Current Events > In the Japanese Breath of the Wild Link writes in the first person

(+) Yeah! (+)

I really wish we had this in English. It really makes Link much more of a relatable and lovable character. You get to see more of his motivation, how he reacts to his memories returning, and even see him having fun.

https://vadnyl.tumblr.com/post/165075103289/major-discovery-botws-adventure-log-links

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He should be handled like adol from ys. Small phrases and sentences but mostly silent

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Smackems posted...

He should be handled like adol from ys. Small phrases and sentences but mostly silent

People still don't want to give Link a voice, so I think this journal approach is a nice in between. It's a shame we didn't get it.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Glad you like it!

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Its a small detail but that is actually way better. I hope they make it like that in the sequel.

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kirbyakaZ posted...

I really wish we had this in English

You never well, because localizations suck.

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Morrowind does this too and it's one of the things I love about the game. BotW actually reminds of it in some ways (including this aspect now).

Shablagoo posted...

Its a small detail but that is actually way better. I hope they make it like that in the sequel.

Agreed

Kisai posted...

You never well, because localizations suck.

Yeah :(

luigi13579 posted...

Morrowind does this too and it's one of the things I love about the game. BotW actually reminds of it in some ways (including this aspect now).

I can see that comparison

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Does he comment on why fish-women always seem to be so keen on fucking him

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WTF why would they change that

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That would have immersed players even more

i just checked out a vid of the game in german and it's 2nd person too like in english.

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YourLovelyTina posted...

Does he comment on why fish-women always seem to be so keen on fucking him

Lol not that I'm aware of

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Right??

Choco posted...

WTF why would they change that

Bad localization?

sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

That would have immersed players even more

Agreed!

Choco posted...

i just checked out a vid of the game in german and it's 2nd person too like in english.

The Russian one is also in first person. Looks like English and German got screwed :(

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Yeah, I hate that the localization removed as much characterization of Link as possible. It also kinda confirms that Link actually grew an infatuation for Zelda. Poor Mipha, lol.
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It would have been funnier if Link wrote in the third person.

"Link likes his cucco spicy!"

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I only ever played the game in Japanese but the author is slightly mistaken here. is both a first and second person pronoun. It could be someone talking to you or Link talking to himself. The translation is fine in my opinion. I actually don't like the way they are characterizing it as a first person pronoun, because even when using it that way it carries a sense of disembodied speech like using oneself in English. I guess what I mean is it is not the equivalent of writing I.

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ssjevot posted...

I only ever played the game in Japanese but the author is slightly mistaken here. is both a first and second person pronoun. It could be someone talking to you or Link talking to himself. The translation is fine in my opinion. I actually don't like the way they are characterizing it as a first person pronoun, because even when using it that way it carries a sense of disembodied speech like using oneself in English. I guess what I mean is it is not the equivalent of writing I.

Yeah, this was addressed back when it first started to circulate.

The game never actually uses the regular first person "I", "myself", etc.

It's always the Japanese equivalent of "one" or "oneself", which can be 1st or 3rd person (or 2nd person in some dialects).

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Read further and this part is just outright invented:
Ah (I) kinda want to write down Kabettas Bro Motto, but theres not enough space goron?
Thats too bad goron

There's nothing about that in there. The actual translation is way better than whatever that is supposed to be. This person is weird.

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tainted_emerald posted...

Yeah, this was addressed back when it first started to circulate.

The game never actually uses the regular first person "I", "myself", etc.

It's always the Japanese equivalent of "one" or "oneself", which can be 1st or 3rd person (or 2nd person in some dialects).

Oh shit I gave away where I live in Japan. :p

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ssjevot posted...

Oh shit I gave away where I live in Japan. :p

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ssjevot posted...

I only ever played the game in Japanese but the author is slightly mistaken here. is both a first and second person pronoun. It could be someone talking to you or Link talking to himself. The translation is fine in my opinion. I actually don't like the way they are characterizing it as a first person pronoun, because even when using it that way it carries a sense of disembodied speech like using oneself in English. I guess what I mean is it is not the equivalent of writing I.

tainted_emerald posted...

Yeah, this was addressed back when it first started to circulate.

The game never actually uses the regular first person "I", "myself", etc.

It's always the Japanese equivalent of "one" or "oneself", which can be 1st or 3rd person (or 2nd person in some dialects).

interesting. would you guys say the 2nd person translation makes more sense than 1st person?

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I think the current translation is better than the weird stuff that article writer was making. I feel like she machine translated or something, but at times she was just making things up, so who knows. They could have just used one and oneself throughout if it would make the translation fiends chill. A lot of people want a verbatim translation of shit even though it won't sound as good. If you really want to have the exact experience Japanese speakers have, you have to learn the language. This translation elitism is getting ridiculous. There are times when a translation has legitimate mistakes, like Bloodborne, but a lot of the time I feel like people are looking for minor shit to get outraged over.

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American fans were almost able to pretend Link had a personality

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ssjevot posted...

I think the current translation is better than the weird stuff that article writer was making. I feel like she machine translated or something, but at times she was just making things up, so who knows. They could have just used one and oneself throughout if it would make the translation fiends chill. A lot of people want a verbatim translation of shit even though it won't sound as good. If you really want to have the exact experience Japanese speakers have, you have to learn the language. This translation elitism is getting ridiculous. There are times when a translation has legitimate mistakes, like Bloodborne, but a lot of the time I feel like people are looking for minor shit to get outraged over.

That particular article I choose as it had a lot of information about the various quests in one place, but you can find other/better translations all over reddit.
To address the bolded part, if we are really missing characterization that's available in other languages (seems to be some arguments about that validity above) then it's a huge deal imo.

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We are not talking about or any other particle. We're taking about pronouns. She is portraying in a way that is incorrect. Here is a dictionary:
https://jisho.org/search/%E8%87%AA%E5%88%86

Interpreting it as Link saying I is just one of many possible interpretations, and I personally feel one or oneself is a much more accurate representation though not necessarily one that would make for a good translation.

A bunch of translations of sentences using ,:
https://jisho.org/search/%E8%87%AA%E5%88%86%20%23sentences

Notice they often use you or portray it as a third person sentence. I is the less common translation choice in those sentences.

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