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On this
page, we attempt to answer frequently and not-so-frequently asked
questions. Please read this page before asking questions on the forums
or sending email to any of the Masquerade Executives. If your question
is still not answered after reading this FAQ and the forums, please
contact us at voices AT chthonian DOT net. Thank you!
Q: Where's the Innocent Sin ROM?
A: There's not one. We're translators, not programmers. None of the people who worked on this project know the first thing about PSX ROMs. Besides, ROMs are illegal, and even if there was a ROM of Innocent Sin, you wouldn't find it anywhere on this site.
Q: Where can I buy Innocent Sin? How do I play Japanese games on a non-Japanese PSX?
A: Joker-sama answered all of that for you right here. The Allegory of Whatever is this site's sister site. We worked on them together, and we suggest you use them in conjunction.
Q: If we petition enough, Innocent Sin will come out in the USA in English, right?
A: This here is King Leo's opinion. The other executives agree.
Q: How come you didn't translate every single bit of dialogue in the game?
A: Have you noticed how much dialogue there is in a Persona game? The people in the shops change what they say after nearly every major event. It was partially an issue of time, partially an issue of motivation, and partially the decision that came knowing that there's probably not a single player who would visit every single shop and talk to every NPC after every single event in the game. NPC dialogue also tends to be repetitive, so in some cases we chose to summarize the NPC dialogue and concentrate on the important plot dialogue, as opposed to translating 15 different people telling you that Lisa Silverman has a nice body.
Q: Okay, but how am I supposed to contact demons if you didn't translate contacts?
A: While we thought about translating contacts, the simple truth is that you would need to be able to read at least a little bit of Japanese so that you could figure out exactly what question you were being asked. There is a FAQ on the Allegory of Whatever that should help you with contacting, but if you can't read any Japanese at all, contacting will have to be trial and error. There is also a FAQ on the AoW with useful Japanese words that might help you out while playing - check it out, though you'll need Shift-JIS support on your computer to view it properly.
Q: What does ________ mean?
A: Check the Links page for some helpful online Japanese <=> English dictionaries. If the word isn't in English, we provided a translation alongside the specific word or in the translation notes. You can also ask on the Translation board for help, if you've got a question about the script itself.
Q: Will you translate something for me?
A: Are we friends? If not, how much will you pay me to do it?
Q: Can I put your script on my site?
A: No. It may not be archived anywhere but on this site.
Q: Can I link to the script?
A: Of course! There are a couple of banners on the Links page, or a text link is fine. But please link to the front page (http://chthonian.net/persona/oracle/) only. Do not direct-link specific pages of the script.
Q: Will you send me the entire script in a single .zip or .doc file?
A: No. If we wanted to just distribute the script, do you think we would have bothered to make an entire website for it?
Q: I have a Persona site. Will you link me?
A: Unless it's an Innocent Sin page with information that's not on this page or the Allegory of Whatever, probably not. Sorry.
Q: Do you accept submissions on this site?
A: Hm. Gift fanart or fanfics are welcome, I suppose. Other than that, if you want to submit FAQs, fics, fanart or suchlike, see the Allegory of Whatever.
Q: Are you guys planning to translate any other Atlus games? What about a retranslation of Persona 1?
A: Not at the moment. Since we don't always work as a translating team, the different members may work on different projects. If you're looking for older Atlus games, you might try Aeon Genesis, who has translated Shin Megami Tensei and is working on Shin Megami Tensei II. King Leo (Kya) is interested in possibly working on Shin Megami Tensei if... when it comes out for the PSX. As for Persona 1 - no, we will not be retranslating it. The Atlus USA release is a licensed, commercial release. Despite the changes that a lot of Persona fans dislike, it is simply not worth our time or effort to translate a game that already has an official USA release.
Q: HEY! WHY DID YOU CHANGE [insert term/name/phrase here]?!
A: Ask yourself this: Is this a change, or a translation? Shinigami Banchou DOES actually mean Captain Death, and Masquerade is a good translation of Kamen-to. In other cases, we reworded an idiomatic expression or joke so it would still be funny in English. This is called localization, people. Sometimes, we chose phrasing or terminology because said phrasing was used in the English release of Eternal Punishment, and we wanted to achieve consistency so that the game would be more easily played by people who are playing IS after playing EP. (Which is in backwards order, but is generally the order that non-Japanese play the games.) Names are all in Western (First/Last) order, and were not changed from the Japanese versions. All of the Persona 1 characters are referred to with their Japanese names - while we generally like Atlus USA's translation of EP, we are less-than-satisfied with the translation and Americanization of Persona 1. So, FYI:
Yuki == Yukino Mayuzumi (Yukki)
Ellen == Eriko Kirishima (Eri)
Brad == Hidehiko Uesugi (Brown)
Mary == Maki Sonomura
Nate == Kei Nanjou
Chris == Reiji Kido
Tammy == Tamaki
Tad == Tadashi
Guido Sardenia == Takahisa Kandori
Ms. Smith == Saeko Takami (Saeko-sensei)
Principal Harding == Principal Hanya
Chunky == Kenta Yokouchi (Toro)
Lunarvale == Mikage-cho
As I recall, these are all the P1 characters that reappear in P2:IS.
Q: Are you guys Japanese?
A: None of us are. But the translators are all well-trained. Check the Staff page, if you want to read more about us.
Q: Why are you guys such sticklers about fanart for icons?
A: Let's say you spent 5 hours drawing a picture, coloring it, and making it beautiful. Would you want someone to steal that and use it without crediting you? I don't think so. The opinion shared by everyone here at the OoM and the AoW is that Japanese fanart is great. We love it. Between the five of us, we probably own over 200 Persona doujinshi. And since we like and respect the Japanese fanartists, who make no money from their art and merely draw because they love the games, we do not reuse their work for our own purposes. The Japanese fanartists may not speak English, but that doesn't mean they don't know what's going on. If you're not sure whether or not something is fanart, DON'T USE IT. The same goes for stealing Western fans' fanart, FWIW. (Of course, if it's your own art, you're free to do as you like with it.)
Q: Why is this site called the Oracle of Maiya, and what's up with the book on the logo?
A: The Oracle of Maiya is ultra-important to the plot of Innocent Sin. The book is In-Laqetti, in which the Oracle of Maiya appears. Play the game to learn more. This site came to be known as the Oracle of Maiya because King Leo was having trouble coming up with a name for the site, and since she had already started referring to the translation as her "precious oracle" (c.f. Japanese King Leo fanon) the site came to be known as the Oracle of Maiya.
Q: Are Jun and Tatsuya gay?
A: That's open to interpretation. Our collective opinion is that Jun is, but Tatsuya is whatever you choose to make him. What do I mean by that? Play the game and find out! :D
MAIN :: SCRIPT :: STAFF :: FAQ :: LINKS
Q: Where's the Innocent Sin ROM?
A: There's not one. We're translators, not programmers. None of the people who worked on this project know the first thing about PSX ROMs. Besides, ROMs are illegal, and even if there was a ROM of Innocent Sin, you wouldn't find it anywhere on this site.
Q: Where can I buy Innocent Sin? How do I play Japanese games on a non-Japanese PSX?
A: Joker-sama answered all of that for you right here. The Allegory of Whatever is this site's sister site. We worked on them together, and we suggest you use them in conjunction.
Q: If we petition enough, Innocent Sin will come out in the USA in English, right?
A: This here is King Leo's opinion. The other executives agree.
Q: How come you didn't translate every single bit of dialogue in the game?
A: Have you noticed how much dialogue there is in a Persona game? The people in the shops change what they say after nearly every major event. It was partially an issue of time, partially an issue of motivation, and partially the decision that came knowing that there's probably not a single player who would visit every single shop and talk to every NPC after every single event in the game. NPC dialogue also tends to be repetitive, so in some cases we chose to summarize the NPC dialogue and concentrate on the important plot dialogue, as opposed to translating 15 different people telling you that Lisa Silverman has a nice body.
Q: Okay, but how am I supposed to contact demons if you didn't translate contacts?
A: While we thought about translating contacts, the simple truth is that you would need to be able to read at least a little bit of Japanese so that you could figure out exactly what question you were being asked. There is a FAQ on the Allegory of Whatever that should help you with contacting, but if you can't read any Japanese at all, contacting will have to be trial and error. There is also a FAQ on the AoW with useful Japanese words that might help you out while playing - check it out, though you'll need Shift-JIS support on your computer to view it properly.
Q: What does ________ mean?
A: Check the Links page for some helpful online Japanese <=> English dictionaries. If the word isn't in English, we provided a translation alongside the specific word or in the translation notes. You can also ask on the Translation board for help, if you've got a question about the script itself.
Q: Will you translate something for me?
A: Are we friends? If not, how much will you pay me to do it?
Q: Can I put your script on my site?
A: No. It may not be archived anywhere but on this site.
Q: Can I link to the script?
A: Of course! There are a couple of banners on the Links page, or a text link is fine. But please link to the front page (http://chthonian.net/persona/oracle/) only. Do not direct-link specific pages of the script.
Q: Will you send me the entire script in a single .zip or .doc file?
A: No. If we wanted to just distribute the script, do you think we would have bothered to make an entire website for it?
Q: I have a Persona site. Will you link me?
A: Unless it's an Innocent Sin page with information that's not on this page or the Allegory of Whatever, probably not. Sorry.
Q: Do you accept submissions on this site?
A: Hm. Gift fanart or fanfics are welcome, I suppose. Other than that, if you want to submit FAQs, fics, fanart or suchlike, see the Allegory of Whatever.
Q: Are you guys planning to translate any other Atlus games? What about a retranslation of Persona 1?
A: Not at the moment. Since we don't always work as a translating team, the different members may work on different projects. If you're looking for older Atlus games, you might try Aeon Genesis, who has translated Shin Megami Tensei and is working on Shin Megami Tensei II. King Leo (Kya) is interested in possibly working on Shin Megami Tensei if... when it comes out for the PSX. As for Persona 1 - no, we will not be retranslating it. The Atlus USA release is a licensed, commercial release. Despite the changes that a lot of Persona fans dislike, it is simply not worth our time or effort to translate a game that already has an official USA release.
Q: HEY! WHY DID YOU CHANGE [insert term/name/phrase here]?!
A: Ask yourself this: Is this a change, or a translation? Shinigami Banchou DOES actually mean Captain Death, and Masquerade is a good translation of Kamen-to. In other cases, we reworded an idiomatic expression or joke so it would still be funny in English. This is called localization, people. Sometimes, we chose phrasing or terminology because said phrasing was used in the English release of Eternal Punishment, and we wanted to achieve consistency so that the game would be more easily played by people who are playing IS after playing EP. (Which is in backwards order, but is generally the order that non-Japanese play the games.) Names are all in Western (First/Last) order, and were not changed from the Japanese versions. All of the Persona 1 characters are referred to with their Japanese names - while we generally like Atlus USA's translation of EP, we are less-than-satisfied with the translation and Americanization of Persona 1. So, FYI:
Yuki == Yukino Mayuzumi (Yukki)
Ellen == Eriko Kirishima (Eri)
Brad == Hidehiko Uesugi (Brown)
Mary == Maki Sonomura
Nate == Kei Nanjou
Chris == Reiji Kido
Tammy == Tamaki
Tad == Tadashi
Guido Sardenia == Takahisa Kandori
Ms. Smith == Saeko Takami (Saeko-sensei)
Principal Harding == Principal Hanya
Chunky == Kenta Yokouchi (Toro)
Lunarvale == Mikage-cho
As I recall, these are all the P1 characters that reappear in P2:IS.
Q: Are you guys Japanese?
A: None of us are. But the translators are all well-trained. Check the Staff page, if you want to read more about us.
Q: Why are you guys such sticklers about fanart for icons?
A: Let's say you spent 5 hours drawing a picture, coloring it, and making it beautiful. Would you want someone to steal that and use it without crediting you? I don't think so. The opinion shared by everyone here at the OoM and the AoW is that Japanese fanart is great. We love it. Between the five of us, we probably own over 200 Persona doujinshi. And since we like and respect the Japanese fanartists, who make no money from their art and merely draw because they love the games, we do not reuse their work for our own purposes. The Japanese fanartists may not speak English, but that doesn't mean they don't know what's going on. If you're not sure whether or not something is fanart, DON'T USE IT. The same goes for stealing Western fans' fanart, FWIW. (Of course, if it's your own art, you're free to do as you like with it.)
Q: Why is this site called the Oracle of Maiya, and what's up with the book on the logo?
A: The Oracle of Maiya is ultra-important to the plot of Innocent Sin. The book is In-Laqetti, in which the Oracle of Maiya appears. Play the game to learn more. This site came to be known as the Oracle of Maiya because King Leo was having trouble coming up with a name for the site, and since she had already started referring to the translation as her "precious oracle" (c.f. Japanese King Leo fanon) the site came to be known as the Oracle of Maiya.
Q: Are Jun and Tatsuya gay?
A: That's open to interpretation. Our collective opinion is that Jun is, but Tatsuya is whatever you choose to make him. What do I mean by that? Play the game and find out! :D