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currantlee · 10 months

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Ganondorf in German Tilo Schmitz Appreciation Post

The first cutscene of TotK is defining for Ganondorf as a character. I played the German version of the game, and the dub does a stellar job with this scene! It is very memorable IMO, and it instantly sets Ganondorf up as a somewhat stereotypical antagonist, but a serious threat nonetheless. It's one of my favorite scenes in the game, and that is also because Ganondorf's German VA, Tilo Schmitz, does an absolutely stellar job! It's great that he's getting the recognition he deserves for this performance!

Each line of Ganondorf's monologue in this scene is packed with (character) exposition, both textwise and deliverywise, but you don't even notice because you're in too much awe - at least that's my experience with the scene (in German).

Sooo... I wanted to take a closer look at how exactly both the scene and the voiceacting accomplish this.

Translation: That is supposed to be the sacred banishing sword? And my miasma shatters it just like that... A useless blade. English Localization: Was that the sword that seals the darkness? A blade that shatters so easily against my power cannot save you from me.

A few things about this line (and the rest of the scene) under the cut, because I'm gushing. A LOT.

The Master Sword is rarely called Masterschwert (its name in German) in spoken dialogue. I think over the course of the entire game, the Great Deku Tree is the only character to do so, and in Breath of the Wild, only Zelda calls it Masterschwert once. It is, however, called Masterschwert in the inventory, as well as several text-only dialogues. My hypothesis as to why they did that is that Masterschwert, when spoken out loud, sounds involuntarily comical in German since it comes off as way over-the-top, and can thus destroy an entire, serious scene. Personally, I think heiliges Bannschwert (which I would personally translate as Sacred Blade which Banishes Evil if I were to do a less literal translation, like I did above, into English) is a very fitting title, even though it doesn't sound quite as awe-inspiring if translated into English literally.

Secondly, the gloom is called Miasma in German, which is a historic name for mysterious sicknesses. While not common in contemporary German anymore, you can actually find it in the fantasy genre here and there, including in videogames. German localizers REALLY love to use this term. In comtemporary German, it would be übler Dunst (bad / ill haze), Verunreinigung (pollution / contamination), Befleckung (impurity) or Ansteckung (infection), all of which combined I find to be a really great description of what the gloom is and what it does! Especially considering that the entire reason Link and Zelda decided to investigate it in the first place was because the gloom was making the people of Hyrule sick.

I personally like this line much more than the English one, simply because to me, the English line screams "exposition!!". The German line is also exposition of course, but it does it in a much less subtle way.

Last but not least - let's appreciate Tilo Schmitz, Ganondorf's German VA. The way he delivers this line is spectacular! He makes it sound like Ganondorf is almost a little upset that the Master Sword shattered so easily, while sounding both dark and ancient at the same time. Honestly, I could not imagine a better delivery!

Translation: Zelda... And you, wielder of the banishing sword... Link. English Localization: Zelda... You who carries the fragile sword... Are Link.

Ganondorf explicitly draws a connection between Zelda and Link in German (not in the romantical sense), which feels much more natural than this kind of jump he does in English.

On a somewhat unrelated sidenote, I like that the camera shows both Zelda's and Link's reactions to Ganondorf knowing their names (unfortunately, I couldn't capture Link's because the subtitle vanishes just before he reacts, and I don't want to overload this post with pics, so... Go watch the scene again 😆). Love that Link has a very obvious reaction too, I feel like he is generally pretty expressive in TotK, which I very much enjoyed!

Translation: Rauru's grand prophecy... English Localization: Rauru placed his faith in you...

This is an interesting difference to me, because while both lines pretty much mean the same, the connotation (implied meaning) and tone are completely different.

In English, Ganondorf sounds like he is almost blaming Link and Zelda for not fulfilling Rauru's expectations, especially when combined with the next line.

In German meanwhile, this is more of a sarcastic comment, that expresses Ganondorf's disdain of Rauru more than anything else. Tilo Schmitz delivers this line with a very sarcastic undertone as well, making it clear that Ganondorf is, much like in the previous lines, mocking both Link and Zelda, as well as Rauru.

Translation: Two pathetic worms. English Localization: And that was all that you could do?

Now, there is a big difference! Whereas Ganondorf's line sounds almost like a challenge in English, in German, he is ourtight insulting Link and Zelda.

Also, Tilo Schmitz is amazing as Ganondorf in general, but this is probably my favorite line in the entire game from him. It sounds impactful, it sounds arrogant and despising, it has everything this line should have and more. Most of all, it sounds like he actually means this, and he means it as the character Ganondorf, not just as someone playing Ganondorf (from a meta perspective) or just anyone who can't stand Link and Zelda. It is a perfect line in my opinion, both scriptwise and delivery-wise.

Aaaaand that's pretty much it for this scene! Like in the English localisation, Zelda asks how Ganondorf knows their names (and Julia Casper makes her sound more timid than confused, which I also like very much!).

Anyway, thank you so much for reading 😊 Honestly, I was pretty overwhelmed by the response to my first posting about the German localization of TotK, so I wanted to wait a bit for things to calm down a bit 😅 In the 10+ years I've been on the internet, nothing I've made before has gotten this level of attention. It makes me very happy you guys seemed to enjoy it so much though, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Have a great day, night, whatever time it is when you're reading this, and enjoy the game!

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