[Try it] Cutscene Audio > Japanese

When VO has taken a hit in all of their games something is wrong and yes they need to fix it. In terms of localisation Vagrant Story and FFXII were massive steps forward and seemingly lost to SE as a whole.

This is also true. I almost feel like if they're just gonna half-ass the voice acting, they shouldn't include it at all. Having FOUR voiced languages spreads them even thinner. I think the game would do perfectly fine without it.

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Originally Posted by Vilhem

This is also true. I almost feel like if they're just gonna half-ass the voice acting, they shouldn't include it at all. Having FOUR voiced languages spreads them even thinner. I think the game would do perfectly fine without it.

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Well, you would be suprised by HOW MANY players do not speak English, even in 2014.

In some European countries, like French or Italy, people are used to have localized media all the time (movies in threatres are ALWAYS dubbed, for example). I can assure you that a game in one of those countries will sell A LOT less if it's not available in their local language.

Developers take this into account, and try to estimate whether localizing costs will be justified by an increase in sales. Of course, most people do not really understand quality - or are not bothered by the lack of it, as long as they understand what's being said. So, as long as the dialogues are understandable, everything is cool.

Sadly this is how the industry works nowadays :/

Yes, I'm aware of that. I've been a strong supporter on here about getting a Spanish version localized. Fact of the matter is, right now 4 languages are localized, and 4 voice overs were made, and while I do see the intent of this, the voice acting itself feels unfinished and clunky in general. The game text itself is just wonderful though (I've played a little bit of the French one and I do enjoy a lot of the subtle differences between the languages)

Yes, I get what you mean.

Unfortunately I am not allowed to talk much about this matter, but I can say this: more often than not, localization processes are damn hard. The biggest issue? Time constraints. You have to deliver the product on time because the game is being released - and developers usually do not understand all the stuff that proper dubbing requires. It's not like dubbing movies - sometimes videogame dubbers do not even have cutscenes to refer to, basically working blindly.
This results in the VO being rushed because the developers want the final product on their desk, f*** quality, who cares.

Just sayin', cause it's not like localizers / dubbers are stupid and incompetent - they usually tend to do their best given the amount of resources they are granted, that's all.

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Originally Posted by Vilhem

Fact: All four tracks were produced near simultaneously. So there's no "original JP audio". Furthermore, as someone above said, the English version of the game isn't a direct translation, but rather it's localized. (if you don't know the difference, a simple Google search will tell). This means the "English subs" aren't really subs at all. They've nothing to do with the Japanese audio, or any of the others for that matter. They adhere to the English localization only.

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Yeah, this. I may prefer the Japanese voices but acting like the English track is somehow sullying the purity of the original story is stupid, the English localisation team is based in Japan and helps write the main script, the Japanese and English versions are equally "the original version".

Right that's kinda what I was getting at. Everything just felt rushed and limited (limited text, limited options for voice actors etc). Just bad design translating from text based cutscene to voice acting without proper scripting. :/

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Originally Posted by FJerome

Yeah, this. I may prefer the Japanese voices but acting like the English track is somehow sullying the purity of the original story is stupid, the English localisation team is based in Japan and helps write the main script, the Japanese and English versions are equally "the original version".

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I think most of the complaints concern the dubbin rather than the translation. The English translation has some very neat little gems.

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Originally Posted by Vilhem

Right that's kinda what I was getting at. Everything just felt rushed and limited (limited text, limited options for voice actors etc). Just bad design translating from text based cutscene to voice acting without proper scripting. :/

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Yes, this is a perfect example of what I wrote earlier - SE needed this game to be more "widespread" in countries with not many English-speaking players. Quality was not really a concern, since more quality would NOT have meant more income, so basically who cares?

It's perfectly reasonable from a business point of view - of course it would be annoying for some..but still, who cares? People complaining bought the game already, and it's unlikely that they will stop subscribing because some foreign language has not been dubbed properly :P

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Originally Posted by Kule

When VO has taken a hit in all of their games something is wrong and yes they need to fix it. In terms of localisation Vagrant Story and FFXII were massive steps forward and seemingly lost to SE as a whole.

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That's really more just because Alexander O. Smith is a genius than it is anything else and he's since left the company.

(No offence to the current localisation team, you guys are brilliant too.)