ROM Hack Ninokuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi - Translation Project

[AihanKaidan]

I'm almost positive that when Wrath of the White Witch is released, there will be a Prima Games strategy guide or some other official guide for it. It will likely contain most, if not all, of the information found in Magic Master (but not necessarily formatted/organized in the same way).

The thing about the magic master, though, is that aside from things like recipes, item lists, and the bestiary, the bulk of the book isn't so much a walkthrough as a fun little thing to put the kids more in the game. It gives little bits of advice like be careful around fire, don't play in the rain, and short moral stories, along with treating magic as if you were actually capable of doing it. Any walkthrough is most likely going to take a different position when it comes to the information it conveys.

 

[legendofmei]

oh crap! i've never ordered from them before
i was actually going to but i prefer play-asia or CDJAPAN. their super quick ive gotten everything like 3-5 days after ive ordered

I've been ordering from yesasia sporadically since 2002. This is the first I've heard of them failing so hard. They were never my favorite place to shop, but it is quite a disappointment. Anyway, I like ordering from HMV.

HMV? i thought they only sold cds/and movies and such , what do you buy from there?
for animes RIGHTSTUF is the cheapest and best place to order they dont have tracking but orders of like 50$ are free to ship to america and150$ to CANADA, but like for games i think i'm going to stick with play asia because i get the FEDEX or UPS shipping and i get it in no time and i thought it was "YESasia" that failed hard,
mind you i'd love to get my hands on a copy of the ninokuni PS3 bundle from what i read on ebgames website in canada ninokuni should be out a round early november

 

[mrgone]

If you guys still want to translate the book before White Witch is released, my bigger concern would be the fact that the translation is a collaboration effort. Unless you have an editor who can read Japanese, it's going to be hard to keep things consistent. Not just with terminology, but writing styles will be different as well. My suggestion would be to have one person translate the book, maybe two translators at the most. Then they could collaborate with each other for consistency. If you want to have a third translator, he/she should just be an editor and check the work of the other two translators.

i do not consider myself a full translator, maybe an editor with some japanese knowledge (i had 2 semesters of japanese)
i need to lookup most of the kanjis (using nihongoresources.com)
also: i do not translate flow text, but text chunks (like headers in the monster descriptions), but i will propose improvements of translations if i see some.
also: as far as i know: right now, it's just AihanKaidan & me translating

Anyway, I like ordering from HMV.

HMV is still alive?
i only remember them closing their biggest stores (tokyo, singapore)

 

[legendofmei]

Anyway, I like ordering from HMV.

HMV is still alive?
i only remember them closing their biggest stores (tokyo, singapore)

They have them all over canada O.o?

 

[Permafry_42]

Does anyone here know if the Japanese PS3 physical copy of the book is the same as the Japanese DS physical book?

Yes, the physical Magic Master hardcopy that's bundled with Shiroki Seihai no Joou is identical to the one that comes with Shikkoku no Madoushi. But you won't be able to get it with Shiroki anymore because it was only available if you preordered the PS3 game in Japan. Basically they printed a surplus of the book for Shikkoku, and in order to get rid of their stock they offered it as a preorder bonus for Shiroki. If anything, the only difference is that the Magic Master that comes bundled with Shiroki has a sticker label on the shrink-wrap, while the one bundled with Shikkoku has no sticker. See the image below:

Left: Shikkoku | Right: Shiroki

You might still be able to get a hardcopy if you buy Shiroki at a used game store. It would be nice for you to have two copies of the book. But even if you can't get a second copy, well you'll still have the one that comes with Shikkoku.

Liked the post; thanks for the info! I'll probably just get a copy of the DS game that comes with a book if they're the same book. Also, according to what I've already read, the digital Master Magic in the ps3 game is a completely different book from the physical book, so it will most like only be useful for comparing the localised names to our translation. Besides this, it probably will be limited in usefulness for translation. We'll have to wait until someone finishes the English version of the game and record all the pages in the digital copy in order for us to have access to the pages that feature the most complex-named spells we'll need for the translation. Ideally everyone on the is project will play the ps3 game 100%, but since this is a full length JRPG with plenty of sidequests and is only available on the PS3, this will probably not happen. That said, I hope that everyone who does have the ability to play through 100% to do so; particularly the translators of the group. If we want the translation to be as professional as possible on a project this size, we need to keep true to the official translation of the game where possible.

I also completely agree with keeping the amount of translators on the book small. Our translators' primary focus should still be the game considering how much is needed to be literally translated in the game still in comparison to a book written with a Japanese child's vocabulary in Japanese in mind. The book is an important part of the translation project, but we need to make sure we keep it in perspective against the scope of text that's in the game.

 

[StorMyu]

Permafry, legendofmei (Canada Ftw) you should probably contact PleoNex about the text editor if you want to do that, because actually there's no one working on that game.
And mrgone could help too
I know Densetsu is very busy that's why I haven't talked about him ^^

because afaik, the primary translator is spanish and can't work on it for the time being so if you want to start a little in the meantime, you should just say so.
And I'll be happy to know there's someone working on it ^^

 

[Permafry_42]

Permafry, legendofmei (Canada Ftw) you should probably contact PleoNex about the text editor if you want to do that, because actually there's no one working on that game.
And mrgone could help too
I know Densetsu is very busy that's why I haven't talked about him ^^

because afaik, the primary translator is spanish and can't work on it for the time being so if you want to start a little in the meantime, you should just say so.
And I'll be happy to know there's someone working on it ^^

I can only assist in the editing of the translation from Spanish to English. I currently have no major experience with Japanese, and have no experience with kanji. If translation is not involved with the text editing process, I'll ask Pleonex to show the files and I'll see what I can do in my (very limited) free time.

 

[mrgone]

]They have them all over canada O.o?

lol. germany does not have them, and in the us of a, where i were a few years back, didn't have them either.
and as i mentioned, the two biggest ones, which i were lucky to be, closed down.
and the one i found in hongkong is super small.

so, i'd like to know who has the game and thus the book.
AihanKaidan
me (mrgone)
densetsu (but occupied with blood of bahamut for the time)

 

[Permafry_42]

]They have them all over canada O.o?

lol. germany does not have them, and in the us of a, where i were a few years back, didn't have them either.
and as i mentioned, the two biggest ones, which i were lucky to be, closed down.
and the one i found in hongkong is super small.

so, i'd like to know who has the game and thus the book.
AihanKaidan
me (mrgone)
densetsu (but occupied with blood of bahamut for the time)

You can add me to the list after about 3-4 weeks from now.

 

[Densetsu]

The thing about the magic master, though, is that aside from things like recipes, item lists, and the bestiary, the bulk of the book isn't so much a walkthrough as a fun little thing to put the kids more in the game. It gives little bits of advice like be careful around fire, don't play in the rain, and short moral stories, along with treating magic as if you were actually capable of doing it. Any walkthrough is most likely going to take a different position when it comes to the information it conveys.

Oh, ok. I had a chance to briefly flip through the book because my friend imported a copy of the game, but it looked like a lot of it was devoted to the bestiary and spells. I haven't opened any of my copies yet because I wanted to do an unboxing video.

i do not consider myself a full translator, maybe an editor with some japanese knowledge (i had 2 semesters of japanese)

i need to lookup most of the kanjis (using nihongoresources.com)

also: i do not translate flow text, but text chunks (like headers in the monster descriptions), but i will propose improvements of translations if i see some.

also: as far as i know: right now, it's just AihanKaidan & me translating

You two are just doing the book, right? What about the game? The book and in-game translations would have to be consistent with each other.

Liked the post; thanks for the info!

No problem.

I can only assist in the editing of the translation from Spanish to English. I currently have no major experience with Japanese, and have no experience with kanji. If translation is not involved with the text editing process, I'll ask Pleonex to show the files and I'll see what I can do in my (very limited) free time.

Hmmm, I'm not sure if I'm too keen on the idea of going from Japanese->Spanish->English. If possible, it would be best to go straight from Japanese->English.

I'll see if I can get some J-E translators onboard this project. I would do it myself, but as mrgone says, I'm already busy with Blood of Bahamut (among real-world obligations).

 

[legendofmei]

Oh, ok. I had a chance to briefly flip through the book because my friend imported a copy of the game, but it looked like a lot of it was devoted to the bestiary and spells. I haven't opened any of my copies yet because I wanted to do an unboxing video.

One of your copies of what!?

 

[Densetsu]

Oh, ok. I had a chance to briefly flip through the book because my friend imported a copy of the game, but it looked like a lot of it was devoted to the bestiary and spells. I haven't opened any of my copies yet because I wanted to do an unboxing video.

One of your copies of what!?

So I emailed a friend in Japan and she gave me 3 copies last December that I haven't opened yet. When I finish editing translations for Blood of Bahamut, I'll open one of mine and take a better look at the book.

 

[Permafry_42]

Hmmm, I'm not sure if I'm too keen on the idea of going from Japanese->Spanish->English. If possible, it would be best to go straight from Japanese->English.

Agreed; I can help a bit with localisation and general editing later on in the project once I've completed the PS3 version 100%, but in terms of translation I'm not suitable for the position. I also agree that we need more translators on this project if we want this project to be translated into English. I wish I knew translators that could assist us with this, but unfortunately the only place I've been able to find Japanese to English fan-translators in the past was mangahelpers.com, and unfortunately this project needs people with experience translating video games rather than manga and anime considering the size of this project. So best of luck finding translators. If and when we get to the point where editors and localisers are needed, let me know and I'll do my best to find the time to assist with the project in a position where I'll be able to help rather than be a hindrance.

 

[AihanKaidan]

HMV? i thought they only sold cds/and movies and such , what do you buy from there?

I buy Japanese concert dvds from them, so I like how I can rack up points and get freebie purchases through them. They didn't used to carry games, but now they do, as well as books. And since they ship outside the country whereas amazon doesn't, I'm a happy panda.

HMV is still alive?
i only remember them closing their biggest stores (tokyo, singapore)

I think they're under new ownership now. This...Loppi thing, I guess.


On the topic of full out game translation...is there a way to isolate some sort of in game text file in the game itself? I've never messed around with translating games before, so I just can't wrap my head around how it could possibly be done. Other than that, I'm kind of pants at Kansai-ben, so I would be little help in translating most anything Shizuku says...aside from the bare bones basics.

 

[legendofmei]

HMV? i thought they only sold cds/and movies and such , what do you buy from there?

I buy Japanese concert dvds from them, so I like how I can rack up points and get freebie purchases through them. They didn't used to carry games, but now they do, as well as books. And since they ship outside the country whereas amazon doesn't, I'm a happy panda.

HMV is still alive?
i only remember them closing their biggest stores (tokyo, singapore)

I think they're under new ownership now. This...Loppi thing, I guess.


On the topic of full out game translation...is there a way to isolate some sort of in game text file in the game itself? I've never messed around with translating games before, so I just can't wrap my head around how it could possibly be done. Other than that, I'm kind of pants at Kansai-ben, so I would be little help in translating most anything Shizuku says...aside from the bare bones basics.

Where are you ordering from like "hmv.com?"

 

[Densetsu]

Well, I just cast out a net to see if I can bring some translators into this project. I'll keep you guys updated.

I'll see if we can't consolidate this into a more unified project.

On the topic of full out game translation...is there a way to isolate some sort of in game text file in the game itself? I've never messed around with translating games before, so I just can't wrap my head around how it could possibly be done. Other than that, I'm kind of pants at Kansai-ben, so I would be little help in translating most anything Shizuku says...aside from the bare bones basics.

A ROM hacker could create a text dump from the ROM--basically a text file containing all of the text in the game (story dialogues, items, item descriptions, menu texts, etc.). That text dump would then be converted into a spreadsheet where the translators can collaborate together on it. Here's a sample page from our Blood of Bahamut translation spreadsheet.

If Jefelin doesn't come back anytime soon, I already know of someone who is really interested in helping out with the ROM hacking aspect, so text/graphic extraction shouldn't be a problem.

*EDIT*
I'm alright with Kansai-ben and can generally understand what Shizuku is saying, but I think the translation of his lines would be better left to someone who's just as comfortable with it as they are with standard Japanese.

 

[StorMyu]

If Jefelin doesn't come back anytime soon, I already know of someone who is really interested in helping out with the ROM hacking aspect (Nagato), so text/graphic extraction shouldn't be a problem.

your image link is dead btw (EDIT: it wasn't working and now it is... oh well Oo)
but as an example of work, here's my spreadsheet of Tales of Rebirth translation:
http://www.talesofre...iew/trans-c.png

Don't forget that PleoNex already made a text editor for the script. But yeah a dedicated rom hacker would be better.
But ask first =)

 

[legendofmei]

should i work on a walkthrough for ninokuni, do you think it would be useful even tho you guys might be working on a translation?

 

[Densetsu]

It probably won't be necessary to write a walkthrough since anyone translating this game would presumably be able to read and follow directions. They'd pretty much be required to explore everything anyway so that they can see the Japanese text within the context of the game.

 

[legendofmei]

It probably won't be necessary to write a walkthrough since anyone translating this game would presumably be able to read and follow directions. They'd pretty much be required to explore everything anyway so that they can see the Japanese text within the context of the game.

alright