Friday, January 31, 2014

Fiend vs. Mystic (Chrono Trigger - DS vs. SNES)

In the Chrono Trigger DS review/overview, I mentioned that "Fiend" isn't a good fit for the monster-people in Medina.  Here, I'll go into detail about that.

There were many other names, words, and terms that TOSE and Square-Enix could have re-translated to better match the original Japanese (Crono to Chrono, Ozzie to Vinegar, Masamune to Grandleon, etc.), but most survived the cut.  "Mystic" did not despite that it seems to be the superior term.  "Mystic" is better because it indicates the creatures are magical, but not necessarily evil.  "Fiend" doesn't hint at their magical nature and casts them as unthinking monsters.  A society with a mayor, shops, town square, and an inn can't be Fiends.  One of them even gave Crono cake.  How Fiendish is that?

In Japanese folklore, "demon" can include fairy-like or magical creatures that aren't necessarily evil.  This is a problem in American English as there is no general term that I know of for a magical creature that could be good or evil (there may be some regional, outdated, or esoteric terms, though).  "Fairies" are benign, but that term brings forth images of Tinkerbell.  "Demons" are inherently evil.  "Monsters" commit evil acts and may be unthinking; ditto for "Fiends".  Dungeons and Dragons solved this by using the term Fae/Fey (reminiscent of "fairy") to indicate a magical realm and creatures.  "Mystic" could be used similarly to imply magical origins, but not an evil disposition.

Likewise, Magus gained the title "Fiendlord" because of his Japanese title, Maou.  According to Chrono Compendium, this can be translated as either "Demon King" or "Magic King".  Calling Magus "Magus" seems analogous to "Magic King" and thus "Fiendlord" is wholly unnecessary.  Perhaps he could have a second title, "Lord of the Mystics", but it doesn't seem natural to refer to him as such.

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