Rethinking (Alleged) Mistranslations | Final Fantasy Series | Forums | Final Fantasy Online

Final Fantasy Online

You are not logged in. Log In or Sign Up.

Final Fantasy Online Forums > Video Gaming Discussion > Final Fantasy Series

Rethinking (Alleged) Mistranslations

< Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >

0

06.19.2013 5:27pm

Thread Creator

Atma Weapon
I Am Pure Energy

There is no dispute that the Final Fantasy series has had its fair share of mistranslations, both in the games' dialogues and in the names given to characters, enemies, items, and equipment. But something I learned recently has forced me to rethink this assumption slightly.

Atma Weapon, The weapon and monster from which my forum name is taken, has long since been assumed to be a mistranslation (or at best an awkward abbreviation of) the familiar Ultima Weapon. The traditional thinking was that "Atma" was a misspelling of "Altima", which is Latin for "ultimate". However, I recently re-read The Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu holy text and one of the most influential works of eastern philosophy). In Sanskrit, "Atma" means "soul" or "spirit". Could the name given in the game be a reference to the Sanskrit meaning of Atma? It seems plausible since the sword is powered by the wielder's life force.

I just thought I would share that. Is there anything to this re-examination of the long-assumed mistranslation/misspelling? If so, are there any other examples of unfair criticisms due to a misunderstanding by Western gamers, rather than errors by the localization team?

0

06.19.2013 5:49pm

Free Spirit
Zetta Member

The Atma thing is interesting, but just a Woolsey-ism. The Japanese is clearly Ultima, not Atma. Now, whether Woolsey intended his "Atma" to be a reference to the Hindu term or not will probably never be known, but I doubt it since Woolsey's translation changes tend to just be word puns, slang, and such, not anything attempting to be deep. You know, such highbrow things as Grease Monkey, Intangir, and Hoover.

0

06.19.2013 6:40pm

Crisium
N/A

I'd like to change this into a pro Ted Woolsey thread.

Submariner > Sandworm
HATE > BRAT
Tritoch > Valigarmanda
etc

Don't get me wrong, FFVIA has many translations that are better. But ideally I'd combine parts from both. Well, perhaps mostly just revert some Kekfa quotes, but nevertheless he did a great job with a 30 day deadline.

0

06.19.2013 7:29pm

Catastrophe
I'm Catbug!

But I liked 'Son of a submariner!" and "Welcome to my barbeque!" (or was that one kept? I can't remember now)

0

06.19.2013 7:48pm

Free Spirit
Zetta Member

I've always prefered Woolsey's charm as well. I like Grease Monkey, Intangir, and Hoover, and if I wasn't such a hopeless purist, would be happy to have them over the "proper" translations of Unseelie Court, Sleeping Lion, and Slagworm.

0

06.19.2013 8:30pm

Dr Squirrel
medicine woman

Crisium said:

I'd like to change this into a pro Ted Woolsey thread.

Submariner > Sandworm
HATE > BRAT
Tritoch > Valigarmanda
etc

Don't get me wrong, FFVIA has many translations that are better. But ideally I'd combine parts from both. Well, perhaps mostly just revert some Kekfa quotes, but nevertheless he did a great job with a 30 day deadline.

BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT

trust me, i'm a doctor

0

06.19.2013 8:57pm

Ashilyn
Career GM

Woosley's translations were great for their time, but I never saw the "charm" in them vs. later retranslations that have more or less the same spirit but much more accurate translations, such as FFVIA. Even when I was a kid I could tell something was up with parts of the Woosley translations and it irked me. THe more accurate, but still properly localised and easily just as charming modern translations have been something I've liked much more since they became available.

At the very least, I think everyone can agree Woosley's translations were better than all teh attempts at straight FFVI translations. Talk about having no soul.

0

06.19.2013 10:00pm

Onyx
Butts
Administrator

The best localizations combine accuracy to the original script and making it sound great in English. Woolsey didn't really do the former too well and it sufffered because of it. I vastly prefer the retranslations for FFVI-A and especially Chrono Trigger DS. I also don't know if Woolsey did the original FF5 translation on FF Anthology or not, but that was really awful, too. Though FF5 PSX was just a dreadful port all around.

Atma Weapon is pretty clearly wrong, though. It's definitely meant to be Ultima Weapon if you look at the original kana. Now if it was Woolsey being clever and intentionally changing it or just mistaken is another story. But you have to remember that Woolsey essentially localized FF6 by himself and also had to deal with Howard Lincoln-era Nintendo of America's needless censoring (hence why "Holy" was translated as "Pearl"), along with the limitations of the SNES cartridge's memory.

0

06.19.2013 10:19pm

Ashilyn
Career GM

I forgot he did the Chrono Trigger localisation; that was a game that had it's translation VASTLY improved in every possible way in it's remake. There's a bunch of great, funny moments that were just completely lost or changed from the original script, or make no sense the way they were translated (greanted, my favourite of those scenes - the team getting drunk in the prehistoric age and then waking up with massive hangovers - was more a censorship issue than anything else). It's kind of hard for me to go back and play the original these days, having played the DS remake. It really is genuinely more enjoyable because of it's wittier, more accurate translation.

0

06.19.2013 11:14pm

Darth Howie
Darthpool
Administrator

I much prefer Woolsey's FFVI localization but can take or leave his Chrono Trigger. I think the FFVI Advance localization is more "complete" but is lacking in wit. Well, that and the fact that FFVI Advance KILLED the soundtrack in a way FFV Advance didn't. Chrono Trigger DS's script has wit that FFVI Advance's script is lacking and, thus, doesn't feel like it's really missing anything, even if the actual text is different.

Woe unto he who tries to be helpful, for upon him shall be lain the burdens of all.

- Squall 15:11

0

06.20.2013 12:48am

FenixDown
The King's orders are absolute

I don't know for sure but I think the people who translated FFV Anthologies were the same people who did the FFVII translation. There were a lot of similarities in style and the nature of a lot of the errors in those respective localizations, particularly with the enemy names (FFV's Y Burn and FFVII's Safer Sephiroth come to mind).

Regarding FFVI and CT, I am personally fine with both versions for different reasons. The Woolsey FFVI has a lot more spirit and feels like it brings more life to the cast (particularly Kefka) even with the inconsistencies and censorship, but I also like the Advance version for being more accurate. I can basically take either version of Chrono Trigger without issue.

Let's Play Chrono Trigger
Let's Play The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
Let's Play Final Fantasy VI

0

06.20.2013 1:05am

Rhaegar
World Warrior 21007

Woolsey was gone from Square before FFVII came out in the U.S., so, no, he's not responsible for the atrocity that was Anthologies FFV.

An FFVI Advance translation with the most memorable Woolsey-isms inserted back in where appropriate would be the perfect translation of that game, AFAIC.

0

06.20.2013 4:47am

Crusader
Not Even My Dad Hit Me

But Square had already got Woolsey to localize FFV when they were planning on releasing the original 16-bit version here. Given that some of the FFVI terms appear for V, that was probably his work in Anthology.

I prefer the SNES version of FFVI and Chrono Trigger but a lot of it's nostalgia. Plus it feels weird if I play through the whole series and go from the FFVIII-and-beyond namenclature to Fire1, Fire2, et al. in FFVII. i kinda like thinking of these games as products of their time. Not that I don't think the portable versions aren't totally boss because they are.

Plus, yeah, music.

0

06.20.2013 4:59am

shooter_mcgavin
Registered Member

Rhaegar said:

Woolsey was gone from Square before FFVII came out in the U.S., so, no, he's not responsible for the atrocity

It wouldn't have mattered though. Wasn't FFVII localized by SCEA?

0

06.20.2013 5:23am

Crusader
Not Even My Dad Hit Me

Nope. Done in-house and by in-house, I mean Square of Japan.

I think.

< Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >

Jump to

© Copyright 2024 Final Fantasy Online, All Rights Reserved
Home | Articles | Games | Forums | Shop | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Become a Facebook Fan

Follow us on Twitter