Well, here is my first article in quite some time, and with its publication I can verify that I’m still breathing. And with it I can also verify that I’m still very much in the business of stirring crap up, as you’ll soon see.

With the recent announcement of Dissidia Duodecim, I thought it might be a good idea to offer some predictions for where I expect the story to go, and to address some controversial elements of the overall plot that have seen a resurgence in debate since fans learned of the impending prequel. Something of a follow-up to the Dissidia Plot Analysis FAQ that MakoEyes and I wrote for the first Dissidia, this article will touch on some elements of the story discussed there, but in different detail.

Click “Read the rest of this entry” below for my thoughts on these fan debates, the overall story for this sub-series of the Final Fantasy franchise, and what we can possibly expect to see from its upcoming new entry.

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So after a brief hiatus to allow Hitoshura to complete FFXIII, we finally have some new translations from the CC Complete Guide, in our effort to complete the entire keyword collection section! You can read the following new translations here. Enjoy everyone!

Again, working from specifically the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 2: Scenario guide. This post is a follow-up to the “Sources of Power in FF” article I just posted, which also included translations from the FF 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 2: Scenario book.

Actually, this post might better be characterized as a follow-up to the “Love Triangle Debate- over” article that Ryushikaze posted a couple of days ago. That article included selected translations from the section which I am now posting a translation of in its entirety.

I think you’ll find that the ramifications for the Love Triangle Debate are even more obvious when you can read the entire page. Do enjoy.
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Final Fantasy Seven’s love triangle debate has been raging for the better part of twelve years now, and caused no end of interfandom tensions. For those of you unfamiliar with the whole debacle, I first congratulate you on your luck in remaining free, and I next explain that it is the debate over which of Tifa or Aerith Cloud Strife loves. Many a year, and countless hypotheses have been spent trying to argue that Cloud and Tifa are not a couple despite all the best evidence, and that Cloud and Aerith have a relationship despite the latter’s unfortunate condition. For some time, the love triangle debate has been in what could aptly be described as its death throes. Today, hopefully, we can perform a mercy killing.

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Sorry for the delay in new translations related to Final Fantasy VIII. I’ve had quite a lot going on, and what translating I have been doing has mostly been about other stuff.

Anyway, I’m happy to report that I have some more translations to post. Not all of it’s from the FFVIII Ultimania, though.

Among what I have here are Ellone, Edea, Ultimecia and Adel’s profiles from the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 1: Character guide. They’re not exactly the most interesting profiles ever, but they do confirm a couple of things that fans have long suspected, and it’s a cool novelty to at last have some kind of profile for Ultimecia — even if it only contains stuff we already knew.

A big thanks, by the way, to forum member Celes Chere for providing me with the scans from this book that I translated.

This post also includes the “A Day of Instruction at Garden” epilogue to FFVIII from the back of FFVIII’s Ultimania. Written by Kazushige Nojima, FFVIII’s writer, this is a short story depicting a classroom discussion at Garden about Hyne and witches. It’s pretty interesting, but not exactly riveting. Tells us a few things we didn’t know at any rate, including the name of the scholar who first coined the term “witches.”

By the way — if it reads kind of strangely, it’s in part because I didn’t go to any great, painful lengths to smooth out the language, and probably also because we’re only privy to the teacher’s words. The students’ input isn’t in the text, and can only be guessed based on what the teacher says in response.

Hope you enjoy!
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A follow-up to our first article featuring translations from the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania from a little over a week ago, here’s the rest of the Keyword section from the guide book — only ever available in Japanese until now!

The last of the three pages of the Keyword section are featured below, found on pages 43 through 45 of the Ultimania. All of the entries below were translated by me except for the Gunblade entry, which was translated at my request by DarkAngel several years ago for inclusion in the Time/Ultimecia Plot FAQ I co-authored.

That said, to give credit where credit is due, Ryushikaze — another staff member here at TheLifestream.net — assisted me with a couple of lines I had some issues with.

Without further ado, enjoy!

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With the December 17th release of Final Fantasy VIII on the Playstation Network, TLS felt now was the best times to look back on one of the most iconic Final Fantasies of the PSX era. It is with great pleasure that we begin hosting our translations of the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, done by Squall_of_SeeD. The “Sorceresses” and “Magic” entries however, were translated several years ago by ACF member DarkAngel, which were then only available until now in the Time/Ultimecia Plot FAQ SoS helped write a while ago.

The following translations below are from the first two pages of the five-page keyword section of the Ultimania, found on pages 41 to 45. Be sure to check back to see the rest in our series of FFVIII Ultimania Translations. A big thanks to SoS for all his hard work on getting us this information. With that, enjoy!

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Hitoshura continues his translations of the pages of the Crisis Core Complete Guide’s Keyword Collection, and you can find all of the translated info right here. This time there’s an emphasis on locations, and the character Zack Fair himself. So read on and enjoy!

Hitoshura has done translated several more pages of the Crisis Core Complete Guide’s Keyword Collection, and you can find all of the translated info right here. It’s quite an update, so be sure to give him your thanks for all the info. Enjoy!

Slowly but surely, hitoshura’s making it through, translating each page of the Crisis Core Complete Guide. The article that houses these translations is gonna end up several pages long at this rate XD

Anyways, you can find the new storyline and scenario translations here, and of course, more will be coming. Who knows what clarifications from these translations will result, and which theories will be subsequently shot down and burned by the information? Heh heh..enjoy folks!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In between stuffing your faces, let us give thanks to Hitoshura for giving us another translated page from the Crisis Core Complete Guide’s Keyword Explanation section. He just seems to be on a roll right now! You can view the new translations here. Enjoy!

Hitoshura’s timing is impeccable, because now he has some new translations from the Crisis Core Complete Guide’s Keyword Explanation section to share with us, now that our site is back up and on the new host. You can view the new translations here. A big thanks to hito for translating this stuff. Be sure to check back for the next set of translations from the next page!