A few days ago, I mentioned that I’d thrown in my Japanese copy of Dark Souls to unwind after a little bit of a vexing day.  It wasn’t one of my more accessible posts, since I was talking about trophies not popping and giving no explanations for why I found that so weird, and I should probably avoid posts full of in-jokes in future.

…in future.

It’s not the future yet, so I’m going to point out one more thing I got a laugh out of from playing the Japanese version of the game.

One of the more…endearing? Sure, that’s a word. Let’s run with it.

One of the more endearing things about the Souls games is the way that the player base uses the in-game messaging system for two purposes:

1. In an attempt to get other players to jump off of high places and die.
2. To make off-color jokes that would be the envy of any 7th-grade cafeteria.

The most prominent example of #2, of course, is the floor in front of Gwynevere, the improbably-endowed self-proclaimed Queen of Sunlight.  Anyone who has struggled through Anor Londo to enter her chamber will be met with a sea of messages along the lines of “Amazing Chest Ahead” or “Try Holding With Both Hands”, and one of the things I have been a little curious about is whether the same sort of sophomoric humor would show up in the Japanese version.

Sadly, I must report that “Amazing Chest Ahead” does not appear to be a joke that works in both languages.

On the other, er, hand,

…I am happy to report that “Try Holding With Both Hands” seems to be universal.

This has been your Cultural Exchange Moment of the day.