Illusion of Gaia Translation Commentary Part 24: Dao and Pyramid

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

There are probably only about 3 blog entries worth of translation yet. This one, Babel and the bonus dungeon, and the endgame sequence.

The party has headed out for Dao, which for once is unedited on the Mode 7 map.

The game hurries things along. Tim offers only a single box of narration before the player regains control:

JP: さばくの中に　ぽつんとたたずむ町。 ぼくらは　ダオに　やってきた。
T: There was a town standing solitary in the middle of the desert. We arrived at Dao.
OE: A town shining in the desert. We went to Dao.

I can’t figure out how OE got shining. ぽつん (potsun) means isolated and たたずむ (tatazumu) means to loiter/stand still.

JP: カレン： ドレイ商人のアジトって言われるほど 悪名高い町のはずなのに　何だか そんな　感じが　しないわよね。
T: Karen: This town is supposed to be the notorious home of the slave trade, but it doesn’t really feel like that.
OE: Kara: This place is supposed to be famous for labor merchants. It doesn’t look like it.

JP: エリック： こんな　砂あらしじゃあ　目が いたくって　外も　あるけないよ。
T: This sandstorm hurts my eyes and I can’t walk outside.
OE: Erik: I can’t go outside in a sandstorm like this.

JP: さばくの町　ダオ
T: Desert Town Dao
OE: Desert Village Dao

I immediately left Dao to check something. Specifically, since we ran into the body of someone from Captain Friesel’s team in Angkor Wat, I wondered if Friesel and the rest were still in Euro. The answer is that they’re all gone from the house they were previously in. So… Friesel’s probably dead. There’s otherwise nothing else different in Euro or the Native People’s Village that I could find.

JP: あんた　ひっとして テムさんかい？
T + OE: Would you happen to be Tim/Will?

If no:

JP: そうか．．． 荷物が　届いているんだがなあ。 困った　困った．．．
T: Oh, you’re not? A package has arrived for him. Oh, well.
OE: Hmmm. I hope he arrives soon. Very distressing…

JP: こりゃ　ちょうど　よかった！ ビルと　ローラって人から 手紙と　荷物が　届いているんだ。 受けとってくんな。
手紙と　父の手帳を　手に入れた！
T: Hey, right on time! A letter and package from someone named Bill and Laura have arrived. Please take them.
Got a letter and father’s journal!
OE: Good! A letter and some luggage have arrived from someone named Bill and Lola.
You get a letter and your father’s journal!

JP: ローラのてがみ
ローラと　ビルからの　てがみ。
T + OE: Laura’s/Lola’s letter
Letter from Laura/Lola and Bill.

JP: ちちのてちょう
テムのちち　オールマンのてちょう。 ピラミッドの　なぞについて しるされている。
T: Dad’s journal
Journal of Tim’s dad Allman. Contains notes regarding the Pyramid.
OE: Father’s Journal
Will’s father’s journal. Info on Pyramid.

The letter says:

JP: 元気で　やっていますか？ ニールから　連らくを受け　ダオに いるらしい　とのことなので 手紙を　出してみました。
わけは　だいたい　聞きましたよ。 お前が　ひとまわり　成長して 帰ってくるのを　おじいさんと 楽しみにしています。
T: Have you been well? We received word from Neil and were told he was in Dao, so we sent a letter.
We pretty much heard the reason. Your grandfather and I look forward to your return and to seeing how you’ve grown.
OE: Have you been OK? Neil told us that he was in Dao, so I’m sending this letter.
I heard the reason why. Grandpa and I are looking forward to seeing you.

I find this letter confusing. They heard that Neil was in Dao, so they sent a letter to Tim? I guess they don’t know that Tim and Neil were separated? But I don’t see another reasonable translation. There’s nothing indicating that they heard from Neil that Tim was in Dao, and when we encounter Neil shortly it’s clear that he didn’t expect to see us here.

JP: そうそう。 お前の父　オールマンの荷物を 調べていたら　ピラミッドのことが 書かれた手帳が　でてきたの。
何かの　役にたつかも　しれないので いっしょに　送ることにします。 では　くれぐれも　体に気をつけて。 ビル／ローラ
T: One more thing. When we looked through your father Allman’s bags, we found some notes about the Pyramid.
We thought it might be useful to you, so we sent it along. Take care of yourself. Sincerely, Bill/Laura
OE: When we looked in your father’s luggage, we found a journal written about the Pyramid.
I thought it would help you, so I sent it along. Take care. Bill / Lola

The journal says:

JP: 私は　古代文字　ヒエログリフの 解読に　ついに　成功した。 これは　おそらく　世界で　初めての ことであろう。
この　もくしろくによれば ピラミッドには人類の歴史の とてつもない　なぞをとくカギが かくされていることになるのだ。
T: I finally succeeded at translating the ancient hieroglyphs. I dare say I’m the first in the world to have done so.
According to this, the Pyramid holds the key to solving the greatest mysteries of human history.
OE: I’ve deciphered the hieroglyphs. No one has ever done it before.
It says there’s a key to solving the riddle of human history in the Pyramid.

JP: この　ヒエログリフは　冒頭の一文で 「太陽神が　地平線よりのぼる」 という　意味をもつ。
T: This hieroglyph’s first sentence means “The sun god rises above the horizon.”
OE: The first part says, “The Sun Spirit rises from the horizon.”

I made an effort trying to represent these hieroglyphs but I could only do so much because they don’t appear to be 100% real glyphs. Here are the game’s glyphs:

This is as close as I could get:

With thanks to this tool.

There are many options for the first bird. I chose what seemed like the closest fit. The second glyph looks like the foot on the left side, the ripple in the top right, and the thing underneath the ripple doesn’t look like any real hieroglyph at all. I chose the Sun glyph because that’s one that would actually go underneath the ripple in the tool I used. They did almost get Ra’s name right. It would normally look like this:

But it seems they left out a sun + single stroke combo glyph in the middle. (That’d be Gardiner’s signs N5 + Z1.) The final glyph doesn’t look like any real combination of glyphs, so I just went with N27: 𓈌. It represents the sun rising over a mountain, the ideogram for horizon.

Does it really say “The sun god rises above the horizon”? As far as I can tell, no. But it does sort of have something about the sun god in there, so bonus points for that. Heck, I give bonus points for using any real hieroglyphs at all. That’s pretty cool!

UPDATE: fmux in the comments points out that I got this wrong. It’s actually saying

Image from this page

This is a transliteration exercise directly from Gardiner’s textbook on grammar and hieroglyphics. These are 100% real hieroglyphs with a correct translation to boot. Triple bonus points to Illusion of Gaia for putting in this effort!

P: 私は　ピラミッドへ　足を運び これと　同じ文字板を　発見した。 そして．．．
ページは　ここで　やぶられている。
T: When I went to the Pyramid, I found identical slabs. So…
Here a page has been torn out.
OE: I went to the Pyramid, and found the same inscription. So…
Here a page is missing.

Struggling to see what evidence he found that the Pyramid holds any kind of key to the greatest mysteries of human history. Oh, the sun god rises above the horizon? Like the sun does? Wow, the wisdom of the ancients is so incredible.

You can talk to the letter-deliverer again:

JP: この家は　遠くから　はるばる やってくる　商人のための宿だよ。
T: This building is a hotel for merchants who come from far and wide.
OE: This is a hotel for travelling merchants.

JP: ここは　さばくの町　ダオ。 こんなところに　ふつうの 子供がいるなんて　めずらしいなあ。
T: This is the desert town of Dao. It’s pretty rare to see a normal kid in a place like this.
OE: This is Dao, the desert village. Children don’t come to places like this very often.

He says ふつうの 子供 (futsuu no kodomo) which means normal child. I suspect that the non-normal children he’s comparing you to are the slave children.

In the nearby house:

JP: ニール：　テムっ！！！ まさか　こんなところで　会うとは 思わなかったよ！
ニールっ！　どうしたの？ 社長に　なったんじゃないの？！
T: Neil: Tim! I never thought I’d meet you in a place like this!
Neil! Why are you here? Didn’t you become the company president?
OE: Neil: Will!! I never thought I’d meet you in a place like this!
Neil! You’ve become the company president?!

In OE, the exclamation point makes it sound as if Tim is surprised that Neil has become the company president, even though that’s exactly what Neil said he was going to do. It also seems as if Tim is reasoning from the fact that Neil is here that he must have become the company president. It’s the opposite—Tim is surprised that Neil is here because he should be busy doing company-president-y things.

JP failed to indicate that Tim is speaking in the second dialogue box, which is sometimes an indication that the text is Tim’s narration. But there’s no doubt that he’s speaking based on the flow of conversation. Neil laughs in response:

JP: ニール：　ははは。 ドレイ貿易のかわりに　コショウを 輸入できないかた　思ってね。
こうして　ダオまで はるばる　やってきたのさ。
T: Neil: Hahaha. Imagine if you could replace the slave trade with pepper imports.
That’s why I came all the way to Dao.
OE: Neil: Yes. I tried replacing the labor trade with pepper imports.
This led me all the way to Dao.

We’ll later learn that pepper is one of Dao’s local specialties. Until you find that out, this line’s kinda weird.

JP: この近くには　ピラミッドがある。 ミステリードールとやらが　そこに あるんじゃないか？
T: The Pyramid is nearby. Shouldn’t there be a so-called Mystery Doll there?
OE: There’s a pyramid near here. I wonder if a Mystic Statue is there?

If you talk to him, he combines two lines from earlier. Imagine you could replace the slave trade with pepper imports, that’s why I came to Dao, blah blah.

The next house over is the Snake Game.

JP: ヘビを使った　面白いゲームを やっていかないか？
T: Would you like to play a fun game that uses snakes?
OE: Play the game with the snakes?

If no:

JP: これは　残念。 気がむいたら　きてくれよ。
T + OE: Too bad. Come back if you change your mind.

JP: ルールは　かんたん。 出てくる　ヘビを　一分間に 何ひき　たたけるかを　きそうんだ。
じゃあ　どれでも　好きなツボを たたいてくれ。 そのときが　スタートだっ！！
T: The rules are simple. Snakes pop out. Try to hit as many as you can in one minute.
Hit any pot you like. That’s when the game will start.
OE: The rules are simple. Hit as many snakes as you can in one minute.
Hit whatever pot you like! That’s the start of the game!!

Hello? Dao Humane Society? I’d like to report an instance of cruelty to animals.

If you talk to him while the game is going:

JP: おいおい。 ずいぶんと　よゆうがあるんだな。
T: Keep going. You still have more time.
OE: Hey, hey. There’s plenty of them.

よゆう (yoyuu) can mean surplus or leeway, which I guess is where OE got plenty. It can also mean time or allowance, which I think makes more sense here. おいおい (oioi) is an interjection that means hey or wait a minute. I think something like hold on, don’t stop is the intention.

Lose:

JP: はいっ！　そこまでっ！！ 君の　たたいた数は　０ひき。 また　ちょうせんしてくれよっ！
T + OE: OK! Stop! You’ve hit x snakes. Try again!

JP: うひゃあ　xxひきとは　なかなか 強者だね。
じゃあ　しょうひんとして 赤い宝石を２コあげることにしよう。
T: Woohoo, xx snakes. You’re very strong.
As a reward, I’ll give you two red jewels.
OE: Wow xx snakes. Very good!
For your prize, I’ll give you two Red Jewels.

JP: 宝石商さんのところに 送っておくからね。
T + OE: I’ll send them to the Jeweler.

If you play the game again, no matter what you score, it gives the same message as losing.

JP: 商人： 今日は　いい　買い物をしたなあ。 こんな　すばらしい　じゅうたんは 見たことがないよ。　うん。
T: Merchant: I did some good shopping today. I’ve never seen such a wonderful rug.
OE: Merchant: I have fine goods for sale today. You’ve never seen carpets this nice.

買い物をした (kaimono o shita) means did shopping or shopped. The pronoun is unspecified, but I don’t think people normally propose selling their wares by telling you to did shopping.

Something mildly curious if you talk to the kruks and compare it to the previous kruks from Watermia:

In Japanese, they say the same thing. But in English, the spelling was changed. They did, however, keep the same modified sound (kyaa) instead of the Japanese sound (kyooee).

JP: 最近　ドレイ貿易廃止の　動きが でているみたいだ。
なんでも　ローレック株式会社の 社長が　自ら　その運動を はじめたようだぜ。
T: Seems like a slave trade abolition movement has started recently.
I heard the Rolek corporation’s president himself started the campaign.
OE: A freedom movement has started recently.
The president of Rolek started the labor trade freedom movement.

JP: ここは　コショウなどの　調味料と じゅうたんが　特産品の町さ。
エドワード城の　じゅうたんも この町で　４０年の　さい月をかけて 織られたっていう話だ。
T: This town’s local specialties are seasonings like pepper as well as rugs.
It’s said that the rugs in Edward Castle were woven here over a period of 40 years.
OE: This town is famous for spices and carpet.
It’s said the carpets of Edward Castle took 40 years to weave here.

The word じゅうたん (juutan) could mean rug, runner, or carpet. I chose rug because, if you remember, Edward Castle looked like this:

Those look like rugs rather than carpets to me. But this is hella nitpicky.

JP: 少女は　だまって 一枚の紙を　さしだした。
そこには　なんと 黒いヒョウの絵が　えがかれている！
T: The girl silently held out a sheet of paper.
There was a picture of a black panther on it!
OE: The girl silently offers one sheet of paper.
There was a picture of a jackal!

JP: ぼくは　せすじが　寒くなった。 これは　ぼくらを　追いつめたという ブラックパンサーの　けい告 だろうか．．．
T: A shiver ran down my spine. I took it as a warning from the Black Panther that he tracked us down.
OE: A shiver ran down my spine. It was a warning from the Jackal, who had been stalking us….

JP: スネークパニックは　やったかい？ ぼくは　まだ　修行中の身なのさ。
T + OE: Have you ever played Snake Panic? I’m still in training for it.

JP: おらおら。 見せ物じゃ　ないんだぞっ！！ あっちへ　いった　いった！
T: Hey! This isn’t a show. Get lost!
OE: Hey, hey. This isn’t a show!! Get out of here!

JP: どうやら　言葉が　通じないようだ。 少年は　目で　何かを うったえようと　している．．．
T: Apparently he doesn’t speak my language. The boy is trying to tell me something with his eyes.
OE: I guess he didn’t understand what I said. His eyes were expressive…

Inside:

JP: はるばる　この町まで　ドレイを 買いにきたものの．．．
いざ　取り引きとなると なんだか　ふんぎりがつかないんだ。 やっぱり　人に　値段は つけられないよなあ．．．
T: I came all the way to this town to buy a slave, but…
Now I can’t work up the resolve to make the trade. In the end, you can’t put a price on people’s lives.
OE: You’ve come all the way to this town to buy labor…
I can’t make up my mind if I should do business with you. You can’t put a price on people…

OE chose the wrong pronoun here and the result is bizarre. In OE, it sounds like this guy is a slave trader who would sell me a slave, but he’s suddenly having second thoughts. Why would one of the horrible slave traders suddenly have this change of heart? And why is he assuming that I came to this town to buy a slave? Tim certainly didn’t say anything like that to him.

In the next building over, there are 4 girls sewing and one man overseeing them. The girls all say the same thing. (Or rather, don’t say anything.)

JP: どうやら　言葉が　通じないようだ。 ただ　もくもくと作業を続けている。
T: Apparently she can’t understand what I say. She just continues on her work silently.
OE: She didn’t understand. She just kept working.

JP: この女たちは　じゅうたんを 織っているのさ。
これは　織り上がるまでに　なんと ４０年近い　さい月が　かかる。
T: These women are weaving rugs.
It takes nearly 40 years to weave it.
OE: These women are weaving carpets.
This will take almost 40 years to weave.

JP: 子供のころから　その作業を始め 遊ぶヒマもなく　動き続け 完成時には　中年を過ぎている女。
ぼうず　覚えておくんだな。 こんな　運命の下に　生まれる人も いるってことを。
T: They started in childhood, and have worked on it continuously with no free time for play. It won’t be done until they’re past middle-aged.
Keep this in mind, sonny. Some people are born to such a fate.
OE: This woman has worked on it continuously since she was a child.
Remember, little man. Some are born to misfortune.

The only thing OE really left out is the part about how they’ve had no leisure time. Once again, JP is more depressing.

JP: この近くには　でっけえピラミッドが たってるぜ。
探検家たちが　財宝を求めて 何人も　やってきたが まだ　見つけた者はいないようだ。
T: There’s a huge pyramid near here.
Many explorers have come in search of treasure, but as yet, nobody has found it.
OE: There’s a huge pyramid near here.
Many explorers have come for the treasure, but no one’s found it yet.

There are 3 blokes the next house over.

JP: おれたちゃ　探検家さ。 ピラミッドに　お宝が　ねむっている と聞いて　やってきたんだが．．．
T: We’re explorers. We came here because we heard there’s a treasure resting in the Pyramid.
OE: We’re explorers. I hear there’s a treasure inside the Pyramid…

JP: ピラミッドは　きょだいな　石の かたまりだっていうのに なぜ　砂の中に　しずまないのか．． おれは　不思議でしょうがねえよ。
T: Since the Pyramid is made of huge stones, I wonder why it doesn’t sink into the sand. It doesn’t make sense to me.
OE: The Pyramid is made of huge stones. Strange that it doesn’t sink into the desert….

He says the Pyramid is a かたまり (katamari - clump) of huge stones.

JP: この地域には　不思議な言い伝えが あるんだよ。
「ピラミッドは　死者の場所。 肉体を　こえた者だけが　その中に 足をふみ入れる　資格がある」
T: There’s a curious legend in this area.
“The Pyramid is a place of the dead. Only those who have transcended the physical body are qualified to set foot inside.”
OE: There’s a strange legend around here.
“The Pyramid is not for the living. Only those who’ve transcended the body may enter.”

JP: これが　その言葉だそうだ．．． ピラミッドは　きょだいな墓。 死ななきゃ　中に入れないって ことなのだろうか？　うーむ。
T: That’s what people say. The Pyramid is an enormous tomb. Does that mean you can’t get in unless you die? Hmmm.
OE: These are the words… The Pyramid is a big tomb. The living can’t go in? Hmmm…

With that, we’re done with Dao. It’s time to enter the last (mandatory) dungeon.

Unsurprisingly, the Mode 7 map hasn’t been changed. After all, this whole time they’ve been using the English word pyramid for it. ピラミッド - piramiddo.

See?

Right away, there’s a Dark Space. There’s a new character you can change into, and Gaia has some important stuff to say.

JP: 私は　生命のみなもと　ガイア。 そなたの　ヤミの力は アンコールワットの寺院にて　さらに 強いものとなった。
右がわの　石像の前に立てば さらに　強力な　ヤミの戦士 シャドウへと　その姿を変えることが できょう。
T: I am the source of life, Gaia. Your Dark Power became even stronger in the temple of Angkor Wat.
If you stand in front of the right hand statue, you’ll be able to transform into the powerful dark warrior Shadow.
OE: I am Gaia, the source of life. The Dark Power has become strong in the temple at Ankor Wat.
If you stand before the right-hand statue, you can change into Shadow, the ultimate warrior.

I guess this was the real point of going to Angkor Wat? Unlocking Shadow? But the game doesn’t tell you that until you get all this way.

JP: そして　私は　そなたに アイテムを　ひとつ　あたえたいと 思う。
オーラの玉を　手に入れた！
T: Finally, I shall give you an item.
Got the Aura Orb!
OE: Then I think I will grant you one item.
You have the Aura!

JP: オーラのたまは　シャドウの心。 シャドウが　これを　かかげると その体は　水のように変化する。
現在　知られている　ピラミッドは 地表の　ほんの　一部分。 その　ほとんどは　地下に　ねむって いるのだ。
T: The Aura Orb is the core of Shadow’s being. When he raises it up, his body becomes like water.
The Pyramid known today is only partially above ground. Most of it lies underground.
OE: The Aura is Shadow’s mind. When he holds it up, his body becomes like water.
Only a small part of the Pyramid is above ground. Most of it is below the surface.

Gaia says that the orb is Shadow’s 心 (kokoro) which means heart, mind, spirit, soul, core, or vitality. I have no way of knowing what was intended here, but I think the original translation is weird. If it’s Shadow’s mind, how does he move around and do stuff before you get it from Gaia? You need minds to do that. And doesn’t he share a mind with Tim? Tim remembers and is conscious of everything that happens while he’s transformed, right?

I think the idea is that the orb is something fundamental to Shadow’s nature, rather than the equivalent of an internal organ.

JP: さあ　シャドウへと　姿を変え 地下へ　進むいよい。
T: Transform into Shadow and head deeper underground.
OE: You should change into the Shadow and advance into the underground.

JP: オーラのたま
やみのせんし　シャドウのときに つかうと　からだが　えきたいに へんかする。
T: Aura Orb
When used as the Dark Warrior Shadow, transforms body into water.
OE: Aura
Dark Knight Shadow’s Body turns to water.

If you use it as the wrong character:

JP: オーラの玉を　かかげたが 何も　おこらなかった．．．
T: He raised the Aura Orb, but nothing happened.
OE: He holds up the Aura, but nothing happens…

JP: 頭の中で　声がこだまする。
私は　この時がくるのを　ずっと 持ち続けていた。
T: A voice echoes within his head.
I’ve long awaited this moment.
OE: A voice echoes inside his head.
I’ve been waiting for you to come.

JP: 私こそ　すい星の光を　使って 作り出された　究極の戦士シャドウ。
私の体は　形がない．．． 人の　意識だけが　進化すると この体になると　思えばいい。
T: I am Shadow, the ultimate warrior, created using the comet’s light.
My body is formless. You can think of it as the body a human consciousness becomes when it evolves.
OE: I am made from the light of a comet. The ultimate warrior, Shadow.
My body has no shape. This body appears only when the human consciousness evolves.

Shadow is specifically saying that it’s 意識だけ (ishiki dake - consciousness alone) that can turn into this body. Like, if you died, and your consciousness lived on (maybe like those little spirit wisps we’ve seen around?), and the light from the comet touched that consciousness, it could turn into this thing. I think.

JP: 今　地球に　近づいている　すい星も 形を　もたない　意識体。
はめつをもたらす　すい星に 立ち向かえるのは　この私の体だけで あろう。
T: The comet that now approaches earth is also a formless, discarnate consciousness.
This body is the only thing that can stand against the destructive power of the comet.
OE: The comet that now approaches Earth is also a consciousness without form.
My body is the only thing that can confront the comet and bring it to an end.

JP: さあ　目を閉じるがいい．．．
T: Come now, close your eyes.
OE: Well, close your eyes…

You have to turn into Shadow in this Dark Space to access most of the pyramid. The lower portion of the pyramid gives you 6 hieroglyph tiles, which you need to put in the room above to unlock the boss. Before you’ve collected any, there’s a guy in there you can talk to. (He does not seem the least bit surprised to be talking to Shadow, even though he’s a glowy floating consciousness thingy.)

JP: 探検家： 遺跡には　人の進入をこばもうとする トラップが　点在する。
この部屋には　音に反応するしかけが あるという話だ．．． まちがっても　大きな音をたてるな。
T: Explorer: There are traps dotted around the ruins to keep people out.
They say there’s a trap in this room that responds to sound. Never, ever make a loud noise in here.
OE: Explorer: There are traps scattered around to prevent entry.
There’s a booby trap in this room that responds to sound…..So don’t make any noise…

You can play the flute in here and hey, the legends are true!

The explorer doesn’t react at all if you do this.

The dungeon is split into 6 separate subsections. For the first 5 from left to right, you must be either Tim or Shadow to complete it. If you don’t know which, you’ll have to backtrack to the Dark Space and change to whichever character is needed. In one instance, to get the red jewel you have to be Tim and to complete the section you have to be Shadow. Mandatory backtracking, fun.

At the end of each section is one of these:

When you pick it up:

JP: かべに　おさめられた　石版がある。 これが　ダオの町で　聞いた ヒエログリフという　文字か．．？
T: There’s a lithograph in the wall. Is this the hieroglyph I heard about in Dao?
OE: There’s a lithograph on this wall. I heard in Dao that it’s a hieroglyph…

JP: この石版は　はずしてもっていく ことにしよう。
ヒエログリフの石版を　手に入れた！
T: I’m going to try taking the lithograph out.
Got the hieroglyph lithograph!
OE: Lets’ try to remove the lithograph.
You’ve got the Hieroglyph Stone!

All 6 hieroglyphs have the same text when you remove them and the same item descriptions:

JP: ヒエログリフ
こだい　エジプトもじが　かかれた せきばん。
T: Hieroglyph
Lithograph with ancient Egyptian script.
OE: Hieroglyph
Plate with hieroglyph.

Interesting that it actually uses the word Egypt here: エジプト (ejiputo).

There’s a warp at the end of each dungeon segment that takes you back to the top of the pyramid.

JP: 青い光の中には　ピラミッドの入口が ぼんやりと写っている．．．
>やめておく
>中に飛びこむ
T: The Pyramid’s entrance is faintly reflected in the blue light.
>Leave it alone
>Jump in
OE: The door to the Pyramid appears in the light…
>Quit
>Jump in

When you try to fit the stone into a slot in the top room, you have to do the easiest puzzle ever. You’re supposed to match the order of the hieroglyphs found in your father’s journal, but you can just as well put them in left to right in the same order that you found them in the Pyramid, which has six doors left to right. Of course, I intend to get the puzzle wrong first. But we’re not there yet.

JP: タイルが　はまりそうな　くぼみが ６つ　ならんでいる。
T: There are 6 depressions lined up that can fit a tile.
OE: There are six hollows where a tile can fit.

JP: どこに　はめますか？
>左から１番目
(And so on.)
T: Where to put it?
1st from the left
…
OE: Put it where?
1st from L.
…

The OE ran into some serious space constraints here. Abbreviating left as L. worked pretty well.

JP: ヒエログリフ板を　くぼみにはめた！
T: Fit the hieroglyph slab in the depression!
OE: He puts the hieroglyph plate in the hole!

There’s one dungeon subsection that any character can handle: door 6 from the left. I like to take it as Freedan. We’re nearing the last time you can ever use him, and despite Shadow’s higher damage output per normal attack. Freedan is really the strongest character for dungeons. The upgraded Dark Flyer clears batches of enemies from a safe distance.

When you’ve collected the final hieroglyph, the game won’t let you put it in yet. Instead, when you walk into the room with the 6 depressions, you’ll see this message:

JP: おとなしく　そこから 左へ向かって　歩けっ！！
T: Stop there and walk to your left!
OE: Walk to the left without a sound!!

The voice says おとなしく(otonashiku) which means quietly, meekly, or obediently. The original JP says from there. I changed it to stop there.

If you do anything but what the voice instructed:

JP: 左へ向かって　歩けと 言っているんだっ！！
T: I’m telling you to walk to the left!
OE: It says to walk to the left!!

If this text weren’t green, OE’s translation might be valid, as a narration reminder of what the voice just said. But since it’s green, it’s the same voice speaking as before and needs a first person pronoun.

Once you’re in position on the left side of the room:

JP: ようし　これでいい。 そのまま　じっとしていろっ！！
T + OE: There, that’s good. Don’t move!!

Finally, this goober will come in with Karen:

JP: ブラックパンサー： お前さんの　行動の　一部始終を 見せてもらったよ。
何千年も前に　すい星の光を　使った バイオ技術が　あったと聞くが まさか　お前が　そうだとはな。
T: Black Panther: I’ve seen the full details about what you do.
I heard that thousands of years ago there was a biotechnology that used the comet’s light, but I never thought it would be you.
OE: Jackal: I know the whole story of your adventure.
I heard about an ancient bio-technology using a comet’s light.
I didn’t know it was you.

JP: その　変身の力を　まてば どんなものでも　手に入る。　そして どんな人間でも　ひれふすだろう。
T: With that power of transformation, you could get anything you want. People would bow down before you.
OE: With the power to change body shape, you could get anything.
People would bow at your feet.

They would? Just because I can change into some moderately stronger dudes? Weird.

JP: エドワード国王が　やっきになって 動くのも　無理はない．．．
カレン： お父さまが　そんなことを？！
T: No wonder King Edward was so eager to make a move.
Karen: Father did such a thing!?
OE: It’s only natural that King Edward would trick you into this…
Kara: My father!!?

JP: ブラックパンサー： そうだ！　国王なんて　しょせん そんなもんさ。
力を　手に入れる　ためには 手段を　えらばない。
T: Black Panther: Of course! That’s the way kings are.
He’ll do anything to get power.
OE: Jackal: Yes! After all, that’s the way kings are.
He would do anything to get the power.

It could be he’ll do anything or they’ll do anything. The pronoun is unspecified in JP.

JP: ひょっとすると　おれのような 殺し屋よりも　ざんこくかもな。 くっくっく。
カレン： やめてよっ！　そんな話！！
T: He might be more inhuman than an assassin like me. Mwahaha.
Karen: Stop, don’t say such things!
OE: He might even be more evil than a mercenary like me. Heh heh.
Kara: Stop it!

JP: ブラックパンサー： まあ　どちらにしろ　おれは 金がもらえれば　それでいいのさ。
さあ　いっしょに　エドワード城まで きてもらおうか。
T: Black Panther: I don’t care either way, as long as I get my money.
Come with me to Edward Castle.
OE: Jackal: Either way, if I make money, it’s fine.
Come with me to Edward Castle.

JP: テムの頭の中で　声がささやく．．．
テム．．． 笛を　吹くんだ．．　テム．．．
T: A voice whispers in Tim’s head.
Tim… Play the flute.
OE: A voice whispers in Will’s head..
Will… Play the Flute….Will….

If you’re transformed, you’ll turn back into Tim at this point. If you try to do anything but play the flute:

JP: ブラックパンサー： それ以上　前へ出ると　このナイフが 動きだすぜ．．．
T: Black Panther: If you move any further, this knife will start moving too.
OE: Jackal: If you come any closer, I’ll use this knife…

I’m not sure what the Black Panther wants here. “Come with me to Edward Castle. But also, don’t move. Stay right there.” Huh?

If you try to use one of the lithographs at any time before this, it shows this message:

JP: ヒエログリフ板を　はめこむ場所が ない．．．
T + OE: There’s no place to put the hieroglyph plate.

But if you use it here instead of playing the flute, there’s a special message.

JP: 今は　タイルを　はめている 場合じゃない．．．
T + OE: Now is not the time to fit the tile…

Fiiiine, I’ll do what I’m supposed to.

JP: ローラから　教わった メロディーを　静かにふきはじめた。
T: Began to quietly play the melody learned from Laura.
OE: He softly played the melody he had learned from Lola.

And we learned what that does earlier.

Fire! Cool. Pretty lucky it didn’t also hit Karen, huh? By the way, if you position Tim so that he’s standing in the flames on the left side of the room, it does nothing at all.

JP: ブラックパンサー： うおああああああああ！！！！！！
カレン．．．　カレ．．．．
T: Black Panther: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Karen… Kar…
OE: Jackal: Wa-a-a-a-ah!!!!
Kara…Kara…

He’ll crawl toward Karen for a bit and raise his hand to grab her before collapsing. While still on fire. He stays immolated until you leave the room.

I think it would’ve been funny if, when you examine his burning corpse, it repeated the same line from Piggy about the air being filled with an appetizing aroma. But that’s maybe a bit too dark for a kid’s game, even this particularly dark game.

Anyway, Karen comes over for a hug.

JP: カレン： テム．．．．
なんで　みんな 殺しあわなくちゃならないの．．？
T: Karen: Tim…
Why does everyone have to kill each other?
OE: Kara: Will…
Why must everyone hate each other…?

I had to kill that guy because he had a knife. So it’s definitely fine that I straight-up murdered him. Right? And I had to kill that gambler guy because I needed his money. And I had to (effectively) kill that guy keeping an escaped slave because I wanted a Red Jewel. There’s a reason behind everything.

JP: あたし．．． もう．．．
カレン： ごめんなさい．．． とりみだしちゃって．．．
T: I… I just…
Karen: Forgive me. I lost my composure.
OE: I… I…
Kara: I’m sorry… I got upset…

That was a pretty traumatic experience and I think it’s normal to lose your composure over it, Karen! Also, watch out for the burning dude behind you, it looks like it might catch your skirt. You don’t wanna join the barbecue.

JP: テムは　世界を　救うために がんばって　いるんだもんね。
最初　旅にでたときは　お父さんを さがしにいくはずだったのに．．．
T: You’re doing your best to save the world.
At the outset of the journey, you were just trying to find your father.
OE: You are doing your best to save the world.
At first I just wanted to find my father…

The pronoun isn’t specified, but the only one of them who was searching for their father at the beginning of the journey is Tim. Karen wanted to get away from her father. The other hint is that she says お父さん (otousan) which means father, but as far as I can remember, Karen always calls her father the more formal/respectful お父さま (otousama).

JP: 何だか　たいへんなことに なって　きちゃったわよね．．．
でも　あたし。 この旅に　ついてきたことを こうかい　してないよ。
T: Somehow everything became much more grave.
But I don’t regret coming on this journey.
OE: But somehow it got to be a trial…..
But me. I don’t regret coming on this journey…

JP: さあ　行ってきて。 ５つ目の　ミステリードールを さがしに．．．．
T: Ok, you should get going. Go find the 5th Mystery Doll.
OE: Let’s go and find the fifth Mystic Statue…

There’s no message if you examine Black Panther’s body, but Karen has a little more to say.

JP: さっきの　テムの吹いた　メロディが ブラックパンサーの　そう送曲に なったのね．．．
T: That melody you played just now became the Black Panther’s funeral dirge.
OE: Kara: The melody you played became the Jackal’s dirge.

You can now fit in the final lithograph. As promised, I have to mess the puzzle up first!

JP: 何も　おこらない．．． ならべ方を　まちがえたんだろうか？ もう一度　最初から　やってみよう。
T: Nothing happened. Maybe they’re lined up the wrong way? I’ll try again from the start.
OE: Nothing happened… Maybe they’re arranged wrong. Try it again from the beginning.

The game tries to force all 6 tiles back into your inventory. If you’ve been saving herbs up, it won’t be able to do this and will only give you as many tiles (from left to right) as you can hold:

JP: しまった！ 持ち物が　いっぱいで　全部 とりはずせないっ！
T: Oh, no! I have so much stuff, I can’t take them all!
OE: Oh, no! Your inventory is full, you can’t take all of it!

When you get the puzzle right:

JP: むっ．．． 入口の向こうで　何か　音がしたぞ！
T: Huh. There was a sound off near the entrance!
OE: There was a sound from over the entrance!

A new portal will have appeared just on the other side of the door.

JP: 青い光の中には　ミイラ化した ピラミッドの女王が　写っている．．
>やめておく
>中に飛びこむ
T: The mummified queen of the Pyramid is reflected in the blue light.
>Leave it alone
>Jump in
OE: The mummified queen of the Pyramid appears.
>Quit
>Jump in

The mummy queen is the last statue guardian.

As you damage her, she gradually grows more undead-looking, which is pretty cool.

A lot of guides say to use Freedan for this fight because the Dark Flyer is useful. I strongly disagree; Freedan is the worst character for this fight. Every time you hit her, she splits into a bunch of ghosts that can be difficult to dodge. As Tim and Shadow, it’s not so hard: Tim can slide and Shadow can use the Aura Orb, both of which provide significant invincibility frames. Freedan has no choice but to use the teleporters at the side to get away, which interrupts charging the Dark Flyer. Then after she reforms, while you’re waiting to charge the Flyer, she’ll get some attacks off.

Shadow doesn’t have to charge to do good damage, so you can interrupt her attacks easily. And he has the most invincibility frames available with the Aura Orb. He’s the best choice.

Once she’s down:

JP: ピラミッドの　守り神を　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: Upon defeating the Pyramid’s guardian deity, found a Mystery Doll on her corpse!
OE: Defeating the spirit of the Pyramid, he obtained a Mystic Statue!!

That’s 5 MacGuffins!

There’s a space for one more.

JP: 笛から　声が　聞こえてきた！ エドワード城のろうやで　聞いた声と 同じだった．．．
T: A voice is coming from the flute! It’s the same voice I heard in the Edward Castle prison.
OE: I heard a voice from the Flute!
The same voice I heard in the prison at Edward Castle…

JP: 笛： これまで　よく　がんばったね。 テム。
テム： とうさん？！
T + OE: Flute: Tim/Will. You’ve done well to have come this far.
Tim/Will: Father?!

JP: 私は　今　バベルの塔にいる。 ５つの　ミステリードールを　もって バベルの塔へ　きなさい。
お前が　これまで　集めてきた人形は 人類存亡の　カギを　にぎっている。
T: Right now, I’m at the Tower of Babel. Bring your 5 Mystery Dolls here.
The dolls you’ve gathered so far are the key to humanity’s survival.
OE: Flute: I’m at the Tower now.
Bring the five Mystic Statues to the Tower.
The statues you’ve collected hold the key to the fate of humanity.

JP: すい星が　近づいている．．． テム．．　はやく　はや．く．．．
やがて　笛の声は　遠くなってゆき 聞こえなくなった．．．
T: The comet draws near. Tim… hurry… hur…ry…
The voice of the flute quietly faded into silence.
OE: Will..Hurry…The comet is approaching.
The voice of the Flute quiets and disappears.

JP: カレン： あたしたちの　知らないところで 何か　たいへんなことが 起きている　みたいね．．．．
テム：　どうしよう．．． いきなり　バベルの塔へ　こいって いわれても　あそこは　大海原の 小さい島だし．．．
T: Karen: It seems something terrible is happening that we don’t know about.
Tim: What should I do? I’m suddenly told to go to the Tower of Babel, but it’s on a small island in the middle of the ocean.
OE: Kara: It seems something terrible has happened that we don’t know about…
Will: What to do… I was told to go to the Tower of Babel, but that little island…

JP: カレン： ニールってね　また　飛行機を 作ったんですって。
さばくの町へは　飛行機で　きてる みたいなの。 まずは　町へ　もどってみましょ。
T: Karen: Apparently Neil built another airplane.
I think it’s how he came to the desert town. Let’s go back there.
OE: Kara: I hear Neil has built another airplane.
It seems he’s flying to the desert town. Let’s go back there.

きてる (kiteru) is in the present tense, which can also be interpreted as future tense for most verbs. But this one means to have come, so it’s effectively past tense anyway.

JP: ニール： そうか．．．． やっぱり　どうしても　行くんだな？
お前は　むかしから　言い出したら きかないヤツだったからな。
T: Neil: I see. So you really want to go?
You’ve always been the type who won’t listen once you’ve made up your mind.
OE: Neil: Really…. Do you have to go?
Once you make up your mind to do something nothing can stop you.

JP: わかった。　じゃあ　テムを バベルの塔まで送って　その足で カレンとエリックを　サウスケープへ 送ることにしよう。
今度は　たぶん　落ちないはずだから 安心してくれ。
T: Ok. Then I’ll take you to the Tower of Babel, and straight from there I’ll bring Karen and Erik to South Cape.
Don’t worry. This time the plane probably won’t crash.
OE: OK. I’ll take Will to the Tower of Babel, then take Kara and Erik to South Cape.
This time the airplane won’t crash!

Aww, OE takes out the little joke here that Neil isn’t 100% confident in the plane. たぶん (tabun) - probably/maybe.

That wraps up the desert. Two blog posts remaining!