ToP Translation Names

[Fluffy]

maybe i didn't quite understand when i read the FAQs, but are you using the names from the American localization of ToP for GBA? meaning, Cress, Claus, Morlia Mineshaft, etc.

sorry, i know the answer's probably simply as heck. ^_^;

[Dopple]

Nope.  They're going with Cless, Klarth, etc.

[Fluffy]

good. there's a bit of debate about what names to use for the article on ToP on Wikipedia right now. like i stated there, the mistranslations with Cless and Klarth's names (Cress and Claus) probably came because the localization team wanted to stay in continuity with what they'd used before in ToD and ToE. they probably didn't reference ToP when they translated their names, unfortunately...

[Goshi]

It wouldn't really make a difference though since you can change their names anyway. With speical NPCs though like Mirald yeah...

(Lol, Milard)

[Fluffy]

yeah, and things like Midgard becoming Midgald and Mid Galds, and Moria becoming Morlia... it's like people have no concept of the references to Norse mythology and Tolkien. ...sorry if i offended anyone who was un-familiar with those references 

[Kikujiro]

It's kinda funny now you're talking about it. I did know that several characters names were changed indeed in the american verson, but i didn't knew about all the changes you're talking about.

In fact, the french version (yeah, i'm french) keeps most of the original names, whether it is for characters or other things (Cless is Cless, Klarth is Klarth, Midgard is Midgard, as you pointed out the difference in US version). Even some tech names were changed (US "Beast" > FR "Lion's Roar")

[StIoachim]

For some weird reason, in the European version the use the right names for most things... Except for the spanish translation... Who use made-up names for almost everything in the game (save form proper names, at least for characters)

They used a lot of extrange words and translations, for example:
Gald -> Aurex
Majinken -> Draco Hit
Gel (Gummy) -> Pearl
Apple Gel -> Strawberry Pearl
Also, most enemies, for example:
Bugbear -> Dark Gnoll
Baby Boar -> Sehnimir
Skeleton -> Xolotl (wierd Aztec reference...)

And that is just for the beggining of the game...

[Fluffy]

wow, i guess the French are pretty loyal when it comes to localization. i should look that up a bit more, i might be over there in a few months. 

I played part of ToS the last time i was in France... i don't remember it well enough to know if the names were changed in that game. 

and all you poor people out there who must use the spanish localization... i mean, i'm all for actual localization (making "Majinken" "Demon Fang" for example), but... Gels (Gummys) become PEARL? Gald = AUREX? i mean, that seems to be going too far. ...that sounds like Ted Woolsey all over again. 

[StIoachim]

It's far worse
But I'm playing in spanish just to make fun of the translation... I should make a guide or something. Maybe just a list

[Kikujiro]

Well, I wouldn't say french transators in general are so "loyal" to the original, like you said. But we get pretty lucky sometimes, like with ToP.

[Goshi]

yeah, and things like Midgard becoming Midgald and Mid Galds, and Moria becoming Morlia... it's like people have no concept of the references to Norse mythology and Tolkien. ...sorry if i offended anyone who was un-familiar with those references 

Weird, I always though Moria was always called Morlia must've mucked on translating it too >_>

And lol, Bug Bears becoming Dark Knolls.

[Fluffy]

...Every FAQ and Walkthrough I've found uses "Morlia" and I always wondered why. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Mines of Moria from the LOTR and the "Morlia Gallery" from ToP have such a close resemblance. ...In terms of other Tolkien references, they did talk about the feud between Dwarves and Elves, etc., which is the same stuff going on in ToP. So... although it COULD be "Morlia," I'm gonna say that the evidence for "Moria" outweighs the evidence for "Morlia." ^_^;

Dark Knolls?! LOL! Yeah, on the European GBA version you can play in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, and it's funny to see how some of the enemy names changed.

[Shinryu]

...Every FAQ and Walkthrough I've found uses "Morlia" and I always wondered why. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Mines of Moria from the LOTR and the "Morlia Gallery" from ToP have such a close resemblance. ...In terms of other Tolkien references, they did talk about the feud between Dwarves and Elves, etc., which is the same stuff going on in ToP. So... although it COULD be "Morlia," I'm gonna say that the evidence for "Moria" outweighs the evidence for "Morlia." ^_^;

Everything uses Morlia because that is the official English spelling, even in the Japanese version (The song titles are all in English). It's not a coincidence that they're so similar, but the names don't have to be spelled the same to retain the reference. Similar intentional misspellings have occured in later games as well, such as Tales of Symphonia (Ascard, Yumire, etc.) or Tales of the Abyss (Daht, Saint Bynah, etc.), but in the English version of Tales of Symphonia, some names were changed to what they were a reference to rather than retaining the English spellings used in Japanese materials...

[Fluffy]

I stand corrected. ^_^ and apparently it's also Mid Galds... wow, that just seems so wrong to me. Oh well. I still think Moria and Midgard are better, but what can you do? Their names are their names. ^_^;

Now that I think about that, it makes a lot of sense, considering the obvious joke on "Gold" they have for the currency.

[Cless]

Alright. I wasn't really intending to post in this thread but I guess I will.

This is how the PSX name translations of stuff is gonna work. First of all, it's going to be a big 'ol hodgepodge of "official Japanese", "borrow from Tales of Symphonia US", "borrow from Tales of  Phantasia GBA US" and our own transliterations.

Second, Symphonia continuity gets the utmost priority. Since ToP is a distant sequel of sorts, I want to retain any and all continuity with the US Symphonia. Namco borked up some references and terminology continuity from slightly to majorly in Phantasia GBA. We're gonna fix all that, no matter how major or minor the reference.

Character names: Most will remain faithful to the official Japanese "english" names. NPC names will influenced by the official GBA translation (I'm going with Trinicus for the present Morrison) and some others will be our own transliteration (Mirald, etc.)

Towns: "Mid Galds" will be Midgard. Symphonia in Japanese had a town called Ascard on the same continent, but that was named the US version as Asgard. Slight deviations from what they're obviously referencing. I'm going with the ToS route and naming the town Midgard. "Ary" seemed like engrish for Early, so we're going with that (it fits the town's theme as being in an everlasting darkness, too).

Techs/spells: I've imported the entire list from ToP GBA. Tech names will be the same, except Satsugekibukouken (which isn't in the GBA version). It'll be named after Stahn's move in ToD US, Assassin.

Item names: Imported the ToP GBA list, and corrected its blatant mistranslations  (Raise Ruby should be Wraith Ruby, etc...), outright censorship (Liqueur Bottle becoming Syrup Bottle) of course using the recent Tales naming conventions of general stuff (Gels, not Gummis, Magic Lens instead of spectacles, etc), then made some small minor changes to some other things.

Titles: A lot of difference here. Quite a number of event specific titles here will be a bit different from the GBA translation. A lot of them are REALLY LAME AND BORING when they shouldn't be. They didn't even bother to use the WOW! and Ironing Board titles from ToS, which would have worked well in this game.

[DemonFang]

That's all very interesting to know, Cless. I think your blend of using ToP GBA and ToS US with your own stuff is going to turn out great. Also, I'm big when it comes to continuity between games, movies, etc., so I'm really glad that continuity with Symphonia US is one of your top priorities.

P.S.
I STILL don't get the whole Milard thing! What the hell were they thinking???