Rosa: Deceptively Smart
Rosa: Deceptively Smart Credit: Square Enix Rosa is, perhaps, a beacon of joy amongst female-writing in video games. Actually, so is Rydia. Actually, this entire game is great for female writing. Because sure, Rosa is the centre of a love-triangle, but how much of her dialogue is her cooing over the two men that go after her? How much of her character exists solely to prop up the male characters that surround her? Not much at all - and especially not for 1994 standards. In a word, I love her! So, what do the translation differences tell us about the differences and similarities between the Japanese and English Rosa? Well, unlike Cecil and Kain, she’s not all that different! But one thing that does stand out is that she really is deceptively smart. Let’s start with a little history lesson. Well, not so much history, really - but let’s talk about White Mages. The white mage, I think it’s fair, has never been associated with many smarts. Female, sure, often beautiful: ...