NintendoLand Article - Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy III: Does Translation Really Matter?

By: Desparado Donarudo (a.k.a. Squire Nomad)

Revised: 1-19-00

Well well, I have returned to fix the unfixed. I didn't write this article while playing the game, it was just getting boring. But now I'm back, and ready for some new action.

Anyway, you pick up your Game Pak of FF3, and I pick up my "cassette" of Final Fantasy VI. People probably made the assumption that FF3 was a lenient game when it came to changes, and you're wrong. Plenty of things regarding the plot was changed

Well, first things first, right? What was first that was wrong... The starting part.

Long ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to a scorched wasteland, and magic simply ceased to exist. 1000 years have passed... Iron, gunpowder, and steam engines have been rediscovered, and high technology reigns... But there are some who would enslave the world by reviving the
dread destructive force known as "magic." Can it be that those in power are on the verge of repeating a senseless and deadly mistake?

No, that's not it. This is it:

The Great Evil War. All created burned, and by the war's ending period, the world vanished from the Evil Law, and this power was gone. And 1000 years... Iron, gunpowder, steam engines. The people that created power of machines are the world's underworld hold. Now (again) this legend didn't use the Evil's Law power, the power of the Evil Law is revived and alliance to the Evil Teachings's power with the world, controlling people...

Or something like that. Basically, in the Great Evil War, everything burned, and when the war ended, Evil Law was gone with its power. 1000 year later, iron, gunpowder, etc. was created by those with evil and crime in their hearts. Because of that, this legend didn't use Evil Law's power, but it was revived and allying to the Evil Teachings's power, which controls people.

Anyway, the Evil Law is magic! If you put the kanji for evil (find one, there are many, only one works), and the kanji for law, the J-E Dictionary says it's magic. However, the Kanji describes just what this word means in Japan.

When Censors Go Wrong... Only on FOX!

Well, first things first. For those of you that don't know, many key things in FF6 were changed in FF3. I said before that the War of Magi had no name, and that is technically true, but the only reason I said that is because I couldn't read it, yet... ^_^ These were just some key names and/or items that were changed to "fit" in the writing spaces, or just plain censored.

Japanese Names	English Names
Tina	Terra
Lock	Locke
Edgar	Edgar
Mash	Sabin
Shadow	Shadow
Varnon+	Banon
Cayenne	Cyan
Gau	Gau
Celes	Celes
Setzer	Setzer
Stragos	Strago
Relm	Relm
Yumaro(?)+ (it's been a while since I got him)	Umaro
Gogo+	Gogo
God's Three Statues	the three statues
Ultima Weapon	AtmaWeapon
+ means: The instructions never mention these names for obvious reasons, so this is my translation. You can pick whatever name you please, as long as it matches pronunciation. (?) means: I probably haven't used this character since I could barely read Japanese, and the fact that my save battery always erases, I never had enough time to see the name.

Then come the spells...

FF6's Spells	FF3's Spells	FF6 Continued	FF3 Continued
Fire	Fire	Shell	Shell
Blizzard	Ice	Vanish	Vanish
Thunder	Bolt	Slow	Slow
Drain	Drain	Slow-ga	Slow 2
Poisona	Antidot		Osmose
Care	Cure	Telepo	Warp
Kappa	Imp	Quick	Quick
Gravity	Demi	Dispel	Dispel
Gravi-ga	Quartr	Fi-ra	Fire 2
Haste	Haste	Blizza-ra	Ice 2
Has-ga	Haste2	Thunde-ra	Bolt 2
Lybra	Scan	Fi-ga	Fire 3
Aspir	Aspil	Blizza-ga	Ice 3
Raspir	Rasp	Thunde-ga	Bolt 3
Silence	Mute	Ultima	Ultima
Sleeper	Sleep	Esuna	Remedy
Confu	Muddle	Regene	Regen
Stop	Stop	Care-ra (?)	Cure 2
Berserk	Bserk	Care-ga (?)	Cure3
Levitate	Float	Raise	Life
Reflect	Reflect	A-Raise	Life 2
Re-Raise	Life 3	Bio	Bio
Break	Break	Death	Doom
Holy	Pearl	Flare	Flare
Meteor	Meteor	Degeon	X-Zone
Quake	Quake		W.Wind
Merton (Meltdown?)	Merton	Poison	Poison

Back in 1991, some of us were gifted with wasting our hard-earned allowance on Final Fantasy II in USA and Europe (maybe). We all remember how, in the game, the menu screen gave us names of one's occupation as far as war. And, when we bought FF3 (or in my case, rented), this was not apparent. So, was this also gone in FF6? No! If it was in there in FF5 (it had to be, it's a game based on JOBS), it had to be there in FF6, and it was. These are the actual jobs that FF6 gave them, and you may be surprised.

FF3/FF6 Character Name

Job Name

Tina Soldier of Evil Morals

Lock Adventurer

Edgar Machinery

Mash Monk

Shadow Assassin

Banuhn Officer of God

Cayenne Samurai (it is put as if Samurai is a borrowed, or capitalized word)

Gau Wild Person

Celes Rune Knight (yes, she is a general, but in Final Fantasy Tactics, aren't some high ranks given low-rank jobs?)

Setzer Gambler

Mog Moegly+

Stragos Blue Moralist of Evil (that should be obvious)

Relm Pict. Master (literallly, that's how it sounds)

Gogo Mimicking Person

Yumaro Abominable Snowman(?)

+ means: The instructions never mention these names for obvious reasons, so this is my translation. You can pick whatever name you please, as long as it matches pronunciation.
(?) means: I probably haven't used this character since I could barely read Japanese, and the fact that my save battery always erases, I never had enough time to see the name.

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