Pretty Horrible English Localization

[Pixelica]

It's horrible, if you understand even a bit of Japanese, you will easily get confused because the localizer really like to tell their own story with their own wording instead of just translate it as it is. Often what you heard and what you read will be so different in meaning. It's not just the complex sentences, even the basic one got butchered.

They also like to use impression and western cringe jokes, which really ruin your immersion and made characters out of place.
Even when some characters speak proper formal Japanese, but they changed it to awkward cringe English and add out of place impression.

Top super translation:
(JP): Hmm
(EN): A wishful thinking
They somehow managed to translate "Hmm" into a complete sentence, even tho the character clearly didn't spoke a single word.

(JP): Are you two a couple?
(JP): What!? No, we are just working together
(EN): Are you two an item?
(EN): An item!? Gross, no we are not...
wtf even....

2nd example:
(JP): The ship is still being repaired
(EN): The ship is in the shop
You... sell the ship bro?

3rd example:
Character A: We can't ignore people in trouble
Character B: Exactamundo!
what??

4th example:
(JP): Still talking about that?
(EN): You guys are such a dork
Why?

5th example:
(JP): (dodged thrown spear) That is absurd!!
(EN): (dodged thrown spear) Well that is just happened...

Localization should be below translation. Localization should be suggested not enforced.

If you understand Japanese even a bit, you will know the localization is out of proportion in this game. Not on Crunchyroll level, but still disturbing.

It's cringe, it frequently changed the context, some doesn't even fit the situation, it's even changed some of the character personality. Most localization staff lack the ability to respect the original author, it's really unethical.

When I play Japanese game, I want to experience the Japanese experience from Japanese perspective. I don't buy Japanese game so I can experience sick Western ideology.

[Papa john]

You could have chosen anything
But your first choice is the jiffy one
This could have the worst translation in human history and I'll still think you're a goober

[Makena]

only played one hour but so far the voice acting and delivery seem to be consistent with the dub version of the anime adaptation so I am going to guess it carries those quirks.

[Pixelica]

Originally posted by D. Seitaro:

So we've got Kobayashi's Dragon Maid level of "translators" in action again?

Well, if Japanese industry ever decides to replace them with AI to do the translation, they've only got themselves to blame for not doing their job.

Nah, not the level of that toxic, but still it's not good translation IF you understand spoken Japanese quite a bit.

[Hash]

Well keep complaining because all of Cygames translation and localization is done in house. They had full say and wrote off on all of this. This isnt a matter of anyone taking it into their own hands lmao Cygames themselves knew exactly what they wanted and put it in the game. Stay mad tbh

[D. Seitaro]

Originally posted by Kollie:

Originally posted by DAOWAce:

It's a localizer's job to make the direct translation make sense in the language it's being translated to.

you dont actually have a clue what their job is, if cygames want them to make certain characters sound a certain way or punch up all the dialogue then thats their job

my favorite thing is when weebs see the same thing keep happening while insisting its not someones job. if the same thing keeps happening....maybe it actually is their job....

A bad translation is a bad translation, and this argument is just weak.

"If games keep getting released with bugs... maybe it's devs job to design those bugs", do you see how ridiculous your claim sounds when put into another example?

[Kurague]

Originally posted by Kollie:

Originally posted by DAOWAce:

It's a localizer's job to make the direct translation make sense in the language it's being translated to.

you dont actually have a clue what their job is, if cygames want them to make certain characters sound a certain way or punch up all the dialogue then thats their job

my favorite thing is when weebs see the same thing keep happening while insisting its not someones job. if the same thing keeps happening....maybe it actually is their job....

Actually, you're completely wrong; One specific VERY in"famous" localizer that is well known for being the main offender of this, literally mentioned in twitter "Most the fun in localizing is seeing how much you can get away with."...Does this seem professional of a person, or does this sound like a person doing their job right? Nah, this is a person I would instantly fire, the problem is there aren't more localizers, that's all.

And then "localizers" complain about people preferring AI over their sorry ass excuse of "Professionalism" as they say it.

[2'STYLISH]

That's why I don't have a problem if an AI will be use translating stuffs , I hate it if a person forces his/her political views altering the original stuff just a western thing to do and I don't ever get it.

[Cryemore]

If anyone actually believes that a Japanese native, who speaks Japanese as their first language localized the dialog in this game they are insane. Cygames has offices in California and Europe. When describing the localization process they specifically explain how the localization team goes back and forth with the Japanese side, ie. the actual writers and designers.

A native Japanese person who would write overly slangy, twitter level dialog like this does not exist. The sheer amount of modern slang alone would require someone with English as their first language, while the slang actually used would specifically require someone from the US. None of the dialog fits the setting or characters in any way, shape or form. I've seen many instances where the subtitle is literally different than what was actually spoken by the Japanese VA's.

The physical location of the localization team is of no consequence. Whether they did their work in LA, Japan or on the moon, it was still done by an American English group.

Every time I get my car fixed I sign off on it. If an electrician or plumber comes to my house to fix an issue, I take his advice and trust him to solve the problem. It doesn't mean I have any idea whatsoever about what they are actually doing. I pay them to do the job, trusting that they won't make any unnecessary changes or additions during the process.

Those saying that Cygames themselves had to have signed off on this are correct. They don't have the foggiest idea what the quivering mass of slang means, whether it fits the game's atmosphere, the perceived time setting, the personalities of the characters or even if the line of dialog is completely different than the original. They trust that the localization team did a good job, because they hired them to do so.

Are these even real people? No one talks like this. No one even writes dialog like this in modern fiction, let alone a work set in a medieval fantasy setting.

Localizers do not need nor deserve all this white knighting. I don't understand why anyone defends this behavior. This is an industry wide problem, specific to Japanese media, that needs to be corrected. Those of you who seem to think this behavior and the people behind it need to be protected are exasperating the issue. You aren't helping anyone. You are complicit in vandalizing an entire people's creative works, their culture and freedom of expression.

If someone is doing a bad job you tell them to do better.

[Wyrtt]

Originally posted by Amongus:

people who only speak one language will never understand you can't just word for word translate, you have to deliver the meaning and context. many thing won't work at with direct word for word translations, when you know more than one language you know that quite a lot of things just can't be translated from one to another word for word, so your best options is to deliver similar context.

I speak 3.5 of them and I still consider this to be yet another lazy muricanised hack job.

[Snowlili]

Originally posted by Cryemore:

If anyone actually believes that a Japanese native, who speaks Japanese as their first language localized the dialog in this game they are insane. Cygames has offices in California and Europe. When describing the localization process they specifically explain how the localization team goes back and forth with the Japanese side, ie. the actual writers and designers.

A native Japanese person who would write overly slangy, twitter level dialog like this does not exist. The sheer amount of modern slang alone would require someone with English as their first language, while the slang actually used would specifically require someone from the US. None of the dialog fits the setting or characters in any way, shape or form. I've seen many instances where the subtitle is literally different than what was actually spoken by the Japanese VA's.

The physical location of the localization team is of no consequence. Whether they did their work in LA, Japan or on the moon, it was still done by an American English group.

Every time I get my car fixed I sign off on it. If an electrician or plumber comes to my house to fix an issue, I take his advice and trust him to solve the problem. It doesn't mean I have any idea whatsoever about what they are actually doing. I pay them to do the job, trusting that they won't make any unnecessary changes or additions during the process.

Those saying that Cygames themselves had to have signed off on this are correct. They don't have the foggiest idea what the quivering mass of slang means, whether it fits the game's atmosphere, the perceived time setting, the personalities of the characters or even if the line of dialog is completely different than the original. They trust that the localization team did a good job, because they hired them to do so.

Are these even real people? No one talks like this. No one even writes dialog like this in modern fiction, let alone a work set in a medieval fantasy setting.

Localizers do not need nor deserve all this white knighting. I don't understand why anyone defends this behavior. This is an industry wide problem, specific to Japanese media, that needs to be corrected. Those of you who seem to think this behavior and the people behind it need to be protected are exasperating the issue. You aren't helping anyone. You are complicit in vandalizing an entire people's creative works, their culture and freedom of expression.

If someone is doing a bad job you tell them to do better.

Cygames NA and EU exclusively handle marketing. Cygames EN translation for GBF for instance has been handled LONG LONG LONG before they ever had an office outside of Japan at all. You do not know what you're talking about.

[WeskerFeetPics]

I mean, easy solution imo. If you prefer how its written in Japanese, play it in Japanese, and if you don't understand Japanese in the first place...how would you even know it was "badly translated" unless you actively searched it out to be outraged over.

[Simulated Link]

Before griping about the English localization of a game, it would be nice if the OP spoke correct, not broken, English.

And the translation so far has been completely fine so far, imo.

Of course some might take offense to the liberties taken when going from JP to ENG, but I think the end result is fine.

[Cryemore]

Originally posted by Snowlili:

Originally posted by Cryemore:

Cygames NA and EU exclusively handle marketing. Cygames EN translation for GBF for instance has been handled LONG LONG LONG before they ever had an office outside of Japan at all. You do not know what you're talking about.

I didn't say the localization wasn't done in Japan. I said that it didn't matter, at all, where the actual work of the localization took place, the actual humans that did the localization were not Japanese. That much should be obvious to anyone.

[Lavian]

Originally posted by WeskerFeetPics:

I mean, easy solution imo. If you prefer how its written in Japanese, play it in Japanese, and if you don't understand Japanese in the first place...how would you even know it was "badly translated" unless you actively searched it out to be outraged over.

Reading Japanese is much more difficult than simply listening to and understanding it being spoken. People notice when they've got Japanese voice + English text and are able to keep up with spoken Japanese, but have difficulty reading Japanese text, so switching over to full Japanese is presents its own barriers.

That said, yeah, in a lot of games I actually do opt for Japanese text because the English localization annoys me. Still, reading is significantly harder than listening.

[Heehee]

Originally posted by Simulated Link:

Before griping about the English localization of a game, it would be nice if the OP spoke correct, not broken, English.

And the translation so far has been completely fine so far, imo.

Of course some might take offense to the liberties taken when going from JP to ENG, but I think the end result is fine.

Some people can listen to a language but cannot read or write it. It is a pretty common thing for people who moved early from where they were born but still regularly communicated with their family in the native language. So switching to full jp text is not a viable solution.