Might one of XIV's biggest new problems be that localisation has gone downhill?

[Gurgeh]

Might one of XIV's biggest new problems be that localisation has gone downhill?
Could it be that:
a) this is the case?
and
b) CBU3 have a complete blind spot about this as we speak?

This is as much a question as a statement. I'm not very aware when it comes to anything requiring literary appreciation.

Because I haven't seen much talk about it?
Has anyone with great skills in English and JP compared the subtleties of all those unvoiced quest dialogs?
Both for MSQ and side quests?

Because it just occurred to me, I personally was much happier with the last Valentino's side quest and all that stood between that and being as meritless as the Xmas and Halloween events was the better 'personality' conveyed in the dialogs?

Is it right that Michael Koji Fox used be a big part of English localisation but no longer is for XIV?
It's it that XIV can't improve adequately unless they fix a problem with their translations?

There have also been those various QA mess ups with untranslated text.
The plays on words, in even just what quest titkles used to be was something that put a smile on my face every 4th quest I picked up. They really are a part of the 'personality' of the game. Making up part of the games distinct character and tone.

[Hallarem]

Havent seen any examples of this in FFXIV but a lot of Japanese rpgs in particular have had meanings and character motivations stripped away cause of the translators personal beliefs.

Theres a guy who does localization reviews. Valkyria Chronicles I think was the one where one character was like "I just wanna get married and be a housewife" translation: "I dont need no man to be happy" or something blatantly similar

But I dont think its that drastic in ffxiv. We wouldve heard of it with such a big community

[Supersnow845]

If anything I’ve heard JP is jealous of the English localisation as the characters can be quite flat and stiff in JP whereas EN doesn’t take itself too seriously

[SongOfTheWind]

Localisation always took many creative liberties here. It is still the same. Jpn players are unhappy with this expansion no less than the western players. You can check Amazon Japan reviews (where is a popular place to leave them for games).
I think one person stating that memes in en are smth they wish they would see in jpn instead is a bit too big a reach to think that’s what jpn players are thinking. I never once regretted a switch from en personally.

[Kandraxx]

Well for starters, EN/JP convey different nuances and sometimes even entire messages. It's not literal translations but all in all the JP is typical anime territory with stereotype (bold/cute/stoic/weird/etc) personalities whereas the EN seems a lot more mature and believable like it was actual people talking.

[JohnLakeside]

Localizers injecting their politics does worry me. For example, how they made the Fae non-binary in ShB. Idk if I can say its a negative change, but it just rubs me the wrong way that the localizers are making such non-insignificant changes. Leave the writing and characterization to the writers.

I'll always be wary of the localizers after what they did to the DRK 50 quest. COMPLETELY changed a beautiful scene with Fray. On the other hand, I also think the changes they made in Our Compromise and Our Closure were better than the original. So its a mixed bag. But damn, that DRK 50 quest is beautiful in Japanese.

[CVXIV]

that cider spider person is right
you are a goober

[MikkoAkure]

Localizers injecting their politics does worry me. For example, how they made the Fae non-binary in ShB. Idk if I can say its a negative change, but it just rubs me the wrong way that the localizers are making such non-insignificant changes. Leave the writing and characterization to the writers.

Supposedly it was the localization team that came up with the lore for the faeries’ language, which could mean they were probably always meant to be that way and it’s the fact that other languages lack non-gendered pronouns why they are like that outside of English.

The English localization team as well as the others are part of the overall writing team. They’re not siloed off completely separated and doing their own thing alone without supervision. A lot of the game’s lore came from Koji and the localization teams.

[Bonoki]

Wasn’t the lead of the localization team also really involved in writing the game’s lore for a while? If I remember right, they were not just translating but actually part of the world-building. So I do not think the problem is with localization itself. It feels more like an issue with the writing, and the localization just ends up showing those flaws.

[JohnLakeside]

Wasn’t the lead of the localization team also really involved in writing the game’s lore for a while? If I remember right, they were not just translating but actually part of the world-building. So I do not think the problem is with localization itself. It feels more like an issue with the writing, and the localization just ends up showing those flaws.

Supposedly it was the localization team that came up with the lore for the faeries’ language, which could mean they were probably always meant to be that way and it’s the fact that other languages lack non-gendered pronouns why they are like that outside of English.

The English localization team as well as the others are part of the overall writing team. They’re not siloed off completely separated and doing their own thing alone without supervision. A lot of the game’s lore came from Koji and the localization teams.

Yeah, I've heard from Reddit that the localization team is involved in the actual writing. But I haven't been able to find any interviews or press releases confirming that localizers are substantively involved in lore development.