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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're looking at mistranslations from Japanese to English
00:11that had major effects on the story, characters, and lore of The Legend of Zelda.
00:23But before we get into it, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe
00:28and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:31Bagu is my name, Zelda II, The Adventure of Link.
00:40One of the most famous things from Zelda II is actually a minor NPC you can find in Rudow
00:46Town.
00:47Initially, all he says is, my name is Error.
00:51For a long time, English language players thought he was a literal error and turned
00:55him into a meme, but this isn't the case.
00:59In the Moorooge Forest, you'll find a similar looking NPC who introduces himself as Bagu.
01:04Technically, this isn't a case of mistranslation, but of something not getting translated at
01:09all.
01:10Error's name in the Japanese version is Era, and Bagu is the Japanese word for a computer
01:16bug.
01:17The duo are merely software puns, but the English localization team just failed to translate
01:23the latter NPC's name.
01:32The Naku Family Various
01:39There are several groups of enemies in the series that are within the same family, and
01:44are noted as such by their names.
01:46The most famous is the Blin family, which is Buren in Japanese, including Moblins, Bokoblins,
01:53and Horoblins.
01:54However, the Naku suffix is one that never made it into the English localizations, and
01:59all enemies that share it have different names.
02:02The most commonly recurring of these enemies is the Darknut, or Tatunaku, and the Iron
02:08Knuckle, or Ayanaku.
02:10Others include the Zelda II boss Rebonac, or Rebunaku, the Twilight Princess mini-boss
02:15Dark Hammer, or Hanmanaku, and the Link's Awakening enemy Mad Bomber, or Bamunaku.
02:22Considering these all share a knight-like design, you can see the relation.
02:34Ganondorf's Motivation The Legend of Zelda – Tears of the Kingdom
02:49In the English language version of Tears of the Kingdom, Ganondorf's motivations
02:53are pretty simple – to steal power from Rauru and subjugate Hyrule to darkness as
02:58its new king.
02:59As great as Matt Mercer is in the role, it's pretty one-note.
03:03However, in the Japanese version, there's a little more nuance.
03:07Ganondorf resents the Zonai for taking control of Hyrule and ushering it towards an era of
03:12peace, as he views this as making the land and its people weak.
03:17He doesn't just want power, he wants Hyrule to return to a time of power, when those with
03:22strength could claim glory if they so chose.
03:26This desire is displayed in two key scenes.
03:28His resentment of the Zonai and their presumption to rule is found in the flashback where he
03:33first transforms, and his goal to return Hyrule to its rightful form is seen during his fight
03:40with Link.
03:47The False Creators
03:49The Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess
03:57The Uka are one of the strangest races in the Zelda series, composed of bird-like bodies
04:03with human faces.
04:04They're very important to the lore though, but how important depends on which version
04:09of Twilight Princess you're playing.
04:11In the English language version, we're told by the scholar Shad that the Uka created the
04:17Hylian race.
04:18However, the Japanese version gives us what is now canonical information.
04:22They didn't create Hylians, they just created Hyrule.
04:26Zelda lore is confusing enough without having to worry about localization errors, but the
04:30difference between the creation of a place and that of an entire people is pretty big.
04:38Demise's Speech
04:40The Legend of Zelda – Skyward Sword
04:48Similar to Ganondorf in Tears of the Kingdom, Demise's desires come with a bit more nuance
04:53in the Japanese version of Skyward Sword, specifically when talking about his curse.
04:59After being defeated by Link, Demise claims that his hatred is undying, and that those
05:04with the blood of the goddess Hylia and the spirit of the hero are eternally bound to
05:09it, forced into an endless cycle.
05:12He makes it sound as if he himself will be reborn in a new form, primarily with the line
05:17I will rise again.
05:19And so, most players assumed that meant Ganon was a reincarnation of Demise, but that isn't
05:25exactly true.
05:26In the Japanese version, Demise's speech is more of a warning, that there will always
05:31be darkness to fight the light, and that the light is equally responsible for this
05:35cycle.
05:36While this still leads to Ganon and others like him, it isn't as literal as Demise being
05:42reborn.
05:53The Creation of the Master Sword
05:55The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
06:01The Master Sword made its debut in A Link to the Past, but when and why it was created
06:06is completely different between the English and Japanese versions.
06:11While the game itself doesn't give us any information, the manual does.
06:15The English one states a magic-resistant sword was created by Hylians in response to Ganon
06:21gaining the Triforce.
06:22But when none were worthy of wielding it, the sages opted to seal Ganon away instead.
06:28However, this is a mistranslation from the Japanese manual, which states the sword was
06:32created long before this with no specific creators listed, and that its location was
06:38merely forgotten.
06:40While Nintendo would later retcon the sword's exact creation, the information in the Japanese
06:45version is more accurate.
06:53An Uncomfortable Romance
06:55The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
07:03After conquering divine beast Vah Ruta in Breath of the Wild, you can find one of the
07:08most unsettling side quests in Zelda history.
07:11Finley, a Zora, waits near the Bank of Wishes, planning to send a love letter down the river.
07:17She's been in correspondence with someone, and asks Link to follow it so he can see who
07:22it is.
07:23At the end, Link meets Sassan, a Hylian man who has fallen for Finley, but feels bad lying
07:29about having muscles.
07:31After the chat, Sassan heads to Zora's domain to meet Finley, and the two begin a relationship.
07:37Despite Zora's aging slower, this still looks like a grown man dating a child.
07:42The Japanese version never intended for this to be romantic, as the two are basically pen
07:47pals.
07:48But the English localization made us all shudder in disgust.
07:59Lost History
08:01The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
08:13In Twilight Princess, Aru is a member of Telma's resistance group, who tells Link about the
08:18Arbiter's Grounds prison and the Mirror of Twilight that resides there.
08:22At the end of the dungeon, Link meets the sages who banished Ganondorf to the Twilight
08:26Realm, who all appear as ghostly old men.
08:30Later, Aru claims these sages are the ones who tutored Princess Zelda, and told him of
08:36the mirror.
08:37Except, this version of Zelda is still fairly young, and the sages all appear as sort of
08:42spirits, so it doesn't really add up.
08:45That's because the Japanese version tells us that Aru was Zelda's teacher, not the
08:50sages.
08:51His knowledge of Hyrule's history then makes much more sense, given he was once so close
08:56to the royal family.
09:06Last Words
09:07The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
09:19The death of Link's uncle at the beginning of A Link to the Past is a defining moment
09:23of the intro.
09:25As Link descends into the depths of Hyrule Castle, he finds his uncle gravely wounded.
09:30He's then given his first sword and shield while listening to the man's final words.
09:34In the English language version, Link's uncle trails off, dying after saying, Zelda
09:39is your dot dot dot.
09:41This spawned a lot of theories and what ifs about how the sentence was meant to end, with
09:47a popular one claiming sister.
09:49What he was likely about to say is destiny or something like it.
09:54In the Japanese version, his last words are, you are the princesses dot dot dot, making
09:59it seem like Link was Zelda and Hyrule's only hope.
10:12Ganon's Reincarnation
10:14The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
10:24After being defeated by Link in Hyrule Castle at the end of Breath of the Wild, Calamity
10:28Ganon turns into his second form, Dark Beast Ganon.
10:32A message from Zelda claims he has given up on reincarnation, which he has been attempting
10:37to do the whole game, and taken on a pure, enraged form.
10:42However, in the Japanese version, she states this form was born from his obsessive refusal
10:47to give up on revival.
10:49Either way, you're fighting a big ol' monster, but it says something about the characterization
10:53of Ganon.
10:54The Japanese version is right, he's not the type to ever give up on reincarnating
10:58or returning to wreak havoc.
11:00The English mistranslation makes it seem like if you defeat the Dark Beast, that will be
11:05the end of it.
11:06But obviously, since this game got a sequel, that's not the case.
11:18Know of any other mistranslations in the series that changed how we view certain story elements
11:22or characters?
11:23Let us know about them in the comments.