Are you happy with the translation of the game? [Spoiler maybe probably]

Since i speak both english and german really well and also a bit of japanese and french i actually always listened to all translations of the games voice lines and texts and i just noticed that more than often the english version is off by far.

For example, in other languages when Zenos died in Ultima Thule he was talking about how he envied the WoL and how our life was so much better than his, like a moment of realization where he cracked for a bit before dying. But in english he is just asking us if our journey was good and then he just dies without us getting anything regarding his personal character, no emotion from his side basically.

I noticed that again, in the last scene yesterday in the pandemonium raid. In other languages it is implied that a certain someone emerges from the lifestream and is reborn but in english again the talk shifts to something else that has completely nothing to do with the scene itself. Just some big hints at the future content or expansion but again nothing regarding the characters journey into a new life.

So i wonder, are you happy with the translation you get? Or do you have the feeling that it gets a bit shallow sometimes?

Sometimes I feel like English is a completely different game, and it's frustrating not knowing what it was intended to be.

I know they say the English translation team is often working with the Japanese team, but I always get the idea that they improvise way too much.

I am very happy with the English localization, it's incredible.

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Originally Posted by R041

Sometimes I feel like English is a completely different game, and it's frustrating not knowing what it was intended to be.

I know they say the English translation team is often working with the Japanese team, but I always get the idea that they improvise way too much.

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It's kinda silly, especially when it came to Urianger they improvised a lot. Only in english he speaks like someone from england 200 years ago. Same with the dragons, i don't get why the english team translates a completely made up language into us hearing basically urianger talk from a dragon.

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Originally Posted by Ranaku

IOnly in english he speaks like someone from england 200 years ago..

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Wait, Urianger speaks normally in other languages? That would suck.

I can't think of many situations where I've gone to other languages' translations for more context. I've certainly done that, but it's more of a "let's see for fun" sort of thing, but not something I give too much weight.

I guess that's the sign of a good English localization-- I'm not constantly second-guessing everything written.

I don't really feel bothered by the English Translation. I never really saw an issue with it. But I'm also aware that these translation changes are intentional usually for reasons. Things need to be changed to fit NA culture.

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Originally Posted by Boblawblah

Wait, Urianger speaks normally in other languages? That would suck.

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He doesn't speak normally in JP, he just uses elaborate phrases - It's just that they had to find something 'olde' and elaborate to us. The problem is, we already have European English voice actors for some reason, so Urianger basically has to be Olde English to go a layer deeper. It's weird, and it's really a unique problem to us. I've never been a big fan of it, and I tend to skip his dialog. He's mostly exposition anyway.. lol

So if all of the voice actors were American English, then Urianger would either be a nerd that uses elaborate phrases for no reason, or just.. British. :D

Being fluent in Japanese and English, I enjoy the Japanese version over the English by miles.
The English version is often overtly missing content that is explained in Japanese. It seems in the French and German versions these nuances are picked up better, so the English version seems to have quality control issues (or too much improvisation).
Having been involved in localization myself, I understand that localization doesn't mean literal translation -- however I think there is an issue when setting / plot / character development is modified.

Seems to be one of those things that only has a few outcomes depending on the question..,

Do you like it?
[Yes/No]
I think it fits with what was told to us so far. It practically created the notion that he uses such wordings for various reasons. if we are speaking of Urianger(of course). Specially if he occasionally makes notes to things that may be unnecessary, but offer honest meaning in his own way. Like when words of famous or well known people being utterly useless to express yourself with in the moment.

My personal answer is yes, I'm fine with it.
We all knew Haurchefant had typical expectations of nobles embedded to his nature. Even if he is different to us in the US in how forward or extreme he is.
The changes do not make it lesser or better.


Does it make any version superior or change the overall notion/idea of the story so far?
[Objectively/Subjectively/CaseByCase Yes/No]
This one is a huge question that can turn the whole thread into a Complex for those who want to push their opinions.
Or Yet another topic to delve deep into lore that may not lead anywhere or understand what the devs could mean in all conceivable ways.

It largely just results to, how much everyone individually wants to get invested on something to such a level/extent. It is of no harm to anyone, and shouldn't be used to put those who couldn't care less, off.

Though since it's rarely brought up, unless someone wanted to be offended on a MCs/NPCs behalf, it'll just be a option/tool to comb for ideas of where the story will head to next.

My personal view to this question, is that it largely leads to nothing. Only is it fun when one wants to brainstorm too much, yet eventually be grounded from the rampant speculation by others or oneself.

We enjoy what we have(if it's good) and appreciate the diversity in context/writting for other languages whenever the topic does come up. and Those who learned multiple languages chose to share their favorite comparisons.

Wow, I didn't know they changed crucial details like that in the English localization. That... kinda sucks.

My only concern is the times we've lost vital context in the narrative, which has become a problem since late 5.X.
There has to be a way for them to retain the same context as other languages without jeopardizing the flow of the narrative.

No.

I wish they had a translation in my language, since we tend to be as close to the source material as possible, but I doubt we'll ever have it.

If you ask me before ShB, I would've said yes (and yeah I prefer EN Haucherfant over his JP version, sue me). After ShB though? Not a chance.

Before ShB, they did improvise but mostly still retain the same meaning in general with other languages. Except for that time we first met Midgarsomr -_-

Ever since ShB, me and some other people notice that EN translation often subtly changed the line to accommodate.... the localizers ideology. Which affect people's perception of the story and characters.

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Originally Posted by Ranaku

For example, in other languages when Zenos died in Ultima Thule he was talking about how he envied the WoL and how our life was so much better than his, like a moment of realization where he cracked for a bit before dying. But in english he is just asking us if our journey was good and then he just dies without us getting anything regarding his personal character, no emotion from his side basically.

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Was he different in his earlier encounters, or about the same as he is in English? If he's the same, then that last talk in the other languages just...comes out of nowhere and just feels weird and out of character. If he's different, then it probably fits how he was portrayed in the other languages.

I go back and forth. I like some changes and dislike others.

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Originally Posted by RyuDragnier

Was he different in his earlier encounters, or about the same as he is in English? If he's the same, then that last talk in the other languages just...comes out of nowhere and just feels weird and out of character. If he's different, then it probably fits how he was portrayed in the other languages.

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I mean in context, he has the echo of Krile which should make it really easy for him to see other peoples memories. We saw on Fordola how even half of it can make you already see peoples past.

So him seeing probably the flashes of our past adventure and probably then on deaths door understanding what he missed, it made totally sense for me. But in the english translation everything of that was totally lost. Which made his character really shallow, no wonder most people hate Zenos. Sure he is a insane killer but i guess the english version never explored the why. Him growing up without his mother. Him seeing that the empire is just a tool for a higher power and his father not caring a bit about him. Also him not having any real friends, probably thanks to his status. All that was explored in other languages.

It's just kinda sad that all this character growth is just lost and really interesting characters get reduced to one dimensional comic villains.

No, i am not happy with the translation/localization. I can compare the german and the english localization and sometimes they differ vastly, have a different context etc.



Cheers

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Originally Posted by RyuDragnier

Was he different in his earlier encounters, or about the same as he is in English? If he's the same, then that last talk in the other languages just...comes out of nowhere and just feels weird and out of character. If he's different, then it probably fits how he was portrayed in the other languages.

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Even as someone who wasn’t a fan of anything the writers were crafting with Zenos until EW redeemed his existence as a character a little bit, that he was driven by deep ennui and was drawn to the WoL to soothe that ennui as an opponent but also slowly realizing that we had a life outside of that combat-adrenaline high was clear enough. His death had this air of disappointment that his singular chase to repeat what momentarily drove away the ennui had just failed and he was asking if the WoL had the answer - it sounds like the other languages shifted the nuance to Zenos confirming more affirmatively that we did have the answer. But the EN version makes the parallel stronger to Venat’s open question on if life was worth it.

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Originally Posted by Denishia

Even as someone who wasn’t a fan of anything the writers were crafting with Zenos until EW redeemed his existence as a character a little bit, that he was driven by deep ennui and was drawn to the WoL to soothe that ennui as an opponent but also slowly realizing that we had a life outside of that combat-adrenaline high was clear enough. His death had this air of disappointment that his singular chase to repeat what momentarily drove away the ennui had just failed and he was asking if the WoL had the answer - it sounds like the other languages shifted the nuance to Zenos confirming more affirmatively that we did have the answer. But the EN version makes the parallel stronger to Venat’s open question on if life was worth it.

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Zenos last words just if someone is interested

German:

- "Ah, i lost...again."
- "How disappointing."
- "I never understood why people put so much worth into trivial things."
- "This world is like a putrid swamp, desolate and boring."
- "Only once in a while could I escape it and feel a spark of joy."
- "A quick and fleeting pleasure."
- "And you? You were born into this world as an adventurer, to experience one incredible adventure after another..."

- Flashbacks
- "Your life...was a wonder..."
- "So much better...than mine..."
- "I..."

English:

- "That i should lose again."
- "How disappointing."
- "I never understood these around me. Understood their obsessions."
- "Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
- "But in these fleeting moments...there is a spark. Blinding and brilliant."
- "Gone, too soon."
- "What of you my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure."

- Flashbacks
- "Was this life a gift or a burden?"
- "Did you find...fulfillment?"
- "I..."

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Originally Posted by Ranaku

Zenos last words just if someone is interested

German:

- "Ah, i lost...again."
- "How disappointing."
- "I never understood why people put so much worth into trivial things."
- "This world is like a putrid swamp, desolate and boring."
- "Only once in a while could I escape it and feel a spark of joy."
- "A quick and fleeting pleasure."
- "And you? You were born into this world as an adventurer, to experience one incredible adventure after another..."

- Flashbacks
- "Your life...was a wonder..."
- "So much better...than mine..."
- "I..."

English:

- "That i should lose again."
- "How disappointing."
- "I never understood these around me. Understood their obsessions."
- "Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
- "But in these fleeting moments...there is a spark. Blinding and brilliant."
- "Gone, too soon."
- "What of you my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure."

- Flashbacks
- "Was this life a gift or a burden?"
- "Did you find...fulfillment?"
- "I..."

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I much prefer the English here. But I think for me that line about life being a gift or a burden sat heavy with me. Especially right after dealing with the first 90 dungeon and everything that went down in Ultima Thule.

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Originally Posted by Ranaku

Zenos last words just if someone is interested

German:

- "Ah, i lost...again."
- "How disappointing."
- "I never understood why people put so much worth into trivial things."
- "This world is like a putrid swamp, desolate and boring."
- "Only once in a while could I escape it and feel a spark of joy."
- "A quick and fleeting pleasure."
- "And you? You were born into this world as an adventurer, to experience one incredible adventure after another..."

- Flashbacks
- "Your life...was a wonder..."
- "So much better...than mine..."
- "I..."

English:

- "That i should lose again."
- "How disappointing."
- "I never understood these around me. Understood their obsessions."
- "Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
- "But in these fleeting moments...there is a spark. Blinding and brilliant."
- "Gone, too soon."
- "What of you my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure."

- Flashbacks
- "Was this life a gift or a burden?"
- "Did you find...fulfillment?"
- "I..."

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Very interesting. I do prefer the english version here. I think the two questions in the english version are a better explanation for vivid flashbacks of the entire journey (for both the good and the terrible moments) than the german version. Was our life better than zenos'? Yea obviously, we werent raised to be a monster. But the question if this life was a gift or a burden would hit the wol a lot harder as from an in story perspective life hasnt been easy at all.

Considering that one cutscene in 6.4 MSQ, the friendlier exchange feels much more apt.

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Originally Posted by Maralius

I much prefer the English here. But I think for me that line about life being a gift or a burden sat heavy with me. Especially right after dealing with the first 90 dungeon and everything that went down in Ultima Thule.

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The english versions are mostly better than the german ones. The same thing with "This devastation was not my intention." In german he says: "This enormous power was hidden in the Ultima weapon?". The english version indicates, that Gaius was deceived by Lahabrea. In the german version he is positively surprised, that he destroyed everything. The context is completely different. And later in Stormblood it is clear, that the english version is right.



Cheers

The English localization is terrible. Instead of giving us the intended story we get whatever they feel it should say. Characters words are not even what they are supposed to be but they want us to enjoy the msq.They insert their beliefs,politics etc into it also. Who wants a story like that? Give us what the wonderful japanese writers wrote. We dont care about what the English localization thinks is better.

If you have the option to read/hear it in a different language do so!

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Originally Posted by Larirawiel

The english versions are mostly better than the german ones. The same thing with "This devastation was not my intention." In german he says: "This enormous power was hidden in the Ultima weapon?". The english version indicates, that Gaius was deceived by Lahabrea. In the german version he is positively surprised, that he destroyed everything. The context is completely different. And later in Stormblood it is clear, that the english version is right.



Cheers

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No, that's a lie by omission. The German version is very clear that Gaius feels betrayed by Lahabrea, he even states that the Ascian is due an explanation for this. Don't omit the context and just use one line being different to make it seem like the story is portrayed differently.

Weirdly in the case of Zenos' envy at the end of his life, that's exactly what happens, cause in the English version he's totally focused outward, asking you how you feel, whereas in German he basically shares his self-pity. Different characters in that very meaningful instance.

In the case of Zenos and his last words, I much prefer the english version. I do however have a problem with how our WoL is handed the multiple choice answers. Some of those are just so cringe. I thought we were grown up, but some of those choices are written towards a child. "Last one in is a rotten egg". I didn't even say that in my own childhood.
"Is that an edelweiss in your pocket, or are you happy to meet me?". So many other and better alternatives, but they stuck with that.

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Originally Posted by Antharaes

In the case of Zenos and his last words, I much prefer the english version. I do however have a problem with how our WoL is handed the multiple choice answers. Some of those are just so cringe. I thought we were grown up, but some of those choices are written towards a child. "Last one in is a rotten egg". I didn't even say that in my own childhood.
"Is that an edelweiss in your pocket, or are you happy to meet me?". So many other and better alternatives, but they stuck with that.

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It's the "joke" choice. The WoL often has 3 choices. Serious, sarcasm, and joke.

Not having sufficient knowledge of the other languages, it's hard to say. I expect sometimes I would prefer English, sometimes the JP.

It's when localizations lean too much on pop culture cliche that I get annoyed.

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Originally Posted by Antharaes

I thought we were grown up, but some of those choices are written towards a child. "Last one in is a rotten egg". I didn't even say that in my own childhood.
"Is that an edelweiss in your pocket, or are you happy to meet me?". So many other and better alternatives, but they stuck with that.

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You can be an adult and still have a childlike joy in the world, saying things like "Last one in is a rotten egg". I hope you didn't have a rough childhood that sucked the joy out of it and turned everything serious.

As for things like "Is that an edelweiss in your pocket, or are you happy to meet me?", that's a really overused joke in its different variations in my opinion. That's not relevant to what's happening in the story so why would it be an option?

Now if the story were to be taking a romantic turn between the PC and the NPC, it would be a more fitting alternative.

This thread again...

Translating is an art form in itself and the great translations rarely keep the text translated 1 to 1. Things that might flow nicely in Japanese wont flow as well in English and vice versa. Then there are also cultural references and figures of speech which often has to be completely replaced to make any sense.

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyTank

This thread again...

Translating is an art form in itself and the great translations rarely keep the text translated 1 to 1. Things that might flow nicely in Japanese wont flow as well in English and vice versa. Then there are also cultural references and figures of speech which often has to be completely replaced to make any sense.

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It is not the lack of a 1 for 1 translation people are taking issue with, generally. The oft-cited problem is in the conveyed message itself sometimes being something totally different between localizations. There is a difference between adapting something to a form another culture will properly understand and completely changing the underlying meaning.

I feel like in the last couple of expansions there’s been snags where the English version makes things overly flowery with our ye olde English and we lose what was actually supposed to be said. I remember the circular arguments around EW launch over if the Ascians were tempered or not. They are explicitly so in every language but English for some reason. Big lore things like that shouldn’t be omitted.