[Suggestion - more like begging] Time for Translations!

[Shuuli]

Honestly, do you really want to get localization?

Voice actors in German and French sound so freaking lifeless sometimes. Like the VAs for animes back in the day. Literal giving zero emotion into the character... so sad.

I wanted to replay the game on German cause I am learning the language and I thought it would be a good challange...but oh boi... I ain't doin dat shit.

I am Hungarian by birth and I know many games in my country had great VAs recently but I think they would just buthcer this so I would rather not.

[Zomkei]

What do you mean seperate? You can select the language at any time. At least I can. Only differece is I still will have underline E, identifying I'm on the english client.

FF11 still is in JP and English. They removed German and French cause dev team is so smol so they can't keep it updated.

you can also change the client / game language at any time with the launcher too (you just have to be logged out). that changes the underline to whichever language you picked.

but on topic, i agree they should at least add limited translation. spanish has been requested since the launch of the game, so unfortunately i don't think they ever have plans to add it.

[HanWenqing]

What do you mean seperate? You can select the language at any time. At least I can. Only differece is I still will have underline E, identifying I'm on the english client.

FF11 still is in JP and English. They removed German and French cause dev team is so smol so they can't keep it updated.

I really wonder if you have a brain sometimes you dwarf...

You can change the language in almost every game I can play in English or Japanese but I'm talking about the product, my game is in German, the box, the instructions if you are American you can't understand since you always have everything on a silver platter the only reason why I understand a little English is because some games were only in American and Japanese version...

And you're completely wrong about FF11 they also removed Japanese as well as the other languages except English the reason is that they didn't want to make any more translations if the game had minor and insignificant updates
It's the fan community in Japan that put back the Japanese translation and not SE who only cares about the American fans who bring them the most money it's important to underline it

I know it well because at the time there were German and French fans who tried to do the same thing but we failed for the moment

Honestly, do you really want to get localization?

Voice actors in German and French sound so freaking lifeless sometimes. Like the VAs for animes back in the day. Literal giving zero emotion into the character... so sad.

I wanted to replay the game on German cause I am learning the language and I thought it would be a good challange...but oh boi... I ain't doin dat shit.

I am Hungarian by birth and I know many games in my country had great VAs recently but I think they would just buthcer this so I would rather not.

I play with German voices and I like them a lot, I hate English voices especially for female characters, the Japanese version is ok and the French one is not so good

It's a matter of taste I think, anyway all my friends play with German voices and everybody likes it
And then I heard that the English version was badly translated

[Ilisidi]

I wouldn't say the English version is badly translated. It takes a bit more freedom in it's translations. And I think there's a certain cultural difference at play which you also see with the voice acting. The German voice version is a lot more muted than the English version. Which I personally appreciate. The English version is overly flashy and bang bang to me. And that's also what you see in the text. It's flashy and hypey and raw raw and easily memeable. Versus the more down to Earth and in parts fairy tale like German version.

That isn't to say that there aren't clunkers in both or even all languages. Like the Japanese G'raha is top notch G'raha. The German voice fits the Exarch but not G'raha. In contrast the German Aymeric sounds like an emissary send by Halone herself and none of the other languages can hold even half a candle to his alluring charms. I originally thought he'd be the big bad because he just so perfect in German and the transition from his colder emissary from Ishgard who doesn't know you in post-ARR to your friend he becomes during Heavensward was very well done. I also think that the German Haurchefant is fitting the German version very well. Neither the over the top that the Japanese version, nor the kind of older cold fishy English version, the German version is an excited young man who looks forward to going on adventures with you.

It's a great thing that we have the different language options and get to see their takes. Like I'm not sure whether the English version finally switched to the WoL using the intimate Raha when in the other three languages we and Alisaie have been Raha'ing him for ages, which of course adds another dimension to our relationship with him. (A great thing if you like being his friend, and not great thing if you would prefer him to fuck off)

There are things that work in certain languages and not in others. For example during post-ShB when we meet Estinien in Ishgard (we'll leave side the fact that English completely omits how Estinien addresses the WoL and that Alisaie directly reacts to that in the other three languages), Alisaie's protest that she is not Alphinaud flows much better in English, French and German than Japanese, since she works up to it: I am not Alphinaud! with the outrage on Alphinaud versus Alphinaud I am not, as the Japanese grammar dictated that simply can't work up to that outrage.


Or take the infamous Froth and Foam scene. I think English and Japanese present two very very different takes but both are very great at presenting those. The German is another interesting take, although I'm not sure they quite nailed the point on that in the voice acting but I very much appreciated the alliterations they kept going for the spell. The whole format of that spell was very fun to read to read in German.

There are some off points here and there but overall the German version is very well done and in general shows a vast understanding of what the language has to offer, it's cultural history and what one can do to play with it. And if someone wants to push for an additional language one shouldn't ask for machine translations or minimal translations, those vastly do the game and the players a diservice. Even the parts you might consider basic and only parts of gameplay are often actually embedded into the whole presentation.

I was also very sad to see the German version of FFXI removed, as that was also very enjoyable and to me sounded a lot more fantasy and fairy tale like than the English version.

[Wanzzo]

...snoop...

From 2013 til 2021 I only used english version for FFXIV. But, then I decided to venture using an addon for translations (a very famous one). First, I tried to go directly from japonese to portuguese and the result was awful xD

Then, I decided to go from french to portuguese and I'm having EXACTLY what you described here! In one of the new servers, I created a new alt just to play talking to every NPC to see the differences. And... OMG! So much better than the memeland they did with english version! Far more immersive like if all characters there are part of an atmosphere in each place you go.

It's like playing another version of the game without the easy phrases like "sloppey" and "such devastation" and all the other memes. Instead, we FEEL the characters in their shoes and this is AWESOME!

Raubahn sounds more like a strategist, but with a "fire in his heart" instead of a mad dude that yells wherever he goes like a Karen as we see in his english version. xD

I am really glad for the people that did this addon to let me enjoy the other versions of the game. It's like revisiting all places but with different ears.

I'm not encouraging people to use addons, but this is the only way for people that don't play the game because lack of language knowledge to make it more accessible.

I just created this thread moved by the desire to see the game more accessible in an official way. But all people here made good points and I understand why I must stick with a not desirable addon... =/

At least, Urianger is more understandable as well as Alphinaud is less annoying now u.u

Maybe I'll try it with the game in german. I just don't know if the direct translation for portuguese will be good... that's a thing to discover

[Deveryn]

The Romance languages are a lot closer to each other, so it makes sense that they would translate better. Glad you found something that works.

[Raoabolic]

I wouldn't say the English version is badly translated. It takes a bit more freedom in it's translations.

Yeah, I wish they would stop doing that imo. :/