[Spoilers, kind of] Characters who are completely different between JP/ENG

[JisKing98]

Did they ever change niddhog and hraeslvgr voice in other languages? Or was it just the same deep menacing voice they use in the english version

[Ametrine]

I think the dragon's VOs are the same across them all IF they use the Dravanian language.

I've heard a few bad things around the German version being very crass and a bit unhinged. Lots of swearing for the sake of it, kind of thing.

I prefer English everything. I like to understand, but I also understand the issues with localizing foreign products as you can lose details and intent.

But, I'm probably the last person to talk to about "localization" since I was one of the few voices okay with Treehouse toning down the the R rated or higher junk in FEFates. Some of the cut content was disgusting.

[Brannigan]

But, I'm probably the last person to talk to about "localization" since I was one of the few voices okay with Treehouse toning down the the R rated or higher junk in FEFates. Some of the cut content was disgusting.

Heh. When was the last time you saw an R rated movie?
To contribute: a lot of the loc dialog changes bug me, and it instantly took me out of it the first time I saw them write "words are wind" and other GRRM-isms. The worst thing for me though has always been the original ability name changes that they did in 2.0 (and a few in 3.0). They completely gutted FF references and job flavor by changing a lot of skill names and basically saw no benefit from doing so.

[SavingPrincess]

Seriously, everyone go listen to the difference in Soroban between EN/JP. It's like a completely different character. Not even related to each other.

[Nestama]

What name changes for skills are you talking about (if you say spells, the localisation team gave their own reasons in Gubal Library HM. I am curious what a Fire V would look like with suffixes though, as we've only ever gone up to -ja)?

[Evaddaragon]

I'm from Québec, Canada. French is my native language, but I play in English. For two reasons:

1-I'm on NA territory so most people on the Data Center speak this language, there are also far more info lingering on the web in this language for the game. It's therefore more convenient.

2- The French version of the game, no offense intended, is the "International" way of speaking French. People in Québec really don't speak French the same way people in France, Belgium or Switzerland do. There's actually such a thing as movies being dubbed in "International French" and "Québec French". No, really. And it's not that I dislike the "International" French, but being unused to it is more awkward than using the other official language of Canada, English. At least for me.

But once in a while, when I feel like it, I re-watch some of my favorite cutscenes on the Unending Journey in French just to notice just how much things get changed in translation. While the "overall" feel of the story stays the same, sometimes entire sentences get completely changed and/or certain characters feel like entirely different persons. Hahaha

[Brannigan]

What name changes for skills are you talking about (if you say spells, the localisation team gave their own reasons in Gubal Library HM. I am curious what a Fire V would look like with suffixes though, as we've only ever gone up to -ja)?

Spells for one. Also, the spell suffixes continue in Japanese, so why wouldn't they in English? The original excuse they gave was that it would be confusing to have Fira not be a direct upgrade to Fire... but Fire 2 not being a direct upgrade to Fire 1 is just fine? By the way, this is even more stupid now that Stormblood has changed some stuff, but I'll get away from that.

They changed almost every scholar skill name in 2.0. Scholar skills in Japanese have a tactician-themed flavor, like they do now with stuff like Deployment Tactics. Koji and friends renamed their stuff to make them sound like priests (Sacred Soil) and stripped the tactician theme from them.
Invincible got changed to Hallowed Ground. Why? A clear name with FF history.
Circle of Doom got changed to Circle of Scorn. Scorn is contempt, hatred, etc. CoS had no enmity modifier on release. Its biggest feature was the damage over time (bleeding out, aka impending doom). Plus Circle of Doom sounds way cooler.
Defender got changed to Defiance. I guess this is okay except 1) Defender has FF history and it's immediately obvious that it's a tanking skill and 2) Now JP has Destroyer as a DPS stance and we have Deliverance. Not the greatest DPS stance name.
War Cry - > Infuriate. Why? This is a problem for a number of reasons. 1) War Cry sounds rad and has FF history. 2) Infuriate gives the status Infuriated, but what if they ever changed the skill's effect? No longer fits. 3) Infuriate sounds like something a tank would do to an enemy (such as provoke).
Crusade Stance -> Cleric Stance. Cleric as attacker makes sense if you're into D&D I guess. Crusade as "religious attacker" is more immediately obvious and sounds cool.
Actually WHM has another one that I don't quite recall. Shroud of Saints is "Shroud of the Goddess" or something like that. I think it refers to Nophica like Gladiators have a move referring to Halone.

Anyway it's just a bunch of changes that make me say WHY. This isn't untranslatable stuff either - other than the scholar stuff, many of them are English words written in katakana. There's a bunch others that have been translated differently in past FFs and would be references if they kept those translations (iirc Invigorate and Power Surge were FFT's Yell and older FF's Lancet/Dragon Lance/a few other things).

Aaaaaanyway I pretty much just don't understand their reasoning for messing with flavor stuff like that, especially when they make the ability effects less obvious.

[Urthdigger]

Once you figure this out you are kinda screwed also; you've gotta choose to experience the original setting, or go with the translation. Or watch stuff multiple times. Personally I think this really blows, and when being serious about it the original always seems 'better'. (How strange, how the producer meant it to be, seems better?!)

Considering the english localizers actually help to create the lore in the first place, the japanese version is no more authentic than the NA version. Now, you can say you might prefer things that are localized for a JP audience over things that are localized for an NA audience (and yes, this may include altering character personalities to something that goes over better in a region), but neither version is the "original" version.

[AdventZero]

The biggest thing that has always bothered me, while not a character/story thing for say, is one of the tank titles.

English: The Meat Shield

Japanese: White Knight

It's something that will bother me for the rest of this game, cause I would love to have the Japanese title in English.

[Shurrikhan]

I play with JP voices on, and today I heard a friend play in English, and heard Soroban talk in English for the first time.

Wow... he's like a completely different Ninja Turtle.

In Japanese, he's kind of an overzealous doofus... the kind you want to like, pat on the head and go "good for you big guy!"

In English, I wasn't prepared... he's like some haughty, nobleman.

He just seemed a bit reserved, and a bit of a hard-ass/shell to me, not really haughty or nobility-like.

The largest change to me was definitely Haurchefant, even from way back in ARR. One language sounded plain good-guy, another shadowy neutral-chaotic under legal fetters, another a typical bloak, and the last damn near psychotic.