Hoping to make your life's design a bit more dynamic!

Jing Ke, a man who lived and fought during China's Warring States Period (circa 300 B. C.) is someone who is still much studied today, as well as being popularized in numerous forms of Far Eastern media and entertainment productions. One of these, of course, is the Japanese Super Famicom RPG called "Shiki Eiyuuden". In our English translation patch, we are calling this title "Shiji Hero Legend". However, the label refers to the main character in the game, a simple peasant lad who grows up to become a "human dragon" sage or hermit.

Early in his journey, our game hero meets two very important people who become his traveling companions, warriors that actually existed and played huge roles in ancient China. One of these is Jing Ke, arguably the most celebrated and controversial assassin of all time. In the game plot, Jing Ke (whose name we shortened to just "Jing"), plays out his historical role in a manner that the Japanese writer dramatized, so it would mesh with the fantasy aspects of his RPG.

Having completed my translation and story-writing of "Shiji", with tremendous coaching and historical interpretations from Hausen (who for all I know may teach ancient Chinese history on the collegiate level - he approaches the subject with that level of depth), I now want to offer a link to a scholarly essay that approaches the subject of Jing from the viewpoint of unbiased analysis.

This paper is not quite master thesis length (I know because I wrote an MT once, entitled "The Syrian Intervention in the Lebanese Civil War of 1975), but I'm uploading it so that people who may eventually play our translation patch - those who also share an interest in knowledge - will have an opportunity to enhance their understanding of these turbulent times that eventually witnessed the emergence of the first "real" dynastic emperor of what is now called China.

http://www.dynamic-designs.us/shijiherolegend/Jing_Ke_Essay.pdf

A complex character, both he and the Emperor, neither free from bias on any side of the issue. Good stuff, the pensive epilogue chapter alone worthy of a careful read.

This thesis tells the Shiji account of the assassination only in brief. One amusing detail - during the assassination scene at Qin throne room, a court physician named Xia Wuju, out of his love for the Emperor, struck Jing Ke with his medicine bag. This distracted Jing Ke enough for Qin Shi Huangdi to gain some footing in the confusion of the fight.

The Emperor was indeed proficient at evading assassinations. After Jing Ke's failed attempt, his friend Gao Jianli (who also makes a brief appearance in SHL), evades his own execution by impressing the Emperor with his zither-playing. The Emperor only orders his eyes be struck out (that's a period definite "act of mercy" for you!), and he gives Gao a job as court musician. Little by little, Gao gains trust of the Emperor and at an opportune moment tries to strike him with a lead-filled lute. He misses, and is promptly executed. Another time, a vengeful former Han state minister (Zhang Liang) devises an ambush against Qin Shi Huangdi's carriage envoy while he is touring the provinces. Assassins strike and destroy the most fancy-looking wagon of the envoy - yet the Emperor sits at another identical wagon, made just in case for attempts at his life.

Thanks, Wildbill, but surprise in fact I don't teach the subject Mainly I've done little editorial work in music fields... how that subject came to be joined by interests in SFC gaming and ancient Chinese history is an intellectual threesome I never figured how I ended up with in the first place!

Well damn, thanks for pointing us to all this! Looks like the issue of whether to keep him in my party will be more a historical reflection question than a gameplay one...

Perhaps it was part of the author's intent to let us play out our positions on the issue: "Should history regard Jing Ke as a hero? Would you have wanted him to succeed? You be the judge! The fate of ancient China is in your hands! Order Shiji Hero Legend for the Super Nintendo now!" ...Whatever the case, I'd like to have fun with it.

So, hausen and I had the above exchange almost exactly 5 years ago. I wonder how many players actually read the full essay, either before or after the patch's release. You are a kindred soul, inasmuch as having the quirky intricacies of the game being overcome by a growing fascination with the story (or a beyond stubborn refusal to be permanently defeated by a mere video game)!

This very moment, I am translating a Kana-only game, Odysselya (I). I am picking apart the Japanese "words" (actually nuances of suggestions, thoughts, concepts, and expressions in many cases), one by one. In some cases, a typical two-line NPC string might take me a minute or two to extract, format, and semi-polish. In other instances, I might need hours or even days to obtain a good reading of a 30-line string that tells the tale of a seminal event. For example, I just cracked the story of a townsman in Athens, Greece who played Theseus in the annual festival and "slew" (the actor playing) Minotaur.

Meanwhile, a dirty sneak thief stole an heirloom golden chalice with a bull's head emblem. Then, the scoundrel fled to the island of Crete where the chalice just happens to also be the key that unlocks the labyrinth where the "ghost" of Minotaur is rumored to lurk. I'm going into my third day of getting this whole sub-scenario into a playable, semi-polished presentation. Once compiled into the patch, a typical player might burst through this whole English play in just one or two hours (depending on exploring and grinding time).

This very moment I'm actually wiggling around in my chair in anticipation of getting back to the Crete sub-scenario. I want to finish translating and writing all of the lengthy talk that leads up to the fight with that dirty sneak thief. Then, I want to grab back the chalice, enter the labyrinth, and see what that brings my way. I know the "dungeon" is loaded with treasure chests, some filled with unique items (not sold in stores!). And I need to get my work on Oni-II to Taskforce and fight that sneak thief before my wife wakes up and calls me to the house to watch another episode in the 4th season of "The Six Million Dollar Man"!

Anyway, figure a 60 hour game made up of 60 scenarios and additional major game-advancing scenes, then add all the time needed to ferret out monster names, items, menu fields, etc. Since writing SHL five years ago, I've finished my work on Odysselya-II and several other games translated by others. That is one reason my brain has become foggy on the details of Shiji. It's really important that players such as yourself come along and add fresh information that should help other tenacious players soldier on through this game. If quick fixes for the puzzles and warnings of unbalanced areas open the doors for others to enjoy everything this game has to offer, I'm all in favor. A well-written guide would still be useful for down the road. The game may be old tech, but the story is timeless and additional gamers will "discover" it in the years ahead.

Thanks, Sherkel, for posting your observations!

Thank you!! It's nice to be in good company here; it can be very hard to find. You've already sold me on Odysselya. It's good to hear how the translation process works and about an upcoming project to look forward to. Needless to say, there can't be much potential for a good translation unless someone with the same passion as the original author is writing it. That period of mythology interests me anyway (not to mention Tenpei Sato!) I'm definitely going to start one of your other translations once I finish Shiji anyway, but I haven't decided which one yet.

Once I beat the game, think you could send over a copy of the script?

About that guide...I think it should be easy enough to "fix" the machine translation of the Japanese one and throw in some additional tips. I may as well get on that once I finish!

You want the five files with both the Japanese and the English that was inserted into the patch? As long as the team concurs, I don't see a problem with that if you are cleaning up the raw guide.

Yes, that would be great!