It's the name a four year old would give it. At least Icebolt sounds like something a dorky ten year old would come up with.
That’s the thing. You freeze them and snap, crackle and pop goes their neck.
Crackle sounds like a cereal not an ice spell.
It also sounds way more vanilla.
I just can't deal with the puns. The accents are hit and miss. Ragnar's chapter with the heavy Scottish brogue is clever, but also makes it hard to sometimes understand what the objective is. Thankfully the game is so simple, cause a more complex narrative would have needed a pulled back approach. The weird Russian grammar structure in Alena's story is more annoying though, and I remember the heavy French accents in the Twins arc also made it a challenge to sometimes figure out what people wanted. Now their translations in other games are nice, but as someone who grew up with the non-punny translations of old, it's hard to play through some of these entries. Icebolt just sounds cooler than Crackle.
I actually think the new DQ translations are some of the best translations out there. Puns and accents aside, there’s a level of Polish and attention to detail that just goes far beyond what other RPG translations do. English DQ has its own unique identity that sets its apart from everything else, and as a translator myself, I am a big fan of the approach and has huge respect for the people who did it.
I think the best thing about playing DQIII again on the SNES is that the translators chose the GBC translation over the newer ones. I get that the new translation is closer to the original, but I just prefer less puns and and spells being listed by the description of their sound effect over a more easily decipherable one.
I wouldn't say it's stifling, or I guess it would depend on the approach. I sometimes enjoy having a sense of canon or structure to a story. I think one of the reasons why all of my co-writing fanfic stories never go anywhere is because I get caught up into adhering to the established rules and setting. Most fanfic writers I know love to fly fast and loose with the setting and rules, but I tend to like to stay within the confines. I guess I enjoy the challenge of writing something that I feel could be mistaken for the actual author's work, which is my usual goal with such types of stories. When I have my freedom to do as I wish, I feel the important thing is to maintain the themes and feel of the original. One of the comic projects I'm working on is an alternate Spider-Man character, but it's been fun planning out the story because the general mythology and themes of the Spiderverse give me enough leg room to be creative while still maintaining a story that feels familiar. It's interesting and probably where being very analytical about things comes in really handy.
I’m all for fan work, honestly. I find the very idea that anyone would want to make something based on a thing I made extremely flattering. But yeah, I think I’d love to be involve in a bigger adaptation project - unless it’s a creator I know and trust. Because I know a firm grip on the original material can be creatively stifling for an adaptation
On the other hand, I don't think I would be as bad about fanart or fan projects. I'd probably be pretty lenient unless they were seriously making money off it and even then, I'd probably let them continue as long as I saw some of the share.
