Chrono Compendium

Marbule Gallery - Completed Fan Creations => Retranslation of Chrono Trigger => Topic started by: ZeaLitY on January 14, 2006, 08:44:55 pm

Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 14, 2006, 08:44:55 pm
Note to all: a script with all code tags intact should be on the way. This may facilitate reading somewhat.

~

Welcome to the forum; you are here because you expressed interest in helping with the retranslation of Chrono Trigger from Japanese, and we are very grateful! Since this effort will primarily be done by a few individuals in close contact with each other, this forum may not get much use. It is here in case any questions must be directed to the other members of the team, or if any other relevant info pops up.

As a translator, remember that you are free to translate as little or much as you wish; the Chrono Trigger script is very hefty, and it would be a hell of a lot of work for just one person. Thank you again; we are poised to penetrate mysteries that have been buried for ten years.

http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Retranslation

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If you ever hit a stumbling block, like a tough-as-nails dialectical nuance or something plain bizarre, just post it at the forum.

~

Before you begin, please give an honest opinion of your skill in translating Japanese. If you would like to test your ability, please translate:

スペッキオ「ツンツン頭のおまえは『天』。
 このポニーテールのギャルは『水』の力。
 こっちのメガネのネーちゃんは『火』の力。
 てなぐあいに、魔法だけでなくすべてのものは、この4つのバランスでなりたってる。
 『魔法が使いたい~』とねんじながら、ドアの所からはじめて
 この部屋のさくにそって、時計回りに3回まわる!

And just post it here. We can make comparisons based off that. Try not to look at the others translations before you do your own!

Welcome again!
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Soraya on January 15, 2006, 06:34:33 pm
Spekkio:
First off, pointy-head there is "sky".
This pony-tailed gal is "water".
The girl with the glasses is "fire".     
Tenaguaini, not only magic but the entirety of things are, these four balance naritatteru.
Starting at the door, walk clockwise around the room three times while thinking, "I wanna use magic!"

 The fourth line's start and end is the only thing that screwed me up. Too bad there aren't more kanji in there.  :wink:
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 15, 2006, 06:39:12 pm
Okay, it was:

 This girl with the ponytail has the power of "Water".
And the chick with the glasses over here has the power of "Fire".
The condition of everything in the world, not just magic, consists of the balance of these four.
So keep thinking, "I wanna use magic," and starting from the door,
walk around clockwise along the [wall] three times!

So you pretty much nailed it. We've got about 5 volunteers now, so I'm sure we can help each other out on tough spots.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Soraya on January 15, 2006, 10:01:13 pm
I saw "guai" in there and was thinking the word "condition" should be in the sentence, but since I didn't know what "tena" would be by itself I just let it be.

 Can you tell me what "naritatteru" was? XD I figured it was some weird conjugation of naru.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 15, 2006, 10:05:24 pm
Oh, I have no idea. I'm getting this from someone who translated a few lines about a year ago; it was just some Spekkio dialogue.  :oops:
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Fenris Wolf on January 16, 2006, 12:53:34 am
I've only got access to basic sentence structure right now, and since I haven't started on kanji yet, I'm afraid most of this is beyond me.

I'll stick to the items/technique lists if that's okay.  I'll leave the dialogue to someone with more experience.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Soraya on January 16, 2006, 01:34:48 am
Just wonder, how literally translated should it be? Should the speech sound completely natural, as if it were really going into a new ROM?
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 16, 2006, 02:08:48 am
I would say, whatever best conveys the original meaning. We can proofread and copyedit all we want later, so if working on readability conflicts with the meaning, you can leave it as is. The primary mission is to just poke at the raw truth.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Kawaru on January 16, 2006, 11:23:33 am
Ok, I just joined the group, so here's my attempt at a translation of that quote.


Spekkio: You with the spiky head, you're 'heaven'.
This pony-tailed gal has the power of 'water'.
The lady over here with glasses has the power of 'fire'.
That's how it is. But not just magic, all things consist of a balance of these 4.
While thinking, "I wanna use magic~", start from the door and walk clockwise along the fence around this room three times!"
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 16, 2006, 11:24:53 am
Well, that was perfect! Start with whatever you like.
Title: My stab at this~
Post by: Senescence on January 16, 2006, 08:02:05 pm
hey everyone, I just joined up and gave this a good shot without looking at anyone else's entry. This is verbatim what I've come up with.

Spekkio – “The spiky-haired one, you are heaven.
This pony-tailed girl has the power of water.
The one with glasses over here has the power of fire.
Well now, the 4 of your not only have magical powers, but you all keep an even balance with such power.
While thinking to yourself “I want to use magic…” begin from this door here and encircle the room clockwise three full times!”

It seems to be on target, let me know what you guys think.
Sen
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 17, 2006, 09:26:37 am
Well, the fourth line seems to be a little different from the others. Did you notice any difficulty while translating it? I'm not sure how easy it is to err on that line; perhaps it's difficult -- can someone elaborate? I'm just interested in if you can tell when something's hard or vague. We can always help each other out in tough spots.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Senescence on January 17, 2006, 02:23:52 pm
other than the honest mistake I made with Spekkio saying that "Not just magic, but all things consist of a balance of these 4", I had an issue with てなぐあいに because Ive never heard it before and I couldnt find it in any of my dictionaries which is odd because I have nearly 10 different types of dictionaries. Other than that, the part where I translated "...All things consist of a balance of these 4" was an honest mistake that I just caught.

Again, its up to you guys if you want me to help out. Ive got the free time for sure, but my accuracy is something that you'll have to judge. I appologize for screwing that up.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on January 17, 2006, 03:18:07 pm
Oh, it's fine. I'm just poking away because I myself have no knowledge of Japanese, or the pitfalls involved.

I'd say you're good to go (damn, ten dictionaries...you certainly have the equipment!). Good luck.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Soraya on January 17, 2006, 04:10:38 pm
Quote from: Senescence
other than the honest mistake I made with Spekkio saying that "Not just magic, but all things consist of a balance of these 4", I had an issue with てなぐあいに because Ive never heard it before and I couldnt find it in any of my dictionaries which is odd because I have nearly 10 different types of dictionaries.


 I had exactly the same problem. I have a similar number of dictionaries, including slang ones, and none of them had "tena" in them.  :?
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Kawaru on January 18, 2006, 02:16:52 am
In my case, I went with my gut instinct as to what it sounded like. He's summing up the previous few lines with that, in standard Japanese would be something like という様な具合. But, it wasn't in the dictionaries I checked either.
Title: Ok, let's try this
Post by: Malenien on January 29, 2006, 03:36:10 am
So here is what I have:

Spekkio: "You with the pointy head, you're 'heaven.'
               This ponytailed gal is the power of 'water.'
               This young lady with the glasses here is the power of 'fire.'
               So you see, all things, not just magic, depend on the balance of these four [powers].
               Starting from the door, circle this room along the wall clockwise three times while thinking 'I wanna use magic!'"

I noticed there were some questions about the usage of "tena guai ni." This is a colloquial phrase (kind of kanto-ben) often used when you have finished explaining something to someone. It is often written in roumaji as "tte na guai ni." So if you've just explained to someone how to hit a tennis ball, you may end by saying "tte na guai ni sou surun desu." My personal translation in this case was "so you see," but any similar phrase would do.

Also, naritatteru is "naritatsu," consisting of "to become" and "to stand." It just basically means something consists of something or depends/hinges on something.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Darth Mongoose on January 31, 2006, 02:33:15 am
Spekkio: You with the spiky head, you're 'Heaven'.
Spekkio: This pony-tailed bombshell here has the power of 'Water'.
Spekkio: ...And over here with the glasses, she's 'Fire'.

Spekkio: By the way, it 'aint just with magic. The need to balance these four powers is universal!

Spekkio: Keep thinking 'I wanna use magic!' while you run around this room three times, clockwise from that door there!


(Please note, I probably have the lowest level of Japanese ability of the people working on this project, but I hope I've managed to get across the right feeling. The world 'Gal' has a slightly different connotation in Japan to England, it means more like 'bimbo' or 'valley girl', and is, I think, refering to Marle's blonde hair (I know she's kind of ginger, but she has the same hair colour as me, and I get called 'blonde' in Japan). I didn't want him to say 'bimbo', but I thought 'bombshell' carried the whole 'blonde girl' meaning in a nicer way. I was going to have him call Chrono 'Hedgehog Bonce' but I decided it might be too English sounding!)

Umm, Hi by the way, I'm Darth Mongoose! Yoroshiku ne!
Title: Re: Ok, let's try this
Post by: Soraya on February 10, 2006, 12:35:03 am
Quote from: Malenien
It is often written in roumaji as "tte na guai ni."


 Gwah. That would have made perfect sense to me if it had been written like that. D:

 Oh well, thanks!
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: Rycar on February 15, 2006, 09:37:35 pm
Spekkio "You!  The spikey headed one, you're 'sky',"
"The chick with the ponytail gets the power of 'water'"
"and the girl with the glasses gets the power of 'fire'."
"Not just magic, but everything consists of a balance of these four elements."
"Now, while thinking 'I wanna use magic', start from the door"
"and walk clockwise three times around the room, keeping in line with the room's edge."

Now, as I'm not sure what sort of ratio we're meant to keep between content and context, bolded items denote where I took some liberties.

Beyond that, ギャル and ねえちゃん were a little bit of a pain, and as I didn't like my dictionaries' translations, I opted to ask a Japanese friend, who could only tell me that "ギャル" has a "cooler" connotation; hence the somewhat painful "chick".

てなぐあいに is noticably absent, but so far as I can tell, "てな" translates roughly to "というように", so I felt including a translation would make the line a little redundant.
Title: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: ZeaLitY on February 15, 2006, 11:50:42 pm
With Rycar and touge_dorifuto, we now have ten translators signed to the project. This is great; we'll be accepting new volunteers right up until the last dialogue block is claimed.
Title: Re: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: DarkOffspring on October 21, 2007, 03:56:21 pm
Hi there. Just thought I'd comment on what I've played of the retranslation, given no Japanese knowledge whatsoever. :p

Some of the changes are very interesting, but I feel that a lot of the dialog sounds sriff and generic in English, with the characters losing their innate "voices". This seems to happen when a phrase is translated DIRECTLY from Japanese and not slightly modified to have the english speaking public in mind. As such, flow is lost. To give you an example right here from this thread...

"Spekkio – “The spiky-haired one, you are heaven.
This pony-tailed girl has the power of water.
The one with glasses over here has the power of fire.
Well now, the 4 of you not only have magical powers, but you all keep an even balance with such power.
While thinking to yourself “I want to use magic…” begin from this door here and encircle the room clockwise three full times!”

I'm not certain which version is in the game (haven't gotten there yet), but personal pronoun and speech-style changes like this seem to abound in the translation. Spekkio speaks in a colloquial and familiar manner most of the time. In the previous translation, he goes from that, to formal, and back, while simultaneously switching between the first and third persons while speaking (which would be ok, if he didn't do it within the SAME SENTENCE). This kind of stuff abounds in the retranslation.

For instance, the new gonzalez song looks and sounds awful, as well as not matching up with the music.

There have to be some liberties taken with the translation in order for it to sound good in English and not appear WEIRD, thereby lessening the gaming experience. Maybe I'll work on my own translation one day, but that day is far off.

My translation of the above would be more similar to darth Mongoose's, which sounds a lot better.

Spekkio: You with the spiky hair, you're Heaven.
Spekkio: This pony-tailed bombshell over here has the power of 'Water'.
Spekkio: ...And the girl here with the glasses, she's 'Fire'.

Spekkio: By the way, it ain't just with magic. These powers need to be balanced in all aspects of life!

Spekkio: Keep thinking 'I wanna use magic!' while you run around this room's wall three times, clockwise from that door!

Title: Re: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: lagoonalight on October 30, 2007, 10:14:15 am
Characters losing their voices! You just said you don't know much japanese!

TW's script is ******* WAY off Buddy, Talk about stiff, how about changing entire sentence structure and MEANING!

WTF!

Stiff compared to what! SMOOTH JAZZ!

Give me a break, your translation is nice but please, The majority of the text is worse in TW's version by far when you take in how sophisticated the meanings read. I am the first to say things sound stiff, but please tell me you are not saying Woolsey is any better, because the majority of the time, limited or not, his script plain sucks.

AGAIN, these translations people are not TOTALLY direct, by literal they mean the meaning, THEY ARE NOT TRANSLATING CHARACTER FOR CHARACTER WORD FOR WORD PEOPLE, at least not all the time.

they are choosing words here and they are not limited to ONE ****** word. It is more the fault of their english than anything.


AND HONESTLY I AM SO SICK OF THIS UNCONSTRUCTIVE BULLYING, TW'S SCRIPT CAN BE RIPPED APART MORE THAN THIS CAN. I ABSOLUTELY HATE HOW PEOPLE ARE DOING THIS WHILE ACTING LIKE THAT SCRIPT WAS LITERARY GOD WHEN ITS MORE LIKE KINDERGARTEN.

And let's pull back here buddy, BOMBSHELL, Why don't you just start adding another sentence here and there. FAIL.

Ain't!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good god, you are not a translator don't even try.

HOW ABOUT WE ALL SPEAK LIKE BROOKLYN THUGS AND JUST CALL IT A DAY. THIS TRANSLATION SUCKS! YAY!
Title: Re: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: justin3009 on October 30, 2007, 03:09:26 pm
Wow, what is your issue?  I do have to say this translation is better in most ways just, some of it is grammatically errored.  That's really about the only issue i've seen with this, other then that it's good.  I have like a 50/50 thing of liking both Woosley and this one.  All in all, they're both good.
Title: Re: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: lagoonalight on October 31, 2007, 02:30:08 am
My issue is take a look at those forums.

Negative, mean, and dumb.
Title: Re: Welcome / Quality Control
Post by: lagoonalight on November 02, 2007, 03:41:10 pm
I was wondering, CAN ANYONE help me with this:

FF6 retranslation

I thank Z for giving the unheadered version of his I am having trouble with theirs

they only have one IPS and I cannot get it to work on ROM

How does this happen

I am using SNES9X 1.51 and mac and chrono works great with the unheadered version

is there something I can do to get the ff 6 version to work with the J ROM

I can give ROM details if needed

Thanks