This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[VirusOnline]

The FR ver of the Elidibus death scene is nowhere near as flowery as the EN one, though... so many important lines by important characters are restructured to be stated so vaguely (Elidibus) or straight up lacking information (Midgard) in their quest to come up with cool-sounding one-liners. Or you have them making Y'shtola talk about the "havoc we've seen Zodiark's power wreak" which makes absolutely no sense because no, we haven't seen anything like that, or the mental gymnastics of "Hydaelyn prevented the final days by keeping Zodiark alive." They're both trying to get a point across, alright... the point being they're trying to tell us how GOOD GOOD GOOD Hydaelyn is and how BAD BAD BAD Zodiark is instead of showing us. They turned important lines into moments of literary weakness.

this is more of a story issue than a localisation issue, no ?

i also agree with shibi above in that more and more i'm tending to skip dialogue because honestly it's just become eh

[EaraGrace]

I’m legitimately struggling to understand how people are concluding that so much is lost in localization, when their examples are nearly word for word translations of the original text. The difference between “seeding new life” and “to ensure that tress and grasses and myriad tiny forms of life would sprout and grow and flourish” is infinitesimal. “Make sure he is not used to nefarious ends” and “…we have seen the havoc it may wreak. And it falls to us to make sure it is never again brought upon the star,” is little just including additional context from the rest of the story that Y’shtola would know.

None of these change anything. Compare it to the mentioned Nael translation, which required its own entry in the EE, and it’s clear how little impact this has on the narrative.

[Theodric]

It certainly would not be the first such struggle.

[KizuyaKatogami]

I’m legitimately struggling to understand how people are concluding that so much is lost in localization, when their examples are nearly word for word translations of the original text. The difference between “seeding new life” and “to ensure that tress and grasses and myriad tiny forms of life would sprout and grow and flourish” is infinitesimal. “Make sure he is not used to nefarious ends” and “…we have seen the havoc it may wreak. And it falls to us to make sure it is never again brought upon the star,” is little just including additional context from the rest of the story that Y’shtola would know.

None of these change anything. Compare it to the mentioned Nael translation, which required its own entry in the EE, and it’s clear how little impact this has on the narrative.

There’s a pretty big difference between hydaelyn being stated to stop the final days and what actually happened…

[AziraSyuren]

It seems like the localization was more focused on delivering the dialogue in a more poetic/Shakespearean flair than communicating the information in a concise and accurate way, which is fine when it's not something particularly important and I do admit that it adds a nice oomph to the dialogue. It's only particularly egregious in this case because it presents Hydaelyn in a better light than she deserves, and if it was the only example of such then I doubt anyone would even care. Taking liberties is really not that big of a deal, and sometimes it can make a translation even better (or at least more emotionally resonant) than the original.

Here, however, it just compounds a lot of issues that were already present.

[Raoabolic]

It seems like the localization was more focused on delivering the dialogue in a more poetic/Shakespearean flair than communicating the information in a concise and accurate way, which is fine when it's not something particularly important and I do admit that it adds a nice oomph to the dialogue. It's only particularly egregious in this case because it presents Hydaelyn in a better light than she deserves, and if it was the only example of such then I doubt anyone would even care. Taking liberties is really not that big of a deal, and sometimes it can make a translation even better (or at least more emotionally resonant) than the original.

Here, however, it just compounds a lot of issues that were already present.

That's just localization. Getting an actual translation is rare now a days, lol.

[AziraSyuren]

That's just localization. Getting an actual translation is rare now a days, lol.

Localizing is better than translating. There are always nuances in text that can't translate that well, resulting in missing so much of the original meaning that even the best translations can't truly be accurate. At that point, giving something its own meaning is better.

[Raoabolic]

Localizing is better than translating. There are always nuances in text that can't translate that well, resulting in missing so much of the original meaning that even the best translations can't truly be accurate. At that point, giving something its own meaning is better.

Mr. Kirkland was wondering where you were when Working Designs went under. They needed more people like you. :^)

[KageTokage]

I see a lot of people saying that the "The differences don't matter in the grand scheme of things", but I feel like it's still important for the enjoyment of a story to ensure that every localization is presenting dialogue with a similar enough context, tone, and wording that the different audiences are able to walk away with a unified impression.

IE, I've seen many who did not draw the connection that the WoL is Azem's reincarnation until 5.3, and that small difference of Emet Selch saying "It can't be..." vs. "You? It can't be..." is enough to get mental gears turning that might not have otherwise. It also makes it much more apparent that up until that moment he didn't actually realize precisely who we were, and I've likewise seen people chiding him for being extra terrible for behaving the way he did in the aftermath of the Innocence fight with the mistaken impression he already knew our soul's original identity but just didn't care anymore.