Fun with the Google Translate App

Google Translate has an app for phones where it will live translate any text you point it at. I’ve been testing it out recently, and it’s … got a long way to go. Here are some of the funnier mishaps:

Mmmm, delicious flesh pocky.

Hot Nintendo Action!!!

Aw yeah, baby. We finally got this hot issue of Nintendo Comics System! Thanks to Frank Cifaldi for pointing us to a reputable seller~

I wasn’t lucky enough to grow up with these little comic books. Do y’all have any cool childhood memories of these?

Funky Glitches

We’re using some purposefully glitchy pics of Final Fantasy IV for added flair in our upcoming book. Here are a couple of neat glitch pics I took the other day!

What Does Japan Think of American Cops?

There’s a funny image that’s been circling the internet ever since I gained access to the internet in the late 1990s of an American policeman surrounded by an absurd amount of fast food. There’s also Japanese text all over the place, like it’s a magazine cover or something. I always assumed the image was a fake, like “haha American cops are lazy and fat”. But it turns out, that magazine is real. And it’s incredible.

The magazine isn’t making fun of American cops at all. In fact, it’s a fanzine! This is Wild Mook issue #44, released in 1980. The Wild Mook magazine focuses on lots of different stuff, mostly military. I found issues on eBay about the US Navy, Japanese model airplanes, military combat suits from around the world, and weapons from the Imperial Japanese Army. But this police one is great. Take a look inside:

If you ever have the opportunity to buy this issue, get it! The magazine is very thick and every page is fascinating.

Legends of Localization Stream-iversary

One year ago today, Poemato CX went professional and Mato & I began a daily Legends of Localization stream. We kicked things off with Breath of Fire II, playing through the whole thing and getting screenshots of all the text in the game. We went on to play Zelda: A Link to the Past, Funky Fantasy IV, Tengai Makyo: The Apocalypse 4, Tomato Adventure, Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets, Super Mario RPG, and many many more.

We also did non-game streams, like asking God Jesus Robot questions, looking through old Japanese gaming magazines, and unboxing some of the merchandise we’re always buying for books and projects.

We were gonna stream something for the anniversary, but we’re unfortunately too busy. I’m helping to assemble and ship out the Undertale Collector’s Edition, and Mato’s in crunch-time for the Funky Fantasy IV book. I hope we’re able to get back to a regular streaming schedule sometime, though. I miss it.

Splatoon Ramen?!

Well, close. It’s seafood ramen with squid ink, and the packaging just happens to be covered in colorful paint splats.

They know what they doing.

Legends of Localization in Schools

A handful of schools around the world use our Legends of Localization books as textbooks in their classes. Today I got an order for 24 Zelda passports going to Digital Hollywood University in Tokyo, Japan. An instructor there uses our passports for the game localization portion of his course. His students are from all over the world, so it’s pretty cool to think about the different sorts of people who are using the Zelda passports for learning!

PS – if you’re an instructor who wants to use our Legends of Localization books as textbooks, please email me! We offer educational discounts. heidi@fangamer.com