Re-release dubtitle question

[sim1138]

I wanted to play Shenmue 1 with the original Japanese audio because I had never heard it before and have fond memories of the Japanese audio on Shenmue 2 back in the day. I only have a rudimentary grasp of the Japanese language, but still noticed that the subtitles weren't a true translation of what I was hearing but rather a transcription of the English dub. A little lazy, but totally understandable.
This has me thinking about Shenmue 2 though. I played it in the Japanese with subtitles on the Dreamcast and then years later with English audio on the Xbox. Does anyone know if the text for the English subtitles of the Japanese audio and the eventual English dub are the same? If not, which is used for which on the re-release?

Thanks, I hope that wasn't too confusing of a question!

 

[iyapol]

I've noticed this too, and I'm convinced some of the English dub leaks into the game at certain points. For instance, does the woman at Lapis say 'very well' in English in the Japanese dub?

I think the strangest subtitles are when you hear some of the American sailors say things in English, but what you read in the subtitles is something completely different!

I wonder if there's any scope for using the fan translation for the emulated version. May be one for the modders.

 

[schoolboy]

I've noticed this too, and I'm convinced some of the English dub leaks into the game at certain points. For instance, does the woman at Lapis say 'very well' in English in the Japanese dub?

I think the strangest subtitles are when you hear some of the American sailors say things in English, but what you read in the subtitles is something completely different!

I wonder if there's any scope for using the fan translation for the emulated version. May be one for the modders.

I haven't played Shenmue I in Japanese yet so I can't answer your question about Lapis but I was playing Shenmue II with the Japanese voices and during the cutscene where you find Ren in Pigeon Park his buddies talk to each other in English for some reason. It was really cringeworthy, there's a reason I'm playing with the Japanese audio. It also happens with the crowds in Kowloon when I bet on street fights.

 

[Miles Prower]

I haven't played Shenmue I in Japanese yet so I can't answer your question about Lapis but I was playing Shenmue II with the Japanese voices and during the cutscene where you find Ren in Pigeon Park his buddies talk to each other in English for some reason. It was really cringeworthy, there's a reason I'm playing with the Japanese audio. It also happens with the crowds in Kowloon when I bet on street fights.

Huh, that's a little disappointing/annoying that not all the voices are replaced. I have noticed as well in S1 and S2 that despite me playing with Japanese voices, the voices/grunts during Free Battles are those of the English dub (I assume this is the case for everyone?)

 

[spud1897]

Huh, that's a little disappointing/annoying that not all the voices are replaced. I have noticed as well in S1 and S2 that despite me playing with Japanese voices, the voices/grunts during Free Battles are those of the English dub (I assume this is the case for everyone?)

Yes it is. Though I got used to it fairly quickly.

 

[Sappharad]

This has me thinking about Shenmue 2 though. I played it in the Japanese with subtitles on the Dreamcast and then years later with English audio on the Xbox. Does anyone know if the text for the English subtitles of the Japanese audio and the eventual English dub are the same? If not, which is used for which on the re-release?

Actually answering your question, both games just use the subtitles that correspond to the English dub. In Shenmue II's case, there were changes made between the subtitled Dreamcast version and the dubbed Xbox version. The English subtitles always match what they say in the English Xbox dub, even with the voices set to Japanese.

There are a few situations where you can tell the English subtitles don't match what they're saying in Japanese. But they're usually very similar.

Edit: It's been confirmed that I'm wrong, see posts below. I hadn't actually made it to the relevant part yet and based my conclusion on the fact that they retained the original spacing and mistakes. Nice to hear that the subtitles have been updated.

 

[The Wolf King]

When following yuan Ren refers to him as a he but when you go into the moon child building the subtitle is wrong and says she

 

[sim1138]

I know that Yuan was originally referred to as a man in the original, but for release in the West (in both the Dreamcast subs and the Xbox dub) this was changed so that Yuan is a female. I am playing through the Shenmue 2 re-release with Japanese audio & English subs and lo and behold I have dialogue that refers to Yuan as a man. Specifically I am talking about the conversation Ryo has at the Nine Birds shop about the different owners of myna birds. I went back and watched some lets plays to double check and sure enough the dialogue I have in my re-release is indeed different from both the Dreamcast and Xbox versions released previously in the West.

So the subs in the re-release are different!

 

[Life_247]

As far as I’m aware - there wasn’t a English subtitled Japanese Voice version of Shenmue 1 (Unlike S2 that had a subtitled version on DC) thus the subtitles in S1 will be the English dub version.