Japanese HeroQuest: Character Sheets & Boards Translation

[HispaZargon]

Hi everybody,

After finishing the edition and translation to English of the Rulebook, Screen and Quest Book of the Japanese Edition of Hero Quest, I think now is time to also do the same with the Character Sheets and the four Character Boards, in order to advance in the full translation of all game components.

Fortunately, we already have available in the Inn some scans of the original Japanese character sheets and boards, so I guess this editing and traslating task will be easier and faster than previous ones. Of course, I will try again to use as much as posible all the information available in the forum about traslation of these components.

[HispaZargon]

Hi again,

Well, let's start with the CHARACTER SHEETS. I found somewhere here in the Inn a picture of a original Japanese character sheet, so I firstly decided to make the following printable PDF version of it, which I took as master version:

HQ_Japanese_Character_Sheet_1991_[JAP]_[PRINT-VERSION].pdf

Checking the pictures provided by Derfel Link in this old post, I guess the size of the original Japanese character sheets is the same as the EU version ones, so I have defined them in the PDF with 143 x 95 mm dimensions (NA version character sheet is 144 x 94 mm size, the same as EU one)

Unfortunately I have not found anywhere a previous translation of this sheet or any draft about it here in the Inn so, I have had to translate it by myself using online translators and all the information we already have collected through the other translation tasks. Additionally, original Japanese character sheet includes at the end a checkbox list of all the quests in the game in order to mark those ones already completed by the hero so, translating the title of those quests in the sheet before having a mature translation of the Quest Book would have been an absurd task but, happily now we already have in my opinion an enough mature translated version of the Quest Book so, according to that, here are my resulting translated Character Sheets (As happended with the Evil Wizard Screen, I think they are the first ones in History!! hahaha... ):

HQ_Japanese_Character_Sheet_in_English_v1.0_by_HispaZargon_[PRINT-VERSION].pdf

I think they are Ok as they are now but, of course if you find anything that you think should be corrected, please tell me.

[Kurgan]

Nice to see these!

[Daedalus]

I see the Japanese translator used Quest Check, not Quest Checklist. Oh well.

[HispaZargon]

I see the Japanese translator used Quest Check, not Quest Checklist. Oh well.

Yes, that's what Google said . I think Quest Check sounds ok but if you think Quest Checklist matches better I could change it of course.

[Daedalus]

Nah--keep the mistake in. It keeps the translation authentic.

[HispaZargon]

Nah--keep the mistake in. It keeps the translation authentic.

Yes, the original Japanese text means as written now so I will keep it as is.

[HispaZargon]

Hi, I am back again!

I am glad to share with you the pending CHARACTER BOARDS. I found somewhere here in the Inn scans of the four original Japanese character boards, so I firstly decided to make the following printable PDF version of them:

HQ_Japanese_Character_Boards.pdf

Checking the pictures provided by Derfel Link in this old post, I guess the size of the original Japanese character boards is the same as the EU version ones, so I have defined them in the PDF with 145 x 104 mm dimensions.

About their translation to English, fortunately, Inn's member Malcadon shared in 2012 here a translation draft of the boards so, I took his best guess translations as basis. I mainly performed some minor style and editing changes in order to match them with the Rules of Play I already translated here. However I make one important change in Malcadon's Elf's board translation since he assumed that the Elf has a bow ("With your bow, you can attack enemies from a distance.") and, after checking through online internet translators, I think that the correct translation is that the Elf can use a bow but he does not carry anyone. I think that's the correct situation since there is no other place in the Japanese rules where is suggested that the Elf has a bow BUT the questbook says in Quest #13 that the Freeze Bow should be taken by the Elf, which matchs with the text I have finally written in the Elf's board. In fact, I think that the original Japanese text in the Elf's board was just trying to introduce that the Hero who has the ability of using a bow is the Elf, and that's all.

And about the style, I have intentionally used the font Caslon Antique instead of font Gaze. Font Gaze is used in EU character boards but, trying to give a different look to the Japanese game components, it is a font I intentionally avoided to use in the translated Quest Book nor Rules of Play so, here I have followed the same criterion.

Well, according to all herein above, here you have the translated Character Boards to English:

HQ_Japanese_Character_Boards_in_English_v1.0_by_HispaZargon.pdf
Edited message: Previously attached file HQ_Japanese_Character_Boards_in_English_v1.0_by_HispaZargon.pdf has an updated version in this post.

I think they are Ok as they are now but, of course if you find anything that you think should be corrected, please tell me.

[Kurgan]

Very nice and welcome back! It's exciting to see another piece of the puzzle translated for the eyes of non-Japanese readers...

I wonder if that is supposed to be "Mentor" there in the portraits? I don't recall him being mentioned in this version, but there is Mentor's seal in each of the quest parchment texts (and his bookmark on the legendary treasure backs)... or is this Grimdead the Demon King of Darkness? Gotta bring the old controversy back across the ocean... j/k [I know it was always meant to be Mentor, but the artwork fooled us in the USA so he'll always be Zargon to me!)

For the Elf's spells, I thought for the Intermediate Magic he could choose ONE of the two spells to use (not both like the Magician)?

I didn't realize the Intermediate Magic was also re-usable like the basic "First Aid"! So the magical heroes can keep healing and healing (one action per turn though).
Edit: I checked the Rules of Play again and you're right, I was wrong! This changes later in the game of course.

A small suggestion: On these character board backs I would put a small space between "May" and "be" otherwise it sounds like "maybe" (like it might work this way...) as opposed to (you have the choice to do this...).

I always assumed that even if not explicitly stated that at each new stage, the previous magical abilities were replaced by the new ones (so no combining First Aid with Healing or Holy Flame alongside Water of Healing and Ball of Flame).

[HispaZargon]

For the Elf's spells, I thought for the Intermediate Magic he could choose ONE of the two spells to use (not both like the Magician)?

Yes, you are right, thank you. I will correct it in next version.

A small suggestion: On these character board backs I would put a small space between "May" and "be" otherwise it sounds like "maybe" (like it might work this way...) as opposed to (you have the choice to do this...).

Yeah, of course I will correct it too.

I always assumed that even if not explicitly stated that at each new stage, the previous magical abilities were replaced by the new ones (so no combining First Aid with Healing or Holy Flame alongside Water of Healing and Ball of Flame).

I think so, but maybe we should try to check again the rules if they could clarify it in some way.