https://lofigames.com/a-new-chapter-of- ... -kenshi-2/.
The original is:
"The first rule of Catcrawlers: Don’t try to play Catcrawlers. No, you’ve gotta breathe Catcrawlers, feel it in your bones. Don’t even attempt to tug those digits ’til you’ve charged those wedgers, because you sure as hell can’t lick a SPADE ’til you’ve understood the stone die on a spiritual level. Yes, the depth of Catcrawlers will be beyond most in these outlands. So, let’s get started…”
The spanish localization is:
“La primera regla del Arrastra-Cat: No intentes jugar a Arrastra-Cat. No, tienes que respirar Arrastra-Cat, presentirlo, intuirlo cual corazonada. Ni se te ocurra tirar de esos dígitos hasta que hayas cargado esos nipeludos, porque fijo que no puedes lamer una COPA hasta que hayas comprendido que la piedra muere a un nivel espiritual. Sí, la profundidad de Arrastra-Cat llegará mucho más allá de estas lejanas tierras. Así que pongámonos manos a la obra…”
The direct or literal translation of the Spanish localization is:
“The first rule of Catcrawlers: Don’t try to play Catcrawlers. No, you have to breathe Catcrawlers, forefeel it, know it intuitively as you would a hunch. Don’t even think of throwing those digits until you have charged those wedgers, because you sure as hell can’t lick a GOBLET until you have understood that the stone dies at a spiritual level. Yes, the depth of Catcrawlers will reach much further than these distant lands. So, let’s get to it…”
I don't think this conveys the meaning of the original.
I would localize the excerpt as:
“La primera regla del Tiragatos: no intentes jugar al Tiragatos. No, tieneh que respirar Tiragatos, sentirlo en tus carnes. Ni intentes tira’ esos dígitos hasta que hayas cargao esos tacotes, porque ni de coña puedeh lamer una PICA hasta entender los dados de piedra a un nivel espiritual. Si es que… la complejidad del Tiragatos está fuera del alcance de muchos en estas tierras. Pues bueno, comencemos...”
The literal translation of my localization is:
“The first rule of Catcrawlers: Don't try to play Catcrawlers. No, you've gotta breathe Catcrawlers, feel it in your meats. Don't even attempt to throw’ those digits 'til you've charged those wedgers, because not even as a joke you can lick a SPADE 'til you've understood that the stone dies on a spiritual level. Yes, the complexity of Catcrawlers is beyond the reach of most in these lands. Well, let's start...”
Which conveys the original meaning better, imo.
I will explain what errors I saw:
The word beyond in “…will be beyond most in these outlands” was translated as meaning further, misunderstanding “beyond most [people]” for "beyond these outlands".
A more appropriate localization imo would is:
“Si es que… la complejidad del Tiragatos está fuera del alcance de muchos en estas tierras.” This directly translates to
“Yes, the complexity of Catcrawlers is out of reach for many in these lands”.
Here one could say “tierras inhóspitas,” or indeed “tierras lejanas” to translate outlands. Spanish lacks a fitting translation. In World of Warcraft, they used “Terrallende” to translate “Outlands.”
The French localization: “Oui, la subtilité de la Course aux Cats sera inaccessible à la majorité sur ces terres sauvages.” Directly translates to “Yes, the subtlety of Catcrawlers will be inaccessible to the majority in these savage lands.”, which conveys the original meaning.
“No, you've gotta breathe Catcrawlers, feel it in your bones.” was localized as
“No, you have to breathe Catcrawlers, forefeel it, know it intuitively as you would a hunch”.
This is much too formal, specifically the last “… intuirlo cual corazonada.” In the original English, the speech is conveying with you’ve gotta and ’til that the speaker is “low-class” or drunk which is apt, given that Catcrawlers is played by thieves and drunks in gang-run bars in the middle of nowhere. In the Spanish localization this is lost because the speech is very proper, which makes it off putting and feel out of place.
In “understood stone die at a spiritual level,” die is localized as the verb, saying that one "has to understand the death of the stone".
I inferer that the original meaning was "understand the stone di(c)e."
Replacing a few "s" with "h" and changing “cargado” with “cargao” coveys speaking with an accent or being drunk. Tiragatos means "Pull-cat". Tacotes comes from taco, which means wedge or wedge-shaped
I liked the changing of spade for copa, as it uses a suit from the Spanish deck. But copa means cup or goblet, so the joke is lost as “licking a spade” has funnier doble meaning than licking a cup.
I am a native Spanish/English speaker. Although I am a student, I would love to work for Kenshi even if only for minor translations. Summer is approaching and this would be a great opportunity.
Hope you find this useful. Wish you all the best.
-Sane Dog-Shor