Illusion of Gaia Translation Commentary Part 21: Great Wall and Watermia 2

It would've been less unethical to simply steal some kruks

The usual disclaimers:

I’m an amateur. My advantage over the original translation is that I have no deadline pressure, and I have the modern internet to help me. I’m assuredly wrong about some of my translations.

Translation is hard. When I point out a mistranslation, it’s not a judgment of the original translators. They had a deadline and poor resources.

Please no jokes in the comments about Karen being a Karen. I really hate that trend.

Notation reminder:
JP: Original Japanese
T: My translation
OE: Original English

We head for the Great Wall of China. Here’s how it’s labeled on the overworld in both versions:

This makes me wonder who was responsible for choosing the names on the Mode 7 map in the original. This interpretation is wild.

万里 (banri) means thousands of miles. The Japanese name for the Great Wall of China is 万里の長城 (banri no choujou) which translates to thousands of miles long wall.

By the way, the real Great Wall of China, if considered as a single structure, is about 13,000 miles long. For comparison, the United States is less than 3,000 miles long, and the interstate highway system that crosses the country every which way is just under 50,000 miles.

JP: 万里の長城
T: Great Wall of China
OE: China’s Great Wall

JP: ロブの　足どりを追って ぼくは　万里の長城へ　やってきた。
わたりロウカは　地平線のかなたまで 果てしなく　続いている．．．
T: Following Rob’s trail, I arrived at the Great Wall of China.
The wall stretched on forever, beyond the horizon.
OE: I followed Lance’s trail to the Great Wall.
A corridor stretched to the distant horizon.

I’m not sure what word to use here. The JP says わたりロウカ (watarirouka) which means skyway. But the Great Wall isn’t a skybridge. OE chose corridor. I’m using wall.

As you explore the wall, you’ll find a couple of shinies on the ground.

If you examine them, Tim will say:

JP: きれいな小石が　おちている。
T: A pretty little stone has fallen.
OE: A small stone falls.

If a Japanese verb is conjugated in te-form (ending with the kana て - te) and followed by the auxiliary verb いる (iru), it often corresponds to English progressive aspect. E.g. 食べている (tabeteiru) means am/is eating. But there are a group of verbs and verb usages that you might classify as resultative: they describe a change in state that retains its significance until the present. You can use the continuous construction for resultative verbs, but they have a different interpretation than English progressive aspect. Example: 結婚している (kekkonshiteiru) does not mean is marrying but is married or has gotten married. Sometimes ている best translates as progressive, sometimes as perfect, sometimes as a participial adjective. You have to keep in mind what would make sense given context and the verb in question.

In this instance, おちている (ochiteiru) can’t mean falls or is falling. It has to be has fallen or is fallen, or even that it simply fell. The stone fell in the past and the result is that it’s in a fallen state.

JP: ハッ！　これは　ロブが リリィのために　作っていた ネックレスの一部だ．．．
ネックレスの石を　ひろいあげた。
T: Oh! It’s a part of the necklace that Rob was making for Lily!
I picked up the necklace’s stones.
OE: Ha! This is part of the necklace Lance made for Lilly!
I picked up the stones.

OE translated ハッ (ha) as the English laugh. That’s a good first instinct, given that it’s written in katakana as English words usually are. But Tim has no reason to laugh at this. My dictionary says that, when followed by a small tsu, this is an interjection of surprise.

As Tim progresses, he’ll be interrupted by a text box:

JP: まって！！
T + OE: Wait!

A dandelion seed flies over and starts talking, as they do.

JP: リリィ： ロブを　さがしに行くんでしょ？
あたしも　いっしょにいくっ！！
T + OE: Lily/Lilly: Are you looking for Rob/Lance?
I’ll go with you!

JP: リリィ：　えへへ。 こうして　テムの　ポケットを かりるのも　久しぶりだよね。
さ　行こう。
T: Lily: Heh heh heh. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to borrow your pocket like this, huh?
Ok, let’s go.
OE: Lilly: Ha ha. It’s been a long time since I borrowed Will’s pocket.
Well, let’s go.

In the next Dark Space, there’s a new powerup. Before I grab that, Gaia has some advice:

JP: テムの力　スピンダッシュは その　反動を使って　坂をのぼったり ジャンプしたりすることができる。
ここ　万里の長城は　坂が多い。 いろんな場所で　ためしてみる ことだ。
T: You can make use of the recoil from your Spin Dash power to ascend slopes and jump.
There are many slopes here in the Great Wall of China, so try it out in various places.
OE: Will’s power is the Spin Dash. Use this to climb hills and jump.
There are many hills at the Great Wall of China. Try everything.

JP: ヤミの力　スピンダッシュが 使えるようになった！
スピンダッシュは　少年テムだけが 使うことのできる　ちから。
T: Gained the dark power Spin Dash!
Only young Tim is able to use the Spin Dash.
OE: Spin Dash can now be used!
Only young Will can use the Spin Dash.

JP: 自分が　高速回転し　敵を はじき飛ばすことができる。 その反動を　利用して　坂を かけあがることもできるであろう。
こうげきボタンで　力をため LRを　こうごにおすがよい．．．
T: Rapidly spin yourself and you’ll be able to send enemies flying. You can also use the recoil to ascend slopes.
Use the attack button to save up power and alternate the L and R buttons.
OE: Spin your body to send enemies flying, and use the recoil to climb hills.
Use the Attack and LR Buttons for power.

It took me a while, as a kid, to figure out how to use the Spin Dash. Gaia’s instructions in the OE suck. Even in JP they’re not great. You need to alternate the L and R buttons, then choose a direction to go while there’s an indicator on the screen. If you wait too long, it won’t work.

There’s not much else going on at the Great Wall. The boss is Sand Fanger, who’s a joke. When it’s down, you get this message:

JP: サンドファンガーを　たおすと しかばねから　ミステリードールが 見つかった！！
T: After defeating Sand Fanger, found a Mystery Doll on its corpse!
OE: You’ve defeated the Sand Fanger! Look! A Mystic Statue!

This thing’s blood is supposed to cure any illness, right? Kind of a waste. Sand Fanger farming could’ve been the most important medical advance ever made.

After this, we run into Rob, who’s just standing around in the area past the boss. It was impossible for Tim to get to this point without the Spin Dash. Sometimes I get the impression that Tim’s friends are actually much more competent than he is. “Hey Tim, have you tried just walking up the slope? Or jumping?”

JP: リリィ： ロブの　ばかっ！ 心配したじゃないっ！！
まものに　殺されちゃったら どうするのよっ！！
T: Lily: Rob, you moron! I’ve been worried sick!
What if you’d been killed by a monster!?
OE: Lilly: You’re crazy! I’ve been worried sick!
What if you’d been attacked!

I’m guessing both of these changes are censorship.

JP: ロブ： みんなに　心配かけたのは悪かったと 思ってる。
でも　おやじの病気を直す薬が 手に入ったんだ。
T: Rob: I’m sorry I worried everyone.
But I got some medicine to cure my dad’s illness.
OE: Lance: Sorry to have worried you.
But I got some medicine to cure my father.

Rob, don’t you mean that Tim got it? By killing the Sand Fanger? Or did Rob sneak up on it while it was sleeping and give it a little jab with a needle? I’m really confused about how adventuring works for non-Tim entities in this game!

You can now talk to Lily and Lance.

JP: リリィ： もう．．．　ロブは 自分勝手なんだから．．．
T: Lily: Geez, Rob, you can be so self-centered.
OE: Lilly: Already? you’re selfish….

もう (mou) usually means already or soon but in this situation, it’s an expression of exasperation. Geez, come on, damn, seriously, etc. Something else funny about the OE is that, in so many other instances in the game, the translators failed to translate people’s names as you even where that would be more natural. Here, the game does translate Rob as you… except this is one of the instances where that causes confusion, because it looks like Lily is talking to Tim. The final effect is that, in OE, you might interpret Lily as scolding Tim for trying to get her to leave before she’s had a chance to talk to Rob. No, she’s still just exasperated with Rob.

JP: ロブ： あっ　その石は．．．
テム：　この石ころをたどってきたら ここに　ついたんだ。 石は　ロブに返すよ。　ほらっ。
T: Rob: Oh, you have some of the stones.
Tim: If you follow the stones one by one, they lead here. Here, you can have them back.
OE: Lance: Oh. That stone . . .
Will: If you follow the stone chips, the trail leads here.
I’ll give them back to you.

Rob notices that Tim has the stones no matter whether you bothered to investigate any on the way here. I have no idea where OE got “stone chips” from. 石ころ (ishikoro) means small rock, pebble, etc. I guess a lot of small rocks would look like chips off of other rocks, but I’d expect these to be round, since Rob chose them for a necklace.

JP: ロブが　小声で　ささやく．．．
ロブ： テム．．．　ちょっとの間だけ リリィと　2人にしてくれないか？
T: Rob whispers…
Rob: Tim, will you give me and Lily a moment alone?
OE: Lance whispers…
Lance: Will…will you take care of Lilly for me?

No surprise that this is a mistranslation. Rob has no reason to ask Tim to take care of Lily, and after you run off, the screen continues focusing on Rob and Lily. Of course Rob wants to talk to her alone.

JP: ロブ： この石の　おかげで　おれは 助かったんだよな．．．
実は　これ　リリィのために　行った ネックレス　だったんだ．．．
T: Rob: I was rescued thanks to these stones.
To tell the truth, they were part of a necklace that I made for you.
OE: Lance: I was saved thanks to these stones…
This was the necklace I made for you.

JP: ロブ：　ネックレスの石が　ずいぶん 少なくなっちゃったけど　受けとって くれないか？
ロブは　ネックレスを　つなぎ直し そっと　リリィの首に　かけた．．．
T: Rob: There aren’t many stones left on the necklace, but will you take it anyway?
Rob fixes the necklace and places it gently around Lily’s neck.
OE: Lance: There aren’t many necklace stones left. Will you take them?
Lance, fixing the necklace, puts it around her neck.

Lily promptly turns into a dandelion seed again.

JP: ロブ：　あっ．．．
リリィ： 今度は　にげないから．．．
T: Rob: Oh…
Lily: I’m not running away this time.
OE: Lance: Aaah…
Lilly: I won’t run this time.

JP: このあいだは　とつぜんのことだから びっくりして　どうしていいか わからなかったの．．．
今は　ロブに　こんな顔を 見られたくないだけ。
T: Last time, everything happened so suddenly that I was surprised and didn’t know what to do.
Now it’s just because I don’t want you to see my face.
OE: This happened so suddenly, I didn’t know what to do…
I don’t want to show my face now.

JP: うれしくって　なみだが あふれて　くるんだもの．．．
リリィ：　ロブにはね．． はじめて　会ったときから 何か　ちがうものを感じてたよ．．．
T: I’m crying because I’m so overjoyed.
Lily: Since we very first met, I somehow felt something different for you.
OE: I’m crying from happiness…
Lilly: I’ve always felt there was something different about you.

Nitpicky, but she didn’t feel that Rob was different. She felt feelings that were different, regarding Rob.

JP: そして　その　何かが 今　わかったような気がするの．．．
このあいだの　返事．．． させてもらうね．．．
T: Now I think I understand what that something is.
I think I owe you a reply.
OE: Now I feel I know what the difference is.
I want to give you an answer…

JP: リリィ： あたしも　ロブのことが好き．．．
ずっと　いっしょに　いられたら いいね．．．
T: Lily: I love you, too.
I want to be with you always.
OE: Lilly: I love you, too.
I want to be with you forever…

JP: ロブ：　いやっほーっ！！ こんな　気分って　はじめてだっ！！
学校が　夏休みになったときの １００万倍くらい　うれしいよっ！
T: Rob: Yahooooo! I’ve never felt like this before!
I’m a million times happier than I was when school went on summer break!
OE: Lance: Wow!! I’ve never felt this way before!
It’s like a million summer days!

JP: リリィ： くすっ。 あたしも　おんなじ　気持ち。
さあ　町に　もどりましょ。 きっと　みんな　心配してるよ。
T: Lily: *sniffle* I feel the same.
Ok, let’s get back to the village. I’m sure everyone’s worried.
OE: Lilly: (Sob). I feel the same way.
Let’s go back to the village. I’m sure everyone’s worried.

The scene fades back into the house in Watermia, where we regain control immediately. You can talk to everyone.

JP: カレン： クルックって　変な動物よね．．．
T: Karen: Kruks are weird animals.
OE: Kara: A Kruk is an odd animal.

JP: エリック：　今日は　満月の夜。 なんか　いつもと　町の様子が ちがうような　気がするなあ。
T: Erik: There’s a full moon tonight. Something about the village seems different.
OE: Erik: There is a full moon tonight. The village seems different.

JP: ロブ：　さっき おやじに　薬をあたえてきたよ。
これから　ゆっくりと 回復していくと思うんだ．．．
T: Rob: I gave the medicine to my dad a little while ago.
I think he’ll slowly recover now.
OE: Lance: I made my father very happy before.
I think he will slowly recover.

Looks like the original translator mixed up 楽 (raku - comfort, relief, part of many words relating to enjoyment) and 薬 (kusuri - medicine). I’ve made this mistake many times too, when reviewing kanji.

JP: リリィ： ロブの　お父さんが　はやく よくなるといいね。
T + OE: Lily/Lilly: I hope Rob’s/Lance’s father recovers quickly.

JP: ニール：　ここから　西へ行くには 広大な　さばくが　立ちはだかって いるんだよ。
クルックでも　いないかぎり 人間の足では　とても　わたりきれる もんじゃない。
T: Neil: If you go west from here, a vast desert stands in the way.
Unless you have kruks, there’s no way a person could cross it on foot.
OE: Neil: If you go west of here, there’s a huge desert.
You can’t cross it on foot without Kruks.

JP: さあ　どうやって　クルックを 手にいれるかだな．．．
T: So, how do we get our hands on some kruks?
OE: How will I get a Kruk?

We now have a goal for story progression: get kruks!

And of course we have to get them in a horrifying way, because that’s how this game do.

Something mildly interesting: In the Japanese version, Luke is still standing outside, saying the exact same thing about how he’s leaving on a voyage and you can use his house. In the US version, they had the thought that, hey, maybe he would have left on his big fishing voyage, after 2 or more days have passed, rather than standing around the whole time.

Before proceeding to witness more of this game’s horrors, you can drop by Gem and give him your 30th Red Jewel. He’ll give the final prize before his big secret.

This is the same dialogue as when he increased the power of the Psycho Dash, back in entry 19. This is the only thing that’s different:

JP: 自分の放った　ダークフライヤーが 飛んでいる間に　もう一度 こうげきボタンを　おして みるといい。
T: Try pushing the attack button once again when the Dark Flyer is flying.
OE: Try pushing the Attack Button once more when the Dark Friar is flying.

This upgrade kind of amusingly doesn’t matter at all, at least for this playthrough. You can get it in the next town by waiting in a line, which I’m going to do anyway because I want to capture the dialogue.

Tim is supposed to go to that secret raft behind the gambling den. There, someone stands in the way:

JP: ここは　ロシアングラスの会場。 あんた　出場するのかね？
>はい
>いいえ
T: This is the Russian Glass meeting place. Do you want to compete?
>Yes
>No
OE: The Russian Glass Club. Do you wish to join?

If you say No:

JP: ならば　かえるんだな。 そして　ここで見たことは すべて 忘れるんだ。
T: In that case, go home. And then, forget everything you’ve seen here.
OE: Then go home, and forget what you’ve seen here.

JP: なんと　その若い命を　かけて ロシアングラスを　やろうと いうのかっ！
これは　遊びじゃない。 命が　かかっているんだぜ。
T: You’re really saying you want to risk your young life playing Russian Glass!?
This isn’t a game. Your life is on the line.
OE: Do you want to risk your young life playing Russian Glass?!
This isn’t just a game. You could lose your life.

JP: もう一度　聞く。 本当に　こうかいしないな？
T: I’ll ask one more time: Are you absolutely sure?
OE: I’ll ask again. Are you sure?

If you say No, he repeats the same thing as if you had said No earlier. If Yes:

JP: よかろう。 そこに　いるのが　対戦相手だ。
彼は　百戦れんまの　強者。 彼を越える　運を　もちあわせている 人間を　私は　見たことがない。
T: Very well. Your opponent is over there.
He’s a seasoned veteran. I’ve never seen anyone with as much luck as he has.
OE: All right. The Opponent is over there.
He’s a seasoned veteran. I’ve never seen a man so lucky.

JP: さあ。 彼から　ルールを　聞くがいい。
T: Go on. You can ask him the rules.
OE: Well. Ask him the rules.

Can we talk for just a moment about how this scenario makes no sense? It turns out that Tim’s psychic powers let him cheat at his horrid game, so he’s actually safe doing this. But he doesn’t know that going in—he’s ready to throw his life away right here? Does he even know what the prize is, how much money he can win by doing this?

And it’s not clear that there are any other opponents who would play this night, so wouldn’t any deaths be Tim’s fault for even playing? He should have no part in this, right? Imagine if, back in the slave town, Tim didn’t just witness the horrors of slavery but participated in them and perpetuated them.

…Oh. Right.

Moving on, then.

If you talk to the guy again after he lets you on the raft:

JP: 今夜も　若い命が一つ　散ろうとしている．．．
T: Tonight, another young life is about to be lost.
OE: Tonight, some young man will lose his life…

JP: こんな　エキサイティングな　遊びは 他にないわ。 ゾクゾクしちゃう。
T: There’s no other game as exciting as this one. I’m exhilarated.
OE: There’s no game as exciting as this one.

She uses the English word exciting for special emphasis: エキサイティング (ekisaitingu).

JP: あなたの　対戦者の人は　ずいぶんと お金を　もうけているみたい。 いったい　何につかうのかしら．．．
T: Your opponent has won a whole lot of money. I wonder what the heck he spends it on?
OE: Your opponent has won a lot of money. I wonder what he does with it…

JP: 勇気が　あるんですね。
T + OE: You have courage.

Courage, stupidity, psychopathy, who’s to say really?

JP: あんた　まだ　若いのに こんなことに　命をかけるなんて。
T: You’re still young. You, especially, shouldn’t put your life on the line.
OE: You’re still young, why would you risk your life this way…

It’s time to talk to our opponent. It’s the guy in the center wearing a straw hat.

JP: 対戦者： けっ。 また　命しらずが　きやがった。
T: Opponent: Tch. Another person who doesn’t care about his own life.
OE: Opponent: Shoot! I forgot my lucky Kruk’s foot.

I’m not 100% sure this is what he’s saying. As I read the grammar, また (mata)= once again, 命しらずが (inochishirazuga) = disregard for life + subject marker, and きやがった (kiyagatta) = can’t believe came or how dare came. So… Once again, can’t believe that disregard for life came ? I can’t tell if he’s talking about himself or Tim, though. I imagine it’s Tim.

In any case, the line about the kruk’s foot is funny. It makes it seem like that’s the cause for his losing here, when in actuality he never had a chance against Tim’s magical cheating powers.

And oh, hey, this guy has a special sprite. He’s the only villager wearing a straw hat. Remember him?

That’s right, it’s the guy who was coughing before. The one whose wife is pregnant. As we all know, in fiction if you cough it means you’re definitely dying. So I guess this guy doesn’t have much to lose anyway! Except maybe, I don’t know, witnessing the birth of his child before he passes away? Or if he doesn’t have that much time, maybe telling his wife and spending as much time with her as possible?

The asshole has a bit more to say:

JP: ルールは　簡単だ。 ５つのグラスの　どれか一つに 毒薬が　入っている。
それを　こうごに　飲んでいく。 最終まで　生き残った方が　勝ちと いうわけだ。
T: The rules are simple. There are 5 glasses, one of which is poisoned.
We take turns drinking. The person who lives until the end is declared the winner.
OE: The rules are simple. One of the five glasses contains poison.
Drink each one in turn. The one left alive is the winner.

JP: じゃあ　おれから　いくぜっ！
T: Well then, I’m up first!
OE: We’ll start with me!

He always goes up to the middle glass and drinks:

JP: 対戦者： うおおおおおおおおおっ！！
対戦者は　グラスの中身を 一気に　飲みほした．．．
T: Opponent: Here goes!
The opponent downed the glass in one gulp.
OE: Opponent: BAAANZAII!!
The Opponent drank the glass in one gulp…

In JP he says “uwooooooooah!” It’s a battle cry, I guess, and BANZAI works as well as anything else.

The poisoned glass is the one on the right. If you try any one but that, Tim will drink it instantly. But if you try to drink the poisoned one, the game will warn you that it’s suspicious and give you the option to change your mind.

JP: テム：　おや？ グラスの中の　飲み物が 血に　染まって見える．．．
これも　ぼくの体に　やどっている 力なのか．．．？
T: Tim: Oh? The contents of the glass look like they’ve been stained with blood.
Is this the power that resides in my body?
OE: Will: What? The glass looks very suspicious!
Do I have the courage to put this in my body?

A mistranslation minimizes the fact that Tim is able to see which glass is poisoned due to his psychic powers. I still understood, as a kid, that must be what’s happening, but the JP says it explicitly.

JP: グラスの中身を　飲みますか？
T: Drink the contents of the glass?
OE: Drink the glass?

If no:

JP: テム： このグラスは　やめておこう．．．
T: Tim: I’ll pass on this glass.
OE: Will: I’m quitting…

If yes:

JP: テム： ぼくは　目をつぶって　グラスを 一気に　のみほした！
T: Tim: I closed my eyes and downed the glass in one gulp!
OE: Will: Will closed his eyes and drank it in one gulp!

OE once again changes first person to third person, but forgets to take out the dialogue marker showing that he’s saying or thinking this. So Will is saying “Will closed his eyes…” Do you think it’s out loud? Do you think he’s getting funny looks from everyone on the raft?

If you do this, Tim instantly loses all his health and dies. If you have extra lives, you’re put back at whichever room you last exited, just as if you’d died in a dungeon.

The other glasses don’t have special messages. The opponent lets out a battle cry and downs it in one gulp. Tim closes his eyes and downs it in one gulp. The opponent does say something else in between turns:

JP: 対戦者： けっ！　運のいいやつめ．．． 次は　おれの番だな。
T: Opponent: Tch! You’re a lucky guy. My turn next.
OE: Opponent: Lucky! My turn next.

Finally:

JP: 対戦者： 残りのグラスは　これ一つ．．．
T: Opponent: This one is the last glass.
OE: Opponent: One glass left…

JP: 観客： もう　いい．．． この　少年の　勝ちだ．．．
観客： そうよ！ もう　やめてっ！！
T: Spectator: That’s enough. This young man won.
Spectator: That’s right! Stop it already!
OE: Spectator: That’s enough… This young man won…
Spectator: Right! Quit now!

JP: 対戦者：　いや．．． おれは　負け犬になって はじを　さらすつもりはない．．．
男は　グラスを　手にとった．．．
T: Opponent: No. I have no intention of subjecting myself to the disgrace of being a loser.
The man takes the glass in his hand.
OE: Opponent: No… I’m the champion. I will not be disgraced.
He picks up the glass.

My translation is too literal and wordy. The original is good. The sentiment is all retained and it’s shorter.

JP: 観客：　よせっ！ もう　お前の　負けなんだっ！！ 死に急ぐなっ！！
男は　観客の　言葉も聞かず グラスの中身を　静かに流しこんだ！
T: Spectator: Stop! You’ve lost already! Don’t rush to die!
Ignoring the spectator, the man quietly quaffs the drink.
OE: Spectator: Stop! You’ve already lost! Stop it!!
Ignoring the spectator, he downs the drink in a shot.

The scene fades to black and opens back up with Tim in a house, a woman standing in front of him.

She says:

JP: 女： あなたが　ロシアングラスの 対戦者だった方ね。
主人は　いい仕事が見つかったから 苦労はかけないと　言っていたのに まさか　あんなことを．．．
T: Woman: So you’re his Russian Glass opponent.
My husband said that, since he found a good job, our worries were over. I never thought something like this was happening.
OE: Woman: You’re the Russian Glass player.
My husband said that once he found a job we would be OK, but I was surprised at what he did.

The OE has a mistranslation that makes no sense if you’ve been paying attention. Back when you first talked to this woman, she said:

She thought her husband was working hard already. So he wouldn’t be looking for a job.

In actuality, seems he wasn’t traditionally employed. He was raking in money for his wife and child, but not the way she thought.

She continues:

JP: これ　主人の遺書です。 表紙には　「対戦者の人へ」と書かれて いるの。 どうぞ　お読みになって下さい。
それと　外に　クルックが　4頭 いますから　使ってくださいな。
T: This is a note my husband left. The front says “To my opponent”. Please read it.
In addition, there are 4 kruks outside. Please use them.
OE: This is my husband’s will. It says here “To My Opponent”. Please read it.
There are four Kruks outside. Please use them.

Oh good, 4 kruks. But we have 6 party members. Foreshadowing? Yes, foreshadowing. The JP says 遺書 (isho) which can mean will but can also mean suicide note or simply note left by a dead person. I wouldn’t use the word will here as that implies his entire postmortem legal affairs are addressed to his final Russian Glass opponent.

Now let’s take a moment to reflect on how grim this all is. This guy was dying. (It confirms it in his death note, but we already know that because he was coughing, and coughing means dying.) Rather than tell his pregnant wife, he started gambling in a game that would inevitably kill him at some point. He was saving money to take care of his wife and future child after he was dead. (Hey, Breaking Bad ripped this game off!) While playing, he finally loses (to a cheater with psychic powers), but does so in a way that allows him to continue to live and continue to save money. Rather than take that route, he commits suicide for some reason.

Then his wife meets the cheater who’s significantly responsible for her husband’s death. She has to keep her composure and not strangle this bastard long enough to tell him (doubtless in between her wails of grief) that her idiot husband left his final opponent a bunch of valuable kruks.

Cool, game. Good story. At least his letter provides some consolation for all this horror. We’ll get to that later.

Here’s what she says if you talk to her again:

JP: 女：　お金なんて　いらない．．． 本当の幸せって　好きな人と いっしょに　いられることなのよね。
T: Woman: I don’t need money. True happiness is being able to be with the person you love.
OE: Woman: We don’t need money. Real joy is being with those you love.

JP: これが　ゆずってくれるっていう クルックだな．．． さっそく　みんなに　知らせ なくちゃ。
T: These are the kruks I was given. I have to give everyone the news right away.
OE: These are the Kruks I was given. I have to let everyone know.

You might be wondering whether, having gotten the medicine from Rob and a day having passed, Rob’s father has new dialogue. He doesn’t. He still just says the childish stuff about exploring with his friends. I couldn’t find any other new dialogue around town, so back to Luke’s house it is.

JP: カレン： ニールの実家って　エウロの町で 貿易会社を　やってるんですって。
T + OE: Karen/Kara: Neil’s family runs a trading company in Euro.

JP: エリック： ここで　ロブや　リリィと お別れなんて．．．
T: Erik: I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye to Rob and Lily here.
OE: Erik: I wish Lance and Lilly were coming, too…

JP: ロブ：　みんなには　悪いけど おれはここに　残るよ。 あんな　おやじを　旅っておくわけに いかないしな。
それからさ．．． うーん　なんか　てれるなあ．．．
T: Rob: My apologies to everyone, but I’m staying here. I can’t go off traveling and leave my father.
Aside from that, I feel a little awkward, but…
OE: Lance: I’m sorry, but I want to say here. I can’t neglect my father.
And so… I feel a little awkward.

JP: おれさ。 リリィと　つきあうことにしたんだ。
もちろん　いいかげんな気持ちじゃないさ。　ずっと　いっしょに いたいと　思ってる。
T: I’ll just say it. Lily and I are dating.
Of course I have mixed feelings. I wanted to stick through with you to the end.
OE: I want to spend time with Lilly.
Of course, I don’t feel good about it. I wanted to go on with everyone.

I love the juxtaposition in OE. “I wanted to spend time with Lilly. Of course, I don’t feel good about it.” Is she hearing this?

JP: で　リリィも　いっしょに　残りたい っていうからさ。
みんなと　旅ができて楽しかったよ。 テムの　旅の成功をいのってるよ。
T: But I also wanted to stay with Lily.
It was fun traveling with everyone. I hope you have a successful journey.

You better hope I have a successful journey, Rob! You have caught on that the fate of humanity is at stake, right?

JP: リリィ：　あたしも この町に残ることにしたの。
わけはね．．． ロブから聞いて。
T + OE: Lily/Lilly: I decided to stay in this town, too.
Ask Rob/Lance the reason why.

After you read the gambler’s death note and talk to Neil, it will force you to the next area. But Neil has something different to say if you talk to him before you read the note:

JP: ニール： クルックをゆずってもらったって！？ あんな高価なものを．．．？
そんな　さびしそうな目をしてどうしたんだよ．．． まあ　わけは深く聞かないでおこう。
T: Neil: You say you got ahold of some kruks!? Even though they’re so expensive?
What’s with that sad look in your eyes? Maybe I shouldn’t press you too hard about it.
OE: Neil: You got Kruks? They’re so expensive . .?
Why such a sad face? Maybe I shouldn’t ask what the reason is.

JP: それでだ。 ぼくらは　西のエウロという町へ 向かおうと　おもうんだが．．．
ロブと　リリィが　この町に残るって いうんだ。 まあ　わけは二人から聞いてくれ。
T: Ok then. I think we should go west, to the town called Euro.
Rob and Lily say they’re staying behind in this village. You should ask them why.
OE: I think we should go west, to Euro…
Lance and Lilly want to stay here. You should ask them why.

Now it’s time to look at the gambler’s note. You can’t progress the story without doing so.

JP: いしょ
ロシアングラスの　たいせんあいてが のこした　いしょ。
T: Death note
Note left behind by Russian Glass opponent.
OE: Will
Will given to Russian Glass Opponent.

I’ve been calling it a death note because suicide letter seems inappropriate and will seems even more inappropriate. But the anime Death Note has kind of messed up the connotations of that phrase, hasn’t it?

JP: 遺書を　そっと開いてみた。
対戦者の人へ
T: Unsealed the note.
To my opponent
OE: He opened the will.
To the Opponent

It’s weird how OE keeps capitalizing Opponent. Anyway, they missed the opportunity to say Will opened the will.

JP: 私が死んでも　悲しまないでほしい。 そして　落ちこまないでほしい。
私は　ロシアングラスで　死なずとも 近いうちに　天にめされる　運命で あったのだ。
T: Though I’ve died, I don’t want you to grieve for me. Nor for you to feel sad.
Even if I didn’t die from Russian Glass, it’s my fate to pass away soon.
OE: Even if I perish, don’t mourn for me.
Even if Russian Glass doesn’t cost me my life, it’s my fate to pass away soon.

JP: 半年前に　不治の病と診断された時 死ぬまでに　人が一生動いて得る金を 手に入れようと思った。
私の死後　妻と　まだ見ぬ子に 苦労はさせまいと　思ったからだ。
T: When I was diagnosed with an incurable illness six months ago, I decided that, before I died, I would make a whole lifetime’s worth of money.
After I died, I wanted my wife and the child I’d not yet met to not suffer any hardships.
OE: Six months ago, when I found out I was dying, I decided to amass as much money as possible.
I wanted to leave it to my wife, and the child I’ll never see.

We do get a little bit of consolation, here. At least in taking the kruks, it seems like we are not totally screwing his wife and unborn child, who need all the wealth and money they can get. Apparently he left them enough to never have to work again.

OE lacks the consolation; by changing from a lifetime’s worth of money to as much money as possible, it leaves the player with no sense of how much money he really managed to earn.

JP: しかし　私が得た金は 他人を不幸にして　手に入れたもの。 こんなことは　今回で　終わりに しようと思う．．．
もし　この勝負で　私が負けたなら 財産の一部を　勇気ある　あなたに 分けあたえたい。
T: However, the money I earned came at the misfortune of others. I think this is the last time I’ll do something like this.
If I lose this game, I want to share part of my fortune with you, who are so brave.
OE: I made my fortune in spite of the unhappiness I have caused others.
If I lose, I want to leave part of my estate to you.

I struggled mightily with the translation of I think this is the last time I’ll do something like this because I was working under the assumption that he wrote this letter months ago and left it for whichever night he died. Not so; he wrote it right before this match, which he intended to be his last even if he won.

And his motivation for sharing his wealth finally makes sense: He wants to make up for the fact that he earned it at the expense of other people’s deaths. OE had to cut words to save space, but doing so mangled this guy’s story.

JP: 私の愛馬　クルック　4頭を　どうか かわいがってやって下さい。
T: Please treat my 4 favorite kruk horses dearly.
OE: Please take care of my four favorite Kruk horses.

JP really does say that the 4 kruks are his 愛馬 (aiba - favorite horses). That’s not a mistranslation. Very odd to call them horses.

Finally, Neil will have different dialogue and the events of Watermia will end:

JP: ニール： 男の子と　女の子が　ひかれあう しゅんかんっていうのは　すてきな まほうだと思う。
この気持ちは　いつまでも 忘れずに　信じていたいもんだね。
T: Neil: I think it’s incredible magic, the moment a boy and girl are attracted to each other.
You don’t ever forget what that feels like.
OE: Neil: The moment when a man and woman are first attracted to each other is like magic.
I don’t think you ever forget that feeling.

It’s really jarring to read this after reading that guy’s death note. Of course Neil is talking about Rob and Lily, but I’m still thinking about the morbid stuff.

JP: それでだ。 エウロには　ぼくの実家があってね、 あそこへ行けば　何か　テムの力に なれると思うんだ。
さあ　エウロへ出発するぞっ！！
T: So, then. My parents live in Euro, and I think if we go there it will help you somehow.
All right, we’re off to Euro!
OE: By the way. Euro is where my parents live. It will help you if we go there.
We’re leaving for Euro!

So long, Watermia! At least until we come right back here as soon as we can for a Red Jewel.