PenPen Trilcelon
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Real words! No meaning to the majority of people reading them!
Katamari Damacy
Actual Japanese translation: Clump Soul
Dictionary.com suggests: Katmai (an active volcano in southwest Alaska)
Dictionary.com suggests: Daman (a rare name for the hyrax, any of several species of small mammals of the order Hyracoidea, of Africa and the Mediterranean region)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Catenary (the curve assumed by a cord of uniform density and cross section that is perfectly flexible but not capable of being stretched and that hangs freely from two fixed points)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Admass (mass-media advertising)
Shin Megami Tensei
Actual Japanese translation: True Goddess Reincarnation
Dictionary.com suggests: Magma (molten material beneath or within the earth's crust)
Dictionary.com suggests: Tense (in a state of mental or nervous strain)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Megohm (one million ohms)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Teensy (very small or diminutive)
Herzog Zwei
Actual German translation: Duke Two
Dictionary.com suggests: Wei (any of several dynasties that ruled in North China, especially one ruling a.d. 220265 and one ruling a.d. 386534)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Zori (a flat thonged sandal usually made of straw, cloth, leather, or rubber)
What about "Herzog Zwei"? Dictionary.com suggests: Hoosgows (a slang word for jail)
Odama
Actual Japanese translation: Great Ball
Dictionary.com suggests: Adama (another name for Admah, one of the cities that was destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Edema (an abnormal infiltration and excess accumulation of serous fluid in connective tissue)
Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Actual German translation: Ambition
Dictionary.com suggests: Elegize (to lament in an elegy)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Erotize (to invest with erotic significance or sexual feeling)
Suikoden Tierkreis
Actual Japanese and German translation: Water Margin Zodiac
Dictionary.com suggests: Sudden (happening, coming, made, or done quickly, without warning, or unexpectedly)
Dictionary.com suggests: Terries (the loops formed by the pile of a fabric when left uncut)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Studding (the studs of a building or wall)
Merriam-Webster.com suggests: Traitress (a woman who is a traitor)
Meaning at last
So, would you play any of these dictionary-approved games? Metal Gear Rising: Refinance, where Raiden must allocate funds? Bourbonist Joe, Capcom's spotlight on a young man's extremely conservative politics? Let us know in the comments if we missed any of your favorite made-up game names, and how those chumps at Oxford would interpret it.
And if you're looking for more ridiculous features, check out 23 everyday words and phrases used by gamers, that non-gamers think mean something VERY different and the 40 least interesting images from Sony's Press Event.
