Incorrect Black Mage Spell Names

[Cadris]

I do feel that as a final fantasy fan, the spell names for the fire, blizzard and thunder spells feel wrong; an example of the current naming convention is Fire I, Fire II and Fire III. These should really be called Fire, Fira and Firaga, but maybe the translators are not familiar with final fantasy games and over simplified the names as it did not make sense to them. However, once again as a Final fantasy fan, it does feel a shame that these spell names were incorrectly changed. I have heard that on German clients etc their original naming conventions of Fire, Fira and Firaga have been maintained and this is only something that was changed in the English client; so I would like to ask the localization team to please change these back; these are things which have been part of the final fantasy series since final fantasy 1.

[Cadris]

I have also seen instances whereby people assume that since the Fire II has a higher number than Fire I, it is simply the same spell but upgraded with more dmg, which of course is totally wrong as it is its own separate spell with specific effects; so if the translators changed the naming convention to Fire I , Fire II and Fire III assuming that it would be easier for people to understand them, then this is actually having the opposite effect. I appreciate the game has more pressing issues to address than this but just wanted to point it out , thank you.

Edit: Please note that I assume that these changes will also need to be reflected in other classes such as the White Mage, who has Cure I , Cure II and Cure III, which should actually be Cure, Cura and Curaga.

[Gilthas]

Lol, the localization team is indeed familiar with FF spell naming conventions...

They explained why they used the current naming convention during the beta in a topic that spawned a whole lot of crazy whining (and coincidence or not I haven't seen Fernehawles post on the forums or make a blog post ever since).

[Catapult]

Lol, the localization team is indeed familiar with FF spell naming conventions...

They explained why they used the current naming convention during the beta in a topic that spawned a whole lot of crazy whining (and coincidence or not I haven't seen Fernehawles post on the forums or make a blog post ever since).

The thread in question got shut down by moderators several times due to the degree to which it devolved into personal attacks. As a consequence, I don't think the ultimate outcome was ever resolved.

The chief question was:
Why is it specifically the English localisation that feels obliged to use I, II & III rather than XXX, XXX-ra & XXX-ga?

The most commonly seen argument is that using I, II & III is meant to be easier for people to understand than abstract suffixes. Fair enough.

HOWEVER:

• The Japanese, German and French localisations don't consider this an issue. It begs the question as to why English-speakers alone require this structure.
• The numbering system is itself inconsistent, as spells do not progress in function numerically. For example, Fire I > II > III progresses as single target > AOE > single target powered up. A more logical progression would be Fire > Firaga > Fire II.
• Implementing this system undermines Square Enix's own attempts to brand and engrain the spell naming conventions. Remakes of earlier games have in fact had their spell names updated to the suffix conventions. They've reached a point where the spell names are widely known in the gaming community, even amongst non-FF players. So why allow some of that good work to be undone?

My understanding is that this issue progressed further up the chain than just localisation, but the threads of interest got shut down before we could find out the outcome. Personally, I'd love to know the penultimate decision as to why the branding conventions have been abandoned for FFXIV.

[Zeronic]

Hmm strange, I could swear, that in the first few games it WAS Fire 1/2/3. Cure 1/2/3 etc. The Fire Fira Firaga part came later in the franchise.
Do agree with you though, but the devs DO know their games. The decision to make this based on older games just is a bit meh imo

[Catapult]

Hmm strange, I could swear, that in the first few games it WAS Fire 1/2/3. Cure 1/2/3 etc. The Fire Fira Firaga part came later in the franchise.

Correct, however this looks like it was for memory and practicality reasons at the time. The franchise was also in its (successful) fledgling years. Plus in that era, English localisations were known for their lack of skill (thank the Twelve things have changed).

The remakes of these games have adopted the ra/ga conventions accordingly.

[Gilthas]

It is true that the other languages did not opt for the numbered naming, but its also true that going with the more recent affixes wasn't exactly ideal either.

Regardless, the drama that this change spawned was entirely unjustified and I'm left to wonder if its because of that that we no longer see Fern around. People complain about the developers only "listening" to the JP, and then behave the way they did when we actually got some direct communication.

[Catapult]

Regardless, the drama that this change spawned was entirely unjustified and I'm left to wonder if its because of that that we no longer see Fern around.

Actually, I suspect Ferne's silence is unrelated, having more to do with insane workloads (I've heard some extreme stories from credible sources). This began a good deal earlier than the drama in question, even though Bayohne didn't steal the blog authorship until a bit later.