This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[MikkoAkure]

For a scene that was so far removed from the original overall vision the director had for the character that he called it out as an example of going too far in a recent interview.

In the interview, I got the impression that he said that was the limit, not that it had gone too far.

[aveyond-dreams]

And yet in either case the character, through a combination of both localization and writing problems, ended up in a situation they shouldn't have been. And this has happened multiple times for multiple characters.

Instead of trying so hard to tell jokes and make memes perhaps the localization efforts should be more focused on fleshing out the progression of actual character arcs (of which there are now barely any) and breathing as much detail and life into new locations as the team from ARR/Heavensward successfully did.

Oh, and it would be fantastic if they were on the same page about how to explain the motivations/actions of key characters in the story. Especially ones that have as much drama surrounding them as Venat.

[MikkoAkure]

And yet in either case the character, through a combination of both localization and writing problems, ended up in a situation they shouldn't have been. And this has happened multiple times for multiple characters.

Instead of trying so hard to tell jokes and make memes perhaps the localization efforts should be more focused on fleshing out the progression of actual character arcs (of which there are now barely any) and breathing as much detail and life into new locations as the team from ARR/Heavensward successfully did.

The localization team wasn't responsible for that scene and it was under the direction of Yoshi-P. He did say that he doesn't want to drag out character traits that just appear once so that's the limit from what we'll see of that with her, as well as the fact that he won't break characters any more than this.

The interviewer mentioned that because of that scene Y'shtola is getting more popular in the community and he was happy to see a glimpse of her past, which makes me think that the average person doesn't care as much as the average forum-goer. Video games are allowed to have fun moments and I don't think 1 line of her being silly against her will because of a spell she made when she was a child detracts from the story to the degree that some people are thinking it does. We already had flying pigs going around fixing brainwashing and people didn't have a problem with that despite being done by the same team. People here will laud Shadowbringers and talk about how it was the best and the writers reached their peak with Emet-Selch but at the same time say that G'raha is terrible and the writers are bad despite both of them being made by the same team at the same time.

Oh, and it would be fantastic if they were on the same page about how to explain the motivations/actions of key characters in the story. Especially ones that have as much drama surrounding them as Venat.

I do agree with this though.

[Theodric]

The localisation team has some input as to what, exactly, is to be done with the game's story and characters within it:

Kate (Lore, English):
Loving a character definitely makes them more fun to translate! And like everyone else, I adore Emet-Selch. I only did a bit of his dialogue in the 5.0 main scenario, but I was fortunate enough to translate the short story “Ere Our Curtain Falls,” and he really is a delight.
I also like characters that are a little bit ridiculous, which puts Giott up near the top of my list. Gyoshin and Seigetsu the Enlightened from the Namazu crafting quests are personal favorites too, though if I’ve done my job right, they’re more than a “little bit” ridiculous.

So it does appear that certain traits may be at risk of being played up more in the English version of the game.

Kate (Lore, English):
While I don’t regret asking if we could remove them from the gender binary, as it was about time that we established that precedent somewhere (it’s a surprise tool that will help us later!), seeing the challenges that presented for other languages has really been eye-opening. I am extremely thankful that our localization colleagues and the event team (members in charge of world lore creation and story) were willing to work with us there.

This reveals that localisation can certainly ask to tweak things in the story and world building process.

Source: https://na.finalfantasy.com/topics/266

[Kyu-Momo]

I prefer the localization tbh

[DPZ2]

Cid's tone is pretty different overall. Like, In Praetorium, when you get to the elevator after Nero, he says " You're too bloody useful to die! ", when in french and japanese, he will say " You better not die, alright? Please come back to us in one piece." in a warm tone. It's minor, for sure, but it adds up fast I feel.

It's the difference between Cid addressing Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones as an American and René Belloq as a Frenchman.

The former is as warm in tone as the latter, if you've got the context from action films over the past 50 years.

[Lauront]

The localisation team has some input as to what, exactly, is to be done with the game's story and characters within it:

Kate (Lore, English):
Loving a character definitely makes them more fun to translate! And like everyone else, I adore Emet-Selch. I only did a bit of his dialogue in the 5.0 main scenario, but I was fortunate enough to translate the short story “Ere Our Curtain Falls,” and he really is a delight.
I also like characters that are a little bit ridiculous, which puts Giott up near the top of my list. Gyoshin and Seigetsu the Enlightened from the Namazu crafting quests are personal favorites too, though if I’ve done my job right, they’re more than a “little bit” ridiculous.

So it does appear that certain traits may be at risk of being played up more in the English version of the game.

Kate (Lore, English):
While I don’t regret asking if we could remove them from the gender binary, as it was about time that we established that precedent somewhere (it’s a surprise tool that will help us later!), seeing the challenges that presented for other languages has really been eye-opening. I am extremely thankful that our localization colleagues and the event team (members in charge of world lore creation and story) were willing to work with us there.

This reveals that localisation can certainly ask to tweak things in the story and world building process.

Source: https://na.finalfantasy.com/topics/266

I do wonder if this extends as a two-way street, i.e. are they called upon to e.g. gather/interpret feedback from the forum (or similar sources) as well, in turn affecting what messages pass back to the writers/developers.

[Leohra]

Going to add my voice to liking the localization. While in Japanese it does seem to explain more, it makes for much stiffer dialogue. Whereas the English localization relies more on subtext

[Lauront]

This used to be a recurring topic of discussion on the Lore subforum as well, where a small group of players tried to gatekeep discussions by pretending that the French language text was the 'official text'. When people came back and posted some of the original Japanese phrases and found them in agreement with the English but not the French text, it pretty much stopped. Unsurprisingly, you'll see a few familiar faces.

tl;dr People with no linguistic knowledge of the source material trying to gauge localization accuracy using Japanese -> German -> French -> Ascian -> English literal translation fansubs.

What I recall from that lore forum was a bunch of posters trying to spin that UT quote in directions which the text itself does not support (at least not without making some strong assumptions), and which even that poster you reference agreed it does not support upon further questioning - although very bizarre interpretations of it re-cast as certain fact have, unfortunately, not stopped. It has been pointed out that the FR (and yes, the DE version) further refine his meaning in that scene. I am going to have to take that poster at face value regarding the JP version, but it just raises further questions as to why these differences between each version exist. You do not need "linguistic knowledge", beyond comprehending the language, to note these differences, though nice attempt at gatekeeping, and I somehow doubt you yourself - sneering contempt aside in your tl:dr aside - would meet your own standard anyway. Not that it matters. When facts are emerging from one or two localisations which are not at all apparent in the EN version, players are right to question this and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's not "pretty much stopped", because much as this thread shows, players are continuing to compare across versions and question why there are elements not present in the other localisations. Or are you oblivious to the fact that players from different regions speak to one another and compare notes, what with your bizarre reference to "fansubs"?

[Rulakir]

I've been going through more translations. The amount of context EN is missing is staggering.

I asked for one of the Mothercrystal cutscene because it's always bothered me how vague and confusing it was. Well, not in other languages, apparently!

"As thou hast seen on thy journey through the aetherial sea, souls are drawn to thee. Mayhap this trait will prove to be a boon rather than a hindrance... It is thy hopes and prayers that enable Azem's invocations and give them life, so keep them close. But pray, remember this... When the way forward is hidden even from the mind's eye, look not to the invocation, but within yourself. These were the words of the crystal's original bearer."

vs.

"Even those who don't even have a body anymore will answer your call...just like the souls in the Aetherial Sea. But you need to be aware of one thing. Azem's art is not simple magic. Rather, it is based on your own will that will only take form once you carry a heartfelt wish within you. 'Walk confidently towards your goal, following the dearest wish in your heart. Only then those powers will unfurl.' Those were the words of the creator (gendered based on WoL) of this magic."


- There's been confusion as to whether or not Emet & Hyth were brought back to life in UT (which is another translation I'll get to), but other languages make it clear only their souls were called.
- There's been confusion over who the "crystal bearer" was, even a thread dedicated to it on the lore forum at one point, when that terminology isn't used in other languages and it's clear Hydaelyn is referring to the WoL's Azem.
- The EN implies that whoever came to the WoL's call in UT would be happenstance when, in fact, it was the WoL's heartfelt wish to see Emet & Hyth.

Someone mentioned to me that Ishikawa believes translations are consistent and everyone's getting the same story and EN absolutely is not. I've even started looking at some key scenes in ShB only to discover context missing from them too. I don't know what's going on with EN, but I'm more than a bit frustrated I have to cross check other languages to see what I'm missing or to make sense of certain scenes.