Far East of Eden

Still playing ZERO, currently in Dog kingdom.
I can't really see it translated with all those puns.

File: 20111231190056473.jpg (47KB, 640x448px)

47KB, 640x448px

I played the Saturn one back when it came out. Pretty solid game. I got a PC Engine recently so I'm thinking of giving the others a try.

Not really OP
And despite the popularity of Maru its never been translated supprisingly enough.

There have been projects working on it but they all fizzle out rather quick.
Not sure if its just things like free time or interest of the people working on it, or something technical like encryption or compression of the game's text that is holding things up.

>>3473818
>Zero
>Translated
Not in English though, or did I miss something?
>>3473831
>I can't really see it translated with all those puns.
Most of it is really hard to properly translate, even simple stuff like the Lighting Hermit talking in ENGRISH is pretty hard to put in english without losing some parts of the jokes.

>>3474021
There's also a lot of context based on Japanese folklore.
In terms of anime/manga translation it would have to be riddled with translation notes which are awful enough in those media and simply not an option for video games.
Or you go full localization which kills the series.

The only real option is to learn Japanese. It's probably not a good choice for starters but you'll get there eventually.

>>3474032
>There's also a lot of context based on Japanese folklore.
That's not something a translator should work on, we're living in the age of information, there's nothing too obscure in Zero that you can't find on the internet anyway, it's up to the curiosity of the player.
I'm not supposed to explain to people who is Ninigi or what is a kamaitachi, I can kind of understand explaining some nomenclature such as Zettai Reido in its context but you can't really translate it either without losing the original meaning of the name, and with enough basic knowledge of the language you'll catch on the joke anyway.
>The only real option is to learn Japanese.
Pretty much the best option there is anyway, unfortunately some people aren't dedicated enough, or don't have enough time to.
Then again, considering /vr/'s low standard I don't think many will notice a shabby work anyway, people here praise hacks like O'Smith or Woolsey for "making the games better" somehow.

>>3474074
What's the problem with translating Zettai Reido as Absolute Zero? That's like the one name that seems doable.

>>3473818
An anon in the last thread said someone else finished the PSP port for 4, but no one knows if that is true or when it will come out if it is.

>>3474089
Not that anon, but kanji typically used to write shit gets switched out all of the time in character/terminology names.

The kanji for the Hida and Umashikanojo regions in Manjimaru particuarly comes to mind.

Umashikanojo is already a hard enough joke to explain in-game. There simply isn't room to throw it in. "Umashika" is Manto the ape's little mantra/training style, if you will. It's also the readings for two base kanji in one way to write "baka" or "stupid", one of the things Manto explocitly hates being called. He takes over the Shikanojo region, which also existed in real life Japan, like the other regions, Hida included, so Uma[shika]nojo.

Nothing a translation notes document released alongside couldn't fix though.

>>3474089
There are two main problems when it comes to translating it to Absolute Zero.
First of all, in game it's written using only hiragana instead of using Kanji like Higan's name for instance, that already suggests that Zettai Reido is his actual name, much like Akamaru's case, so to make an english parallel, it's like if the game took place in an english speaking universe he would have been called mr. Zero Absolute in a way while Akamaru would be a "John Smith" and so on for the other generals.

Which brings forth the next point, if you do translate Zettai Reido as Absolute Zero, then you have to do so for the other generals and the other game characters as well since most of them have names that are associated with their characters, Higan's name being a red herring for his role as the hero of fire, which makes the game lose not only its japanese identity, but also its strictly japanese linguistical subcomponent that creates its theme.

Besides, how the hell would you translate Akamaru for instance, his name is a direct reference to his element and design but translating his name as Red Ring/Circle/Spire(in case you consider his true form having a snake around him forming circles or "spires"), all the characters names have multiple interpretations which are all part of their character, it's extremely difficult to find some translation that can encompass all the meanings, and it sounds kinda stupid to have traditional japanese characters living in a japanese fantasy universe to have english names to begin with.

It's the problem of all games that have a deep connection to certain cultural and/or linguistical schemata.

SaGa Frontier also had a similar problem, Orlouge's princesses all have names that are anagrams for their arrival number with Rei being the first(and only one to have escaped so far) being aptly called the princess number Zero, White Rose(Shirobara) being the 46th princess since Shi=4 and Ro which stands for Roku=6 make 46 and so on.

>>3474479
The ither anon who talked about umashik, here.

I should have figured with the console, but it's all kana in dialogue? Well fuck me I ought to play the game now. I knew about Higan's name but that's effectively it. Also, I didn't know that about SF, which is really cool info!

I simply don't think the text boxes could cater to more English-worded translations anyway. Theyre all too old for that. Only 360 Ziria or Namida could probably cater to stuff like that, as far as mainline games go(not that Zero is one).

>>3474502
>but it's all kana in dialogue?
No, there are kanji, it's not like DQ.
>I simply don't think the text boxes could cater to more English-worded translations anyway.
Yeah, that's another big problem, which gets us all back to point number 1, a translation, no matter how good isn't going to work, especially in works that are linguistically rich, learning the language is the only acceptable way to enjoy something if you're someone who cares about reading what the game's about, writing and all that, that's true for every culture and medium on earth, translation will always inherently be a catch 22 compromise at best.

To make yet another example, Metal Max has a tradition when it comes to dogs, since Metal Max 2 you have a dog party member, a Shibe, which starts with his defauly name as Pochi, now, the games' universe is a post-apocalyptic world that takes place in a definitely western/american setting, the series itself is a huge nod to Mad Max to the point that the game's title font is the very same font of the Mad Max movies.
Now, as many of you know it, Pochi is basically the japanese equivalent of Fido when it comes to dogs' names, the problem that arises here is that pochi, a shibe, is a typical japanese dog with a typical japanese game in a stereotyped western setting where everyone else bar certain monsters have western names.
Now, if you translate Pochi as Fido you're basically invalidating his character as a whole, because he's a deginitely dissonant element in the scenario and arguably something that makes japanese players feel a bit more at home in the game, and by principle, you'll have to translate everything else(nobody does that because fuck translation laws).
One other monster in Metal Max 3 was a monkey type monster called Goemonkey, it was tied to a quest in which you hear rumours around the world of a whimsical monkey who steals various items, hence the reference to Goemon Ishikawa, how would you even translate it to english? Lupinkey?

>>3474479
It's 絶対レイド. The absolute Reido in some way.
I implied that the other names weren't really translatable.
I guess calling him Zero would imply a bigger connection to the game (Tengai Makyo ZERO) than he originally had.

File: Tengai Makyou Zero (Japan)005.png (12KB, 256x224px) Image search: [Google]

12KB, 256x224px

I have some questions regarding Zero.
Momoko is supposed to send me letters but never got a notice of receiving them. Do I have to wait longer or am I overlooking something?

Does the game check your actual age or does it treat everyone as underage?
I initially had the clock set to 1996 since 2016 wasn't possible. My year of birth is 1984 so the game initially treated me as 12. Later I found out how to set the calendar to 2016 after all and should now be 32 but the game still tells me I can't drink alcohol.

Do the virtual pets do anything? I'm afraid of losing my crab if I'm away for a weekend. I can hardly ask someone to take care of it like with an actual pet.

>>3474630
Oh shoot. Not a drama mongerer, but what happened with them?

>>3474579
Tom is this you?

>>3474597
>It's 絶対レイド
Uh, I remembered his name in hiragana instead of katakana, it's been a while since I played Zero but I didn't think I'd forget this.
And yeah, you're right on both of your points.
>>3474729
I'm no Tom, did I miss some board drama or something?

>>3474738
Haha, no drama. I thought he was the dude who translated the game, and the info was specific enough that I guessed it was someone from rdhn.

>>3474742
>was someone from rdhn.
Is that a translator circle?
I tend to stay far away from fantranslators because they're extremely unprofessional most of the time and mostly amateurs who studied japanese in college but don't know much about actual translation principles, there are some exceptions of course.
But let me ask out of curiousity, are you referring to the famous guy(s) who wanted to patch out Cait Sith or something? I vaguely remember hearing something about a group of self declared FF7 translators who came up with some truly retarded shit, but it's been too long.

Also, I just downloaded a TMZ rom and goddamn how much shit did I forget, I completely forgot that Higan's name was in katakana, I even forgot the banter with the jealous guy in the village and the fangirl singing in english, guess it's time for me to give it a second try after almost a decade, maybe I'll even enjoy it this time.

>>3474818
>Is that a translator circle?

It's probably the only fan-translation hub alive as far as I know. Outside of that I only know of individual websites for the groups who have them (aeon genesis, Dynamic Designs)

>>3474818
You still get Kanzi writing for the characters, for instance Tenzin is 天神.
You also occasionally get pronunciation aids for certain words.