Anyone who knows me will tell you if I have my choice of playing a game on a handheld, or my 50 inch plasma, that I will certainly take the plasma. So I went ahead and started playing it on the Playstation version. Unfortunately, I had to hunt down my GBA version almost immediately afterwards. I was reminded of something pretty unsavory about the ill fated Playstation version, and it further reminded me about the difference between Japanese game localization then....and now.
First, it's important to know the history of this very interesting game. The Super Famicom in Japan had three Final Fantasy numbers released, the North American Super Nintendo only had two. Final Fantasy IV was renumbered II here, because it was the 2nd FF release here, and VI was renumbered as III since it was the 3rd release. Final Fantasy V was supposed to be released at least two times on the SNES, and even once on the PC. However, all three attempts were stopped. However, this didn't stop Square USA from working on the game for release here, and it was very far along in the localization process by the time the second time that it was shot down for the SNES release (as Final Fantasy Extreme). (I heard that the overall localization was 90%+ complete).
Why wasn't it released here? Quite honestly, it's probably due to the fact that Square was a really small publisher back then. Final Fantasy wasn't the sure thing that it is now when it comes to sales. It wasn't until Sony and the Playstation marketing dollars that turned the RPG powerhouse into a world wide phenomenon. This didn't stop Square USA from trying, as they themselves released two "made in the USA" titles. These titles were panned by fans, mostly, and the second one, ultimately, caused Square USA to close it's doors. These games were Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, which was a "beginner" RPG released at a low 40 dollars...and a Secret of Mana clone, Secret of Evermore.
So that brings us to Final Fantasy Anthology. Squaresoft was a much bigger publisher then, and had a nice little deal with Electronic Arts that helped them go back and release some of their old library. Square did so by releasing three separate Final Fantasy packages, Final Fantasy Origins (I & II), Final Fantasy Anthology (V & VI), and finally Final Fantasy Chronicles (IV & Chrono Trigger). Since Final Fantasy V was mostly completed years ago, they used that translation.
That brings me to Faris here. Faris is the pirate captain from the game, who is also the older syster of Lenna, Princess of Tycoon. Faris is a very cool character, and is really my favorite from this particular game. However, in the original cut of the localization, Faris talks like a pirate. She says "Arrrrrr" quite a bit. This really, without a doubt, ruins the first game for me. One has to remember though, this was pretty much the norm back in the day. The same team that translated that game is the same team that brought us the infamous quote from Final Fantasy IV, "You spoony bard!" Why? Gaming was considered to be more of a kiddy thing back, then, and quite honestly, putting heart and soul into telling a good story with good characters wasn't exactly the most profitable path. Sure, now a days, if we had someone eternally representing "Talk like a Pirate Day," we would all roll our eyes and bash it unmercifully.
During that time, though, we didn't have a choice, and we had to use our imaginations more to tell the story. Luckily for me, the Game Boy Advance version of Final Fantasy V came complete with a brand new localization of the text. Faris came off like she was supposed to, rough, tough, and gruff, but no pirate speak.
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