I'm not great at introductions, so I'll simply say this: I hope you enjoy these projects. They are the result of the hard work of many people. I was turned on to the depth of differences by Lina Darkstar's translation project over at Icyforums, and decided to compile her work because no one else had done so. I determined to make the file thoroughly consistent and began thinking about pronouns and pronunciations. I didn't want to change Lina's work to a large degree, but I felt that it was necessary to standardize what she had put together for readability and comprehension's sake.
In this process I began to read and translate the Japanese myself, and found what I felt to be significant nuances that Lina hadn't conveyed. I also began to disagree with her interpretations in some areas, and increasingly found new information to synthesize. Furthermore, I was upset by the gaps in Lina's work. Ultimately, my original desire to create a script for a ROM from Lina's work was fueled by my desire to create what I felt was a more consistent and precise localization. (Localization here meaning using phrasing that relays the Japanese concepts in English such that the nuances and meanings are kept, as opposed to a literal {and thus more indiscernible} translation.)
The result is a combination of the two: My Final Fantasy VI Translation Projects. I by no means think that I will get any of these projects 100% right. I have not taken a formal Japanese class, I do not know the history of codes of conduct for Shougun, and my understanding of many elements of Japanese characterization is greatly lacking. However, I have a talent for English, a knack for picking up on character details, and skill in locating and using resources.
Please feel free to Contact me or post on my Forum if you have ideas, concerns, or to report site issues (Such as bugs and typos.). To those of you who are voice actors: I'm considering setting up a fandub of the script once it's done. If you're interested, make sure to sign my Guestbook or post in a Forum topic so that I can let you know if (and if so, when) that is going to happen.
If anyone has any information that they can provide to me or notices any errors in my work, please let me know via my contact form. I am not fluent in Japanese; I simply know how to use resources. That being the case, I may be missing important nuances. I truly appreciate anyone who takes the time to send me comments and criticisms.
Thank you for your interest in these works.
For those of you willing to help out, here’s what I know I am looking for:
Other Final Fantasy VI Translations (I do have SkyRender's translation. At least, I have the one that can be grabbed from his website. Is the RPGOne script newer, or the same one?)
Information typically only found from Japanese sources or official material. (For example,
One complete SNES script and one complete PSX script, or a list of changes between the two. I have a script, but I'm not sure which game it's for, as IGN used it for both versions. I believe that there are some differences, though. Am I wrong?
Confirmation of accents/pronunciations for names and countries.
Confirmation of character and item names. Bannan, for example, gave me a lot of trouble. The Japanese has one central 'n' but I'm told that it's spelled Bannan in official works.
Contradictions in official works. (This is more for my own entertainment. I know, for example, that Amano spelled Celes ‘Ceres’ in one of his art books.)
Of course, if anyone has a resource on FFVI (Like an Ultimania Guide kind of thing, as I don’t believe that there is one for FFVI), I’d love to be linked to it or sent the file.