Gaming Persona 2: Eternal Punishment - Time for a Fan Translation?

[GDW]

Aaaah, I'm glad to see this has regained footing, I was kinda worried.


Honestly that sounds like a bad idea. The scripts could be compared to assist with translation, but the PSX version uses a lot of different terms/names, and for all we know there are new segments of dialogue or the like that won't make it exactly the same.

... I wish I could contribute, the most I think I could even do would be to say, edit those splash screens posted earlier if I had a translation. Although I don't have the PSP-IP font, if that was reused for this translation. I would use that because consiiiistencccyyyy.

EDIT: Well this was tedious, but an interesting experiment. I wanted to at least give some sort of edit a shot because I felt like I was making empty statements. There's probably a lot of situations where text is overlaid on some background that has texture...

Not bad, haha. Imagine if we used that text in the actual game.

I don't think the corresponding font in IS is used much at all, aside for that splash, which is the standard "work of fiction, similarity to persons is coincidental" text. I haven't found the exact font online, and it's worth noting that this font isn't stored in the game. But if you're keenly interested in consistency, a decent match I'm fond of is Mentone (free) which is not at all perfect but quite similar. And stylistically it's a bit like Helvetica, so you've also got your pick of any of that family if it's at your disposal, closest probably being Neue Extended if I wanted to be a completely pretentious font geek.

The IS text is as follows:

Characters, art, and storylines depicted in
this game are purely the work of fiction.
Any similarity to persons living or dead
is purely coincidental.


IS also adds an extra bit that isn't in the Japanese:

The views and opinions expressed herein
do not neccessarily reflect those of
Index Digital Media, Inc. or its employees.


And that would probably be best left out, because that's referring to the English side of Atlus over here, whom obviously none of us have any affiliation with.


...In retrospect this is a really intimidating post about one little splash screen

I am saying this because there might be problems with finding enough translators who are interested in this game.

Well, there's me, for one. And I do hope cj_iwakura will find time and interest to join in. But we'll have to find the text first.

 

[Arizato]

Well, there's me, for one. And I do hope cj_iwakura will find time and interest to join in. But we'll have to find the text first.

Are you that experienced in Japanese?

 

[GDW]

Are you that experienced in Japanese?

Enough to get by with reading and writing.

 

[Arizato]

Enough to get by with reading and writing.

Jesus... That's amazing! I wish I had your talents!

 

[LeonDeka]

Im thinking, should we set up an IRC channel or Chatroom so we can bring everyone in and make some official arrangements?

Considering we need to elect a leader for the project and all...

 

[Tayruu]

The font I'm actually talking about is the one posted here, in the second and third image. The half-width characters are used in menus and name-entry, the full-width is used in dialogue. (As far as I can remember.) I was thinking of those letter tiles for use in the likes of those splash screens. I thought there was something special to them, but in looking at them now, I'm not so sure. Outside a slight stretching horizontally.

EDIT: Actually maybe there's no stretching, and Mentone is pretty spot on. This really is a bit much fuss over a few splash screens. What actually needs consideration are menus or other interface elements, like '(X) Close'. Or this might be thinking too far ahead.

 

[GDW]

Im thinking, should we set up an IRC channel or Chatroom so we can bring everyone in and make some official arrangements?

Considering we need to elect a leader for the project and all...

Well, there's no "project" yet. But in the meantime you're welcome to stop by irc.paradoxirc.net:6667 in #Zelda where I'm often hanging out.

Tayruu:
The in-game font is similar to the splash font, and was probably derived from it. But they're irreconcilably different in a few places, lowercase R for example. Most of this stuff is too early, if only because repacking isn't quite ready yet.



I've completed the uncompressed reinsertion tool for the CPK, and it's become clear after a few tests with the ISO that the game's not going to work perfectly right out of the box with an uncompressed CPK (and in fact won't boot with >3 reinsertions). But that was always unlikely. The options are:

a) Figure out how to re-implement the CPK CRILAYLA compression (seems possible, if a bit of a hassle)

b) Locate all values that need to be changed for uncompressed data to work as expected (could include anything from EBOOT modification to memory allocations to editing machine-level instructions)


I'll be investigating both of these options moving forward. Meanwhile, small-scale reinsertion test ISOs with a single file changed remain playable, and should help me diagnose the graphical load issue from that previous screenshot.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Well, there's me, for one. And I do hope cj_iwakura will find time and interest to join in. But we'll have to find the text first.

I would drop anything on my plate to make this priority 1.

 

[LeonDeka]

I would drop anything on my plate to make this priority 1.

The more the merrier! We cant just let this game be forgotten.

Sure, its a budget re-release, but it does things SO MUCH MORE BETTER than the PS1 original!

 

[Andrefpvs]

If ultimately the PS1 translation is decided to be used as a base, Nich Maragos from Atlus USA wrote a blog post a while ago detailing some of the names that were changed from the original Japanese release back when the original released:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/02/25/persona-2-eternal-punishment-hits-psn-tomorrow/

I've filtered that information below. On the left are the names as they appear in the US PS1 version, and on the right are the names that should be used as of the PSP versions. I've also added the names by which they're commonly referred to in parentheses.

Saeko Smith -> Ms. Saeko
 
Principal Harding -> Principal Hannya
 
Tammy -> Tamaki
 
Tad -> Tadashi
 
Mary -> Maki Sonomura (Maki)
 
Ellen -> Elly Kirishima (Elly)
 
Nate -> Kei Nanjo (Nanjo)
 
Yuki -> Yukino Mayuzumi (Yukino/Yukki)
 
Chris -> Reiji Kido (Reiji)
 
Brad -> Hidehiko “Brown” Uesugi (Brown)
 
Guido -> Takahisa Kandori (Kandori)
 
Masquerade -> Masked Circle
 
Araya Shrine -> Alaya Shrine
 
Sky Museum -> Aerospace Museum

 

[Michael M]

If ultimately the PS1 translation is decided to be used as a base, Nich Maragos from Atlus USA wrote a blog post a while ago detailing some of the names that were changed from the original Japanese release back when the original released:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/02/25/persona-2-eternal-punishment-hits-psn-tomorrow/

I've filtered that information below. On the left are the names as they appear in the US PS1 version, and on the right are the names that should be used as of the PSP versions. I've also added the names by which they're commonly referred to in parentheses.

Saeko Smith -> Ms. Saeko
 
Principal Harding -> Principal Hannya
 
Tammy -> Tamaki
 
Tad -> Tadashi
 
Mary -> Maki Sonomura (Maki)
 
Ellen -> Elly Kirishima (Elly)
 
Nate -> Kei Nanjo (Nanjo)
 
Yuki -> Yukino Mayuzumi (Yukino/Yukki)
 
Chris -> Reiji Kido (Reiji)
 
Brad -> Hidehiko “Brown” Uesugi (Brown)
 
Guido -> Takahisa Kandori (Kandori)
 
Masquerade -> Masked Circle
 
Araya Shrine -> Alaya Shrine
 
Sky Museum -> Aerospace Museum

I would assume the US PSP release of P1 and Innocent Sin (correct names) would likely be used as a guide so that names and locations for EP PSP matched up with those. I am glad there seems more interest in a fresh translation, though.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Yeah, ideally we'd use the real translation of the names. Personally, I think EP PS1's translation is REALLY GOOD, but it does need some touching up.

 

[LeonDeka]

Hmmm, You have a point there. So, fix some grammer, fix the names. No more "Lunarville" crap?

 

[GDW]

cj_iwakura
I believe I have these right, but I would appreciate a second eye.

A font table segment:

(2x)

My reading:
一 刈 烙 堵 " 粟 蛸 蹄 窒 喪 滲 悍 拓 呷 垣 薮
賄 賂 鱈 鉛 窪 湿 拗 莱 芒 姦 憬 剽 雌 遼 葱 咀
嚼 魁 涜 喰 蝕 兎 抉

Most of the font tables are sequential segments of Shift-JIS, nbd. But a couple tables have isolated kanji, and this is the longest unsorted section, or at least, they're not sorted in any common way that I can discern. They might be commonly used in the game (e.g. 蹄 is one of the Jinmeiyō) but it's odd that they would put them here, because these kanji are all repeated in the other tables.

 

[GDW]

Here additionally is a fun little puzzle.

I don't think these kanji exist.

 

[cj_iwakura]

cj_iwakura
I believe I have these right, but I would appreciate a second eye.

A font table segment:

(2x)

My reading:
一 刈 烙 堵 " 粟 蛸 蹄 窒 喪 滲 悍 拓 呷 垣 薮
賄 賂 鱈 鉛 窪 湿 拗 莱 芒 姦 憬 剽 雌 遼 葱 咀
嚼 魁 涜 喰 蝕 兎 抉

Most of the font tables are sequential segments of Shift-JIS, nbd. But a couple tables have isolated kanji, and this is the longest unsorted section, or at least, they're not sorted in any common way that I can discern. They might be commonly used in the game (e.g. 蹄 is one of the Jinmeiyō) but it's odd that they would put them here, because these kanji are all repeated in the other tables.

鱈

That's the only one I'm unsure about. I'm not too good with kanji,but I'll reach out for a second opinion and let you know. The rest seem accurate.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Never mind. Got a friend's input:

"
The last in the first row is 藪.
The 8th in the second row is 萊, but the character your have (莱) is essentially the same thing.
鱈 is probably right."

 

[Tayruu]

Here additionally is a fun little puzzle.

I don't think these kanji exist.

Isn't the one at the end of row 1 there part of "Megami Ibunroku"? 女神異聞録 Take my suggestion with a grain of salt, mind.

 

[GDW]

Never mind. Got a friend's input:

"
The last in the first row is 藪.
The 8th in the second row is 萊, but the character your have (莱) is essentially the same thing.
鱈 is probably right."

藪 and 薮 are also synonyms, aren't they? 萊 is definitely correct.

Isn't the one at the end of row 1 there part of "Megami Ibunroku"? 女神異聞録 Take my suggestion with a grain of salt, mind.

If I were wishy-washy about one of them, it would definitely be 聞. But as pictured in the font table, it looks more like 月 in the middle than 耳 IMO, which has three rungs and all those hanging nubs. And I'm more inclined to believe that interpretation, if only because all of those other kanji also seem to be wacky and nonexistent.

Good eye though, as I hadn't even remembered the similar 聞 was in the title of the game.

 

[Barrelbot]

Hey, I dunno if you guys want/need anyone else to get involved with this, but I'd be happy to help with the proof-reading. I'd offer to do more, but I don't have the appropriate knowledge/skills.
It'd just be a real shame to let the PSP version go un-translated, so if there's anything I can do, I'll do it.