I Always Preferred Japanese Voice with English Subtitles - Same for 3!

[KalJenko]

lmao people in this thread have literally called for the English dub to be excluded from future titles, so of course dub fans are going to clap back. I thought the whole point of two dubs was so that each side could have their preference. That's why it was one of the earliest Kickstarter stretch goals, and I didn't see much pushback to an English dub back in the early Kickstarter days. But now that the game is out, it's a problem for some reason.

Problem is the translation in the English dub isn't as good as it should be, so the subtitles are translated wrong which is the same subtitles that are used for us playing in Japanese dub. I myself would perfer if the budget for the English dub went into a better translation, would fans have skipped this entry if it wasn't dubbed in English?

 

[9dragons]

I also prefer the japanese dub although the English Version was my entry point into t he Shenmue lore. I started playing the English Pal Version of S1 on the DC in 2018 and I though it was ok. But after playing the DC Version of S2 for the first time on the Dreamcast as well I was hooked into the Japanese Dub. Later in 2018 I could also play the japanese Version of S1 for the first time, thanks to the HD releases.

But one thing is funny though. Although bad the dub of S1 has still a certain charm. You can enjoy it. But S2 is different. I checked out some English Segments of the game and they were just bad. Lacking the cheesy charm of the first game. I can still enjoy the dub of S1 but I could never bring myself to play the English dub of S2. it is just too bad.

I am in my first run of S3 now and of course I play in Japanese. So I cannot Judge the English dub yet. But in my second playthrough I will try the English Version out of curiosity. But I am sure it won't beat the japanese dub again.

 

[ARokitLawnChair]

No one's looking down on anyone that I've seen aside from Dub fans telling people they have their "heads up their asses" in paranoid self defense. All I've seen so far are people pointing out how legitimately the English dubs for the games are poor translations that change the script of the game in addition to being very poorly acted and universally panned hurting the critical reception for each game.

I do wish dub fans would quit coming in a pro-original voice over thread and crying victim like people talking about how the English dub is bad is personally hurtful to them. Get over yourselves and stop looking for things to be offended about. It's absurd coming in here crying "people should be allowed a difference of opinion" but the whole reason you're upset is because people aren't agreeing with your view.

No one’s looking down on anyone? At the start of the thread you literally wrote “I mean if your excuse is you ‘don’t want to read the games’ then I guess enjoy the inferior version” I prefer subs to dubs on certain anime and when I’m discussing them with my friends I don’t belittle them for preferring how a character should sound. It’s a fact that the English localisation team has done a poor job with this game, but I’m not going to dump on a fellow fan because they prefer hearing Corey Marshall say “I see” every other line.

 

[DigitalDuck]

Problem is the translation in the English dub isn't as good as it should be, so the subtitles are translated wrong which is the same subtitles that are used for us playing in Japanese dub. I myself would perfer if the budget for the English dub went into a better translation, would fans have skipped this entry if it wasn't dubbed in English?

The English subtitles would not be transliterated if the dub wasn't there - they'd be the same loose translations.

Citation: Shenmue II

 

[chaos]

No one's looking down on anyone that I've seen aside from Dub fans telling people they have their "heads up their asses" in paranoid self defense. All I've seen so far are people pointing out how legitimately the English dubs for the games are poor translations that change the script of the game in addition to being very poorly acted and universally panned hurting the critical reception for each game.

I do wish dub fans would quit coming in a pro-original voice over thread and crying victim like people talking about how the English dub is bad is personally hurtful to them. Get over yourselves and stop looking for things to be offended about. It's absurd coming in here crying "people should be allowed a difference of opinion" but the whole reason you're upset is because people aren't agreeing with your view.

Dude we're not the one's crying victim lmao.

And people who like the dub aren't looking down on anyone. Only annoyed at stupid suggestions that the dub be removed for a little extra content.

 

[SakuraTaisen]

I didn't play in English so I didn't know about any of this. I just watched the woodcutting thing on Youtube and they translated it as "No, I'm good." Pretty bad seeing as he wasn't responding to anything. They should have went with something more along the lines of "I'm done for now."

Do you remember the context of that "hello" translation? 自分で確認したいですぅ。

I might have to do a playthrough in English to see if the translation is actually as bad as people are saying.

Yeah, I think the “No, I’m good,” was the one I meant.

The “Hello,” was in Bailu. I think it happened around the time you’re playing hide and seek with the kids. I think it happens when you speak to the elderly woman who is behind the row of houses.

 

[Vasid]

lmao people in this thread have literally called for the English dub to be excluded from future titles, so of course dub fans are going to clap back. I thought the whole point of two dubs was so that each side could have their preference. That's why it was one of the earliest Kickstarter stretch goals, and I didn't see much pushback to an English dub back in the early Kickstarter days. But now that the game is out, it's a problem for some reason.

It's a "problem for some reason"? Way to ignore the reasons people have listed and feign ignorance. Are you just not reading what people are posting?

No one’s looking down on anyone? At the start of the thread you literally wrote “I mean if your excuse is you ‘don’t want to read the games’ then I guess enjoy the inferior version” I prefer subs to dubs on certain anime and when I’m discussing them with my friends I don’t belittle them for preferring how a character should sound. It’s a fact that the English localisation team has done a poor job with this game, but I’m not going to dump on a fellow fan because they prefer hearing Corey Marshall say “I see” every other line.

It is literally an inferior version with a poor translation that misrepresents the original intent of the story and characters, I wasn't looking down on anyone with my statement: It was just the truth. You are taking it personal and that is silly. No one "dumped on" anyone (again aside from dub fans freaking out about people stating the truth), we're just stating the facts.

Dude we're not the one's crying victim lmao.

And people who like the dub aren't looking down on anyone. Only annoyed at stupid suggestions that the dub be removed for a little extra content.

Uhhh, yes, you dub fans are crying victim. Literally every post from a dub fan that has come in here has been "WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED OUR VIEWS STOP LOOKING DOWN ON US!!!" when no one is freaking looking down on you. Calm down and stop making everything about yourself, it's a bad dub, deal with it.

As for "people who like the dub aren't looking down on anyone", is that why that one guy was telling everyone they had their heads up their asses and that I'm the "bottom of the barrel shenmue fan"? That's not looking down on anyone, right...


What I find funny is instead of crying how rude everyone is and how they're looking down on you, you could try actually defending your beloved dub with it's good points. It's almost like you know there is no defending it so you're making the people talking about it the problem instead of actually defending it.

 

[staplepuffs27]

It's a "problem for some reason"? Way to ignore the reasons people have listed and feign ignorance. Are you just not reading what people are posting?

Uh, yeah pal, I have read the whole thread, thank you. I've noticed you ignore the majority of the points I make, so right back at ya. All the issues I've seen pointed out relate to the translation itself. We'd still have a lousy translation (subs) even if the dub didn't exist, so these are completely separate issues.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

I think it's pretty disingenuous to claim we'd 'sacrifice' the dub for 'small improvements.' I can only imagine how how much money 20+ voice actors and a huge script costs. Of course we have no idea what the dub came at the expense of, but I certainly hope most Shenmue fans would understand why some of us would prefer gameplay improvements over a dub that's widely considered 'the worst ever.'

 

[sbkodama]

Japanese dub is the only way to play. If you play with the English dub know you're giving yourself an inferior experience, full stop.

I mean if your excuse is you "don't want to read the game" then I guess enjoy the inferior version. Reading is good for the mind, experiencing other cultures is good for the mind. Try expanding your perspective some time.

Escuse me but these lines from your first comment in this thread are clearly looking down people that don't agree with your point of view. Japanese isn't the only way to play all shenmue since 2x, whatever how inacurate the translation is, and you don't know how expanded are our perspective, so you can also full stop now.

 

[Vasid]

Uh, yeah pal, I have read the whole thread, thank you. I've noticed you ignore the majority of the points I make, so right back at ya.

We'd still have a lousy translation (subs) even if the dub didn't exist, so these are completely separate issues.

Well to your first comment: I haven't ignored any "points" you've made. You haven't made any lol. But if you're going to ignore people making points in this thread then I'm not sure why you are even posting.

As for the thought that the lousy translation is unrelated to the dub: That's just wrong. The lousy subs are the dub script verbatim. The whole problem with the subs in Shenmue III is that they are not a translation they are just subtitles for the dub script. If it weren't for the dub we would have likely gotten a more accurate translation from the Japanese. Stick your head in the sand and pretend everything isn't related all you want but it was one pot of money and voice acting ain't cheap.

 

[Vasid]

Escuse-me but these lines from your first comment in this thread are clearly looking down people that don't agree with your point of view. Japanese isn't the only way to play all shenmue since 2x, whatever how inacurate the translation is, and you don't know how expanded are our perspective, so you can also full stop now.

Again, no they're not and I explained in the post you're replying to how it's not looking down on anyone. I am stating fact. You're implying I'm looking down because I said you'd be playing an "inferior" version. You would be. This is fact. And I won't be stopping any time soon, you're the ones who came to the pro-original voice over thread, not the other way around.

As for "you don't know how expanded our perspective" 1) this isn't a full sentence, and 2) if the only thing stopping you from enjoying good voice acting over bad is because you refuse to read then yes, you need to expand your perspective. I'm sure because of your refusal to read subs you're missing out on great movies and games. This is also fact. Just because I tried to encourage people to step out of their comfort zone doesn't make me a dick lol.

 

[staplepuffs27]

Well to your first comment: I haven't ignored any "points" you've made. You haven't made any lol. But if you're going to ignore people making points in this thread then I'm not sure why you are even posting.

As for the thought that the lousy translation is unrelated to the dub: That's just wrong. The lousy subs are the dub script verbatim. The whole problem with the subs in Shenmue III is that they are not a translation they are just subtitles for the dub script. If it weren't for the dub we would have likely gotten a more accurate translation from the Japanese. Stick your head in the sand and pretend everything isn't related all you want but it was one pot of money and voice acting ain't cheap.

Yes, you have. You casually dismissed and then ignored when I provided evidence that Yu Suzuki prefers the English dub. And as already pointed out, the Shenmue 2 PAL Dreamcast version is not a literal translation.

 

[Vasid]

Yes, you have. You casually dismissed and then ignored when I provided evidence that Yu Suzuki prefers the English dub. And as already pointed out, the Shenmue 2 PAL Dreamcast version is not a literal translation.

Lol you didn't present any evidence. Your evidence was a rumor you once heard and that Shenmue the movie exists (which was an attempt to get more money from Shenmue, not a definitive version or anything like that). Sorry I ignored your nothing-burger I guess.

As for the PAL S2 dub: and? That doesn't mean the Shenmue III subs would have been as flawed. Shenmue II's subs (and dub to be frank) come from a different time in gaming where translation quality was much lower. And this still doesn't change the fact that the English subs for S3 are a direct port of the English script.

 

[sbkodama]

Again, no they're not and I explained in the post you're replying to how it's not looking down on anyone. I am stating fact. You're implying I'm looking down because I said you'd be playing an "inferior" version. You would be. This is fact. And I won't be stopping any time soon, you're the ones who came to the pro-original voice over thread, not the other way around.

As for "you don't know how expanded our perspective" 1) this isn't a full sentence, and 2) if the only thing stopping you from enjoying good voice acting over bad is because you refuse to read then yes, you need to expand your perspective. I'm sure because of your refusal to read subs you're missing out on great movies and games. This is also fact. Just because I tried to encourage people to step out of their comfort zone doesn't make me a dick lol.

Well saying japanese is the only way to play isn't a fact, so I stop here now.

 

[Vasid]

You know what, I'm not replying to the whiners anymore. This thread shouldn't be about you and it's really my fault for responding. If you want to cry victim because people don't like the same things as you and are pointing out how bad something you like is: go for it just don't expect anyone to take you seriously.

 

[SakuraTaisen]

This conversation has gotten super off track. No one should be looking down on the other over personal preferences, and arguing over them is futile. No one is going to convince anyone to change their opinion on something so subjective.


Thought exercise: I wonder if other Japanese-audio fans would accept the opposite situation. I prefer to play Shenmue in Japanese, but if it meant getting more content and a better experience, I’d sacrifice the Japanese audio and play in English only. I know it’s easy for us to say Japanese is the real way to play, but honestly the game takes place in China, it probably has a much smaller audience in Japan than the US/Europe, and Suzuki-san does have some strange affinity for the English VO.


What if some publisher said, “Yeah, we’ll fund Shenmue 4, but since the potential reach in Japan is minimal compared to the West, and the majority of gamers prefer to play in their own language, we want to spend 100% of our resources on making a high quality English VO, with other languages having subtitles.”

Honestly, I could see this happening. If Shenmue’s poorly received English presentation was retooled into one more in-line with other games, that would go a long way in attracting more consumers. A quality English dub and better graphics would appease most people’s surface level complaints about the series, and would likely result in them becoming more open to its unique gameplay offerings.

As I wrote this I questioned whether not I really would give up the Japanese VO and felt conflicted. Although Ryo is just a character from someone’s imagination, he becomes real to us through his visual design and his voice actor. That’s why we were so picky over the character models. That’s why when a character’s voice actor changes it affects the way we feel towards them emotionally. Asking a fan to give up their preferred audio, no matter how corny and janky it sounds, is asking them to give up their game in many ways. Although I would still sacrifice my preferred VO for a better overall package, I think we should be more considerate before we ask the same of others.

Also, to those who don’t speak Japanese but hate on the English dub, the Japanese audio can also be really corny sounding as well. I think the performances are better as a whole, but it’s far from perfect.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

The game is developed in Japan by a Japanese company. Your alternative scenario would never occur. I'd be all for a HIGH QUALITY English script with HIGH QUALITY subtitles, though. Sure.

 

[SakuraTaisen]

The game is developed in Japan by a Japanese company. Your alternative scenario would never occur. I'd be all for a HIGH QUALITY English script with HIGH QUALITY subtitles, though. Sure.

Death Stranding had the English VO as the priority and original version. If it was one or the other, Kojima would have 100% cut Japanese.

Edit: Also, I did preface that whole section by saying, “Thought exercise,” not that it was a likely scenario.

 

[Vasid]

This conversation has gotten super off track. No one should be looking down on the other over personal preferences, and arguing over them is futile. No one is going to convince anyone to change their opinion on something so subjective.


Thought exercise: I wonder if other Japanese-audio fans would accept the opposite situation. I prefer to play Shenmue in Japanese, but if it meant getting more content and a better experience, I’d sacrifice the Japanese audio and play in English only. I know it’s easy for us to say Japanese is the real way to play, but honestly the game takes place in China, it probably has a much smaller audience in Japan than the US/Europe, and Suzuki-san does have some strange affinity for the English VO.


What if some publisher said, “Yeah, we’ll fund Shenmue 4, but since the potential reach in Japan is minimal compared to the West, and the majority of gamers prefer to play in their own language, we want to spend 100% of our resources on making a high quality English VO, with other languages having subtitles.”

Honestly, I could see this happening. If Shenmue’s poorly received English presentation was retooled into one more in-line with other games, that would go a long way in attracting more consumers. A quality English dub and better graphics would appease most people’s surface level complaints about the series, and would likely result in them becoming more open to its unique gameplay offerings.

As I wrote this I questioned whether not I really would give up the Japanese VO and felt conflicted. Although Ryo is just a character from someone’s imagination, he becomes real to us through his visual design and his voice actor. That’s why we were so picky over the character models. That’s why when a character’s voice actor changes it affects the way we feel towards them emotionally. Asking a fan to give up their preferred audio, no matter how corny and janky it sounds, is asking them to give up their game in many ways. Although I would still sacrifice my preferred VO for a better overall package, I think we should be more considerate before we ask the same of others.

Also, to those who don’t speak Japanese but hate on the English dub, the Japanese audio can also be really corny sounding as well. I think the performances are better as a whole, but it’s far from perfect.

I can absolutely agree that I would take Japanese being cut if it meant more content, and the reason I would be fine with that is because then English would be the original intended vision. I'm a game developer myself and as a developer I want people to play my games the way I intended them, so when it comes time for me to play a game/watch a movie/enjoy any other medium I try and do it as close to the original intended experience as possible.

I would argue that while Yu MAY (emphasis here because as far as I can tell from searching the net this is just a rumor) like the English dub I am pretty sure that if asked he'd say that he originally wrote the script in Japanese and created the scenes for the Japanese voice acting (which is why the mouth movements all match the Japanese).

But again as an answer to your thought experiment which I quite like: yes I would absolutely sacrifice the Japanese voice overs if it meant more content IF English was the intended experience.