[B]Television and movies are rife with catchphrases that make it into everyday usage. In some cases, videogames provide entertaining ones as well, although not always on purpose. Who can forget the terrible localization of the original Mega Drive game [I]Zero Wing[/I] and "All Your Base are Belong to Us!"[/B]

But how does localization happen? How can Japanese translations to English go so awry? How does Commander Sheperd of [I]Mass Effect[/I] learn to speak German? Does Duke Nukem's "Come Get Some" lose it's punch in Russian? A [URL=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/feb/10/games-local-bayonetta-mario-base-belong]story in the Guardian[/URL] takes a look at game localization. The crux is the current game [I]Bayonetta[/I] and the process of translating the script from Japanese and using a British accent for the 500-year-old heroine. The article also lightly touches on the evolution of game titles, such as Rockman becoming Mega Man, and [I]Light Myth: Palthena's Mirror[/I] becoming [I]Kid Icarus[/I].

Would Nintendo allow Link to ever make a translation mistake?

[INDENT]"At that time (of Zero Wing), localisation of games was something quite new, and editors had very little knowledge about it – leading to poor, sometimes funny translations," says Anthony Teixeira, a localisation director for the company Active Gaming Media. "Today, I don't think Nintendo would publish a Zelda game where some character says 'I am error'. Our industry has come a long way in just 20 years."[/INDENT] Teixiera went on to say that some Japanese games could probably never be properly translated:

[URL=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/02/10/all-your-localization-are-belong-us]read more[/URL]

[url=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/02/10/all-your-localization-are-belong-us]More...[/url]