For those of us who prefer the Japanese VO.

[JakzChurchill]

I'm a big fan of the Japanese VA's in this game, they made some of my least likeable characters some of my favourite by skewing the characters more towards my likes, Alphinaud being a good example. The problem is it's very obvious the character I am hearing is not the character I'm reading, this makes a very disjointed story experience.

so could we have the option for a more literal translated subtitles, rather than reading the dubtitles currently used.

To get the localised text you first have a create a true translation to be able to modify, Would it take much longer to add this as a second English subtitle option?

[Alberel]

I'm not sure how feasible this will be as it would be a lot of work to write another translation of the script. I agree with your point though. There are several times where characters say something in Japanese that clearly does not match the written text, even if you don't understand the Japanese.

Most notably in the most recent patch there is a point where Raubahn calls Lolorito by name in the spoken Japanese VO but merely says 'You!' in the written English which causes a significant disconnect when following the dialogue.

[RiceisNice]

I'm not sure how feasible this will be as it would be a lot of work to write another translation of the script. I agree with your point though. There are several times where characters say something in Japanese that clearly does not match the written text, even if you don't understand the Japanese.

Most notably in the most recent patch there is a point where Raubahn calls Lolorito by name in the spoken Japanese VO but merely says 'You!' in the written English which causes a significant disconnect when following the dialogue.

IIRC, a lot of the changes has to do with matching lip syncing as well, since all the scenes were initially done with Japanese audio. It's something I can appreciate them doing (having played other games, off lip syncing is a incredible pet peeve of mine for a story driven game).

Though Smorggy over there really doesn't have much of an excuse...

[Catwho]

I'm so used to this from translated anime that I don't even really think about it. I prefer the perfect lip syncing from the Japanese VAs and the not-as-obnoxious voices (I grew up in the southern US - the English voices just tend to sound incredibly fake and forced to me.) The meaning is usually close enough that the mismatched translation doesn't bother me.

Also, when you change to the Japanese voices in the settings, they warn you that the translation and spoken dialog aren't going to be exact.

[ServantNaoya]

Just imagine they're not talking in faux-medieval, archaic English, and you're about 80% closer. But as long as you have a general understanding on what they're saying, you can fill in the gaps yourself, so it's not too bad.

[Cynfael]

It's rarely as simple as making a "true" translation. Literal translations are terrible, so you would be asking for a new localized script. It's waaay too much work. There are nuances to the Japanese language that translate poorly to English (and vice versa).

I think that they could have gone a bit more modern and slightly more literal with the current script, but that ship has sailed.

[Mistoltin]

There's also cultural differences, language differences amongst many other things which make conversation different in many different places.
If you want to be a special flower and play the game with JP voice actors, feel free, but you have to deal with the fact that the subs you get won't match, just the way things are.

If the differences bother you so much, go away and learn the language, problem solved.

[JakzChurchill]

If the differences bother you so much, go away and learn the language, problem solved.

This is another point I forgot to touch on, how the cutscenes work with you having to skip ahead by choice this game is perfect for someone with basic knowledge of Japanese to increase their knowledge of the language. I'd absolutely love to use this game to learn Japanese.

[Cynfael]

This is another point I forgot to touch on, how the cutscenes work with you having to skip ahead by choice this game is perfect for someone with basic knowledge of Japanese to increase their knowledge of the language. I'd absolutely love to use this game to learn Japanese.

Side note: use caution when learning from a game. Not every character speaks with an exaggerated accent or archaic syntax here, but it's still prevalent. For example, no one talks like Nanamo IRL since her speech is both archaic and royal. Raubahn's casual use of "kisama" for "you" is also obsolete (and rude in modern speech).

It's a good tool, but has to be taken with a few grains of salt

[Kiara]

I agree as well. I love the Japanese Dialog w/ English Subtitles option. Much better.

But as Rice mentioned, a more realistic solution might be requesting SE considers:

* Improving their Lip-Syncing System, to match the VO spoken.

I remember hearing about some games that have created systems where the Lip Syncing is changed on the faces / lips depending on the VO being spoken (so it makes it a better experience in various languages around the world). That right there, even with the creative license and not-completely-literal Translations that we get, would alleviate the problem you say.