Regarding canonicity of the Planet's name

[Shademp]

My friend The_Kusabi_ has returned from a year-long hiatus to provide his input. Kusabi is fluent in Japanese and sometimes gets expert help from his wife who is a Japanese native. Their knowledge has helped me before and they help complete my Japanese FFVII videos with annotations by translating them from English to Japanese.

I asked Kusabi to look up if there is any support in Japanese canon for the name of FFVII's planet being "Gaia". He began by extensively searching the Japanese web. The only context in which he found the term was in reference to Gaea's/Gaia's Cliff and in an FF7-FF9 discussion.

Hah, I thought I almost found a website talking about Gaia and FF7, but it was just another false alarm. They were talking about FF9 and FF7 in the same paragraph, but were just saying something about Garland trying to use Gaia's lifestream and comparing it to Sephiroth using 'the planet's' lifestream.

After trying dozens of search terms and combinations, he still found nothing. He then moved on to check the Japanese FFVII manual and the Ultimania Omega. In both of these he found countless references to the planet (星 [hoshi]) but nothing that calls the planet by name.

I found the name Gaia, twice! And yet, both times are in the name "Gaia's Cliff". Every other mention aside from "Gaia's Cliff" just goes on and on about hoshi. 星's wound, 星's blood, 星's life, everything aside from merely the name of Gaia's Cliff is all about 星. Also, there is a paragraph talking about the Lifestream, and they say 星 a total of 8 times, and don't mention Gaia once.

...

One mention of Gaia's Cliff even is written in a way that almost is calling 星 the name of the planet. It is like "Gaia's Cliff, the walls of the crater leading to the great wound of 星 (the Planet).

Kusabi has not searched each and every page of every FFVII guide book, true, but without a single Japanese source on the web calling the planet by the name of Gaia, and so far nothing found in the Ultimania Omega, everything is leaning towards "Gaia" not being part of Japanese FFVII canon.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

My thanks to The_Kusabi for his research and input. I think this is pretty much what we expected at this point, though I still wonder what the Japanese entry for Ultima Weapon in All the Bravest says.

 

[Shademp]

Kusabi is a great hero. He just now bought the Japanese version of FF:ATB and found the description for us.

Spoiler: Screenshot

星が生み出したウェポンシリーズで最強を誇りその翼で大空を飛び回る
"With the pride of the greatest of the Weapon Series birthed by the Planet, it flies through the great skies on wings [given by the Planet]"
This is a very -rough- but direct translation of the text.
Note that 星 is used in the text as the name of the planet, whereas ガイア (Gaia) is not present at all.

 

[ForceStealer]

Damn dude. Thank you!

I hope you can get at least a little enjoyment out of that silly game, for your trouble.

 

[The_Kusabi_]

Opps

I guess I'm a horrible person for researching it, though. Don't reward bad behavior and all that. I paid SE around USD $12-15 (maybe 1000-1200 Yen, I don't remember exactly) to buy the game, the FF7 Premium monster content, and just a couple unique characters, so I had more power at the beginning. I used that power to just make a beeline to Ultimate Weapon.
I feel kind of filthy having paid SE for that, though. And this is coming from someone who *loves* SE.


Well, I did it in the name of SCIENCE, so it must be forgivable, right?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

You're awesome, dude. Thanks for doing it. I really appreciate it.

If it makes you feel any better, though, I've spent over $100 just for gathering material for research in the Love Triangle Debate.

EDIT: Is the screenshot showing up for anybody else in Shademp's post? I don't see it.

 

[Strangelove]

you loser, tres

the screenshot works for me, but here it is as an attachment if anyone else can't see it

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Thanks.

So, yeah, I guess that solves all this once and for all. "Gaia" is English canon like "Deusericus" is for Lazard's surname, but not canon canon.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Right, since the Planet is a silly name for a planet- nearly as silly as 'dirt'- I vote we petition SE to rename it. How 'bout Steve?

Or, since FFIV is the Blue Planet, maybe this can be the Green one!

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

My vote is that it be named ホシ.

 

[ForceStealer]

Precisely, then we can capitalize it without Shademp givin' us shit about "canon"

 

[Shademp]

Updated the article with the new info and changed some random stuff

After Tres has proofread and made sure the feature looks even better, a newspost will be made about the article.

Precisely, then we can capitalize it without Shademp givin' us shit about "canon"

Every time you write WEAPON or Planet, bunnies cry. /jk

Fortunately, I don't mind how people write stuff on the forums. It is a worthwhile discussion though to discuss and agree on what should or should not be the writing standards of our frontpage material.


EDIT: Kusabi is hard at work translating other stuff, like on GameFAQs he just posted a translation about the Ark ship from FFIX.

 

[The_Kusabi_]

Ark

EDIT: Kusabi is hard at work translating other stuff, like on GameFAQs he just posted a translation about the Ark ship from FFIX.

That's something that I'm aware Squall has already translated, on this very site. I was just bringing it to the attention of the folks there who were asking about what Ark was and where it came from. That line in the Anniversary Ultimania proved that Ark was in fact from Terra, so I wanted to make sure they were aware of that

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Yep, that's one of a ton of things from the 25th Memorial Ultimania Vol. 2 that hito and I translated -- and which I still need to make into a frontpage post.

 

[Makoeyes987]

To be fair, it was pretty obvious that Ark was not of this world, when you found the machine-like creature literally floating there, guarding Oeilvert and attacking you. It doesn't look like a native Gaian Eidolon or creature at all.

It's a confirmation that helps clarify what the game heavily hinted at.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

If I remember right, there's even a holographic display of Ark in Oeilvert that mentions it being a Terran vessel.

 

[The_Kusabi_]

Ark

And yet for some reason, a lot of people on GameFAQs have repeatedly asked in threads throughout the years, "why is this eidolon in Gaia's Crystal" and "where did it come from", and variations of those. The simple answers being, it didn't come from, and it isn't stated anywhere it came from Gaia's Crystal. Terra has its own magical beings as well. I honestly don't know why people keep insisting everything eidolon-related must be from Gaia. Terra is an entire culture based on highly advanced magic.

And Ark is a lot more powerful than any of those puny Gaia ones as well

...Except maybe Alexander, because he is just a beast in 9.

 

[Strangelove]

someone needs to scan ALL THE THINGS from the 25th anniversary ultimania

because my bank balance is in single digits right now and it's still ambiguous as to when that will change

 

[The_Kusabi_]

Scans

I too would appreciate having fully scanned books of the Anniversary Ultimania. I hate having to go search for what boxes which books are in, which is why I mostly reference the FF7/8/9 Ultimanias using PDF scans I downloaded. I'm not sure which of my boxes my Anniversary Ultimanias are in, and simply looked at the scanned image of that Ark page that was here on the Lifestream, when I made that GameFAQs post. So I'd be really happy if someone scanned the whole thing and uploaded it in a convenient zipped folder.

Why are your money problems so bad hito? Crappy low-paying job or currently unemployed?

 

[Strangelove]

Unemployed while studying for new work and unexpected expenses taking what money I did have

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

It's a confirmation that helps clarify what the game heavily hinted at.

That's really what most of the info in the Ultimanias seems to be, tbh.