Final Fantasy VII Remake Script Comparison: Chapter 4
Cloud and Jessie meet up with Biggs and Wedge and ride their bikes through the train tunnels up to the plate.
There’s some good banter with Jessie here. In Japanese she uses the word 酔わせてくれる (yowasetekureru) meaning “to be elated/spellbound,” but a more common meaning of the verb 酔う (yо̄) is “to get drunk” or “get car sick.” And Cloud thinks she’s using that meaning instead, so he tells her, “You won’t get sick if you look into the distance,” completely missing her point. The English does a good job of writing around this, having Cloud be like, “Yeah it’s going to be a rough ride, so it’s not my fault if you get sick,” instead of flirting back.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ジェシー ねえ バイクの運転わかるよね | Jessie Hey, you do know how to drive, right? |
クラウド ソルジャーは バイク任務も多い | Cloud SOLDIERs get mandatory training. |
ジェシー さっすが~ じゃ 華麗な運転でわたしを酔わせてくれる? | Jessie Well then! You gonna take my breath away? Make my head spin with your amazing skills? |
クラウド 遠くを見てれば 酔わない | Cloud Don’t blame me if ya get sick. |
ジェシー あははは…… | Jessie Right… |
Jessie has another great line a little farther down. The Japanese is roughly, “Did (you) do that to protect me?” while the English goes for continuing on with the romance novel-like narration, which is perfect in how it expands on a previous line and emphasizes her penchant for drama.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
クラウド 楽しそうだな | Cloud Someone’s having fun. |
ジェシー そりゃもう だって いっしょに危機を乗り越えた男と女は—— | Jessie How could I not!? “Pursued by villains, a young couple thrust together by fate race through the neon- streaked night…” |
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ジェシー ひょっとして わたしのこと守ってくれた? | Jessie “Had the cold-eyed mercenary’s heart suddenly begun to melt?” |
After they fight off the last of the Shinra officers, Biggs gets a line heralding back to the first bit of dialogue he gets in PSX, commenting on how Cloud’s skills set him apart as a (former) SOLDIER. As I mentioned in the first part of this series, さすが (sasuga) is literally “as (you’d) expect (from)” and is often used when the speaker is impressed with someone.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | E PSX |
---|---|---|---|
ビッグス さすが 元ソルジャー あんたに比べりゃ 俺らはやっぱ素人だな | Biggs That’s an ex-SOLDIER for ya. Next to him, we look like kids on trikes. | ビッグス 「さすが、ソルジャー! でもよ、反神羅(しんら) グループ【アバランチ】に ソルジャーが参加するなんて スゲエよな!」 | Biggs “Wow! You used to be in SOLDIER all right! …Not everyday ya find one in a group like AVALANCHE.” |
Also love him or hate him, Roche’s lines are done so well. I just… He’s so extra. It’s great.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
???? 気を抜くと すぐに追い抜いてしまう | ??? “Too quick for the eye, you cross him, you die!” |
???? やあ レディとドライブかい | ??? Now… Mind if I cut in? |
???? いいねえ 私もまぜてくれよ | ??? Splendid! I’ve been looking for a new dance partner! |
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ローチェ 私は ローチェ 人は私をこう呼ぶ スピードジャンキーと | Roche My name is Roche, but you may address me by the more accurate appellation: Speed Demon! |
As they head to Jessie’s house, she comments on how her mom leaves the lights on for her every night. In Japanese, Jessie describes her as a “typical Midgar resident,” implying that only those who live on the plate would waste energy so thoughtlessly. The English translation softens this a bit by calling her “old-fashioned” instead, which underscores her devotion to her family more. Though within the setting of the story “old-fashioned” could also be taken as referring to someone who isn’t aware of the costs of using mako.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ジェシー 見て たまーにしか帰ってこない娘のために いつもああして あかりをつけている | Jessie Figures. Still leaves the lights on every night for the girl who only comes home once every other blue moon. |
ジェシー ママは 典型的ミッドガル住民 | Jessie Mom’s an old-fashioned type like that. |
Immediately after this, the concept of “Midgar Special” pizza is introduced. This pizza did actually exist in the original as well, just in a deleted line. Incidentally, this line was randomly restored in the Japanese Switch port of FF7. Check out my series on the original for more details.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Switch |
---|---|---|
ウェッジ ピザ出るかな ミッドガル・スペシャル | Wedge Think she’ll make us pizza? Her “Midgar Special”? | 「変なもん食ったからなあ。 あのミッドガル名物のプレートピザ…」 |
Cloud is tasked with sneaking into Jessie’s house from the back door. Context saves the day here. During Jessie’s explanation of Cloud’s infiltration route, she uses 廊下 (rouka; lit. “hallway”) to describe the area the back door opens in on. English uses “room” because it looks much more like that than what we’d consider a hallway.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ジェシー 裏口をあけると 廊下があるの | Jessie Inside, you’ll find a room with two doors. |
Then Jessie explains the plan to infiltrate the Shinra base. In Japanese she just straight up forgets the word for “diversion,” but English adds in some nice reasoning, having her comment that she must be so nervous that she forgot it. (We also get another さすが ソルジャー (sasuga SOLDIER) here, though the English translation remixes it this time.)
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ジェシー ほら さっきわたしたちて ママの注意をひきつけたでしょ? | Jessie Just do the thing where you draw everyone’s attention away, like you did at my parents’. |
ジェシー なんて言うんだっけ ああいうの ほら—— | Jessie What’s the word again? Maybe I’m more nervous than I thought. |
クラウド 陽動だな | Cloud Diversion. |
ジェシー それそれ さすが ソルジャー! | Jessie Yeah, that! Nice one, military man. |
Biggs starts to talk about Jessie’s past. In Japanese he stops himself, parroting back Cloud’s beloved phrase 興味ない (kyoumi nai; lit. “not interested”). As noted in the first chapter of this series, this phrase was translated as both “Don’t care” and “Not interested” in the original. Here, the English goes with “care.”
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
ビッグス こんな話 興味ないか | Biggs Ah, but what do you care? | クラウド 「あんたたちの名前なんて興味ないね。 どうせこの仕事が終わったらお別れだ」 | Cloud “I don’t care what your names are. Once this job’s over…I’m outta here.” |
He then tells Cloud not to breathe a word of this to Jessie. (The English translation is so good.) This actually references Jessie’s personality from the original. If Cloud turns down her offer to make him a present on the train ride back to Sector 7, she says he’ll regret it because she’s the type to hold grudges.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
ビッグス 話したって事 ジェシーには内緒だぞ あいつ 怒ると 手が付けらんねえんだから | Biggs Oh—don’t tell Jessie about this little chat, okay? When she gets pissed, she gets punchy. | ジェシー 「そう、きっと後悔するかもよ。 私、ズガッ~ンと根にもつタイプ なの」 | (1) Jessie “Oh yeah, you might regret it. I’m the type who takes things personal.” |
クラウド それは どうだろう | Cloud Well… No promises. | ||
ウェッジ オレたち 殴られるかも | Wedge He’s serious, Cloud! She’ll beat the shit out of us! |
Cloud once again responds with his favorite phrase: 興味ない (kyoumi nai). The English here actually references a similar line in the original where Cloud is responding to Barret instead. He even throws up his hands and shrugs like he did in that original elevator scene.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
クラウド 興味ないね | Cloud Not my problem. | クラウド 「悪いけど興味がないな」 | Cloud “It’s not my problem.” |
As they prepare to infiltrate the warehouse, Cloud flashes back to a memory of Tifa. The whole thing is word-for-word the same in Japanese, so we get to see what a nicer translation of it would look like (taking into account new timing restrictions and more detailed animation, of course). Even if the English isn’t exactly the same, a lot of the wording still calls back to the old translation(s) (there are technically two translations of the original game; for more info see my series on the original FF7), and honestly the tweaks to the dialogue help make it sound so much more natural. Take the “I’m gonna be a SOLDIER” line for example. Sure, the Japanese is literally “(I) wanna be a SOLDIER,” but Cloud is trying to sound cool here, like he’s better than everyone else. So it makes a lot of sense for him to show more conviction: he doesn’t just want to be in SOLDIER, he’s going to make sure he gets in. It’s little stuff like that that helps the narrative and characterization.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | E PC |
---|---|---|---|
ティファ おまたせ | Tifa Heya. | ティファ 「お・ま・た・せ」 | Tifa “Sorry I’m late.” |
ティファ な~に? 話があるって | Tifa So…what did you wanna talk about? | ティファ 「な~に? 話があるって」 | Tifa “You said you wanted to talk to me about something?” |
クラウド 俺 春になったら村を出て ミッドガルに行くよ | Cloud When spring comes, I’m leaving town and going to Midgar. | クラウド 「俺……春になったら村を出て ミッドガルへ行くよ」 | Cloud “Come this Spring…I’m leaving this town for Midgar.” |
ティファ 男の子たちって み~んな 村を出てっちゃうね | Tifa Should’ve figured. All the guys are leaving. | ティファ 「……男の子たちって み~んな村を出てっちゃうね」 | Tifa “All the boys are leaving our town.” |
クラウド 俺は みんなとはちがう ただ仕事をさがすだけじゃない | Cloud B-but I’m not like them. I’m not going just to look for work. | クラウド 「俺はみんなとはちがう。 ただ仕事をさがすだけじゃない」 | Cloud “But I’m different from them. I’m not just going to find a job.” |
クラウド ソルジャーになりたいんだ | Cloud I’m gonna be a SOLDIER. | クラウド 「俺、ソルジャーになりたいんだ」 | Cloud “I want to join SOLDIER.” |
クラウド セフィロスみたいな 最高のソルジャーに | Cloud The best of the best. Like Sephiroth. | クラウド 「セフィロスみたいな 最高のソルジャーに」 | Cloud “I’m going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!” |
ティファ ”英雄セフィロス”か | Tifa The great war hero, huh? | ティファ 「セフィロス…… 英雄セフィロス、か」 | Tifa “Sephiroth… The Great Sephiroth?” |
ティファ ソルジャーになるのって 難しいんでしょ? | Tifa Mm… Isn’t it pretty hard to become a SOLDIER? | ティファ 「ソルジャーになるのって 難しいんでしょ?」 | Tifa “Isn’t it hard to join SOLDIER?” |
クラウド しばらくのあいだ 村にはもどれないな | Cloud Yeah. So I won’t be back for a long time. | クラウド 「……しばらくのあいだ 村にはもどれないな、きっと」 | Cloud “…I probably won’t be able to come back to this town for a while.” |
クラウド 「……うん?」 | Cloud “…Huh?” | ||
ティファ 大活躍して 新聞にものるかな? | Tifa Guess not. Think you’ll be in the papers? | ティファ 「大活躍したら 新聞にものるかな?」 | Tifa “If you make it, will you be in the newspapers?” |
クラウド がんばるよ | Cloud I’ll try. | クラウド 「がんばるよ」 | Cloud “I’ll try.” |
ティファ ね 約束しない? | Tifa Just…promise me one thing. | ティファ 「ね、約束しない?」 | Tifa “Hey, let’s make a promise.” |
ティファ あのね クラウドが有名になって そのとき 私が困ってたら…… | Tifa When we’re older, and you’re a famous SOLDIER…if I’m ever trapped or in trouble… | ティファ 「あのね、クラウドが有名になって その時、私が困ってたら……」 | Tifa “Umm…if you get really famous and I’m ever in a bind…” |
ティファ クラウド 助けに来てね | Tifa Promise you’ll come and save me. | 「クラウド、私を助けに来てね」 | “you’ll come save me, all right?” |
Cloud Huh? | クラウド 「はぁ?」 | Cloud “What?” | |
ティファ ピンチのときに ヒーローが助けてくれるの | Tifa That’s what heroes do. They save people. | ティファ 「私がピンチのときに ヒーローがあらわれて 助けてくれるの」 | Tifa “If I’m ever in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me.” |
ティファ 一度くらいは 経験したいじゃない? | Tifa Please? Just once. | 「一度くらい 経験したいじゃない?」 | “I want to experience that at least once.” |
Cloud Uhh… | クラウド 「はぁ?」 | Cloud “What?” | |
ティファ 約束しなさい~ | Tifa Come on, promise me! | ティファ 「いいじゃないのよ~! 約束しなさい~!」 | Tifa “Come on! Promise me!” |
クラウド わかった 約束する | Cloud Fine. I promise. | クラウド 「わかった……約束するよ」 | Cloud “All right…I promise.” |
Anyway, they go and attack the officers. (Biggs gets a nice quip. The Japanese is roughly, “(They) even have something like that?”)
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ビッグス あんなもんまで あんのかよ | Biggs Oh, you gotta be shitting me. |
And Roche comes back. “Aren’t you having a wonderful time kicking the hornet’s nest” is So Good. The Japanese is roughly just “Aren’t (you) doing (it) flashily, my friend!” 派手 (hade) basically means to be showy/loud/draw attention.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ローチェ ハデにやってるじゃないか マイ フレンド! | Roche Well, aren’t we having a wonderful time kicking the hornet’s nest! |
More nice military lingo as they escape. (Japanese is roughly, “Lower (your) weapon. (We) aren’t enemies.”
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
謎の兵士 武器を下ろせ 敵じゃない | Trooper Friendly! Friendly! Stand down! |
And Biggs has a good line as they slip away: “That or a bad omen.” This preemptively shows his superstitious side which is established in Japanese later. The Japanese for this line is roughly just “Shoot. If HQ is on the move, (it’ll) be troublesome.” While later on it specifically uses 悪い前触れ (warui maebure) which breaks down individually as “bad before notice,” meaning “bad premonition.”
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ビッグス にしても 本家の作戦に 鉢合わせるなんてな | Biggs Man, can’t believe HQ was running an op tonight of all nights. |
クラウド 偶然なのか | Cloud Coincidence? |
ビッグス まいったな 本家が動きだしたとすりゃ 面倒だ | Biggs That or a bad omen. If they’re ramping up for something, could get messy. |
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ビッグス なんか悪い前触れなんじゃないかって つい | Biggs It…felt like a bad omen or something…so… |
As they parachute back down Biggs says it feels like they’re “flying high.” This is a pretty perfect match for the pun in Japanese, which hinges on the verb 乗る (noru) generally meaning “to ride (a vehicle).” But also references the phrase 調子に乗る (choushi ni noru) which can mean “to pick up speed,” or is more often used to say that someone is caught up in the moment. Thus, “flying high” in both a literal and figurative sense.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ビッグス なんか俺たち ノッてるよな? | Biggs Feels like we’re flying high these days! |
ジェシー この頃 特にね | Jessie Now more than ever! |
The English also then has Biggs reference Jessie’s earlier line on the train: “He’s a keeper.” There’s no callback in the Japanese, but it’s nice when things like this are added to promote a sense of narrative continuity. (The Japanese line is roughly, “(It’s) thanks to him.”)
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ビッグス あいつのおかげだな | Biggs He’s a keeper all right. |
ジェシー うん 一緒なら なんでもやれそう! | Jessie Yeah! Together we can take on the world! |
When they get back to Sector 7, Wedge explains Biggs’ habit of overthinking things. The Japanese uses 約束 (yakusoku), which early Japanese learners will likely recognize as meaning “promise,” but here it refers to a convention or rule instead, like “something’s that’s always done.” Thus the English translation goes for “habit.”
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ウェッジ また 反省大会かも | Wedge Hope he isn’t “worst case-ing” it again. |
ウェッジ 作戦のあとのお約束ッス 考えすぎて 熱まで出したり | Wedge He’s got a habit of overthinking things. Worrying about all the possible outcomes till his head hurts. |
Once Cloud splits up with Wedge, he’s free to wander the entirety of Sector 7 before returning to his apartment. And there are more old NPC lines to be found scattered around!
For example, there’s a group of people discussing Johnny’s departure. The Japanese lines up mostly word-for-word with the original lines, while the English fixes up the old translation, adding the “I hope he doesn’t get caught up with the wrong girl” part back in where it was originally glossed over, and correcting the third line here so that the man is talking about how disappointed he is that Johnny is gone (“life just seems so dull”), as opposed to saying that Cloud looks disappointed.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
ジョニー……悪い女に だまされたりしなけりゃいいけど それだけが気がかりだな | Johnny, man…I don’t know where life’ll take him, but I hope he doesn’t get caught up with the wrong girl. | 「ジョニー、悪い女にだまされたり しなけりゃいいけど」 | “I hope he doesn’t get hurt.” |
「それだけが、きがかりだなあ」 | “That worries me the most.” | ||
話を聞いてくれる人がいないと つまんなくなるわ | I miss having him to talk to. He was a pretty good listener. | 「もう!! 話を聞いてくれる人がいないと 情報を集めてもしかたない のよね!」 | “Listen! If there isn’t anyone to listen, what’s the use of |
getting gossip on everyone!?” | |||
ジョニーのやつ 行っちまった なんだか急に張り合いがなく なっちゃったよ | So Johnny really left town. Without him around, all of a sudden life just seems so dull. | 「はぁ…… ジョニーのやつ、 行っちまった。 なんだか急にはりあい なくなっちゃったよ」 | “Ah…Johnny’s gone. You look a little disappointed.” |
俺って自分で言うのもなんだけど 酒飲んでないと寂しがりやさん なわけよ | I just get lonely sometimes. Can’t get through a day without a drink in my hand. | 「俺って自分で言うのもなんだけど 酒飲んでないと、さびしがりや さんなわけよ」 | “I don’t like to say it myself but, I’m just a lonely guy when I’m not drinking.” |
追っかけちゃう? | We should go after him! | ||
ダメだって言われただろ | But he told us not to. |
We also get a more direct reference to the kid hanging around the Beginner’s Hall building, with the Japanese dialogue lining up nearly perfectly. The English opts to avoid the original’s odd “dried up old geez” phrasing and goes for more natural-sounding dialogue instead.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
おっさん シケたつらしてんな もしかして疲れてんじゃないの? | Whoa…you look terrible, old man. What’s wrong? The rat race got you down? | 「チッ!! おっさん、しけたツラしてんな。 もしかして、つかれてんじゃないの?」 | “You dried up old geez. You tired?” |
家で休ませてあげてもいいけど このオレに 小遣いくれるならな | You can take a load off at my place…but not for free. I gotta make a living too, you know. | 「家の3階で休ませてあげても いいけど…」 | “Why don’t you rest up on the third floor of my house?” |
「それにはひとつ条件があるぜ」 | “There’s just one condition.” | ||
「このオレにこづかいくれるならな」 1ギル 10ギル あげない | “You gotta give me some cash.” 1 gil 10 gil nothin’ |
Tifa meets up with Cloud in his room and asks him if he’s going to stay in Midgar. This is reminiscent of an unused scene from the original where Tifa asks Cloud what he’s going to do next (after he walks out on Avalanche). In that scene, Cloud replies that he’s going to look for Sephiroth, but here he remembers the promise and says he’ll stay.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ティファ クラウドは しばらく ミッドガルだよね? | Tifa You…weren’t thinking of leaving Midgar anytime soon, were you? |
クラウド 古い友達が ピンチらしくてな | Cloud Well, seems this old friend of mine’s in a tight spot… |
クラウド そんな時は 助けるって約束したんだ | Cloud Long time ago I said I’d be there for her. Made a promise, so… |
The black hooded wraiths appear again. There’s a bit of confusion regarding how they work in English. The Japanese uses 接触すると without specifying who/what you need to touch. Before, when Cloud was talking to the Avalanche members on the train, he said that he could only see them after “she” grabbed him. While here, the English suggests that you need to make contact with the ghosts. To be fair though, Cloud himself hardly knows anything about these things, so it makes sense for him to guess or be mistaken about how they work. That said, it would be interesting to see if everyone has now made contact with Cloud at some point, and that’s why they can all see the wraiths.
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
クラウド 突然見える おそらく 接触がきっかけだ | Cloud They were—at first. Only saw them after she grabbed me… |
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
クラウド 接触すると見えるようになる それ以上のことは わからない | Cloud No idea. Pretty sure you can’t even see them unless they make physical contact first… |
Jessie gets hurt, forcing Cloud to join the mission. The English has some fantastic translations here. The Japanese lines are roughly, “(I’m) clumsy” and “(You’re) making too much fuss. (I’m) totally fine.”
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ジェシー ドジっちゃった | Jessie Me and my two left feet… |
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
ウェッジ 大丈夫ッスか? | Wedge D-does it hurt? |
ジェシー 騒ぎすぎ 全然へーき | Jessie Not nearly as much as the fuss everyone’s making. |
Barret announces their next target and tells Cloud to meet him at the station, as in the original.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
バレット よーし 仕切り直しだ | Barret Let’s get this show on the road… | ||
バレット ターゲットは 伍番魔晄炉 | Barret to Mako Reactor 5! | バレット 「標的は【五番魔晄炉】だ。 まず、駅へ行く」 | Barret “Our target’s the Sector 5 Reactor. Head for the station first.” |
バレット 各自 準備を整えて 駅に集合! | Barret Once you’ve got your gear in order, head to the station for the meet. Got it? |
Cloud is then free to wander the Sector, and we can find even more NPC lines from the original.
For starters, there’s the two guards again. A lot of the wording matches up in the Japanese, though other parts of the conversation are rewritten. Again, the English does a great job of conveying their two positions/personalities in the dialogue. Also, the last line is finally rendered properly in English as the subordinate guard talking to himself (“I don’t know who’s scarier”).
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | E PC |
---|---|---|---|
新人兵士 先輩…… | New Recruit Sir… | 「先輩!! LOVELESSのチケット 取れたんですけど いっしょにいきません?」 | “You know, I got some tickets to ‘Loveless’, do you want to go?” |
新人兵士 『LOVELESS』のチケットが 取れたんですけど いっしょに行きませんか | New Recruit I got my hands on tickets for the Loveless musical. Would you like to go with me? | ||
先輩兵士 勤務中に なにを言っている | Senior Officer You do realize, we’re on duty. | 「やめとけ! ミッドガルは非常警戒体制 に入ってる」 | “What’re you, retarded? Midgar’s under martial law now!” |
先輩兵士 アバランチはスラム に潜んでいるんだ 気を抜くな | Senior Officer The slums are Avalanche territory. Stay sharp. | 「そんなんじゃねえ!! テロリストはスラム にひそんでる。 俺たちだって、気をぬけねぇ」 | “Hell no!! But in case you forgot, we’re in the middle of a slum.” |
“They could be anywhere around, so stay on your guard.” | |||
新人兵士 すみません なんだか落ち着かなくて | New Recruit Right. Sorry, sir! It’s just that…never mind. | 「ああ、アバランチですか?」 | “Right. You mean the AVALANCHE?” |
「大丈夫ですよ。 なんてったって ソルジャーが警備に 導入されたんですから」 | “Don’t you worry. SOLDIER has been added to the police force.” | ||
新人兵士 警備にソルジャーが導入 されたらしいですね ソルジャーの出勤は久しぶりだ | New Recruit I heard they’ve deployed SOLDIER operatives, too. It’s been a while since they’d done that. | 「ソルジャーの出動かぁ、 久しぶりですよね。 ねえ、先輩」 | “Boy, it’s been a while since SOLDIER’s been mobilized, hasn’t it?” |
新人兵士 そういや 俺 ソルジャーの試験に 落ちちゃって—— | New Recruit I wanted to be a SOLDIER, but as you can see— | 「僕、ソルジャーの試験 落っこちちゃったんですよ。 この話、しましたっけ?」 | “I ever tell you that I flunked the SOLDIER entrance exam?” |
先輩兵士 おい 黙って仕事しろ | Senior Officer Cut the chatter. We’re working! | 「すこしはだまって、 仕事できねえのか!」 | “Hey shut up for a minute and let me get back to work!” |
新人兵士 すみません | New Recruit Right! Sorry, sir. | 「……しゅん」 | “…sigh.” |
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | E PC |
---|---|---|---|
新人兵士 アバランチと先輩 どっちが怖いんだろう | New Recruit I don’t know who’s scarier—Avalanche or my superior. | 「アバランチと先輩…… どっちがこわいんだろ?」 | “What are you more scared of AVALANCHE or me?” |
Next we have the train station couple. The Japanese dialogue lines up exactly here, so yes, this exchange was just as weird on PSX. The English gets an upgrade here, clarifying that the couple is just randomly falling asleep at the end, whereas the sound effects used in the original translation made one wonder if something more morbid was going on here. グゥグゥ (guuguu) and スゥスゥ (suusuu) are onomatopoeia used to indicate sleeping, but Japanese onomatopoeia are notoriously difficult to parse, so the original translator probably just made their best guess. Not to mention that the rest of the dialogue really doesn’t sound like it’s leading up to them only falling asleep. In any case, in Remake we get some extra lines afterwards lampshading the ridiculousness of it all. Which may also be a reference to a song title from the FF7 soundtrack (and some dialogue from later in the game): 二本足で立つのも難しいものだな ”It’s hard to stand on two feet, isn’t it?”
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
僕 もう耐えられない | I…I can’t wait any longer! | 「僕、もうたえられない」 | “I’ve had it!” |
いいわ わたしもよ | It’s okay. I’m ready. | 「いいわ… わたしもよ」 | “Me too.” |
初めてだね 意見が合ったの | You finally said it. I’m so happy. | 「はじめてだね。 意見があったの…」 | “You know this is the first time, we’ve ever agreed on something.” |
ええ | Me too! | 「ええ…」 | “Yes…” |
それじゃ…… | Right… | 「それじゃ…」 | “Well then, shall we?” |
ええ…… | Let’s… | 「ええ…」 | “Yes…” |
グゥグゥ…… | Zzz… | 「グゥグゥ……」 | “urggh…” |
スゥスゥ…… | Zzz… | 「スゥスゥ……」 | “…huff…wheez” |
Japanese Remake | English Remake |
---|---|
立ったまま寝るのって難しいね | It’s pretty hard to sleep standing up. |
ええ…… | Yeah… |
Cloud and Tifa meet Barret at the station, and they talk about the mission. The English “Ain’t no stopping this train we’re on” references a line that originally comes much later in the game: “There ain’t no gettin’ offa this train we’re on.” The J Remake line here doesn’t match up with the original line that the English references, so it’s clear that the translators were just having fun inserting their own callbacks.
Japanese Remake | English Remake | Japanese Original | English Original |
---|---|---|---|
クラウド どうしても 今日なのか? | Cloud Today really gotta be the day, huh? | ||
バレット 動きを出したら 止められねえんだよ | Barret Ain’t no stopping this train we’re on, son. | バレット 「でもよ、クラウド。 オレたちが乗っちまった この列車はよ、 途中下車はナシだぜ」 | Barret “But you gotta understand that there ain’t no gettin’ offa this train we’re on, till we get to the end of the line.” |
バレット 大勢の同志が 動いてくれたんだ | Barret A lotta people risked their lives to get it rolling… | ||
バレット 爆破の予告もしちまってる | Barret Already put the word out more’s coming, too… | ||
バレット 『魔晄炉止めないと 今日もやる』ってな | Barret “Shut them all down by today, or we shut another down for you.” |
And so they set off on their second mission…