おしえてトムキャット先生!
Hey Everyone,
The Limited Run 2064: Read Only Memories ✕ Va-11 Hall-A’s (unofficially named) ✧･ﾟ: *Super Gorgeous OTP Edition*:･ﾟ✧ has passed, and it went by in the blink of an eye. Thanks to everyone who grabbed/attempted to grab a copy! We’d like to also thank Rebecca G Ryan and Giannis Milonogiannis for the panoramic spread and Vita case box art, respectively. We can’t wait to see how they turn out in print!
Outside of the ✧･ﾟ: *Super Gorgeous OTP Edition*:･ﾟ✧, the iOS version, Read Only Memories: Type-M (known internally as ✧･ﾟ: *The Mobile Version*:･ﾟ✧) released on the app store in Japan last week.
In light of this news, let’s take a look at what we would like to call: A Tale of Two TOMCATS: The Localization of Professor TOMCAT SEZ.
Read Only Memories: Type-M is a little different than its PC and Console versions and includes some new touch gestures. With these changes, we added a special comic featuring (a self-proclaimed) Professor TOMCAT before the title screen to inform the player of these new functions.
Naturally we had to change these for Japan, and rather than pasting text above the boxes, or over the images, they were completely redrawn for the new translations provided by the PLAYISM team.
For the most part, it’s pretty straight forward. The major differences being, outside of reading from right to left, “Professor TOMCAT” is now “TOMCAT-sensei” (トムキャット先生), and rather than “SEZ,” it’s “oshiete” (おしえて), which roughly translates to “teach me” or “tell me.” Tell me, TOMCAT!
In the English version of the comic, panels 2 and 3 have “Hold,” and “Nope,” while the Japanese version just has the number of fingers (2-3本指) used. In the 3 finger panel, there’s “zannen!” (ざんねん！), or “sorry!” “Tokuninashi” (特になし), which is close to, “nothing special” or “nothing in particular,” and “Aa” (あーあ), or “oh…” “aw…”
The last panel in english says “RAD!” With TOMCAT showing off some sweet fingerboarding tricks. The word used in the Japanese version is “IKASU!” (イカす！) which, much like “rad,” was an old-school way of saying cool, neat, or stylish. You might have also seen it cleverly used on a game featuring kids who also just so happen to be squids.
Oshiete, TOMUKYATTO-SENSEI! Wow, めっちゃすごい！
And there you have it! If you’re in Japan, and/or have a Japanese iTunes account, be sure to check out Read Only Memories: Type-M!
Before we sign off, we’ll leave you with another bit of bonus trivia. In the Japanese version of Read Only Memories, Jess, TOMCAT, Lexi and Turing are known as the “Shitennō” (四天王), but in the English version of the game, they are simply known as the “Four Heavenly Kings.”
(Editor’s Note - they are not known as either of these things in any version.)
