FFL:WoL&D --- Red Wizard abilities & descriptions

[Vanya]

This time I'm doing only one ability at a time and then adding them to this first post as we go along, cause I'm at work and I don't have time to do them all at once. Have at you, guys!

赤魔道士 - aka madou shi - red sorcery practitioner --> Red Wizard

白黒魔Ｌｖ１ - shiro kuro ma Lv1 - white black magic level 1 --> White/Black Magic L1
Ｌｖ１までの白魔法と黒魔法が使えるようになる - made no shiro mahou to kuro mahou ga tsukaeru you ni naru --> Gain use of white and black magic up to level 1.

HP２０％アップ - HP 20% APPU - HP 20% Up
ＨＰが２０％アップする - HP ga 20% APPU suru --> HP is raised by 20%

White/Black Magic L2

魔封剣 - mafuuken - Magic Seal Sword
次のターンまで使われた魔法を一度だけ無効化しＭＰを回復する - tsugi no TAAN made tsukawareta mahou o ichi do dake mukouka shi MP o kaifuku suru --> Until next turn, each time magic is used nullify it and restore MP.

White/Black Magic L3

White/Black Magic L4

魔法剣 - mahouken - Sword Magic
魔法剣が使えるようになる - mahou ken ga tsukaeru you ni naru  --> Sword Magic becomes usable.

連続魔 - ren zoku ma --> Chain Magic
セットしている魔法を２回連続で使える - SETTO shiteiru mahou o 2 kai renzoku de tsukaeru --> Any equipped magic can be used twice consecutively.

[DarknessSavior]

Everything you've got is relatively correct, except for the title. It's definitely "Red Mage".

~DS

[Kiyoshi Aman]

What would you suggest for あかまじゅつし (赤魔術士), then? :p

(That's the kana/kanji for FF1's red mage Job.)

[Ryusui]

TC, have you ever played a Final Fantasy game? >_>

[Vanya]

Everything you've got is relatively correct, except for the title. It's definitely "Red Mage".

~DS

What exactly do you mean by relatively correct? The more practical info I can get on my interpretation of Japanese grammar the better. So if there's anything at all that's iffy with it please don't hesitate to explain it to me in as much detail as you can. Thanks.

Mage seems to be everybody's default, I think, because it's what they've used for the localizations forever. But in FF1 there are two sets of mages of each color. The starters are called "color" ma jutsu shi, which is what was originally localized as Mage and I agree with it. The upgraded jobs are "color" madou shi, which I interpret as a more formal way of basically saying the same thing. They were called Wizards in the official localization.
By comparison the weaker mage classes in FF3 (NES) use the term madoushi instead of majutsushi, so the later DS localization is actually technically incorrect and so are all the localizations that use Mage instead of Wizard, or the less general Sorcerer. The stronger mages in FF3 (NES) use the terms doushi and majin, which I've usually taken to translate as Priest and Djinni, and those same titles are used in FFL:WoL&D.
While I would concede that using Wizard would be more palatable to those that have played the series in the US for a long time, Wizard or Sorcerer is more technically correct as far as the strict translation I'm going for. Unless there's something I'm missing about how these terms are actually used by Japanese speakers.

TC, have you ever played a Final Fantasy game? >_>

Was that directed at me?

[BRPXQZME]

While I would concede that using Wizard would be more palatable to those that have played the series in the US for a long time, Wizard or Sorcerer is more technically correct as far as the strict translation I'm going for. Unless there's something I'm missing about how these terms are actually used by Japanese speakers.

What you’re missing is how the differentiations between various terms for magic users are used by RPG players. Everything goes back to D&D.

[Vanya]

What you’re missing is how the differentiations between various terms for magic users are used by RPG players. Everything goes back to D&D.

Such as?

[BRPXQZME]

In D&D, a sorcerer is a natural magic user (was born with it), a wizard toils to study magic in order to use it (thus giving the geek with no life a power fantasy to live out ). The sorcerer has less room to grow, but is powerful with what he does know. Now, since FF1 in particular takes a lot of cues from D&D in particular, calling the upgraded version of a mage a sorcerer makes little sense.

There is also the issue of of what these words mean inside and outside a typical fantasy context. 魔 has more neutral connotations within it than it does outside of it, where it is more closely associated with demons and dark arts. At the same time, “sorcerer” tends to have connotations of evil regardless, and people do have trouble getting over that, whereas other terms are more palatable.

Thus, two separate reasons why sorcerer is not a good translation for this. It’s all in the reflexesnuances.

[Vanya]

Very good points. Thanks.

HP２０％アップ - HP 20% APPU - HP 20% Up
ＨＰが２０％アップする - HP ga 20% APPU suru --> HP is up by 20%

White/Black Magic L2

魔封剣 - mafuuken - Magic-seal Sword
次のターンまで使われた魔法を一度だけ無効化しＭＰを回復する - tsugi no TAAN made tsukawareta mahou o ichi do dake mukouka shi MP o kaifuku suru --> Until next turn, when magic is used, override it and restore MP only once? This one was difficult for me. I'm sure I have errors and I still don't quite know what tsukawareta means.

White/Black Magic L3

White/Black Magic L4

魔法剣 - mahouken - Magic Sword
魔法剣が使えるようになる - mahou ken ga tsukaeru you ni naru  --> Magic sword becomes usable.

連続魔 - ren zoku ma --> Consecutive Magic
セットしている魔法を２回連続で使える - SETTOshite iru mahou o 2 kai renzoku de tsukaeru --> Set magic to be usable two times consecutively?

That's all of 'em. Short list, but all in all a pretty versatile set of abilities

[reiu]

I'd go with:

HP２０％アップ - HP 20% APPU - HP 20% Up
ＨＰが２０％アップする - HP ga 20% APPU suru --> HP is up by 20%

HP Up 20%
Increase HP by 20%

魔封剣 - mafuuken - Magic-seal Sword
次のターンまで使われた魔法を一度だけ無効化しＭＰを回復する

Magic Sealing Sword (this was localized as Runic in FF6)
The next time magic is used this turn, it is nullified and you absorb MP.

Tsukawareta is the passive past tense of tsukau.

魔法剣 - mahouken - Magic Sword
魔法剣が使えるようになる - mahou ken ga tsukaeru you ni naru  --> Magic sword becomes usable.

Magic Sword
You can use Magic Sword. (enchant your sword with magic... Sword Magic might be better)

連続魔 - ren zoku ma --> Consecutive Magic
セットしている魔法を２回連続で使える - SETTOshite iru mahou o 2 kai renzoku de tsukaeru --> Set magic to be usable two times consecutively?

Multicast or Dualcast or Chainspell (official localizations)
You may use 2 equipped Magic abilities in succession.

[Kiyoshi Aman]

I generally go with 'Seal Sword' rather than 'Magic-Sealing Sword'. It's less cumbersome.

[DarknessSavior]

I want to make a suggestion to you now. Stop relying on romaji. Install rikai-chan, and use that to read kanji you don't know. You'll eventually see the same kanji enough that you'll recognize it on your own.

Also, if you want to seriously learn Japanese, I suggest you pick up the Genki I and II books (avoid Yookoso like the plague). That'll get you started.

~DS

[Vanya]

I want to make a suggestion to you now. Stop relying on romaji. Install rikai-chan, and use that to read kanji you don't know. You'll eventually see the same kanji enough that you'll recognize it on your own.

Also, if you want to seriously learn Japanese, I suggest you pick up the Genki I and II books (avoid Yookoso like the plague). That'll get you started.

~DS

Not sure what you mean by relying on romanji.
Rikai-chan sounds like it does the same job as the online Japanese dictionary and romanji converter I already use, only way faster. Thanks for pointing it out.

Where do I get the Genki books? I have a couple already that I've studied sparingly. What I want to learn more of is practical usage of words and phrases than just word meanings and basic grammar.

Edit: Added remaining abilities to first post. If there's anything technically wrong with what I wrote, please feel free to correct me and PLEASE explain why it's wrong.

[LostTemplar]

It's pretty much "don't use rōmaji at all". It has virtually no merits, only disadvantages.

[DarknessSavior]

Not sure what you mean by relying on romanji.

Where do I get the Genki books? I have a couple already that I've studied sparingly. What I want to learn more of is practical usage of words and phrases than just word meanings and basic grammar.

I mean that using romaji when learning Japanese is basically a crutch. Except this crutch has a time-bomb attached and it's aimed at your Japanese proficiency. Learn to read Japanese, not to transcribe it using the Roman Alphabet.

Here's a link to Amazon selling the first Genki book: http://www.amazon.com/GENKI-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-Edition/dp/4789014401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335911561&sr=8-1

You absolutely MUST learn words and basic grammar first. You have to start with a strong foundation in order to understand this language; almost everything you can learn is related to something else in the language. The Genki books teach you things that are actually relevant and that you could use in conversations. By the time I was done with my first semester abroad (which only covered the first Genki book) I was able to converse with native Japanese speakers on my airplane ride home. Not very fluently, but it was possible.

I highly recommend the first two books.

~DS

[Vanya]

Thanks, I'll look into those books as soon as I can.