matthew-trs

[matthew-trs]

I saw that you uploaded a google drive containing all the portraits in Tear Ring Saga, I was curious if a similar drive exists for the portraits in Berwick Saga?

Sorry for the very late response! I don't check this page except maybe once a month, and notifications tend to get lost among my other many emails.

The answer is yes! On the Serenes Forest thread for the translation, the first post has downloads (at the very top, in brownish-colored text) for all the script files and all the face files.

[matthew-trs]

Hey, quick question- is there any chance you'll translate the manual for TRS for completionism sake? High quality scans are on Archive[.]org now!

I'll never say never, but I doubt it. Having looked through it, I can't find anything really groundbreaking. The main curiosities seem to be alternative romanizations for some characters ("Kaite" instead of "Kate"), and additionally...

...this advertisement for the game "True Love Story 3," which until now I had never had the misfortune of hearing about. As the advertisement indicates, you're a 3rd-year middle school (9th grade) student who is trying to win the hearts of fellow classmates (including his twin sister) before you all graduate and go off to different high schools. Understandably, it was poorly received, with this particular panel of reviewers giving it 69/100--rating the graphics as its best quality (the turn of the millennium was a weird time for anime art), and its engrossing-ness/immersive-ness (熱中度) as its lowest.

With that horrendousness aside, the main things I'd like to do re: the TearRing Saga Series are to:

...minorly revise the TRS1 translation. This would be 99% for typos and clarity/phrasing, and 1% for reverting some changes (e.g., changing "Nomad" & "Nomadic Trooper" back to the more faithful "Horseman" and "Mamluk").

...go through both games and describe noteworthy anecdotes about the translation process, why certain choices were made in places, etc. Maybe in a SerenesForest thread, if I ever get around to going back there.

[matthew-trs]

Can you reupload the Google Drive link to all the unused TearRing Saga portraits? The link is dead. One interesting thing to note is that the unused character, Poyce had his portrait reused for the character, Ash who appears in Vestaria Saga.

Sure, here you go!

[matthew-trs]

Release of Version 30

Hello all, it’s been some time! I’m here to announce two things:

First, there’s the release of beta version 30, covering up to the end of Chapter 8 in the game.

Second, I want to thank everyone who’s supported the patch this far. It’s taken quite a bit longer than expected, but it’s been rewarding, and it’s helped me to meet many new people through talking about the game... So, thank you!

[sketch of Czene by the game’s official artist, Kazuaki Morita]

[matthew-trs]

Not dead!

Hello all, it’s been quite some time!

In early August, I moved to Japan, so I’ve been rather preoccupied, and my usual activities were all jumbled. Please understand.

Now I’m getting back into the translating mood, so you can expect regular progress again. As for what that entails, it’s Chapter 7 and some additional city text!

[matthew-trs]

Unused Characters in Berwick Saga

Through my examinations of the script, as well as some debug messages provided to me by Lightgazer, I’ve found a handful of characters who were apparently supposed to be playable:

Mei-Lin (メイ・リン), a.k.a. “Mirinas” (ミリナス)   —  (female, Cleric, hired unit) — Mirinas is apparently her pseudonym. Does not use a personal pronoun in her few lines. Also appears on a file Shouzou Kaga shared about early character relationships in Berwick Saga as the daughter of Duke Garlant of Yutoria and a love interest for Perceval. Definitely distinct from Saphira, Izerna, and Enid.

Ariduq (アリデューク)   —  (male, class unknown, hired unit) — Refers to himself as a knight of the fallen Highland Duchy, meaning he was probably medium infantry or medium cavalry. Uses the pronoun ware, indicative of an older man.

Myrddin (メルドゥーン)   — (male, Bard?, non-hired unit?) — Assumed to be non-hired on the basis of having no discernible lines, unlike the unused mercenary characters. Appears in Shouzou Kaga’s notes as a 吟遊詩人 (”minstrel” or “troubadour”) whose love interest is Paramythis. There is no singing-related class in the game’s code, however--except for Penelo’s 詩人崩れ “Failed Poet” class... Strange!

How curious that Elphin (the bard from FE6) also has the real name Myrddin (ミルディン)... Even if it’s spelled differently.

Lucas (ルーカス)  — (male, class unknown, hired unit) — Says he was originally a soldier, but that his homeland is no more. Says that he has a “good arm,” so certainly a physical class. Uses the common male pronoun ore.

Rotte (ロッテ)  — (female, Hunter/Archer?, hired unit) — Talks about being experienced with hunting in the forest with a bow. Uses the familiar feminine pronoun atashi.

Ganton (ガントン) — (male, Bandit, hired unit)  — Calls himself the “bandit among bandits” and that “there’s nothing to fear so long as I’m around.” Refers to himself using the masculine ore and the arrogant ore-sama.

I wish I had portraits for these characters, but sadly, their lines are processed strangely and are not labeled with portrait values.

In addition, the following characters used to have different names:

Adel was named Kein

Dean was named Rian

Thaddy was named Jio

Marcel was named Rohan

(I don’t have katakana for these names—these are actually derived from debug titles for events.)

[matthew-trs]

Progress Report

I’ve been making very good progress on the patch! As of last night, I finished up to (and including) the main mission of Chapter 5. As someone reminded me, it’s about at this point in the game when character-specific events like promotions and recruitments start to happen... so maybe it’d be a fair time to start working on those after finishing Ch. 5′s two sidequests.

A patch covering up to the end of Ch. 4 (including sidequests) is currently available on Serenes Forest (or if you just want the patch without reading through the thread, click here).

I have very little to do over this summer (that is, until I move to Akita-ken, after which I will be very busy), so I’ll be getting lots of translating done during that time. Based on my current rate of progress, I’m still anticipating to be done by the end of 2018.

In related news, Shouzou Kaga’s newest game Vestaria Saga 1 is receiving an official English localization, and it’s slated to be released sometime this summer! It won’t be free like the Japanese version was (due to localization costs), but please consider supporting the game by buying it yourself and recommending the game to others so that the localizers will want to keep translating the series!

[matthew-trs]

The evil within the king

In Chapter 3, you go on a mission to escort some priests to the young Apostle Sanacia (who is currently in hiding) to convince her to flee to Navaron, since her current hiding place is being attacked by bandits employed by the Church of Raze. Very few people know of the Apostle’s survival in the assassination attempt 14 years prior--essentially just King Volcens, Princess Sienna, and a handful of higher-ups among the Verian clergy.

(Paramythis, the Apostle’s guardian. Apostle Sanacia’s face is not shown during this conversation, since it’s a spoiler.)

Paramythis: Your Eminence, please listen to me. It is as the Archbishop says. As long as we remain here in the temple, you are in grave danger. Sanacia: But Paramythis...! Paramythis: I understand your reservations, but the Archbishop and Madam Quescria will both be there to protect you. Sanacia: Paramythis... I'm scared... of him... I'd rather be caught by bandits than be caught by him... Paramythis: Your Eminence, why do you hate His Majesty so? He is not his father. Sanacia: I cannot put it into words well... Every time I have met him, I have sensed this terrible rage... There is something evil inside that man, and it wants to devour me... I don't know what it is, but it calls to me, and I feel powerless against it... And so I... I'm terrified of him... Paramythis: ...I will consult with Madam Quescria. We shall keep your presence in Navaron hidden from the king. We will enter the city in secret. You will not have to go to the palace or meet with His Majesty. Sanacia: Paramythis... I'm sorry. I'm always causing you trouble... Paramythis: Do not worry, Your Eminence. You bear a heavy responsibility for the entire Church of Veria. If you wish to remain hidden among the clerics for now, then who am I to stop you?

[matthew-trs]

Esteban’s Troubles

Christine is one of Lord Reese’s knights, while Esteban is a bandit that she’s been asked to find. Esteban is also definitely not a carbon copy of Holmes, no sir!

(Fun fact: The name Esteban is supposed to be stressed Estéban, not Ésteban.)

Christine: You're Esteban, right? Esteban: Who are you? How do you know my name? Christine: I thought you might be him... Quit being an idiot, and go home to your siblings! They're all worried about you. Esteban: What good will going home do? I've got no money, no job... I'm just a deadbeat freeloader. I figured that even being a bandit would be better than leeching off what little they already have... Christine: Things have only gotten worse since you left. Arina's had to take matters into her own hands... Esteban: Arina? What do you mean? Christine: She intends to sell herself to a dancing troupe in order to get them something to live off of. Esteban: No... That can't be true... I-I just wanted to... Christine: Get a hold of yourself! You're supposed to be their big brother, for goodness's sake! Now, you march your ass right back to Navaron and tell Arina that you're going to take care of things! Esteban: Arina, I'm so sorry... Y-You're right. Thanks. I'll go back right now.

[matthew-trs]

Progress Report: 32.2%

I keep track of my progress of the translation using a big spreadsheet, a piece of which is viewable below.

If you could zoom in, you could see that on the top-right, I have [32.2%] highlighted as my current progress!

This is actually just my progress through the story text; the system text takes up roughly 24.4% of the game text, meaning that I’m actually 48.8% through the entire game.

So there. Progress update. Bam.

[matthew-trs]

Letters from Lynette

Two years before the game’s events, Reese’s father Bernstol adopted a young war-orphaned girl named Lynette. Bernstol had intended for her (13 y.o.) to be raised alongside Reese (15 y.o.) as his sister, but this plan failed miserably, as the two became enamored with each other almost immediately.

Flash-forward to the game’s events, where Reese is away from home fighting for King Volcens. Occasionally, he receives letters from Lynette, who is back home at Sinon, anxiously awaiting until Reese can return. Below is one such letter:

  Dear Reese, Yesterday, an intruder came to Sinon Castle and broke into my private chambers. The nerve!

Naturally, I could not stand for such insolence, so I caught the devilish rapscallion myself.

I am sure you will not object that I have brought justice upon this beast myself.

He must pay for the rips left behind in my skirt by those sharp claws of his!

I have decided to name the little kitten Volcens, as he is of similar temperament to his namesake.

In other news, Father has arranged for additional funds for your mission. He requests only that you use it prudently.

Please stay safe, and I pray for the day that you can return home safely into my arms.

May Mother Veria bless you in all that you do.

Love,   Lynette

[matthew-trs]

Beta Patch Out

Find it here.

[matthew-trs]

The Good News

I promised you guys good news, and you’re gonna get it!

This Sunday (Jan. 14th), I plan to release a beta patch for Berwick Saga. I’ve already created a SerenesForest thread for it, if you want to congregate there.

Furthermore, my internet acquaintance Lord Raven will be streaming a bit of the translation on the same day at 5:30 PM EST. His twitch can be found here. Everyone else is also welcome to stream the patch and try it out when it releases!

(The “bad” news is, this beta patch will only cover up to the end of Chapter 2, that is, the first 6 missions.)

[matthew-trs]

Czene, a.k.a. Best Thief

I bring joyous news! You guys can probably expect some fun news on the project within the next week or so! Until then, you’ll have to make do with this fun bit of dialogue I translated a while back (from Chapter 2):

Reese, Ward, and Czene. Ward is the retainer of Reese, the game’s lord. Strangely, "Czene” is the official romanization, but the katakana is セネ, pronounced /sene/. I’ve personally taken to pronouncing it /’zei.nə/ (ZAY-nuh), probably to the chagrin of Polish-speakers.

Reese and Ward have just been discussing the matter of the theft of their battalion’s horses when Czene, a thief, approaches Ward.

Czene: Hey, you! Ward: Can I help you, young lady? Czene: You're friends with that rich blond guy I met earlier, right, old-timer? Ward: Old-timer?! I'll have you know--Oh, you're that girl we came across earlier during the battle... Czene: Good, you do remember me! I'm Czene. Ward: I see. Well then, Miss Czene, is there some reason you've followed us here? Czene: Well, my friends and I found something pretty interesting in the caves earlier! But it's a secret~ Ward: If you've got nothing to tell me, then I suppose that ends that. Farewell. Czene: Geez, you're no fun at all! You guys were just talking about how your horses had been stolen, right? Well, I think we found them. They were in that cave. Ward: What?! Is this true? Czene: 'Course it's true! Would a cute face like this really lie to you? Ward: AHA! Then that confirms it! I'll get those bastards for this...! Czene: Oww... Old-timer, if you keep yelling like that, you're gonna burst my eardrums... Just listen, okay? They were locked behind this big iron grate. It won't be easy getting your horses out of there. Ward: Then we'll just have to find the remaining bandits and take the keys from them by force. Czene: Sure, you COULD do that... But what if you can't find it? Or what if they've ditched it? No, no, it'd be way more reliable to bring someone who knows her way around all sorts of locks! Ward: Who, you? Czene: Duh, of course me! There's not a single lock in the world that I can't pick! Plus, you seem like a fun crowd. I bet I'll make a fortune working with you and blondie. Ward: We won't be going there to play, you know. We'll be fighting murderers out there. Czene: Yeah, YOU will be. Not me. But I can take care of myself if it comes to that. Ward: Fine, you may come. But only this once. (Still, how am I going to justify hiring a criminal to Lord Reese?) Czene: Great! I'll get my things! Pleasure doing business with you.

[After the mission]

Ward: Czene? What are you still doing here? Czene: What a mean thing to say! I'm part of your team now, aren't I? Ward: Absolutely not. I specifically told you that you could only come along for that one mission. Czene: Hmph! Lord Reese said I could stay! Ward: Don't be ridiculous. My liege would never allow it. Czene: What, now you're calling your own lord a liar? For shame! Ward: Wha-- Czene: Well, I won't tattle on you. It'll be our little secret, 'kay? See you around! Ward: (What have I gotten myself into...)

[matthew-trs]

A Chat Between Weapon Shop Owners

Teresa and Cecily are friends and storekeepers at neighboring shops. Teresa comes in Cecily's shop to pay her a visit.

----

Teresa: Hiya, Cecily!

(Cecily is writing a letter)

Teresa: Ooooh, who's that letter to that you're writing so passionately?

Cecily: Aah, Teresa! Don't look!

Teresa: Oh...? Could it be...

(Teresa takes a closer look at Cecily)

Teresa: Yep, no doubt about it! You're absolutely smitten with someone, aren't you?

Cecily: ...It's Sir Marcel.

Teresa: Cecily, it's good to have a social life, but you're shirking your duties as a saleswoman here.

Cecily: Oh, Teresa... Every word he says is so honest and dignified, like a true knight! He comes in here all the time, and he always speaks so kindly and politely to me...

Teresa: But you run an armory, Cecily. Of course he'd have to come in here and talk to you to buy things.

Cecily: I know that... And, well, I know that I'm not the easiest person to get to know well. I'm quiet, and I mainly just sell things. But earlier, when he came in here, I had this huge surge of bravery! I called out to him, "You can do it, Sir Marcel!"

Teresa: Uh-huh... So, what did he say then?

Cecily: He said, "What is it that I can do, exactly?" I completely blew it...

Teresa: (Damn it, Cecily...)

[matthew-trs]

Wow. That flow of battle sounds complicated, but also incredibly interesting ! Is there an in game tutorial that covers this, or is it "explained" through dialogue that kaga games often do?

There are ingame guides on this and other topics, but they’re essentially abbreviated and paraphrased versions of what I posted. The player is told about all the various mechanics of battles, but there are no explicit explanations of how all those mechanics interact.

[matthew-trs]

The Flow of Battle

This is the part of the game that took me the longest to understand--special thanks to Aggro Incarnate and Rengor1997 for helping me get understand it.

Battle Ranges on a Hexagonal Grid

Berwick Saga uses a hexagonal grid instead of a square grid. Because of this, there are now 6 ways to attack from 1 tile away and 12 from 2 tiles away, and strategies must change to compensate for this. For example, units guarding a single-tile gate or bridge must be prepared to deal with 2 to 3 melee attacks instead of just 1.

In terms of battle ranges, however, Berwick Saga’s hex grid operates nearly the same as one would be used to from Fire Emblem (minus the obvious geometric difference); the biggest change is that attacks from 1 tile away are now differentiated into “Range 0″ and “Range 1.”

Range 0 is “melee,” used by the vast majority of knives, swords, spears, and axes. The catch is that battles at Range 0 are considered to take place on the tile of the defending unit, meaning that both units get the terrain effect of the defending unit’s tile. Finally, units that are not flying-type cannot attack flying units at Range 0 (since the battle would take place on the defender’s “tile,” that is, in the sky), but they can counterattack when attacked by them at Range 0 (since the battle would take place on the ground).

Range 1 is “pseudo-ranged,” being used by items like javelins, hand axes, and bows/crossbows at 1 tile away. In general, a unit with a range-0 weapon can’t counterattack an attacker at range-1 and vice versa. However, there is a built-in exception to this rule: defenders with range-0 weapons can counterattack at range-1 if their attack speed is at least 11 (regardless of the attacker’s attack speed) and the attacker is not a flying-type unit.

To further complicate things, certain weapons like crossbows are listed as having Range 0-1. For most situations, this means that they attack at Range 1 but defend at Range 0 or 1, whichever lets them counterattack. The only exception to this is wyrms’ breath attacks, which instead attack at Range 0.

All other ranges function as one would expect from Fire Emblem, and for all ranges except 0, battlers are considered to be standing on their respective tiles.

Simultaneous Phases

Unlike in Fire Emblem and Champions of Yutona, instead of turns being divided into Player Phase and Enemy Phase, control alternates over the course of the turn. How exactly the control alternates depends on the number of units on each team:

if the player and enemy both have 10 units, it will alternate player>enemy>player>enemy>...

if the player has 10 units and the enemy has 20, it will alternate player>enemy>enemy>player>enemy>enemy>...

This, combined with the fact that counterattacking is generally unreliable (see next section), can make Berwick Saga more active rather than the stereotypically passive (i.e., enemy-phase oriented) turns that many Fire Emblem games have.

The Flow of Battle

Each battle (that is, when a unit selects to attack another unit) takes place in separate rounds. Each battle has 1 round by default, and the vast majority of battles won’t have more than that.

Phases per Round

Each round goes through 3 phases:

Attacker’s attack

Defender’s “counterattack” (if defender unhurt in Phase 1)

Attacker’s “retry attack” (if attacker unhurt in Phase 2)

Further stipulations:

If Phase 1 does not occur, Phase 2 occurs automatically.

If Phase 2 does not occur, Phase 3 cannot occur.

The Attacker’s attack speed must be strictly greater than the defender’s in order for Phase 3 to occur.

Note that phases can be cancelled outright by being hit; this penalizes units for not being evasive, or alternatively, simulates them being temporarily stunned from receiving damage. Counterattacks and retry attacks, on the other hand, reward units for being evasive, giving them extra attacks if they manage to dodge their enemy’s. (Note that retry attacks should not be confused with the ability provided by the skill Pursuit.)

Additional Rounds of Battle

A handful of weapons and skills can add additional rounds of battle, but only for the users of those weapons/skills. For example, if the attacker gets 3 rounds but the defender only gets 1, then for the last 2 rounds of battle, the defender can’t do anything.

Weapons that give the wielder additional rounds of battle--which I call “additive weapons”--are listed with a + next to their might on the status screen. While the weapon is equipped, each + provides 1 extra round for all battles the wielder participates in. The skill Pursuit gives the same effect as a +1 weapon when its user has at least 5 more attack speed than the opponent, and this effect stacks with any additive weapons the user may have equipped.

Extra Attacks per Phase

There are other kinds of weapons that also provide the wielder with extra attacks, but through different means. These I call “multiplicative weapons,” since they turn the single hit of each of the wielder’s phases into multiple hits (like Brave weapons from Fire Emblem).

These weapons are listed with a ×n next to their might on the status screen. Skills like Double-Shot and Triple-Shot give the same effect as ×2 and ×3 weapons, and their effects also stack with the of multiplicative weapons.

Skills that Affect Battle Flow

Pursuit: (Passive.) When user’s AS >= enemy’s AS+5, acts like a +1 weapon. Stacks with other weapon effects.

Double-Shot/Triple-Shot: Attacks the effect of a x2/x3 weapon. Stacks with other weapon effects, but negates the user’s ability to perform retry attacks for the battle.

Vantage: When attacked at Range 0, can counterattack, and AS > enemy’s AS, user is treated as the attacker instead.

Counterer: When attacked and can counterattack, always counterattacks in every round that the user can, even if damage was taken.

Note that this can be a two-edged sword; if the user’s counterattack misses, the enemy will be given a retry-attack that they may not have otherwise gotten.

Desperation: [in addition to other effects] Allows participants to counterattack or retry-attack even if they are damaged.

Deathmatch: Extends the base number of rounds for the battle to 5 rounds instead of 1. Allows participants to counterattack or retry-attack even if they are damaged.

Example Battles

In most situations, these rules don’t play out nearly as complicatedly as they sound. One can generally go by the rule of thumb that +n weapons let the user attack n extra times at the end of the battle, ×n weapons turn each strike into n strikes, and Pursuit acts like in Fire Emblem with a threshold of 5.

Still, to illustrate how battles can go, here are some examples:

Example 1:

attacker: nothing special

defender: +1 weapon

Attacker (miss)

Defender (hit) [since not damaged in Phase 1]

[no chase attack, since attacker was damaged in Phase 2]

[no attack, since can’t access Round 2]

Defender (miss)

[no chase attack, since can’t access Round 2]

Example 2:

attacker: +2 weapon

defender: x2 weapon, Pursuit’s +1, Counterer

Attacker (miss)

Defender (miss, hit)

[no chase attack, since damaged in Phase 2]

Attacker (hit)

Defender (miss, miss) [since skill Counterer]

Attacker (hit) [since not damaged in Phase 2]

Attacker (miss)

[no counterattack, since can’t access Round 3]

[no chase attack, since no Phase 2]