Actually, to tell you the truth, I don't like any fanfiction work on the Chrono Trigger series. It actually dissapoints me. No offence to anyone who does it, but I personally like the game. It's deep as it is. You need to think things through and take assumptions to fill in the gaps, and that's what I like so much.
Now, you can't say that Woosly did a better job then Masato Kato and crew.
As a writer I can be a critic too and, quite honestly, from what I've heard, I would say that's the case. Tell me, can not a reteller or translator do a better version than the original? Often not, when we are dealing with high literature. No translator will quite capture Oedipus Tyrannus, I've heard said, as it was in Greek (for which I wish to learn that language and read the original); but CT is not high literature. It CAN be improved upon. It was earlier work of Kato's, and just because it's his, doesn't mean he can't do wrong in it. Do you wish me to list what is inherently 'wrong' with old writing of mine? Even if it's purely mine, it can still said to be badly done - and a better writer could have taken it, and done better... even on something that was inherently my own. The same might be said for something like this. Remember, this was earlier work of Kato's. Look, for example, how much it matured in CC (for the most part; there are some issues there, but I think he was under quite the time constrain, which is never good for artistic freedom.)
Chrono Trigger was designed for their japanese players, and then was changed by him to make it good for the US players who'd rack in money. Woosly actually created more discreprencies with his translations. A lot of things were not made clear, and just sounded stupid. He did a good job, but don't say that the original as good.
Don't you remember some blunders?
- Schala and Janus being half shiblings
- Saying that Wizards only kept the powers of magic, even though it was "mystics".
- The Flame had to many discreprencies that were not fixed until RD and CC.
I suppose you are a purist in that regard, but I tend to think that that's too extreme. So some thing were missed in translation. Consider how much was off in the LOTR movies. Yet they worked nonetheless, being essentially Jackson's 'translation' of Tolkien. Some things, in fact, he improved upon. Take the design of things. I can guarantee you that the Numenorean armour looks way better in the movies than as Tolkien drew it... and I rather think Tolkien would have agreed.
But about CT.... these are not nearly so stupid, however, as using names like Mayonnaise. There may be slight plot discrepancies, but far as quality in sound, he didn't do a bad job. Better than the original, I'd say, in that he was more clever. From what I've heard of the original, it sounds little deeper in allusion and style than an episode of Inspector Gadget. It's a cartoon put to video game. Now, not to say there were not clever things in it, but much of the mood of the game does not come through the story, but through the music - put down the story itself on paper, and it is rather immature on its own. Woosly, at least, gave it an allusive quality.
Plus, how does it lack depth. If anything, CT's characters seem to lack depth.
But that's what I'm talking about. CT. It does lack depth. The story is simple and cliche, and the characters are stock and weak. Now, it works in the representation of a game. But try writing a story of it, in words and after the fashion of literature. One can't. It would come across too immature. There would be no serious literary quality in it. As such, things can be interpolated to fill in the gaps... and language is one of those. It does not depreciate the original - why, that will always be there! - but it enriches it if done well. Personally, I very much dislike Virgil's evil representation of Ulysses - I know Homer's Odysseus far better. But that's not to say that Virgil ruined him in showing him differently, and in adding things to the stories. He added depth to that which might not have had it before.
Such as Crono. God, he's so pathetic. He's just like this underveloped character who just has to kill this powerful beast that everyone is afraid of. The plot was very well developed, and to some, it takes quite a bit of thought before they can put two and two together.
In a way, CC is more complex, and I actually like it more than CT, except that CT has Zeal.
Depth and complexity are not the same thing. The Iliad has depth, but is hardly complex. The nature of an epic is a rather simple storyline. To convolute the storyline (say, like what Xenosaga does) does not make something automatically good. The simplest of stories can be the best. Agamemnon, Oedipus Tyrannus, Hamlet, the Iliad, the Aeneid... these are all classics built around simpler storylines than many kids books. Yet they are lastingly deep. The ability of a story to wreak confusion through complexity does not make it good, and often shows an over-reliance on plot-devices.
Also, defining a language for Zeal ruins what we got from the experience there. Since Zeal is just magical in all sorts, I think we'd best leave our own ideas to ourselves, except when we share a common love for what we saw in it. Though, I praise the endevor and the work gone into it. I actually like the idea, but otherwise the language should only be perceived by the reader of the version of the game that they are playing.
In that case, almost all of modern fantasy would not exist. Do you know how many messed with Tolkien's Elves, in a horrid way? If people had abided by that sort of thing, I can guarentee you that 95% of modern fantasy would not exist. The genre itself might well not exist. You see, those Elves are inherently part of his world. No different than, say, Zeal might have been. For authors to have done this weird drow and Dark Elf thing to them is no different than such a thing as this. It's worse, in fact, as now the original Elves are all but unknown, and we get this weird modern fantasy rendering of them. Lamentable in my eyes, yet it is a neccessary step in continuing creativity. See what I mean?
Also, do realise that CT wasn't designed for 30 year old adults. LOTR was most likely designed for older people. I don't think that making CT to complicated with irrelevant things like language would make kids really want to buy it. Kid's want action and adventure, and that's what brings in the big bucks.
Actually, Lord of the Rings was considered a kid's story. And I wasn't talking Lord of the Rings anyway. I was talking more Silmarillion. That is more adult oriented, it's true, but that's not the point. The point is internal complexity and consistancy. A language is one of the points of setting, and sets the mood as well. To leave it blank as simple English removes a level of realism and complexity from the backdrop of the story, and makes it less believeable.
Anyway, the point is, to make up a language for Zeal does not do Trigger a dis-service in any way. Nor does it even remove any of the feel or magic from it, not if done rightly. A 'George Lucas' should not be pulled, with a new 'Special Addition' being put out with all these things added back in... but seperately, it adds flavour to unexplored aspects.
Post Scriptum
Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, I have a rather certain view when it comes to fantasy writing. But do keep in mind that my premise for defending this is that he appears to be following the feel of the names Woosly gave them. You see, it would be different were he forcing it to something it were not, betraying or at least altering the original to fit his thing, rather than the reverse. That folly is admittedly what I did when I wrote my fanfiction... though that is past me now, and I know the mistake in it, my chief lament for it being that, while it was certainly my style, it did not mesh well with Chrono. That's why I always praise ZeaLitY and Hadriel in their fanfiction writing: they can achieve not only good writing, but after the feel of the game, which is a hard thing. Now, if someone were to be doing what I did... I would counsel them to work to write their own thing, but not make it Chrono, for it would not be that more than in character and name. But in this case, where he is obviously following a similar path... it is admissable and laudable. There is a distinction there. If it follows the same spirit of the original, then it is good. If not, it is not. I think that this endeavour does, so I defend it. Even if it was not intended in origin by the creators, if it follows the same spirit... what harm is there?
