Topic: Where do you stand on "mistranslations?" aka Orlok vs. Olrox.

[AlexCalvo]

Mistranslation is kind of a given for any series that started out in the NES days or earlier.  Castlevania has it's fair share, the two most glaring for me are Orlock being mangled into Olrox, and Cthulhu being accidentally swapped with Malachi, and this sticking for the rest of is appearances.

Less offensive examples include Carrie being a Fernandes rather than a Belnades, and the Lecarde family not being the Ricardo family.  Where you guys stand on these and other mistranslations?  What do you consider to be the "correct" version, and most importantly, Orlock or Olrox?

[theplottwist]

Even though I dislike them (not so much, but I do), I'll not change how I call the characters because this became established in a time where we had no way to know if these were mistranslations. Word spread and the characters became known as they are, mistranslation and all.

However I'll not chastise those who decide to go for the japanese originals.

PS: I can't see Trevor as Ralph. It's too much for my feeble mind.

[zangetsu468]

I used to care a lot more when I had more free time to look into this stuff, now I can take it or leave it. It seems inevitable and a bit of a shame that translators are given poetic license so much that they can change things like that.

The amount of times I've argued something to find out from others that the original English source material was wrong used to really piss me off, these days I just think that the English versions of games pretty much have to exist within their own canon of mistranslation, or going easier let's call it "The lore explained in a different way".

Orlock makes more sense, Olrox sounds cooler.

[Jazz Paladin Productions]

Indeed, Orlox does sound cooler...

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Bloody Scholar engaging SCHOLARLY MODE

Trevor is a Welsh name that derives from "trefmawr" which means "Big Village". With so many Germanic and Slavic names in the Castlevania canon, the presence of a Welsh name seems rather out of place. However, his name in the Japanese script, Ralph, is more appropriate. Ralph derives from the Nordic "Ráðúlfr" and its later Norman simplification, Radulf. Ráðúlfr means "The Wolf's Counsel". Fittingly, Trevor's incarnation in Lords of Shadow is associated with wolves and later serves as a counselor to Gabriel, befitting his original name.

Ralph/Trevor Belmont has a bit of a naming conundrum in that depending on the translation, his name is entirely different.
...

So, I tend to side with the Japanese and refer to him as Ralph as (given his point in history) being given a Welsh name just doesn't make historical sense to me, whereas a name of Norse/Norman derivation makes more sense for a character descended from a French family (the Normans being the French descendants of Viking conquerors under the command of the warrior-king Rollo, the best-known ancestor of William the Conqueror, probably the most famous Norman of all time.

...

That being said, I always thought "Ralph" sounded silly when spoken out loud, and so in casual conversation, I usually use "Trevor" -- it sounds cooler, and American fans generally understand who I am referring to more quickly.

Fernandes/z is also linguisitically appropriate, being a common surname in the former Gaulic countries (Spain/France/Portugal), but the Belnades family hails from the wrong part of the world (being principally Slavic). The name is most likely meant to be "Vernandes" which is a real surname that can be found across Europe in a much wider range and is more Slavic-appropriate. The sticker came when both names are rendered in Japanese as (roughly) "Verunandesu" from which the translators somehow got "Belnades". It's far from the most glaring goof of the series though -- "Belnades" at least sounds somewhat regionally appropriate to the Wallachian setting of the early Castlevania games.

As the Wiki points out,

The sound of "B" is similar to "V", while in some languages like German, "V" is pronounced as "F".
Likewise, "S" is pronounced as "Z" in some languages, such as German.
The sounds of "-el" and "-er" are usually translated into "-エル" (-eru) in Japanese.

It's also worth noting the original American release of Castlevania 3 got Sypha's name as "Syfa Velnumdes", which is even more off the mark than "Belnades".



The historian in me is compelled to point out though that in a way, Fernandez and Vernandes/Belnades can both be canon if said individual has Belnades ancestry due to a Belnades marriage with a family named Fernandez. Due to patronymics and other good stuff, said person would likely be known as "Fernandez" after that.

Or, more simply: all Fernandez's in the story are Belnades', but not all Belnades' must be Fernandez's. Zzzssszz.

EDIT SO THIS IS MORE ON TOPIC

I generally go for whichever version is more accurate to history and narrative intent. Orlock instead of Olrox, Cthulhu instead of Malachi, Ralph instead of Trevor, etc.

[X]

I'm not sure how the translators got Cthulhu and Malachi mixed up... The character sprites say it all. It's as though they've never even heard of H.P. Lovecraft's work before. I also prefer Orlock over Olrox. That way we have another classic horror figure brought into Castlevania. At least Carmilla was able to keep her name proper. That's of course excluding the name she was given in CotM; Camilla instead of Carmilla.

[zangetsu468]

I'm not sure how the translators got Cthulhu and Malachi mixed up... The character sprites say it all.

You want to know the worst translation I've ever heard?
The Russian version of Devil May Cry 4 calls Dante's weapon/ armour Gilgamesh (the first king of Mesopotamia) "Butcher"....

How the fuck do you extrapolate Butcher from King/ Gilgamesh???

[Shiroi Koumori]

I don't care much about those mistranslations since I know first hand how difficult it is to translate things from one language to another that has absolutely no linguistic relationship to each other. Plus given the fact that Konami just employs one person to do all the work (remember OoE), you cannot expect that person be familiar with everything in the lore. Be kind and appreciate the effort, people. Better have a mistranslation than none at all.

[Inccubus]

It depends on the context.
For example if I were making Castlevania III-2 as a fan made sequel game I would stick with the established names that are most commonly used; Belnades, DeNasty, etc...
But, if I were going to do a fan remake where the point is to make a better version of the original I would then go for accuracy; Fernandez, Danesti, etc...

[VladCT]

Be kind and appreciate the effort, people. Better have a mistranslation than none at all.

Well, as long as it's a minor and understandable one (or a well-thought out localization choice in certain cases) rather than something pulled entirely out the translator's ass.

[Jazz Paladin Productions]

rather than something pulled entirely out the translator's ass.

It's awfully spoony when they do that...

[Lumi Kløvstad]

It's awfully spoony when they do that...

"You spoony bard" is actually 100% correct English.
Middle English, to be exact.
"Spoony" means "sentimentally or foolishly amorous", which given the context of the quote is absolutely dead on.

It only sounds silly because it's not a common expression today.

Your personal use of it just now, well, that's a misuse, not a mistranslation.

[KaZudra]

Well, he was Orlok, but he pursued a hip-hop career, by stage 2 he went and changed his name to Orlox got a few youtube views and so impressed with his lyrical genius he did some crack songs under the name Olrox (Ol' Rocks) his soundcloud got 50 views, as you encounter him in SoTN, a voice clip can be heard "bruh, check out my mixtape", then Alucard gave him his "cure".

I really need to stop watching filthy frank

[Nagumo]

I consider names being mistranslated but still sticking around because of tradition to be the least problematic when it comes to localization. It's very easy to switch between the localized names and the orginal ones, at least for me. On on the other hand, when mistranslation causes certain information to be left out or is misinterpreted, it can be a bit annoying. Especially because of the effects it can have on theorizing, and it usually takes some time for these mistakes to be discovered. If a particular fanbase is lucky enough to have people who can point out these mistakes, that is. But of course it's completely unreasonable to expect a translation without such errors, because whoever does it probably never catches all of the references, and isn't as invested in it as fans like us because it's just their job. However, overall I think the translations of Castlevania games get it right for the most part, though if you want the best understanding of the story and the lore, it's best to stick to the original versions. 

[Jazz Paladin Productions]

"You spoony bard" is actually 100% correct English.
Middle English, to be exact.
"Spoony" means "sentimentally or foolishly amorous", which given the context of the quote is absolutely dead on.

It only sounds silly because it's not a common expression today.

Your personal use of it just now, well, that's a misuse, not a mistranslation.

Woolsey actually was known to take quite a few creative liberties with his translations, and not just because of the Nintendo policies of the day.