Zelda is amongst us. Can you feel it?

Yes, friends, the not-sure-what-it-is-but-it's-good Game of the Century (for this month), Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is now out for your Nintendo 64. We've all seen the screenshots and the movies. We've read the gushing reviews from Japan and elsewhere. Straight tens, 100%, best game ever made, and so forth. From my (admittedly scant) experience with it, it seems quite impressive. I do confess, however, that I'm getting sick of this Game of the Decade/Century nonsense. I mean, come on, we've seen at least three other games of the century this year, one of which is less than a month old. Can't the hype people be a little more creative? "Zelda 64: it's better than a Dutch rub and not half as oily." Something like that.

Needless to say, all you N64 owners are encouraged to write in and give your opinions, good and bad, about Zelda. I have a feeling it's going to be dominating a lot of gaming time for athe next while, so let's get some conversation out of it. :)

So where's Battle Cat?

Prince Adam, is that you?

What are you doing working for those weird GIA people? Are they against Skeletor and Hordak too? Well, it's good to hear from you again. I was wondering where you'd gone after that last time portal off Etheria went haywire. Nice to let me worry like that! Give my love to mother and father, and say hello to Teela and Sorceress for me.

Your dear sister,Princess Adora


Adora! How fares Madam Razz? It's been a long time since the lot of us sat down for a good long talk. I must admit that it's been quite an adjustment, shifting from my duties as guardian of Eternia, to wearing a black trenchcoat over top of my furry briefs. They chafe my thighs like you wouldn't believe. Still, I'm glad to hear that you're well, and never be afraid to call on the honor of Greyskull. Ciao.

(Those that are totally baffled by this letter are encouraged to read the letters col from the 22nd, then watch some He-Man and She-Ra reruns.)

Literal? Literate? Webster?

Hey Allan, hows it going? I have a comment to make. Why does everyone hate literal translations? I have heard many people say thatadapted translations are the best because a literal Japanese Englishtranslation "ruins the feel". I, for one, despise to no end translations thatare not exactly word-for-word. Take, for example FF6.

When it was released in Japan, we have one of the, if not the greatest FinalFantasy. When it was brought to the US, what happens? Because of not beingliteral, we have Mr. Woolsey (why does everyone like Ted Woolsey? I want tostrangle him until his lifeless body croaks, gurgles, and spasms in my hands)doing some piece of crap excuse for a translation, making the text you seemuch less powerful, and generally, just worse.

Now, you are probably all yelling, "But FF6 has a great translation! Not onetypo!" Typos? Why does everyone get so mad over stupid typos? I would muchrather play a game with two typos per sentence if it was a literaltranslation, than one with no typos and a un-literal translation, like theAmerican version of FF6. And if you don't understand the Japanese culturalreferences? Who cares? So what if they say something about Akira Kurosawa orthe Tokyo Tower, and you don't get it? It is the way that the original makerswanted the gamer to experience their work. Any other way is just not rightfor me.

Still not convinced that the un-literal translations are a bad thing?Literally dozens of mature themes are taken out of FF4 and FF6. The AmericanFF3 isn't half the game the original FF6 is. How do we solve this silly, andall to avoidable problem? Word-for-word translations? When I played FinalFantasy Tactics, do you think I really gave a flying hairball about the typos?Of course not! I was just thankful that the mature themes and what somepeople think is offensive religious content was left in.

Just think about all this now, and if you ever in your remaining years, get achance to play an exact translation, do it. You will be very pleasantlysurprised.

FF5Rulz


You're quite welcome to enjoy literal translations. You're even more welcome to prefer them to looser ones. But nevertheless, I've a few responses, as I almost totally disagree.

First of all, my concern about a game's translation is not how accurate it is to the original. I find that literal translations are highly overrated, and can often take away from the experience. I much prefer a translation that captures the spirit and the intent of the original text. Integrity of work is one thing, but really, wouldn't it be a greater service to the original developers' work to translate the game in such a way that English-speaking players can draw the same feel as Japanese players do? Is making a game more accessible for the players' sake such a bad thing?

More importantly, I think most players prize a good, readable translation over all else. FFTactics' translation, for whatever reason, was poor. There were typos. There was plenty of awkward grammar. The text was dry and stilted and not at all up to par with the rest of the game. Great, we retained the mature themes and offensive religious content, but it was presented in a mire of crap dialogue. And this is a *good* thing? Translations can be better, and they should be, every time we pick up an RPG. Konami's translations have been excellent. Atlus is another example. Whatever your gripes about Working Designs, readability of the text probably isn't one of them. It's grammatically correct, it's engaging and it does justice to the games. Adhering to the original text and being literate aren't mutually exclusive, of course, but I happen to place much greater emphasis on enjoying a game as I play it, rather than finding out later that the translation isn't word-for-word. Call me crazy.

Lastly, just to add a bit more fuel to this, a thought: Game Arts and Sega of Japan have both commented publically and repeatedly that they really enjoy and encourage Working Design's notably "interpretive" translations of their games. Is a loose translation a travesty if the developer supports it? Think about it.

More Suikoden stuff

Personally, I found Suikoden to be an absolute gem of a game. Yes, it was much too short, but what counts here is quality. From beginning to end, the storyline is gripping. It involves making a lot of moral choices (although most of the time you're forced into picking one...grrr), and constantly twists and turns. In addition, it has it's fair share of mini games, and each is well executed. As for the graphics, they aren't the greatest in the world, but there is a TON of detail in this game. The graphics are incredibly well-drawn, which helps to bring the different locales to life. Also, the music is great, and I found myself humming many of the tunes well after I finished the game.

However, I did find a couple of minor flaws in the game. The overworld map is very clunky, and the overworld seems to be restricted forcedly by forests and mountains (rather then areas ending naturally, they appear to end simple because Konami didn't want to take the time to fill them up with things). Also, the sound effects were only average.

Overall though, it's a great game. A number of events and characters in the game still stick in my mind today (Gremio, Odessa, the "rain scene", etc.), and I eagerly await the second Suikoden. It's an incredible ride, but one which ends all too quickly.

--Tritoch--

After reading a letter about how BAD Suikoden was, I have to reply. Unlike FF7 and FF8, the Genso Suikoden series are not eye candy. Theyare for people who enjoy a good plot. I've put my PSX away and pulledout the NES sometimes to enjoy the original FF (CLASSIC).

Let's not start bashing plots here, anyone could pick apart FF, but wedon't because we like it. I mean, the pure coincidence that a Cid isin virtually EVERY FF game? See? But that isn't the point. Asstated earlier, it's all taste and preference.

And regarding the 108 characters, they ALL have powers, IF you developthem. Yes? (Though I HATED the darn Dog)

For people who like pure eye candy, then you don't need a RPG, youneed a movie. Thus, pray for the FF movie to come along quick. And Idid mean to spell "Teo" like "Tao" in my name. ;)

- Tao McDohl


Not surprisingly, some people got kinda riled that Suikoden was trashed by Fritz and, to a lesser extent, me, yesterday. All my comments from yesterday still apply - it was a pretty good game, with some nice features, but a lot of the characters were total ciphers. Perhaps usable, but not exactly inspiring. And it was too short, but that goes without saying.

As an aside, check out the Suikoden II preview here at GIA. Notice how stunningly bland the overworld map still is. Gack. Konami can do so much better than that.

The HDTV Cometh

Dear beloved Double Agent,

Are any of the new next-gen systems(PSX2, Dreamcast, N2000) going to beHDTV-compatible? I think this is prettyimportant, considering the transition isalready under way and federal guidelinescall for 100% HDTV-compatible transmissionsby 2005 and the end of old-format simulcastingby 2008. Granted, by then, we'll be salivatingover new systems like the Sony PSX3D, theSega PongBox, and the Nintendo ZeldaCubeor whatever...but I expect a lot of people tostart buying into HDTV much sooner than that.Do any of the brain wizards at the hardwarecompanies have HDTV-compatibility in theirsights? Will the coming next gen be compatibleout of the box? What about our current systems?*sigh* Just imagine...Final Fantasy 10...onPSX2000....in letterbox pararamic (HDTV)format...

--Craig Hansen


HDTV, for those unfamiliar with the term, stands for High Definition TV. As Craig explains, it's a higher-resolution new standard for TV broadcast being phased in over the next decade or so. It was originally slated to be in effect quite a bit earlier, but hit some snags. Essentially, it allows for higher-resolution screens with better color depth, easier changes in screen proportions (letterbox, etc.) and so on.

To answer your question, I do not expect Dreamcast to be HDTV-compatible. System life turnaround appears to be about three or four years in the gaming industry. Therefore, I'm guessing that Sega will have another system that probably will be HDTV-compatible ready for 2002-3. The PSX2 and Nintendo's next system are a little iffier. The N64 launched considerably later than the 32-bit systems, and Nintendo systems generally have a habit of living longer than the normal lifespan of a game platform. By the time they develop and market a replacement for the N64, it probably will be during the big push for HDTV standardization. Then again, that's a good three years off, IMO. Last comes the PSX2, which is probably going to be released before HDTV really gets going. Then again, Sony's got a big stake in HDTV production, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if their new system was ahead of the game, tying HDTV compatibility into the system from the get-go.

In the end, this is mostly speculation. But I've no doubt the big three are thinking about this format switch, Sony especially so. They're probably planning the Next Next Generation of consoles as I write this...

Amano's Underworld

Reading today's column made me wonder if I should send my question toyou. But then I realized that controversy is preferable to randomcomments, so I'll stick to my guns. I fear I may receive death threats for saying this, but I think Amano'sartwork sucks. What about it is SOOO great? I'll defend my positionafter I see any reaction, but I hope I'm not the only one out there whofeels as I do.

Rebelliously,

Herandar Luciferage


Art is art is art. I've grown up on Amano's artwork, from childhood hours wiled away watching Battle of the Planets (he did the character designs for it), through my FF experiences, Vampire Hunter D, and Kartia. I'm a fan. I like the wispy, thin, delicate figures he draws. There's something delicate and otherworldly about them, something that screams "FANTASY!" and whispers elegance. Then again, almost no one agrees with me. What was said about the eye of the beholder...?

The Lowdown

Not enough questions asked today, 'm afraid.

My usual admonitions to you apply. Go, take it easy, tell me all about Zelda (or other games, of course), plug GIA until your lips fall off your face, and see you tomorrow.

- Allan Milligan

 
Return to the Archives
Contact the Agent