Retranslation

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General Information

Welcome to the Chrono Trigger Retranslation Project. The objective of this effort is to oversee and effect a full retranslation of Chrono Trigger from its original Japanese script. This includes all dialogue in the game, as well as all lists of items, weapons, armor, locations, etc. featured as well. In undertaking this project, we hope to present a clearer portrayal of Chrono Trigger as intended by its Japanese creators. It is not the opinion of this project that Ted Woolsey's official translation was bad or insufficient in any way -- only that some essence of the game was lost or altered, given Nintendo of America's censorship standards and the inability of the game to hold all the original text when translated to English.

Currently, the script is nearing completion thanks to translation by KWhazit. Once complete, it will be released as both an Excel spreadsheet and an .html file. Additionally, an article will be released documenting significant differences between the two editions of the game. Here's an example of the script.

Why retranslate?

A few factors contribute to our desire to have Chrono Trigger retranslated. Specifically, Ted Woolsey did remark in an interview (see here) that a lot of text was cut out because the strings became too long after translation. Additionally, Woolsey did make mistakes in places. For instance, take the line:

Gaspar: One of you is close to someone who needs help. Find this person, fast.

It was supposed to read something to the effect of, "For matters concerning each time era, talk to your teammates." It's a hint telling you to talk to the various player characters standing around the End of Time; upon doing so, they will provide information about the sidequests in their home eras. The original meaning was heavily distorted, and led to endless discussion in the community befor e a proper translation was given. Additionally, there's a line in Zeal that states, "Janus, Schala's step-brother, doesn't have a speck of magic." We had that one specifically translated about a year ago, and there is no step-sibling reference whatsoever. Time will tell if there are any good mysteries or revelations buried elsewhere in the text!

Just to clarify, we aren't saying Ted Woolsey sucks. Censorship standards were imposed by Nintendo, and translators often have a hard time fitting every last bit of meaning into sentences without running over. For a clarification of Ted Woolsey's experiences, see this page.

I thought you were accepting multiple translators?

This was the method of the project before we learned of the existing fan translation undertaken by KWhazit, which will be released here. We are indebted to KWhazit for his work. Sit tight and wait for the grand finale!

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