> They will go with terra.
Yeah, on second thoughts, the script is already translated, FFVI USA PS also had Terra, they're obviously not going to re-localize it for the GBA version.
> And they SHOULD go with terra. Infact, most japanese people i know prefer terra to tiina.
Oh yeah japanese preferred Terra so much Square decided to listen to them and rename her in the japanese PS version ^^ (1)
> Squaresoft's localization of Chrono trigger and FF6 are some of the absolute greatest localizations ever. Only Xenogears and FFX compare to them in my opinion.
Xeno was quite butchered but whatever floats your boat. Dunno about FFX, I never went through it in Japanese. Chrono was OK. FF6 could have been a lot better imho.
> The japanese version is written first, and it has many plotholes and poorer names, and an overall worse script. It is DESIGNED to be that way.
Haha. see (1). Obviously they didn't do what you're saying.
Besides, no, it doesn't work that way at all.
> What happens is Squaresoft will look at the criticisms of the Japanese gamer public, and then during the official translation, they take into account the criticisms of the japanese.
Yeah, right. Dude you have obviously no idea how localization works at Square and yet you say stuffs like you're working there.
Teams don't wait for gamer's reactions before they start localizing. They're doing it as soon as there is a final build for the Japanese version
> For example, the ending of FFX was translated differently between FFX for Japan and America. Reason being: There was a poor response to it from within much of the Japanese gaming public and within squaresoft itself.
I'm not sure about this. But if it has indeed been altered, it's to better fit the american audience tastes, not because Japanese gamers didn't like it.
> They are not just translated for the hell of it, Squaresoft
> translation teams specifically played the game in Japanese,
> and know the story, and they translate it in a way that best
> expresses that, not literally.
There again, you're totally off. This is not how things work at Square at all. Translators just receive big chunks of text in japanese and work from there. Most translators have never played a videogame in their lifes haha
> For example, if i were to translate
> this sentence into Japanese, would i translate it literally, or
> take into account what japanese people would be most familiar
> with? I am pretty sure that most japanese people would not
> understand my use of "pretty sure" or "take
> into account" and such. That is why localization is very
> important, so that American gamers get the same experience
> that Japanese do.
That has nothing to do with accuracy. You can accurately convey an idea even without _sticking_ litteraly to the original script.
But in FF6's case, they omitted plot parts and decided to change names. The problem is NOT that their translation was too litteral or not.
Of course, parts of their omissions were due to the fact they lacked space (certain text fields too short) to convey all the japanese meaning; I don't blame them for that.
> And in a situation like that where there is a language barrier, a
> direct translation will not provide the same experience. There
> are cultural barriers, and there are sayings that just cannot
> translate between languages, therefore they must be
> "recreated" to express the same idea.
Yeah I agree with that, that's the whole point of localizing. But it's not the issue at stake here.
> And this includes names. Tiina is an exotic name to a japanese
> gamer. However, tiina is not exotic to an american. If they
> named her Tiina in the Japanese AND american version, she
> would not have the same feeling.
Of course she would have had. You have that feeling because it has actually been changed.
If you prefer Terra, it's fine by me. You can even rename her Terra in the game ^^ But the translator decided Terra sounded better to him and took the liberty to change it. That's what I'm against. Ahh back then game translators had way too much liberty..
> That is why they translated her name to Terra. Terra sounds
> exactly the same to an American gamer as Tiina does to a
> Japanese gamer.
romaji is Teina btw, not Tiina. It's not a long -i in Japanese either (ii). So because it sounds better, it's OK to change the author's original choice?
> Localization is good.
Localization is neither good nor bad. There are however good translators which are evenly balanced between translation and adaptation and there are those who prioritize the adaptation part far too much imho.
Later,
Alcahest
) with a Phantom Beast rather than an Esper...
) with a Phantom Beast rather than an Esper...
some ppl like accuracy some ppl like original us versions etc.
