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[Kriken]

Considering the plot of this game and the tone it takes, that example in the OP doesn't really come across as terrible, or even bad. The "adobrs" is stupid, but meh and the "le cosplay" seems dumb even with the whole "But he's French" excuse. I think the third one wouldn't be dumb for me if he used le more often and used more French dialects, but I don't know his lines.

To say this "ruins your immersion" is simply laughable for a game like this. "Oh no, a meme being referenced ruined my immersion of going across the lands with my friends dressed as a cheerleader, a hammer bro and an ice climber while we seek to rid the land of a curse that prevents people from looking fabulous"

 

[Zubz]

internet memes in general are a weak attempt at humor

why make your own joke when you can just take an existing one and re-purpose it for the situation?

anyway, the example in the OP is actually fine

Honestly, that's the thing that bugged me most about Guacamelee! The artstyle was unique, and ripe for building a vibrant world of luchadores, with some of the ones on the posters all over the cities being possible characters for a sequel or something.

We got enough of that to make it clear there was potential for DrinkBox to go hogwild with this universe, but instead they focused on making in-game ads for memes and references to other video games, with posters for "Crazy Wolf Tequila" or "El Link" littering the map. I'm fine with a few of those references, of course; it honestly would have been fine if they were used sparingly, and when applicable (The luchador based on Strong Bad was perfectly fine, and fit the game's motif. The luchador based on Mega Man only served to say "Remember this other game you probably like?"). I really want them to go back to that series and give it a do-over, emphasizing elements that make the game "Guacamelee!" and not just "that game with the memes in it," because the amount of potential it had to build a fresh,new world was astounding.

At least Guacamelee has the excuse of being an Indie game that was trying to establish an "in" with the people playing it, though. I don't know if having a "doge" reference in a random book in a Zelda game serves any purpose except to invoke some groans. And I know this is far from a new trend, but at least when, say, a Goon wrote the NPC dialogue for Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, and threw in a few Something Awful references, it was subtle enough that I missed most of it. I only batted an eye at the line "My Pokemon is Fight," and even then, I chalked it up to a translation error. There were SA memes in there, but people who weren't into Goon culture couldn't see anything weird with the dialog; it still worked, but the references just added another level to it. This is clearly referring to something, and in 5 years when Doge has been lost in the annals of the Internet, and some future kid who just got into Zelda decides to go back to this game, (s)he'll just wonder why the book's grammar suddenly falters.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I think Treehouse does an excellent job, but yeah, using Internet memes like this is pretty cringe-worthy.

Just makes me think of this:

 

[Mariolee]

The whole game's plot is tongue in cheek, even before translation. In context I don't think it matters too much and I find it quite charming.

If I saw this in a game like Twilight Princess then we'd have some problems.

 

[BGBW]

How would that ruin the game, when the intro alone has handrawn art of a King crying in rivers...

Or when you start playing as Link, which has a shirt with a teddy bear on it.

A game were you can comtrol Link, wearing Zelda's dress.

This a a silly/weird/out of place Zelda game. Anyone expecting or approaching it as a serious game, shouldn't. Neither is a cute/saturday morning cartoon like Zelda game, is just werird...which is what makes it awesome. Thetranslation by Treehouse is superb and it shows that they had a great time doing it.

Finding doge groanworthy has no reflection on what one thinks of rest of the game. So because it's whimsical one can't find the use of a meme cringy? Saying this one particular example is displeasurable isn't saying you think the whole game should be serious. You're reading far too much into it.

I really don't get why some are so adamant to shutdown people's opinion with terms like "embarassing" and "overreaction" when honestly it's just people saying "urgh, can't believe Nintendo referenced doge", which honestly is a fair opinion to have.

 

[R0ckman]

Finding doge groanworthy has no reflection on what one thinks of rest of the game. So because it's whimsical one can't find the use of a meme cringy? Saying this one particular example is displeasurable isn't saying you think the whole game should be serious. You're reading far too much into it.

I really don't get why some are so adamant to shutdown people's opinion with terms like "embarassing" and "overreaction" when honestly it's just people saying "urgh, can't believe Nintendo referenced doge", which honestly is a fair opinion to have.

Complaining about it is an overreaction, why not call it distasteful, or dumb and move on? I wouldn't even mention it in a review even if I didn't like it.

 

[BGBW]

Complaining about it is an overreaction, why not call it distasteful, or dumb and move on? I wouldn't even mention it in a review even if I didn't like it.

But people are just calling it dumb?

 

[A Link to the Past]

"We were going to make a new F-Zero, but if we did we could only afford one English translation for Tri-Force Heroes"

 

[BGBW]

"We were going to make a new F-Zero, but if we did we could only afford one English translation for Tri-Force Heroes"

We've been having two different English translations for Nintendo games for a while now. This isn't a new thing.

Sometimes we even have a different voice cast.

 

[Axbarn]

I would really prefer them not to force so many memes in, tbh. It's unnecessary, lazy, usually unfunny, and ages really poorly. I just find them distasteful.

This. I think the reason people react to it is, Nintendo usually use pop-culture stuff for localization but them relying so heavily on memes rather than pop-cult reference is something that's begun in the last 3 years and not just in this game. It's amateurish. The closest they got to it in the past was in Paper Mario for example when a dragon would do 1337 SP34K and such, but that's not even a meme, but it still aged poorly.

A comparison would be Capcom and their Ace Attorney games versus the fan-translation/localization of their unreleased Ace Attorney game AAI2, in which the big difference was how in Ace Attorney by Capcom US, you rarely if ever see an actual internet meme, even in the latest one, but in the fan-translation done by less experienced or skilled people a lot of the jokes resorted to memes.

And by that logic I just compared Nintendo Treehouse to fantranslation.

 

[Nightbird]

"We were going to make a new F-Zero, but if we did we could only afford one English translation for Tri-Force Heroes"

I don't think you want a F-Zero that runs on a budget of an average translation.

 

[PSYGN]

I don't think memes should be in games in writing form. Memes don't last very long and if someone isn't aware of it, it just sounds really dumb.

 

[Hee-ho]

That meme usage seems out of place. Forced, even. Guess it doesn't bother me too much, but it's a shame they stoop to that level. Can't say Nintendo doesn't know their audience.

 

[flatearthpandas]

I think its necessary for some languages.
Castillian Spanish and latin american spanish change a FUCKTON, even more than UK english to american english, so its weird that the option of different spanish isn't there either.

You call it waste of money, I call it proper localisation in my country.

Was talking specifically about UK to US English. Though I have worked with European Spanish/Latin Spanish adaptations as well and it isn't like it's impossible to do it with good quality. Agreed it's more of a pain in the ass than English, but Latin American Spanish in general is a pain in the ass. There's a ton of variance within even that general language code, forget Europe.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

That meme usage seems out of place. Forced, even. Guess it doesn't bother me too much, but it's a shame they stoop to that level. Can't say Nintendo doesn't know their audience.

It definitely would've been more appropriate if it had at least been a dog speaking, but text in a book? Just seems random and out of place.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

As i understand, the scripts are simultaneously sent to both localization teams nowadays and basically they are made simultaneously with no input from the other team, also i believe that the other language scripts in europe are made from the UK english one.

It's why everything is different in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (US) and Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (EU) despite being the same game.

Nope they use Japanese (but it was common in the 90s that EU translations would be based off English, which really turned messy translations like FFVII into Chinese whispers) but can look at the English version to get ideas. If you're interested in it and also time taken etc then the localising hotel dusk article NOE used to have on their website is good. I dumped the text of that years ago on a dead forum which is still up (otherwise I'd have to grovel with archive.org...). Hotel Dusk in particular being a game about a former New York detective staying in a hotel outside of Los Angeles did have some dialogue tweaks made to it (a few example also given in the article). That game script merely edited rather than done independently though.

I still think Advance Wars was down to surprise changes in scheduling. Given how it was first shown at a French trade show I think the EU version was finished long before the US version but things happened resulting in both coming out within 4 days of each other. I'd like to know more these days about the US and EU English differences. Qhat makes it odder is I believe games like Splatoon actually have both versions on the game disc. Wonder if HANS 3DS homebrew means you can boot EU Triforce Heroes as American US English Triforce Heroes? (I also wonder if that breaks the region lock too)

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

That meme usage seems out of place. Forced, even.

The meme was rather Tri Forced

 

[A Link to the Past]

We've been having two different English translations for Nintendo games for a while now. This isn't a new thing.

Sometimes we even have a different voice cast.

Not saying it is, just that I never thought about it, and decided it's kind of blah. :v Just do what Capcom did with Layton VS. Ace Attorney and use the UK version!

 

[dity]

Peopling kidding themselves into thinking there are people in the USA not aware of the popular memes. It's adorbs.

 

[Toparaman]

Holy shit guys.

It's one stupid line in one game.

 

[Kouriozan]

Well, this game stars Wii Fit which started all the "my body is ready" memes with Reggie, I'd say it's fine.

 

[Modest Mauser]

Nintendo referencing a meme spawned from a Nintendo event itself kind of works for me though

 

[rhandino]

.

Eeek at these examples being on poinT and funny even years after the memes died.

 

[AniHawk]

nintendo of america and nintendo of europe have different english translations?

 

[Malus]

Oh god thebitblock. It's like reading angry youtube comments.

I gotta be honest I kinda like memes (some of them, anyways). Undertale uses them to great effect.

nintendo of america and nintendo of europe have different english translations?

Yeah I was watching a let's play of Splatoon and the NoE translation really took out some of the charm.

 

[JazzmanZ]

You guys are complaining about this NOW?

Try 2005

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

So Rogers Base just posted a discussion with TheBitBlock where they talk about this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k59Pn3oxRsU

 

[OnADock]

Even worse, they're using dead memes. Whens the last time anyone has seen a Doge meme?

 

[rhandino]

Even worse, they're using dead memes. Whens the last time anyone has seen a Doge meme?

 

[themagicalkitsune]

You guys are complaining about this NOW?

Try 2005

 

[diffusionx]

It's fine as long as nobody takes an arrow to the knee.

 

[Javier]

Not a meme, but related:

 

[Modest Mauser]

Not a meme, but related:

A cultural reference is okay too

 

[Javier]

A cultural reference is okay too

I like it, too, and I agree some people are taking this way too seriously.

I just posted that since it looked like we were posting examples.

 

[Malus]

Even worse, they're using dead memes. Whens the last time anyone has seen a Doge meme?

It's making a comeback

 

[BatDan]

So Rogers Base just posted a discussion with TheBitBlock where they talk about this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k59Pn3oxRsU

So TBB says the game is full of memes, yet I've only heard two (and one of them barely counts as it predates the internet)

I get the feeling there's overreaction going on.

 

[Mivey]

So would you say, the jokes felt a bit tri-forced?

 

[dity]

A cultural reference is okay too

I like it, too, and I agree some people are taking this way too seriously.

I just posted that since it looked like we were posting examples.

The mightiest meme is the one that's posted and it's so ingrained in regular speech that it's not even noticed, like here.

 

[Boss Doggie]

A cultural reference is okay too

Eh, I'd argue it is a meme.

People think "memes" originated from the internet when actually they've stemmed far back from graffiti art, play dialog and even literature.

I sometimes wonder if people just like to post them as "OH HEY THIS THING HAS MEMES!" without actually taking a step back and looking at them.

 

[rhandino]

So would you say, the jokes felt a bit tri-forced?

 

[SlavetodaBOX]

This whole thing is overblown. No one can even agree if it's a meme or not.
To me it's a kids game, "who cares."

 

[Persona7]

bring on the memes nintendo of america

 

[SlavetodaBOX]

So would you say, the jokes felt a bit tri-forced?

I see what you did there....funny.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

I sometimes wonder if people just like to post them as "OH HEY THIS THING HAS MEMES!" without actually taking a step back and looking at them.

That's certainly true, but I don't blame them in the slightest when meme and reference humor is everywhere it seems and it all blends together.

 

[Zolbrod]

Not a meme, but related:

See, that one is fine, because it makes sense in the context, and it doesn't seem out of place, even if you don't get the reference.

The TFH doge joke is just incredibly dumb.

 

[-Horizon-]

'Ayy lmao' when Nintendo? Put it in for the fire emblem if localization. Do it. I want to see more internet meltdowns.

 

[Tik-Tok]

Doge jokes are gonna be awesome when playing this 15 years from now......

 

[rhandino]

Doge jokes are gonna be awesome when playing this 15 years from now......

Implying that this game servers are going to be up in 15 years...

Spoiler

It's ok, the line in context it's not that bad and would get a good chuckle even if you don't know the meme

 

[Hugstable]

lol it's just a dumb joke, what's the big deal? I don't mind if Nintendo throws it in, if I think it's dumb I just laugh at it and move on to play the game.

It's making a comeback

PET
PET
PET
PET
PET

 

[theprodigy]

'Ayy lmao' when Nintendo? Put it in for the fire emblem if localization. Do it. I want to see more internet meltdowns.

ayy lmao is the one phrase that I can't think of anything it would fit with

Spoiler

inb4 there's a Conquest plot summary and that's literally the only thing there