This video does an alright job at explaining why the Localization is so different

[SannaR]

So the "localizers" think that NA is too immature and needs "liberties" thrown into the story to make it more palatable for what the NA team thinks the NA audience can handle? If you frame it like that then the NA localizers must think the NA playerbase can't handle the story without softening it and making pop culture jokes. That worrying at best and insulting at worst, lmao.

Hi have you met Square? It's not the first time the company has dumbed down or softened things for its Western audience. It's how we ended up with Mystic Quest. It's how some of the differences in not only translation but game play difficulty happened in the earlier versions of the franchise. Heck it doesn't even just happen with SquareEnix but a few other Japanese game developers.

[Raoabolic]

Hi have you met Square? It's not the first time the company has dumbed down or softened things for its Western audience. It's how we ended up with Mystic Quest. It's how some of the differences in not only translation but game play difficulty happened in the earlier versions of the franchise. Heck it doesn't even just happen with SquareEnix but a few other Japanese game developers.

*looks at the picture of the double funeral of Square and Enix sitting on the mantle*
Yeah, I've met SE...



Though at least back then everyone was openly calling it censorship, not "localizing", and it was the western versions that got censored but that's not surprising if you think about it. Same puritans, different crusade, lol.

[SannaR]

*looks at the picture of the double funeral of Square and Enix sitting on the mantle*
Yeah, I've met SE...



Though at least back then everyone was openly calling it censorship, not "localizing", and it was the western versions that got censored but that's not surprising if you think about it. Same puritans, different crusade, lol.

Then I'm not sure why you're surprised that split keeps on happening. The NA continues to have a non 1:1 translation and localization while the European continues to get that 1:1 type of translation and localization. While also ending up being the port they use to make remasters of. As you can see with which versions they chose to go with when putting out the newest(er) versions of X and XII.

[Midareyukki]

Then I'm not sure why you're surprised that split keeps on happening. The NA continues to have a non 1:1 translation and localization while the European continues to get that 1:1 type of translation and localization. While also ending up being the port they use to make remasters of. As you can see with which versions they chose to go with when putting out the newest(er) versions of X and XII.

I think the reason they're so different, at least here in FF14, is because the localization teams for German and French aren't internal to Square Enix. They have to outsource other teams, and I doubt that Koji knows fluent French and German enough to manage them as he would the English version. It's also probably why the FR version had that gaffe in Rhalgr's Reach where an NPC's dialogue leaked Hrothgar were coming in Stormblood xD