The translation world has legends of its own, but not all legends involve greatness. Legends can also deliver pain, confusion, and laughter, as bad video game translations often demonstrate.

In this section of Legends of Localization, we’ll look at some of the funniest and most famous bad video game translations into English. Some will involve genuine English mistakes, some are often-quoted typos, some are famous for sounding silly, and others are notorious for their unfortunate wording.

• Games with Famous Bad Translations into English

  Let's take a look at the best of the worst English game translations of all time!

• Games with Famous Bad Translations into Japanese

  English-speaking gamers have "All Your Base", but what do Japanese gamers have?

• Alice in the Heart’s English Translation

  This is one of the finest unknown gems of bad video game translation.

• Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Translation Analysis

  Let's explore this infamous translation disaster from 2014.

• Ayakashi Koi Gikyoku’s English Translation

  The game got an update patch - is the translation any better or worse? Let's find out.

• Battle Rangers’ English Translation

  This arcade classic features amazing examples of bad 1980s video game translation.

• Breath of Fire II’s English Translation

  Breath of Fire II's translation is so bad it's almost miraculous.

• Download (PC Engine)’s Crude English Text

  This Japanese game has a surprising amount of interesting and colorful English.

• Final Fantasy IV’s “You Spoony Bard!”

  This short little line from 1991 is still quoted all the time today.

• Funny Game Translation Quotes About Religion

  Bad translations and religious references sometimes mix in amusing ways.

• The Ending to Ghostbusters (NES)… But in Japanese

  This game's notoriously bad translation is somehow an improvement over the original. Here's why.

• Gunbarich’s English Translation

  This popular Japanese arcade game finally hit the Nintendo Switch, along with an awkward English translation.

• Gundam Daichi ni Tatsu! (PC-88)’s English-Instead-of-Japanese Script

  This obscure Japanese computer game is entirely in English - and it's charmingly bad.

• Hana no Star Kaidō’s English-Instead-of-Japanese Script

  This weird old game was only released in Japan, yet it features lots of memorably bad English writing.

• Iris School of Wizardry’s English Translation

  This poorly translated Nintendo Switch game was given a new translation. Here are some before-and-after comparisons!

• Kitty Love’s English Translation

  Nintendo's eShop is filling up with poorly translated Japanese games. Here's a look at another notorious one.

• Refreshing Sideways Puzzle Ghost Hammer’s English Translation

  Are you ready to drink the roast nail stains of a princess?

• Selfy Collection’s English Translation

  Bizarre fashion meets bizarre translation in this Nintendo Switch game!

• SLASH HERO’s English Translation

  This Japanese mobile game is a treasure trove of machine-translated nonsense.

• Sloppy Mobile & PC Port English Translations

  Weird mistakes can sneak into into translations of ports and remakes.

• Summer Sweetheart’s English Translation

  What happens when a Chinese game is translated into Japanese and then again into English?

• Tales of Berseria’s Post-Game Text Transcription

  A peculiar problem plagues this game's post-end-game text.

• Twinkle Star Sprites’ English Translation

  This Neo Geo classic is a great example of a lesser known, "slow burn" bad translation in action.

• Vroom in the Night Sky’s English Translation

  Let's follow this game's poor translation as it gets "fixed" over time!

• Zero Wing Translation Comparison

  This face of bad game translation worldwide was born in 1991.