This frequency of English localization issues is unacceptable

[Thurmnmurmn]

Imagine thinking you should have more of a say on translations over the devs who made the game XD
They can translate it however they want.

[Lunaxia]

No, it's not for the devs to decide whether or not people would be entertained by something or would find it boring. That would be for the for the audience themselves to decide. By omitting or implementing changes/deviations from the source material, they are effectively robbing the end user of their ability to determine that for themselves.

...yeah, I'm still going to go with the gaming company with twenty plus years of experience making games and exporting them abroad possessing better judgement when it comes to that decision over one guy on the internet. If they are willing to set up and fund entire teams whose job it is to convey the story in a way that is most effective and suited for their target audience, I assure you it's not simply to hurt your feelings.

And for the record, the FR/ GER texts align with both the English and Japanese and do their own thing on different occasions, they don't strictly follow one translation to copy.

The game can still exist comfortably as a global export product and still remain true to its source material. It will still sell and have the same mass-market appeal it always had, with the added bonus of being a 1:1 faithful vision.

Source: just trust me on this.

If they didn't want it, then they wouldn't have included it in the JP script and the LOC team didn't have to go over their heads to implement these changes.
And 'Sexual harassment lite'?? Oh come on, it's literally just a comedy routine in a video game.

They would have put it in because "creepy but harmless obsessive pervert making the main character(s) uncomfortable" is unfortunately a common feature in certain forms of Japanese media, but it continues to age like milk when it comes to Western audiences because of the increasing intolerance of that sort of behaviour on our side. And looking back, it was a very clever decision for them to make given how much stronger those stances have become in recent years off the back of various movements, and it would have made the game look grossly archaic when FF has always tried to venture on the side of being more modern and connected to its international audience and having a wide appeal.

It is a JP product, first and foremost.

It's a JP product they want foreigners to consume, and I'm not sure why you're having such a hard time understanding that. You and other similarly fanatical worshippers of the sacred Japanese text that the translation actually adheres to more often than it doesn't are not their target demographic, as painful as that might be to hear.

And lol if you think translation notes are genuinely a viable substitute for knowing what the Japanese text actually says. I recommend pursuing learning the language if you value what they have to say that highly, you might actually come to realise why this is a pointless discussion in the first place.

[Telkira]

...yeah, I'm still going to go with the gaming company with twenty plus years of experience making games and exporting them abroad possessing better judgement when it comes to that decision over one guy on the internet. If they are willing to set up and fund entire teams whose job it is to convey the story in a way that is most effective and suited for their target audience, I assure you it's not simply to hurt your feelings.

This is a cop-out answer or response. SE's broader business interests are far beyond anything I'm qualified to comment on, but when it comes to doing something that a substantial portion of the fanbase is very clearly not happy with and are willing to call out and criticize, then that's something I'm able to do.

There are plenty of instances where a faithful translation of the game's content would have been sufficient, and the broader playerbase would have been none the wiser.

Source: just trust me on this.

Cop out response. The mere fact that this thread and others like it exist is proof positive of my criticisms, in addition to the admission of fault by the LOC team in how they handled Haurchefant, even acknowledging that they deprived the fanbase of experiencing a compelling and entertaining character.

They would have put it in because "creepy but harmless obsessive pervert making the main character(s) uncomfortable" is unfortunately a common feature in certain forms of Japanese media, but it continues to age like milk when it comes to Western audiences because of the increasing intolerance of that sort of behaviour on our side.

It's a comedic archetype that has existed and will continue to exist throughout all of Japanese media, and exists in multiple forms throughout Western media. It will continue to exist so long as the carefree debauchee continues to be funny, and it will continue to be amusing to people. The mere fact that people like you are seriously arguing in favor of suppressing this shows that you either have very little in the way of media literacy or can't separate fiction from reality, or you simply can't take a joke. Catering to and accommodating your insecurities are exactly what companies like SE should be avoiding because suppressing it ultimately does not and will not serve to influence anything real or consequential.

And looking back, it was a very clever decision for them to make given how much stronger those stances have become in recent years off the back of various movements, and it would have made the game look grossly archaic when FF has always tried to venture on the side of being more modern and connected to its international audience and having a wide appeal.

These 'various movements' have no place policing the contents of fictional video game worlds. They're no different than PETA making parody Pokemon games that compare the franchise with real-life animal bloodsport, or the Red Cross trying to get video games to follow the Geneva Convention protocols. They only serve to discredit and annoy, rather than actually influence positive changes that address real-world harms.

[Telkira]

It's a JP product they want foreigners to consume, and I'm not sure why you're having such a hard time understanding that. You and other similarly fanatical worshippers of the sacred Japanese text that the translation actually adheres to more often than it doesn't are not their target demographic, as painful as that might be to hear.

And lol if you think translation notes are genuinely a viable substitute for knowing what the Japanese text actually says. I recommend pursuing learning the language if you value what they have to say that highly, you might actually come to realise why this is a pointless discussion in the first place.

If picking up and learning a whole language that has 3 separate alphabets with heaps of complexity and nuance were as easy and simple, or if it were something more people were able to just take up and complete, then people like you probably wouldn't be here to defend a company's right to pander to you at the expense of producing a better product.

[OgruMogru]

If picking up and learning a whole language that has 3 separate alphabets with heaps of complexity and nuance were as easy and simple, or if it were something more people were able to just take up and complete, then people like you probably wouldn't be here to defend a company's right to pander to you at the expense of producing a better product.

Pot. Kettle. Black

[Thurmnmurmn]

If picking up and learning a whole language that has 3 separate alphabets with heaps of complexity and nuance were as easy and simple, or if it were something more people were able to just take up and complete, then people like you probably wouldn't be here to defend a company's right to pander to you at the expense of producing a better product.

You can learn just one of the alphabets you know. The other ones are for writing only.

Hiragana is the only one you need.
Kanji is just combining hiragana into a new symbol to shorten it.
And katakana is just for words the Japanese borrowed from different languages.

Learning any language takes effort. Japanese isn't all that more complicated than any other (speaking, not written).

Your take on anime earlier was also just shows how clueless you are.
Anime doesn't use proper Japanese. Any Japanese person can identify who learned the language via anime because they sound dumb af.
And no they don't get the translations right. On the contrary. With the weekly seasonal schedule they have to pump out translations on a deadline and is often changed by the time the dvd release comes.

[Dorito_Burrito]

Damn. I didn't know the nerd emoji was a real person.

[Telkira]

Your take on anime earlier was also just shows how clueless you are.
Anime doesn't use proper Japanese. Any Japanese person can identify who learned the language via anime because they sound dumb af.

Feels kinda reachy with this insult, mate.

Nobody is going to be able to learn Japanese just by watching anime, or any language, for that matter. You might learn something, or just enough to get you started (given how well you pick up on things) but it's certainly not going to be enough land you a rating on something like the JLPT.

And no they don't get the translations right. On the contrary. With the weekly seasonal schedule they have to pump out translations on a deadline and is often changed by the time the dvd release comes.

Dunno about this one, mate. I normally watch fan-subs and those are pretty accurate. Many industry translators actually start with translating manga/anime and other content. I don't doubt that accuracy can be spurious in some instances, but asserting that it's barely accurate is just wrong. But how would I know? It's not like communities aren't quick to catch on and correct these things, or anything...

[Thurmnmurmn]

Feels kinda reachy with this insult, mate.

Nobody is going to be able to learn Japanese just by watching anime, or any language, for that matter. You might learn something, or just enough to get you started (given how well you pick up on things) but it's certainly not going to be enough land you a rating on something like the JLPT.


Dunno about this one, mate. I normally watch fan-subs and those are pretty accurate. Many industry translators actually start with translating manga/anime and other content. I don't doubt that accuracy can be spurious in some instances, but asserting that it's barely accurate is just wrong. But how would I know? It's not like communities aren't quick to catch on and correct these things, or anything...

There are people who do learn through anime. In fact there's enough that's it's a stereotype for foreigners over there. My source for this is from the trash taste podcast (people who actually live in Japan).

Not meant as a jab or anything but someone who doesn't speak the language who says " I normally watch fan-subs and those are pretty accurate. " Means nothing to me. Your opinion of that isn't your own but someone else's since you can't understand it.
I'm learning the language myself and even with my limited knowledge I can still identify that the subs don't always match what they say.

[Thurmnmurmn]

Damn. I didn't know the nerd emoji was a real person.

That's fair, it does sound pretty nerdy.
I'm just missing the "umm, actually. *pushes up glasses"