Chrono Trigger Japanese Script & Retranslation Project

[Zeality]

For over a decade, American fans of Chrono Trigger have wondered how the game originally appeared in Japan. While Ted Woolsey did a fantastic job making Trigger accessible to English-speaking audiences, some text was cut and altered according to Nintendo of America's censor standards. Today, thanks to JLukas, I am able to present to you the Japanese script of Chrono Trigger! It is saved in Unicode format and contains every text string from the original game. It is currently divided up into string blocks as they are stored in the game.

Download the Script



But there's one problem, of course: it's in Japanese! To penetrate the mysteries contained in the original script, the Chrono Compendium is launching its own Chrono Trigger Retranslation. It will tentatively be accomplished by fans of the games who know Japanese; these contributing translators can come and go as they wish, doing as little or much as they desire. We will make every effort to involve great linguistic talent with the project; soon, we hope to present you a fully retranslated script. If you know anyone who would be interested in helping translate, please let them know about the project or have them e-mail Zeality@gmail.com. We need your assistance; we appreciate it!

[KWarp]

Try dropping by a fansubbing group like Kaizoku Fansubs. I'm sure they have a lot of experience in the translation field.

[Zeality]

Thanks; I know about five people in the community, but they probably won't be able to help. I'll check it out.

[Almasy Marquis]

Your reasons are your own, but if you're really serious, I think you'd have a much better job just having the portions retranslated where there's a discrepency.

But then, if you don't already have a raw translation available, how do you know that there's a difference at all?

[Henry Jones]

Well, one line some fans are insisting was in the Japanese Chrono Trigger was something about how Zeal royalty dye their hair. To explain why this would matter in any way would be...... spoileriffic. That's about the only example I've heard people complain about.

[Zeality]

Well, we wouldn't put volunteers through the ringer in translating the entire thing if it weren't for a few factors. Specifically, Woolsey did say in an interview that a lot of text was cut out because the strings became too long after translation; I was able to verify this by compraring some dialogue in NJStar with the English (the built-in dictionary revealed some extra stuff). Aside from that, a lot of references to the planet as Mother Earth (deemed too religious) were removed, and could affect the plot and confirm the planet as the Entity (though that's pretty much sealed anyway). Also, Woolsey did make mistakes in places. The line:

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

Was supposed to read, "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 provide information about the sidequests in their home eras. 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!

[joe_cam]

oh. So that "sidequest" that I spent fucking YEARS looking for was a goddamned TYPO?

Graaaagh...... Oh well. at least I know now.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Haha, oh joe! You silly silly....uhh person?

Anyhoo, that seems like a worthy and valiant effort!
I would read the script.

[Kcirtap1990]

The game is good, but not good enough for me to read an entire script to see how the Japanese did it. I fell in love with the American version.