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Jonathan Holmes: 
Topher Cantler: That video was horrid I put down the full thirty for rhythm heaven already so I'll be playing it soon but damn am I pissed. If I ever have sixty dollars I will defiantly import the Japanese version
The video seriously was one of the worst dubs I've ever heard. I think you guys made great points in your discussion and man I'm not going to buy this when it comes out. You're better off importing the game.
Importing this instead. I was excited for it to come out here, but the Japanese Music in the original GBA version really added charm to the game for me. Ebay is go!!!
Would another option be buying the English version then getting an undub? That's what I did with TWEWY.
I was actually WAITING to get the localized version..but man...I will pay the full price for the Japanese version.
I sadly still haven't played the game, so I was just going to wait for the North American version to be released right before I go to Japan. Now I think I'm just going to pick up the Japanese version along with the original Rhythm Tengoku for GBA.
Great discussion, guys. I had no idea the English dubs were going to be so bad! :'(
Nintendo, I thought you were doing something really awesome for the North American crowd giving us Rhythm Heaven, but I see you've just fucked it up like usual.
Great discussion, guys. I had no idea the English dubs were going to be so bad! :'(
Nintendo, I thought you were doing something really awesome for the North American crowd giving us Rhythm Heaven, but I see you've just fucked it up like usual.
@Xhumation: You can totally play the Japanese version and not need to understand a word of it to love it.
That dub sounds like a waitress obligatorily singing happy birthday to a customer at TGIFriday's.
That dub sounds like a waitress obligatorily singing happy birthday to a customer at TGIFriday's.
Ok... this has reduced my excitement for the game almost a 60%
What the fuck is NOA doing? They are not fucking Capcom to have horrible voice acting. well I gotta say the dubbed WarioWare songs were also terrible (except for Mona Pizza which is pretty addictive)
The songs need a lot more emotion too, especially the Fan Club, it is almost as she was not even feeling like singing at all.
I think games that are made with japanese material, should be kept with japanese material. I mean look at Elite Beat Agents, it was redesigned for the western audience, which was great! And we still play Ouendan to play the wacky japanese side of it as well.
I think they should have kept the original voices and if not much simply adding subtitles.
What the fuck is NOA doing? They are not fucking Capcom to have horrible voice acting. well I gotta say the dubbed WarioWare songs were also terrible (except for Mona Pizza which is pretty addictive)
The songs need a lot more emotion too, especially the Fan Club, it is almost as she was not even feeling like singing at all.
I think games that are made with japanese material, should be kept with japanese material. I mean look at Elite Beat Agents, it was redesigned for the western audience, which was great! And we still play Ouendan to play the wacky japanese side of it as well.
I think they should have kept the original voices and if not much simply adding subtitles.
so i'm in japan on vacation now, and i keep passing this up in the stores, thinking 'well, i have the gba version, so maybe i'll get the ds edition in english so i know more what's going on when i'm playing'...but now i'm thinking i should just pick it up while i'm here and get a refund on my reserve i put down at gamestop. i think the street date is still while i'm over here, so dtoid, please do a follow-up piece about whether or not the dub is complete shit, or just some parts (like in the clip above). i've got a couple weeks still to make a decision.
Is that the only video that you two have watched or are there more videos?
I also think that everyone is overreacting a bit. I enjoy cheesy vocals for cheesy lyrics and frog section was very good. Besides if this does not sell, NOA will think that their rhythm games are not bringing Stateside which would be a great loss for those who don't import.
I also think that everyone is overreacting a bit. I enjoy cheesy vocals for cheesy lyrics and frog section was very good. Besides if this does not sell, NOA will think that their rhythm games are not bringing Stateside which would be a great loss for those who don't import.
I'm so incredibly glad that I picked up Rhythm Tengoku Gold at PAX last year. Those dubs are just... I mean... how could?
Just UGH.
The worst part is that those dubs aren't "so bad they're kind of good" dubs, they're just horrendous buttfucking failures.
Well, the frogs weren't so bad I guess...
Just UGH.
The worst part is that those dubs aren't "so bad they're kind of good" dubs, they're just horrendous buttfucking failures.
Well, the frogs weren't so bad I guess...
I think you guys are blowing this way out of proportion. Yeah, it doesn't sound as wacky and Japanesey as Rhythm Tengoku Gold. That is the point of localization. Otherwise, the music is all the same, and the games look to be all the same. This is the same game we all played last year, with arguably worse lyrics and probably worse vocals. It will not make it any less fun.
What I really disagree with, though, is the notion that Americans would totally have preferred a game with a more Japanese feel to it. This is another case of the vocal minority making you think something that isn't true. I know how this is, being a long time Earthbound fan. You hear the Internet cry out and bitch and moan about how Earthbound isn't coming to the VC, and how Nintendo of America still has no plans to bring Mother 3 over here, but the actual majority of gamers don't give a damn about the series, and I'm pretty convinced that while Mother 3 would sell better than Earthbound did, it would still not be a commercial success like the vocal minority would have you believe.
And so, back on topic, you think that people would really like the original Japanesey feel of RTG, but I can say from experience that this is not the case. Back in college, I had several roommates, and they hated games that were too much like this, including gems like Magic Pengel and Katamari friggin' Damacy. I will concede that some people are into stuff like this (e.g. you and me), but if Nintendo really wanted to appeal to the mainstream, and especially to the new casual market that dominates the DS ownership, then they are almost required to make things easier to swallow for the American audience.
Your sushi analogy is especially bad, because while I have personally gotten a few people into eating chunks of raw fish with me, you know that most Americans who say they like sushi go out and order California rolls and they are totally happy with it. There isn't anything inherently wrong with this, but there's a huge difference between fake crab meat in rice and raw tuna. The fact is, many Americans are not into it, and they never will be.
So in summary, this is not nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. We're all in the vocal minority, and while we can dig this wacky Japanese stuff, the majority of American gamers cannot.
Also, you're a bunch of weeaboos.
What I really disagree with, though, is the notion that Americans would totally have preferred a game with a more Japanese feel to it. This is another case of the vocal minority making you think something that isn't true. I know how this is, being a long time Earthbound fan. You hear the Internet cry out and bitch and moan about how Earthbound isn't coming to the VC, and how Nintendo of America still has no plans to bring Mother 3 over here, but the actual majority of gamers don't give a damn about the series, and I'm pretty convinced that while Mother 3 would sell better than Earthbound did, it would still not be a commercial success like the vocal minority would have you believe.
And so, back on topic, you think that people would really like the original Japanesey feel of RTG, but I can say from experience that this is not the case. Back in college, I had several roommates, and they hated games that were too much like this, including gems like Magic Pengel and Katamari friggin' Damacy. I will concede that some people are into stuff like this (e.g. you and me), but if Nintendo really wanted to appeal to the mainstream, and especially to the new casual market that dominates the DS ownership, then they are almost required to make things easier to swallow for the American audience.
Your sushi analogy is especially bad, because while I have personally gotten a few people into eating chunks of raw fish with me, you know that most Americans who say they like sushi go out and order California rolls and they are totally happy with it. There isn't anything inherently wrong with this, but there's a huge difference between fake crab meat in rice and raw tuna. The fact is, many Americans are not into it, and they never will be.
So in summary, this is not nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. We're all in the vocal minority, and while we can dig this wacky Japanese stuff, the majority of American gamers cannot.
Also, you're a bunch of weeaboos.
Is not about incorporating more "Japanese" feel to it but having a company to localize a game with talented voice actors (in this case, singer).
Just think about how horrendous a scene in a game would be with terrible voice acting. Sure it doesn't change the fun factor of the game, but it definitely ruin the moment.
Just think about how horrendous a scene in a game would be with terrible voice acting. Sure it doesn't change the fun factor of the game, but it definitely ruin the moment.
that was hilarious :D
it was really bad but i couldn't stop watching it
maybe if I'd played the original i would feel your pain but its not that bad
it was really bad but i couldn't stop watching it
maybe if I'd played the original i would feel your pain but its not that bad
I HATE THE DUB... I SUPPOSE. YA YA YA!
As a super fan of Rhythm Tengoku, even though I'm real bad at it, this is extremely disappointing.
As a super fan of Rhythm Tengoku, even though I'm real bad at it, this is extremely disappointing.
Wow, this is horrible. I'll just stick with trying to get S rank on all the levels in Elite Beat Agents.
@Dexter345:
You should write a book about how the Kansai regional dialect will never ever be properly localized into English. I will pay double the asking price to get a copy to my brother overnight.
You should write a book about how the Kansai regional dialect will never ever be properly localized into English. I will pay double the asking price to get a copy to my brother overnight.
I...jus...wh...
God damn. I haven't played Rhythm Tengoku, but holy crap -- that female singer sounds like a barely-competent [i}American Idol [/i]contestant who doesn't even make it to Hollywood from the auditions. Jesus. I could do a better job than that.
God damn. I haven't played Rhythm Tengoku, but holy crap -- that female singer sounds like a barely-competent [i}American Idol [/i]contestant who doesn't even make it to Hollywood from the auditions. Jesus. I could do a better job than that.
I guess Jon and Topher didn't notice this:
http://www.destructoid.com/gdc-09-the-lowdown-on-rhythm-heaven-s-english-song-lyrics-126469.phtml
http://www.destructoid.com/gdc-09-the-lowdown-on-rhythm-heaven-s-english-song-lyrics-126469.phtml
Not sure wtf I did to you Dexter, but it must've been pretty awful given your comments on my posts lately.
It's all because it isn't "~Kawaii desu ne ~d(^_^)b~ ** Supaa Nihongo XD :3 right?
Shitty voicework is shitty voicework, and it's even worse now that I've listened to the other songs in the US version and they've got it in there to replace stuff that wasn't even Japanese in the first place. There's stuff that was gibbersih or animal sounds that's now been replaced with this kind of public access children's programming quality voiceover. There's no need for it.
So, yes, it's every bit as bad as I'm making it out to be. People who don't like this sort of thing are going to skip it either way. Other people who might be interested to see what it's about are going to miss out on the great music that made it awesome to begin with, and get a low-quality substitute from people who didn't care enough to hire a few decent singers.
~聴いてありがとう, off to go pretend my bathrobe is a kimono and watch Lucky Star while I chow on some pocky desu desu desu. :3 *^__^*
It's all because it isn't "~Kawaii desu ne ~d(^_^)b~ ** Supaa Nihongo XD :3 right?
Shitty voicework is shitty voicework, and it's even worse now that I've listened to the other songs in the US version and they've got it in there to replace stuff that wasn't even Japanese in the first place. There's stuff that was gibbersih or animal sounds that's now been replaced with this kind of public access children's programming quality voiceover. There's no need for it.
So, yes, it's every bit as bad as I'm making it out to be. People who don't like this sort of thing are going to skip it either way. Other people who might be interested to see what it's about are going to miss out on the great music that made it awesome to begin with, and get a low-quality substitute from people who didn't care enough to hire a few decent singers.
~聴いてありがとう, off to go pretend my bathrobe is a kimono and watch Lucky Star while I chow on some pocky desu desu desu. :3 *^__^*
@Dexter345
Even if they did bring Mother 3 to N/A on the DS or something, it would still sell a substantial amount of copies. The hardcore gamer demographic still exists, 12 and 13 year old kids still read Nintendo Power and buy all the games hyped up by them. Just because the DS has a new demographic, I think that Mother 3 would still sell very well. I know tones of Dtoiders who would drop $45 for that in an instant.
And even if it didn't sell a lot of copies, Nintendo would still make money some off of it. And it would shut us up.
Even if they did bring Mother 3 to N/A on the DS or something, it would still sell a substantial amount of copies. The hardcore gamer demographic still exists, 12 and 13 year old kids still read Nintendo Power and buy all the games hyped up by them. Just because the DS has a new demographic, I think that Mother 3 would still sell very well. I know tones of Dtoiders who would drop $45 for that in an instant.
And even if it didn't sell a lot of copies, Nintendo would still make money some off of it. And it would shut us up.
At least the translation of the lyrics is fairly straightforward. Undubbing it is easy if you have the right equipment.
@Topher Cantler:
Then again, experience tells me that a good part of them will never know the difference because they may never look into the regional differences. I have to keep telling people I meet that the Japanese version is better. I have a personal rule that states "Give all dubs a chance", so when I say it's better, I know what I'm talking about. There are English dubs I prefer over the original products, but they're more rare than I would like them to be.
In this case, I only needed to watch the English dub for Remix-10 to make my decision.
Then again, experience tells me that a good part of them will never know the difference because they may never look into the regional differences. I have to keep telling people I meet that the Japanese version is better. I have a personal rule that states "Give all dubs a chance", so when I say it's better, I know what I'm talking about. There are English dubs I prefer over the original products, but they're more rare than I would like them to be.
In this case, I only needed to watch the English dub for Remix-10 to make my decision.
Oh hell.
What did they do; Bring in the kids of developers to sing this?
The music is alright, but the dub is SHIT.
What did they do; Bring in the kids of developers to sing this?
The music is alright, but the dub is SHIT.
@garison, add me to that Mother3 list. The singing in the game doesn't sound horrible, awkward and out of place rather. It sounds like more of a distraction from enjoyment, rather. All in all, I guess that doesn't help. NoA has always bothered me as to why they seem to make these kinds of game impairment in their decisions.
@ Xhumation
Yes, it's still very playable, even if there's a little more challenge in working out exactly what to do the first time, you'll soon fall into it.
I think the two girl pop songs are the absolute worst of the redubbing, most of the rest has been untouched. The remaining that have been changed aren't so bad and are only kind of jarring to those who know how it was before.
Yes, it's still very playable, even if there's a little more challenge in working out exactly what to do the first time, you'll soon fall into it.
I think the two girl pop songs are the absolute worst of the redubbing, most of the rest has been untouched. The remaining that have been changed aren't so bad and are only kind of jarring to those who know how it was before.
I like the voice quality, but I can agree that it's significantly dispassionate. Not entirely, but too much to hold some kinda of enrapturing attention. Agh, that second song just came on; what the crap?!
Anyway, definitely agree they should've/should include both versions. I may not wholly like Japanese vocals, but at least "Ashley's Theme" in SSBB sounded, you know, appropriate (and cool, in the echoey effects and Ashley's ghostly feel), compared to that jarring and off-putting English sample on the ofikal site.
Hrm... I don't like the frog voices, no matter how appropriate they might be.
Anyway, definitely agree they should've/should include both versions. I may not wholly like Japanese vocals, but at least "Ashley's Theme" in SSBB sounded, you know, appropriate (and cool, in the echoey effects and Ashley's ghostly feel), compared to that jarring and off-putting English sample on the ofikal site.
Hrm... I don't like the frog voices, no matter how appropriate they might be.
I didn't mind the English vocals too much overal, except for the part where the girl sings "yeah, yeah, yeah!". Seriously how less enthusiastic can you possibly get? Anyway, strange that they didn't include the Japanese vocals as well; Rhythm Heaven isn't excactly a game that fills the DS cart to its limit?
I didn't find it too horrible; but then again, I haven't heard the Japanese songs, so I suppose I'm less biased.
But I suppose that can also be a good thing--a lot of people who pick this up wouldn't've heard the originals, either, so it might not sound as bad to them.
The Fan Club singer kind of made me think of the woman who did the vocals for Tomorrow Hill on Wario Ware Smooth Moves. Considering Rhythm Tengoku's made by the same people, maybe NOA decided to use the same person...
But I suppose that can also be a good thing--a lot of people who pick this up wouldn't've heard the originals, either, so it might not sound as bad to them.
The Fan Club singer kind of made me think of the woman who did the vocals for Tomorrow Hill on Wario Ware Smooth Moves. Considering Rhythm Tengoku's made by the same people, maybe NOA decided to use the same person...
@Projectexodus:
The interview stated that doing so would have pushed the game's size past a reasonable limit. The game is big enough as it is and I think that the cost of such large cartridges for an admittedly niche game like this wouldn't have been justified.
Then again, this is Nintendo we're talking bout, so...
The interview stated that doing so would have pushed the game's size past a reasonable limit. The game is big enough as it is and I think that the cost of such large cartridges for an admittedly niche game like this wouldn't have been justified.
Then again, this is Nintendo we're talking bout, so...
I just refuse to buy it on the principle that in real life frogs don't speak English and it is a mistake to put English speaking frogs in any video game.
This shocks me a bit, since Treehouse is usually good at nailing this kind of thing down. What happened?
I don't care for it, either. Luckily most songs have no lyrics.
Nevertheless, I'd like to play the devil's advocate and say that this is intentionally a different animal. Remember, the point of the localization wasn't to make it good or better for people that might enjoy the game when there's no Japanese involved. Outside of core gamer/otaku circles many people do feel intimidated/turned-off by J-pop.
Nevertheless, I'd like to play the devil's advocate and say that this is intentionally a different animal. Remember, the point of the localization wasn't to make it good or better for people that might enjoy the game when there's no Japanese involved. Outside of core gamer/otaku circles many people do feel intimidated/turned-off by J-pop.
@ Niero- I agree that it's a different animal, and that on the whole, the game is still great. There is no way to mess up awesome stuff like the Moah heads singing, the samurai mini-game, the positive/negative game, etc.
That said, having off-key singing is a turn off to EVERYBODY. That's my only real complaint about Rhythm Heaven. The lyrics are fine, the frogs are fine, but off-key girl singing is really not OK in a music game.
Unless of course, the game in question is Um Jammer Lammy, and the off-key singing is by Katy Kat.
Then it's OK.
That said, having off-key singing is a turn off to EVERYBODY. That's my only real complaint about Rhythm Heaven. The lyrics are fine, the frogs are fine, but off-key girl singing is really not OK in a music game.
Unless of course, the game in question is Um Jammer Lammy, and the off-key singing is by Katy Kat.
Then it's OK.
Do also keep in mind that Jonathan and I wrote this article minutes after hearing the dub for the first time. It's got a lot of initial fire in there that's probably died down quite a bit since then.
We wanted to get the rage on the shelf when it was still fresh. I doubt either of us is as angry as we were this afternoon.
We wanted to get the rage on the shelf when it was still fresh. I doubt either of us is as angry as we were this afternoon.
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