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AG Community Playthrough #57: Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

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subbi - 23 January 2020 06:01 PM

You can play any version you like of course, but unless it’s a hoax, I understood that also the steam version now offers the original game as a DLC. I can’t verify it as I have the GOG version, but if it’s true you at least have the choice

Not a hoax.

     
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I finished the game sometime last week so here are my thoughts to answer some of the questions.

There seemed to be a lot more to do in the third section of the game but for me this slowed down the pace as there seemed to be a succession of harder puzzles to work on.

The first time I played the game I didn’t have access to any walkthrough to start with.
I got past the goat after trying everything, tearing my hair out & thinking about it for a week but I would describe the goat puzzle more as a lateral thinking one rather than super-hard & unintuitive even though it took a while to get there!
By my second visit to Spain I had found a very expensive phone number for a hint line which, due to the cost, I only used once or twice to be nudged along at the time.

Even in this current playthrough I struggled through the site of Baphomet part - I was thrown by the thermostat - was it needed? & the shovel by the boiler which seemed to have no use.
I did end up peeking at a walkthrough this time as I’d forgotten that I needed to use the greasy tissue on the snuffer to light the candle in the mausoleum
Btw, in the original was there any logic to the chess puzzle as I solved it via trial & error? I’m sure I remember the chess puzzle being easier in the DC version?

There were so many enjoyable puzzles in the game which for me included distracting Lopez to get into the villa in Spain, getting the manuscript out of Hotel Ubu & getting the doctors coat in the hospital but my favourite overall is the goat puzzle.
My least favourite was getting out of the church at the end mainly because you had to keep repeating the prolonged cut scene each time you failed. For the same reason I wasn’t crazy about the conclusion to the Syria section either.

My favourite country in the game remains Ireland as I just love the whole atmosphere & essence of the place brilliantly portrayed by the characters & the artwork of the outside locations.
My favourite section is the whole Spain experience because of the number of puzzles & the beautiful setting. One especially nice detail that I liked in the artwork & animation is the way that the spray from Lopez’s hose momentarily transforms into a rainbow. 

I’m familiar with most British regional accents & think the game is guilty of using them to stereo-type the character/behaviour of people from different regions in a couple of places which I’m sure would go over the heads of most non-English players - I certainly wouldn’t pick-up on regional accents in e.g. France or Germany.
Sam’s Birmingham accent in less politically correct times was jokingly associated with a person of low intellect & on the train the guys’ ‘Geordie’ accent associated with beer-guzzling louts.
On the subject of the guy drinking on the train if George asks him “Would you like a red nose?” his very amusing response is “Naa thanks pal. I’ve got one o’ me own.” Laughing

As relationships go I especially liked the rivalry between George & Andre especially George’s scathing comments to & about Andre.
Having got to the end of the game there are so many great characters but I think my favourites are Lady Piermont & the Countess in Spain.
 
I completely agree that the game has very high standard in terms of story, characters and dialogue.
If George was in the slightest bit tempted at the end I didn’t interpret it as such as he questions the deaths of 3 of their brothers - I don’t think he sees anything that might tempt him.
I truly can’t think of any parts in the game that seem to fall a bit flat but I think the ending of the game was the least interesting part of it. On that subject:

Mikekelly - 07 February 2020 05:08 PM

Ok, I have finished the game too. The ending was at best OK. the c4 activity was not well done. And contradicted itself at least how C4 worked was explained to me.

subbi - 09 February 2020 05:26 AM

I’m not sure what the issue is with the C4 mechanism, other than that it is explained to make it work it requires a smaller explosion rather than merely a lighter. During the ending sequence George throws the torch on the old gunpowder which is not sufficiently potent to blow up the church, but apparently still creates a smaller fire sufficient to set off the C4.
I’m no explosions specialist, but it didn’t seem that odd to me.

Mikekelly - 09 February 2020 01:36 PM

Ok, here is what I know about C4:
“C-4 is very stable and insensitive to most physical shocks. C-4 cannot be detonated by a gunshot or by dropping it onto a hard surface. It does not explode when set on fire or exposed to microwave radiation. Detonation can only be initiated by a shockwave, such as when a detonator inserted into it is fired.”

I haven’t got a clue really but if you look at the old gunpowder you observe that it has solidified - does that mean it’s more concentrated & therefore potentially more potent?
If you look, the torches are observed to smell of fire & brimstone - brimstone being an old word for sulphur which is used with the other ingredients of gunpowder to speed up the ignition process.  When George throws the torch onto the gunpowder there looks as if this triggers a series of tiny explosions - could these feasibly set off the C-4? Just wondering?

It just remains now for me to thank you Intense Degree for leading the playthrough - I’ve very much enjoyed playing the game again & thinking about my answers to your thought-provoking questions.
It’s also been fun playing along with other members & reading your comments.  Thumbs Up

     
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Even in this current playthrough I struggled through the site of Baphomet part - I was thrown by the thermostat - was it needed? & the shovel by the boiler which seemed to have no use.
I did end up peeking at a walkthrough this time as I’d forgotten that I needed to use the greasy tissue on the snuffer to light the candle in the mausoleum
Btw, in the original was there any logic to the chess puzzle as I solved it via trial & error? I’m sure I remember the chess puzzle being easier in the DC version?

I think I was able to solve everything in the site of baphomet without too much trouble. If memory serves I don’t think you can leave the site of baphomet’s location? At least not in the original version & ScummVM. So that at least meant you have everything needed to solve the puzzles which is in fact true. The logic for these puzzles don’t take much imagination, even though they are most likely impossible in real life, it kind of makes sense in an adventure game world. Also you do get some hints, especially when the guard indicates that he has his gloves for when it gets cold.

Same thing applies to the greasy tissue on the candle puzzle. At this point your inventory isn’t overrun with items, so within these limitations it’s not that difficult to solve, especially when resorting to the old “use every items on everything” approach, which in Broken Sword is fortunately not needed much…and you don’t typically have so many useful items with you.

Yes, the chess game follows the normal chess logic, but the original version’s display is slightly more confusing as you are looking from an angle. Basically you have to put the opponents king chess mate using only these three pieces at your disposal and you can only put them on 5 different squares. At the same time you have to position your own king in such a way that your opponent does not have chess mate on you. If you look at it carefully it’s fully correct. I guess many players didn’t figure this out and since you only control 3 pieces on a limited amount of squares you can quite easily solve this puzzel by trial and error….but it’s much more fun if you do it the correct way

     
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subbi - 22 February 2020 09:40 AM

I think I was able to solve everything in the site of baphomet without too much trouble. Also you do get some hints, especially when the guard indicates that he has his gloves for when it gets cold.

Thanks. I missed it this time because I’d already turned the thermostat down before I gave back the plaster key otherwise it would have been obvious!

I did solve the greasy tissue on the candle first time around but I’ve played the game so many times (DC apart from the first time) it’s easy to get lazy!

Ah! The chess puzzle - it seems so straight forward now you’ve explained it. 
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AH, sorry for another prolonged absence.

We went away for a few days and got flooded. In the sorting out of alternate accommodation and retrieving of stuff I haven’t made it on to the forums recently. Looking forward to reading the latest comments I’ve missed!

     

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Sadly, I put my DSi XL back in the closet today. It was great fun pulling it down for this CPT. The game has aged well and was actually a joy to play.

The DC version of the game was perfect for the DS, I am so glad they enhanced it and added additional material for this version.

As for the PC, I don’t have a clue if the DC version would really add anything. I would vote this as best PC port for the system.

And thank you, Intense Degree for leading this CPT.

I haven’t got a clue really but if you look at the old gunpowder you observe that it has solidified - does that mean it’s more concentrated & therefore potentially more potent?
If you look, the torches are observed to smell of fire & brimstone - brimstone being an old word for sulphur which is used with the other ingredients of gunpowder to speed up the ignition process.  When George throws the torch onto the gunpowder there looks as if this triggers a series of tiny explosions - could these feasibly set off the C-4? Just wondering?

What I have been told you need a detonator that creates an electric shock to set off C4.

But hey, no biggie really. Once in a Traveller adventure I set off C4 they way they did in this game and got corrected big time.

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I’m currently replaying Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, and I’ve just reached Syria.
And then it suddenly dawned on me that we recently had this CPT, so why not make my replay more enjoyable by doing so alongside this thread?


Well, that means thread resurrection for what could possibly end up being a post-CPT filibuster. Tongue


Pre-game questions:

Intense Degree - 07 January 2020 05:31 AM

1. What is your history with Broken Sword (first one or the series as a whole)? Are you a veteran of many playthroughs? A first timer? When did you first play it and what did you think? Or for first timers, what thoughts/expectations do you have going into it?

I played this game once before, about 20 years ago. Can’t say if it was very late ‘90s or very early ‘00s, but more or less somewhere around 2000.
I played the first two games pretty much back-to-back then, and while I have always enjoyed the high production value in these games, they never stood out as being particularly good. I found them pretty “meh”, to be honest.
I bought Broken Sword 3 when it was still new, but only because a friend of a friend sold his used copy pretty much for peanuts. I never managed to get it to run. It installed fine, but whenever I loaded it up, I just got a black screen that hung. I tried again a year or two later on a new PC and had the exact same issue, and I have never tried again since.

Intense Degree - 07 January 2020 05:31 AM

2. Which version are you going with for the playthrough? Original or DC?

The original.
I have both, but I’ve seen screenshots of the added portraits in the DC and they don’t really work for me. Plus I read about the intro and cutscenes being changed and unnecessary sections being added, so I pretty much decided to stay away from the DC altogether.

Intense Degree - 07 January 2020 05:31 AM

3. As I expect we all know, the first Broken Sword game (Shadow of the Templars) was released as ‘Broken Sword: Circle of Blood’ in North America – or maybe just the United States – back in the day. Did any of you play it under that name? If so, were there any differences other than the box art? A similar thing happened with the first Harry Potter book of course, and there are many other instances of name changes internationally, especially into different languages. Any particular favourites you’ve heard about?

I was aware of both titles being about the same game, but it still sometimes confused me. I was far more used to the “Shadow of the Templars” title, so I sometimes still thought “Circle of Blood” was yet another game in the series.

Another example of “dual titles” in games is “Fahrenheit” which was released in Europe as “Indigo Prophecy” (presumably because we don’t use the Fahrenheit system here?).
In movies there’s also the Kurt Russell action flick “Executive Decision” which was released here as “Critical Decision”. Don’t ask me why.
And a Dutch example that’s always stood out is the book translation of “The Lord of the Rings”. Every language I know literally translates the title as “The Lord of the Rings”. In German it’s “Der Herr der Ringe”, in French “Le Seigneur des Anneaux”, in Spanish “El Señor de los Anillos”... all meaning “The Lord of the Rings”. In Dutch it’s not “De Heer van de Ringen” but it’s “In de Ban van de Ring” which basically means “Enthralled by the Ring” or “Under the Spell of the Ring”. But seeing as how the Dutch translation was the very first translation of the book ever made, and that the translation itself is well-regarded as being an excellent one, maybe we can chalk it up to translator ego??? Tongue
I read that language expert Tolkien was highly displeased by this but was unable to change the translator’s mind. So yeah, ego. Smile

Intense Degree - 07 January 2020 05:31 AM

4. In my mind, Broken Sword sits on the ‘serious’ side of adventure games (i.e. not comedy like much of the Lucas Arts stuff), but it is amusingly written with some great dialogues, many funny moments and it doesn’t seem to take itself as seriously as some of the earlier Sierra stuff (KQ/PQ etc.). Where do you stand on the serious vs funny thing – do you tend to go for one type of game over the other?

I like both comedy games with serious moments and serious games with funny moments, and I’ll play both. And I’ll happily play all-serious games and all-comedy games.

I will however stress that I prefer the writers/designers pick a side. Going 50% serious, 50% comedy is to me often a recipe for disaster, being far too serious for the zanier half, or being far too wacky for the tenser, darker half. Broken Sword to me falls in this “failed” category, and that probably partly explains why I never really liked it all that much. It has this tense mystery at its core but goes so overboard with the caricatures that it feels undecisive whether it wants to be a serious game or a comedy game. That and a lot of the humour fell flat, I felt.

Intense Degree - 07 January 2020 05:31 AM

5. Nostalgia/interesting facts time – You may have forgotten, or just not know, that Broken Sword 1 has one of the coolest installer programs I have ever seen – when you’re installing from CD that is. How can an installer program be cool I hear you ask? Take a trip down memory lane, or prepare to be amazed/amused here -

(spin on to about 1:50 for the cool bit). Anyone else remember this, or remember any games with a similar approach to installing?

I had forgotten about this, but seeing that video does ring a bell. Always nice if they give you something to do while you wait. Sadly, I don’t recall many games doing something similar… Meh

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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Intense Degree - 14 January 2020 11:59 AM

Fear Of Missing Out?

Feeling a little jealous of all the extra bits that you could be playing in the DC because you chose the original? Or just want to remind yourself of what is involved? Well fear not, because courtesy of youtube you can flick through/catch up with what you’re missing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBLyMlU8ooU

The video above is all of Nico’s extra scenes from the DC which aren’t in the original. If you want to watch what the DC has before the original parts of the game, then watch from the beginning up until 36:14.

The next part of the video is Nico’s extra scene between (1)George meeting Nico outside the café and getting her number, and (2)George turning up at Nico’s place. That runs from 36:15 – 49:58

Thanks for the links, I’ll definitely check these out!
That way, I still get the gist of the DC without having to actually play the game again.

Intense Degree - 14 January 2020 12:02 PM

Optional things to discuss

Paris

1. How does it feel to be back in the world of Broken Sword? What have you forgotten and which memories really stand out?

I mostly remember all the cutscenes well, and most of the locations. But seeing as how it’s been 20 years, there’s a lot I’ve forgotten, or only remembered after seeing it again and going “oh yeah”. Smile

2. (Original) How do you feel this first section has aged in terms of graphics and puzzles?

It falls in the category of games that held up very well. I have no issues playing games like this nowadays, and I don’t think it really needs a “remastered” version.

3. (DC) How do you feel the original (playing as George) and DC (playing as Nico) parts fit? The look is more modern in the DC for sure, how about the new puzzles?

I’ll comment more on this after I’ve watched the DC vids, but frankly, I never really understood why Nico was so important to everyone. Her role in the original is minimal, and the game wouldn’t suffer all that much without her presence I feel. So expanding her role… well… why???
That said, please note that I’m not a fan of the game. Grin

4. Broken Sword is, I think, quite a wordy game when it comes to dialogue. Maybe not to the extent of The Longest conversation Journey but there is a lot to talk about. Do you agree? Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

I don’t mind wordy games. Heck, I loved Disco Elysium and that was nearly ALL dialogue. Since almost everyone in BS has his/her own unique response to each topic and inventory item, I tend to go over *all* of it.
I actually consider that a good thing. Probably explains why I never felt The Longest Journey was that verbose…

5. One of the things I often forget about BS1 is the interface. Not particularly controversial now, but quite different I thought at the time from other games I was used to. Do you like it?

I’ve always liked the approach of “right-click to look / left-click to action”. Personally, the best interface for adventure games was in the Monkey Island 2 Special Edition with the “right-click to look / left-click to verb coin / wheel-click to inventory”. But this here is very nice too.
Although I wonder why a left-click on a magnifying glass often just results in George shrugging, not knowing what to do. Just give me the “look” description again, it’d be less jarring!

6. What’s your favourite puzzle/character/line of dialogue from this section?

Favourite puzzle: getting the manuscript out of the hotel.
Favourite character: Lady Piermont - one of the few Paris characters where the jokes worked for me.
Favourite line of dialogue: “Woah! Don’t shoot! I’m innocent! I’m an American!” / “Can’t make up your mind, huh?” - originally finding this a cheap shot towards Americans, the line did linger in my mind as it’s one of the few lines from the game that I actually still remembered after all these years.
Funniest moment: the Professor taking his earplugs out as you start talking to him (with Lady Piermont playing the piano right next to him). That was a nice touch!

Ireland

7. One criticism that is sometimes levelled at the Broken Sword franchise is that the characters are all extreme caricatures and although they may be entertaining they are in no way believable. What do you think about the portrayal of Ireland/The Irish in this section?

I found them less of a caricature than French cop Moue, and the banter between the bar patrons in this section is one of the parts where the humour works best in this game. Contrast Moue’s ineptness which just annoys me. At least the Ireland section is actually funny.
It also helps that I know the Irish in real life will play up some of these characteristics for fun or at the very least will go along with them, whereas the French in real life tend to be insulted if you mock them.

8. What’s your favourite puzzle/character/line of dialogue from this section?

Favourite puzzle: “fixing” the glass washer (fire hazard much?)
Favourite character: I very much enjoyed the banter in the bar, but if I’d have to pick one, then maybe the bartender himself.
Favourite line of dialogue: (after Sean was run over) “You could report the matter to the police?” / “Better not. Besides, what could they do? They only got the one bicycle between them. In a question of superior acceleration, I’d put me money on the Ferrari…”

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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9. Let’s talk voice acting, and particularly Rolf Saxon who voices George Stobbart. I was lucky enough to see him at AdventureX a couple of years ago talking about his role in the series and let me tell you it is so strange to hear George’s voice coming out of Rolf’s face! Don’t believe me? Have a look at this!

But of course, for those who played it in German, they have their own George. It is absolutely unthinkable to me that anyone but Rolf could have played the part, what do you think?

I like the voice acting for George, so I’m glad they kept the same voice actor throughout the games. Unlike the role for Nico. Although I must say that I didn’t even notice the actress change back in the day…




As for this replay, despite liking the Ireland section, the game really isn’t grabbing me. I had a lot of issues with the beginning of the game, so let me quote myself from the “what game are you playing right now?” thread:

TimovieMan - 23 August 2020 05:07 PM

I’ve started replaying the first Broken Sword game, which I found unremarkable back in the day. I’m definitely reminded as to why that was.

It starts with a great cutscene and an enormous explosion, and then the first thing we hear is this line: “As I picked myself up, all I could hear was the ceaseless drone of traffic. Life went on around me, but the explosion was to change my life forever.”
Except you’re on the emptiest street in all of Paris, no traffic to be seen anywhere, no life - except for a lone worker - anywhere. A bloody bar blew up, and that worker who’s not twenty feet away from said bar just keeps on working like nothing happened.

You go inside the bombed establishment and we find one dead guy and one waitress who wakes up and remembers a whole lot of details from just seconds before the explosion. But no bartender, no other customers, no-one.

When two cops arrive on the scene on foot (no police sirens, no fire trucks, no ambulance for a suspected terrorist bombing), one of them appears to be even dumber than Inspector Clouseau, and the other outright dismisses your eyewitness claims of a bomber dressed as a clown, especially because that same waitress that remembered everything about that clown when you asked her two seconds ago, fails to mention any such thing to the bumbling cops. And then the inspector pulls some parapsychology bullshit on the waitress to get more out of her, while you are pretty much told to “go away”.

And of course George Stobbart is then adamant on solving the bombing crime himself, because he somehow feels like he owes it to the dead guy whom he never met before and had seen for all of half a second just before the explosion.

It’s pretty safe to say that this all makes it very hard for me to get into the game, and I’m fairly certain this is also why I didn’t really care for it much twenty years ago either.

Sure, the game looks and sounds great, but so did Jack Orlando, and no-one is recalling that game as being a masterpiece classic of the genre…

TimovieMan - 24 August 2020 04:51 AM
GateKeeper - 24 August 2020 04:02 AM

Broken Sword certainly has its own issues too, but I hope that everyone remembers that it’s not supposed to be a serious crime-solving game, it’s also a comedy.

Doesn’t that require it to actually be funny? Grin

So if there’s something that resembles Clouseau or whatever, that is most likely very intentional.

That much I get, but I prefer my games to make enough sense to allow suspension of disbelief to kick in. Especially in the first scenes of the game, and imo Broken Sword makes a mockery of that.

When visiting Nico’s apartment, there’s traffic passing in the street behind it. If the bar also had traffic passing by in the distance, I’d be fine with the “ceaseless drone of traffic” and “life moves on” lines.

If the waitress wakes up and doesn’t remember anything from the minutes before the explosion, then I’d be fine with that. But first she thinks she has a hangover (despite being in the middle of her own work place that has been blown up) and then she remembers everything up until the moment of the explosion and tells all of it to you, but not to the cops interrogating her a minute later.
The only info we got out of her that was useful was already shown in the opening cutscene, so it would really be more consistent if she just couldn’t remember.

And then the worker doesn’t even seem to know there’d been a huge explosion just a few meters behind him. If his first reaction had been at least an acknowledgment in the style of “Monsieur, what happened?”, I’d be far more willing to overlook all the other stuff and actually get sucked into the game.

Another thing: Nico was taking pictures of the bar after the explosion and managed to snap the culprit in one of them. But George was in the forefront of that picture! While you were walking out of the bar and talking to Nico, there was NO-ONE there, except for that bumbling cop. Either animate some passers-by (like in Monte Carlo in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis), or at least have the culprit in a picture of the surrounding area instead of in a picture with George himself.

There’s so many inconsistencies to get through in the beginning, and waving them off with a “it’s supposed to be a comedy” doesn’t help here. I had to plow through the beginning, and I’m pretty sure I had to do the same twenty years ago.
That’s a massively flawed game in my book. Even if it then picks up and improves, it’s hard to beat a first impression when that was so ineptly fumbled.

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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I’ve played this game at least 6 times, simply love this game. I am sorry you didn’t enjoy it, even though you didnt like this one, you may still like BS5.

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TimovieMan - 17 September 2020 08:54 AM

Another example of “dual titles” in games is “Fahrenheit” which was released in Europe as “Indigo Prophecy” (presumably because we don’t use the Fahrenheit system here?).
In movies there’s also the Kurt Russell action flick “Executive Decision” which was released here as “Critical Decision”. Don’t ask me why.
And a Dutch example that’s always stood out is the book translation of “The Lord of the Rings”. Every language I know literally translates the title as “The Lord of the Rings”. In German it’s “Der Herr der Ringe”, in French “Le Seigneur des Anneaux”, in Spanish “El Señor de los Anillos”... all meaning “The Lord of the Rings”. In Dutch it’s not “De Heer van de Ringen” but it’s “In de Ban van de Ring” which basically means “Enthralled by the Ring” or “Under the Spell of the Ring”. But seeing as how the Dutch translation was the very first translation of the book ever made, and that the translation itself is well-regarded as being an excellent one, maybe we can chalk it up to translator ego??? Tongue
I read that language expert Tolkien was highly displeased by this but was unable to change the translator’s mind. So yeah, ego. Smile

Interesting stuff. I quite like the Dutch title “In de Ben van de Ring”, it gives it a focus which I feel with Tolkien was much too wide at times, probably owing to his wide ranging academic interests. I’m sure he wouldn’t agree, of course Smile

     
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Adv_Lvr - 18 September 2020 01:01 AM

I’ve played this game at least 6 times, simply love this game. I am sorry you didn’t enjoy it, even though you didnt like this one, you may still like BS5.

Heart

If my memory serves me right, I actually liked this one better than BS2… Gasp

But I’m a glutton for punishment, and the idea is to play all 5, so… Grin

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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TimovieMan - 17 September 2020 08:54 AM

And a Dutch example that’s always stood out is the book translation of “The Lord of the Rings”. Every language I know literally translates the title as “The Lord of the Rings”. In German it’s “Der Herr der Ringe”, in French “Le Seigneur des Anneaux”, in Spanish “El Señor de los Anillos”... all meaning “The Lord of the Rings”. In Dutch it’s not “De Heer van de Ringen” but it’s “In de Ban van de Ring” which basically means “Enthralled by the Ring” or “Under the Spell of the Ring”. But seeing as how the Dutch translation was the very first translation of the book ever made, and that the translation itself is well-regarded as being an excellent one, maybe we can chalk it up to translator ego??? Tongue
I read that language expert Tolkien was highly displeased by this but was unable to change the translator’s mind. So yeah, ego. Smile

[derailing the thread]
As a student, many many years ago, I was a member of a reading club. Members would take turns discussing a favorite novel and read aloud passages. One guy chose The Lord of the Rings and read to us the Dutch translation of the part in the Fellowship where Gandalf has to fight the Balrog. I remember I burst out laughing when Gandalf says: “...en ik ben al zo moe” (and I am already weary) because I thought it was meant to be funny. That’s not a good translation, the tone (het register in Dutch) is wrong. I’d never heard of Tolkien, but the mesmerizing Balrog scene convinced me to get the books from the library. And then I discovered that Tolkien’s English and the Dutch translation were worlds apart.

I agree that the Dutch title is very good. Translators usually come up with several suggestions for the book’s title, but it’s the publisher who decides what will appeal most to the public. Sometimes the Dutch title is already in place even before the translator has started.
[/derailing the thread]

 

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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TimovieMan - 18 September 2020 03:06 AM
Adv_Lvr - 18 September 2020 01:01 AM

I’ve played this game at least 6 times, simply love this game. I am sorry you didn’t enjoy it, even though you didnt like this one, you may still like BS5.

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If my memory serves me right, I actually liked this one better than BS2… Gasp

But I’m a glutton for punishment, and the idea is to play all 5, so… Grin

I like broken sword 1 story much better, but found bs2 to be way funnier

     
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I like broken sword 1 story much better, but found bs2 to be way funnier

I completely agree with this. BS2 was much funnier.

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I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.

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