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In the Zelda video game guidebook I am translating there is a part of the game where you transform into a wolf and have to rely on your senses. The title of this section of the guidebook is

センスを研ぎ澄ませ！ Sharpen your senses!

However in the body copy I see this line:

また、センスで嗅覚も研ぎ澄まされることを覚えておこう。 Again, you should sharpen your sense of smell

However 嗅覚 is "sense of smell". So why is this not simply

嗅覚を研ぎ澄まされる・・・

Why does it use the word "センス"

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    I'm guessing that センス is used as game-specific concept instead of the more common 五感. In normal Japanese, センス is usually more used in the sense of "common sense" (or maybe "intuition") than "the 5 senses".
    – dainichi
    May 15, 2014 at 8:22
  • I know センス only in the context of fashion sense, so a always well dressed person could be described as センスがある人. But since your example comes from gaming, the meaning might widen.
    – panmari
    May 17, 2014 at 10:08

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また、センスで嗅覚も研ぎ澄まされることを覚えておこう。

The で is like "by". You can rewrite the sentence as:

また、センスによって、嗅覚も研ぎ澄まされることを覚えておこう。

So I think it literally says...

センスを研ぎ澄ませ！
Sharpen your センス(=probably "intuition" as in @dainichi's comment)!
また、センスで嗅覚も研ぎ澄まされることを覚えておこう。
And, remember that your sense of smell will also be sharpened by your (sharpened) センス/intuition.

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An alternative translation that accounts for the センス:

  • センスで嗅覚も研ぎ澄まされることを覚えておこう。
    Of the senses, remember that your sense of smell will also be sharpened.
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  • The moderation on this site sometimes confuses me. My answer above is now at -1 for no apparent reason. If anyone more familiar with the moderation trends reads this, I'd appreciate it if you could clue me in.
    – Eiríkr Útlendi
    May 15, 2014 at 15:35
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    Possibly the voter also thinks センス refers to "intuition" rather than all senses?
    – Tim
    May 17, 2014 at 10:09
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    @EiríkrÚtlendi, it isn't moderators who vote questions down, it's anyone who uses the site. And, unfortunately, this does mean that any individual might choose to downvote for some weird reason all of their own. Worse, they may not explain it. Unfortunately, we've suffered the presence of someone(?) who has been frequently downvoting with no explanations and making newer users like yourself feel inexplicably criticized. However, please don't take it too personal. The problem is with the downvoter, not you.
    – Questioner
    May 18, 2014 at 10:05

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