This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[Avidria]

Well, one example that comes to mind for me is the Japanese vs English translations of the dialog between WoL and Midgardsormr after the Keeper of the Lake dungeon...



I definitely would've preferred the direct translation because it explained things to me better. Especially the part where in the English localization he says he won't harm us and then shoots that light into our chest lol, it makes more sense that he said he would test us. The phrase "I remember and I consent" was just too vague for me, compared to what he actually said which definitely sheds more light on things. It seems to me that the localization team is trying shorten things and make things sound cooler or more poetic at the cost of leaving important context out. These are things that I would've appreciated knowing.

This cutscene is the one that always comes to mind for me when I hear about changes (other than the Haurchefaunt changes ofc )
Like I spent a long time being very confused about what Midgardsormr's actual motivations were and what on earth he was talking about here because it just didn't seem clear at all to me. Then I read the more direct translation and it made infinitely more sense to me.

Please don't tell me the "myriad tiny lives" bit is where some people got into their mind that Ancients were about to feed babies to their Blood God lmao

It was more the "lives newly born" bit actually. And I don't think that's the only place it came up - I definitely don't remember a point where it was ever made clear what the nature of the life they intended to sacrifice actually was, but the framing of it in those two screenshots you quoted is definitely different... The English version focuses more on giving over the world to new life, and the Japanese version emphasizes it being "time for the sacrifices to stop."

It is fascinating to see the differences and interpretations across languages, but there are definitely some cases where it seems the changes just muddy the waters.