Beacause by DLPB, Luksy, and Charlie BeerBeacause is a Final Fantasy VII relocalization. It is a complete retranslation and relocalization from the ground up, using the original Japanese script. The aim is to have an end product that is accurate and professional. Official sources have been used to minimize errors in context and spelling. The project's name "Beacause" comes from a misspelling (in the original localization) of the only line spoken by Jenova.
Key Features- Translated and localized from the ground up.
- All text updated.
- Option to keep original character names and series canon.
- Option for American English (as opposed to British English).
- Some unused dialogue reinstated.
- - Two Scenes, accidentally missing in original game, reinstated (Gongaga, Corel Bridge).
StatusCompleted.- Flevel Debug (Not being edited): 0/13
- Flevel (by maps): 693/693
- ff7.exe: Completed
- Kernel.bin: Completed
- kernel2.bin: Completed
- scene.bin: Completed
- world_us: Completed
Non-dialogue documentation can be found
HERE. Please remember to look at this before asking questions about character/item/weapon/materia names and so forth.
Note that entries in blue, orange, and white are not open to discussion. I will discuss only those entries in green or red.InformationIssues:- The original English localization suffers from errors in grammar, spelling, context and translation.
- A lot of the errors point to a rushed job due to little communication with the original authors.
- Many of the errors miss out on specific references to people, places, and mythology.
- Some errors alter the plot; a few, severely. Some errors have been adopted as canon by SE, and some have been modified in later media.
What we have fixed:- Items, spells, places, monsters, and characters for which we have good evidence as having been incorrectly translated, or modified for a western audience, have been restored.
- All dialogue checked for translation/context errors and modified as necessary. Grammar/spelling mistakes in the dialogue have been fixed.
- Any error that has been adopted as canon does not preclude it from being changed.
What this project isn't:- A literal translation from the Japanese.
- An attempt to rewrite or warp any of the game's original content.
- An attempt to prove that we somehow know what the original authors wanted for every single byte in the game.
If there's anything there you do not agree with, please copy/paste and give us your thoughts.
The following are examples of the changes we have made. In the first example, there are slight errors in translation and major errors in localization. In the second example, the translation was completely incorrect. In the third example, the flow and feel of the characters is improved.
1. Video examples
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2. Original
[/list]
{YUFFIE}
“Are you waiting for {CLOUD}?”{NEW}
“He's flying right now, so you can't get him.”{NEW}
“Were you going to force me
into the submarine right now?”{NEW}
“Quit it!
If you want to go, then just leave me behind.”{NEW}
“…ooooooh.
What're you talking about? I…”Relocalized
YUFFIE}
“{CLOUD}…”{NEW}
“Have you decided
where we’re going yet?”{NEW}
“Come on,I can’t take
much more of this.”{NEW}
“Hey,you’re not thinking of
shovin’ me in that crappy
sub,are you!?”{NEW}
“I won’t go! Never!
Leave me here,
leave me here!”{NEW}
“…urrrrk…
What am I saying?”3. Original
Bugenhagen
“…listen, Nanaki.
I think you may already know.”{NEW}
“If you have any mission in life,
it is not to defend this valley.”
------------------------------
Bugenhagen
“Look at the withering mountain grass.
Listen to the warble of
the new born chocobo's.”{NEW}
“Look always to the eternal flow of time
which is far greater than
the span of a human life.”{NEW}
“It will teach you more,
than staying here in the valley…”{NEW}
“What you will see will eventually
become a part of the Lifestream.”{NEW}
“For my children…
And for your children…”
------------------------------
“So please, Nanaki…
Go with {CLOUD}…
And use your eyes…your ears…”
Relocalized
Bugenhagen
“Listen to me,Nanaki.
And I think you may
know this already…”{NEW}
“If you have any duty
at all,it is… not to
defend this canyon.”
------------------------------
“Look at the trees withering
on the mountain. Listen to
the warble of a newborn
chocobo.”{NEW}
“Fix your eyes upon a span
of time… far,far longer than
that of a human life.”{NEW}
“This will teach you so much
more than staying here in
the canyon ever could.”{NEW}
“Before long,all that you see
around you will become one
with the Lifestream and will
be succeeded…”{NEW}
“…by our children,and
by your children,Nanaki.”
------------------------------
“So,Nanaki,
accompany {CLOUD}.
With your own eyes.
With your own ears.”My main aim is to release a full story based walk-through of Final Fantasy VII on Youtube that can do it justice (in fact, that's the reason I ended up being a permanent contributor here). When I first attempted to do this in 2009, I stopped half way through and abandoned it. The original localization isn't good enough, and it's even more obvious when you're concentrating on the dialogue. I started a project to improve the localization here on this forum and invited those who knew the Japanese language to help me in that endeavour.
To say that this project is time consuming would be an understatement. There are roughly 130,000 words (slightly less than The Return of the King) of dialogue in Final Fantasy VII. Updating it all is no easy task. Only Luksy and Charlie Beer have been willing to put the effort into retranslating the dialogue from the original Japanese game.
Relocalizing the game is hard enough, but at the beginning there was no tool that could update the text, either. Editing the world map dialogue originally required a hex editor. I worked with Luksy to change that... and so Luksy's tool "touphScript" was also born.
CriticismWe have strived to create the best localization of Final Fantasy VII we can within the boundaries of the original writers' wishes. Our job is to create something Hironobu Sakaguchi would be proud of.
Some of the feedback that we receive provokes a positive discussion or leads to corrections being made, but some of it is, in my opinion, unfair. The following criticisms are frequently made:
"You are changing something I grew up with. I and many others loved it the way it was, bad translation or not."
I don't find this a rational argument, because if we had been the original localizers, and the version that you grew up with was our version, you'd now be defending our version. Also, people have the choice to play the original game if they don't like our relocalization.
"I liked the original place names and character names. They are canon and you are changing canon."
Let us be clear what canon means. It means "English canon", because every game is localized for many countries, and each have their own quirks. A lot of these quirks exist because of a bad or lacking original translation (usually extending back to much earlier titles). I see no issue at all in correcting this type of error. On the other hand, there is a logical reason for "Megalixir" being used instead of "Last Elixir", and so in those cases I have given people a choice in the installer. I have also allowed the original character names to be used.
The canon of Final Fantasy VII (prequels-sequels and so on) is a hugely insulting mish-mash of retcons and ideas aimed at appeasing fanboys and the easily pleased. A number of totally unworkable and stupid plot threads have been introduced to the series, which had absolutely no business being there and cannot work within the confines of the original story. The original story was a mostly well-written, self contained piece of work. The FF7 "canon" consists of characters who have been revived from the dead (Rufus, Hojo, Sephiroth) and other characters who have been plonked into the original story out of nowhere (for example: Genesis). Citing "canon" isn't a good argument. Personally, the only thing I find more disappointing than FF7 canon is Star Wars canon. Both suffer with the same problem: money making at the expense of art and intelligence—the mutilation of the original work, because that's easier than writing logical, thought-provoking dialogue. We've treated the relocalization of Final Fantasy VII as a separate piece of work.
"I liked Barrett being like Mr. T, and so did others. "
We have adhered to the original writers' wishes on issues such as this. J R R Tolkien said it best in the following passage, upset by a translator's hack job with his material:
In principle I object as strongly as is possible to the 'translation' of the nomenclature at all (even by a competent person). I wonder why a translator should think himself called on or entitled to do any such thing. That this is an 'imaginary' world does not give him any right to remodel it according to his fancy, even if he could in a few months create a new coherent structure which it took me years to work out. [...] May I say at once that I will not tolerate any similar tinkering with the personal nomenclature. Nor with the name/word Hobbit.
CreditsManager
DLPBTranslation
Luksy [693/693 maps, and non-dialogue]
New Localization
DLPBFull Japanese Proof Check
Charlie Beer (shikun)File Editing
DLPB, LuksyOriginal Localization
Michael BaskettEnglish Proof Checking and English language Consultant:
CovarrNon-Dialogue Quality Assurance
DLPB, Luksy, Defade, Herman, Ragnarok2040, JeffreyATWScottish Proof Check
Prince LexTesters / Additional Proof Checking
Kalkano, Green_goblin, JeffreyATW, WatashiWaZero, Caledor, Tim Rogers (via his videos)And
All those who have helped on Qhimm forum.
