra.

And references to Tetra really do suffer quite a bit in this localization, I’m afraid to say. Both due to the reasons I have already gone over, and more that’s to come.

This scene is just another part of that larger issue, but I think it’s where it really starts.

But that’s the end of this part right here. Feel free to check out the next one!

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