FF8 English-French Translarison, part 14: Romantic Cruise
Hey y’all! The translarison is back! I’m skipping ahead a bit since there aren’t really any differences. So, we are now on the bridge after Garden has transformed, where we find our first notable difference.
In the English text, Linoa just goes “Wow!” after the platform has raised. But in the French version, she has slightly more to day, going “No way, it’s impossible!”.
This one’s interesting for how close both versions are. As you probably noticed by now, the two versions generally use very different expressions. however, in this case, in the English version, this NPC says “Ahhh, my back’s killing me!” whereas the French one has him say “My back... it hurts so bad, it’s killing me!”. I’m pretty sure it’s a coincidence that they went for such similar phrases, so I find it pretty intriguing.
I wanted to bring up this NPC because he only talks like that in the English version. he doesn’t have any particular speech pattern in the French one. Gotta hand it to the English version, it does give an unnamed NPC more personality.
And speaking of the two versions being oddly similar this time around, here the French text has this character tell Squall to “go check it out”... in sense of checking something, not looking at something. This is really bizarre because it’s not really a saying in French, which would make it seem it’s an overly literal translation of English writing, but most of the localisation feels like it isn’t based off the English one, so I don’t know what’s going on here.
More oddities from the French version and more evidence of the translator only having the script to work off of. When Xu arrives and tells Squall to go back to the bridge, the French version has a text box that goes “This is the headmaster! Squall, return to the platform!” and the way it’s worded makes it sound like it’s an announcement made over the radio.
The translator was presumably confused as in the English language version, Xu says “It’s the headmaster! Get back to the bridge on the double!”. Regardless of the version the French one is based off, the original text was presumably ambiguous and so the translator didn’t realize it was a character talking to Squall directly.
A small one. In the English version, as the scene ends, Cid says “So much for my room. Where am I going to change now?”. Luckily, the French version spares us the mental image of a naked Cid and instead has him say “But where am I going to sleep, now?”.
By the way, I find this line weird regardless of the version. I was under the impression that this room was just his office, not his living quarters, so I would have thought he’d have somewhere else to sleep/change.
Here’s another small one, but one that says a lot more. in the English version, as Squall is pondering their situation, he thinks to himself “we’re in the middle of nowhere”, which is, you know, accurate. But the French version, while similar, take a much less literal approach. here, he says “we are all disorientated”.
See? There’s still the notion of being lost, which they physically are, but of course French Squall is thinking more about how dazed and confused everyone is after all that’s happened. I really like that.
There’s another very interesting change right after, as in the English version, he says “Man i’m bored...”. Again, the French version make it a bit more profound, having him wonder “Why am I being so sensitive?”, realizing he cares more about the place he lives in and people around him than he’d like to admit.
And that’s not all! As soon after, there’s a pretty big one. English Squall wonders who exactly the sorceress is and why she’d fire missiles at Garden, while also promising to himself to get even with Seifer next time he meets him.
French Squall kind of goes the opposite direction, being more forgiving towards Seifer and putting all the blame on Edea, as he goes “the priestess, it’s all her fault! Using missiles against us?! is Seifer going to escape her grasp?”.
And now, it’s finally time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, Squall and Linoa’s date! Well, technically Squall is just showing her around, but let’s not kid ourselves, it’s a date.
The first real difference comes when Linoa asks him to make the tour a bit more fun. In the English version, she says “you know, like a normal tour?” but tin the French one, she explicitly says “Like a tourist route?”.
Squall retort is also different; English Squall thinks “What does she want from me?” whereas French Squall thinks “Me, a tour guide?!”. Again, I like the French version a bit better as it’s a bit more lighthearted. In fact Squall generally comes across as less grumpy than he does in the English version throughout this whole sequence.
Alright, let’s look at the different areas. First up, the infirmary, where... actually, you know what? I know this is what y’all really want to see so I’ll keep it for the end, nyeh heh heh!
So first up, the quad. these three girls are having a bit of a chat, and there a few differences worth noting. First, in the English text, the girl at the bottom tells her friend to tell her when she gets a BOYFRIEND (emphasis hers, not mine). In the French version, she goes further than that, telling her not to forget to invite her to her wedding. Jeez, going a bit fast, aren’t we?
And then, while in English, the dialogue ends with the girl at the top saying “ No problem! I promise! I promise!!!”, the French version gives it a surprisingly glum turn, having her ask “What if we stay single?”.
This gives an interesting twist to their body language after their dialogue ends, as I think they’re doing the SeeD salute, presumably as a way to show their bond. But because of the change in the French version, it makes it look like they’re covering their mouths as they’re gasping in fear.
And it’s not the only way the French version is bizarrely darker, as if you check them individually, Bottom Girl thinks “poor girl, she’ll end up a spinster. Granted, it’s not very nice in English either as she thinks “I bet I’ll get one before she does” but still, at least the English one believes her friend will eventually find someone.
There’s another small change with them, as the dark-skinned girl in the middle thinks “you guys are sooo great. I’ll definitely keep my promise” in English, but goes “wedding or no wedding, we’ll stay friends” in French.
Next up, the cafeteria. As I’ve alluded to at the very beginning of this playthrough, in the French version, the hot dogs have been replaced with pretzels. Interestingly, the French version also has Squall he thinks the pretzels are a myth as he’s never actually seen anybody eat any in Garden
This is in sharp contrast to the English version, where he says that some of the hot dogs are so popular, you’d be lucky to even see someone eat them, implying that they not only are they explicitly a thing, but there are multiple variants.
See, this is why I love this game. You can have all the flashy graphics and amazing technology you want, but I’ll always prefer a game so dedicated to world-building that it has canon hot dog / pretzel lore.
After Linoa chuckles at Squall’s seriousness and he retorts she’s the one who asked him to give her a tour, Linoa’s reply is quite different in tone. in the English version, she says “Oh, I’m sorry... You don’t have to get mad like that...”. In the French version, she seems more understanding, saying “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
The chat between the three students pretty much goes the same, but there’s an interesting tidbit here where the student to the right gives one of his friends grief for siding with the “Templars” (a.k.a. the faculty), with that guy telling him he did too. In the English version, the other two appear to have stayed neutral and were just hiding or something, and call him out when he wonders why they wanted to capture Cid.
We head to the parking lot and for how short that scene is, it goes quite differently depending on the version.
In the English one, the discussion goes like this:
Squall: “Just a parking lot. Nothing special.
Rinoa: “... That’s it?”
Squall: “Yeah.”
Rinoa: *facepalm* “... Never mind. Let’s go.”
in the French one, it goes like this:
Squall: And here’s the parking lot...
Linoa: How fascinating.
Squall: You think so?
Linoa: *facepalm* “Forget it. Let’s go.”
I love how in both cases, it seems like an admission from the devs that they didn’t really do anything with this area. i do think I once again have a slight preference for the French version as I like Squall’s obliviousness.
Following that is the training centre. The text is mostly the same, but there’s an interesting variation in tone. Plus it’s a line I love in both versions so I really wanna bring it up.
After Squall asks Linoa if she’s up for some monster slayin’ (I love that he even suggests that in the first place and hey, in a weird way, it does go to show he is okay with spending some time with Linoa), English Rinoa says that she can see him do that on a first date, and ironically says “you’re so romantic...”.
The French version has her even more explicitly saying “You know, you have a funny way of behaving on a first date... how very romantic!”. So you could argue there was some ambiguity in the English version, but here she straight-up says they’re on a date.
You could argue she’s joking, but either way, Squall doesn’t object, and he’s not usually one to take stuff like that lightly. Just sayin’, I think they both take this more seriously than they let on.
And finally we get to the library, where Squall meets Ellone. In the English version, after asking Squall to try and remember her, she says she’d be heartbroken to know she was forgotten. in the French version, she’s more vague, saying “It’s rather vexing when someone forgets you, don’t you think?”.
Sorry to sound like a broken record but again, I much prefer the French version’s take on it. There’s something a lot more melancholy about it and most importantly, it ties deeply into the game’s major themes by mirroring Squall’s own refusal to build memories with other people or to be remembered by them.
The more subtle tone also makes it feel like she’s trying to spare his feelings by not making it sound like he’d be hurting her, even though she may not think any less.
Well, that wraps everything up, can’t think of anything else to do, so join me next time, where we take on- oh alright, you’ve been good, here’s how the scene in the infirmary goes.
The setup is the same. Kadowaki walks in and asks Squall if Linoa is his girlfriend. I do like how the English version has her go “Oh my!” at the beginning like she’s all excited about it. if you answer yes, Linoa says “Pardon? You’d better watch out, or I’ll end up believing it”.
if you insist (by picking the phrase “I’m expressing my desires”), the following exchange occurs:
Squall: It’ll soon be true, won’t it?
Linoa: But, I... er...
Squall: I’m kidding. What did you think?
Linoa: Huh? Your sense of humour goes a bit over my head.
If you pick “Of course not, I’m kidding”, Squall still plays around with it, going “Just a little joke... between lovers.”
Finally, if you say no, this happens:
Linoa: Couldn’t you say YES, just to make me happy?
Squall: Oh, alright. Yes.
Linoa: Huh? Forget it.
And there you have it. Man, hanging out together, going on dates, joking around, flirting... no wonder some people say the romance between these two comes out of nowhere.
But anyway, that’s it for today. Hope you liked it. It’s nice to have a more relaxed session without battles and constant danger, at least not the whole the way through, isn’t it? Hope you enjoyed it and I’ll see you next time, where we confront NORG and probably do more stuff.
As always, if you like the translarison, it would be awesome if you could show your support by reblogging it and if you have any observation or question, do not hesitate to send me an ask or just comment on this post. Later, everyone!
