when the game’s voice actor calls you out in-game and tells you to touch grass lmao
(this is an easter egg in the japanese version of sotn where the jp vas were each given a moment, probably right after they finished recording their lines, to say a few words about whatever they’d like)
Excerpts from the annotated voice script in ff7 remake ultimania plus – some scenes related to Sephiroth
The ff7 remake ultimania plus (the offical English version is releasing in November?) contains a large section of voice script of the game, which includes the script along with many annotations from the devs that provide additional context and voice direction. It is also accompanied by a series of Q&As with FF7R co-director Motomu Toriyama. Here I translated some parts of the script and a few Q&As specifically related to Sephiroth. I also translated the in-game voice lines in a way that’s closer to the Japanese script, instead of using the actual English localization.
1. Sephiroth imitates Cloud’s mother saying her last words when Cloud first encounters him in Sector 8 (Chapter 2)
[Nibelheim in flames]
The same shot was in the original FFVII, taken from the perspective of Cloud who has fallen on the ground. He is looking at the door of his house that’s engulfed in flames. Cloud is whimpering, his voice barely coming out.
Cloud: Mom… Mom…
Sephiroth (offscreen): Were the planet to die, this hometown of yours that burns so brightly would also disappear. The voice of the woman pleading in tears for me to spare her son… the sensation of me cutting her down – they would all disappear.
[Sector 8, illusory alleyway]
Cloud struggles to breathe as he confronts Sephiroth.
Sephiroth: To lose the connection which binds us would be harder to bear than my own death. Cloud, lend me your strength. Don’t worry, it’s a simple thing.
Sephiroth continues to tease Cloud even further.
(The following lines are the last words of Cloud’s mother, which only Sephiroth knows. It is also spoken with an awareness to somewhat imitate the tone of Cloud’s mother.)
Sephiroth: Cloud… You have to run… Run away… And live…
Cloud looks puzzled. Sephiroth grins. Realizing that those were the last words of his mother, Cloud suddenly opens his eyes wide and raises his sword –
Cloud: You bastard!
Scenario Staff Q&A, answered by Motomu Toriyama
Q: The Sephiroth in this scene and the Sephiroth that appears at the Edge in Chapter 18 seem to share the goal of “preventing the demise of the planet”, so are the two of them related?
A: The Sephiroths that appear in different occasions are manifested in a variety of ways – some of them are hallucinations that only Cloud can see, some of them are illusions created by Sephiroth, some of them are mimicked by the men in black cloaks, while some of them are Sephiroth himself. Since all of them act according to Sephiroth’s transcendental will and consciousness, they all speak of the same goals and toy with Cloud’s psyche when they approach him.
Q: Sephiroth has the line “That is a precious memory we share [referring to Cloud throwing him into the mako in Nibel Reactor]” (t/n: the English localization here is “That is the crowning moment of our time together”), which is reminiscent of Cloud’s line from FFVII Advent Children: “Stay where you belong… in my memories.” What was Sephiroth’s intention behind saying this?
A: Physically, Sephiroth is already dead, and even the fact that he died at Cloud’s hands is one of his “memories with Cloud”. Since Cloud is one of the few people who understand his history and can even be called his comrade or nemesis, he would like to maintain a strong bond with Cloud, and this is the sort of feelings that are driving him to use the word “memory”.
2. Sephiroth tells Cloud to enter the Singularity with benevolent intentions (Chapter 18)
[After opening the portal to the Singularity]
Sephiroth: Come quickly, Cloud.
This sounds like a call to the Reunion, but Sephiroth’s true intention is to urge Cloud to come to the other side of the wall so he can show him the truth about the fate of the planet. He is calling out to Cloud with benevolence. A brief smile appears on his face before he enters into the wall. Cloud stares at the wall for a moment in hesitation, but he steps forward to follow Sephiroth. However, Aerith grabs onto Cloud and stops him.
3. Since Cloud refuses to join him, the real(?) Sephiroth follows his original strategy to manipulate Cloud (Chapter 18)
[The Edge of Creation]
Sephiroth: Seven seconds till the end. But, there is still enough time.
Sephiroth curves his lips into a menacing smile. If Cloud wouldn’t fight alongside him, he has no choice but to toy with Cloud as he guides him along his path, like he has always done.
Sephiroth: The future is up to you, Cloud.
When Cloud turns around, Sephiroth is nowhere to be seen; only a black feather dances in the air.
Scenario Staff Q&A
Q: The way “seven seconds till the end” is phrased seems to be hinting at something. Please tell us the meaning behind this phrase.
A: The dimension where Cloud confronts Sephiroth in the final scene is something like the Apocalypse; it is the edge of space and time at which the planet arrives – a place where time is stopped. Little time is left for the planet, which Sephiroth refers to figuratively as “seven seconds till the end”. Once the progression of time resumes, whether the world will end for good after seven seconds, or perhaps some forces will be able to alter the course of space and time – this is, I think, as Sephiroth says, “up to Cloud”.
kinsen (xiao’s cn va): although the plot related to xiao this time touches on some heavy stories in his past, it will also help him make peace with some issues that have long since been on his mind. i hope travelers can continue to witness the past and the future together with xiao!… *sob* it was so rough recording the voiceover for this part… i’ll stop talking, i’ll stop talking…
[lin su (ganyu’s cn va/host): don’t cry don’t cry~ pat, pat…]
Miyazaki Hidetaka on why he makes games where you die a lot
audio taken from Episode 189 of the radio show ゲームの食卓 (game no shokutaku)
Isomura = host of the radio show, also an voice actress
Murohashi = chief editor of the radio show
Isomura: (reading a question from fans) “During development, were you guys wondering how players would die in your game as you grinned to yourselves?”
Miyazaki: Uh, that's not true… [awkward laugh] Well, sometimes I get this question from foreign media. I often get asked, “why are you guys so sadistic?”… I can’t speak for the other staff on the team, but in my case, it’s actually more like, I am a masochist!
*Isomura and Murohashi burst into laughter*
Miyazaki: I’m actually a huge masochist. So when I make the game certain ways, it’s because I want those things!
Murohashi: Oooh!
Miyazaki: It’s like, I want to be killed this way!
Isomura: That’s incredible!
Miyazaki: Yes, I’d be like, I want to be killed like this…! That’s how I make games. It’s not because I want to do those things to others. I want those things done to me.
Isomura: That’s some really impressive masochism!
Murohashi: Indeed!
Miyazaki: People don’t understand it, but it’s a pleasure for me… [laughs]
Murohashi: Seriously?… You want to be punched to death by a giant mushroom in the depths of a forest?
Miyazaki: Yeah, for example. Also you know, the part with the curse… If I can have that… you know…
Murohashi: … *LOL*
Isomura: You wanna struggle your way through a barrage of arrows?
Miyazaki: That sounds fantastic… Yeah, it’s like that. That’s what I want to highlight.
Murohashi: Wow!
Miyazaki: I don’t know what kind of fetishes the other staff members have, but for me personally, that’s an amazing part of game-making. I don’t make this game because I want to do those things to others. I want those things done to me.
Isomura: Wow…
Miyazaki: It’s the truth. Yeah…
Murohashi, Isomura: Damn…
Miyazaki: Yeah, though foreign media laughed it off when I told them. They were like, “what the hell are you talking about?” [laughs]
A more direct EN translation of some of Alhaitham’s voice lines in CN
(Note that in order to show the meaning in CN more clearly, some translations might not sound as smooth as the official EN text to stay closer to the CN.)
tl;dr: dude is in general more of a piece of shit in CN (no) LOL
i love he
About the Vision
To be honest, a Dendro Vision isn’t of much help to my research. But I do hit people harder now that I have elemental powers, so it's still useful enough.
[Personal opinion: I really wish the translators had kept his cruder/rougher wording in CN here, instead of making him sound kinda formal with the “settling a physical dispute” “proves useful at times” and all. (There are other lines, including some during the archon quest, where I’ve noticed that the EN translators made him sound more “formal” like this.) Despite the strong “rational/logical” image that he has, in CN Alhaitham rarely uses the kind of “academic” or “smart”-sounding language that one might think he does unless the occasion calls for it, and I find that aspect of his character really charming. Like Alhaitham says himself, “Rather than lacing my words with rhetoric, I prefer speaking factually” – I love hearing his lines because this guy is so good at making sharp, concise comments using his iconic crude and down-to-earth language. The writers really did a fantastic job portraying this smart and badass and hilarious character while intentionally (imo) breaking the stereotype in the use of an “academic” tone.]
About Us: Helping Each Other
You are very capable of taking care of yourself, so much so that you can even look after the companions around you. I don’t have any advice for you, and you most likely don’t need my help.
[Unlike in EN, it’s not very obvious that he is specifically referring to Paimon there in CN. It’s also a general trend that he is more curt/direct in CN, not hedging his statements as much with words like “seem” “frankly” “tend to” etc..]
About Kaveh: Compassion
He shows too much compassion towards everyone and everything. Probably because he is too fragile, he’s always making a fuss over nothing.
[The word choice in CN is more positive. At least “关怀” is a positive word – more along the lines of “compassion/care” – while “sensitive” is a neutral word that could be understood in either way, and probably negative in the context of “overly sensitive”. While Alhaitham is arguably also using some sarcasm in CN, I still think “sensitive” is neither an intuitive nor a fitting translation for 关怀.]
Birthday
Happy birthday. I’ve always thought that people invest an unnecessary amount of enthusiasm into celebrating the day they were born; it’d be more practical to channel that energy into getting more joy out of each day of their lives. You’re doing an alright job with this.
I don’t know what kind of gift to get, so I’ll just reserve one pass for you through a special application channel.
[Funnily enough, he is less nice to you on your birthday in CN lol… I appreciate the sheer objectivity in “alright job”, bro Especially the “gift” he prepared for you, in my understanding, the special channel is only effective for once in CN and not permanent as the EN version seems to suggest, LMAO. Alhaitham, you just really don’t want to put extra effort into this huh Idk, maybe the EN translators just wanted to make him sound nicer to the players 😆 I can appreciate it either way though.]
Opening Treasure Chest: I
Hold on to them yourself.
[Aka: I don’t need this stuff. How nice of him.]
Opening Treasure Chest: II
Hurry, it’ll be hard to pick them up once they roll away.
[But he’s also genuinely being such a good (and fourth-wall-breaking-ly helpful) teammate kekw]
Joining Party: II
Let’s do business the business way. / Let’s keep things straight business.
[OK, if all the other discrepancies in translation are mostly just me being nitpicky, this one, I would argue, is a significant mistranslation that almost gets the opposite meaning across. “Let’s get down to business,” in my opinion, makes it sound like Alhaitham feels the need and is potentially quite willing to join the party, while in CN, “公事公办” is an idiom that clearly conveys the meaning that Alhaitham is Not joining you because he wants to/thinks he needs to but rather he’s treating it as Business, as a Job. In JP this line is straight up translated it as “公務に私情は挟まない” – “no personal feelings involved in official business.” In fact, linguistic elegance/cultural factors aside, I feel like for Alhaitham’s voice lines at least, the JP translation in general stays much closer to the CN text compared to EN.
Like I mentioned in my last CN/EN comparison post, some EN translations make Alhaitham sound like a leader, while a big part of this dude’s life is just rejecting any and all leadership responsibilities thrown his way.]
---
Some additional translations FYI
More About Alhaitham: IV
Once order is disrupted, the consequences will spread rapidly. I don’t like this; it will get in the way of the life I have right now.
Feelings About Ascension: Conclusion
Can’t let those slackers from the Akademiya know that I’m making progress yet again, otherwise they’ll do everything in their ability to push trouble my way. Of course I won’t accept any of it, but the back-and-forth in communication is always going to waste some (of my) time.
Yo I just realized... In the Japanese version of the Remake, Aerith actually says “もっと一緒にいたいから”/“Because I’d like to spend more time with you” to Cloud in Chapter 9 (in the English version, the line is “Because I’m not sick of you yet.”)
Just to make sure, I checked the scene in Crisis Core, and yes she used the exact same wording when she told Zack about her 23 tiny wishes:
“もっと一緒にいたいです” - I’d like to spend more time with you.
Aerith & Cloud First Encounter Scene Translation
ffvii remake jpn translations (1/?)
Translation is italicized, followed by the English localization.
Flower Peddler: The flower symbolizes “reunion.” (lit. “The flower language is ‘reunion.’)
En: Lovers used to give these when they were reunited...
[Aerith puts the flower on Cloud.]
Cloud: Let me warn you.
En: Look, I’m involved in things.
Cloud: I’m strong.
En: Dangerous things.
Flower Peddler: Yeah, that's the impression I’m getting.
En: Oh, I’m sure you are. So?
Cloud: I won’t be daunted by (your) threat.
En: So keep your distance.
Flower Peddler: Are you on your guard because you think some scary guy is coming after you?
En: Wait – you think someone’s out to get you? Is that what you’re all worked up about?
Flower Peddler: No way no way.
En: Relax.
Flower Peddler: You don’t need to worry about that.
En: No one’s going to attack you. I promise.
