This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[Lhanu]

The two reasons given for the sundering were she didn't believe the Ancients capable of changing their ways (an issue of hers which predates Zodiark) or of being able to interact with dynamis. Those reasons are mutually exclusive, so there was no situation we're presented with in which she wasn't going to sunder all of mankind. It's why the narrative surrounding her is problematic because her "trying" to get the Ancients to change doesn't mean anything if she still didn't think they could defeat Meteion.



(Quoting Brinne because she said it better than I could.)

Venat, fundamentally, is an ideologue. Her sense of love and wonder is sincere and true, but she is a big-picture person in the extreme, who thinks in the abstract. When she says she loves, it’s not of any specific person or thing. It’s love of “humanity’s potential.” It’s love of “a flawed world,” of “mankind’s ability to find a way forward,” - a particular way of seeing the world that she believes only she, at this point, has, that she waxes poetic about in her big speech leading up to her question of her journey. Our Azem is quoted as describing her as "both close and incredibly distant," "akin to a force of nature," and that seems very apt. She also admits that she, like Hermes, is dissatisfied with the world order as it exists now – she wants others to see the world as she does. To welcome struggle and strife and flaws and therefore, in her eyes, truly treasure the “miracle of creation.”

Largely because of her interactions with us, the portrait she receives of someone from “a flawed world full of suffering,” Venat further romanticizes the idea of beauty and strength in the face of struggle and suffering. She sees that version of the world as more exciting, more appealing than the one she lives in now, which she sees as misguided and indolent – she already had, hence her being extremely receptive to hearing Meteion’s two-sentence description of the Plenty, and deciding the Ancients were on the same path based on that.

Fam I once again must inform you that you are making things up regarding Venat and 'the Ancients were on the same path as the Plenty' is in fact canon, not something 'she decided'.

[Lhanu]

I get the feeling these "translation errors" are less about language and more about people frustrated that characters they think should be villainized aren't, and characters that are villainized, shouldn't be. I don't think any amount of different localization would change that, people are naturally going to have different opinions on characters. I personally didn't enjoy the character of meteion, that doesn't make her poorly translated, it just means I didn't like her.

Pretty much this. People are extremely mad that their bad read of Shadowbringers was in fact not correct and they're blaming the localisation team.

[KageTokage]

I get the feeling these "translation errors" are less about language and more about people frustrated that characters they think should be villainized aren't, and characters that are villainized, shouldn't be. I don't think any amount of different localization would change that, people are naturally going to have different opinions on characters. I personally didn't enjoy the character of meteion, that doesn't make her poorly translated, it just means I didn't like her.

That's...not what people are getting at at all.

They just want more parity between the translations so everyone is getting the same impressions/takeaways from things.

Even when it comes to things like mechanics, the western localization sometimes opts to use more obscure/colorful terms like starboard/larboard or dextral/lateral where the others use far simpler terms like leftward/rightward. They explicitly stated they changed the spell names for clarity, so why they opted to reduce the clarity in other places is...confusing.

Fam I once again must inform you that you are making things up regarding Venat and 'the Ancients were on the same path as the Plenty' is in fact canon, not something 'she decided'.

The only in-game statement we have to "canonize" that was the claim in Unending Codex that Zodiark was born from an "ill-fated wish"...which is another thing I can't help but question how it was translated in other languages.

As far as outside sources go, Yoshi stated that they "probably" would've met the same fate. but I also distinctly recall Ishikawa stating instead that it was just Venat's fear/belief they would meet the same fate that partly drove her decision.

[Rulakir]

I've noticed a few respondents are brand new accounts whose first and only posts are to this thread, so I can only assume it's been shared in a Discord or other social media platform. The fact that this topic has triggered people to that extent would be fascinating to me if it weren't derailing the discussion. I'm not sure why requesting more accurate and consistent translations (at least on par with the other languages) would put some so fiercely on the defensive, but here we are. I am appreciative though because it keeps the thread visible on the front page and makes it far more likely it'll be noticed for feedback.

Regardless, nobody realistically expects the broader story to change nor has anyone asked for that. As has been mentioned (and ignored) numerous times, EN is missing a lot of context and clarity when it comes to the finer details that the other languages aren't experiencing. We've had FR and DE players corroborate this as well as at least one JP player just in this thread.

[Theodric]

I've noticed a few respondents are brand new accounts whose first and only posts are to this thread, so I can only assume it's been shared in a Discord or other social media platform. The fact that this topic has triggered people to that extent would be fascinating to me if it weren't derailing the discussion. I'm not sure why requesting more accurate and consistent translations (at least on par with the other languages) would put some so fiercely on the defensive, but here we are. I am appreciative though because it keeps the thread visible on the front page and makes it far more likely it'll be noticed for feedback.

Regardless, nobody realistically expects the broader story to change nor has anyone asked for that. As has been mentioned (and ignored) numerous times, EN is missing a lot of context and clarity when it comes to the finer details that the other languages aren't experiencing. We've had FR and DE players corroborate this as well as at least one JP player just in this thread.

Thankfully it's obvious that such posters are not participating in this thread in good faith. Especially with the usual bizarre insinuations and claims being made towards those who dare to favour the antagonists or at least sympathise with and understand their motives.

I can confirm that this thread has been linked on Twitter and I'm sure many of us here are well aware that such a platform is hardly known for reasonable takes on any issue with nuance. It's interesting how there's this vague and fake claim about those of us here agreeing with everything that the antagonists did when that simply isn't true at all. I suppose it's deflection from those who bend over backwards to try and rid their 'mOmMy GoDdEsS' of any and all blame or responsibility for her actions.

Having been invested in World of Warcraft just as much as FFXIV, it's all very similar to the situation with Sylvanas Windrunner. The Sundering being a deliberate act was very much this game's 'Burning of Teldrassil'.

At any rate, I suggest ample use of the ignore function when it comes to those doing nothing but trying to pick fights and derail the thread.

[Rulakir]

I can confirm that this thread has been linked on Twitter and I'm sure many of us here are well aware that such a platform is hardly known for reasonable takes on any issue with nuance.

Ah, well, that explains it. Twitter is probably the worst of all the social media platforms when it comes to FFXIV fandom, so it's to be expected. I've blocked everyone who's obviously only here to cause trouble rather than engage in the discussion. Like I said, it's keeping the thread bumped though so they're doing me a favor.

[Lauront]

I get the feeling these "translation errors" are less about language and more about people frustrated that characters they think should be villainized aren't, and characters that are villainized, shouldn't be. I don't think any amount of different localization would change that, people are naturally going to have different opinions on characters. I personally didn't enjoy the character of meteion, that doesn't make her poorly translated, it just means I didn't like her.

Nope, not at all. Kage already addressed this - the story still has problems in spite of the localisation issues. The latter are separate and surplus to them and go back before EW. When you layer on these discrepancies in what is being said to an already controversial story, it simply covers it in yet more fog and can confuse discussion between people familiar with the different spin the localisations are putting on it, and particularly one of the three.

Fam I once again must inform you that you are making things up regarding Venat and 'the Ancients were on the same path as the Plenty' is in fact canon, not something 'she decided'.

And once again I must inform you, broski, that what the actual quote is getting at is this: if they continued as they were (= did not change), that is "probably" their vision for how they might end. Key words here: continued as they were. The objection people have with this whole scenario is whether she even gave them enough reason to change, besides vague platitudes about "suffering", since we know she deliberately concealed the truth of the situation, and that is aside from how much sense the Plenty makes as anything but a visual implementation of a caricature of a people, who the story can't quite really decide whether they reached 'perfection' or not - oh look they wear masks and robes and inhabit a pretty garden. How subtle!

It is also aside from whether that scenario is adequate justification to end them as a people even if it were the case that they would not change.

The person Rulakir is quoting is analysing it from the character's perspective, so yes, it is framed in terms of her own decision making framework, since that is what she was working with. So it's unclear to me what you thought you were adding by spamming the same garbled interpretation of the Q&A.

[einschwartz]

I get the feeling these "translation errors" are less about language and more about people frustrated that characters they think should be villainized aren't, and characters that are villainized, shouldn't be.

Pretty much this. People are extremely mad that their bad read of Shadowbringers was in fact not correct and they're blaming the localisation team.

No.
I just want what I read in the english text matches with what I hear/understand from (in my case) the JP audio.
I should not need to do mental gymnastic deciphering the missing context from one of the language.
It's frustrating when you want to be immersed with the story.

[Boblawblah]

I don't use Twitter, or other social media other than forums, so I don't know about that, I merely saw the thread and gave my opinion. Obviously this is important to people, more important than it is to me, and that's okay. I hope you can find a way to enjoy your experience. I'll bow out here and not add to the friction.

[Ransu]

No.
I just want what I read in the english text matches with what I hear/understand from (in my case) the JP audio.
I should not need to do mental gymnastic deciphering the missing context from one of the language.
It's frustrating when you want to be immersed with the story.

Then play with JP text? I've played through the game in both JP and EN languages and the nuances in the story are minor. 1:1 translations are impossible, especially with style of English they use for the localization.