...This Much Epic: Part 3 - Dawn of the Embed
So, step 2 has been completed as I've inserted all the translated text into Chrono Trigger. Step 3 is currently underway.
I'm about 3 hours into the game fixing errors as I come upon them, then reloading the game to make sure they're fixed correctly. At this point, I figure I'm only anal enough to go through the game a few times trying every dialog tree I can before I release it to the public. I already have 2 friends interested in trying it out once I'm done and another who has said he'll think about it if he gets the time. Very understandable since he's in school right now.
It also gives me an opportunity to see the text in relation to what is happening on the screen finally. This has caused me to change the structure of some sentences again as they sounded fine on paper, but were actually horrible when put into the context of everything else.
This project is definitely keeping me busy. I'm glad I've had the determination to make it this far. I was scared I'd get too frustrated or have my attention diverted. Fortunately, the hard part is over.
So, is the game just as good as I remember? Yes! Man, I love this game. If Xenogears had gotten the kind of love this game got in terms of the development process, I think my mind would have exploded. The testing process has forced me to take my time progressing the game. This is by no means a bad thing either. I'm enjoying it all over again every step of the way.
When I'm finished with the testing process, I'm going to edit Crono's Element icon in his character profile. The North American release originally rendered it as "Lightning" while the crew that retranslated it edited it and rendered his element as "Sky". Both are wrong in my opinion. The Japanese character means "Heaven". I can see why it was rendered as Lightning since much of Crono's magic consists of attacking with Lightning in some fashion. On a side note, I sincerely have to wonder why the Japanese call 2 of his attacks Thunder and Thundaga. He's obviously attacking with lightning strikes, not the sound made from them (/end nerd rant). I can also see why the fan guys call it Sky as Heaven and Sky are interchangeable. However, seeing as how Crono is your token selfless hero who helps anyone he meets along his way, I think Heaven is more appropriate.
Also, Crono's techniques consist of lightning, as previously stated, generating powerful winds with his katana, and his final attack: Luminaire. Luminaire was Shining in Japanese. This is how the other fans rendered it in English. If you have not seen this attack, Crono generates a bright light that floods the screen. It does massive damage. Anywho, my point is that this light isn't from lightning and sky doesn't really define the light either. I would sooner associate it with a holy/divine power. Therefore, I say Heaven. Heaven explains the source of the lightning, the wind, and the holy light. Also, since I'm anal, I think it makes a better sounding counterpart to another element in the game: "Dark".
I've also added my handle, "Doctor L" into the localization credits just to give it some kind of stamp that I'm responsible for this version. The other retranslation crew did this too and I feel it's appropriate. I will be leaving their names and Ted Woolsley's in as well. My name will be at the bottom of the list as placing it anywhere else would be dishonest and wrong. My version is influenced by Ted Woolsley's easy to understand and interesting rendition while still maintaining the completeness of the other fans'. Both groups did the hardest work which was actually translating the text from Japanese to English. That and, despite not liking the rendition from KWhazit and the others, his crew still supplied the handy Excel files I used for my own planning, the CronoNick fix for Ayla, and the insertion of the Japanese artwork shown at the end of one of the game's many endings. The Nickname function and Artwork were originally unavailable in the North American release due to size restrictions and/or, in the case of the artwork, not being available when our version went into localization development.
When I'm finally satisfied with what I've done, I'll release my changes as a patch. I'd rather not risk a lawsuit from a world renowned and financially wealthy gaming company. Especially true for one who has been on a remake binge the past few years.
It's a shame the Playstation port (I don't consider adding some anime cutscenes a remake) was craptacular. The cutscenes were very cool, but the load times were horrible. You'd think they would have spent the time to make it more efficient. Having looked at the guts of the game has made it very evident as to why the load times were terrible, though. A large majority of the game is arranged very inefficiently. For example, it's fairly common for a character's dialog in response to another character's dialog to be in two entirely different memory locations in the ROM. Or, dungeon maps to have their rooms spread out across the ROM. None of this would have been a problem at all on the SNES, but CDs are a different matter as we all know.
I really wish there was some way I could insert the cutscenes into the SNES ROM, but that would be impossible to do since the SNES wasn't equipped to handle FMV anyway. Who knows, maybe when I'm feeling especially ambitious someday and better equipped with programming, I'll streamline the PS port on my own.
I'm about 3 hours into the game fixing errors as I come upon them, then reloading the game to make sure they're fixed correctly. At this point, I figure I'm only anal enough to go through the game a few times trying every dialog tree I can before I release it to the public. I already have 2 friends interested in trying it out once I'm done and another who has said he'll think about it if he gets the time. Very understandable since he's in school right now.
It also gives me an opportunity to see the text in relation to what is happening on the screen finally. This has caused me to change the structure of some sentences again as they sounded fine on paper, but were actually horrible when put into the context of everything else.
This project is definitely keeping me busy. I'm glad I've had the determination to make it this far. I was scared I'd get too frustrated or have my attention diverted. Fortunately, the hard part is over.
So, is the game just as good as I remember? Yes! Man, I love this game. If Xenogears had gotten the kind of love this game got in terms of the development process, I think my mind would have exploded. The testing process has forced me to take my time progressing the game. This is by no means a bad thing either. I'm enjoying it all over again every step of the way.
When I'm finished with the testing process, I'm going to edit Crono's Element icon in his character profile. The North American release originally rendered it as "Lightning" while the crew that retranslated it edited it and rendered his element as "Sky". Both are wrong in my opinion. The Japanese character means "Heaven". I can see why it was rendered as Lightning since much of Crono's magic consists of attacking with Lightning in some fashion. On a side note, I sincerely have to wonder why the Japanese call 2 of his attacks Thunder and Thundaga. He's obviously attacking with lightning strikes, not the sound made from them (/end nerd rant). I can also see why the fan guys call it Sky as Heaven and Sky are interchangeable. However, seeing as how Crono is your token selfless hero who helps anyone he meets along his way, I think Heaven is more appropriate.
Also, Crono's techniques consist of lightning, as previously stated, generating powerful winds with his katana, and his final attack: Luminaire. Luminaire was Shining in Japanese. This is how the other fans rendered it in English. If you have not seen this attack, Crono generates a bright light that floods the screen. It does massive damage. Anywho, my point is that this light isn't from lightning and sky doesn't really define the light either. I would sooner associate it with a holy/divine power. Therefore, I say Heaven. Heaven explains the source of the lightning, the wind, and the holy light. Also, since I'm anal, I think it makes a better sounding counterpart to another element in the game: "Dark".
I've also added my handle, "Doctor L" into the localization credits just to give it some kind of stamp that I'm responsible for this version. The other retranslation crew did this too and I feel it's appropriate. I will be leaving their names and Ted Woolsley's in as well. My name will be at the bottom of the list as placing it anywhere else would be dishonest and wrong. My version is influenced by Ted Woolsley's easy to understand and interesting rendition while still maintaining the completeness of the other fans'. Both groups did the hardest work which was actually translating the text from Japanese to English. That and, despite not liking the rendition from KWhazit and the others, his crew still supplied the handy Excel files I used for my own planning, the CronoNick fix for Ayla, and the insertion of the Japanese artwork shown at the end of one of the game's many endings. The Nickname function and Artwork were originally unavailable in the North American release due to size restrictions and/or, in the case of the artwork, not being available when our version went into localization development.
When I'm finally satisfied with what I've done, I'll release my changes as a patch. I'd rather not risk a lawsuit from a world renowned and financially wealthy gaming company. Especially true for one who has been on a remake binge the past few years.
It's a shame the Playstation port (I don't consider adding some anime cutscenes a remake) was craptacular. The cutscenes were very cool, but the load times were horrible. You'd think they would have spent the time to make it more efficient. Having looked at the guts of the game has made it very evident as to why the load times were terrible, though. A large majority of the game is arranged very inefficiently. For example, it's fairly common for a character's dialog in response to another character's dialog to be in two entirely different memory locations in the ROM. Or, dungeon maps to have their rooms spread out across the ROM. None of this would have been a problem at all on the SNES, but CDs are a different matter as we all know.
I really wish there was some way I could insert the cutscenes into the SNES ROM, but that would be impossible to do since the SNES wasn't equipped to handle FMV anyway. Who knows, maybe when I'm feeling especially ambitious someday and better equipped with programming, I'll streamline the PS port on my own.
