Ask Localization Megathread

[Unelonborro]

Hi everyone,

I've shared with you all a few stories about Localization and the work we are involved in here, and a couple of you mentioned you enjoyed hearing my anecdotes. I've opened this thread so that you can ask me anything you like about the localization process, the work the we do, or whatever else you would like to chat about. Keep in mind that there may be some topics I cannot comment on, such battle content; job balance; future plans the team has; and other proprietary information, and depending on how busy I am I may not be able to respond to your questions right away.

Tell your friends and linkshell members and let's chat!

Regards,

Unelonborro
Localization Lead

[Draylo]

I like the effort, thanks

[Zhronne]

I like the effort, thanks

^this x 10.000
Thanks Ule!

I'll start with a recent question.
While "Alluvion" can be considered correct, "Albion" would have been kinda correct too as a transliteration fo the japanese kanji used for the newly added content "Alluvion Skirmish".
Yet Albion bears no particularl additional meaning (other than the ancient UK island references), whereas Alluvion has several meanings related to water.

I wonder why did the localization team choose the latter one? Are there similar semantic references in the japanese kanjis? Was it just a matter of it sounding better?
(I'm not criticizing btw, I'm just being curious!)



Second and last one, it's about the romaji transliteration of "Amanomurakumo".
Why "Amanomurakumo" instead of the more common "Ame no murakumo"? Clear reference to the japanese mythological sword "Ame no murakumo no tsurugi" used by Amaterasu.
As far as I know both transliterations are correct (Ame and Ama), but Ame seems to be the more common one, especially in english language transliterations?

[Unelonborro]

I'll start with a recent question.
While "Alluvion" can be considered correct, "Albion" would have been kinda correct too as a transliteration fo the japanese kanji used for the newly added content "Alluvion Skirmish".
Yet Albion bears no particularl additional meaning (other than the ancient UK island references), whereas Alluvion has several meanings related to water.

I wonder why did the localization team choose the latter one? Are there similar semantic references in the japanese kanjis? Was it just a matter of it sounding better?
(I'm not criticizing btw, I'm just being curious!)

For content names, the devs give the localization team a naming request, a spec sheet, and a general guideline of what they want to name to sound like. We then come up with an English name proposal, which the planner in charge either accepts or rejects and tells us to come up with another one. So in this case, "Alluvion" came first and the Japanese reading came after.

Second and last one, it's about the romaji transliteration of "Amanomurakumo".
Why "Amanomurakumo" instead of the more common "Ame no murakumo"? Clear reference to the japanese mythological sword "Ame no murakumo no tsurugi" used by Amaterasu.
As far as I know both transliterations are correct (Ame and Ama), but Ame seems to be the more common one, especially in english language transliterations?

One of the devs is in charge of, among other things, coming up with Japanese names for ninja/samurai weapons and armor. He then provides us with the readings he would like us to use, and we put them in the game that way. In this case, he preferred "Ama," and that's the direction we took.

[Sapphire]

Woo!

From the linkshell - Why Paladin and not Knight? (someone was very adamant about that one).
How hard is it to make the tarus rhyme all the time?

From me: So who is responsible for the Green Thumb Moogle's Awesome Alliteration Abilities?

[Unelonborro]

Good day, Sapphire!

Thank you for your questions!

From the linkshell - Why Paladin and not Knight? (someone was very adamant about that one).

I'm afraid your compatriot might not like the answer to this one, but it comes down to what the difference between a knight and a paladin is to your average gamer. Since fantasy gaming became a popular thing (starting with D&D, and possibly before--my memory only stretches back so far), a knight has been associated with loyalty and martial prowess: lances and shields, jousting and riding on horseback, codes of chivalry, dedicated service to a monarch...things of that nature. Paladins, on the other hand, often assumed a more protective, spiritual role. You'll find paladins gaining access to traditionally cleric/priest spells stretching back to, again, D&D, and themes often associated with the class include morality, piety, dedication to a faith, protecting the meek, and carrying out justice. Given the tropes our non-Asian player base is familiar with, and in no small part due to the paladin's ability to use a subset of white magic spells, we use the word "paladin" rather than "knight," even though "knight" is a direct one-for-one with the Japanese. This is indicative of our greater philosophy: when conflict arises between a literal translation of the Japanese and a translation that is more grokable to a Western player, we often side with the latter.

As an aside, you may notice that in earlier Final Fantasy games--or in those that intentionally evoke a retro feel--the class is translated as "knight." However, as our localization processes and standards as a company have changed over time, so, too, have our goals--and that's how we arrive at the term "paladin."

How hard is it to make the tarus rhyme all the time?

Actually, I don't find the Tarutaru too difficult to characterize, once you discount the terror of the deeps that is Shantotto. Historically, we have had to to put more time and effort into moogles and their amazingly alliterative absurdities!

From me: So who is responsible for the Green Thumb Moogle's Awesome Alliteration Abilities?

That would be Ordostrillicus, who since inception has been your one-stop shop for all Mog Garden-related shenanigans!

EDIT: I mean since Mog Garden's inception, not Ordostrillicus's inception--although one could say he was born to do it.

[Sapphire]

Good day, Sapphire!

Thank you for your questions!

Why thank YOU for your answers!

I'm frankly impressed there was an answer (much less so in-depth) to the Palandin/Knight question given how long ago that call had to be made!

I for one, will admit to have the Fear of Shantotto put in me early and it is strong. After she hit me with a Bind and then nuked me... Yeah any CS where she asks me a question I pick the most groveling way I can acquiesce. Cause she'll kill me. And then laugh.

So Ordostrillicus, eh... Alliteration is amongst his amazing abilities? (Someone stop me.)

And for some background to why I find your answers to fascinating, I work in the US anime industry, and lived with someone who is a J->E localizer for years. The fact that you get to be right there next to the people writing this stuff is rather amazing, I'm used to not just an ocean between creators and localizers, but so many middle men! Pretty sure almost every translator I've ever worked with/been friends with would kill to be able to pick the original creators' brains when they come to a sticky-wicket translation issue.

[Malithar]

This is going to be a really awesome thread, color me excited!

A few off the top of my head:

Dating back to my first Final Fantasy game, FF II in the US, but the original FF IV, I was always under the impression that all localization was done locally. With you being so open about the process though, we've all learned otherwise. How has handling the English localization shaped your knowledge of items and such? How long have you been handling the localization? You mentioned in the above post that in many of the earlier retro games, we may remember such classes as "knight" that are now referred to as "paladin." Are there any other such examples where SE's stance has changed in order to provide a better name to a class, item, area, etc? One that I THINK I remember from the old days was Dragoon being known as "Dragon Knight" but I may be remembering that from a different game.

In the same vein, how about the names of many of the relic, mythic, and empyean weapons? Many of these take on very classic names that players are familiar with, such as Excalibur, Ragnarok, Apocalypse, Mjolnir, etc. Are these names able to accurately be named in Japanese, or do they follow a similar pattern to the knight >> paladin example above, and Excalibur is known as, in example, "the holy sword" in Japanese?

Concerning in game holiday events, I'd imagine many (myself included) westerners are unfamiliar with Japanese holidays, and just as well for Japanese people being unfamiliar with western holidays. How did you guys decide on which to include and omit? How important are some of these in the Japanese culture? Sometimes in dev posts, we'll see them dressed in Yakutas or other festive wear, and I'm surprised to see that. Is that akin to say, someone coming to work in a Halloween costume for one day as a celebration, or are the festivities much more ingrained than that?

This might sway to the battle content end, but instead of bumping my previous Idris topic or creating a report, I was curious if you could shed any light onto why it was decided that Ergons would not received the +30% bonus damage to the Ergon WS, as the Mythic weapons do. Perhaps an oversight?

I greatly look forward to this thread taking off. I hope you're up to the task of keeping up with it, I'm sure you'll get all sorts of comments and questions from many players!

[Unelonborro]

Good day, everyone!

Wow! That's a lot of questions! I'll try to work my way down the list, but it'll be a bit, since I've got a lot of bug fixing to do today.

[Unelonborro]

Dating back to my first Final Fantasy game, FF II in the US, but the original FF IV, I was always under the impression that all localization was done locally. With you being so open about the process though, we've all learned otherwise. How has handling the English localization shaped your knowledge of items and such? How long have you been handling the localization? You mentioned in the above post that in many of the earlier retro games, we may remember such classes as "knight" that are now referred to as "paladin." Are there any other such examples where SE's stance has changed in order to provide a better name to a class, item, area, etc? One that I THINK I remember from the old days was Dragoon being known as "Dragon Knight" but I may be remembering that from a different game.

This is a really good question. I am not in charge of SQUARE ENIX's localization department in any capacity (just in charge here on XI), but I can certainly talk a little bit about background information.

Back when I was a young'un and Japanese video games first started making their way to the US, localization was handled by Japanese nationals who may or may not have had a strong grasp of English--not just at Squaresoft or Enix, but at pretty much every company at the time. This is how we came up with such classics as "A winner is you" and "All your base are belong to us." As the niche for Japanese games grew, so, too, did the need for competent localization, and most companies started shifting from Japanese natives to English natives (and eventually branching out into other languages as well). At various points throughout the company's history, the localization department has had to make a choice: do we stick to older ways of doing things, because players are familiar with it and that's part of the charm? Or do we update things in a way that might break with past conventions but increases the fidelity of the final product? Here's the kicker--there's no right answer, and different projects within the department have come, do come, and will continue to come to different conclusions. During the remake of FINAL FANTASY IV, for example, there was a huge debate surrounding Tellah's "You spoony bard." During FINAL FANTASY XIV, the question arose of whether to use the Cure/Cura/Curaga or Cure I/Cure II/Cure III naming conventions. It's all a matter of what the team decides best matches the needs of the game.

In the same vein, how about the names of many of the relic, mythic, and empyean weapons? Many of these take on very classic names that players are familiar with, such as Excalibur, Ragnarok, Apocalypse, Mjolnir, etc. Are these names able to accurately be named in Japanese, or do they follow a similar pattern to the knight >> paladin example above, and Excalibur is known as, in example, "the holy sword" in Japanese?

These weapons are, indeed, very classic names that most Western connoisseurs of fantasy and mythology are familiar with, and they are rendered faithfully into katakana (transliterated) in the Japanese. There are very, very few weapons and armor in the game that use kanji and are not ninja/samurai gear (and those we transliterate character-for-character.)

Concerning in game holiday events, I'd imagine many (myself included) westerners are unfamiliar with Japanese holidays, and just as well for Japanese people being unfamiliar with western holidays. How did you guys decide on which to include and omit? How important are some of these in the Japanese culture? Sometimes in dev posts, we'll see them dressed in Yakutas or other festive wear, and I'm surprised to see that. Is that akin to say, someone coming to work in a Halloween costume for one day as a celebration, or are the festivities much more ingrained than that?

I was not around during the times that these decisions were made, so I can't speak to the thought process behind them. I can say, though, that the devs are always mindful that we have players from around the world, and make decisions accordingly. For Japanese-flavored events, the doll festival is probably the most overt, and it's something of which every Japanese person is intimately aware. Other things, like the Sunbreeze Festival, are more "Japanese-inspired" than actually Japanese, kind of like most MMOs' Christmas events are "Christmas-inspired".

This might sway to the battle content end, but instead of bumping my previous Idris topic or creating a report, I was curious if you could shed any light onto why it was decided that Ergons would not received the +30% bonus damage to the Ergon WS, as the Mythic weapons do. Perhaps an oversight?

This is something I don't have any knowledge of, and my feeble attempts at answering it would only leave you wanting. Sorry.