Phantasy Star Prologue Story Comic Vol. 1 & 3 Provisional Translation [The comics translated in this document were published in pgs. 17-24 of Issue 5 and pgs. 52-59 of Issue 7 of the early official Sega magazine SPEC, released in 1990. These magazines have been scanned; you can read them yourself, along with other issues of SPEC, at: https://segaretro.org/File:Spec-5.pdf and https://segaretro.org/File:Spec-07.pdf. IMPORTANT NOTE: As you might have surmised by the "Vol. 1 & 3" and "Provisional" up there, this is not a complete translation of the Phantasy Star Prologue Story comic, as Vol. 2, which presumably lives in Issue 6 of SPEC, has not as of this writing been scanned. The plot of this comic is, to put it mildly, not complex, but there may be lines in Vol. 1 & 3 I would prefer to translate differently in light of the currently-unknown developments in Vol. 2. Therefore, please treat this as a provisional translation. If & when SPEC Issue 6 is available to me, I will complete & update this document. Stage directions are provided though not really necessary, as you can read this comic online yourself.] ************ Issue 5, pg. 17 PHANTASY STAR Prologue Story Vol. 1: City of Illusions Phoenix Rie [A young Lutz - clad in a tunic and pants, his hair short - stands in an all-enveloping mist. He gazes forward at a futuristic city that has emerged from the haze.] Lutz [narrating]: I look up at the sky, and a strange sight comes into view between the clouds. Mother says it's a mirage...but I know - that no such city exists on this planet of sand. Buildings of all shapes and sizes - that threaten to scrape the sky... Every time I see this sight...there's a pain in my heart, like it's been seized by an eagle... and my blood runs cold. What is that pale city... that city that appears to me alone - so faintly, and then fades into the light... Prologue Story: PHANTASY STAR Vol. 1: Illusion City Art: Phoenix Rie pg. 18 [Nighttime. Lutz is lying in a large tent, his head resting on a pillow. He is tended by a kind-looking woman with long, light-colored hair, gathered to the side in a ponytail.] SFX: ROLL! Lutz: Mother! I saw the mirage again today! Lutz's Mother: My! I suppose you have a mysterious power! Lutz: Why can't YOU see it, Mother? Artist's Note: What the hell, Lutz... You're like 11 years old!! SFX of mother's hand on blanket: pat pat Lutz's Mother: I suppose you're the only one who can! Maybe it's your father's blood. Lutz: My father? Lutz's Mother: He was a white mage, they say - and you are your father's son! [A silhouette of Lutz's father is shown behind his mom in this image. We see only that he has long hair and wears a distinctive filigree necklace with a large oval stone. On the subject of jewelry, it should be noted that Lutz's mother herself is wearing a distinctive headdress - the very one Lutz wears in Phantasy Star.] pg. 19 Lutz's Mother: Go to sleep, now. SFX: SNUGGLE SNUGGLE Lutz: Mm! Lutz [thinking]: Euriaude's coming tomorrow - Euriaude, the bard. Euriaude will know! About the pale city... the city that makes me so sad... [Morning. Lutz dashes across the dunes to meet his friend.] SFX: PAD PAD PAD PAD Lutz: EURIAUDE!! Euriaude! Welcome back! [Euriaude is a youngish man with shoulder-length light hair who dresses much like Vampire Hunter D, just with a light-colored cloak. He's added a feather to his wide-brimmed hat, but still.] pg. 20 [Lutz and Euriaude sit atop a dune as Euriaude strums his lute.] Euriaude: A mirage, you say... Lutz: Yes...that's what Mother says! But only I can see it... Euriaude: Lutz... The city is probably an illusion that your power allows you to see. SFX: STRUM Lutz: HUH?! But I've never even seen that city before! Artist's Note: Ha ha ha... [sweatdrop] Guess I was just indulging my own interests here! [I suppose this is because Euriaude looks rather handsome in this close-up.] SFX: STRUM Euriaude: That is the power of "foresight." Perhaps you will visit that city someday - and it will not be an illusion. pg. 21 [Euriaude begins to sing. I'm afraid that making Euriaude's song scan in translation would take an effort that exceeds my investment in this manga, so I present Euriaude's lines directly translated.] Euriaude [singing]: A legend of old passed down through the years from the sages who spin this world's tale A song of truth - a prophecy: the king of darkness, come anew A kingdom of chaos in the clouds overrun by the impure The spire of light, shattered in flame The sea to desert, the mountains to ice - And so, the old gods' power wanes... [Lutz listens in silence.] Euriaude: What's wrong? Lutz: But-- I mean, seeing it makes me feel cold - like my heart is splitting in two. Euriaude: Lutz... pg. 22 [Lutz pauses.] Lutz: And another thing - I have dreams sometimes. Dreams about another child - about my age. Euriaude: A girl? Lutz: Mm-mm. A boy! Very strong - always fighting. Euriaude: ... Lutz: Is this what you call...um, "foresight," too? SFX: ROLL [Lutz flops down on the ground on his back like the exasperated teenager he is.] Euriaude: It seems as if your power might be very strong indeed. pg. 23 [Lutz sits up with a:] SFX: JOLT! Lutz: Like father! Euriaude: Who was your father, Lutz? Lutz: I don't really remember him. But he was a white mage. And I'm supposed to have his power. Mother said...! [Suddenly, Lutz, physically or in premonition, sees sparks light up his vision.] Euriaude: What's wrong? [Lutz jumps to his feet.] Lutz: !! [A flash of light, inarguably in the physical realm this time, illuminates the by-now darkened sky.] Euriaude [I think]: That's--! [Smoke engulfs the horizon over the dunes.] pg. 24 Lutz: ...That smoke... it's coming from the village! [More smoke, and more explosions, puncture the sky in front of Euriaude & Lutz.] Lutz: MOTHER!! [Only stormtroopers could be so precise.] Thanx J. Totoya SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT P. Rie 1990.2 ************ [Note: As of this writing (Sept. 2019), Issue 6 of SPEC has not been scanned, and I do not own a copy. I am therefore translating Vol. 3 without the benefit of having read Vol. 2. Consider this a provisional translation.] Issue 7, pg. 52 PHANTASY STAR Prologue Story Vol. 3: Birth Phoenix Rie [Lutz and Euriaude are sitting in a cave. Lutz might be be slightly older than he was in Vol. 1 - he seems to be drawn a bit older, and his hair seems a bit longer, though this may be solely an artistic choice. He now wears his trademark headdress and, instead of a tunic, is wearing what seems to be a velvet robe with a dark pinnate leaf pattern. Euriaude has removed his Vampire Hunter D hat.] SFX: SPLISH Lutz [I think?]: An age of darkness?... The entire solar system will come to ruin...not just this star. Lutz: Something is corrupting the earth...the sky...the hearts of the people. Euriaude: The very hearts of the people...hm? A sinister power indeed... [Lutz clutches his hands nervously.] Lutz: What can we possibly do? We're so insignificant! We're just children...only human...! Euriaude: Lutz... I know there is something _you_ can - and must - do. pg. 53 Euriaude: ...Or rather, "you and your friends" - I should say. Do you remember the old song I sang for you before? There's more to it... about children born in an age of darkness...who will seal away the dark king... and take back the light - return it to the world. ...And one of them, I think - is you, Lutz. Eventually...not that far in the future... the day will come when you will chance to find your comrades... pg. 54 Euriaude: and meet the Child of Light who will destroy the darkness and save this world! Lutz [thinking]: I... and the comrades I will someday meet... together... [Later.] SFX: tweet tweet tweet... Lutz [thinking]: So...my future allies are somewhere in this world... somewhere yet unknown to me... SFX: splash [Lutz, for some reason, is standing in a wetland, surrounded by tropical birds. He is, again for some reason, clad only in a shawl with a star/snowflake inlaid pattern, watching the morning sun rise.] pg. 55 Lutz [thinking]: That reminds me...it was at times like this...when I felt this anxiousness... that I would often see that boy in my dreams... the boy with the immeasurable, unfathomable power. [We see the boy in question is Odin/Tylon. He seems considerably older than Lutz at this point - around his early 20s.] Lutz [thinking] To think that I would recall someone from my dreams when thinking of my future comrades. Lutz [startled]: Oh! Lutz [thinking]: What if - perhaps - that dream is another example of foresight? A premonition - that I now see more clearly than I did before. It's not a physical presence that I feel. Lutz: It's more like - a presence somewhere in my heart. Lutz [thinking]: Yes - like rays of light, shining through... SFX: flap pg. 56 [Lutz watches as the flock of birds around him flies away, toward the morning sun.] Lutz [thinking]: Hope - Birth - If it is as Euriaude says, then my comrades... Lutz: That's right. They are the brilliant light of life itself - Lutz [thinking]: The saviors of the world... pg. 57 SFX: rustle [Lutz makes his way to Euriaude, who has walked through the rushes to the edge of the wetland.] Lutz: Euriaude, if what you say - if the song of legend is true, then I think I know what that light from my premonitions meant. It was...the birth of hope. pg. 58 [We see a full-page illustration of a richly-dressed woman with brown hair holding an infant.] Lutz: The birth...of the savior! pg. 59 [We move forward in time. Adult Lutz, clad in his traditional robes, stands in a forest. He smiles; Myau is at his feet.] Alisa: Lutz!... Lutz!... Over here! You're going to be left behind! We're leaving! [Lutz closes his eyes and smiles again.] Lutz [thinking]: Euriaude... It's just as you said - just as in the song of legend... [Alis/Alisa approaches Lutz.] Alisa: What's wrong? Lutz [thinking]: We all found each other. And now the children born in the age of darkness shall wield the light of hope and vanquish the dark king. END Rie 1990.11.13 Thanks to big sis Chouko! *** Translation by R. Capowski, 9/27/19, RACapowski@sceneryrecalled.com. This translation is unauthorized. I kinda don't like what I've read of this manga, for two reasons: 1. It has a lot of creepy pseudo-sexualization of young Lutz: he's shown rolling around in bed, implied to be at least partially undressed, with bare shoulders; he's for no good reason naked, except for a clumsy shawl, in the middle portion of Vol. 3. While it's mild, it's still really inappropriate considering he's "like 11." 2. I don't like the whole "prophecy" and "divine chosen children" angle it tries to introduce. It's out of character for the series, which is about proactive, responsible people seeing a problem and getting together to _solve_ it. Biosystems out of control? Let's get together a team of professionals, tromp on down to Zema, and bust in to see what's what. Evil dictator oppressing the populace? Well, let's go kill him. Yeah, I'm wearing a pink skirt. _What of it?!_ No one's moving out because they're the Godly Hero of Legend; they're just people who decide to take matters into their own hands and get stuff _done._ I admire that commitment to workaday professionalism. I do like the designs of Lutz's early Vol. 3 costume and shawl, though.