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Berwick Saga Translation (Finished, v2.3) - Updated 23 Jan 2021


Aethin

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Looks awesome man, I played a little bit of it (Like 30 minutes, nothing extreme) and could already tell I was in for something amazing. I'm waiting until the full translation, but take as much time as you need. I agree with Observer and the Saint in saying I'd prefer this to come out next year and have everything be the same high standard of quality to this coming out in like three months but the back half isn't good.

1 hour ago, david.nguyen said:

Maybe I am incorrect since I can't read japanese but these translation don't seem to be accurate with the original japanese script.

They're mostly accurate, they add some information and charm that wasn't there. I believe in Exile the dry villain dialogue was changed to be a lot more fun to read, since they're not really translations. They're localizations. They change up some stuff since that's what a more modern audience, or at least one with internet access needs. Be a little more forward in dialogue and game mechanics so you don't need another tab open with facts about the game (like how Project Exile put the growth rate alterations in the Scroll descriptions, which while not what the original Japanese did, is much better for the general audience who is going to be playing the game, since we now live in the days where this can all be looked up and it's an item that people might not use if they don't have that info.)

1 hour ago, david.nguyen said:

A good translation should stay faithful to the original script and not add stuff or rewrite sentence (which seems to be the case of project Naga and Exile).

The issue is that you often have to rewrite a lot of sentence structures to be comprehensible in English. A direct translation when not put through a tad bit of localizing is hot nonsense. Should it convey the general message of the original? Absolutely. Does it have to be exact? No, that would hurt the quality of the game. That and since English is a much longer and larger language than Japanese, you have to condense some sentences to make them easier to fit into the game, and to make it so the text doesn't scroll on for way too long.

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I understand your point. I wanted to point some example on project exile but copy paste doesn't work on their pdf, so never mind! I shouldn't obstruct this thread with my rant anyway and I will focus playing with the current translation of Berwick Saga!

Edited by david.nguyen
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7 hours ago, DarthR0xas said:

Should it convey the general message of the original? Absolutely. Does it have to be exact? No, that would hurt the quality of the game. That and since English is a much longer and larger language than Japanese, you have to condense some sentences to make them easier to fit into the game, and to make it so the text doesn't scroll on for way too long.

And in a sense, a "direct" translation is inaccurate. If the Japanese script flows well, and the English doesn't by following the same sentencing, then the two are not the same. People playing the English could complain "The sentences are stilted!", while the Japanese would not have this problem at all.

Translation has been a thorny issue long before video games started doing it. Ignoring religious scriptures, looking at Dante's Divine Comedy, here is the lengthy list of translations Wikipedia has. Notice how it lists the form? Terza rima is the original Italian poetic form of the work, which is much harder to use naturally in English because rhyming is harder. So does one keep to the poetry as in Italian, even if it sacrifices some of the beauty and possibly obscure some of the content that makes the Comedy so famous? Or does one choose to pick a different form of written word that is just as beautiful in English and might not cause the content to be entangled, if it results in deviation from the form Dante employed? 

Ideally of course, you want form and content. But as no two languages are exactly alike, you cannot get that. Translation is at the end of the day, a compromise. It sacrifices a quantity of a work's totality, but allows people cannot read it in its native language to do so without having to learn that language. A better translation sacrifices less, but something will always be lost. What is lost from the totality is up for the translators to determine.

-Not that even if you did learn the original language all would be as beautiful. If you didn't learn the second language early in life, it being nonnative may mean you just translate every work in your head into your native tongue. That I could see as being an impediment to aesthetic appreciation, and I could see translators and localizers as able to better reword things than this hypothetical average bilingual joe doing mental translation. There is still a solution if you wholeheartedly and devoted throw yourself in trying to love the language so that you don't mentally translate and that it is beautiful without it. However, that is difficult, and in reality for many I would suppose, either learned you the second language early on, or you didn't, there is no choice, no option but T & L. So translation isn't always just convenience for lazy monoglots and polyglots missing the language in question, it might be practically the only way to enjoy a work.

 

....

To remain on topic, I'll wait until the translation is done because I want to experience the full game in one time period. Serially picking up the game whenever a new patch drops sounds like an atmospheric disconnect. And I don't know how to unpatch and repatch a game either.

Although maybe I should find myself an emulator to see if I can even get the game running on my old Mac. Won't suddenly have cause to cry when Lazberia Chronicle Chapter 174 I wonder what the other chapters are like? descends from Takamagahara to Anglophone Earth and I find out only then that I can't I play it.

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
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Just wanted to say THANKS in a big way for all your hard work on Berwick Saga.  I've been a turn based strategy game fan for decades, (Nearing 68 years old now!), and am finding it near impossible to find quality games of this type nowadays.  I just got done with the first battle map and am surprised at the effort that was put into this.  Not only by the original game designer but by you also.  You must have your hands full getting this project done and teaching also.  So much of the newer games seem to be shallow copies of the greats such as Vandal Hearts, Shining Force 1 & 2 & 3, Final Fantasy Tactics, ect.  This one looks like it stands out as one of the best.  I am looking forward to the finished version eagerly.  I don't post much anywhere, no Facebook, Twitter, ect, got a life to live offline so to speak, but really wanted to comment on this effort.  Well, that's all I guess,  Best to you!  Stay healthy, happy, productive, and young at heart!  I do.

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Hey there Aethin, I'm Ciro, the lead for Project Exile. Just wanted to say I've enjoyed your TRS translation, and I really appreciate everything you're doing for Berwick as well.

Right now, PE is in a state where I have some free time, so if you ever need a hand with this, just let me know. Otherwise, good luck and godspeed. And by the way, don't feel bad for taking your time. A good translation takes time. To paraphrase Bruce Campbell, "a translation that's easy to make is hard to read."

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  • 1 month later...

V1bmihpo o

I am sorry. Not.

EDIT: I just realized it's actually 7 chapters left, not 8. I am not a very smart person-- I mean Derrick isn't a very smart person! Hahah, silly Derrick! Ah... nngh...

Edited by Saint Rubenio
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5 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

V1bmihpo o

I am sorry. Not.

Kinda me as well actually. I'm just not hyped for 3H, as I intended, maybe a little too well. But I really need to check if this 7 years old laptop can run a PS2 emulator.

 

 

Chapter 10 is the last two-side battles chapter I know. Although I haven't any idea of how much text that "saves", with the final seven fights all being mandatory, and thus perhaps more plot important. And hence containing more dialogue than they would if they were only five hypothetical chapters with the same two-side battles format.

Good progress. Things are getting closer to completion!😄

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On 7/16/2019 at 2:18 AM, Saint Rubenio said:

V1bmihpo o

I am sorry. Not.

EDIT: I just realized it's actually 7 chapters left, not 8. I am not a very smart person-- I mean Derrick isn't a very smart person! Hahah, silly Derrick! Ah... nngh...

Aha! They called me crazy, but I knew Hardin was Big Boss all along!

 

Also, I spent much more time than was healthy trying to decipher what Derrick was saying in your dots there. My best guess was “And there really are,” but that doesn’t seem to fit that well. Knowing me, I’m probably crazy, and you didn’t actually mean any secret message.

(In case people couldn’t tell—in the translation, I made up actual lines for each of Derrick’s text boxes and just replaced all the letters with periods... though deciphering it must be a nightmare, since ellipses and periods are also still periods.)

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6 minutes ago, Aethin said:

Aha! They called me crazy, but I knew Hardin was Big Boss all along!

And that's exactly why I'm going Blue Lions when 3H comes out. Hardin meets Big Boss meets Alucard is the best protagonist.

7 minutes ago, Aethin said:

Also, I spent much more time than was healthy trying to decipher what Derrick was saying in your dots there. My best guess was “And there really are,” but that doesn’t seem to fit that well. Knowing me, I’m probably crazy, and you didn’t actually mean any secret message.

(In case people couldn’t tell—in the translation, I made up actual lines for each of Derrick’s text boxes and just replaced all the letters with periods... though deciphering it must be a nightmare, since ellipses and periods are also still periods.)

Ohhh so that's why the amount of dots was always so specific! How interesting. Yeah, I didn't mean to say anything, myself.

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On 7/20/2019 at 12:54 AM, Chaos442 said:

There’s no real good guides out there what’s the best way to deal with wyverns? Stellar translation so far love it! 

Taking them down with physical damage is nigh impossible, don't even bother. Bow effectiveness against fliers doesn't exist in this game, so that's not an option either. Magic is where it's at. Check out their inventory: every Wyvern has a special protective stone that gives them super resistance to a certain type of magic. However, these stones also come with a weakness to a different type of magic. Most of the time, this gives them negative defense against this type of magic. For example, if a Wyvern has -15 defense against fire magic and you attack it with a fire spell that deals 15 damage, the Wyvern will receive 30 damage.

My advice is that you bring all the Mages you have to maps with Wyverns, and have them focus on them while the rest of your units deal with the normal enemies. If you have weapons that deal magical damage, such as the Euthyphro, the Levin Sword, the Wind Spear or the special arrows (Raijin, Ember, etc.), you can bring them as well, to help the Mages with some chip damage. Other than that, good luck and have fun.

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On 7/22/2019 at 9:54 AM, Alph said:

What's the difference between Berwick Saga and the 'Premium Box' edition of Berwick Saga?

What's the SHA-256 of the correct rom?

I’m not aware of any differences besides some names of files. Still, could be some important differences.

I don’t have internet on my laptop at this exact moment, so I can’t copy the whole hash over, but for the unpatched ROM: the SHA-256 starts with 77a280686, and the MD5 starts with a6d226e51.

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On 8/18/2019 at 9:21 AM, Aethin said:

Guten tag, meine Freunde! Wie geht es euch allen? Ich bin—I mean, uh... hello!

An American translating a Japanese game set in Anime Europe speaking in German. For no reason. What

On 8/18/2019 at 9:21 AM, Aethin said:

We're now up to Chapter 11! Yippee! Here's the new patch.

Never mind new Berwick update.

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I am playing the game right now and I am at chapter 3. So far the translation is really wonderful!

The game is fantastic (even better than three houses IMHO).

Thank you so much for your hard work.

Edited by david.nguyen
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