This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wanzzo

for someone wanting a change in the text contained in the scripts inside game files? xD

And yeah, I know... I wish I don't be in need of such stuff, but the game devs seems to be not trustfull about their own promisses...

They promissed more languages to the game and we had nothing so far.

And urianger still there... talking nonsense to me ears :3

---

Do you have a source for that?

I don't remember them ever promising more languages.

I play the German localization with JP voice acting and when I rewatch scenes in English it's sometimes really weird how we almost experience a totally different story!

Well, uh, not totally different at all of course, just tiny flourishes that might however change our experience overall, maybe even drastically.

My favorite difference is Zenos' final words before his death:

ENGLISH:

"Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
"But in these fleeting moments, there is...a spark. Blinding, brilliant..."
"Gone...too soon..."
"What of you, my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure..."
"Was this life a gift...or a burden?"
"Did you find...fulfillment?"
"I..."

GERMAN:

"This world resembles...a rotten mire, dismal and dull."
"Only every once in a while could I escape it and for the fraction (lit.: spark) of a moment feel true passion."
"A swift, fleeting pleasure..."
"And you? Were born into this world to experience one unbelievable adventure after another."
"Your life...was a miracle..."
"So much better...than mine..."
"I..."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

Do you have a source for that?

I don't remember them ever promising more languages.

---

It's an old promisse. Made around when they launched HW (or even further back...)
If my memory serves, spanish and italian "with more languages to come" was the mentioned ones.
I am here since the 1.x version and listened to a lot of their Letter From the Producer. I think, the promisse was made in one of them. Well, not a "promisse", but an answer made by Yoshi when they read a question from the forum (this pratice were very common back then).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wanzzo

It's an old promisse. Made around when they launched HW (or even fourther back...)
If my memory serves, spanish and italian "with more languages to come" was the promissed ones.
I am here since the 1.x version and listened to a lot of their Letter From the Producer. I think, the promisse was made in one of them...

---

I don't think they ever said that.

I think what would have been said is they'd look into it.

If they actually made a promise like that you'd see it quoted all over in people's signatures, because people like to hold them to old promises and never let go.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

because people like to hold them to old promises and never let go.

---

I didn't realize promises were optional! Man, I've been doing it wrong all my life. :/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raoabolic

I didn't realize promises were optional! Man, I've been doing it wrong all my life. :/

---

It's almost like things change and sometimes things that have been said can no longer happen.

But hey, it makes for great forum outrage!

If only people were this tenacious towards politicians and broken promises.

Plus, if you want them to keep their promises, that means you don't want hats for Viera and hrothgar, since they promised they wouldn't have those.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

I don't think they ever said that.

I think what would have been said is they'd look into it.

If they actually made a promise like that you'd see it quoted all over in people's signatures, because people like to hold them to old promises and never let go.

---

I really remember quite clearly that Yoshi-P said that the translation "was in plan, but it was not the priority". But only after that "hype" I had about spanish (spanish is not ideal for me, but it's very close to portuguese, since they are like "brothers in tongue").

And yeah, It wasn't a proper "promisse", but more like an answer. As this memory about "not in the priority"...

I've seen a few threads requesting additional languages to be added to the game's localisation. I also remember it being touched upon once or twice during interviews and Live Letters - though there's so many that hunting down specific questions is rather time consuming and difficult.

Incidentally, quite recently Elder Scrolls Online expanded its localisation to account for Spanish speaking players. That'd be something that FFXIV would probably benefit from doing as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clover_Blake

One of my favourite, which I ranted about with my friend... The Exarch opening his eyes slowly as he wakes up from a dream. You are the very first thing he sees and he's surprised, disoriented, as if his mind had accepted that you weren't supposed to be actually there (too good to be true?). Or at least that's how it is in Japanese...

JAPANESE:
"Eh...? You... Why are you...?"

TRANSLATION:
"THE FUTURE IS WHERE MY DESTINY AWAITS : D"

?????? ...I don't even know what that was about, but what a random way to destroy the intimacy of a scene.

---

What scene is this?

It's similar with anything involving Emet. Going through 5.0 as an EN player I thought the WoL was a random reincarnated Ancient with no particular connection to Emet. The first hint there is any is Shade!Hyth in Amaurot who tells you that you're someone Emet surely recognized which, without any other context, doesn't mean much. I remember when I got to 5.3 I thought, I needed this context of their relationship in 5.0. Why wasn't it there? Turns out it was there, explicitly, in any other language but EN.

In EN when Emet first sees the WoL he says is "with a soul such as that", there's no indication he recognizes you or that you meant anything to him. The cutscene before the Hades trial, in EN he says, "No... it can't be... Bah, a trick of the light!" In JP he says, "Impossible! You... how can you be here? No... it's not... you're not him/her." That's a huge difference in context. Going through ShB with context is basically an entirely different experience.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eisi

I play the German localization with JP voice acting and when I rewatch scenes in English it's sometimes really weird how we almost experience a totally different story!

Well, uh, not totally different at all of course, just tiny flourishes that might however change our experience overall, maybe even drastically.

My favorite difference is Zenos' final words before his death:

ENGLISH:

"Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
"But in these fleeting moments, there is...a spark. Blinding, brilliant..."
"Gone...too soon..."
"What of you, my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure..."
"Was this life a gift...or a burden?"
"Did you find...fulfillment?"
"I..."

GERMAN:

"This world resembles...a rotten mire, dismal and dull."
"Only every once in a while could I escape it and for the fraction (lit.: spark) of a moment feel true passion."
"A swift, fleeting pleasure..."
"And you? Were born into this world to experience one unbelievable adventure after another."
"Your life...was a miracle..."
"So much better...than mine..."
"I..."

---

That's...interesting.

I always felt like there was shades of him being envious of us, but it's made blatant in the other translation.

Sometimes subtlety can be good, but when it makes the meaning/implications of a statement completely fly over of the heads of people who don't read into things much, it can result in them coming away with very different impressions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clover_Blake

Not very fluently, but my Japanese is enough to understand many things and see how the translations are often very different. Sometimes, opposite, even.

One of my favourite, which I ranted about with my friend... The Exarch opening his eyes slowly as he wakes up from a dream. You are the very first thing he sees and he's surprised, disoriented, as if his mind had accepted that you weren't supposed to be actually there (too good to be true?). Or at least that's how it is in Japanese...

JAPANESE:
"Eh...? You... Why are you...?"

TRANSLATION:
"THE FUTURE IS WHERE MY DESTINY AWAITS : D"

?????? ...I don't even know what that was about, but what a random way to destroy the intimacy of a scene.

---

The problem here (as I have read it explained elsewhere) is that in the Japanese version young G'raha uses a distinct form of "you" when talking to the WoL, and in that scene, the Exarch slips into using that form, subtly confirming that he's definitely G'raha in disguise.

The English version can't translate that directly and (perhaps a good thing) didn't give him any other vocal quirk to replace it – hardly an issue in the original CT arc, but now that means there's nothing similarly subtle they could do.

Essentially, in the English version he's still asleep and talking in his dream; in the Japanese he's just woken up and forgotten to stay in character.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eisi

I play the German localization with JP voice acting and when I rewatch scenes in English it's sometimes really weird how we almost experience a totally different story!

Well, uh, not totally different at all of course, just tiny flourishes that might however change our experience overall, maybe even drastically.

My favorite difference is Zenos' final words before his death:

ENGLISH:

"Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
"But in these fleeting moments, there is...a spark. Blinding, brilliant..."
"Gone...too soon..."
"What of you, my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure..."
"Was this life a gift...or a burden?"
"Did you find...fulfillment?"
"I..."

GERMAN:

"This world resembles...a rotten mire, dismal and dull."
"Only every once in a while could I escape it and for the fraction (lit.: spark) of a moment feel true passion."
"A swift, fleeting pleasure..."
"And you? Were born into this world to experience one unbelievable adventure after another."
"Your life...was a miracle..."
"So much better...than mine..."
"I..."

---

English is better. It actually lets you decide instead of being told your life is so good. YOU HAVE IT ALL!

Huh? The player character does have it pretty good given that they're directly empowered by a self proclaimed 'supreme deity' and count various world leaders as personal friends. To say nothing of succeeding at basically any pursuit that they set their minds towards. Be it a new fighting style or hobby such as fishing or weaving cloth into attire.

Furthermore, it doesn't account for all the times the English localisation rids the player of agency elsewhere. Such as subtly using negative words where they aren't present in the other languages.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Theodric

Huh? The player character does have it pretty good given that they're directly empowered by a self proclaimed 'supreme deity' and count various world leaders as personal friends. To say nothing of succeeding at basically any pursuit that they set their minds towards. Be it a new fighting style or hobby such as fishing or weaving cloth into attire.

Furthermore, it doesn't account for all the times the English localisation rids the player of agency elsewhere. Such as subtly using negative words where they aren't present in the other languages.

---

And? It doesn't mean other people get to decide what my life is and what I think of it.
Funny thing is, you say other instances doesn't give the player agency, yet you seem to have a problem with this line that actually lets them decide their viewpoint on their own life.

I'm curious if this is another case of the English localization being the odd one out in terms of how they chose to translate it vs. everyone else.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hagare

English is better. It actually lets you decide instead of being told your life is so good. YOU HAVE IT ALL!

---

EDIT: Never mind, I thought the German had been a literal translation from the Japanese, but it seems it wasn't. And it seems the English version was good in this case, or I for one find it good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Iscah

The problem here (as I have read it explained elsewhere) is that in the Japanese version young G'raha uses a distinct form of "you" when talking to the WoL, and in that scene, the Exarch slips into using that form, subtly confirming that he's definitely G'raha in disguise.

The English version can't translate that directly and (perhaps a good thing) didn't give him any other vocal quirk to replace it – hardly an issue in the original CT arc, but now that means there's nothing similarly subtle they could do.

Essentially, in the English version he's still asleep and talking in his dream; in the Japanese he's just woken up and forgotten to stay in character.

---

Aah, I see. So I guess the English sentence was something he said as G'raha in the past. I didn't remember that at all when I watched the scene, and it felt the most random sentence ever -laughs-. Still, if the point they wanted to maintain in the scene was the slip, I wonder if there was a more personal sentence related to the WoL that could have been used instead, to keep both the slip AND the emotional side of the moment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clover_Blake

Still, couldn't have they kept it as a moment between G'raha and you (for that's what it was), instead of turning it into something completely random and devoid of any sort of emotion?

---

Because the primary point of that line is to confirm 100% that it is G'raha and he does remember the past events that happened to the two of you, when up to this point he's been maintaining the fiction that he is someone else. It's not as subtle as the Japanese (which I do prefer, though I see why it can't be directly translated without losing its purpose), but it still shows that he is dreaming of the time where he first said those words to you, when he farewelled you at the end of CT.

I also don't see the Japanese version as particularly emotional. All he did was wake up and ask "why are you here?" – the emotional bit comes after, and is perfectly fine in English.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eisi

I play the German localization with JP voice acting and when I rewatch scenes in English it's sometimes really weird how we almost experience a totally different story!

Well, uh, not totally different at all of course, just tiny flourishes that might however change our experience overall, maybe even drastically.

My favorite difference is Zenos' final words before his death:

ENGLISH:

"Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
"But in these fleeting moments, there is...a spark. Blinding, brilliant..."
"Gone...too soon..."
"What of you, my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure..."
"Was this life a gift...or a burden?"
"Did you find...fulfillment?"
"I..."

GERMAN:

"This world resembles...a rotten mire, dismal and dull."
"Only every once in a while could I escape it and for the fraction (lit.: spark) of a moment feel true passion."
"A swift, fleeting pleasure..."
"And you? Were born into this world to experience one unbelievable adventure after another."
"Your life...was a miracle..."
"So much better...than mine..."
"I..."

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ゼノス・ヴェトル・ガルヴァス

世の中はどれも、泥のような……
退屈で……醜く……くだらないものだ……。
だが……時折……こうして火が……
愉しみがもたらされる……。
まったく……憎いものよ……。
お前は、どうだった……
この世界に生み落とされ、名を与えられ、生きてきて……。
歩いてきて……何を思った……。
存分に、愉しかったか……？
……俺は…………

---

I am not great at translation myself, but the portion you specifically highlighted has neither connotation in Japanese. It merely says something like "having walked this far..." (this matches/continues from the previous line about being born into the world, given a name, lived...basically what was turned into the thing about "adventure" in both versions you wrote) "...what did you think......? Did you enjoy yourself to your heart's content......?"

It contains neither "was this life a gift or a burden" nor "your life was a miracle, so much better than mine." It appears to be the reason for the English "did you find fulfillment," but obviously to a native English speaker there is a big connotational difference between "fulfillment" and "enjoyment." Furthermore, the exact phrasing for "enjoy" in Japanese has been used by Zenos on multiple occasions since his introduction in Stormblood including the line in this scene about the occasional spark/fire, so it is a reference to that, or if I were to read more into it, he's asking if you found the same kind of fun he was always looking for.

In my opinion, either there is a mistake in your translation or the German version kind of sucks. Why would he end with "I..." right after specifically referencing the PC? In the original Japanese (and in English despite its many differences otherwise) he says it because he just asked what you thought about your life, and dies before he can say what he thought of his own, whether he found enjoyment or fulfillment. The way you wrote the German, it sounds like it's just...there after he talked about your life.

On a side note, every time I check the inn journal to find cutscenes I regret it. It always takes me forever to find something specific.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Iscah

Because the primary point of that line is to confirm 100% that it is G'raha and he does remember the past events that happened to the two of you, when up to this point he's been maintaining the fiction that he is someone else. It's not as subtle as the Japanese (which I do prefer, though I see why it can't be directly translated without losing its purpose), but it still shows that he is dreaming of the time where he first said those words to you, when he farewelled you at the end of CT.

---

Sorry, I realised their point and edited before you replied, but it was late (>_<)

As for the emotional part of the sentence, maybe it's just me, but I got a lot from that moment alone. He sounded as if he was witnessing some sort of miracle he couldn't grasp yet, as if he was still the G'raha who was trapped inside the tower and to whom you were just a dear, distant memory and a dream. He seems more used to being that G'raha, to meet you only when he closes his eyes, not when he opens them. You weren't supposed to be there when he opens them. Considering how much G'raha seems to admire or even love the WoL, and how long he spent completely alone, I found that a beautiful moment.

All that is lost in English, where he's preoccupied with his own things and you are certainly the least of his concerns, hahaha. So I'm very glad I could at least get the full impact of that part from the Japanese voice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tsukino

I am not great at translation myself, but the portion you specifically highlighted has neither connotation in Japanese. It merely says something like "having walked this far......" (this matches/continues from the previous line about being born into the world, given a name, lived...basically what was turned into the thing about "adventure" in both versions you wrote) "did you enjoy yourself to your heart's content?"

It contains neither "was this life a gift or a burden" nor "your life was a miracle, so much better than mine." It appears to be the reason for the English "did you find fulfillment," but obviously to a native English speaker there is a big connotational difference between "fulfillment" and "enjoyment." Furthermore, the exact phrasing for "enjoy" in Japanese has been used by Zenos on multiple occasions since his introduction in Stormblood including the line in this scene about the occasional spark/fire, so it is a reference to that, or if I were to read more into it, he's asking if you found the same kind of fun he was always looking for.

In my opinion, either there is a mistake in your translation or the German version kind of sucks. Why would he end with "I..." right after specifically referencing the PC? In the original Japanese (and in English despite its many differences otherwise) he says it because he just asked what you thought about your life, and dies before he can say what he thought of his own, whether he found enjoyment or fulfillment. The way you wrote the German, it sounds like it's just...there after he talked about your life.

On a side note, every time I check the inn journal to find cutscenes I regret it. It always takes me forever to find something specific.

---

Thanks a bunch! This is cool info.

Seems like they are all pretty different with the German localization deviating the most. I like it though!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anhaato

A recent topic that has sprung up regarding discussion of the writing is that certain things have been getting lost in translation, and even slight dialogue changes have been making huge differences in context.

Originally I figured this was an issue for every language, but cross references of similar scenes across all of the languages have found that English is usually the only one that's saying something different. One key example I can bring up off the top of my head is dialogue from 5.4 in which Y'shtola discusses Zodiark.
In French:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...22/unknown.png
Here (thanks Teraq for the translation) she says; "Emet-Selch entrusted us with the future of this world, thus it falls to us to make sure Zodiark is not used for nefarious ends. After all, he was created to stop the Final Days..."
In Japanese (I use JP audio) what she said is much the same from what I can tell. I'm not yet fluent so maybe the egg is about to be on my face
However, in English...
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...04/unknown.png
...yeah. Completely different.

Another example, Y'shtola again, in Thavnair:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...748&height=676

In French:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...082&height=676
"Hydaelyn, or rather Venat, could perhaps help us out. After all, she was there when Zodiark was summoned to fight against the Final Days. She was also the one who kept him alive to protect us."
Once again, completely different. This is far more egregious than changing Haurchefant to be less horny, these minor differences completely change what's being said and change the story by consequence.

I understand that localization isn't just purely translating, I know it has to be made to sound good in the language it's being translated to, but localizers should NOT be taking creative liberties! There's absolutely no reason why EN players should be reading an entirely different story than everyone else, and it's really frustrating because it kneecaps discussion between people on different language clients until they figure out that they're being confused by a bad translation.

---

I wasn't a huge fan of the story. That said, I understood exactly what Y'shtola was talking about. I don't think the localization committed any crimes by not making the most literal, spoon-feedy translation and favoring the voice of the character over just babytalking the player.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rulakir

What scene is this?

It's similar with anything involving Emet. Going through 5.0 as an EN player I thought the WoL was a random reincarnated Ancient with no particular connection to Emet. The first hint there is any is Shade!Hyth in Amaurot who tells you that you're someone Emet surely recognized which, without any other context, doesn't mean much. I remember when I got to 5.3 I thought, I needed this context of their relationship in 5.0. Why wasn't it there? Turns out it was there, explicitly, in any other language but EN.

In EN when Emet first sees the WoL he says is "with a soul such as that", there's no indication he recognizes you or that you meant anything to him. The cutscene before the Hades trial, in EN he says, "No... it can't be... Bah, a trick of the light!" In JP he says, "Impossible! You... how can you be here? No... it's not... you're not him/her." That's a huge difference in context. Going through ShB with context is basically an entirely different experience.

---

Is it possible the EN localization team has some kind of hidden hatred for the players? Are they purposely giving us a worse experience?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Theodric

I've seen a few threads requesting additional languages to be added to the game's localisation. I also remember it being touched upon once or twice during interviews and Live Letters - though there's so many that hunting down specific questions is rather time consuming and difficult.

Incidentally, quite recently Elder Scrolls Online expanded its localisation to account for Spanish speaking players. That'd be something that FFXIV would probably benefit from doing as well.

---

Sadly, I think they will never do it.

The reason is the amount of text, dialogues (with variations on answers in some) for all expansions.... And beside that, they always was focused more in bringing more things to the game than to revise old content.

And I remember all those pools and questions and mentionings by Yoshi-P about this. They always put languages in second place and now this is not even in a secondary place, but I think they forgot all about it.

All that remains for us is to use addons that make translations for us...

It feels so bad when we have to appeal to a third-party stuff when devs just throw requestings like this to the trash can... =/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Necrotica

Is it possible the EN localization team has some kind of hidden hatred for the players? Are they purposely giving us a worse experience?

---

No.

Stop being specious. "Does the EN localization team hate us?". Pfui.

If you desire nuance, go read the work in its original language. You'll have to invest upwards of three years learning Japanese in order to pick up that nuance for this game. (One year and counting here ...)

I like that the English localisation is different. It's not that I consider it to be better or worse than the other languages, but for me, it is an enjoyable experience taken by itself, and studying the differences in how certain characters are written or portrayed between languages is extremely interesting. Writing, including translation and localisation, is an art, and one which there are no simple facts about. If you ask multiple people to translate a text, the end result will be slightly different each time and I actually think that's really cool in how it reflects factors like culture and personal experience. I've never felt that the English localisation left me hard done by or strayed too far from the original in a way that fundamentally altered the story or message to an objectionable point.

We all have our opinions, though - perhaps I'm biased as a linguistics/literature nerd, but there it is :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hagare

And? It doesn't mean other people get to decide what my life is and what I think of it.
Funny thing is, you say other instances doesn't give the player agency, yet you seem to have a problem with this line that actually lets them decide their viewpoint on their own life.

---

You have no direct input on that scene, if memory serves, one way or another. However, Zenos is offering his viewpoint there. One does not need to agree with it, however it is phrased. Theodric has asked for more options in reactions to actions performed by other characters, for which the Omega quest served as a good starting point - that's a separate thing. I don't believe he's ever asked for every character's views to be turned into a customer feedback survey. Otherwise I could start objecting the minute he says "mirror". The German version is already better to me by virtue of that omission.

The translations have been like this as far back as HW because of how the english script is written. Its spoken in an old english style while JP and other languages are translated more straightforward. IMO we get the better experience and the scripts are still the same overall, just spoken slightly different due to the old english style.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DPZ2

No.

Stop being specious. "Does the EN localization team hate us?". Pfui.

If you desire nuance, go read the work in its original language. You'll have to invest upwards of three years learning Japanese in order to pick up that nuance for this game. (One year and counting here ...)

---

There are people who work for the company and do that already. Think they are called loco...lalizoros? Can't fully remember. Course for that much time invested and being paid to do it I would hope they would do it accurately and not abuse that position to put their own personal spin on another person's writing.

Heck. Gonna localize your comment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DPZ2

No.

It is up for much discussion. "That those in power would seek to spite us for their own personal reasons? That they would allow power and glory go to their heads and abuse it?" I pray not.

The original texts hold the truth of the matter The tongue of the Islanders is not learned in a single moon. It takes a fortitude of will to achieve it. Will I believe that you have, my friend. I myself have devoted many moons of study to this, but still the secret of the texts evade me.

---

Those are not completely different...

1: Both says the ancients made Zodiark to save the world and they must prevent Zodiark from being used for bad things.

2: Both says Hydaelyn bound zodiark and that she knows stuff.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Coulvre

I like that the English localisation is different. It's not that I consider it to be better or worse than the other languages, but for me, it is an enjoyable experience taken by itself, and studying the differences in how certain characters are written or portrayed between languages is extremely interesting. Writing, including translation and localisation, is an art, and one which there are no simple facts about. If you ask multiple people to translate a text, the end result will be slightly different each time and I actually think that's really cool in how it reflects factors like culture and personal experience. I've never felt that the English localisation left me hard done by or strayed too far from the original in a way that fundamentally altered the story or message to an objectionable point.

We all have our opinions, though - perhaps I'm biased as a linguistics/literature nerd, but there it is :)

---

Having studies, a funny thing is that a reference no longer counts as a "direct citation" if it's translated. Even if both languages are from the same language family with near similar sentence structure. Because as you said translations will always be up for interpretation.

Can't recall the name of an article, but it went into depth of how to properly translate a product and why the end result often ends up being "technically" a rewrite for the script. So yes the translators could translate the script directly but often the end result of doing that is that the translated script will either sound incredibly boring with a poor pacing (might not be much of an issue for scientific articles), contain nonsensical euphemism (can't recall a more appropriate word at the moment) or cultural references/memes that are going to be unknown and make little sense for the vast majority of those who read the translation.

So a translation ends up being a multi-step process to make it as engaging as possible even if some nuance in the source text is lost, while some has been added.

Prime example is Urianger who seems to have a different quirk in each translation, in Japanese he speaks in poetry, English/French it's archaic and for German he's... somewhat normal (from what i read).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ransu

The translations have been like this as far back as HW because of how the english script is written. Its spoken in an old english style while JP and other languages are translated more straightforward. IMO we get the better experience and the scripts are still the same overall, just spoken slightly different due to the old english style.

---

There's more cultural nuance to this than I think gets discussed very often.

There is just as much uncommon, unusual, and archaic speech in the Japanese script. It's all over the place, and different characters and races/species use different forms of Japanese that are all not used in real life in Japan today. However, all of this vocabulary and these speech patterns are commonly found in pop culture media scripts, most notably in video games. So the difference is not in the English scripts using more antiquated English than the Japanese scripts do antiquated Japanese, but in the average exposure the audience has to those versions of the languages.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Necrotica

Is it possible the EN localization team has some kind of hidden hatred for the players? Are they purposely giving us a worse experience?

---

This has been my assumption since the Mug tooltip.

They're getting lazy!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Necrotica

Is it possible the EN localization team has some kind of hidden hatred for the players? Are they purposely giving us a worse experience?

---

I don't think it has anything to do with the players, but I am starting to question if perhaps localization has bias when it comes to certain characters or story elements. I think they're managing to fly under the radar by giving the vaguest, passable translation possible while stripping the material of its intended meaning.

Also, in regards to other comments, I don't mind the old English. I mind when context is removed or dialog is completely rewritten to something not even remotely resembling the original text. It's not "hand-holding" to want to know details that are clearly laid out in JP (or other languages in general). I don't feel like I, as an EN player, am getting the full story and I consider that a problem. Getting the gist of something is a poor substitute, especially when outside of a few exceptions there's no reason why we're not having the same experience as everyone else. As several EU players have noted, it's even made discussing the game with people who play with other localizations difficult.

Ok I understand now. Because of localization problem translating from German to Japanese the story is wrong. So how do we get German story to replace incorrect Japanese one?

Does this change whether Garlemald loses the war? I would like to see version where they win.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Graeham

Ok I understand now. Because of localization problem translating from German to Japanese the story is wrong. So how do we get German story to replace incorrect Japanese one?

Does this change whether Garlemald loses the war? I would like to see version where they win.

---

Me too buddy. Me too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Neoyoshi

Has anyone here actually worked in localization/translating in some form of media?

I have, and this is a pretty frustrating topic to read whiteout me having one of these moments:

https://i.imgur.com/kg2Raa6.gif

---

I don't have to be a brain surgeon to know they don't make the incision in the foot.

Something to point out. The english localization since ARR has been this way. It always has been for one reason. The devs know english players like to have more intrigue and mystery in their story so the characters are written far more obtuse. Japanese players found out about this and said it is REALLY REALLY cool. But also felt they got a dumbed down version (Citation needed its been a long time since I remembered what happened) Because the english players got all this mystery and intrigue. For example in ARR middy in japanese states he is testing us to see if we truly are worthy of hydaelyns blessing. But in English he is far more cryptic about what his goal is and comes off as an antagonist. It has always been this way and a vast majority of people REALLY like it. so it seems kind of dumb to complain about the localization. Don't fix what isn't broken.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DarthXelion

Because the english players got all this mystery and intrigue. For example in ARR middy in japanese states he is testing us to see if we truly are worthy of hydaelyns blessing. But in English he is far more cryptic about what his goal is and comes off as an antagonist. It has always been this way and a vast majority of people REALLY like it.

---

I remember a lot of people complaining when they found out midgardsormr's dialogue was so different.

And I strongly disagree that a lot of people like it. A lot of people have no other option, or don't even know about the differences. And those that do speak other languages usually don't seem to prefer the english version.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DarthXelion

Something to point out. The english localization since ARR has been this way. It always has been for one reason. The devs know english players like to have more intrigue and mystery in their story so the characters are written far more obtuse. Japanese players found out about this and said it is REALLY REALLY cool. But also felt they got a dumbed down version (Citation needed its been a long time since I remembered what happened) Because the english players got all this mystery and intrigue. For example in ARR middy in japanese states he is testing us to see if we truly are worthy of hydaelyns blessing. But in English he is far more cryptic about what his goal is and comes off as an antagonist. It has always been this way and a vast majority of people REALLY like it. so it seems kind of dumb to complain about the localization. Don't fix what isn't broken.

---

I don't know what to tell you, but first of all if you make claims about the japanese players liking the EN localization so much, you need to back that up with a source otherwise it is just "trust me bro".

And also, with how many players I have met who are very, very dissatisfied with the EN localization because it just omits important information (especially lately in EW) and tries to push you towards one character and away from others, I am not sure I want to believe that your claim that the "vast majority REALLY likes it" is true.
I have been busy in the past weeks helping others with re-translated dialogue from DE where a lot of the information is intact, and doing so feels like injecting poison into all my organs since it just seems very, very unfair that a large percentage of the playerbase does not get all the information that should get conveyed through the ingame text.
And also, being "cryptic" and "mysterious" is no excuse to just remove things and replace them with flowery descriptions.

I don't want to say that other language versions are perfect, far from it. But at least this time around EN really got the filthy end of the stick.