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Confidential File -Secret Chapters- Directory

Because the content I've translated / scanned from this book is scattered across this blog on multiple pages, I've decided to put together a directory of the content in the book so readers can more easily find what they're looking for. Please note that as I haven't translated the entire book and god knows I probably never will, the unlinked sections below are not (yet?) included on this blog. If anyone's still reading this long-neglected blog, this would be the place to request specific translations in the comments, though! Prologue Q&A For Strangers in Paradise This section primarily teaches how to play the game so it's likely I won't be translating it. Settings File Mission & Battle File Challenge File Secret 1: Story & World Study Character Profiles  View them all in one post at the link above, or individually: Jack Ash Jed Neon Sophia Astos Sarah Bikke King of Cornelia Minister Lagone Queen Jayne Mia Lufenian Darkness Manifest Tiamat Marilith
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Darkness Manifest Enemy File

Inoue: Following the Final Fantasy I theming of this game -- the final boss of FFI is a creature called Chaos, but we thought it'd be strange to give that name to the final boss for this game when it's a story about how Jack becomes Chaos, so we called it Darkness Manifest. In some of the localizations, the name translated as-is included the word "Chaos", so we made sure to adjust it so that it's clear that this boss and Chaos are separate entities.* When we were recording for the game, at that stage in development we were calling it "Chaos," we had an argument about whether we should call on the voice actor from Dissidia since we're calling it "Chaos." But, because the other Four Fiends** were being voiced by Jack's companions, we had Jack's voice actor, Kenjiro Tsuda, handle the voice acting for Darkness Manifest.

Translator's note: A lot to unpack here!
* Darkness Manifest's Japanese name is essentially "Chaotic Darkness," and so the name was specifically changed for the English version to indicate it's not the same as Chaos. The word used for "Chaotic" in its name, and the word used for Chaos itself in Japanese are different, so this is already clear to Japanese audiences.
** I've mentioned this elsewhere, but the Four Fiends are referred to in Japanese as the Four Chaos, so if you consider Darkness Manifest as a sort of "Fifth Fiend," it makes sense that Jack's voice actor also had this role.
Moving on!

The direction given to Taketani on this design was that this entity's negative emotion theme was "nothing". In other words, it is negative emotion. That Darkness Manifest has four arms is not from any basis in-game in Final Fantasy I, but because the Chaos sitting on the throne in one of Mr. Amano's illustrations had four arms. Darkness Manifest is an aggregation of the darkness of the Four Fiends -- Tiamat, Marilith, Lich, and Kraken -- mixed with the despair felt by Jack and the others. Each of its four arms holds an element from each of the Fiends. (During the design stage, the element of wind was purple, but was changed to green in production.) In principle, the overall design follows that of Chaos from Final Fantasy I, but with wings, different coloring, and other adjustments to make it more suited to this game. This is a nod towards the fact that the world that Jack and the others are in isn't exactly the same as that of Final Fantasy I, but has been reinterpreted in a way that suits this game. Moreover -- it may be hard to notice -- but it was Taketani's idea to hide the faces of Ash, Jed, Neon, and Sophia at the base of Chaos' neck. This may have been the reason that Jack momentarily recalls his friends for a second during the soul burst.

translated by Jai from Confidential Files - Secret Chapters -




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