Kirokan
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Posts posted by Kirokan
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Today's batch!
I do like two things:
-Mentioning Danved serves the Royal Knights in Largo's stead, implying he would've been one if he could fight (and that Danved would not have been? xD)
-The mention of the most elite daughters of nobles for the Begnion Holy Guard. Though the word can also mean "children," considering this game still has all-female Pegasus Knights, I went with "daughters" instead.
Stefan's is straightforward, reaffirming him being Soan's descendent, but nothing new!
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Hi everyone! I'm on break now, meaning I can get to finishing this book over the next few weeks! (Yes, this is how I spend vacations xD)
Today's updates!
Makalov gets pretty grilled. xD
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This weekend I only got one done:
I liked how he had a profile though! The part about loyal soldiers despite the cruelty was interesting too, but made sense.
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6 hours ago, DIO said:
How is the manga anyway? I remember hearing they were making two separate ones for Hoshido and Nohr, but never heard anything past that (I think that was around the time I drifted from Serenes and Fire Emblem as a whole).
5 hours ago, shadowofchaos said:I got the Invisible Kingdom one too.
However, since I've been preoccupied with proposing to my significant other amd other life things they are currently gathering dust and cannot testify to their quality.
Maybe @Kirokan can help you there.
I only bought the 4komas to translate thanks to the silly gags and daily post-friendly format, but wasn't really big enough on the story for Awakening or Fates to see how the anthologies were... so can't help you there!
But paying 60 USD for the set sounds like a bit much! Where did you buy them from?
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23 hours ago, Zelgius said:
This is true - Lombroso does call him a 'has-been' and we know he'd been around for a while in his second Begnion run.
Would also make sense rising to be known for his swordsmanship only after he trained with Gawain, too.
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Yes indeed, he mentions it briefly in that flashback. I do want to go compare those scenes to what they say in Japanese someday. xD
As for Begnion to Daein to Begnion, perhaps if it was over a long period of time (due to aging differences) he may have simply outlived the people who knew him. Then again he may not be that old, so maybe he just never made a big name for himself until his return? xD
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6 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:
A tiny nitpick Kirokan- I thought that Zelgius was called the Duke of Kadohl ingame (or the games switch between their spellings). Though Cador sounds less Engrishy and much more normal, and thus better.
RD doesn't actually say that Zelgius is Begnion born I believe, I got the impression he was a Daein native. So we got new information from this profile- always a good thing.
Zelgius's backstory is a bit contentious, because his whole "I don't want to be alone thing" undercuts his cool and powerful image. While his warrior's lust for battle, to the point he'd kill his own beloved mentor, undermines his outward appearance of honor, logic, and professionalism. Even so, I do like Zelgius overall.
Could you have not stolen the last two sentences Ike? And why no outright statement of "Zelgius (tragically) dies in the duel with Ike"?
Zelgius's profile also leaves me curious as to what Sephiran did in the years after the Serenes Massacre, and before becoming Prime Minister of Begnion.
I believe Kadohl was an NoE translation, where as I went with NoA's "Cador" spelling. : )
From the script:
"Valtome: Uwee hee hee. You're not even a tiny bit surprised, Lord Zelgius of Cador? What a frightful bore you are. I came here in secret just to surprise you."
And yeah it was really strange at the end there xD With Zelgius's death not being mentioned, and Ike getting the last thing there, being related to Altina again.
And yes, likewise I was surprised he was Begnion, went to Daein, and then back with Sephiran. I thought he would have started in Daein, so that was nice to see too.
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Sorry for the wait! Here's 076 Zelgius !
It was a nice profile I thought. I liked the parts about Gawain/Greil as well. I explained in a translation note that his "regret" in winning that duel is likely a reference to how he never got to fight him as he was in his prime, but they may have used the specific word to refer to how he looked up to him from before simply because he accepted him.
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6 hours ago, Fire Emblem Fan said:
Did Brom get a profile here?
It's hasn't been translated yet, but yes he has a profile : )
6 hours ago, Anacybele said:I suppose that tends to happen when Ike becomes a big subject. :P
Like said earlier, he's been the center of a number of debates. Poor guy.
Maybe that's why he left. xD
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Well, this is certainly the most active this thread has been in awhile. xD
7 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:There is a character I find to be a bit like Soren from Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (I bring this up for establishing that Soren as not gay, despite the ways he acts towards Ike, is not a lone case in video games). That character is Yamato Hotsuin- he's arrogant, elitist, tries keep everyone in the dark and use them in his plans to radically reform humanity, and generally not overly likable. However, his Fate Level events with the silent protag MC has him develop a curiosity in the MC, which gradually comes off as being interpretable as something of a romantic attraction. Unlike with Soren, there is no savior aspect which could justify Yamato's fascination in a non-romantic way.
However, you have to understand that Yamato was raised from childhood to be the heir to JIPS. His education was as he says was only through elite tutors- he had no public schooling, and because JIPS is a secret government organization with an important supernatural role in defending Japan, he had no public life, ever. Nothing is said of his parents, but it is presumable that the only relationships that Yamato has ever known are teacher-student and boss-employee, never friendship. Soren in his childhood, when he was raised by the cruel old woman and then the old man who only cared to teach Soren magic, never knew friendship either. Soren did later receive help from others when he went to Crimea in search of Ike after the Gallia encounter, but his already inherent Ike-centricism combined perhaps with some sense of awareness of his Branded status from his experience in Gallia post-Ike (though he didn't learn the truth until Begnion) probably kept him from getting close to anyone who helped him.
Yamato and Soren, if they are antisocial, it is much in virtue of having not been adequately socialized during the early years of childhood when friendships are generally first formed. Instead, we have two young adults (Yamato is 16 and Soren is approximately that) who never went through the ropes of friendship. And thus when presented with situations where normal people who had adequate experience with casual amicable relationships would pass through them with utter banality, they respond in ways that are by comparison unusual. Both display some knowledge of sexual desire (Soren flirts with Aimee for the Silver Card, Yamato says he has no interest in the girls' measurements when he says he looked over their physical exam results to determine who would make the best host for Lugh), but neither likely understands how their ways could be interpreted as romantic by others even when they aren't, nor likely care due to their history of noninvolvement with society and societal norms.
I just wanted to chime in that I played and liked that game a lot! Though I preferred that character who is your current avatar more than Yamato : )
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While I work on Zelgius (getting through it slowly), I did these two to cover the weekend:
I like how the first and last paragraphs are copy pasted with name and term changed. xD
1 hour ago, Scary tiki goddess said:You don't need to be married to start or have a family?
It would make more sense for canon to all but outright state Ike's sexuality, considering the game's country of origin and the time it came out. This post explains my point better than I could: http://amielleon.dreamwidth.org/237826.html
So no, best friends don't "always" have to be lovers, but people certainly can be both.
I quite like that blog! : ) Great posts on there.
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While I get Zelgius's transcript typed up, I found out I had a few others I typed from before, so working on those too.
So here we have 063 Ilyana !
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1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:
Nice profile for Ike, detailed as one would expect for Tellius's central hero.
When you stated Micaiah saw Ike's memories, that came off as a little odd, as whenever we see the memory scenes swirling about inside the Tower of Guidance, it is Yune who comments. Of course Yune using Micaiah as her vessel means whatever Yune sees, Micaiah likely does too, even if Micaiah herself doesn't comment on things. Saying Yune, or Yune-Micaiah as a compromise would have been a better translation @Kirokan. Thanks for the translation regardless of this minor detail though!
As a landlord, I'd expect Ike to be much like Zelgius (who did have his own lands as Valtome states) in this regard. Both are very soldierly and would want things done in straight forward no-nonsense manner, though understanding that there will likely be problems and complexities they cannot simply ignore. Ike would be a little more casual and less knowledgeable about things than Zelgius, but I think neither would really like farming all that much.
Actually, Ike and Zelgius are nearly identical I daresay. Both are passionate warriors, stoic and straightforward with emotions frequently subdued, but certainly capable of coming to the surface. Ike is more relaxed than Zelgius, but much of this is due I'd imagine to their differences in status: the former being a Beorc mercenary, and the other a Branded noble and general.
I don't like the artsy embellishment that calls Ike the wielder of both Alondite and Ragnell. He never dual wields in gameplay them and is never depicted with both on him- he is no male Altina.
As for the "dear Soren" line, more fuel for the "IkexSoren deep friendship vs. romance" debate.
The original text only stated Micaiah, I suppose because they were considering the vessel and the fact she too can see what Yune does, but indeed Yune-Micaiah may have been a good compromise in that sense. I was thinking the other approach was simply to use passive voice, which too is popular in Japanese but looked down in English (a scene is shown, a memory was seen, etc)
Yes, I found the Alondite and Ragnell thing odd, as he only does wield them a maximum of however long it takes for the player to give it to someone else. xD But I suppose they meant for that very moment!
Indeed, that line with Soren could go many ways in the original, so I kept it that mine could be platonic or beyond if need be.
2 hours ago, Zelgius said:Does Zelgius/BK have a profile?
He does! I did BK already, but Zelgius is still being worked on as is his also fairly lengthy. : )
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Here's Ike's page! 086-087 Ike
A big thanks to @Soledai for transcribing it, saving me a lot of time on my busy schedule and enabling me to get it to all of you today. You can see that wall of text of a profile, imagine having to transcribe that from a language you haven't studied in depth too much!
Anyway a lot there, mostly summaries, but I do like the part about how Ike would have had some land to him in addition to his court title in Crimea. Trying to imagine him as a landowner is pretty amusing.
The part with Soren was really hard to translate, as it was equally vague just how dear that dear is! xD
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9 hours ago, The DanMan said:
Honestly, I'm still not sure why they were scared of the series being cancelled. The previous game (a low-effort remake) fell short by 3,000-- they didn't need to do much to blow past the 250,000 mark (if anything, Nintendo simply advertising the series would've done wonders).
Judging by what they said in the Echoes interview from Dengeki, it sounded like it was an ultimatum directly from Nintendo itself, where as in this interview it sounds like just what they were thinking. The Echoes one is more recent, so I assume perhaps they were told that would be the case.
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Vincent sent me some scans of an overlooked interview from the June 2013 issue of Nintendo Dream for Awakening's first year anniversary (for Japan. The issue would have come out in April 2013). As far as we saw, no one had translated it in full (we may be wrong of course).
I spent the weekend translating it for you all. There shouldn't be any pronoun mishaps like last time, but if you spot other mistakes in spelling or terminology (I tried to use localized terms but may have muddled a few here and there), please let me know!
But it should be fine for the most part.
Fun stuff to take away from it. I hope you enjoy the read!
See it on the blog here! (And submit mistakes there if I don't see them here)
Fire Emblem: Awakening. First Year Anniversary Developer Interview
This issue, we have a special feature for Fire Emblem: Awakening (from now on: Awakening). In celebration of the game's first year anniversary since release, we sat down with the developers from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems (from now on: "IS")! This interview is a must-read for Fire Emblem (from now on: FE) series fans!
Featuring (from right to left)
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Kouhei Maeda
Director, Intelligent Systems -
Toshiyuki Kusakihara
Art Director, Intelligent Systems -
Masahiro Higuchi
Project Manager, Intelligent Systems -
Kenki Yokota
Development Planner, Nintendo
Redefining the Phrase “Emblem-like”
-- First things first. Congratulations on your first year anniversary!
All: Thank you very much!
Higuchi: I wanted to express my thanks to everyone who played the game. We wouldn't have been able to be here celebrating the first year anniversary if not for all the fans who bought the game, so thank you. Awakening was created as a culmination of what made the past titles great while also facing challenges of implementing new things. However, during development, we weren't really sure if it would be well received by the players. So when we saw the sales were much higher than expected, we were finally able to rest easy.
Maeda: Yes, we can rest easy now, but, during development, we were faced with a rather grim situation: “If this game doesn’t sell well, the FE series is probably over.”
-- Oh my!
Maeda: However, that sense of impending doom really spurred the staff to repeatedly discuss: “What can we do to get more people to play this game?” So as a result of that grim situation, one thing led to another, and in the end, well, I’m quite pleased with the results.
-- Well, wasn’t the question of getting more people to play the game a topic of discussion during development of previous games too?
Higuchi: It was. We always developed games with users who had left the series in mind, of course, but we would also try to focus on expanding to new players who thought FE to be too difficult of a series to get into.
-- You mean things like "Casual Mode" and the "Avatar" that appeared in the previous DS title, New Mystery of the Emblem, right? So what made things different this time around?
Higuchi: Simple. Redefining its “Emblem-like-ness.”
-- Its “Emblem-like-ness”?
Higuchi: Yes. Throughout development of FE games, I was always using the term "Emblem-like." For example, "Such and such is very Emblem-like, so let's put it in" or "That's not really Emblem-like, take it out." With it being such an important influence to our development, we decided to discuss what "Emblem-like-ness" is, exactly.
-- So you revised it this time around?
Higuchi: That's right. When planning with the staff, a lot of "un-Emblem-like" things were discussed. If I had stopped them there, then the game would be no different than the rest of the series up until now, however. Basically, I figured to truly get a "new" FE game I should let the conversation continue. So from a more objective point of view, we ended up adding a lot of material that wouldn't really be considered "Emblem-like" at all. Though, I admit, I was rather conservative and very reluctant to give up the things that made FE what it is.
-- I see. So there was a bit of conflict between those who were proposing new ideas, and those like you who were stuck in the "good old days" of the series?
Higuchi: Well the premise was that we had to change it up. But navigating that ship [as captain] and figuring out where to go with my crew was indeed difficult.
-- So were you eventually overwhelmed by "un-Emblem-like" people who forced you to think like them?
(Higuchi sighs and looks away)
All: (Laugh)
Maeda: Within the team, there was a split between "conservatives" and "reformists." Among those here right now, Higuchi is one of the "conservatives," and Kusakihara one of the "reformists." A recipe for disaster, I suppose.
All: (Laugh)
-- What about you, Yokota?
Yokota: Conservative.
Maeda: Well, you're certainly a reformist in some areas though! (Laughs)
-- Well, what about you Maeda?
Maeda: Well, I... (avoids eye contact with Higuchi and Kusakihara while speaking) feel like I'm the balance between the two extremes.
Higuchi: You? Balance? Really?
Maeda: Higuchi is said to be one with "destructive reactions" [to new things] so I try my best to remain the peaceful man in the middle is what I mean.
Kusakihara: That impression may have come from how you could hear the echoes of him reacting to every single one of my new ideas. (Laughs).
A Picture of a Confession that Troubled Mr. Higuchi
-- So basically there were strong feelings regarding what needed to change from the norm.
Maeda: Yes, that's right.
Higuchi: On the other hand, though it was clear that I felt "this is wrong" due to all the "un-Emblem-like" things that were crammed into the game, I'm glad I at least had the sense to understand that it was a necessary evil.
-- Since you keep mentioning it, what are some examples of "un-Emblem-like" things you can name --from the player's point of view?
Higuchi: (With a straight face) Confession pictures.
All: (Laugh)
Higuchi: (While looking at Mr. Kusakihara) That came from “reformist” Kusakihara's faction. It drove me nuts when it was first proposed.
Kusakihara: (Surprised) Wait, it wasn't me! That came from Maeda's camp...!
-- Are you shifting the blame now?!
All: (Laugh)
Maeda: That actually did come from me, though... (Laughs)
Kusakihara: During that proposal, we felt that it wasn't expressive enough. So we added flashy sparkles to the background and such in what you see today. The exaggerated overflow of emotions and expressions was purposefully made to resemble the an anime adaptation of a shojo manga.
-- So you brushed it up more. Seeing that, what did you think, Mr. Yokota?
Yokota: I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. (Laughs)
Higuchi: (As if purposefully being a killjoy) No, it wasn't! It was deeply disturbing. And yet, that picture somehow made it into the TV commercial even...! I was like, "Oh gods! You used it in the commercial?!"
All: (Laughs)
-- You were that worked up about it, huh? Why was that?
Higuchi: Well, I already mentioned regarding how plain "un-Emblem-like" it was. But on top of that, the original proposal that was written to me involved "kissy-faces." That is just one example of why it greatly disturbed me.
-- Kissy-faces?!
Kusakihara: Yes. There are plenty of games that feature girls making such faces. But not really any with men. So we figured that it may have some merit to it in that proposal.
Higuchi: I remember my conclusion was "Please don't go that far!" Even the character designer Yusuke Kozaki was opposed to it.
All: (Laughs)
-- But, it's cool that every character got a confession picture huh? Not just the pretty characters either --Gangrel and Valhart have one too!
Kusakihara: We figured that it was definitely something new. We also figured it would probably make male players very uncomfortable.
Maeda: Not to mention that it drove the group in charge of the scenario and story insane, too. "How do we even begin to lead to this being a possibility [in the story]?"
All: (Laughs)
Yokota: In the end it was a necessary element to make it feel more "complete." I think it was done just enough to make it a pleasure to see without being overdone.
-- Trying new things like that may have a mixed reception among the players, but also sounds like it came about as a result of various compromises.
Yokota: That's right. Not everything has changed. The game at its core is still a compilation [of previous games], with a good balance between "conservative" and "reformist." With some things left in place from before, the game in the end came out as "moderate." We feel that is why the game was so well received in the end.
What You Have Heard From Players Through the Past Year
-- Have you kept up with all the comments people have been making regarding the game and how it was received?
Maeda: I looked at a lot of players' comments on twitter, and have seen some recommending it to their friends like, "It's amazing! Buy it!" Seeing it spread by word-of-mouth among people like that left me very impressed.
Kusakihara: Twitter really is interesting. For instance, the people being most critical on it at first gradually had a change of heart, and the platform gives us a chance to see that happen in micro steps.
-- So it was a case of fans' first impressions being like "This isn't FE." But then when they played it, they felt "This is FE" in the end?
Kusakihara: It seems that way. I think it was nice for the newcomers to have been eventually able to interact and discuss the game with those sorts of people too.
Maeda: Also, within the topics of criticism directed toward us were also messages filled with great feelings of happiness and joy. I'd like to personally reach out and thank each and every one of those people. (Laughs)
-- What about you, Mr. Higuchi?
Higuchi: Well, on a slightly different note than player response, we noticed more company employees outside of the FE project staff actually playing the game, too. (Laughs). We heard members who were part of other projects saying "This is amazing!" We got the clear message that everyone was having a great time with the game. (Turns toward Kusakihara): As well as with all the StreetPass-ing, hmm?
Kusakihara: That's right. Higuchi and I went to E3 last year. There were a ton of people there having fun with Awakening's StreetPass features. It made us pretty happy to see that.
-- At first there were only super strong players on the StreetPass, which would be intimidating for anyone else. But it slowly became more varied as all sorts of people joined in the fun.
Maeda: Some were just nothing but an excuse to buy precious items, like traveling merchants. (Laughs)
-- Yeah. Did you imagine the communication feature being used in such a way?
Maeda: We had a lot of ideas we thought people may find fun. But, during development, we didn't understand the full extent of what we could do with the communication features. So often we were stumped, wondering "wait can we even do that via StreetPass?" (Laughs). Also, we figured, "Hey, it may be nice if one or two people even manage to StreetPass each other in a year!"
All: (Laugh)
Yokota: Honestly, we weren't expecting the StreetPass features to be such a big hit. "What else can we do with the feature?" is now a major point of reflection for us.
-- It may depend on the area, but it seems like there is always some StreetPass character or another on the map as if they were there the entire time!
Kusakihara: There are times when you want to fight, and other times you don't. ... We didn't think StreetPass would get so big so regrettably made it [rather limited] that way. (Laughs).
Maeda: We made it so you can pile up about 50 people via StreetPass. We never thought people would actually be fully backed up!
Yokota: Sometimes, interesting people also appear, and you want to leave them on the map. But, it also means you can't battle in that spot while they're there either! (Laughs).
-- Not to mention needing to gather money so you can recruit these people.
Maeda: Seriously! That's how I feel every time!
All: (Laughs)
-- So in summary, you were pleasantly surprised due to underestimating just how many people would actually pick up this game.
Maeda: Yes. We are really thankful for this!
The Character Popularity Polls
-- Throughout the last year, player opinions echoed through character polls conducted through things like Nintendo Dream as well as the official site. What are your thoughts on the results?
Maeda: Owain* was the most unexpected result. We put him in as the so-called "joke character," so we didn't expect that kind of response at all. I was (personally) relieved that Chrom still placed in first, though.
*Placed second on the overall male character poll on the official site.
-- He placed first regardless of which poll it was, huh? You must not be used to the main character actually placing first, so it must have been an incredible feeling.
Kusakihara: It's easier for side characters to follow their own little stories that flesh out their personalities, giving them more individuality.
Yokota: Well, we were relieved to see certain characters place from the top to the middle of the poll. However... we were also...well, shocked...looking at the bottom.
Kusakihara: We thought Flavia would be a big hit with the players... yet she placed really low across all the polls...
Maeda: On the Nintendo Dream poll results, she lost even to Vincent & Victor... we were shocked by all the implications. (Laughs)
-- On a related note, Mr. Maeda often openly expresses his love for Tharja in other interviews. How did Tharja* do?
* - She placed third on the official poll among female characters, and 11th overall on the Nintendo Dream overall character poll.
Maeda: Pretty good I think! (Laughs). But, during the polling, not just me but the rest of the in-house staff were frantically flipping between joy and sorrow as we viewed the results and saw where our favorite characters placed.
-- It's been a year since release. Are there any new characters you've come to like?
Maeda: Ah, well we did make downloadable content (from now on: DLC), and I feel Morgan became better. I grew more attached to them as we expanded on their character through various episodes.
Challenges with Add-on Content
-- Speaking of DLC, up until the release of Awakening, paid DLC was not really a common thing to see in Nintendo games. Was this also a trial run for something new? What was the aim behind it?
Higuchi: Well we wanted to continue bringing attention to Awakening in a big way. After all, a game that is a finished packaged product can no longer be expanded upon. It all just ends when it’s sold.
-- In other words, you wanted to lengthen its relevance in players' minds and get more people to play it?
Higuchi: Yes. Thanks to that, Awakening was picked up by many players. Up until then, the FE series had never really been seen as a money maker for those at Nintendo. So, for example, before we couldn't really use these characters beyond what was in the original version. But, with DLC, we expanded the lifespan of the game well beyond the initial release version, and were able to tide players over until the next DLC release, and so on.
-- I see.
Higuchi: Not only did it expand the game, but it started discussions among players as to how long we would support the game. It brought back players who had completed the game already to play through the story and such again. In that sense, DLC was a great opportunity for us to utilize.
Yokota: On the other hand, we did constantly worry as to what players would think about each distribution in terms of its content and quality. With that in mind, we did have to seriously consider what sort of content to bring the players, and was a constant source of anxiety.
-- That's the sort of challenges that come with a "new" FE, I suppose. But in the end, a lot of people played it and gave them the impression that "Nintendo makes very complete DLC."
Maeda: We were very thankful to hear them say that. It was our first time working on DLC however, so really was just a matter of trial and error. We decided on DLC only when the game was already near completion, so it was difficult to implement on the technical side of things too.
Yokota: If I recall correctly, we proposed the plan to the others at IS just two months before the project's completion.
-- To implement an experimental feature in such a short amount of time... you all must have felt strongly in favor of it?
Maeda: That's right. (Looking at the others) Well at first, I think it was only me who felt that way. (Laughs)
The First Round of DLC: Aimed at Past Fans
-- Was the first round of DLC (Series 1: Outrealm Talismans), which featured characters from past games, decided on from the start?
Yokota: Yes. When we decided to make add-on DLC, it was part of the proposal to the rest of IS.
Higuchi: It was something we wanted in from the start in order to bring a feeling of joy to past players.
-- Having all the characters from the past assemble and meet has been a dream for certain fans for a long time. How did the idea to implement this via Einherjar cards come about?
Kusakihara: The truth is, they weren't originally cards. Originally, they were just going to appear as the portraits that were used in their past games. That was because right near the end of development, Maeda suddenly said, "I want to add 120 characters." (Laughs).
All: (Laughs)
Kusakihara: So now we were scrambling to put things together. Pictures from the previous games were pretty different than Awakening's art style, so they felt out of place, as if they clashed when lined up next to each other. So first, we had to adjust that issue and find a way to standardize them. The idea of the Einherjar card was then born.
-- And so, the chain of events from there led to the idea of bringing back various illustrators from the past to draw the characters came to be?
Kusakihara: In the end, we figured that fans would be happy even if we kept differences in the art styles.
-- How did you decide on the characters which artists were to draw them?
Higuchi: We prioritized illustrators who had worked with us on previous games before, and had to reach out to them. So, first of them was Ms. Sachiko Wada, who helped us on the GBA title Sacred Stones. Then, Ms. Senri Kita, who participated in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Then was Eiji Kaneda who worked with us on Binding Blade, and then Mr. Daisuke Izuka who helped on New Mystery of the Emblem. Next, Ms. Rika Suzuki, who had worked on BS Fire Emblem. Lastly, there was Mr. Kotaro Yamada, who had illustrated the manga Hasha no Tsurugi. These were the six we chose to bring back. After that we made offers to new illustrators.
Maeda: That way we would have an air of bringing both old and new together.
-- So it seemed all the requested illustrators readily came on board, huh?
Higuchi: Not exactly.
Yokota: A lot of them are such busy people. Many got back to us saying: "That doesn't really line up well with my schedule."
-- I feel like if you more forcefully mentioned: "You can draw FE illustrations [again]!" they would have consented.
Higuchi: On that note, the artist HACCAN who drew Outrealm Alm for us had come to our attention when he sent a passionate note that basically read: "I'll do anything to draw for you!"
Yokota: I was involved in a Wii project called Zangeki no Reginleiv which featured HACCAN as head of character design. It was there I heard about his love for FE. So, I proposed: "Let's make an offer." Needless to say, he was in great spirits. (Laughs)
Higuchi: We told him "Make two rough sketches for us." And so he sent us two versions –but they were fully cleaned and colored! They were such amazing pictures, we were like: "What the? This looks like a final product!" (Laughs).
All: (Laugh)
Maeda: Of course there was also Mr. Kozaki who introduced us to illustrators he was acquainted with.
-- Quite the flow of events!
Kusakihara: By far the most surprising part is when Mr. Kozaki himself drew Katarina for us as part of the second series of DLC.
-- Huh! Mr. Kozaki got to draw the final DLC image? Despite already doing quite a bit during development himself...right?
Kusakihara: Yes. "I'll draw it" he said. (Laughs)
All: (Laugh)
Yokota: But it really was a nice way to tie it up.
Higuchi: Mr. Kozaki drew various classes and other things up for us during the planning stages, so when he said, "Katarina is a tactician, right?" He had meant he wanted to draw [her as the class he helped design]: The Grandmaster.
Kusakihara: Mr. Kozaki had played New Mystery of the Emblem, and so had an emotional attachment to Katarina as well.
Packing the First DLC to the Limit
-- Returning to the subject of the first series of DLC –so characters and classes were chosen from the start, and then left in the hands of the illustrators?
Higuchi: Yes. For example, there were cases where the illustrator would greatly expand upon a vague outline we presented to them, much like Mr. Kozaki had done for us.
-- So... that means Outrealm Eirika's class, "Bride," was decided from the start.
Maeda: Well the Bride [class] came first, not Eirika as one.
-- So that means she was based on the aforementioned Bride class, then.
Maeda: Well, yes. (Laughs)
Kusakihara: It was quite the shock. (Laughs)
Yokota: And since there was this Bride, there was no more room to fit other things in the DLC. So with tears in my eyes, I had to begin cutting things out.
Maeda: As such, if there was a short list of regrets we had for this game, that sort of class [and circumstance] may have been one of them.
Yokota: On the bright side, it does show we packed in as much content as we could. All the way to the limit.
Maeda: That's true. We used every technique we had in the book to fill it all up.
Higuchi: Since it was the first time we were implementing DLC in such a way, it was hard to decide what to do first, or how much of it to do, and how long to do it for. Deciding on those the first time really was really tough.
Yokota: Back then, even thinking of doing a second wave would've seemed out of the question. We never imagined we actually would do so.
The Second Round of DLC: Aimed at Awakening Fans
-- On that subject, what sort of concept did you have in mind when creating the second series of paid DLC (Path of a Grandmaster)?
Higuchi: It was developed specifically for those who enjoyed Awakening, whereas series one was developed for fans of the past games.
-- Mr. Yokota mentioned just moments ago about how the second series was not planned from the start?
Higuchi: Yes. (Flatly) It wasn't.
Yokota: We saw the response to the first wave of DLC, and so we decided to work with that concept for the second series just one month after the first's completion.
Higuchi: We announced the second series of DLC with an image.
-- Yes. The illustration with Lucina in her swimsuit. I remember being rather surprised!
Higuchi: That illustration was concept art for the second series, and in truth, was actually the front cover of our proposal. It wasn't something the players were meant to see. But, of course, there was talk about people wanting to use it as an announcement picture. (Laughs). In fact, we brought that picture with us today. (Takes out the illustration).
-- Oh wow! Thank you very much! Taking a closer look at it, you can really see all sorts of other details and meanings behind this image, huh? (Laughs).
Yokota: This picture shows all the things we wanted to put in if we were given a chance to work on Awakening again. It is the embodiment of what could have been depicted by a single image. (Laughs)
-- So you felt there were still some things that were incomplete?
Maeda: Not exactly "incomplete," but there are things that could've been expanded upon. Whether it is things to add to the original story, or hearing echoes of what else we could have done for the first series of DLC, there were strong feelings all around about it.
-- So it was a way you wanted to respond to player feedback?
Maeda: That's right. In the first series, there were those who wanted even more beloved characters, or a story to look forward to with it, or a more challenging strategy experience. We wanted to make something that could fit all those different preferences. So, thanks to this feedback we received from the first series, we were able to implement some of these things into the second series instead.
Limitations in Swimwear, Yukata, and New Classes
-- (While staring at the illustration): Nevertheless, this picture had quite the impact didn't it?
Kusakihara: The second series featured plenty of things to look forward to, such as more difficult FE gameplay, conversations, and three full chapters featuring the “Future of Despair.” You can see, in the lower half of the picture, that Chrom and the Avatar are shown facing off against powerful, giant zombies. In this way, the front cover does depict all the sorts of things to expect from the second series.
-- Indeed it was all there from the beginning. However, while we can understand that the “Future of Despair” will be featured due to this image, how are we supposed to get the impression of conversations [to look forward to] by depicting swimsuits?
Kusakihara: When thinking about how to make people have fun conversations, we thought: "Wouldn't a situation involving swimsuits work?" So that sort of plan came about.
Maeda: In addition, we built the conversation around the theme of "bonds," while also taking the popularity poll results into consideration. We wanted to do something special for the characters that ranked highest at the time, and figured giving them special artworks may be a good idea. We thought about what kind of pictures would be best, and came to the conclusion that swimsuits and yukata would be best. Maid outfits were also under deep consideration, but we felt [the other two] were closer to our original proposal [so were not implemented].
Yokota: Regarding the special illustrations, since the second series did not feature the Einherjar cards, people could look forward to these instead.
Higuchi: However, despite Lucina being depicted in a swimsuit on the announcement picture, she actually ended up in a yukata rather than a swimsuit.
-- Certain classes fighting in swimsuits and yukata were pretty interesting. How did you decide on which classes would change?
Kusakihara: It depended on the graphic of the class itself, as well as whether it would fit in the wider world [of FE]. There were some designs that could have worked, but the Sorcerer design we felt was the best fit. The Swordmaster design’s outfit meanwhile already resembled Japanese style clothing, and so fit the image for that best too. (Points at Lucina on the proposal illustration): At that time we didn't think about all that, though, and so Lucina ended up in those red strings.
Yokota: Yeah. A lot of people agreed: "Stringed bikinis don't really fit in this world"
Maeda: Despite that, after the DLC released, we were called out for the scene involving Tharja in her swimsuit. "This is way too lewd!" we heard.
Yokota: The people around me said: "You seem to be paralyzed! (From having OK'd this)!"
All: (Laugh)
Kusakihara: But it actually had to do with the rating systems. So in North America, they chose to hide part of Tharja's swimsuit.
Maeda: But in their efforts to conceal it, we heard it ended up being taken as even more suggestive...
All: (Laugh)
*TN- North American version they were referring to can be seen here.
Conflict between Conservatives and Reformists Even in the DLC!
-- I'm under the impression that the second series of DLC had a much greater impact than the first.
Kusakihara: That impression probably comes front the front cover of the proposal alone.
Meada: To make it so impactful, Higuchi was still looking at it from the "extreme FE conservative" standpoint for us.
-- Even though it was aimed at current players of Awakening, you still intended to protect what was deemed "Emblem-like," then? Does that mean you were still troubled when it came to the second series of DLC, Mr. Higuchi?
Higuchi: (Vigorously): Of course I was! Very much. So first I proposed harder maps, as well as the "Future of Despair" maps. I said if we do these sorts of things then I'd give the OK for this new round. But then in the end, out of nowhere came these "bonds" maps! I got pretty upset. (Laughs)
-- Those swimsuits? (Laughs)
Higuchi: I said "Let me think for a couple of days." (Laughs) However, I thought about it, and wanted the DLC to of course be something that, in the end, would have various things for players to look forward to. Those who wanted a serious story and look into the time period Lucina and her group had come from could enjoy the "Future of Despair." Those who wanted a strategic challenge could look forward to could enjoy "Apotheosis." When I thought about it that way, I figured I was probably better off just letting my troubles and worries go. So after two days of mulling about, I got up on my feet, and went to have a talk with the people at Nintendo...
Yokota: (Nonchalantly) And he said "I'm perfectly OK now."
All: (Laugh)
Maeda: So, finally the Higuchi who said "This is going way too far" was able to work in harmony with the rest of us.
Kusakihara: Since it is DLC, it is often unclear what exactly it consists of until after its downloaded. To avoid such misunderstandings, we worked tirelessly on updating the official webpage with announcements. We wrote things like "Recommended for people who like ____." We took people who may not be fond of the swimsuits into consideration too, addressing all those little things.
Maeda: The maps we made to be more difficult were too hard for even some of the development staff to complete. So we wanted to convey just how difficult those maps were, too.
-- So hard that success is not guaranteed at all.
Maeda: Of course, despite that sort of difficulty, the maps certainly can be cleared. So it was a great challenge to present to players.
Kusakihara: During development, I saw the staff in charge of adjusting balance approach Maeda and say, "Can anyone even clear this?!" (Laughs)
Maeda: That was something. Eventually, two of the people in charge of balance and I were able to clear it. At first, it certainly was a case of "Who the heck can clear this?!" But then when we did clear it, it was like "Oh I cleared it." and suddenly it didn't seem too hard. (Laughs)
-- I know that feeling.
Maeda: So from there we tried making it even harder. (Laughs) It's how we went about streamlining it.
-- Truly a challenge from the staff!
Maeda: Indeed, it's a map that serves that kind of purpose.
-- But, at its core, it is a response from the developers to what the fans wanted, delivering it through the second series of DLC, right? Like a game of catch between the developer and player.
Maeda: Thank you very much. That's what I was going for.
The Players’ Voices Grow Louder with Awakening
Yokota: Anyway, I believe this is our first experience doing a first year anniversary interview.
Higuchi: Indeed, we haven't got to do any until now. I feel it is the fruits of our labor after continuous years of hard work. This past year, beyond the incredible response from players, magazines like Nintendo Dream allowed readers to also participate and keep us quite visible, for which we are very thankful. ... I'm tempted to give you this FE illustration, even. (Laughs).
-- (Laughs). It was a year both Nintendo Dream readers and players enjoyed alike. To finish this off, please say some final things to all the people who played this game. If you would please, Mr. Yokota and Mr. Higuchi.
Yokota: Thank you very much. It has been a whole year, and yet just the other day the Sound CD was released, and the Tharja figure was shown at Wonder Festival. In this way, the world of Awakening continues to expand [even now]. We hope you continue to enjoy all things Awakening!
Higuchi: I have seen all sorts of responses from the players, and am extremely happy and grateful for all who played and enjoyed the game. The year went by fast! With things like DLC, you all can continue to enjoy this game that is a climax jam-packed with a culmination of things from the series' past. Thank you all very much!
-- Thank you all very much.
Maeda: If it's alright, I'd like to say one last thing.
-- Of course, please go ahead!
Maeda: It is not an exaggeration at all when I say this: It is thanks to all of you who played Awakening that this series can continue. I mean it. From the bottom of my heart, a great big thank you to all of you who picked up this game.
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Kouhei Maeda
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It's been like 18 days! xD
No new pic, but just know I'm still very much aiming to finish this off. With new full time work and helping SF translate more interviews I've had my hands full though.
I aim to do Ike next because he's in high demand, but his lengthy profile keeps putting me off. However, I decided if anyone wants to transcribe the profile for me (retyping the Japanese to a word format) that would be a huge help. No need to translate, just transcribe. If I can get a transcript that would be super awesome and cut a good hour (or two) off the process. xD Send me a note if you think you can do that!
(That includes you @AstroknighticalFeats if you're up for it! Though you're pretty busy too xD)
Of course if not I will get to doing it myself...eventually!
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Thanks for sharing! I know how much work goes into this sort of thing, so it's much appreciated.
The full VAing is great for Japanese learners too who may not have understood some kanji but knew the word itself. I don't know how the ENG is though. xD
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Just an update with a definitive answer straight from Hidari himself: He is indeed a (36 year old) man. xD So I hope that settles that debate (and apologies again, all pronouns have been fixed).
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I see... for those reasons I do not have an account there, despite how much I would love to share all this info directly with the other 90%. But I'm glad the posts end up there somehow. : )
I did like how at least one person commented on the article with a link and politely stated the correct information. I feel that if a lot of people really cared about the inaccuracy of my translation, they would have stepped forward to tell me sooner rather than laugh among themselves about it. xD
8 hours ago, Reflex said:Ignoring the FE reddit is the safest option regardless. You pretty much have a vocal minority attacking people everytime you bring up the new games. Like some nutcase took away that entire interview of yours as "Oh, so it was Kazuki's fault all along. Bomb his house."
Oh dear. When translating that and the sort of in-fighting and differences of approaches, I was wondering how a lot of people would take that. xD
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Here's Tormod's page! Just like his presence in the game, it is rather lacking...
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16 minutes ago, The DanMan said:
Eh, that stuff was from the subreddit. There's plenty of assholes and stupidity there anyways. It's no big deal.
Thanks. xD I do check the referral links, but didn't scroll down past a certain point --I love and welcome (constructive) criticism, but slandering faceless people is all too easy I think... so I don't know specifically what may have been said, but perhaps it's better that way!
Anyway it's been nice seeing the supportive people on this forum and elsewhere. So thanks for that! I'm working on some other stuff at the moment and can't wait to announce another project I hope to do alongside the Tellius Recollection one!
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17 hours ago, Reflex said:
Hidari has always known to be a woman, but some people erred on saying guy or no gender because they don't trust wikipedia.
Someone was kind enough to direct me to a tweet where they proclaim to be a man (while using female pronouns), so changed it to male pronouns for now until the next counter example comes along.
17 hours ago, Mysterique Sign said:So Hidari is a woman?
See above!
14 hours ago, The DanMan said:Appreciate the translation.
Question for anybody who knows Japanese: is Hidari specifically referred to as female? There's still some dumb crap elsewhere with people saying they can't take it seriously and "the translator just inserted the assumed gender".
It really, really saddens me if that is the take away from the interview. A pronoun mishap and the entire thing goes out the window... I apologize and have corrected it after someone found a more solid piece of evidence for me.
But to answer your question, no, the pronouns are all gender neutral. xD And Hidari using female first person pronouns does not help someone like me who is purely a text translator... sigh. Sorry.
I'm also just going to tweet to them directly to get to the bottom of it. The fact it's still an argument means there's no clear answer on the matter... xD But some pictures look masculine, but it's really hard to count that these days. After all imagine the fallout from someone who looks like a man turning out to be a woman...
It's more of a mishap in research though than translation... I do hope this doesn't become a thing in the future though. "Oh, that's Kirokan. Forget about their translations, they messed up Hidari's gender."
xD...
Tellius Recollection (Vol 2) Translation / Discussion Thread
in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Posted · Edited by Kirokan
Today, we have 089 Titania
Though nothing of note in here! That's one more down. : )