Planet Virtual Boy

Have you ever wondered what exactly is being said on the boxes and in the instruction manuals of all those Japan Only Virtual Boy games in your collection? If so, then you are in the same boat that I'm in. Do you not wonder what is being said on those boxes and in those manuals because you understand Japanese? If so, then your contributions to this thread, and hopefully more threads like it in the future, would be greatly appreciated.

I have begun the long and arduous task of translating the information on the boxes and in the instruction manuals of the Japan Only Virtual Boy games and have found that this is most certainly not going to be easy. I must rely on translation software programs and online Japanese to English dictionaries, and unfortunately, these are not always very useful. I am hoping that I can post my work here and receive helpful input from others. All I ask is that if you add your input, please let it be known whether you use similar means as I do to obtain your information or whether you actually know and speak Japanese. If you do know Japanese, I also ask that you don't make fun of my possibly pathetic attempts at translating, since I'm still in the learning process ;-) I'm hoping that with everyone's help, high quality English translations of this material can eventually be made and can also be readily accessible online.

Here is what I have so far for the information found on the front of V-Tetris' box. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome:

[Beneath the main title]

Original Japanese Text:
V●テ卜リス

Preliminary English Translation:
V-Tetris
(I'm pretty confident with this one ;)

[Inside the silvery gray field]

Original Japanese Text:
バーチャルボーイならではの3Dパズル

Preliminary English Translation:
A 3-D puzzle game only for the Virtual Boy

[In the lower black field]

Original Japanese Text:
●テ卜リス史上初,ループテ卜リス新登揚
●手に汗握る立体フイールド
●もちろんノーマルテ卜リスもバツチリ遊べる

Preliminary English Translation:
●Tetris like never before: an all-new Loop Tetris
●A gripping, stereoscopic field
●You can also play normal Tetris, of course

And here is what I have so far for the back of the box:

[At the very top of the box]

迫カの3DパズルV●テ卜リス誕生
The 3-D puzzle game, V-Tetris, is born.

[In the upper left, red field]

テ卜リスが3Dパズルになつて帰つてきた。
テ卜リスのシンプルな面白さはそのままに、
バーチャルボーイの3D感覚を活かレた
画期的なアクションパズルが楽しめる。
パズルゲームフアン必[?]ソフ卜
「V・テ卜リス」堂々の新登揚!
Tetris has returned as a 3-D puzzler.
Enjoy a revolutionary action puzzler with the
3-D sensation from the Virtual Boy,
while retaining the simple fun of Tetris.
V-Tetris is a boldly new game that is
necessary for every puzzle game fan!

[In upper right, black field above screenshot]

テ卜リスの3D版?「ループテ卜リス」
A 3-D version of Tetris? "Loop Tetris"

[Beneath upper left, red field, on sun-looking object]

テ卜リスが3Dパズルになつて
バーチャルボーイで遊べように
なった。 テ卜リス史上初の立体
パズルが遊べるぞ。
Let the fun begin with the 3-D
Tetris puzzle game for the
Virtual Boy. Play the first-ever
stereoscopic Tetris puzzle game.

[In the black field above the yellow field]

ご注意
Caution

[In the yellow field]
●ご使用になる方及び保[?]者は、 注意書及び取扱説明書を必ず
読んでから使用して<だきい。
●バーチャルボーイは必ず屋内で使用して<だきい。
●長時間ゲームをするときは、 適度に休憩して<だきい。
●疲れた状態や連続して長時間にわたるご使用は、 健康上好ま
し<ありませんので避けて<だきい。
●バーチャルボーイは適切な調整をした上で使用して<だきい。
●目の成長過程にある0才から6才までは、 使用をご速[?]<だ
きい。
●Be sure to read the instruction booklet and precautions
booklet before using this product.
●The Virtual Boy is for indoor use only.
●Take appropriate breaks when playing for longer
periods of time.
●Avoid prolonged and continuous use and playing when
tired or with undesirable health.
●Only use the Virtual Boy after making the appropriate
adjustments.
●This product must not be used by anyone whose growth
process of the eyes is from 0 to 6 years old.

[In the lower left, red field]

*[?][?]によつては、 バーチャルボーイで立体に見えない人がいます。
Some people may not see three-dimensionally with the
Virtual Boy.

Sorry to go off-topic here, but if you know japanese, or just know a better way to handle google translate than I do, can you help me with the intro to SD Gundam?

われわれ Gぶたいは しんがた MS かいしゅうの
にんむを うけ しゅつげさした
にんむさいしよの もくてさち コロニーを

Hey Protoman85,

I actually already tried to look into that before, and all I can say is that one of the suggestions already given to you by another user is a lot better than what I can presently do. It does seem that proper names are contained within it, and right now, I wouldn't know where to begin with translating proper names. If you have already ensured that all of the Japanese characters are converted correctly, then I can't be of further help yet. I do know, however, that while a Japanese character might LOOK correct, Google translate might not actually be able to read it properly. You sort of have to try to break each word up individually through trial and error and enter each one into Google translate and see if Google Translate will offer you a suggestion for what you meant to type. Sometimes, its suggestion looks exactly like what you already have, but nevertheless, if you click on the suggestion, it will then recognize the word or words, and then you must save that as the actual text conversion. I'm getting a lot of mess with what is currently there, so I don't know if that might be one of the problems, but I'm thinking that there are a good bit of words in there that just can't be recognized by the online tools.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Preliminary English Translations for Page 1 of the Instruction Manual:

[At the very top of the page]

ゲームを始める前に
Before starting the game

[In the yellow field, above Point 1]

バーチャルボーイには、 いろいろな調整をするところがあります。
ゲームをスター卜する前に必ずこれらの調整をおこなつてください。
The Virtual Boy has different places to adjust.
Please be sure to make these adjustments before starting the game.

[Point 1]

バーチャルボーイ本体にカートリッジを正し
くセッ卜してくだきい。 カートリッジをセッ
卜後、 コントローラの前面にある電源スイッ
チをONにすると、 しばらくして右の画面が
現われます。
Insert the cartridge properly into the main body
of the Virtual Boy. After inserting the cartridge,
turn the POWER switch located on the front of the
controller to the ON position; after a little while,
the screen at right will appear.

[Point 2]

STARTボタンを押すと 「目の幅調整画面」
に切り替わります。 各調整はこの画面を見な
がらおこないます。
When the START button is pressed, it changes to the
"Eye Width Adjustment Screen." Each adjustment can be
made while looking at this screen.

Preliminary English Translations for Page 2 of the Instruction Manual:

[In the white bar near the top]

目の幅調整ダイアルについて
About the Eye Width Adjustment Dial

[In the yellow field, right below the white bar]

プレイヤーの左目と右目の幅にバーチャル
ボーイ内部の表示装置を合わせる調整です。
This is the adjustment that adjusts the display inside the Virtual
Boy to the width of the player's left and right eyes.

[In the yellow field below the previous one and to the left of the picture]

調整画面を見ながら、 本体上部にある 「目の幅
調整ダイアル」をまわし、 画面の4すみにある
マークが見える状態にあわせてください。
While looking at the adjustment screen, please turn the "Eye
Width Adjustment Dial" located on top of the main body until
you can see a mark in all 4 corners of the screen.

[In the yellow field to the left of the orange arrow]

このように、 4すみのマークが
見えるように調整してください。
Like this: please adjust it so that you can see a
mark in each of the 4 corners.

[In the yellow field beneath the orange arrow]

★4つのマークが全て見えない揚合もあり
ますが、 3つ見えていればゲームに支障は
あリません。
★また、 ゲーム中に再調整することも可能
です。 (詳しくはP6をご覧ください。)
★In some cases, all 4 marks may not be visible, but
if there are not at least 3 visible, then it will
interfere with the game.
★It is also possible to readjust this during the
game. (Please refer to page 6 for details)

[In the white bar at the bottom]

★その他の機能については、 バーチャルボーイ本体取扱説明書をお読みください。
★For other functions, please read the instruction manual of the Virtual Boy itself.

I've wondered something...

How can one translate Japanese characters that have tiny other Japanese characters above them? How does that work?

Quote:

The tiny characters are furigana, basically hiragana but they're there to "explain" the kanji.

Preliminary English Translations for Page 3 of the Instruction Manual:

[At the very top of the page]

ゲームを始める前に
Before starting the game

[Within the white bar on the yellow field]

オートマティック ポーズ機能について
About the Automatic Pause Function

[In the yellow field beneath the white bar]

バーチャルボーイ専用カートリッジには、 プレイヤーの目の健康を寺るた
め、 適度な時間でゲームを自動的に休止する 「オートマティック ポーズ機
能」 があります。
For the eye health of the player, all Virtual Boy
exclusive cartridges have an "Automatic Pause Function"
that automatically pauses the game after a reasonable
amount of time.

[In the yellow field to the left of the first screen]

調整画面で調整を終えた後、 STARTボタンを押す
と、 右の画面に切り替わります。
十字ボタンの左右で、 「オートマティックポーズ機能」
のON/OFFが選べます。 この画面で再びSTA
RTボタンを押すとデモが始まり、 きらに押すとタ
イトル画面が現われます。
After finishing the adjustment in the adjustment screen, press
the START button to switch to the screen at right.
With the left and right buttons of the four-way controller,
you can turn the "Automatic Pause Function" on or off.
When the START button is pressed again in this screen, a demo
begins, after which the title screen appears.

Preliminary English Translations for Page 4 of the Instruction Manual:

この機能を使用することにより、 ゲームを約30分
以上プレイするとオートマティックポーズ機能が働
き、 ポーズ (一時停止) 秩態となります。
適度な休憩を取り、 目や体を休めてください。
スタートボタンを押すと通常のポーズ秩態になり、
もう1度押すとゲームを再開できます。
なお、 ポーズを解除したときは時間のカウントは0
に戻ります。
By using this feature, the Automatic Pause Function activates
when you play the game for about 30 minutes or more, in which
case the game is paused (stopped).
Please take a reasonable break and rest your eyes and body.
When the start button is pressed, the game enters the usual paused
condition; press it once again to resume the game.
Furthermore, when you cancel the pause, the time count for the
next pause returns to zero.