Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Pt. 2 Rebirth

[Ruki0089]

That "Cloud, permission to kill" also very out of her characters.
This is why I hate dub.

[TnAdct1]

In the case of Aerith swearing when the ladder breaks, it's possible that the translator confused the term "uso" with "kuso", which is the Japanese equivalent to a couple of expletive words.

[Twi]

I liked it. Reminds you she's from under the plate.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by TnAdct1

In the case of Aerith swearing when the ladder breaks, it's possible that the translator confused the term "uso" with "kuso", which is the Japanese equivalent to a couple of expletive words.

That's impossible. They have the actual script, they aren't relying on voiced dialogues, moreso that translation must always be done way before recording.
Moreso that considering her characterization in English, they deliberately made Aerith more colorful accross the board.

Originally Posted by Twi

I liked it. Reminds you she's from under the plate.

Not exactly.

Spoiler for Chapter 17:

Considering her backstory, her childhood was mostly in Hojo's lab with her biologic mother, then was with Elmyra for around a decade and the latter is arguably not the kind of mother who would let Aerith express herself like that. Furthermore, people under the plate were definitely not shown as more crude or anything. If you go around the town, they were pretty normal and some of them also work at the upper plate but still live in the slums.
In fact, people in sector 5 slums are probably the most normal out there. Heck, the kids were pretty well mannered even if they were quite adventurous.

[Kanon]

While we're still on that subject, one of the options when describing Tifa to Chocobo Sam in English is "she's great at handling the books", while it is "she owns a bar" in French. Which one is correct? I'd say the latter since Sam immediately knows who Cloud is talking about, but maybe it was an attempt at humor since Aerith points out it doesn't help much.

Meanwhile, I've finished replaying the original and yeah, there's definitely a ton of stuff to cover before the end of disk one. If they don't go overboard like with Midgar and stick closer to the original, I think they can do it in one game though. They of course can't keep the towns at just 5 houses and an inn since you won't be able to enter houses (ah, the good old days of JRPGs where you could just loot houses right in front of residents), so they'll need to find that sweet spot.

[Klashikari]

The original choice in Japanese is 店を切り盛りしている, which basically means "She manages a shop". While it is vague, it is definitely alluding to 7th Heaven bar, whereas the English suggestion comes out of the left field.
By the way, for people who are puzzled by the "sporty" dress, the choice was actually "格闘家っぽい", which should have been "a dress for a martial artist". No idea if they tried to avoid any allusion to Capcom's Chun Li, but I'm not surprised people got quite confused by that wording too.

[Kanon]

Thank you. Definitely a weird choice here.

[NAJ P. Jackson]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

That's impossible. They have the actual script, they aren't relying on voiced dialogues, moreso that translation must always be done way before recording.
Moreso that considering her characterization in English, they deliberately made Aerith more colorful accross the board.
Not exactly.

Spoiler for Chapter 17:

Considering her backstory, her childhood was mostly in Hojo's lab with her biologic mother, then was with Elmyra for around a decade and the latter is arguably not the kind of mother who would let Aerith express herself like that. Furthermore, people under the plate were definitely not shown as more crude or anything. If you go around the town, they were pretty normal and some of them also work at the upper plate but still live in the slums.
In fact, people in sector 5 slums are probably the most normal out there. Heck, the kids were pretty well mannered even if they were quite adventurous.

Spoiler for don't know why this needs spoiler tags:

Aerith escaped the lab when she's 7 and her current age is 22 so that gives her 15 years living in the slums to pick up a few mannerisms. There's nothing wrong with showing Aerith knowing a few swear words. In fact it cements the idea that she's not this prim and proper lady some players tend to think her of. Obviously she doesn't curse like a sailor throughout the entire game but it makes perfect sense for her to know them from interacting with a lot of undercity citizens. And Aerith has an adventurous spirit, she doesn't just restrict herself in Sector 5 slums. In fact we first meet her while selling flowers at the topside plate so we know she's been all over Midgar base on her being knowledgeable on what route to take towards somewhere.

[Mahou]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

By the way, for people who are puzzled by the "sporty" dress, the choice was actually "格闘家っぽい", which should have been "a dress for a martial artist". No idea if they tried to avoid any allusion to Capcom's Chun Li, but I'm not surprised people got quite confused by that wording too.

I don't know how often the word is mentioned but from what I could see in pictures, the words come up in short multiple-choice boxes. And given that the first choice is
大人っぽいの > "Something mature", I would see it that the translator also tried to be consistent with the other two options, hence "something...sporty?" where the elliptic dots seem an interesting stilistic choice to add a (liberal) interpretation of hestitation for the っぽい in it . If it is used in a full text or as an item description, sure, "a dress for a martial artist" would have been fine, too.

[NAJ P. Jackson]

Clearly the better translation would be:
> Something Western
> Something Chinese
> Something Japanese

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by NAJ P. Jackson

...

The reason why I used spoiler tags is because that kind of information isn't known before that point which is pretty far and not exactly openly known for those who didn't play the OG. It isn't that kind of stuff known like "that infamous scene".

Either way, I stand my point that her backstory has nothing to do with that kind of language. As I stated before, slums people don't follow the trope that they are more rough or less civil compared to upper plate citizens. If anything, you don't transform a character as less than "proper" with some random curse words, however mild they are. It isn't the end of the world and it isn't exactly offensive by any means, but it really stands out as not exactly fitting her characterization, which follows the trend they did with stuff like "permission to kill" or "screw him". If you add every single tidbits like that, it really stack up and changes her characterization as a whole.

I'm not sure if it is ingrained in american culture, I believe that kind of addition is not staple. You can definitely give nuances and familiarity to a character without using "easy" narrative tools like that. It isn't like Aerith curses as often as Cloud or Barret (who are perfectly fine in that regard), but the problem is that they missed the mark because it doesn't really fit the general impression she gives in the original script. And no, I don't imply that weird "saint" image she got in some part of the compilation, but the original upbeat/teasing/sassy slightly older girl of the bunch. So no, I didn't expect a perfectly formal and polite speech for Aerith. Rather, I expected something rather simple and upbeat, somewhat familiar. But definitely nothing past that, and nothing close to the usual japanese girly trope either.

[Kanon]

I think the Remake really did justice to Aerith, in no small part thanks to Maaya Sakamoto's stellar performance. By far the best of the cast, no one else could have done better.

[cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by NAJ P. Jackson

Spoiler for don't know why this needs spoiler tags:

Aerith escaped the lab when she's 7 and her current age is 22 so that gives her 15 years living in the slums to pick up a few mannerisms. There's nothing wrong with showing Aerith knowing a few swear words. In fact it cements the idea that she's not this prim and proper lady some players tend to think her of. Obviously she doesn't curse like a sailor throughout the entire game but it makes perfect sense for her to know them from interacting with a lot of undercity citizens. And Aerith has an adventurous spirit, she doesn't just restrict herself in Sector 5 slums. In fact we first meet her while selling flowers at the topside plate so we know she's been all over Midgar base on her being knowledgeable on what route to take towards somewhere.

Even in the original, aerith was a A Tom boy despite seeming the More feminine type. Meanwhile tifa was more the feminine type despite seeming more the Tom boy type.

[MeoTwister5]

Since everyone's talking about Aerith, I'm putting it at a 50/50 chance that "that infamous scene" may get retconned for this remake.

[NAJ P. Jackson]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Since everyone's talking about Aerith, I'm putting it at a 50/50 chance that "that infamous scene" may get retconned for this remake.

Spoiler:

well there have been evidence that Aerith's death weren't planned from the start. There are spaces later in the game where her sprite could go. And I think there's a promotional poster of her in something she shouldn't be in. Maybe the Remake will delve on the scenario on what would change if she didn't die in that temple. I'm gonna be more devastated if we manage to save her in that scene only for her to die at the endgame.

[Homura7]

Since we're talking about mistranslations, there're two particularly gross ones in Cloud's resolution in Ch. 14.

Spoiler for spoiler:

When Aeris tells him to not fall in love with her, what she actually says is "Even if you did, it's all in your imagination", or more accurately, "Even if we did, it would be useless".

Anyone who has played FF7 and is not biased with shipping googles should know instantly why she says that. Doesn't help that her legs are shaking, her eyes are watery and her voice is trembling. Put yourselves in Aeris's shoes. What must be to know that you are going to die and there's nothing you can do about it. But worse than that is the pain of knowing how that will break your beloved one. I still remember when in the Temple of the Ancients Cait Sith fortune told Cloud and Aeris that they had a bright future together, right before the tragedy hit.

Her last line is also mistranslated. She actually says "It's vexing" or "I hate to admit it, but I'm glad/happy".

Originally Posted by NAJ P. Jackson

Spoiler:

well there have been evidence that Aerith's death weren't planned from the start. There are spaces later in the game where her sprite could go. And I think there's a promotional poster of her in something she shouldn't be in. Maybe the Remake will delve on the scenario on what would change if she didn't die in that temple. I'm gonna be more devastated if we manage to save her in that scene only for her to die at the endgame.

Nah, I don't think so. Even with few info I can tell where this story is headed based on its theme (Reunion) alone. Even the credits song says so.

Spoiler for spoiler:

"This time I will never let you go".

If the worst case scenario happens, they will join in the Lifestream together. But I very much doubt it, because the worst-case scenario already happened (Planet survives, Humanity dies > Planet dies and returns to the Edge of Creation).

[NAJ P. Jackson]

Originally Posted by Knighto

Since we're talking about mistranslations, there're two particularly gross ones in Cloud's resolution in Ch. 14.

Spoiler for spoiler:

When Aeris tells him to not fall in love with her, what she actually says is "Even if you did, it's all in your imagination", or more accurately, "Even if we did, it would be useless".

Anyone who has played FF7 and is not biased with shipping googles should know instantly why she says that. Doesn't help that her legs are shaking, her eyes are watery and her voice is trembling. Put yourselves in Aeris's shoes. What must be to know that you are going to die and there's nothing you can do about it. But worse than that is the pain of knowing how that will break your beloved one. I still remember when in the Temple of the Ancients Cait Sith fortune told Cloud and Aeris that they had a bright future together, right before the tragedy hit.

Her last line is also mistranslated. She actually says "It's vexing" or "I hate to admit it, but I'm glad/happy".

Spoiler:

It would make sense for her to say that to him if she knew her fate already. It was foreshadowed in The Language of Flowers scene when she says she's good at quitting. Aerith telling Cloud not to fall for her is her way to save him the burden of her death. Even OG Cloud had a hard time coping because he blamed himself for being weak. I'm sure she wouldn't want that to happen to this Cloud as well.

Originally Posted by Knighto

Nah, I don't think so. Even with few info I can tell where this story is headed based on its theme (Reunion) alone. Even the credits song says so.

Spoiler for spoiler:

"This time I will never let you go".

If the worst case scenario happens, they will join in the Lifestream together. But I very much doubt it, because the worst-case scenario already happened (Planet survives, Humanity dies > Planet dies and returns to the Edge of Creation).

Spoiler:

Indeed. It's quite interesting what Uematsu chose to compose as a theme song for this Remake. He already confirmed the vision he had in mind when writing the song was of Cloud standing on a field under a rainy sky. Some say the song is about his regrets of Zack but the lyrics speaks volume on Who it points to. The "Would you be here, in my embrace" is very telling.

[Homura7]

Originally Posted by NAJ P. Jackson

Spoiler:

It would make sense for her to say that to him if she knew her fate already. It was foreshadowed in The Language of Flowers scene when she says she's good at quitting. Aerith telling Cloud not to fall for her is her way to save him the burden of her death. Even OG Cloud had a hard time coping because he blamed himself for being weak. I'm sure she wouldn't want that to happen to this Cloud as well.

People talk about future sight, but that doesn't explain

Spoiler for spoiler:

The familiarity Aeris displays towards Cloud and the others before the onset of these relationships. It's more noticeable with Cloud, but this exchange the "first" time she meets Tifa in the Corneo mansion is also pretty telling:

- Hey Tifa, how are you doing?
- O... kay..?
- Oh, right! I'm a friend of Cloud.

That "oh, right" is identical to when she told Cloud's profession and then justified it in that she guessed it from the sword. The exchange between Tifa and Aeris is less of two girls who have just met for the first time and more that of a girl who's happy to see her dear friend again after such a long time.

I'm certain Aeris is the same from OG FF7, who for some yet unexplained reason kept all the memories from her past life. Esentially speaking, Aeris is actually reliving her whole life. And same goes for Cloud, who even has a talk with his OG self at the beggining of Ch. 8.

Which explains further why she gave Cloud a flower that symbolizes "Reunion". The english translation went as far as to translate it as "Reunion for lovers" to avoid confusion with the other REUNION. Then we have the comparison with Leslie and his fiancee and the flower necklace.

Aeris knows far too much and future sight doesn't explain it. She even transferred some memories to Red XIII.

Spoiler:

Indeed. It's quite interesting what Uematsu chose to compose as a theme song for this Remake. He already confirmed the vision he had in mind when writing the song was of Cloud standing on a field under a rainy sky. Some say the song is about his regrets of Zack but the lyrics speaks volume on Who it points to. The "Would you be here, in my embrace" is very telling.

Yep. And Nojima also confirmed it: A song of a man who has lost something important/dear to him.

Spoiler for spoiler:

The instrumental version of Hollow plays on Sector 5 whenever Aeris has left the party.

[NAJ P. Jackson]

Spoiler:

In regards to Aerith having future knowledge; I do believe the first time we meet her she doesn't have those knowledge yet. It's a gradual process throughout the game. Imho the scene where Corneo revealed the plan to drop the plate is where she fully got all her future memories. If you keep a close eye on her she starts acting weird whenever Tifa keeps worrying about the plate falling and them making it in time to stop it from happening. Tifa even notices and asks what she's not telling them in the sewers. And I believe it was also the exact time Aerith decide to fight destiny instead of just letting events play out as she knew a lot of Sector 7 residents died in that tragedy but she helped evacuate as much of the people as possible by warning them. She also keeps repeating the phrase "The Future is Always a Blank page."

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Knighto

People talk about future sight, but that doesn't explain

Spoiler for spoiler:

The familiarity Aeris displays towards Cloud and the others before the onset of these relationships. It's more noticeable with Cloud, but this exchange the "first" time she meets Tifa in the Corneo mansion is also pretty telling:

- Hey Tifa, how are you doing?
- O... kay..?
- Oh, right! I'm a friend of Cloud.

That "oh, right" is identical to when she told Cloud's profession and then justified it in that she guessed it from the sword. The exchange between Tifa and Aeris is less of two girls who have just met for the first time and more that of a girl who's happy to see her dear friend again after such a long time.

I'm certain Aeris is the same from OG FF7, who for some yet unexplained reason kept all the memories from her past life. Esentially speaking, Aeris is actually reliving her whole life. And same goes for Cloud, who even has a talk with his OG self at the beggining of Ch. 8.

Which explains further why she gave Cloud a flower that symbolizes "Reunion". The english translation went as far as to translate it as "Reunion for lovers" to avoid confusion with the other REUNION. Then we have the comparison with Leslie and his fiancee and the flower necklace.

Aeris knows far too much and future sight doesn't explain it. She even transferred some memories to Red XIII.

Spoiler for Spoilers:

I don't think the one Cloud has a talk with in chapter 8 is his OG self. That scene was also in the original, it's

Spoiler for OG spoiler:

The real Cloud (the one with all his memories locked deep inside his psyche) that is talking to him. They just changed his appearance, he looked like his childhood self back then. They most likely did that so they could have the Sephiroth "jump scare".

Aerith and Sephiroth are most likely the only two special cases, due to their connection to the lifestream. And I don't think anyone thought Aerith has future sight, she's obviously just recalling her memories from the previous timeline or whatever you want to call it. The question is just how much she remembers and how long she's had those memories.

One thing I found interesting when I replayed the game on hard is that she only started to understand what the Whispers were in chapter 8, as she was really surprised when they saved her life, and then started musing a bit to herself. By chapter 17, she knows enough to transfer knowledge of exactly what they are to Red, so I do think she gradually learns more things as the game progresses.