Fire I, Fire II, Fire III

[AshlikeSnow]

Well others have explained that -ra means second and -ga means third, or something along those lines. So it kinda makes sense for us to call it Fire II and Fire III.
Personally, I want to adopt the French way. "Extra Fire, Mega Fire, Giga Fire!"

No that is incorrect. The "a" and "ga" come from the Japanese kana writing system which "a" is the vowel and "ga" is a consonant followed by a vowel, this does not translate to 1,2, and 3.

[Nestama]

It's not the worst point in the localization, but it is one I'm not happy with. Can't wait to see how they handle it when it inevitably bites them in the backside like every other needless change they've made.

Dunno how something as simple as numbers could bite them in the rear. What would they call the inevitable Fire V and potential VI?

[Yasuhiro]

Honestly OP and I don't mean to sound disrespectful to the localization team because over time I respect Koji Fox but the English version of the game has so many liberties not just in certain skill names like the magic spells but even from how the characters talk (the infamous Middy cutscene comes to mind) All that self learning Japanese paid off in the end, not perfect at reading it yet but you'll be amazed with the differences, only thing I'd keep from the English localization is the silly FATE names that reference movies.

[Velox]

I don't get what the big deal is. I mean, they're just words. You people need to read more Shakespeare with the whole "A rose by any other name..." Does it really matter what it's called? All that matters is what it does.

[AshlikeSnow]

I don't get what the big deal is. I mean, they're just words. You people need to read more Shakespeare with the whole "A rose by any other name..." Does it really matter what it's called? All that matters is what it does.

Your opinion is valid and it might have been that exact opinion of the English localization team "what's the big deal?" "They're just words" this question is probably not even worth their time or care.

[GMERC]

Dunno how something as simple as numbers could bite them in the rear. What would they call the inevitable Fire V and potential VI?

This is actually an extremely poorly thought out post on your part. It doesn't matter what the localization has to come up with to call a hypothetical tier 5 spell because the Japanese version of the game will literally be using one either way.

The English localization is the only one they thought would be too stupid to understand the correct names. There isn't an actual good reason, it was just a stupid decision they're too prideful to walk back.

Fun fact: Stoneskin II is actually Stoneraskin (Stone II Skin).

[Nestama]

Poorly thought out or not, my main point was "how can something as simple as numbers bite them in the rear." I found it jarring for a few days back during beta, but now, after three years, I just don't care. They're just numbers.

Explain the French and German's choice with Astrologian spells. Seriously.

[Saccharin]

Honestly OP and I don't mean to sound disrespectful to the localization team because over time I respect Koji Fox but the English version of the game has so many liberties not just in certain skill names like the magic spells but even from how the characters talk (the infamous Middy cutscene comes to mind) All that self learning Japanese paid off in the end, not perfect at reading it yet but you'll be amazed with the differences, only thing I'd keep from the English localization is the silly FATE names that reference movies.

It could be due to game ratings in some western countries. You can blow people's head off but no hint of dirty talk allowed!

The English localization is the only one they thought would be too stupid to understand the correct names. There isn't an actual good reason, it was just a stupid decision they're too prideful to walk back.

Fun fact: Stoneskin II is actually Stoneraskin (Stone II Skin).

There's a legitimate reason and some people have stated it but it's been ignored. 'Cause truth hurts.

The way Japanese and English work are different. In English the way it was in other games mutated the word to give it no linguistic meaning where as in Japanese it doesn't. Your 'fun fact' has proven this. Does German and French work the same way as English, no, so maybe it makes more sense there.

You may not like what the localisation team did but it's not stupid and makes perfect sense. To suggest otherwise is 'stupid'.

[Texa]

Nobody should lose sight of the fact that the localization and the Japanese content are released at the same time. Localizing a game while it's still being developed in Japan is actually much more difficult than a standard localization. Here's an explanation as to why from a person who actually works in Quality Assurance in the JRPG localization industry , she has a lot of interesting things to say on the subject. SE games have the added advantage of having their own full-time committed translation and quality assurance team (most localization companies do contract work) that's familiar with the series and its lore. But they still have very full plates and have been doing a impressive job getting things out the door the way they do.

[Lukha]

Poorly thought out or not, my main point was "how can something as simple as numbers bite them in the rear."

When we inevitably get something like an upgraded firaga which should actually be called 'firaga II', and they just call it 'fire 6' or something. I mean, as stated, there are already people who don't realize the current spells aren't just straight replacements...whms who spam cure 2, anyone? The original scheme is set up so you know the spells have different effects at a glance.

Also as someone studying Japanese, there is no possible reading of the kanji for two or three that would end up sounding like -ra or -ga...someone lied to you, please don't spread false info.