warelander
Some random guy online
As a native german speaker I've often liked to compare how games fare in terms of german and english and how they vary in how they are translated and as it turns out, the modern WarioWare games are some particularly noticable examples of it, as I have found some very major examples of translation differences.
For now, I wanna limit it to a couple Wario examples, since I find him the most interesting one by far.
Gold:
During the opening after getting the Pot of Luxville, Wario in english says:
''Oh! *Raspberry* I'm broke! Ah! But at least I got this gold thing! It'll really spruce up the place! Hah!''
In german meanwhile he says, translated into english:
''It wasn't exactly cheap...but who cares about money when adventure calls!''
It amounts to the same thing of the trip draining the household funds, but the german line plays into an earlier bit of implied characterization, in that Wario values the experience of his treasure hunts as much as the loot he gets from it and I like it a lot for that.
At the end of the intro, Wario in english goes:
''That'll do it! The money's as good as mine! Those saps fall for it everytime!''
While in german he says:
''Now here comes the fun part: Lean back and cash in!''
Wario's ultimate intent in getting the others to help so they can do the hard work is the same, but he has a less card carrying ''I LOVE being bad!'' vibe in german by lessening the insults towards the rest of the cast. He does still call them ''Deppen'' which can be translated as chumps or idiots before calling them in german, so it's still there, but significantly lessened.
The RAGE NAP scene in german does not have that line, but rather has Wario about to launch into a angry rant on the spot, before suddenly falling asleep. Not a characterization thing, but it lines up with the Wario Deluxe card trivia suggesting the red eyes are from crummy sleep.
On smaller notes, Wario complaining about the pot being heavy and the ''Oh-Oh! Wedgie!'' line when introducing the Ultra League, are both completely absent in german.
Get It Together:
During the first ending, after Wario points out Lulu, Red and Mantis are missing, he in english responds to Cricket's declaration they'll have to rescue them with a dismissive ''Meh, why?''. In german he merely tries to deflect blame for the whole situation from himself and the others don't want to hear it. Cricket relatedly also only says Wario is right and not much else.
Relatedly, as opposed to a grumpy ''Okay Okay! But this better be worth it!'' in response, he in german just leads the pack with a sheepish ''Let's go''.
During the opening of his first stage, Wario when falling down the hole in english yells at his game to start, where as in german he hollers an excited ''Here we go!''.
Move It:
In english Wario complains about how ''A trip with these chumps doesn't feel like a price!''.
In german by contrast he agrees to the others' pleas to let them come along with a:
''Alright! You gotta do something nice for your employees every once in a while!''
When posting about this on Twitter, I even got confirmation that in japanese, he says:
''Alright! It's a WarioWare Inc. company trip!''
In this case we see a especially drastic tone shift, where Wario is being genuinely nice, while in english he only begrudingly agrees to let the other come along and complains all the while.
During the ending Wario in english asks the Wood Watchers who they are and panics at the being made a god, where as in german he just reacts with a half amazed, half bewildered ''Woah!'' and only starts to panic when realizing he is stuck.
That one in particular always struck me as odd in english. Wario has no reason not to remember them or be this off-put by the worship part.
Those are the ones that stick in my mind the most. In general there is a consistent trend of Wario in german being a bit softer than english, which ramps up his meaner qualities. Move It in particular is a heavy example of it and why I find it's handling of Wario not especially earned.
How true most of these are to the japanese script besides the Move It opening is not something I can clarify, but given NoA's track record of altering stuff and missing details like 18-Volt confirming he is 9 years old, which is present in german, I am willing to to think german while likely still not 1:1, is a interpretation of the original intent.
I do think both takes work for Wario, there are just some things where I think german really does do better.
For now, I wanna limit it to a couple Wario examples, since I find him the most interesting one by far.
Gold:
During the opening after getting the Pot of Luxville, Wario in english says:
''Oh! *Raspberry* I'm broke! Ah! But at least I got this gold thing! It'll really spruce up the place! Hah!''
In german meanwhile he says, translated into english:
''It wasn't exactly cheap...but who cares about money when adventure calls!''
It amounts to the same thing of the trip draining the household funds, but the german line plays into an earlier bit of implied characterization, in that Wario values the experience of his treasure hunts as much as the loot he gets from it and I like it a lot for that.
At the end of the intro, Wario in english goes:
''That'll do it! The money's as good as mine! Those saps fall for it everytime!''
While in german he says:
''Now here comes the fun part: Lean back and cash in!''
Wario's ultimate intent in getting the others to help so they can do the hard work is the same, but he has a less card carrying ''I LOVE being bad!'' vibe in german by lessening the insults towards the rest of the cast. He does still call them ''Deppen'' which can be translated as chumps or idiots before calling them in german, so it's still there, but significantly lessened.
The RAGE NAP scene in german does not have that line, but rather has Wario about to launch into a angry rant on the spot, before suddenly falling asleep. Not a characterization thing, but it lines up with the Wario Deluxe card trivia suggesting the red eyes are from crummy sleep.
On smaller notes, Wario complaining about the pot being heavy and the ''Oh-Oh! Wedgie!'' line when introducing the Ultra League, are both completely absent in german.
Get It Together:
During the first ending, after Wario points out Lulu, Red and Mantis are missing, he in english responds to Cricket's declaration they'll have to rescue them with a dismissive ''Meh, why?''. In german he merely tries to deflect blame for the whole situation from himself and the others don't want to hear it. Cricket relatedly also only says Wario is right and not much else.
Relatedly, as opposed to a grumpy ''Okay Okay! But this better be worth it!'' in response, he in german just leads the pack with a sheepish ''Let's go''.
During the opening of his first stage, Wario when falling down the hole in english yells at his game to start, where as in german he hollers an excited ''Here we go!''.
Move It:
In english Wario complains about how ''A trip with these chumps doesn't feel like a price!''.
In german by contrast he agrees to the others' pleas to let them come along with a:
''Alright! You gotta do something nice for your employees every once in a while!''
When posting about this on Twitter, I even got confirmation that in japanese, he says:
''Alright! It's a WarioWare Inc. company trip!''
In this case we see a especially drastic tone shift, where Wario is being genuinely nice, while in english he only begrudingly agrees to let the other come along and complains all the while.
During the ending Wario in english asks the Wood Watchers who they are and panics at the being made a god, where as in german he just reacts with a half amazed, half bewildered ''Woah!'' and only starts to panic when realizing he is stuck.
That one in particular always struck me as odd in english. Wario has no reason not to remember them or be this off-put by the worship part.
Those are the ones that stick in my mind the most. In general there is a consistent trend of Wario in german being a bit softer than english, which ramps up his meaner qualities. Move It in particular is a heavy example of it and why I find it's handling of Wario not especially earned.
How true most of these are to the japanese script besides the Move It opening is not something I can clarify, but given NoA's track record of altering stuff and missing details like 18-Volt confirming he is 9 years old, which is present in german, I am willing to to think german while likely still not 1:1, is a interpretation of the original intent.
I do think both takes work for Wario, there are just some things where I think german really does do better.
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