[RHDNBot]

Update By: RodMerida

After a period of heavy effort, testing and proofreading, a new translation of Final Fantasy VI makes its way into Spanish thanks to the sacrifice of Rod Merida, the project's hacker and translator, and the invaluable help in script reviewing of Vicks Dg and Bernar Carrasc, all of them members of Crackowia group.

The project was originally started several years ago, back in 2004, after the aforementioned members had just got and completed a full but faulty translation of FF3us, made by Latin-Americans, full of typos, wrong pointer addressings, that made some messages appeared partially repeated, spare grammar and orthograph mistakes, and no accented letters, opening question and exclamation marks at all, besides the constant substitution of second person plural pronoun "Vosotros" and its conjugations by polite treatment Ustedes ─something usual in Latin American Spanish in colloquial speech─. All this made this work faulty and unserious in the eyes of a minimally critical player. There was a strong agreement a retranslation to Spanish was necessary of this historical RPG whose story and game mechanics had amazed the group; the game worthed it, but there was, back in that moment, a surprisingly annoying lack of it.

So after some initial doubts and tribulations, ROMhacking techniques gathering and trials with some hex editing applications, like Hexposure 0.44, Thingy and TBL searchers, the project translator, Rod Mérida, decided to start the work. Once the first major obstacles, such as finding the character table and being able to decode the DTE compressed character pairs, or getting to see and edit the font tiles inside the ROM in order to add accented letters, had been solved, the project was advancing. However, it is a game with extensive dialog script, and a myriad of enemy and item names, abilities, combat messages, and descriptions in menu of all kinds of matters. Thus the project lengthened over time, extended and complicated, because in addition to translating it, it was necessary to test it and manually modify the pointer table every time the translated messages didn't fit in the original string. The discovery of FF3edit, an application that readdressed dialog pointers automatically, accelerated this process, but the existance of other personal projects, like University and studying, delayed it. In the end, laziness overcame.

About four months ago, in late December 2019, the translator decided to get back the partially hacked ROM from silence and put the turbo in it. By January a first fully playable version was finished, with all its dialogs and enemy or item names translated. After that the script has been fully replayed and reviewed by Vicks Dg, followed by hundreds of text corrections and fixes. A second proof-reading, with minor fixes added, has been developped by Bernar Carrasc.

A final version of this translation was released in April 9th, 2020, in romhacking website, and can be downloaded and enjoyed by everyone interested.

RHDN Project Page

Relevant Link

[ASR_94]

Buen trabajo!! 

[Heaven Piercing Man]

So it's European Spanish based?

[luisedgarf]

The project was originally started several years ago, back in 2004, after the aforementioned members had just got and completed a full but faulty translation of FF3us, made by Latin-Americans, full of typos, wrong pointer addressings, that made some messages appeared partially repeated, spare grammar and orthograph mistakes, and no accented letters, opening question and exclamation marks at all, besides the constant substitution of second person plural pronoun "Vosotros" and its conjugations by polite treatment Ustedes ─something usual in Latin American Spanish in colloquial speech─. All this made this work faulty and unserious in the eyes of a minimally critical player. There was a strong agreement a retranslation to Spanish was necessary of this historical RPG whose story and game mechanics had amazed the group; the game worthed it, but there was, back in that moment, a surprisingly annoying lack of it.

No offense inteded, but, while I agree with the rest of the technical flaws regarding the translation, your point about the previous translators used Latin American Spanish sounds like using that dialect is a bad thing for you.

[RodMerida]

Correct!
Here you can see more images:
http://crackowia.gq/imagenes/ff6/

[gadesx]

I suppose that there is a context,
some early spanish translations
was made by teams that some times
did all like a funny translation (Chilensis)
Magno made a good spanish translation, (also ported to psx)
There's some more out there.

Seeing the images I only
see as problem the limit
for weapons names, etc

[mikeprado30]

Well, as it's based on European Spanish (and I CAN'T EVEN with European Spanish translated games), I'll pass over this one, but nonetheless congrats to the team involved on this great work.  Surely Iberic Spanish-speaking people will love it

[RodMerida]

I suppose that there is a context,
some early spanish translations
was made by teams that some times
did all like a funny translation (Chilensis)
Magno made a good spanish translation, (also ported to psx)
There's some more out there.

Seeing the images I only
see as problem the limit
for weapons names, etc

Correct. The problem was not being Latin American, the problem was being shoddy. I've never discriminated any dialect of Spanish, it's part of the richness of my language: but you don't make a translation of a Japanese or English game in a dialect, you do it in standard Spanish. When I play a whole game of this quality in a translation to my language I expect it to be professional, and to use a standard form of the language and an elegant form of it, whatever it's made by Latin Americans or Spaniards, and however slangs appear at some moment are based in Latin American slangs, or Spaniard ones. Dialectal slangs must appear when necessary, in slangish situations or for dialectal characters, not all the time. Woolsey's translation to English, it's obvious it uses American slang, but it's professional, and most of the translation is standard English, and an elegant form of English: slangs are only used when necessary, not randomly; added to this there are no problems of typos, orthograph or grammar mistakes, bad pointers, commas or dots missing, reiterative parts, etc.

And that first translation had many deficits in this way, besides it didn't use any kind of accenting or opening exclamation & question marks at all, something that is not acceptable in a serious translation of any commercial game, specially if it's long and has long texts.
April 12, 2020, 08:15:32 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

Well, as it's based on European Spanish (and I CAN'T EVEN with European Spanish translated games), I'll pass over this one, but nonetheless congrats to the team involved on this great work.  Surely Iberic Spanish-speaking people will love it

And Latin Americans too. They're liking it already.

Because the translation is not in "European Spanish" or "Latin American Spanish", it is in General Spanish. There is no such "European", or "Iberic" or "Spanish American" Spanish in written Spanish, if the translation is professional. There is only Spanish. The language is only one. The only differences are in speech in accent. As well as the differences in written Brittish or American English are minimmal, if not non-existent (except for slang and deliberated Woolseyisms to be funny and national, of course, that I tended to avoid). I don't say "qué guay" if I can say "qué chulo". I don't say "¡hostia, tronco!", if I can say "¡Rayos!"; I don't say "¡Ay, mamacita!" if I can say "¡Cielo santo!"; nor I say "¡Oye, chamito, esa vaina está bien arrechísima, no bromees!" if I can say "¡Hey, amigo, es sobrecogedora esa historia, en serio!"; nor I will say "¡Dabuti, tronco!" or "¡No hay tu tía!" if I can say "¡Es impresionante!" and "¡No cuentes con ello!". Where is the "Iberic" or "Latin American" Spanish in anything of this?

And use of Vosotros is not something of European Spanish only, it belongs to general Spanish. They teach it in the school and in whatever grammar book, and appears in literature. And more, in a written translation of Final Fantasy that is from no place, from no time, it's timeless. So it may have no specific dialect: it has to be neutral.

[Heaven Piercing Man]

In my experience, it's the Vosotros speak that might prove more alienating to non-Euro players, but that's just me.

[PipeLeftie]

No offense inteded, but, while I agree with the rest of the technical flaws regarding the translation, your point about the previous translators used Latin American Spanish sounds like using that dialect is a bad thing for you.

Well, as an latin american Spanish speaker i can say i don't find offensive and i understand the fact that RodMerida said.
You can't do a traduction in a dialect of Spanish, You have to do it the most standart You can, and also i played this version and i can say that is a good traduction and i don't find it annoying like the european Spanish.

[danuffo]

Correct. The problem was not being Latin American, the problem was being shoddy. I've never discriminated any dialect of Spanish, it's part of the richness of my language: but you don't make a translation of a Japanese or English game in a dialect, you do it in standard Spanish. When I play a whole game of this quality in a translation to my language I expect it to be professional, and to use a standard form of the language and an elegant form of it, whatever it's made by Latin Americans or Spaniards, and however slangs appear at some moment are based in Latin American slangs, or Spaniard ones. Dialectal slangs must appear when necessary, in slangish situations or for dialectal characters, not all the time. Woolsey's translation to English, it's obvious it uses American slang, but it's professional, and most of the translation is standard English, and an elegant form of English: slangs are only used when necessary, not randomly; added to this there are no problems of typos, orthograph or grammar mistakes, bad pointers, commas or dots missing, reiterative parts, etc.

And that first translation had many deficits in this way, besides it didn't use any kind of accenting or opening exclamation & question marks at all, something that is not acceptable in a serious translation of any commercial game, specially if it's long and has long texts.
April 12, 2020, 08:15:32 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)And Latin Americans too. They're liking it already.

Because the translation is not in "European Spanish" or "Latin American Spanish", it is in General Spanish. There is no such "European", or "Iberic" or "Spanish American" Spanish in written Spanish, if the translation is professional. There is only Spanish. The language is only one. The only differences are in speech in accent. As well as the differences in written Brittish or American English are minimmal, if not non-existent (except for slang and deliberated Woolseyisms to be funny and national, of course, that I tended to avoid). I don't say "qué guay" if I can say "qué chulo". I don't say "¡hostia, tronco!", if I can say "¡Rayos!"; I don't say "¡Ay, mamacita!" if I can say "¡Cielo santo!"; nor I say "¡Oye, chamito, esa vaina está bien arrechísima, no bromees!" if I can say "¡Hey, amigo, es sobrecogedora esa historia, en serio!"; nor I will say "¡Dabuti, tronco!" or "¡No hay tu tía!" if I can say "¡Es impresionante!" and "¡No cuentes con ello!". Where is the "Iberic" or "Latin American" Spanish in anything of this?

And use of Vosotros is not something of European Spanish only, it belongs to general Spanish. They teach it in the school and in whatever grammar book, and appears in literature. And more, in a written translation of Final Fantasy that is from no place, from no time, it's timeless. So it may have no specific dialect: it has to be neutral.

Sorry if it's late to reply, but NO. There is not something like a "general spanish", not all countries uses all spanish rules including Spain, the speakers from that country doesn't use "vos" anymore, which is the real singular form of "vosotros"

Yes we speak the same language, it would be a lie if we say Spain uses all the spanish rules, when "vos" was repalced by "tú".

[RodMerida]

Spanish translations made in Spain use "vos" as an archaic substitute of "usted" when the movie or book is ambiented in Middle Ages, Renaissence or those times. There are many movies and theatre works like that, either Spanish or translated.

For example, the translation of The Hobbit to Spanish does that. Also the translation of Robin Hood, by Walter Scott, to Spanish. Or the translations of The Count of Montecristo and also of Travel to the Centre of Earth, by Jules Verne (even though they're ambiented in 19th century, they use all the time "vos" as a substitute of "usted", to translate French "vous"). Also in Quixote, or in the theatre of Lope de Vega and Calderón, we find this kind of treatment as the normal for singular politeness.

My Final Fantasy VI translation uses this for the character CYAN, too. He speaks using "vos" (except in familiar situations, when he uses "tú").

But that "vos", of course, is conjugated with diphthongued verbal forms, that is "sois", "estáis", "hacéis", "venís", "mirabais", "vendríais", "llegaréis", "habéis venido". Same conjugation than for vosotros.

Actually, Argentinian "vos" uses "vosotros" conjugation in an archaic, monophthongued variety (sos, recordás, hacés, podés, venís, estabas, vendrías) that co-existed with other forms (like sodes, soes, sois) in written standard Spanish until XV century. That monophthongued form became eventually less frequent, but remained in Spain until XVI. Time enough so this form of conjugation passed to the Americas, where it became dominant in some regions like Argentina, probably even for "vosotros" itself, even for plural.
Other archaic form of this vos/vosotros conjugation was finished in -des (sodes, cantades, queredes, tenedes, venides, estábades, vendríades), that evolved into modern -is (sois, cantáis, queréis, tenéis, venís, estabais, vendríais) towards XV/XVI centuries.

I put you an example with this excerpt from a XV century romance poem (I add some of the previous verses for context):
« Rodillada está Moriana,
que la quieren degollar,
con sus ojos envendados
non cesando de llorar,
atada de pies y manos,
que era lástima mirar;
los cabellos de oro puro
que al suelo quieren llegar
y sus pechos descubiertos,
más blancos que non cristal.
En viendo el verdugo moro
en ella tanta beldad,
de su amor estando preso
sin poderlo más celar,
fablóle en algarabía,
como a aquella que la sabe:
"Perdonédesme, Moriana,
querádesme perdonar,
que mandado soy, señora,
por el rey moro Galván.
Ojalá viese mi alma
cómo vos poder librar
para liberar dos vidas
que aquí las veo penar."
Morïana dijo: "¡Moro,
lo que te quiero rogar
es que cumplas con tu oficio
sin un punto más tardar!"
Al tiempo de la su muerte
éstas voces fue a fablar:
"Yo muero como cristiana,
y también sin confesar
los pecados verdaderos
de mi esposo natural."»

(Meaning:
Kneeling is Morïana,
they want her throat to be cut,
with her eyes that were blindfolded
not ceasing at all to cry,
her hands and feet have been tied,
that made who watched to feel sad;
her hair, made of so pure gold,
the floor is wanting to touch,
and her breasts have got uncovered,
they're whiter than even glass.
By seeing the moor executioner
in her so beautiful sight,
being imprisoned by her love,
he can't his jealousy stand.
He spoke to her in good Arabic
like if she were to understand:
"Ye must forgive me, Moriana,
I hope ye want to forgive,
since I am receiving orders
from the Moorish king Morian.
If only my soul could see
how to be able to free ye,
in order to free two lives
that here I'm seeing them in pain."
Morïana told him: "Moor!
What I beg thee and request
is to accomplish thy task
with no other slight delay!"
In the moment of her death
these voices she was to claim:
"I'll die today as a Christian,
but without having confessed
the true sins towards my husband,
my only legitimate."
)


Anyway there are regions of America where that modern colloquial "vos", that replaces "tú" instead "usted", is conjugated with diphthongued forms, too, like in Spain, and in standard Spanish grammar. An example of this is Maracaibo region, in Venezuela (¿vos estáis contento?).


Another thing that is not right in your saying: you speak as if using that colloquial "vos" was something from the whole of American Spanish. That's not like that at all. Colloquial "Vos" is not shared by the whole Hispanic America. Actually many Hispanic American countries don't use "vos" at all, like Mexico (except Chiapas), Peru, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, most of Venezuela, most of Colombia, and others.

That's why the only form of standard familiar treatment in Hispanic America is "tú", as in Spain. That's what we call "general Spanish", or standard grammar and vocabulary, as opposed to "regional Spanish" (like in Argentina or Uruguay).

Example of a sentence in general and in regional Spanish:

(General)
Lo que me cuentas es extraordinario.
(Meaning: what you tell me is awesome)

(Regional)
Esa vaina está bien arrecha (Venezuela)
Es re-loco lo que me contás
(Argentina)
Me estoy quedando hela'o, quillo (Seville, southern Spain)


Another example:
(General)
Acabas por hastiarme, muchacho.
(Meaning: you end up spending my patience, boy)

(Regional)
Ya párale con esa vaina, chamo (Venezuela)
Me estás cargando, loco (Argentina)
Me estás poniendo la cabeza como un bombo, primo (Seville)