A somewhat unrelated question
Looking through the music discs I noticed something that confuses me:
Why are all the opening/ending songs for the PS games in English when it is a Japanese game? (Including infinity which never was localized).
(I mean the songs themselves, not the titles of them)
Last edited by Jrgsubzero; Mar 6, 2014 at 07:18 PM.
Because English is often a language that's used everywhere, Japan has always used a bit of English you can even see that around Tokyo and what not.
This game doesn't do that though.... In fact they said they specifically avoided it this time in order to avoid alienating their audience (which given their audience, I'm not sure they minded but alright).
It's generally a stylistic choice. The reason those song names are in english because they've always been in english.
To quote Save this World
"we're on the same ship
It's called Starship Earth"
"it's our home so don't say that it's fate"
I have a strong, slanted & biased frustration towards questions like these because it just shows you know nothing about the world.Originally Posted by Jrgsubzero
English is a majorly spoken international language for one thing, but here in Japan it is essentially the secondary language of choice (think of Spanish in the USA).
Phantasy Star isn't the first to do this, nor will it be the last. There are thousands and thousands of pops songs that contain English lyrics, either full verses or phrases strewn about the song. Sonic the Hedgehog has been doing it for ages now, Sonic Adventure came out before PSO Episode 1.
English phrases and words in entertainment and advertising have a nifty and unique property in Japan, they are sort of the audio equivalent of bolded or italicized text in the written form. It really accentuates a word when it's in English because it's a foreign language so it comes off as "cool" or "beautiful" depending on the context, and it really stands out from a listening perspective, which is why you will hear it in commercials all day too.
SEGA choosing to use English lyrics is essentially their way of making the song "exotic" or elegant in a way, and usually it's quite fitting given the situation of us usually trying to explore these unknown planets of wonder.
While English will never be the official language anywhere in the world, it has a major presence you can't deny, and SEGA did spawn of a primarily English speaking country.
Last edited by Zipzo; Mar 6, 2014 at 08:31 PM.
And we don't learn unless we ask questions.
Thank you for the explanation.
Isn't it back from Sonic CD, though?
That's right. Sonic CD had English lyrics everywhere, not a single word of Japanese was ever used in any song, both for the Japanese/European and the North American soundtracks. I'm pretty sure Sonic's only speaking lines in that game are also English, no matter what version you play, but I never bothered to verify that. Of course, for Sonic, who was inspired by American cartoons, English lyrics are completely sensible. I haven't bothered keeping track, especially for more recent releases, but I'm fairly certain that every single song with lyrics in a Sonic game had English lyrics. No other language.
That said, everything Zipzo said is correct, besides the part about Spanish in the US (it's just California that's like that, more or less. I grew up there, take my word for it!). From what I understand, English is even a required course in early classroom grades. I know a friend in Japan that sees English (or rather, Engrish) used everywhere in signs and the like, despite it being a secondary language.
Western culture has been very influential in Japan, certainly to a degree that many would underestimate. I'm not entirely sure why that's the case, either. English is used everywhere in its media, especially compared to other languages. I would think it's unusual to not notice how influential the west has been to Japan.
Last edited by LonelyGaruga; Mar 6, 2014 at 10:10 PM.
Technically.Isn't it back from Sonic CD, though?
It's important to note that while I cited examples of Japanese vocalists using English often, all of the songs from the sonic games are sung by English speaking vocalists (though Crush 40, who often sings for sonic games, has Japanese band members).
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