I would like a more loyal localization (story quest dialogue)

[Intaki]

The people responsible for translating and localizing the script likely have very little (if any) input into how voice talent is managed. Poor voice work is to be blamed on the actors, the casting managers, and the voice directors; not the translators.

[Vilhem]

The people responsible for translating and localizing the script likely have very little (if any) input into how voice talent is managed. Poor voice work is to be blamed on the actors, the casting managers, and the voice directors; not the translators.

THIS ^^^^^. The loc team handles the text and adaptation.

All this says to me is that someone who works on both teams has a really confusing way of looking at what "global" players want, nor do they consult with the voice actors about what would actually sound natural.

And I'm sure the head lore master, as well as the devs, and the localization team, as well as SE, know more how to handle their global product than you. Could call me crazy, but the current formula more than works.


I encourage you to read the entire article, because he also goes in-depth on how some stuff originates in English, by request of the devs to have more Western influences, and is actually translated INTO Japanese.

This is a collaboration by both teams, with ideas originating on both sides. They don't want just a "Japanese game translated into English"

[kyuven]

And I'm sure the head lore master, as well as the devs, and the localization team, as well as SE, know more how to handle their global product than you. Could call me crazy, but the current formula more than works.


I encourage you to read the entire article, because he also goes in-depth on how some stuff originates in English, by request of the devs to have more Western influences, and is actually translated INTO Japanese.

This is a collaboration by both teams, with ideas originating on both sides. They don't want just a "Japanese game translated into English"

You're missing the point. None of those people writing the script have job titles that imply any experience with SPOKEN language.
Translators are not speakers.
Lore specialists are not necessarily playwrights.
It makes no difference which language the dialogue originates from. If they're not receiving input from the people who will be speaking the language (such as, oh i dunno...THE VOICE DIRECTORS)
Let's look at who is actually involved in this game's voice cast on the English side:
Richard Epcar, the voice of Gaius, has 278 credits to his name including the likes of Raiden from Mortal Kombat, Zangetsu from Bleach, Ansem from Kingdom Hearts, and many others.
Kyle Hebert, the voice of Lahabrea, has 230 credits to his name.
Cindy Robinson, the voice of Kan-E-Senna, has 135 credits to her name
Sam Riegel, the voice of Alphinaud, has 211 credits to his name as well as AWARDS for his work including a nomination specifically for voice acting.
Grant George, the voice of Cid, has 142 credits to his name as well as award nominations.
Taliesin Jaffe, the voice of Thancred, has 84 credits to his name, 2 awards, and 4 nominations
Gideon Emery, the voice of Urianger, has 163 credits and 6 awards for acting.
David Lodge has 180 credts and 1 nomination
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, the voice of Hydaelyn, has 191 credits to her name

And that's the tip of the iceberg. I left out quite a few.
The point is, these actors have long, LONG pedigrees in the industry and many roles where they haven't turned in stale performances. Hell, many of these actors worked on other final fantasy and kingdom hearts games where they turned in great performances. But on FFXIV, they come off as stale.
Compare with the Japanese track, which is decidedly NOT stale in delivery (Raubahn's speeches are awesome, for example) and has a cast with similarly long lists of roles.
The only unifying feature is the script and the direction. Hell one of their VA directors was on EQ2, which also had similar problems with stale performances and flow in the spoken dialogue despite having decent voice actors.
Blame the directors, the scripts, and the localization team. Do NOT blame the actors.