Messages

1

Chrono News / New Update to the Chrono Trigger Prototype Unused Text Document

« on: August 17, 2015, 04:44:22 pm »

Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted here in quite a while, but I thought you all might find this interesting.

We recently made an update that was made recently to the CT prototype unpointed text recovery project, for the first time since I initially posted it here on the Compendium! (If you're not already familiar with this effort, you can read about it here:
http://sudden-desu.net/revisiting-the-chrono-trigger-pre-release-leftover-dialogue/ )

A follower on twitter for my game hacking/digital archaeology website sudden-desu.net provided some new kanji to add to the text table, which completed a number of sentences and made some dialogue a lot more intelligible now. Unfortunately, there weren't any amazing new plot discoveries, but it's nice to have the text a little more readable. Beyond that, there was some cleanup to the document itself and updates to the notes.

You can read more about the new text here: http://sudden-desu.net/2015/08/11/update-to-the-chrono-trigger-unpointed-text-recovery/

2

Site Updates / Re: Revisiting the CT Pre-release Unpointed Dialogue

« on: November 12, 2013, 01:43:36 pm »

It was based on breaking up the pointer tables based off the "StringIndexes" (pointer table locations) in Temporal Flux's event editor.

Ah, okay. I figured there was a reason for it. I just loaded Temporal Flux and played with it. I see the String Index in the event editor, but what is that relative to? Is there a screen that shows how the blocks are layed out? Granted, I've only used TF maybe three times total, so maybe I'm just not understanding the program.

Anyway, I think the way I outlined above works better from a raw data perspective, rather than from a script/event perspective, by just defining a block as a pointer table + all the strings referenced by that table + any leftover text following that.

Well, block 15a, which while lacking any programmed events using it, should have been probably separated into another block because the opening strings make it clearly a distinct text bank, but I misunderstood the question or planned layout at the time of the spreadsheet creation.

I noticed that about 15a, although in my method it's merged into block 5, as all of its strings are referenced in block 5's pointer table.

In the end I think both methods are valid, we just take different approaches. Anyway, thanks for your insight! That helps me understand better.

3

Site Updates / Re: Revisiting the CT Pre-release Unpointed Dialogue

« on: November 12, 2013, 03:22:55 am »

Okay, where to begin...

I've been working on this project pretty consistently for the past two weeks or so. My initial post here was probably made a bit too early, but I was pretty excited about what I'd found and also a bit worn out, and I wanted to get it out to the world before I became completely burnt out.

Well, I couldn't stay away, and I went right back to it. I fixed a number of problems with the spreadsheet, translated some more interesting lines, and most importantly, changed how we define a 'block' of text. I posted a nice, long write-up to my tumblr about this, which I'm shamelessly plugging. I've edited my original post and attached the newer version of the spreadsheet, and I'm reposting the text from my write-up below:

Eight years ago (!), we were starting to really dig into the Chrono Trigger Pre-release Demo ROM. I was making it a project to dump all of the dialogue from this Demo version for comparison to the final. I wanted to do a full translation and hoped to find exciting differences in the story. I never finished the translation or comparison, but thankfully the Chrono Compendium completed that project fantastically. While identifying the text blocks and dumping them, we found early on that there was leftover dialogue data from previous versions of the game. Unfortunately, the text was broken: the hiragana and katakana were readable but the kanji was wildly incorrect. That broken text has never been given a thorough examination, until recently when, on a whim, I picked up the project again and documented what I found…

1. Defining a Block

Before examining the leftover text, we need to better define what a ‘block’ of text is. The dialogue spans offset 0x3B0242 to 0x3B1F3F. My original research split this up into 23 blocks; the more-accurate Pre-release translation on the Compendium breaks it up into 19 blocks. However, the actual definition of a block is nebulous in both cases. My offset ranges were chosen arbitrarily, looking for chunks of 0’s and other anomalies in the hex view to delineate sections. I’m not sure of the reasoning behind the 19 block layout of the Compendium text, but it too seems arbitrarily defined.

A more logical system is to group blocks by the pointer tables that the games uses to reference each string of text. If we define a block as a range of data beginning with a pointer table immediately followed by the text data it references, we can identify 7 blocks (laid out below). Since we are defining the offsets for the pointed data, this aligns with the layout of the unpointed data as well.

2. Unpointed text, part 1

As its description implies, unpointed text is text that is not referenced by a pointer table. The game software uses the pointer table to find the memory address where the specified text string is stored. Thus, unpointed data cannot be normally accessed by the code, as it has no way of being ‘found.’ It is essentially orphaned data.

The reason for this leftover text still exists at all is due to the nature of how games were made during that era. The developers would have used one or two test cartridges containing EEPROM chips that allowed the team to easily write the game code to the cartridge for testing on actual hardware. The data on the chips was overwritten and not wiped first, meaning if the new data was shorter than the previous data, the excess data remained.

When this process happens a few times and as the work-in-progress data changes, the excess data may form into ‘layers,’ like sediment, with the oldest version existing at the end, and previous (shorter) versions appearing before it. Each ‘layer’ of excess data is an artifact from a previous build written to the cartridge that, at one time, had a pointer table referencing down into what is now leftover data.

Let’s use an imaginary line of text as an example. Let’s say in our first version, we have a line reading:

Code: [Select]

Crono, you should go see your friend Lucca at the Millennial Fair.[00](using [00] as the marker for the end of the string) The text goes through some revisions, and the next version, the line is changed to:

Code: [Select]

Crono, Lucca is waiting for you at the Millennial Fair.[00]This new text is a bit shorter, so when it’s written to the chip, the actual data is:

Code: [Select]

Newest version:                                            Old ver.A
Crono, Lucca is waiting for you at the Millennial Fair.[00]nial Fair.[00]The tail end of the previous version still remains. In an effort to save space on, the text is reduced even more in the next version, so the data looks like this now:

Code: [Select]

Newest version:                  Old ver.A                    Old ver.B
Lucca is waiting at the Fair.[00]u at the Millennial Fair.[00]nial Fair.[00]The unpointed blocks of text work the same way. As newer revisions were shortened, the tail ends of previous versions remained on the development chips.

3. New block map

With our new definition of ‘block’ and the fact that the unpointed blocks are further divided by version, here’s a proper layout of the text inside the Pre-release ROM:

Code: [Select]

Text data is stored in banks 59 (0x3b0000) and 60 (0x3c0000). Data between blocks is zeros.

Dialogue block 01
Pointers 0x3b0000-0x3b0241
Text 0x3b0242-0x3b23d9
Unpointed A 0x3B23DA-0x3B2314 (Std table)
Unpointed B 0x3B2415-0x3B254E (Std table)
Unpointed C 0x3B254F-0x3B25F0 (Std table)

Dialogue block 02
Pointers 0x3b5000-0x3b5293
Text 0x3b5294-0x3b85e6
Unpointed A 0x3B85E7-0x3B8C5E (Table A)
Unpointed B 0x3B8C5F-0x3B98A3 (Table B)
Unpointed C 0x3B98A4-0x3B990B (Table B)

Dialogue block 03
Pointers 0x3bb000-0x3bb3ff
Text 0x3bb400-0x3bde35
Unpointed A 0x3bde36-0x3bde48 (Zeroes; see notes)
Unpointed B 0x3bde49-0x3BE4FC (Table A)

Dialogue block 04
Pointers 0x3c0000-0x3b0427
Text 0x3bc0428-0x3c4535

Dialogue block 05
Pointers 0x3c5000-0x3c56d5
Text 0x3c56d6-0x3cacfd
Unpointed A 0x3cacfe-0x3CAF12 (Std table)
Unpointed B 0x3CAF13-0x3CAFFF (Table C)

Dialogue block 06
Pointers 0x3cb000-0x3cb0bb
Text 0x3cb0bc-0x3cbb6c

Dialogue block 07
Pointers 0x3ce000-0x3ce0ab
Text 0x3ce0ac-0x3cee95
Unpointed A 0x3ceea0-0x3CF6B9 (Table A)

Treasure chest text
Pointers 0x3cfe00-0x3cfe09
Text 0x3cfe0a-0x3cfe26

Substring definitions
Pointers 0x3cff00-0x3cff3f
Text 0x3cff40-0x3cffc0
Unpointed A 0x3cffc1-0x3cffcc (Table A)
Unpointed B 0x3cffcd-0x3cffce
4. Unpointed text, part 2

As previously mentioned, the text for most of the unpointed blocks was broken. It seems that while the single-byte definitions (the hiragana, katakana, numbers, symbols and some substrings) were the same across all versions, the double-byte definitions (kanji) had changed drastically. This made the text half-readable: the kana was accurate but the kanji was wildly incorrect. In Japanese, this is like taking the key words, like nouns and verbs, out of a sentence and leaving only structure and grammar. Using an English sentence as an analogy:

Code: [Select]

"This is the legendary sword, the Grandleon!"would look something like this:

Code: [Select]

"This is the [blank] [blank], the Grandleon!"There are a couple of methods to decipher the broken text. The first is simply guessing. Using context clues, common Japanese phrases and commonly used phrases in the game specifically, we can make educated guesses at some of the kanji. Needless to say, this is unreliable, frustrating and ultimately not very effective, as the text is almost always just too vague to make a sound guess.

The other method involves comparing the text to its later, correct version. So long as the text remained nearly the same, we can compare it and substitute the correct kanji into the broken text. The downside of this method is that the text must remain mostly the same in later versions; text that changed significantly does not have a later comparison and thus can’t be directly deciphered. Broken kanji in the drastically different blocks may be used in other, verifiable blocks, though.

5. Kanji Tables

As I began to build the table for the leftover text and redump text, I noticed something: there was more than one old kanji table lurking in the leftover data! This was both an exciting and frustrating discovery. It was exciting because it was a previously unknown facet of the pre-release ROM which sheds further light on the development process. It was frustrating because the text using these even older tables was changed significantly and couldn’t be compared to later versions.

The leftover text references three separate kanji tables. In the table above, you’ll notice that after each unpointed block address is Std table, Table A, Table B or Table C. Std table refers to the ‘standard’ table used by the Pre-release version. Tables A, B and C are all definitions from previous versions.

With our knowledge of how the ‘layers’ of leftover data work, we can infer some facts. It’s a given that the Standard table is the newest, as it is what is actually used by the software. Therefore, any unpointed text using the Standard table is newest. We can assume since there is so much data using Table A leftover that it must have been the version used right before Standard. Finally, data using tables B and C appears after Table A blocks, meaning it is older than Table A, and thus the oldest. We can’t really make a sound call on whether B or C is oldest, since they are not in the same block and have no relative comparison. Logically, the standard table unpointed text has almost nothing changed; text using table A has noticeable differences; text using B or C is very different.

Table A is the most complete, as it is used by the majority of the unpointed text. Tables B and C are both very incomplete. Table B is used once (twice technically), in blocks 02-B and 02-C, and the text is completely different. Sadly, there’s not a single line to compare it to, and the few entries in Table B are based on the context clues/guessing method. Table C is similar: it is used only once, but there are three or four lines of text at the end that survived to later versions. It’s still mostly unreadable, but some information is better than none.

6. Corrected text dumps and comparisons

After constructing the tables as best I could, I dumped each block of unpointed text and arranged it in a spreadsheet for comparison. You should refer to the spreadsheet for research, but here is an overview of each block:

Block 1 unpointed text
Nothing too interesting here, unfortunately. It’s the tail end of the text of block 1, Azala’s death and the Lavos star. There are three versions, and all are identical to the final pre-text except for one extra “Ride!” in unpointed block A.

Block 2 unpointed text
Now things get fun! Block A contains two sections of text. The first half is the dialogue from the Gran + Leon (Masa Mune) battle. There are numerous small differences. Lots of text was changed, but the plot is the same. The second half of A takes place in the dungeon of Manoria Cathedral. The captured humans have a couple different lines, but most of the text is the same.
Block B is probably the most fascining of all the leftover text. This is the only chunk to use Table B, meaning it’s very old text and it shows. It takes place very early in the game, right after meeting Marle at the fair. None of the text here exists in any later versions, and some parts of the plot seem noticeably different. There is reference to a Great King Delnach (Derunacchi in Japanese); Lucca’s machine is the Teleport rather than Telepod; Bosch (Melchior) plays a bigger role early on. There are lots of intriguing points, but unfortunately, as there is no later text to compare to, all the kanji here is based entirely on guesswork. 90% of the kanji is unavailable, so many sentences are almost entirely unreadable. Still, there are lots of interesting tidbits that can be inferred.

Block 3 unpointed text
Block A is actually nothing but zeroes. This is because Block 3 standard actually ends with a bunch of empty strings, i.e. consecutive 00’s in the data. Block 3 officially ends with the last string referenced, which is at offset 0x3cacfd. After that are 18 more 0 value bytes, followed by the broken text starting mid-string. We can infer that those 18 bytes are the tail end of a previous version of block 3. Since it’s all 00’s, we can’t assign a table to it, but that doesn’t matter as it doesn’t contain data. It’s just an interesting, pointless leftover.
Block B contains two sections. The first is Dalton with Schala as hostage in the Earthbound village. The team has some lines that were removed, plus some small changes in Bosch’s lines. The second half is Mother Brain’s dialogue. Very little text actually changed, although some there was some text re-ordered in the beginning.

Block 5 unpointed text
Block A uses the standard table and was already thoroughly covered in the Compendium Pre-release translation. The interesting part here is Block B, the only block to use Table C. It is very old text, and sadly there isn’t much of it. It is set in Prehistoric times. There’s an NPC named ‘Gigi’ who speaks, and the team makes mention of a character named Migō. There are four lines that survived, spoken by NPCs, with some minor changes.

Block 7 unpointed text
Crono’s Trial. There are no major changes, but there are a few points of interest. The number of days until execution was 7 instead of 3; King Guardia’s scolding of Marle at the end is much more severe; several small grammar and kanji changes that illustrate how the byte-size of the text was a consideration in development.

So there we have it. I hope everyone finds this interesting. It was a lot of work, but it was also fascinating digital archaeology. I consider my findings mostly ‘definitive,’ but there may yet be some mistakes somewhere. As far as I’m concerned, the document is now ‘open-source’ and belongs to the old game hacking/research community, so please feel free to correct and further improve it.

CT Pre-release Unpointed Dialogue Research spreadsheet - ver. 0.2

4

Site Updates / Re: Here's the text from the undecipherable leftover strings in the pre-release

« on: November 05, 2013, 05:39:53 pm »

Gran Leon

Actually, for some reason when I read your post, I had a flash of realization.

I always wondered why it was Gran and Leon, but the sword is the Grandleon (the d in the middle). Then it hit me.

In Japanese, it's the Gurandorion, with their specific names being Guran and Rion. The 'do' in the middle could be a sort of double entendre in Japanese: the word for and is 'to', but the t sound can become d when use in a compound word. In essence, the Grandleon could be the 'Gran and Leon', with the the d sound making it 'grand' in English as well.

Could just be a coincidence, but I think it makes sense from a Japanese wordplay perspective.

5

Site Updates / Revisiting the CT Pre-release Unpointed Dialogue

« on: November 04, 2013, 10:38:44 am »

Lurking at the end of the dialogue data in the Chrono Trigger Pre-release is some leftover text data from previous versions of the game. Unfortunately, the text was broken and only half readable. Recently, I took a break from translating the CT manga to finally tackle this unpointed data and try to make sense of it.

I found a number of interesting changes, such as the fact that most of the unpointed blocks are actually layers of leftovers from multiple previous versions. Also, the old text references not just one older kanji table, but three! In the text itself, there's a great number of changes. Most are simply formatting or single word changes, but among the oldest text there includes references to characters named King Delnach and Migō, and a completely different, much older version of the early Millennial Fair dialogue...

I've given all the unpointed data a thorough review and have compiled all my research into a spreadsheet. Come follow the thread in the forums for a link to the spreadsheet and a complete write-up.

6

Site Updates / Re: Chrono Trigger OVA manga translation

« on: October 23, 2013, 02:58:50 pm »

Sorry for the delay. I work a lot, and I have another ROM related project that I've been spending a lot of time on. Anyway..

We were thrilled when GlitterBerri translated the Prerelease stuff (there's still some nigh-indecipherable portions from earlier builds here and there).

Yeah, I'm so happy that got completed! And I see there's proof for the 8th character being Gaspar now. THAT was super exciting to come back to see.

Regarding the indecipherable portions, I recall them and was very intrigued. If I remember correctly, the kana is still correct but it seems to use an older kanji table. I've always though if we could find an equivalent bit of text we could sort of Rosetta stone the old kanji table and deciper those leftovers...

Anyway! More manga translation. I did up to 26-27.jpg, which covers up to Gate 3. Man this is a silly story. I've been translating in favor of readability rather than 100% accuracy, so hopefully it's all understandable. Enjoy!
 

16-17.jpg
CLAY COMIC
Exciting Clay Action
Nuu and Mamo

(The Story Of) Picnics Are Fun, mo!

-

Picnics sure are fun.

Why did you bring ice cream to a picnic, mo!?

-

Cause it sure is delicious

You're gonna get the runs. [lit. And then you'll have a cold belly. I asked my Japanese friend about this phrase, and she said in Japanese cold stomach leads to 'friends with the toilet']

-

Hau--

(sfx: surprise)

-

Toilet!
Toilet!

Hey now..

-

Despite all that, what a nice view, mo...
The mountains're nice, mo
[I assume these are the phrases spoken by the mamo on Denadoro Mts...]

-

It sure is a nice view over here!

-

Hooo...

Gyafuun! [Some kind of surprised scream?]

The end

-

GATE 2

(The Story Of) Zoom Zoom with Mahha

-

Due to various circumstances, Nuu and Mamo have fallen into the End of Time, and due to further circumstances the Time & Space Squad NuuMamo-nger have formed, but...

(background picture: MOUNTAIN - MAMO VILLAGE)

arrow box: Radar Operator Spekkio

Wh-why am I doing this..

-

(sfx: long high pitched sound, like an alarm...)

It's an emergency, mo!!

-

I j-just farted...

(background sfx: more high pitched sounds, like a Nuu fart I guess...)

-

(sfx: more farts)

Cut it out already, mo!! [lit. So insistent!]

It's for real this time!

(sfx around Nuu: more farts, kind of.. sputtering now)

18-19.jpg
Knowing exactly what will happen as we face the future...

Well, there's only one way to find out. [lit. well, if we go we'll understand.]

-

Entering that gate should allow you to go to the future.

-

Spekkio! I have a mission for you as well!

Eh?

-

Until we return, I'll need you to do the housework and laundry, and begin to prepare dinner... And, let's see...

Mops sure are for housework.

-

Stop playing around!!

(sfx: kick, boing)

-

NuuMamo-nger, take off, mo~!

Yup.

-

AD 2300

That monster called Johnny is why I can't return home!

-

To return home, I have to take this road.

Johnny only lets those who beat him in a race to pass!

-

That's simple, mo! All we have to do is challenge the guy and win, mo!

Yeah! I can take down 5 bowls in 1 minute!

U-uh..
It isn't a speed eating challenge...

-
[note: the robot speaking text is entirely in katakana; as you might expect, this makes them sound robotic]
SUSPICIOUS PERSONS

PERSONS-RIBBIT

-

Hold it!

-

Boss! <3 [Aniki- <3]
[Aniki here is literally older brother. It's used often in gangs or other hierarchal male groups. Some would translate this as "Bro!" or "Big bro!" I personally like Boss, which is pretty neutral. I leave it up to whoever would typeset this to decide what they would like.]

Aa! Johnny!

-

The Lord of the Rats eh?
You know ya gotta defeat me in a race to get through here.

Yeah, and today we have come to challenge you!

(background robots: Boss! Boss!)

-

Nuu-san! Mamo-san! It's all you!

-

Shf shf (sound of throwing punches)

Shf
-

Shf

Shf

-

We'll drop you in one round, mo

I'm not gonna do boxing!

-

20-21.jpg

-

Johnny Racing Form - On!

-

kasho--n (engines revving)

-

pakon (sound of the wheels touching)

-

Yeah!

jaa--n (Tada type sound)

-

Hey hey! You gonna do this or ain't ya? [Decide already.]


Ma-mamo-san, where's your car?

Right here, mo!

[The green and yellow arrow symbol is used in Japan for Novice drivers.]

I'm gonna run.

Transformation! Nuu Jet!

gaki---n (machinery sound, hi pitched)

goki--n (machiner sound, deeper)

-

jika--n

Nuu Jet - Complete

-

I... I can't move...

(sfx: zuko---n - everyone falling over)

-

Johnny! If we win, you become our servant, mo!

Interesting. I accept!

-

Beep

Boooop

-

GO!

(sfx: baon!)

-

Energy supply!

-

Nuu Turbo Full Power!

(sfx: bobu--n)

Gege-!

-

Nuu-san, that's amazing!!

-

Dammit!

I won't let anyone in front of me!!

-

See ya

Ah!

-

Nuu!

Hurry, mo! Hurry, mo!

(sfx: coughing, wobbly)

Guess I c-can't... keep up anymore...

-

(sign: Nuu's Body)

-

(sfx: loud rolling)

Guwa--!

Stop us, mo!

GOAL

-

(sfx: loud rolling)

-

Aah! That's my house...

-

(sfx: LOUD EXPLOSION)

-

Case closed, mo!

And that's how Johnny became the servant of Nuu and Mamo!

I'm home...

-

22-23.jpg

-

(sign: Festival! Game Making)
Surprising Scoop!
'NuuMamonger' has become a game!!

yellow text on right: A Chrono Trigger crossover!?


Mamo text on left: Yahoo! Mamo is the King, mo!!

Nuu: I.. I'm the main character

What kind of secrets could there be in the map?

Big scoop! Nuu and Mamo have been put in a game!
According to these screens, it looks like an RPG! I can't wait for the release date!!
... Or something like that. Actually, it's an original game created with 'RPG Tsukuuru' from ASCII Software.
Give it a try and it will teach you everything you need to know to create.

caption for lower right image: Nuu, standing on the stage, tells a joke. What kind of scene is this?
lower right image - Nuu text box" Kato-chan pe-

blue box on bottom:
Title: This game was used to create the game
Create your own original RPG. For Playstation.

red box: Continued on page 28, mo!

-
GATE 3 - (The Story Of) Magical Ka-boom

middle white box: NuuMamonger - Introduction to All Members!

(clockwise from Mamo)

NuuMamonger Member #1 MAMO

Radar Operator & Housework Helper SPEKKIO

NuuMamonger Commander - HASH

Servent JOHNNY

Eh?

NuuMamonger Member #2 NUU

-

Heeeeeeeey! Why do *I* gotta be the servant here??

You promised to become our servant if you lost the race, mo.

-

Yeah, well what bout this then!?

So you won't escape, mo.

They sure are pretty cool lookin' shoes.

-

(background sfx: high pitched alarm)

There's trouble!

Let's go, mo!

Yup!

H- Hey...

-

I'm not done speakin'..

-

Gue--!

(sfx are pretty obvious!)

-

We have a Priority One case in the year 1000 AD.

A Priority one!?

-

A child's cake was stolen, you see.

(sfx: neck crack)

-

There's no way that counts as Priority One.

Strawberry cake sure is yummy

-

I think I'll bring Spekkio along this time.

Eh!?

-

Ah jeez, I guess, even though you've never called me for a case before this
Or how about, It's finally time for my true power...

-

Everyone's already left.

-

AD 1000 - Heckran Cave

Heke Heke [I guess this is laughter?]

Cake is my favorite food, kehe~

Gimme back my cake!

-

(sfx: gate opening, landing on the ground)

-

Hold it, mo!

-

Holdin' it.

(sfx: slap)

Not you.

-

NuuMamonger! You've come for me!

It'll be all right, mo.

-

DA--!!

-

(sfx: Nuu is making scrubbing sounds, Mamo is making metallic thwacks)

-

(sfx: heavy breathing)

The spade was not effective, mo.

Mop too...

These guys intended to used THOSE to take him down?

-

Hey! If I beat this guy, promote up from Servant!

Do what you want, mo.

-

Awwright! Hey you! Ya got three seconds left of this lifetime!!

Johnny s-sure is cool

-

Racing Mode - On!

-

Take this! Jet Tackle!!

-

(sfx: ching!)

text: Still attached.

-
(sfx: booom!)

Guwa-!!

Johnny remains Servant for the time being, mo.

-

26-27.jpg

-

Ah jeez, I can't watch this.

No matter how many cuts or strikes you land on Heckran, it will be pointless.

-

Only magic is effective against this guy.

So I'll blow him away with magic!

-

Kero kero

Geko geko

Hekko heko

(background sfx: rising power)

-

FLARE!

(sfx: booom!)

Gyowa--!

-

Did you see? With my power...

background text: That's done with
clouds: heavy breathing

-

(sign: Tactical Meeting In Session)

It's definitely a Cream Cake then, mo.

The best cream sure is chocolate.

Why couldn't you watch, jeez!!

-

Blue box: Spekkio

-

Now's our chance, mo! Let's end this, mo!

Yeah!

-

(sfx: dooooooo)

Final Nuu Ataaaaaaaaaaaack!!

-

O-okay, I don't need the cake, heke...

-

We did it--!

That was simple!

-

Noow then, where's that cake, mo~

Wonder if it's come out.

-

Ah...

It sur eis a mess...

-

Nuu-san, Mamo-san, didja get my cake?

-

Transformation! Nuu Cake!

-

(high pitched machine sound)

-

(lower pitched machine sound)

-

Right here!

Served up quick for you

Is that even edible!??

7

Site Updates / Re: Chrono Trigger OVA manga translation

« on: September 30, 2013, 06:32:26 pm »

It's been a while since you were here.

Yeah, haven't exactly had anything to contribute unfortunately. I re-hosted my old Chrono site for nostalgia, but that's about it, hehe. Hopefully I can churn out these translations relatively quickly and change that.

We might be able to get someone from one of the Jump translating sites to do cleanup and typesetting work

That would be fantastic. Too much life and not enough time to do it on my own. Translations forthcoming though! They are indeed quite simple, with childish grammar and furigana (thankfully) and predictable little boy humor; it doesn't take very long to get through a chapter.

8

Site Updates / Chrono Trigger OVA manga translation

« on: September 28, 2013, 03:09:01 pm »

Hi all! I noticed the OVA manga on the site here was untranslated and gave it a look. I translated the first chapter real quick. Unfortunately, I'm not a designer so I don't have a non-tedious, decent looking method, or the time for that matter, for typesetting the text. Instead, I translated it into a text file with some notes should someone want to do the graphic work, or even just to read along. Here is chapter 1; I'll continue with more chapters soon!
[hidden]

7.jpg
Time Adventure NuuMamonjaa~
[note: NuuMamonjaa, as we will see later, is an amalgamation of the main characters' names Nuu and Mamo; adding the 'njaa' to the end makes it sound like the Japanese pronunciation of Ranger, as in from a tokusatsu show (i.e. Red Ranger)]
Story: Izawa Hiroshi
Art: Kikuchi Akihiro

Right after these messages! [lit. Right after this!]
Don't change that channel <3

10-11.jpg
GATE 1
The Story of The Formation of NuuMamonja!
['The Story of' can be optional; comes from the '...no Maki' at the end, lit. 'The Scroll of', and is used often with period pieces; probably used to be comically "epic" here]

Long, long ago, way before Nuu and Mamo met

(sfx: rumbling)

A mysterious object was flying through the universe.

-

Meanwhile, here at the village of the Mamo tribe..

-

Tomorrow I'm going to climb the mountain, mo

[note: it seems the Mamo end their sentences with Mo; the long o sound is held out, which written in plain text would me moo, which.. looks like the sound a cow makes; may want to typeset it as mō or mo~/mo-]

(sfx: rustling)

I'll pick lots of fruit, mo

-

Hm!?

(sfx: sparkle)

-

(sfx: more rumbling, it's literally nubobobo, which is notable for Nu in the front..)

-

S-Something's happening, mo!!

-

(sfx: ka-boooom)

-

My hoooouse! [lit. Mamo's house is...!]

-

[Uncertain of the text bubble; looks like sound effects for rustling, but as speaking it seems meaningless; maybe *cough* or something]

(sfx: Eh?)

-

That sure was a fall.

[not 100% certain; it's definitely a pun or wordplay from Mamo's 'Something's happening' (okkotte kuru, which is already a weird spelling) by saying 'okkochita,' which doesn't have a clear meaning; probably related to 'ochita,' fell.]

-

Who the heck are you, mo?!

I-I'm Nuu.

-

My favorite thing is my mop.
It's pretty useful when you want to scratch the middle of your back.

(small text: what the heck, what the heck)

Don't tell me about that, mo!!

-

The House of the Mamo Tribe's Elder

-

Your honor! [lit. Elder-sama]

(background sfx: chatter, whisper)

I want you to do something about this weird Nuu thing, or whatever it's called, mo!!

(small text: I sure have been caught)

-

Nuu, or whatever, having come to our village
you must swallow your pride and obey our rules. [lit. 'I'll have you accept our conditions'; accept here is 'nomu' which can also mean to drink, which sets up the next page's pun....]

12-13.jpg
Well, I sure can swallow this water. [lit. If you want me to swallow, you sure must mean water.]

Don't just drink it on your own, mo...

-

Aa..

-

Sploosh

-

Waaaa~ What's going on, mo!!

(sfx: kyuuuuuuuuuuuun, the sound of a gate from Chrono Trigger)

Sure dunnoooooo [lit. Daaaa naaaa; he ususally ends sentences with da na, which I usually translate as some form of 'sure am']

-

(sfx: buoooon, sound of a gate opening)

-

Aa! That Nuu is gone, mo!!
Now where did he run off to, mo!?

-

I sure am stuck...

-

Well then, visitors are a rare sight.

(sfx: wriggling)

Where are we, mo?

-

This is the place where all time periods intersect, the End of Time. [note: it's actually Farthest Reaches of Time, but End of Time is fine]
I am Hash, the gatekeeper of the farthest reaches.

-

I hate this gloomy place, mo! I'm going back to the village, mo!

Ho, ho, ho (slow laugh)

-

If you wish to return, you may jump into that bucket.

-

You should have said so sooner, mo!

Bye bye!

(sfx: jump)

-

sploosh

-

Waa!!

-

There was something terrible in there, mo!!

It was bumpy...

(sfx: trembling)

Ho, ho, ho

-

That thing is Lavos, the life-form from outer space.
And this guy's Ramos. [reference to Ruy Ramos, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruy_Ramos and google a picture, you'll see the resemblance]

-

It is a dreadful creature that exerts an evil force on all time periods...

-

I don't wanna go back to something like that, mo!! What do we do, mo? What do we do, mo?

Hmm...

-

You could just give up!

14-15.jpg

Ehhh!
Why do I have to live in a place like this, mo!!
And with this guy, too!!

You two make a great combination.

-

Flash [as in flash a glare]

(sfx: rub, pick)

-

(sfx: sound of light turning on)

Truly, I had a short life, mo.

-

Seriously. We should come up with a name for you as a pair!
What are your names?

Mamo here, mo!

I'm Nuu

-

If we combine the two of you, Nuu and Mamo...
(sfx: Hmmm...)

-

The Farthest Reaches Comedy Brothers!!

-

What do you think?

That has nothing to do with our names, mo!!

-

Hmmm...
(sign: Spekkio's Room)

There's no choice, mo.
If we're stuck living here, let's make ourselves at home, mo!

-

(sfx: bang from door opening)

W-what are you!?

-

Who do you think I am!?
I'm the great God of War, Spekkio!

-

Alright, first off, we change the wallpaper, mo!

Yup.

Hey!

-

Let's throw out that dirty futon.

Yup.

Wawa!

-

Alright!

(sign: NuuMamonjaa's Room)

-

So that's that then.

-

Heeeey, so you've decided on a name for your partnershi--

-

(sfx: mop squeaking)

My room...

Thus was the formation of NuuMamonjaa. Go, go, NuuMamonjaa! Until you return to your own time period!

edit: fixed up some grammar and wording since this appears on the front page now!
[/hidden]

9

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / (WIP 1/23) JP $39B234 / US $39B18A Zeal Palace, Ocean Palace

« on: April 16, 2006, 10:29:47 am »

Just added a tiny bit to say 'Sorry I wasn't active, I'm back to work on it.' =)

10

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / JP $0C0B5E Item Names (WIP)

« on: February 01, 2006, 11:38:29 pm »

bokuto is literally, wood sword, but I suppose you can leave this romanized if you want (it's not a 'bokken' if that's what you're thinking)
hakugin (白銀) is indeed silver (literally, white silver)
zanma is, if it's the word I'm thinking it is (秋刀魚), a type of fish.
kongou (金剛) is diamond, and is also Indra's weapon in the Hindu faith (was this the Shiva Edge in Woolsey's?)
tenou I'm not too sure on, possibly Heaven/Sky King (or you could just leave it as heaven, I suppose)
yasha (夜叉) is a female demon
suzaku is the red phoenix of the east in chinese mythology (and astronomy)
(and yes, I agree with leaving Yasha and Suzaku romanized, heh)

11

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / JP $3FCE34 Chapter Titles

« on: January 30, 2006, 04:24:43 am »

This is what I'm hoping for, all the translators to collaborate and decide on the best meanings like this, heh. And hopefully we'll all learn more.

One more small discrepancy:
ラヴォスの呼び声
The Voice that Calls Lavos

should really be Lavos's Call or Call of Lavos (it was Lavos Beckons in Woolsey's). Or, more towards the literal side, The Calling Voice of Lavos. 'Yobigoe' is a colloquial compound word that means call (as in invitation), or beckoning. 'The Voice that Calls Lavos' would be Lavos wo yobu koe. Just pointing that out~

Now back to work on my own stuff, sorry to butt in. ^^;

12

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / JP $3FCE34 Chapter Titles

« on: January 29, 2006, 05:50:51 pm »

If a Japanese person read that, they would say "hoshi no yume no owari ni," 'hoshi' meaning, essentially, blips in the sky, a.k.a. stars, or distant planets.
But, I see your point. Having it be the "Planet's" dream would certainly make more sense in the context of the game. And yes, that kanji "SEI" is applied to the suffix of elemental kanji (water, ocean, heaven, earth, gold, fire) to make the names of the planets. So, I have no problem making it the "Planet's dream," although when you talk about a "planet" in japanese, you say "waku-sei" (two kanji). I think we should check Robo's conversation about the "Entity/Planet" for final confirmation.

If you wanted to be exacting, yes, wakusei is planet, hoshi is star. Colloquially though, it's used to mean planet, especially when in relation to the fact that it is in space. I've always used hoshi in my comversations with my japanese friends, and I've seen it used that way all over the place (Sonic CD's references to Little Planet as 'utsukushii hoshi' and 'time stone ga neru hoshi'  immediately come to mind). Like, I can imagine a teacher making it a point to mention the differences, but used commonly, I'd say it leans a bit towards planet.

EDIT: hah, from the very line I'm translating in the script:
王「平和ボケして自分の事しか考えて　　　いなかった自分が情けない。　　　国のため……、この星のためを　　　考えなくてはならない時に。[END]
'kono hoshi no tame'

13

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / JP $3FCE34 Chapter Titles

« on: January 29, 2006, 02:31:14 pm »

Just wondering; can the kanji in the last title be construed as "planet" having the dreams in any way?

Yes, my translation of it was 'At the End of the Planet's Dream.'

14

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / JP $0C0B5E Item Names (WIP)

« on: January 25, 2006, 04:47:11 am »

Not to too my own horn or whatever (wow, that's a stupid sounding idiom!), but http://ryoga.heypoorplayer.org/chrono/comp_text_enemy.php
That might help you a little with some of the weirder names

15

Retranslation of Chrono Trigger / Small kanji error

« on: January 23, 2006, 11:04:44 pm »

Hey JLukas, you have at least one misidentified kanji in your table.
01E7=矢
should be 失
Small visible change, huge meaning change!