Im not even that big on literal accuracy of the translations. That's almost impossible considering the grammatical differences between Japanese and English.
BUT we have to take into account some things, in order to decide on the most appropriate approach.
The two original sources of any credibility (excluding Tokyopop, they were jokers) that I can locate for "Outskirts of Time" are the Brink of Time arrange CD, and the PS1 English Sound Test for Chrono Trigger from FF Chronicles.
Does either of these really count as an official, published source of the original source title? In my mind, they appear to be secondary, being not taken off of an official published OST for Chrono Trigger where the original title is "Harukanaru toki no kanata e", with one being an arrangement with no mention at all of the original CT track title, and the other being a hidden sound test rather than a officiated work or translation - one with no sourcing as to its methodologies nor a published work in and of itself.
As I hinted, on the Brink of Time arrangement CD, there is no Japanese title for the track "outskirts of Time' anywhere on the back cover, or - as far as I can tell - anywhere inside the booklet, which leads me to think that there is a chance that this rendition of the title is is simply a poetic re-arranged turn of phrase for the original title "harukanaru toki no kanate e" rather than official translation, in the same vein as the music is arranged compared to the original. Thusly, if true, it shouldn't be taken as genuine translation of the phrase pertaining to "SQEX-10501"s' title, if in fact that title is in reference to the original track off the Chrono Trigger OSV.
I would also like to point out that there is a real possibility that the translators of the PSX FF Chronicles CT sound test simply copied-and-pasted this translation off of the Brink of Time booklet or a listing somewhere on the internet referring to this track as "Outskirts of Time" based solely on this poetic-license driven rendition disseminated via the Brink of Time CD, as early as June 1995.
And I don't take Tokypop's release (
http://vgmdb.net/album/2799) as a serious source of any translations because they may as well have made everything up on the spot given their captive, pilfered audience in desperate need of more affordable (but still overpriced) domestic releases of highly expensive imported Japanese game OSTs at the time. Who's to say they did not copy and paste the title off of either the PSX sound test or the Brink of Time CD, or a misinformed internet listing for that matter.
But I digress - does anyone know of any evidence of a translation, citing the original "harukanaru toki no kanata e" as "Outskirts of Time" predating the June 25, 1995 release of the "Brink of Time" arranged CD? (
http://vgmdb.net/album/298) Because that would go a long way in resolving this debate.
2. There are at least two, official published sources originating from Square Music/Square Enix themselves which translates the original, official Chrono Trigger Soundtrack for its English release - and in each case it is given as "To far away/far off times" and in neither case is it given as "Outskirts of Time."
Sources:
A.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/bi...07?i=324081819 9 (SNES vers.)
B.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ch...ck/id324080907 (DS vers.)
In conclusion, I have seen a variety of "translation" of the original title as "Outskirts of Time", with none being apparently official or direct. This is why I think the title "Outskirts of Time" is, until a title is officially given out by Square Music, absolutely "unofficial" compared to "to far away times."
And whats the likelihood of a mistranslation becoming officiated anyhow?
Thanks. For the reasons explicated above, I seriously think the title "Outskirts of Time" should be expunged from the listing for the time being.