I agree. I remember playing this as a kid, and even though I grew up watching the English dub in the UK, Budokai 1 with Japanese voices felt so much more brutal in the Saiyan and Frieza Saga Like I was actually scared of the villains
I played the Australian PAL version as a kid and it only had Japanese for the voices, I remember being shocked when I found out America got English VAs, it was my first time hearing the Japanese voices.
This game's localization in English-speaking territories is interesting. North America got a dub provided by the US FUNimation cast while Europe & Oceania (probably South East Asia too where they speak English) got just a translation of the original JP dialogue. Thus, the English dub had to alter the sentences to be able to have the actors match the mouth movements & timings. Some liberties they took as well, I think are fine. However, the PAL version's translation has some really weird oddities, like the "You aunt sallies" line, which makes NO sense, but also the use of minor swears like "damn." Both seem mostly accurate to the original JP dialogue, though. I'm just surprised that in the HD remaster they didn't include both audios for Budokai 1 in all territories since Budokai 2 & 3 started doing that.
I like the darker tone on the PAL version much better. And the voice acting was better.. well, it was japanese only though.. the blood shouldn't have been removed.
PAL version's translation is more accurate but it's also way too literal to where it diminishes some of the lines, like Goku calling Nappa and Vegeta "meanies" (funny enough some actual swearing would've been appropriate, like "bastards") after they've killed so many of his friends, or Goku announcing he's FURIOUS when that's obvious by how he's acting. It almost seems like it wasn't done by native English speaker with the poor grammar and Random Capitalization (like capitalizing Damn for Vegeta, but flip-floping between h/Hell), the weird use of non-profanity (why would anyone yell "darn" on a place that's about to explode?), and nonsense insults (runtlings, Aunt Sallies, botch-up job). They also weren't familiar with established English names for certain attacks (translating "Kaioken" as "King Kai Fist" instead of leaving as-is, a weird choice that Toei would make themselves when DBS streamed online more than a decade later; and yet, Solar Flare is given its more accurate Japanese name) and places ("Time Soul Room" or "Netherworld", the latter of which is actually a decent name, but even in Japanese it's explicitly "Other World") . But hey, they at least kept the name for Earth's true savior Mr. Satan! One final edit: Vegeta's "AUNT SALLIES" line is even more stupid because it can't remotely be construed or interpreted that way; even with a minuscule knowledge of Japanese he's clearly saying "Damn" or "Damn it all!". Holy crap what a lousy translation.
Google says it's "a game played in some parts of Britain in which players throw sticks or balls at a wooden dummy." So I guess Vegeta is calling them dummies?
This is wonderful. It's great to see some documentation of the specific version of the game that introduced me to Dragon Ball, with all its quirks. It's fascinating that the European release had an entire separate translation. That sort of thing never happens now. To my recollection, the last Dragon Ball game to have Japanese voices only in Europe was Extreme Butoden on 3DS.
I'm glad you got alotta videos on the DBZ game with probably the best cutscene. Too bad Budokai 1 never covered Buu Saga. Does Budokai 1 have any beta elements of Buu Saga, like an unused character model for him or something?
As far as I could find, no. The only thing we have is the duel menu with Buu saga Vegeta and Great Saiyaman, who is one of the final unlockable characters.
@@the_phoenix_mirror As well as some of the alternate costumes being from the Boo Arc, like Tenshinhan (Tien)'s and Vegeta's. Both of Mr. Satan (Hercule)'s Ultimate Moves borrow the Game Boy bomb he used against Fat Boo in the Boo Arc too.
the PAL version is also english subbed, so that might be responsible for many of the dialogue changes. (I've played the PAL version of Budokai 1 on PS2 and in the PS3 HD collection)
Both of these localizations are horrendous in one way or another but I'll give props to the PAL version for having slightly more faithful dialogue, even though their choices for "Meanies" and "Aunt Sallies" are incredibly stupid
Also when you select PAL English, are the lines dubbed to fit those different lines or is it JP dubbed over English text? If it’s dubbed, is it Ocean Dub or Funimation? And wow “aunt sallies!” 🤣
i wonder if from the speedrunning point of view the PAL would be the fastest because it saves 5 seconds skipping the into cutscene - unless the 50 fps makes it slower over the course of 60fps for ntsc
If it's properly adjusted there won't be any slowdown, if B1 is prone to FPS drops which inhibit slowdown then it might even be better there, but PAL games run at higher resolutions sometimes so idk
Ok i have no idea what version i had then. Because i live in Sweden, usually it's PAL versions of games that we get here. But the Budokai 1 that i had... had english subs but japanese dialogue. And i don't recall any censorship. But neither do i recall being able to change the voices to english. I still have the PAL version of Supersonic warriors on Gameboy advanced, which also has japanese voices but english texts.
wait what? so there were entirely different scripts (in terms of dialogue) for the two versions? or is it just different in some places, to comply with censorship guidelines and stuff, like the censored Kai dub?
@@the_phoenix_mirror That's such a bummer. I never knew about that. humongous portions of dialogue I missed out on as a kid due to having the PAL version lol I wonder what was the reason. It's so weird. Makes you wonder if the Funi actors were paid twice or if they were just screwed over.
the Australian version have the American cover art but its still the pal verison on the disc same for budokai 2, budokai 3, tenkaichi1, supersonic warriors and super dragon ball z. All have american cover art but the discs are the pal version
So the PAL version, which came out first, has light cussing but no blood, wheres the NTSC version is the opposite. Censorship is never straightforward, is it?
NTSC did a better job I played pal first I am shocked they cut all out just a bit blood. Shame nice comparion!! I think pal is better with the voice lines and jap but man eng is nice too and oh well the intro of PAL is way more goosebumps than NTSC.
Would have been interesting for the UK release to utilize the Canadian Ocean actors the same way AB Groupe did for their dub at the time, Peter Kelamis Goku, Brian Drummond Vegeta, Scott McNeil Piccolo, etc
PAL version was made by a bunch of Aunt Sallies
No way 6:18
That PAL intro can be seen on the NTSC version as a demo if you don’t press anything on the title screen
That is true, I remember being surprised when I found out it was in the NTSC version when I was little.
@@the_phoenix_mirror same lol I was what is this?! and tried to replicate it always and couldn’t 🤣
I was about to comment that lol
Budokai 1 really did a great job portraying how dark the Saiyan Saga and Frieza Saga were. Great vid!
I agree. I remember playing this as a kid, and even though I grew up watching the English dub in the UK, Budokai 1 with Japanese voices felt so much more brutal in the Saiyan and Frieza Saga
Like I was actually scared of the villains
@Aled James why or how? I'm not understanding
@@po72644 facts, and the ost was great too. I was genuinly scared of some of those songs as a kid lol
I played the Australian PAL version as a kid and it only had Japanese for the voices, I remember being shocked when I found out America got English VAs, it was my first time hearing the Japanese voices.
I assume you mean the Space Australian PAL version.
I'm italian so i've played the Pal version for years and i've never seen so much differences from the Ntsc version! Great video as ever bro!
non ricordavo però che nel menù dove si preme start non ci fosse scritto BUDOKAI
All'età di 10 anni ottenni la Budokai HD Collection
This game's localization in English-speaking territories is interesting. North America got a dub provided by the US FUNimation cast while Europe & Oceania (probably South East Asia too where they speak English) got just a translation of the original JP dialogue. Thus, the English dub had to alter the sentences to be able to have the actors match the mouth movements & timings. Some liberties they took as well, I think are fine. However, the PAL version's translation has some really weird oddities, like the "You aunt sallies" line, which makes NO sense, but also the use of minor swears like "damn." Both seem mostly accurate to the original JP dialogue, though. I'm just surprised that in the HD remaster they didn't include both audios for Budokai 1 in all territories since Budokai 2 & 3 started doing that.
The end custscene of Budokai 1 always gets me goosebumps
I like the darker tone on the PAL version much better. And the voice acting was better.. well, it was japanese only though.. the blood shouldn't have been removed.
PAL version's translation is more accurate but it's also way too literal to where it diminishes some of the lines, like Goku calling Nappa and Vegeta "meanies" (funny enough some actual swearing would've been appropriate, like "bastards") after they've killed so many of his friends, or Goku announcing he's FURIOUS when that's obvious by how he's acting.
It almost seems like it wasn't done by native English speaker with the poor grammar and Random Capitalization (like capitalizing Damn for Vegeta, but flip-floping between h/Hell), the weird use of non-profanity (why would anyone yell "darn" on a place that's about to explode?), and nonsense insults (runtlings, Aunt Sallies, botch-up job). They also weren't familiar with established English names for certain attacks (translating "Kaioken" as "King Kai Fist" instead of leaving as-is, a weird choice that Toei would make themselves when DBS streamed online more than a decade later; and yet, Solar Flare is given its more accurate Japanese name) and places ("Time Soul Room" or "Netherworld", the latter of which is actually a decent name, but even in Japanese it's explicitly "Other World") .
But hey, they at least kept the name for Earth's true savior Mr. Satan!
One final edit: Vegeta's "AUNT SALLIES" line is even more stupid because it can't remotely be construed or interpreted that way; even with a minuscule knowledge of Japanese he's clearly saying "Damn" or "Damn it all!". Holy crap what a lousy translation.
To this day I’ll never understand what they meant by *aunt sallies*
Google says it's "a game played in some parts of Britain in which players throw sticks or balls at a wooden dummy."
So I guess Vegeta is calling them dummies?
I remember being able to see the PAL intro on the NTSC version when you wait at the title screen long enough
Very informative. Thanks.
This is wonderful. It's great to see some documentation of the specific version of the game that introduced me to Dragon Ball, with all its quirks. It's fascinating that the European release had an entire separate translation. That sort of thing never happens now. To my recollection, the last Dragon Ball game to have Japanese voices only in Europe was Extreme Butoden on 3DS.
That's so many differences, excellent work ma Phoenix, really enjoy this one
I'm glad you got alotta videos on the DBZ game with probably the best cutscene. Too bad Budokai 1 never covered Buu Saga. Does Budokai 1 have any beta elements of Buu Saga, like an unused character model for him or something?
As far as I could find, no. The only thing we have is the duel menu with Buu saga Vegeta and Great Saiyaman, who is one of the final unlockable characters.
@@the_phoenix_mirror Great Saiyaman is playable in Budokai 1? It's been a while since I've played lol, that's pretty interesting tho!
@@awesomeboss2020 IIRC you get him by beating the advanced mode of world tournament. Good luck on unlocking him if you decide to!
@@the_phoenix_mirror As well as some of the alternate costumes being from the Boo Arc, like Tenshinhan (Tien)'s and Vegeta's.
Both of Mr. Satan (Hercule)'s Ultimate Moves borrow the Game Boy bomb he used against Fat Boo in the Boo Arc too.
@@najadamu2724 I forgot about those actually. Budokai 1 really did have a lot of Buu saga content while not even including it in the game.
awesome video! can you show budokai 2 regional differences?
I plan to in the future, but after working on budokai 2 V for a year, I don't wanna touch that game for a while.
@@the_phoenix_mirror lmao ok
4:02 “It’s over Frieza!” Is such a better line.
Grew up with the PAL version of the game, and i loved it.
"Meanies!!"
mere seconds before totally fucking wrecking Nappa's shit
the PAL version's subtitles are wonky but they're actually more or less accurate to the original Japanese script/manga.
the PAL version is also english subbed, so that might be responsible for many of the dialogue changes.
(I've played the PAL version of Budokai 1 on PS2 and in the PS3 HD collection)
I'll never forgive you.... Meanies!!!
Interesting video nonetheless great job!
Both of these localizations are horrendous in one way or another but I'll give props to the PAL version for having slightly more faithful dialogue, even though their choices for "Meanies" and "Aunt Sallies" are incredibly stupid
Also when you select PAL English, are the lines dubbed to fit those different lines or is it JP dubbed over English text? If it’s dubbed, is it Ocean Dub or Funimation? And wow “aunt sallies!” 🤣
It's the Japanese dub over the English text. I believe it's Japanese for the other texts as well.
i wonder if from the speedrunning point of view the PAL would be the fastest because it saves 5 seconds skipping the into cutscene - unless the 50 fps makes it slower over the course of 60fps for ntsc
If it's properly adjusted there won't be any slowdown, if B1 is prone to FPS drops which inhibit slowdown then it might even be better there, but PAL games run at higher resolutions sometimes so idk
I believe it'd be slower on PAL like you said, because of the 50fps and also since the title cards fade in, it could take a few more seconds.
i am from Germany and it was so weird to find out that the ntsc version did have english va
Pal intro > ntsc intro btw
Ehh ntsc can have PAL’s intro to anyway so win win
Ok i have no idea what version i had then. Because i live in Sweden, usually it's PAL versions of games that we get here.
But the Budokai 1 that i had... had english subs but japanese dialogue. And i don't recall any censorship. But neither do i recall being able to change the voices to english.
I still have the PAL version of Supersonic warriors on Gameboy advanced, which also has japanese voices but english texts.
Frieza & Cell < AUNT SALLIES
Hope they do something special for the 20th anniversary next month
The Pal Version only had Japanese voices as an option. That's where a lot of the translations come from
Which is better in some ways but worse in others
Some of these changes are not present in my ver., and i have the Platinum PAL game.
So PAL is the 4Kids version
I mean... It's got harsher language too
good video doyou plan to do one for the 2 and 3?
I might. I believe the PAL versions of B2 and B3 are quite similar to the American versions though.
wait what? so there were entirely different scripts (in terms of dialogue) for the two versions? or is it just different in some places, to comply with censorship guidelines and stuff, like the censored Kai dub?
About 99% of the story text is different between the two, I only showed off the ones I found most interesting.
@@the_phoenix_mirror That's such a bummer. I never knew about that. humongous portions of dialogue I missed out on as a kid due to having the PAL version lol
I wonder what was the reason. It's so weird. Makes you wonder if the Funi actors were paid twice or if they were just screwed over.
Bro why is Spopovich on PAL cover???
The BANDAI logo is similar to the NEW BOY logo
make it a video between pal and ntsc budokai 2 / 3
The Ntsc must have gotten art from Toei and Pal release had to photoshop their cover
the Australian version have the American cover art but its still the pal verison on the disc
same for budokai 2, budokai 3, tenkaichi1, supersonic warriors and super dragon ball z. All have american cover art but the discs are the pal version
@@BensyBens Im sure it does, it was mostly a joke at the thumbnail.
So the PAL version, which came out first, has light cussing but no blood, wheres the NTSC version is the opposite. Censorship is never straightforward, is it?
NTSC is better obviously but PAL is funny
Well I still play and like this so why not?
PAL is the for kid version.
Ntsc its no censored
Pal Vegeta Is so rude
NTSC did a better job I played pal first I am shocked they cut all out just a bit blood. Shame nice comparion!! I think pal is better with the voice lines and jap but man eng is nice too and oh well the intro of PAL is way more goosebumps than NTSC.
Would have been interesting for the UK release to utilize the Canadian Ocean actors the same way AB Groupe did for their dub at the time, Peter Kelamis Goku, Brian Drummond Vegeta, Scott McNeil Piccolo, etc
Seems like a good idea, but it would Hilarious if they used the AB Groupe cast for the European version.