Woolsey/Slattery Translation Discussion

Hey all. Just wondering if anyone has played the GBA version of FFVI. I would like to start a discussion on the differences, specifically which parts of each translation are better.

Browsing online, I've come across many people who say that Slattery's translation is much better, but also say specific lines from Woolsey's translation are better. I would like to know what these are, because as I'm inserting the GBA script in the SNES ROM, all I see is a new, much better script that elaborates on pretty much everything. Even lines that are similar, are just better written by Slattery, and better punctuation as well. This is on top of Woolsey's errors, where he has the wrong character speaking certain lines, and omitting entire lines.

Are these Woolsey lines that are better, only better due to nostalgia?

Maybe some discussion on this could even help Aegis Runestone on his Translation project.

I'm a Woolsey fan, that;s all I am gonna say. He gave us a nostalgic umm... talking thing. I personally dislike the -retranslation.

I personally dont care for woosley's translation

I mean yeah it gives us a nice nostalgic feel to it

and he did translate it well

but the way he went about translating certain things..........come on LOL

I think it all depens on the player. Some lines of Woosley translation are funnier but I think the GBA script elaborates more on certain things and the punctuation is better IMO.

In my hack I'm using what I think is the best of both translations and I tend to use a lot more of the GBA script. I can't think of any line from Wooslpey that I kept because I have a very bad memory and I'm not at home. I'll come up with some examples later on.

but the way he went about translating certain things..........come on LOL

I agree

Comparing the GBA version (and other fan translations out there) with the SNES version, you notice that the SNES version has translation inaccuracies all over. You see weird spell names (Pearl, Merton, X-Zone); you see odd esper names (Eidolons? or Phantom beasts?) such as Stray, Starlet and Shoat; you see inaccurate character names (Terra, Sabin, Vicks), status effects (Dark? Imp?) and odd things everywhere else.

My point is, if they did all those crazy things naming abilities, why wouldn't they do the same with many of the game's lines? What might we have missed because of the censorship? What if Cyan had drinking problems? What if Edgar had uncontrollable bursts of anger? Those are things that, are lost to us, and could have given the story a nice touch. But, they go all the way to censor themes like nudity, alcohol and religion. And, even though the retranslation for GBA is done by another guy, the game still must abide to Nintendo's censorship. IMHO, the experience when playing the game is not as good as it should be. That's why I prefer fan re-translations. I trust fan translators more because they put all their efforts in bringing the story as it was intended to be.

You can find a fan retranslation HERE: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/697/

One thing that sticks out in my mind is Cyan and the way he speaks. Slattery has him use Old English exclusively, whereas Woolsey is very inconsistent with the way he speaks. He goes from using "thou" and "thy" one minute, to having many lines where he sounds like any other character. The dialogue between Cyan and Sabin are also more comical because of this, and because of the way the dialogue has been fleshed out.

Angelo, I agree with you about the censorship, but I find that specific patch too literal and bland. Having the most accurate translation doesn't always make it the best. I think something in the middle would be perfect.

Also, I've only glanced at Lina Darkstar's translation, but it is fascinating so far. The script notes document why things should be translated a certain way, what the differences are, etc. I think this is a great resource as well, especially since it was done on a forum, discussions were made, and other people have made corrections (because no one person is perfect).

I've heard some decent feedback on the dialog changes I'm making

I only hope it'll leave all who play my future hack satisfied

I've heard some decent feedback on the dialog changes I'm making

I only hope it'll leave all who play my future hack satisfied

I wish I could do some nice dialog changes too but english is not my first language. My custom dialogs so far sounds too "basic" if I can say it like that. I might try to get some help for scripting when my hack is near complete. Any volunteer?

I've heard some decent feedback on the dialog changes I'm making

I only hope it'll leave all who play my future hack satisfied

I wish I could do some nice dialog changes too but english is not my first language. My custom dialogs so far sounds too "basic" if I can say it like that. I might try to get some help for scripting when my hack is near complete. Any volunteer?

I got your back, bro. Dialog is my specialty. I can convert your "basic" into something powerful.

I got your back, bro. Dialog is my specialty. I can convert your "basic" into something powerful.

Thanks alot! I'll inform you when I'll need help but it's not for now because my hack is far from complete and I haven't made yet all the custom events...