This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[Iscah]

Not very fluently, but my Japanese is enough to understand many things and see how the translations are often very different. Sometimes, opposite, even.

One of my favourite, which I ranted about with my friend... The Exarch opening his eyes slowly as he wakes up from a dream. You are the very first thing he sees and he's surprised, disoriented, as if his mind had accepted that you weren't supposed to be actually there (too good to be true?). Or at least that's how it is in Japanese...

JAPANESE:
"Eh...? You... Why are you...?"

TRANSLATION:
"THE FUTURE IS WHERE MY DESTINY AWAITS : D"

?????? ...I don't even know what that was about, but what a random way to destroy the intimacy of a scene.

The problem here (as I have read it explained elsewhere) is that in the Japanese version young G'raha uses a distinct form of "you" when talking to the WoL, and in that scene, the Exarch slips into using that form, subtly confirming that he's definitely G'raha in disguise.

The English version can't translate that directly and (perhaps a good thing) didn't give him any other vocal quirk to replace it – hardly an issue in the original CT arc, but now that means there's nothing similarly subtle they could do.

Essentially, in the English version he's still asleep and talking in his dream; in the Japanese he's just woken up and forgotten to stay in character.

[hagare]

I play the German localization with JP voice acting and when I rewatch scenes in English it's sometimes really weird how we almost experience a totally different story!

Well, uh, not totally different at all of course, just tiny flourishes that might however change our experience overall, maybe even drastically.

My favorite difference is Zenos' final words before his death:

ENGLISH:

"Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
"But in these fleeting moments, there is...a spark. Blinding, brilliant..."
"Gone...too soon..."
"What of you, my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure..."
"Was this life a gift...or a burden?"
"Did you find...fulfillment?"
"I..."

GERMAN:

"This world resembles...a rotten mire, dismal and dull."
"Only every once in a while could I escape it and for the fraction (lit.: spark) of a moment feel true passion."
"A swift, fleeting pleasure..."
"And you? Were born into this world to experience one unbelievable adventure after another."
"Your life...was a miracle..."
"So much better...than mine..."
"I..."

English is better. It actually lets you decide instead of being told your life is so good. YOU HAVE IT ALL!

[Theodric]

Huh? The player character does have it pretty good given that they're directly empowered by a self proclaimed 'supreme deity' and count various world leaders as personal friends. To say nothing of succeeding at basically any pursuit that they set their minds towards. Be it a new fighting style or hobby such as fishing or weaving cloth into attire.

Furthermore, it doesn't account for all the times the English localisation rids the player of agency elsewhere. Such as subtly using negative words where they aren't present in the other languages.

[hagare]

Huh? The player character does have it pretty good given that they're directly empowered by a self proclaimed 'supreme deity' and count various world leaders as personal friends. To say nothing of succeeding at basically any pursuit that they set their minds towards. Be it a new fighting style or hobby such as fishing or weaving cloth into attire.

Furthermore, it doesn't account for all the times the English localisation rids the player of agency elsewhere. Such as subtly using negative words where they aren't present in the other languages.

And? It doesn't mean other people get to decide what my life is and what I think of it.
Funny thing is, you say other instances doesn't give the player agency, yet you seem to have a problem with this line that actually lets them decide their viewpoint on their own life.

[KageTokage]

I'm curious if this is another case of the English localization being the odd one out in terms of how they chose to translate it vs. everyone else.

[Clover_Blake]

English is better. It actually lets you decide instead of being told your life is so good. YOU HAVE IT ALL!

EDIT: Never mind, I thought the German had been a literal translation from the Japanese, but it seems it wasn't. And it seems the English version was good in this case, or I for one find it good.

The problem here (as I have read it explained elsewhere) is that in the Japanese version young G'raha uses a distinct form of "you" when talking to the WoL, and in that scene, the Exarch slips into using that form, subtly confirming that he's definitely G'raha in disguise.

The English version can't translate that directly and (perhaps a good thing) didn't give him any other vocal quirk to replace it – hardly an issue in the original CT arc, but now that means there's nothing similarly subtle they could do.

Essentially, in the English version he's still asleep and talking in his dream; in the Japanese he's just woken up and forgotten to stay in character.

Aah, I see. So I guess the English sentence was something he said as G'raha in the past. I didn't remember that at all when I watched the scene, and it felt the most random sentence ever -laughs-. Still, if the point they wanted to maintain in the scene was the slip, I wonder if there was a more personal sentence related to the WoL that could have been used instead, to keep both the slip AND the emotional side of the moment.

[Iscah]

Still, couldn't have they kept it as a moment between G'raha and you (for that's what it was), instead of turning it into something completely random and devoid of any sort of emotion?

Because the primary point of that line is to confirm 100% that it is G'raha and he does remember the past events that happened to the two of you, when up to this point he's been maintaining the fiction that he is someone else. It's not as subtle as the Japanese (which I do prefer, though I see why it can't be directly translated without losing its purpose), but it still shows that he is dreaming of the time where he first said those words to you, when he farewelled you at the end of CT.

I also don't see the Japanese version as particularly emotional. All he did was wake up and ask "why are you here?" – the emotional bit comes after, and is perfectly fine in English.

[Tsukino]

I play the German localization with JP voice acting and when I rewatch scenes in English it's sometimes really weird how we almost experience a totally different story!

Well, uh, not totally different at all of course, just tiny flourishes that might however change our experience overall, maybe even drastically.

My favorite difference is Zenos' final words before his death:

ENGLISH:

"Besieged by their banality, the world was a mire of tedium and trivialities."
"But in these fleeting moments, there is...a spark. Blinding, brilliant..."
"Gone...too soon..."
"What of you, my mirror? Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure..."
"Was this life a gift...or a burden?"
"Did you find...fulfillment?"
"I..."

GERMAN:

"This world resembles...a rotten mire, dismal and dull."
"Only every once in a while could I escape it and for the fraction (lit.: spark) of a moment feel true passion."
"A swift, fleeting pleasure..."
"And you? Were born into this world to experience one unbelievable adventure after another."
"Your life...was a miracle..."
"So much better...than mine..."
"I..."

世の中はどれも、泥のような……
退屈で……醜く……くだらないものだ……。
だが……時折……こうして火が……
愉しみがもたらされる……。
まったく……憎いものよ……。
お前は、どうだった……
この世界に生み落とされ、名を与えられ、生きてきて……。
歩いてきて……何を思った……。
存分に、愉しかったか……？
……俺は…………

I am not great at translation myself, but the portion you specifically highlighted has neither connotation in Japanese. It merely says something like "having walked this far..." (this matches/continues from the previous line about being born into the world, given a name, lived...basically what was turned into the thing about "adventure" in both versions you wrote) "...what did you think......? Did you enjoy yourself to your heart's content......?"

It contains neither "was this life a gift or a burden" nor "your life was a miracle, so much better than mine." It appears to be the reason for the English "did you find fulfillment," but obviously to a native English speaker there is a big connotational difference between "fulfillment" and "enjoyment." Furthermore, the exact phrasing for "enjoy" in Japanese has been used by Zenos on multiple occasions since his introduction in Stormblood including the line in this scene about the occasional spark/fire, so it is a reference to that, or if I were to read more into it, he's asking if you found the same kind of fun he was always looking for.

In my opinion, either there is a mistake in your translation or the German version kind of sucks. Why would he end with "I..." right after specifically referencing the PC? In the original Japanese (and in English despite its many differences otherwise) he says it because he just asked what you thought about your life, and dies before he can say what he thought of his own, whether he found enjoyment or fulfillment. The way you wrote the German, it sounds like it's just...there after he talked about your life.

On a side note, every time I check the inn journal to find cutscenes I regret it. It always takes me forever to find something specific.

[Clover_Blake]

Because the primary point of that line is to confirm 100% that it is G'raha and he does remember the past events that happened to the two of you, when up to this point he's been maintaining the fiction that he is someone else. It's not as subtle as the Japanese (which I do prefer, though I see why it can't be directly translated without losing its purpose), but it still shows that he is dreaming of the time where he first said those words to you, when he farewelled you at the end of CT.

Sorry, I realised their point and edited before you replied, but it was late (>_<)

As for the emotional part of the sentence, maybe it's just me, but I got a lot from that moment alone. He sounded as if he was witnessing some sort of miracle he couldn't grasp yet, as if he was still the G'raha who was trapped inside the tower and to whom you were just a dear, distant memory and a dream. He seems more used to being that G'raha, to meet you only when he closes his eyes, not when he opens them. You weren't supposed to be there when he opens them. Considering how much G'raha seems to admire or even love the WoL, and how long he spent completely alone, I found that a beautiful moment.

All that is lost in English, where he's preoccupied with his own things and you are certainly the least of his concerns, hahaha. So I'm very glad I could at least get the full impact of that part from the Japanese voice.

[Eisi]

I am not great at translation myself, but the portion you specifically highlighted has neither connotation in Japanese. It merely says something like "having walked this far......" (this matches/continues from the previous line about being born into the world, given a name, lived...basically what was turned into the thing about "adventure" in both versions you wrote) "did you enjoy yourself to your heart's content?"

It contains neither "was this life a gift or a burden" nor "your life was a miracle, so much better than mine." It appears to be the reason for the English "did you find fulfillment," but obviously to a native English speaker there is a big connotational difference between "fulfillment" and "enjoyment." Furthermore, the exact phrasing for "enjoy" in Japanese has been used by Zenos on multiple occasions since his introduction in Stormblood including the line in this scene about the occasional spark/fire, so it is a reference to that, or if I were to read more into it, he's asking if you found the same kind of fun he was always looking for.

In my opinion, either there is a mistake in your translation or the German version kind of sucks. Why would he end with "I..." right after specifically referencing the PC? In the original Japanese (and in English despite its many differences otherwise) he says it because he just asked what you thought about your life, and dies before he can say what he thought of his own, whether he found enjoyment or fulfillment. The way you wrote the German, it sounds like it's just...there after he talked about your life.

On a side note, every time I check the inn journal to find cutscenes I regret it. It always takes me forever to find something specific.

Thanks a bunch! This is cool info.

Seems like they are all pretty different with the German localization deviating the most. I like it though!