iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Hey, out of this pile of movies, which ones should I do translation comparison articles about next? I've only done these two so far: legendsoflocalization.com/movies/

I got a huge pile of English-language movies translated into Japanese, I want to go through them all someday just because it's fun as a professional translator to see other professional translators do their own magic, and in this case it's extra fun to revisit some of my old childhood favorite movies in a new language

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

I re-read this article of mine the other day and forgot how much more I could still add: legendsoflocalization.com/articles/per... Someday I'd like to write about Japanese second-person pronouns (words for "you") but it'll be a bit tougher due to needing pairs of characters rather than individuals

legendsoflocalization.com

Legends of Localization: Tricky Translations #4: “I” & “Me” in Japanese

With dozens of ways to say "I" and "me" in Japanese, a lot can get lost in translation.

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

@sanewonko.bsky.social Say, do you know what happens if your inventory is completely full and Golbez gives you the crystal to defeat Golbez? I thought I read something about it a long time ago but I'm not really sure what happens - does it maybe just get forced into some item slot regardless?

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

I'm not streaming a FFIV translation comparison today, but I'm still planning on finishing it up this week! If you're curious, the scores currently are SNES: -1097 J2e fan translation: -1317 Namingway fan translation: -1100 For more details, see legendsoflocalization.com/videos/final...

legendsoflocalization.com

Legends of Localization: Final Fantasy IV Translation Comparison Stream Series

Two fan translations vs. the official Super NES translation - how do they compare with each other?

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

legendsoflocalization.com/articles/mov... I've been seeing posts about The Wizard, that Nintendo-centric movie from like 35 years ago So here's a look at the Japanese translation of the movie!

legendsoflocalization.com

Legends of Localization: Movies in Japanese #01: The Wizard

How did this classic video game movie change when it was translated into Japanese? Let's find out!

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Carl Sciacchitano @csciacchitano.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

@clydemandelin.bsky.social Just saw this pop up on Instagram, I'm probably the 100th person to send it to you but thought it was pretty funny

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Liz Bushouse @lizbushouse.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

My #WomensHistoryMonth edition of Localization Lore is up! Check it out to learn more about some of the ladies who were active in the J>E video game localization industry during the early 90s, including the origins behind "You spoony bard!"

lizbushouse.com

Localization Lore: Women's History Month 2026 - Elizabeth Bushouse

Welcome to the Women's History Month edition of my Localization Lore series, where I highlight some of the women who have worked in the Japanese to English

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

This could almost be a 5-7-5 screenshot haiku just need to find a good 7 for the middle

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Chris Warriner @kingdarian.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Hey! Fangamer is hiring a Physical Publishing Manager to help oversee our growing physical video game publishing department. The position is remote-friendly if you're not in the Tucson, AZ area. Check out the details: www.fangamer.com/pages/job-li...

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

RE: those Japanese game industry quotes about English being "simplistic" due to pronouns, here's some related info: ● I / Me in Japanese legendsoflocalization.com/articles/per... ● Translations as "paintings" legendsoflocalization.com/media/misc/a... ●日本語版 legendsoflocalization.com/media/misc/a...

There are MANY Japanese pronouns for "I/me", but we mostly just have "I/me", so a translation into English will naturally "flatten" everything down and lose all of the unique traits found in the original Japanese

This is just how translation is, so it's sometimes helpful to "re-inflate" the translation with those lost traits in some other way, otherwise the translation will be a shadow of the original, and the author's intent might not shine through fully

Translating "I / me" from English INTO Japanese is another obstacle that translators have to deal with, and while using "watashi" is the safe default, it leaves everything feeling clinical and "translation-ese" feeling, this is why it's helpful to give translators lots of extra info about characters rather than just throw a ton of .doc files at someone and saying "here, translate."

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Trying to stream on Twitch today but the dropped frames is too much so I'll just try to do it tomorrow instead, sorry everyone Tomorrow we'll be looking at some literary references in FF4 For now, there's a lot of cool stuff to read/see on my page here: legendsoflocalization.com/videos/final...

legendsoflocalization.com

Legends of Localization: Final Fantasy IV Translation Comparison Stream Series

Two fan translations vs. the official Super NES translation - how do they compare with each other?

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Food Fight is back and on Hulu?!? This was THE show from 2000 that made me who I am today It caused a death in Japan after it aired and then it was locked away forever, never to be seen again until now

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Somtimes when I burp it sounds JUST like Master Belch in EarthBound, which means that now *I* am the master, Belch! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl-g...

youtube.com

Master Belch's Burp

YouTube video by megagamer551

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

At the start of my streams, I tend to do mini-lessons about different topics Here's a look at some translation theory/concepts that non-translators might find insightful & interesting! youtu.be/axouPj58dms?... #translation

youtu.be

Final Fantasy IV Translation Comparison #02 (SNES vs. 2 Fan Translations)

YouTube video by Clyde Mandelin

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

The last three books about the Choctaw language & culture that I've bought have *ALL* turned out to be just AI-generated junk🤬 It's genuinely infuriating to see this careless nonsense happening, as it dilutes the actual language and culture and makes it harder for me to learn about my own humanity

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cake 🍄 @cakehoarder.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

$30 Earthbound?? Sign me up…😮‍💨

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

If you've been following my FFIV translation streams, I've re-created that world map rotation bug via a custom Game Genie code, here's how it looked back in the '90s when I got it to happen naturally a few times: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lHz... (Game Genie=DFDE-64AF, change "DF" for fun results!)

youtube.com

FFIV Sight Rotation Glitch example video

YouTube video by Clyde Mandelin

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

I've always been fond of how poetic 散る "chiru" is, especially when it's used for the "noble death" meaning in Japanese entertainment

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

The English word "yes" in Japanese can also mean "Jesus" legendsoflocalization.com/articles/mov...

イエス can mean "yes" in Japanese or "Jesus"

A religious joke in Ghostbusters was localized into Japanese by using this "yes/Jesus" overlap

For the full text, please see https://legendsoflocalization.com/articles/movies-ghostbusters/#religious-humor

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GameboyDemakes @gameboydemakes.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

What if Super Mario Land... looked more like Super Mario Land 2? #pixelart #gameboy

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Lots of Zero Wing talk today, so I'll drop these here too! ● ZERO WING had 32 secret endings in Japan only! legendsoflocalization.com/comparisons/... ● A QUICK LOOK at Zero Wing's intro text in Japanese & English legendsoflocalization.com/comparisons/...

legendsoflocalization.com

Legends of Localization: Zero Wing Translation Comparison: All Endings

The infamous "All Your Base" game is jam-packed with secret Japanese endings. What do they say?

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

If you miss any of my Twitch streams about Final Fantasy IV, I also put them on YouTube: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... If you like retro games, Japanese, programming, or just being human, I think you'll like these streams

youtube.com

Final Fantasy IV Translation Comparison (SNES vs. 2 Fan Translations) - YouTube

In this series we'll compare multiple translations of FFIV: the original SNES translation, the J2e fan translations (from ~1998 and 2001), and the Namingway ...

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Reid Young @reidman.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

very thankful to be hiring – threading the 3 positions we've currently got open! RTs always appreciated~ www.fangamer.com/pages/jobs

fangamer.com

Jobs

Fangamer is an independent video game merchandiser with its headquarters (both office and warehouse) in Tucson, AZ.

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

We have stuff like this in English, like the word "bad", but I'm curious to know what other examples in English there are + what other examples there are in other languages Let me know!

"nikui" can mean "hateful / detestable" OR it can mean "amazing / fantastic / lovely"

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

If you've been following my FF4 streams, here's that handy PDF about translation & localization things for reference: cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00... #translation

Talking about speech patterns and how they can get lost in translation

From a preview PDF of one of my books about translation/localization
See the post for a link to the longer PDF

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❄️Beth ❄️ @rollinrabbit.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

yo this is an insane piece of merch to make. a puzzle for absolute psychos.

image of said puzzle, which is a scene from earthbound/mother that features the in-game sprite of the character poo and a ghostly image floating above him as he meditates. these two figures are very small. the rest of the puzzle is made up of 1000 pieces that are pitch black.

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videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

welcome to the earthbound cult, website, photos (2006) web.archive.org/web/20060523...

a makeshift shrine of sorts with symmetrically placed lit candles, two small tomato plushies standing either side of a mug and one large tomato plushy sitting in the mug. behindthis is earthbound snes packaging.

a slightly creepier makeshift shrine with a mannequin-like face or mask sitting on top of earthbound packaging, the cartridge sitting in front of it. to the right is what looks like a red jewel case for mother 1+2 (soundtrack?). to the left is something blue and what look like troll dolls with the bright ffrizzy hair. there is also what looks like a mannequin arm protruding and reaching out from behind the earthbound packaging. a larger green vampire(?) face is behind the mannequin face.

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Ace Attorney fans did their own stopgap translation for A.A. Investigations 2 because an official release seemed impossible at the time. 10 years later it happened & fans respect both versions Someday, I hope Mother fans will think the same of an official translation of Mother 3 vs. our own stopgap

The fan translation was designed to make the game accessible to western fans in the absence of an official translation. It was meant as a stopgap measure, not as a "superior" substitute. Now that there is an official translation, the fan translation is no longer needed outside of historical interest. Yes, it played an important role in the western fanbase for many years, but that time is over now. It did its job.

This viewpoint isn't just mine either. The people behind fan translations in general consistently express their support for an official release in place of their own work. Two other Ace Attorney games (T&T and GAA2) had partially-released fan translations when official translations were announced. Both fan projects ceased production when it was clear that they would no longer be necessary.

I have the utmost respect for all the hard work that the fan translation team put into making AAI2 accessible to western fans. But their work has been rendered obsolete, and I'm sure they are pleased that this is the case. via https://www.reddit.com/r/AceAttorney/comments/1psr7ad/comment/nvcatc2/

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Some decades ago I translated an #anime series called Speed Grapher. It's about ultra-wealthy elites and ultimate corruption. It gets really crazy and intense. I think about it often, especially these last few days. (check it out if you're interested - it's definitely not for kids though!)

Main character is a former war photographer, he starts to investigate some super-elite club where crazy stuff goes down secretly

The war photographer guy gains a new ability at the super-secret club: he can blow up things with his cameras! and the bigger the camera, the bigger the blast

This is all how episode 1 starts I think

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

I think about this line sometimes

Quote is from my DeepL machine translation of Final Fantasy IV from 2020, I seem to do FFIV projects like this every few years so if you like this stuff check out my Legends of Localization site sometime

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

This bad-yet-strangely-funky song from James Bond Jr. #SuperNES is like rediscovering that old Cheetahman song again, plus it's definitely a day-brightener In my younger times I would've held a music remix contest or something 🍅 youtu.be/WRp6FozSamw?...

youtu.be

James Bond Jr. (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

YouTube video by NintendoComplete

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Frustration: I'm trying to find the Koasati #NativeAmerican word for "sweat" but... 1. Google AI snippets are CLEARLY unreliable 2. The dictionaries I want to check only have PDFs on major piracy sites, which is a sad state of affairs 3. The Internet Archive only offers like 1 page out of 600

Google AI snippet offers a Koasati word for "sweat", but I have no easy way to check this online, so the snippet is useless to me

Another Google AI Snippet gives a very different answer for "sweat" in Koasati, but again I can't check or verify this stuff online due to the scarcity of resources, meaning Google's AI is very unreliable

Yet another different word for "sweat" from Google's AI, can't reliably trust this one either, of course. "AI" for this sort of stuff is mostly just feeling like "I'll go talk to that one weird guy who knows a lot of stuff, but because he's just some random weird guy I should probably only trust him about 1% and thus need to double-check things before I act on this info he's giving me", which feels like an instinct we'll all need to grow as we head further into this weird AI era

Google AI, I don't even know what to say about you anymore, I can barely trust you for stuff

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Supper Mario Broth @mariobrothblog.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

The kiosk demo of Mario Kart DS contained "Flesh Trucks" due to a spelling error. While the error was fixed in the final version, looking at the preview image for GCN Mushroom Bridge very closely shows that the truck still has an L. As such, the memory of the Flesh Truck remains.

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Shinra Archaeology @shinraarchaeology.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

📣 Big news: Shinra Archaeology Cut is now available for the PS1 version of FFVII! With this patch developed by HitByBricks, you can update your existing ROMs and enjoy FFVII with the SAC retranslation applied. (Note: this is Vanilla Mode only, with no restored content.) www.romhacking.net/hacks/9352

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Sky Burkson @skyburkson.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

it is done almost a year later Paper Chrono Trigger is done proper photo session this weekend made from bristol paper, cardstock, sketchbook paper, toilet paper, & matboard (Also bit of clear resin, colored gel, LED strip, & microLEDs)

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

I made this video very long ago and forgot about it, but now it seems to be the most viewed video I've ever made 🍅 Thank you, Giygas and Pokey! I will serve you forever and ever www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmyo... #earthbound

youtube.com

EarthBound Anti-Piracy Measure (spoilers!)

YouTube video by Starmen.Net Youtube

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John Ricciardi @johntv.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

It’s CES week! Perfect time to share some Earthbound footage from the show floor (31 years ago) youtu.be/NFG1FcnFTKI?...

youtu.be

Earthbound Footage from WCES '95

YouTube video by John Ricciardi

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Still working on this #FFIV translation thing to stream someday Originally, I wanted to study the old fan translations and get screenshots, but after some tests, it seems like it'd make more sense for me to play & read the original Japanese aloud Not sure anyone would find that entertaining though

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John Ricciardi @johntv.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

One of the save slots in the WCES ‘95 Earthbound demo was called “EVENT HIGHLIGHTS” (the other three were empty for attendees to use). Sadly the guy who was playing when I was taking video got as far as highlighting it but he never selected it… @obscuremother.bsky.social @clydemandelin.bsky.social

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John Ricciardi @johntv.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Just digitizing some old videos. Did you know SNES Earthbound used to have a different title screen? (Did anyone know this?)

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VGMuseum (ReyVGM) @vgmuseum.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Liquid, Solid and Gas.

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VGJunk @vgjunk.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

"Due to the crisis, the Defending-The-Earth-From-The-Outside Organization never found the time to come up with a better name for themselves."

Screenshot from arcade game Megablast, showing the game's story.

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Mato @clydemandelin.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

It's sad seeing Nintendo give up on EarthBound literally just *months* after release www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13t... but at least it makes some cameos in some background shots

youtube.com

Nintendo 1995 Holiday Demonstration Program VHS

YouTube video by Project Space World

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