27 years after the release of the original FF7 Rebirth providing thoroughly revamped ways to play through the first two-thirds of the game's story.

With a surplus of options, deciding how to play FF7 can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to a first-time experience. The remake games have their strong points, but they're also revised takes on the story, and there's a lot of merit in first experiencing it as originally told. English speakers, however, never did quite experience FF7 as originally told. The game's classic English translation has a lot of very obvious problems, and although re-releases fixed some of the most glaring grammatical errors, the translation as it stands still doesn't represent what was written in Japanese consistently well.

The Shinra Archaeology Cut Fixes FF7’s Translation

Revisiting A Famously Rough Localization

Thanks to the work of some very dedicated fans, it's now possible to play a version of FF7 that seems much closer to the original intent. The Shinra Archaeology Cut, released on October 20 per an announcement from Shinra Archaeology Department on Twitter, thoroughly reworks the script to be more accurate in both content and tone. The project's official website states the aim of providing an experience that's "as close as possible to that of Japanese-speaking players," a lofty goal that's been approached in an unusually thoughtful way.

The age-old argument surrounding translations is the question of transliteration that strictly follows the original text versus localization that modifies it to fit more naturally into the target language, something that's often presented as a binary instead of a sliding scale. Although the Shinra Archaeology Cut is dead-set on accuracy, it's not shying away from the benefits of localization where necessary. English idioms come into play when they reflect the spirit of the text, and a ResetEra post from Shinra Archaeology Project editor TheStrifeIsRife mentioned a few iconic lines from the original translation being kept in some form.

The Shinra Archaeology Cut isn't the first FF7 fan translation, but the way it balances these ideals is uniquely promising.

In cases where classic FF7 dialogue made it into FF7 Remake or Rebirth unchanged in both content and context, the Shinra Archaeology Cut opts for the new official translation, which plays a lot less fast and loose than the original did. Other FF7 projects, from Dirge of Cerberus to Advent Children, are used in smaller quantities. For the academically curious, Shinra Archaeology Project has provided full documentation of the new translation as it compares to original Japanese and English dialogue in a Google Sheets file, which also contains a lot of illuminating (and sometimes amusing) notes about the choices made.

Cut Content Offers A Deeper Look Into FF7’s Story

More Material Than Ever Before

The other big selling point of the Shinra Archaeology Cut is the option to restore a good chunk of cut content from FF7, mostly from mining the original game files or referencing early documentation for the game. Cut content is often cut for a reason, so this probably isn't the best way to go for a first-time playthrough, but it's possible to use a translation-only version of the Shinra Archaeology Cut translation without these additions. Those who already know FF7 by heart, on the other hand, could get a lot out of experiencing it with some extra material.

The Google Sheets file delineates which Shinra Archaeology Cut inclusions come from cut content, with originally unused text appearing in dark blue cells.

Although some restored content comes down to minor dialogue additions, Shinra Archaeology Cut contains some reasonably substantial additions. Restorations like the famously scrapped sequence at the Honey Bee Inn should be of particular interest to fans of the game, filling in gaps that were ultimately obvious in the finished version of FF7. It's always been something of an erratic experience, and although sticking unused content back in doesn't necessarily smooth that over, it offers a slightly more comprehensive look at the mess that FF7 was carved from.

The Original FF7 Translation Still Has Its Charms

An Awkward Presentation Can Win Hearts

The Shinra Archaeology Cut certainly brings the game closer to its original intent, but it doesn't necessarily remove all value from the original English translation. There's still no better visual solution for FF7 than playing an original copy on a CRT, and there's no way to use the Shinra Archaeology Cut with a setup that straightforward. FF7 is a great game in any form, which the smash success of the original Western release of the game can attest to.

While attachment to lines like "this guy are sick" might be a product of nostalgia more than anything else, there's a significance to the original translation's role in defining the experience for millions of fans. Sharing in that experience and understanding why the distorted name Aeris persists today can be special, and the absolute worst bits of the translation do add some layer of dinky charm. Playing an original copy of FF7 on a CRT also still provides the best visual experience, and there's no way to use the Shinra Archaeology Cut with a setup that straightforward.

FF7 's story still begs to be told in a way that isn't a bit mangled, though, and the Shinra Archaeology Cut seems like a definitive new solution. For those interested in the mod, it can be used with the PC version of the game, and the 7th Heaven mod manager for FF7 makes it easy to install without much modding experience. FF7 Rebirth is still the shiniest modern presentation of Final Fantasy 7's story, but with major changes of its own, it can't beat the Shinra Archaeology Cut at presenting a masterpiece on its original .

Sources: Shinra Archaeology Department/Twitter, Shinra Archaeology, TheStrifeIsRife/ResetEra, Google Sheets