Are there any plans to fix the 'Haurchefant' localization?

[Fawkes]

Also, no amount of script-altering can fix that scene where he's apparently hitting on you in Japanese and the WoL looks creeped out. It makes me really quite uncomfortable and I'm glad we don't get more of it.

That was definitely the worst part of his split personality disorder. I remember there were people playing the english version questioning if he was supposed to be evil or something because of it.

I am thoroughly bothered by the one taste of JP-Haurchefant that they couldn't dub out.

I think we got the real deal in the year of the horse heavensturn event where he wanted to ride the WoL as his personal steed.

[Hasrat]

Arguably, toning down any pervy behavior probably helped at least a little to endear players leading up to his finale.. And ending that is meant to be emotional would probably have been soured by remembering the more distasteful moments.

That said, I still found him mostly forgettable. Like. Thanks for sacrificing yourself? But I literally can't remember why you're supposed to be important.

[Saraide]

Crazy how that dev needed to apologize for doing the right thing. I recently watched the heaven's turn cutscene with him in it and dear god it was so bad. It wasnt even funny, it was just creepy. What an awful character it would have been had that one person not salvaged it. What a hero.

[Iscah]

I guarantee you would have not cared, overlooked it, or would have sucked it up and maybe taken the opportunity to learn about a popular character trope found in Japanese culture.

You can't "guarantee" any of those things. I am fully aware of the trope. That does not and should not magically make me comfortable with it.

The localisers "read the room" and realised the trope does not go down well with English-speaking players, and adapted accordingly. It wouldn't have even mattered if he'd just stayed a bit part character in an outpost on the far edge of the realm.

I think we got the real deal in the year of the horse heavensturn event where he wanted to ride the WoL as his personal steed.

I wasn't playing at that point and I am quite happy to have missed it.

Arguably, toning down any pervy behavior probably helped at least a little to endear players leading up to his finale.. And ending that is meant to be emotional would probably have been soured by remembering the more distasteful moments.

Prettymuch. Even now, that earlier creepy scene (which didn't sink in on my first playthrough, maybe because I was more fixed on the dialogue) and knowledge of the Japanese version sours him to me on subsequent playthroughs. I don't think I would have gotten so emotional about his death on my first playthrough if it came with that relieving side thought of "no more creepy comments".

It's a trope they do still play straighter with some minor characters like Mimidoa, and every time it happens it's just... 90% of the time this is a reasonably likeable character, ruined by the 10% "tee-hee I'm going to grope this random lady but it doesn't mean I'm a bad person". Just because it's an accepted trope doesn't make it actually funny.

[Reimar]

A word I haven't seen in a while (then again, I haven't read the whole thread) is squick.

English Haurchefant was 0% squicky to me (though I never saw the event that Fawkes mentions, which would have spoiled that), and I chalk that up to the localization team. In English, he can be read as anything from the WoL's #1 fanboy to someone who's attracted to the WoL but too professional to act on it until the events in Ishgard are settled. Of course, he doesn't get that chance.

I'm well aware that the Japanese version was an absolute horndog constantly drooling over the WoL, and from what I've heard it was intended to be comedy. Depending on how well that version was written in English, I might have found it quite funny.

But I'm not everyone.

Setting aside any male players with male characters who would have been put off by a male NPC coming onto them that rabidly, a lot of female players would have been thoroughly squicked. Not a good business move, at the very least.

My WoL has the portrait of Haurchefant with an incense burner under it. A shrine to a kind friend taken too soon, who looking back probably had a crush. There wouldn't be a shrine if Haurchefant had been throwing out constant sexual harassment.

I feel the move to tone him down for English was absolutely the right call, but just like OP, my opinion doesn't matter. What's done is done, and it's not going to change.

[Ravenblade1979]

telkira look. at this point you just arguing. ive told you how to get both japanese text and audio. if you too lazy then thats on you.

As for your point of that trope existing. anyone who watchs anime, reads manga or plays games knows of this and many other tropes existence. if YOU wish to delve into it then go delve into it. lots of anime, manga, games and other media you could be taking the time to go thru for the apparent creepiness factor you seem to want to learn about. The game is fine as it is. no need to change anything to satisfy the curiosities of one person too chicken to get off the game and actually delve into the media they seek

[Turnintino]

I dunno, man. The options were apparently "creepy" or "forgettable", and I'ma be real with you, I think I prefer "forgettable" in this case, given that he's meant to be a sympathetic character. That archetype is one of my least favorite recurrences in Japanese media, and I'm not gonna pretend that I'm sad to see it written out (for the most part).

And all that said, I also think the change made the sobriety of his (still anticlamctic) death a lot more palatable -- and reasonable -- than it would've been to me had I been put through his original characterization.

On the other hand, I absolutely understand and relate to the desire for greater authenticity in localization, and if the change in question had more impact on the narrative, I might have a bigger problem with it. As it stands, though, no, I just don't really care lol. I think the localization team made a reasonable call despite their apparent change of heart after backlash.

[Moomba33]

I'm glad they changed him in English to be less pervy. I strongly disliked him in the 2014 Heavensturn event.
I strongly dislike the "lovable pervert" trope in general. Yes, I understand its common in Japanese media. It brings a lot of characters down in my eyes.

[VeyaAkemi]

I strongly dislike the "lovable pervert" trope in general. Yes, I understand its common in Japanese media. It brings a lot of characters down in my eyes.

This so much, I was genuinely happy at Jiraya's death when Naruto was new and being released, because it meant that I'd be free of his bullshit, and it made the entire rest of the that arc hollow because the story was trying to give you closure about a death that completely failed to impact me, Jiraya had always been the guy who tried to perv on a 12 year old boy because said boy could make himself look like a girl, and that never sat well with me.

The trope is done to death and wasn't funy 40 years ago, I don't think it's funny now.

[Telkira]

Crazy how that dev needed to apologize for doing the right thing. I recently watched the heaven's turn cutscene with him in it and dear god it was so bad. It wasnt even funny, it was just creepy. What an awful character it would have been had that one person not salvaged it. What a hero.

The apologized because they recognized that they explicitly did the wrong thing.

Your failure to look beyond your discomfort with the concept and appreciate it for what it is - a joke in a video game - is a problem with Western purity culture, whereby you can't even view the subject matter in proper perspective. These tropes exist for a reason and are funny/entertaining to the origin market, in addition to those who would derive entertainment value in a foreign market.
I don't think that accommodating people's discomfort in this regard is good, it has caused people like you to take that discomfort and create a cultural shift wherein you are unintentionally attempting to police Japanese media.

I'm very thankful that John Crow wrote that post and acknowledged the mistake for what it is - a mistake. You may not view it as one, but it was an egregious deviation from their very own philosophy and was done without due consideration or consultation of the relevant parties, and it DID have an effect with how the Western audience engages with this. You can feel free to appreciate this rendition of the character, but the changes made to him affected more than people wanting to see dirty jokes.

I mean it when I say this. People who applaud these types of revisions shouldn't be consuming anime. It's not for them. They're better off relegating themselves to Western media since they don't like having certain ideals be challenged. I could expand further on how FFXIV is problematic in more ways (namely the way Square Enix sexualizes Lalafell), and people like you will shriek about it, stomp your feet, and ultimately ignore it, just like you would with Haurchefant.

You can't "guarantee" any of those things. I am fully aware of the trope. That does not and should not magically make me comfortable with it.

The localisers "read the room" and realised the trope does not go down well with English-speaking players, and adapted accordingly. It wouldn't have even mattered if he'd just stayed a bit part character in an outpost on the far edge of the realm.

. . .

It's a trope they do still play straighter with some minor characters like Mimidoa, and every time it happens it's just... 90% of the time this is a reasonably likeable character, ruined by the 10% "tee-hee I'm going to grope this random lady but it doesn't mean I'm a bad person". Just because it's an accepted trope doesn't make it actually funny.

"Read the room"
-What??

The localizers deviated from their standard procedures and recognized the folly of their actions and took steps to insure that it never happens again, even if it means offending people like you, because it's obvious at this point that it's not about it being 'not funny'.

Word of god, they messed up and would have done things differently to remedy the situation, even if it meant not changing his character at all and just letting him be depicted across all regions the exact same way.
I would have much preferred Haurchefant, as well as all other content, be largely the same across all versions, hence why I'm a strong proponent of translation over localization.

They shouldn't have to sacrifice artistic and literary integrity just so their product doesn't offend arbitrary and poorly-reasoned standards for how fictional characters in a fantasy setting are expected to be depicted. With that type of argument, you might as well pressure SE to remove just about anything and everything that comes off as 'problematic'.

I think Western audiences would learn a lot more from simply accepting these facets within fictional media and treating it the same way that Japanese audiences do, as mere jokes. Any time content is cut or deviations are made in this manner, it should be looked down upon out of respect for the medium itself, otherwise you wind up with stuff like the "4-Kids" localization of One Piece.