Japanese Translation Update: FSA Ganondorf is not an "ancient demon reborn".

Resident translator Jumbie recently translated some important lines in FSA: the inscription within the Great Pyramid and the game's ending. What he has discovered shows that FSA does not refer to the rebirth or resurrection of an ancient demon.

First, here's a link to the Pyramid translation:

Translation of Japanese Game Texts - Legends Alliance Forums

And this is the translation of the line "Evil spirit of magic trident.":

Born from darkness, the demon's evil device, the trident.

Now here's the link to the translation of FSA's ending:

Translation of Japanese Game Texts - Legends Alliance Forums

And here's the translation of the line "King of Darkness, wielder of the trident, ancient demon reborn.:

King of Darkness… The man who took the Trident, the evil device (ja-ki) of the demon resurrected from ancient times!!

As you can see, neither quotes actively refer to the ancient demon playing a part in FSA's story, but they refer to the Trident as the demon's evil device, thus creating a back story for the Trident. Ganondorf is only the King of Darkness because he took the Trident, not because he was reincarnted.

"the evil device of the demon resurrected from ancient times"

What does the resurrection refer to?

Originally Posted by Erimgard

"the evil device of the demon resurrected from ancient times"

What does the resurrection refer to?

Well, it has admitted to be somewhat ambiguous. If you highlight "the demon resurrected from ancient times", then it would suggest that the demon itself has been resurrected. The problem though is that we have no supporting evidence to suggest a demon was involved in FSA's story.

On the other hand, "the evil device of the demon" could also be read as "the demon's evil device", in which case it would mean the Trident has been resurrected by Ganondorf. Since we know the Trident has been sealed in the Pyramid since ancient times, that interpretation is much more befitting of the story.

^ I thought of that. Can an item be "resurrected"?

This is dangerous. Seriously. This piece that we see here is pretty vague, and it can be interpreted in a few various ways. It gets even worse when you consider the fact that the japanese language is pretty screwed up, some translations just can't make sense in the english language no matter how you look at it.

As I see it, it says that Ganondorf isn't an evil demon reborn but rather, the Trident once belonged to a demon... that was reborn (why is that important?). Could be Ganon, could be someone else (I pressume).

The identity of the demon is unknown, but it is pretty conclusive that FSA Ganon is not the demon (it deliberately separates him from the demon).

As for the ambiguity in one line of text, which I explained in my previous post, there is one interpretation which befits the story and one interpretation which has no visible support in the story. Clearly we can deduce which interpretation is correct.

It would make sense that they are talking about the trident. There have almost always been old relics and artifact weapons in the games. Link gets most of his nifty stuff that way.

Originally Posted by Hombre de Mundo

^ I thought of that. Can an item be "resurrected"?

Yes. "The Titanic has been resurrected from the bottom of the ocean."

This is interesting. If Ganon isn't the demon then I wonder who is...

Anyway, I think this translation makes perfect sense and I'm willing to accept it. I still think it's weird how Jumbie can translate it better than Nintendo though.

Originally Posted by Hugh O

This is interesting. If Ganon isn't the demon then I wonder who is...

Given the general ambiguity surrounding the demon's identity, and the placement of the Trident in the Pyramid, I don't think we're meant to know the demon's identity. It provides a back story for the Trident, but it's not meant to be delved into.

Anyway, I think this translation makes perfect sense and I'm willing to accept it. I still think it's weird how Jumbie can translate it better than Nintendo though.

Japanese words can have multiple meanings; it can be difficult to decide which context the word best fits.

For example, one sentence in the initial release of Twilight Princess referred to "the life force of the gods". But then NOA realised that the word meaning "life" actually meant "command", so it was changed to "the order of the gods" in the re-release (where the bugs were fixed).

Maybe I'm seeing it a bit literally, but it seems like it might just be their way of describing the trident as the "devil's pitchfork".

Perhaps this Demon is the 1 who released Ganon in the adult Timeline?




this is all very interesting......maybe that demon is the monster hovering in the sky in the picture in the WW


I love speculating

this is all very interesting......maybe that demon is the monster hovering in the sky in the picture in the WW

Why would that be anything other than Ganon[dorf] himself?

Can it be that the Ganon of old, sealed a portion of his demonic spirit within the trident, when the new Ganondorf found the Trident, he was possessed by the Ganon of old, therefore, there is still one Ganon. Ganon is the Demon, but the ancient Ganon is the demon, the new ganondorf is just a man, possessed by the ancient demon, Ganon, providing a host body for the Demon, hard to explain but do you guys understand what im getting at?

Well, I've seen several theories that the Trident is actually "possessed" or "harboring" Ganon's soul, or that the Trident is some sort of manifestation of Ganon.
This would explain why whoever holds the Trident becomes the "King of Darkness", the same title used of Ganon.

Up until a few weeks ago, I thought it was all pointless speculation, but this, plus the possibility of Ganondorf escaping the Seal by means of a soul-split makes me think it's possible.
Somehow via soul-split, Ganondorf escaped the seal, and the "Ganon" spirit in him was harbored in the Trident. Thus, when the Ganondorf from FSA takes the Trident, he becomes Ganon.

Either way, do to the inequality of Ganon deaths to Ganon appearances, I'd say FSA Ganondorf is a reincarnation...especially when you consider that he's not present or mentioned in MC or FS, suggesting that he was not known [which he would be if he was a Ganon from any other the games]

Jumbie has made a new suggestion. FSA is not referring to a literal demon, but demons in general.

"A demon's device" would mean a device made to be wielded by demons. Since Ganon wields the Trident and becomes a demon, this would support that interpretation.

Originally Posted by Erimgard

Why would that be anything other than Ganon[dorf] himself?

cause the picture dosen't look like a humanoid form or his demon pig form

Originally Posted by Son_michael

cause the picture dosen't look like a humanoid form or his demon pig form

It doesn't have to be an exact depiction of the form. Ganon's "pig" form in OoT looks nothing like ALTTP. We can clearly see a snout on the beast's face, and that tells us it is Ganon. Plus, the image appears in front of text referring to Ganon, and so we can conclusively say that it is Ganon.