A few years ago since buying the Seiken Densetsu 3 overseas materials, I made it a bit of a pet project to want to translate the materials inside as a sort of "expansion" of the original Neil Corlett English translation and to help give further backstories and lore on the world and characters of Seiken Densetsu 3. But as we all know, this is also a hobby, and we also have our own lives to see through. Even though the epidemic lockdown and quarantine has allowed us more time on our hands, admittedly, there are also other series I have been translating for, specifically the Street Fighter and Battle Arena Toshinden wikis, and I am also not a Japanese major, infact, far from it. Translating in this case, takes up a bit more time than I would like to admit.
I was hoping to probably get a massive plethora of lore done, and to pretty much get the classes lore done as well (absolutely guilty of lacking much for Charlotte, many apologies, Charlotte fans, do I want to get to her stuff soon) before the release of Trials. The thing about it is, however, much of the equipment for the classes, and especially concerning master classes, also have insights that require using your introspection, imagination, investigation, and piecing together what mystique and workings they have for a full picture. Admittedly, Kevin's lore has written itself practically, as well as Hawkeye's, due to my interest in martial arts and Japanese martial arts, including ninjutsu; for example, the Fatal Fist (Death Hand) has its forbidden nature explained only through the Seiryuu Uniform and Sapphire Band, while requiring some familiarity to know that antagonists in martial arts genres will go down ways that the martial arts world would not find to be good in the long run, especially using one's art to attain things with force and learning forbidden techniques that are not meant to be used irresponsibly, or for more vicious styles, at all for their instantaneously lethal and cruel nature (though I am a fan of Fist of the North Star, so this can definitely go another way considering the interpretations of good and evil). As much as the official word is important, I have strongly felt since finding the series that there is an emotional core to each and every class that reflects upon each of the characters and comes to draw upon their being to help manifest them when they make the choice to go down that job path, and the findings I have made I know have come to be evidence to reinforce this fact.
Riesz's admittedly will be the hardest because her equipment and class lore are the most storied and interconnected with the Mana universe, and to especially Fa'Diel's own lore around the heavens and the Mana Goddess, yet have the greatest divides to attempt to bridge together. For example, the Rune Maiden's focus of being a follower of a forgotten god of war, that I did not get because that piece of information was in the SD3 Prologue book, which has even more extensive information on classes. I have already translated class info on the Starlancer, but even with both Guide and Prologue lore, I don't feel I'll get much until I translate the lore of their ultimate equipment. It's that much of a task.
So at the end of it all, I do admit that this will take quite a while with the pace I am going, but I still am committed to wanting to translate everything and see through my projects to the end.
@ThatOneScribe , thank you for your contributions, and I will do my best to incorporate your insights when I get to translating Duran and Angela's Light paths and Charlotte's Class paths. I like your incorporation of whimsy and fantastical interpretations from the official Trials of Mana descriptions for classes from Square's site.
To the one from this address, 75.73.174.159, thank you for your encouragement and kind words. I am glad that my work in providing expanded information from official sources on job classes and showcasing their emotional core shows people a world of wonder and potential that the Mana series has to offer not just as a game and story, but a vibrant imaginative world of its own, and to resonate with people on a more emotional and resonant level than just through tactics and usefulness as mere roles. I believe that is what the creators of Seiken Densetsu 3 really wanted to entail.
To everyone, great work and I hope you are all doing well and are safe in these troubling times. May we meet again soon.
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