Operation Wolf/ja-en
This transcript is for the arcade version. Other versions may differ.
The Japanese in this game tends to be concise, much like newspaper headlines. Hence, sometimes particles will be omitted. As is fitting for military instructions, the game frequently uses the plain imperative form, which is uncommon in normal speech.
Game intro[edit]
せよ is one of the plain imperatives of する. (The other one is しろ, which is much more common in informal speech.) You will encounter it a lot in this game.
Level select[edit]
| Level name | Reading | Meaning | Objective | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 通信所 | つうしんじょ | Communications site | 妨害 | ぼうがい | Obstruction |
| ジャングル | Jungle | 報告 | ほうこく | Information | |
| 部落 | ぶらく | Small village | 休息 | きゅうそく | Rest |
| 弾薬庫 | だんやくこ | Powder magazine | 弾薬 | だんやく | Ammunition |
| 収容所 | しゅうようじょ | Camp | 目的 | もくてき | Objective |
| 空港 | くうこう | Airport | 脱出 | だっしゅつ | Getaway |
Communications site[edit]
呼べなくなった is probably the most grammatically complex phrase in the game. 呼ぶ means "call". 呼べる is the potential form, meaning "can call". The negative of that is 呼べない, "cannot call". I-adjectives, including verbs ending in ない, change the い to く when used with なる. When we do so and add なる, we get 呼べなくなる, "become unable to call". Finally, ...なる is conjugated into the past tense and we end up 呼べなくなった, "became unable to call".
Jungle[edit]
Village[edit]
At this point we must note the perils of translation without context. The official English version mistranslated this as "The village is freed and recovered from damages." That would seem to be a reasonable translation, except you heal more than usual after this level -- the intention is that you recover from damage.
Powder magazine[edit]
Camp[edit]
Airport[edit]
Spotted by enemy[edit]
された is the passive of する. 発見する is "discover", so 発見される is "was discovered".
Warnings[edit]
切れ is a common counting word, also used for pieces of fish when eating, for example. The "damage pieces" in question are the remaining squares in your damage gauge before it becomes full.
あと ("after(-wards)") before a quantity means "remaining" or "left". It's most often encountered with time: あと5分 (5 minutes left) わずか means "a little bit", so combined あとわずか means "(only) a little bit left".
Game over[edit]
You are dead[edit]
Literally, "Your life was [only] up until here."
You have been taken prisoner[edit]
You could simply memorize なくなる as "to run out", but it may help to explain that this expression comes from ない ("nonexistent"), which becomes なく when joined with another verb or adjective, and なる ("to become"), thus together it means "become nonexistent".
All hostages dead[edit]
Messages from the President[edit]
君こそ本当のプロだ！
こそ is used after a noun to show emphasis. It means "especially" or "specifically". You (especially you, as opposed to others who may or may not be real pros as well) are a real pro!
次の任務もたのむ！
ご苦労 literally means "the trouble I've put you through"; the Japanese often express gratitude in the form of an apology.
もう一度チャンスをやろう！
たのまん is a variant of たのまない. This form of negation is common as an ordinary plain-form negative in Western Japanese dialects such as Kansai-ben, but is also used in Tokyo-ben as a rude negative.
