English Translation Feedback

I thought to take a moment to commend the localization team, particularly those involved in translation, of an absolutely exemplary work. Due to my familiarity with the Japanese VAs, I've left the audio for cutscenes in Japanese, with the rest of the game in English. The contrast between the two is astounding.

Where the Japanese script seems to be essentially standard Japanese, and could occur in any part of the world, the English script is wonderfully tailored to the setting and similar time periods as to what the game itself evokes. The level of immersion the English script promotes is the highest I've seen in an MMO, and certainly among the highest in video games at all. Clever curses, exclamations, and colloquial phrases give life to the characters and world, and set it markedly apart from our own.

I harbor not the least doubt that your efforts are a major factor in the greatness of this game. I look forward to seeing your continued efforts, and to continue being awed by it.

I couldn't agree more - everyone involved should feel incredibly proud of themselves!

They really did a good job. My favorite is, oddly, the title for one of the early accomplishments: All Watched Over by a Maelstrom of Loving Grace. I want to kiss whoever wrote that one, one of my favorite documentaries. Surprisingly obscure reference, at least in the US.

Really? I found the translation really lackluster. For example, when the Japanese clearly says "Ultima Weapon" the translation leaves it out and just says that the weapon is some ancient weapon. Also, when Minfilia is being tortured, she doesn't merely groan. She calls out to "minna". The roughly equivalent translation is "everyone". It shows that she is thinking of her friends even while she's under so much distress. This adds to her character that I would not have gotten had I just read the English subtitles.

Right now I am watching the council meeting scene. I know that the nuances are being lost. For example Alphinaund says:

"Aye! Remember 5 years ago when you wagered all for the sake of the realm! Remember what you fought for, what you were willing to die for!"

In the Japanese, he is not agreeing with what Minfilia is saying. Nor is he calling upon their sense of past glory and some vague way of living. Rather he's outraged that they aren't even considering the lives of their past comrades, and forgotten why and for what reason they've been living all these years.

Yea some parts I'm OK with... I'd say even the majority - ~70%. But the rest just makes me cringe... I really feel that someone who hasn't played Final Fantasy has done part of the translation.

Which is OK - I guess you're trying to save money on translators/writers. But it really shows.

And one more thing that bothers me. It seems that the only way to express a different way of speaking is to fall back to some strange modernized early modern english. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't feel right. It just makes things harder to read... and not helping with immersion. In fact - it kinda breaks it. I just have a mental picture of some guy who can talk normally, choosing not to do so. I mean no one talks that way. Even in movies. Dialects and colloquialisms are fine, but if you're gonna do it, don't do it halfway. It just makes things more confusing.

The Middle English touches are the best part, imo. If nothing else, it'll broaden your vocabulary.

Localization is more than just literal translation of the original words -- there is an art to it. Literal translations can lose poetry and nuance, that a skilled localizer tried to convey using different words in their own language. The FFXIV team has done a very good job of making the English dialogue of NPCs full of character and style.

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Right now I am watching the council meeting scene. I know that the nuances are being lost. For example Alphinaund says:

"Aye! Remember 5 years ago when you wagered all for the sake of the realm! Remember what you fought for, what you were willing to die for!"

In the Japanese, he is not agreeing with what Minfilia is saying. Nor is he calling upon their sense of past glory and some vague way of living. Rather he's outraged that they aren't even considering the lives of their past comrades, and forgotten why and for what reason they've been living all these years.

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I aggree with this in particular. In the Japanese (oriiginal), Alphinaud is admonishing the council for contemplating surrender. He is almost scolding them, yes outraged. This is totally lost in the english version.

I hated papalymo's English VA. Raubahn is, though, very awesome in both versions.

I really hope someone at SE reads this, a programmer, Yoshi P:

The TEXT ONLY localization is good. HOWEVER, during the AUDIO cutscenes, the english should be CAPTIONED, not localized, and the plot should NOT be modified.

During the level 35 storyline missions involving Cid at the church,

Both him and Alphinaund very VERY clearly use the word Enterprise SEVERAL times during the dialog. It is omitted COMPLETELY from the captioned text, and this is incredibly disappointing. Was the script and text simply given to the translation team to localize, and the spoken dialog parts not separated from the rest of the script? I can understand that translation is a HUGE undertaking, but the dialog of the MAIN PLOT is the MOST IMPORTANT part of FINAL FANTASY.

No offense to the English voice actors, but when you look at a company like Square Enix, who can pull on the resources of the people who did the voice acting in TOMB RAIDER, why is the english VO work SO flat?

Sorry, I couldnt agree.

Voice overs are lackluster and some texts here and there just makes no sense.

If you look at the in-game dialogues there is some pretty random stuff.

"Brass Blade: I told those damn Ala Mhigans to cover their piss!"

What does this mean? Even if I consider a possible Japanese to English translation the original meaning is irrecoverable. Quite a lot of dialogue is meaningless drivel. "Cover their shit!" would work because the actual meaning is not how this phrase is understood, however "Cover their piss!" still retains its literal meaning.