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Barudak posted:At its core FFXIII isn't really that complex There's also a ton of jargon, which is a big part of the problem. Having minimal amounts of made-up bullshit words is usually a difference-maker between good and bad fantasy/sci-fi and FF13 flies over the line in a rocket. Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Jul 24, 2013 |
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Jul 24, 2013 21:30
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 12:03 |
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Whenever you use an apostrophe in English, that counts for 4x the amount of confusion and processing time any other term would. Somebody on the localization team just didn't know when to stop and FFXIII is the result of their mad streak.
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Jul 24, 2013 21:39
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exquisite tea posted:Whenever you use an apostrophe in English, that counts for 4x the amount of confusion and processing time any other term would. Somebody on the FFXIII localization team just didn't know when to stop. It doesn't help that from a grammatical aspect Fal'Cie, L'Cie, and Cie'th are all based around the same root word but the grammar in the game never refers back to Fal/L/th so its hard to understand how or why those are differentiated. I also can't tell you what a Cie is because I never read the datalogs because I figured the game would get around to it and boy was I wrong.
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Jul 24, 2013 21:41
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I assume Cie is something that involves light shafts or lensflares or anything else that Square and J.J. Abrams jointly love.
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Jul 24, 2013 21:47
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exquisite tea posted:Whenever you use an apostrophe in English, that counts for 4x the amount of confusion and processing time any other term would. Somebody on the localization team just didn't know when to stop and FFXIII is the result of their mad streak. Yeah, it's way more egregious and annoying than, say, "esper". I'm replaying FFVII at the moment and most of the time it's just "ancients" instead of cetra or whatever because that immediately conveys to even a non-dweeb what the characters are referring to using a word everybody already knows. The explicit details of their society or what their name was don't really matter because that poo poo is all tertiary anyway, and the game is about a bunch of wounded people trying to save a wounded planet. The characters in XIII are also trying to save their families from being martyred, but they can't even be martyred like regular people - instead they are frozen in crystals because,
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Jul 24, 2013 21:50
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exquisite tea posted:Whenever you use an apostrophe in English, that counts for 4x the amount of confusion and processing time any other term would. Somebody on the localization team just didn't know when to stop and FFXIII is the result of their mad streak. Not to mention it's a completely pointless apostrophe. Usually when a non-possessive apostrophe is used, it's to signify a glottal stop, like Hawai'i. The words could just as easily be Lecie, Falcie, and Cieth.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:01
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Zombies' Downfall posted:Yeah, it's way more egregious and annoying than, say, "esper". I'm replaying FFVII at the moment and most of the time it's just "ancients" instead of cetra or whatever because that immediately conveys to even a non-dweeb what the characters are referring to using a word everybody already knows. The explicit details of their society or what their name was don't really matter because that poo poo is all tertiary anyway, and the game is about a bunch of wounded people trying to save a wounded planet. The characters in XIII are also trying to save their families from being martyred, but they can't even be martyred like regular people - instead they are frozen in crystals because, I've always wondered how "esper" was localized in France. Ideally they would have used a different word, otherwise you get a "Hope" situation. Hope is another massive failure of localization. Apparently nobody told them that's a feminine name?
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Jul 24, 2013 22:14
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There are some dudes named Hope. It's not like, super-common, but it's not unheard of. Guys get girly names sometimes. Boy named Sue and all.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:16
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Well, Hope being fairly effeminate didn't help things either. The boy named Sue was a badass. Hope left me wondering if he was some kind of androgynous, genderless construct or something.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:23
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Endorph posted:There are some dudes named Hope. It's not like, super-common, but it's not unheard of. Guys get girly names sometimes. Boy named Sue and all. Well, it didn't turn up in the top 1219 male names on 1990 US Census at all. I've certainly never heard of a boy with that name, but I guess it's theoretically possible... Edit: Based on the timing of the graph on this page, I think FFXIII inspired a lot of parents to make a terrible, terrible decision: http://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-hope-514735.htm Schwartzcough fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jul 24, 2013 |
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Jul 24, 2013 22:31
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Pyroxene Stigma posted:Espers were the step towards Materia, which is pretty loved. Plus, up til you get to Espers, VI plays it rather straight as a FF title. I'll be the one to say it, I hate Materia/Espers. Espers aren't as awful as Materia because you can just swap them out when they're done learning. I hate that everyone can learn every spell, though, give me some challenge/variety! Materia blows. The casting limit is dumb, and remembering who has what is obnoxious. They should have just straight up made them like the yellow skill crystals and make them "jobs" (kinda like what Penny Arcade 3 did with the Pin system).
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Jul 24, 2013 22:32
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Defiance Industries posted:I've always wondered how "esper" was localized in France. Ideally they would have used a different word, otherwise you get a "Hope" situation. Esper is the localized term. The Japanese term is more literally translated as "Phantom Beast." Defiance Industries posted:There's also a ton of jargon, which is a big part of the problem. Having minimal amounts of made-up bullshit words is usually a difference-maker between good and bad fantasy/sci-fi and FF13 flies over the line in a rocket. Honestly though, this isn't true. A lot of the most popular sci-fi and fantasy novels basically make poo poo up wholesale and it generally isn't a barrier towards them getting a lot of fans. It doesn't necessarily make them good but good isn't the same as "people really like it." Bioware's stuff is a big example of this. Fister Roboto posted:Not to mention it's a completely pointless apostrophe. Usually when a non-possessive apostrophe is used, it's to signify a glottal stop, like Hawai'i. The words could just as easily be Lecie, Falcie, and Cieth. Cieth is entirley on the localizers by the way. They're just called "Cie Corpses" in the Japanese version. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Jul 24, 2013 |
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Jul 24, 2013 22:35
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ImpAtom posted:Esper is the localized term. The Japanese term is more literally translated as "Phantom Beast." Which reminds me of the time I played the RPGOne fan translation which apparently was extremely literal. Phantom Beasts everywhere and some jerks named Tina and Mash.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:40
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voltron lion force posted:Which reminds me of the time I played the RPGOne fan translation which apparently was extremely literal. Phantom Beasts everywhere and some jerks named Tina and Mash. And Frog's real name is Kaeru, of course.  Yeah gently caress that. Though it's neat to note that "Eidolon" is actually the closest to a literal translation you could get without going straight to "Phantom Beast" -- which you shouldn't, because it sounds sort of dumb in English.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:44
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ImpAtom posted:Honestly though, this isn't true. A lot of the most popular sci-fi and fantasy novels basically make poo poo up wholesale and it generally isn't a barrier towards them getting a lot of fans. It doesn't necessarily make them good but good isn't the same as "people really like it." Bioware's stuff is a big example of this. I think the thing about XIII is that you have to have a good grasp on the jargon and the universe's rules to have more than the slightest loving clue what's happening. You can spend a lot of time reading about poo poo like element zero in ME, but the basic plot and character beats are straightforward: the motherfuckers from beyond space are coming and they're going to kill everything if you don't do something.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:45
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Defiance Industries posted:I've always wondered how "esper" was localized in France. Ideally they would have used a different word, otherwise you get a "Hope" situation. According to Wikipedia it's Esper. Esper isn't a French word, though it's close to hope.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:50
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I'm playing FF9, i'm in Cleyra for the first (only?) time. Going up the tree I find a Zuu or at least an enemy that looks like one. I hit it a couple of times and use Quina's "Eat" command, but in the turn before the command registers the Zuu uses an attack called "Swallow" and...eats Zidane. Then Quina eats it. I was looking for a suitably confused and terrified smiley to put here but I can't find one.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:50
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Mazed posted:And Frog's real name is Kaeru, of course. Eidolon is basically the best way I've heard of translating that, yeah. Esper is kind of a goofy-rear end translation that doesn't really fit the concept but I can't blame Woolsey for going for whatever he could with limited space to fit. Zombies' Downfall posted:I think the thing about XIII is that you have to have a good grasp on the jargon and the universe's rules to have more than the slightest loving clue what's happening. You can spend a lot of time reading about poo poo like element zero in ME, but the basic plot and character beats are straightforward: the motherfuckers from beyond space are coming and they're going to kill everything if you don't do something. I admit that I never had trouble understanding the Cie stuff in-context so I guess it depends. All that stuff about Etro and whatever is bullshit of the highest order though.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:53
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Thievery posted:I'm playing FF9, i'm in Cleyra for the first (only?) time. Going up the tree I find a Zuu or at least an enemy that looks like one. I hit it a couple of times and use Quina's "Eat" command, but in the turn before the command registers the Zuu uses an attack called "Swallow" and...eats Zidane. Then Quina eats it. After a certain number or turns, the Zuu in Cleyra will swallow a character and prevent it from gaining EXP. AFAIK, they can't do this if there's only one character on the battlefield. In this case, however, Quina ate Zidane! Re: FFXIII's mythology: "Bullshit of the highest order"? Dramatic!
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Jul 24, 2013 22:56
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Defiance Industries posted:Hope is another massive failure of localization. Apparently nobody told them that's a feminine name? The only problem I have with Hope's name is that it's a word that would naturally come up a lot in this kind of situation. I mean, who didn't bust a gut when Snow and Hope had the exchange that went something like Snow *to Hope: We gotta have hope! Hope: We don't have any! It stil bugs me that Hope and Lightning discussed the symbolism of their names. Not even because it's heavy-handed or anything. It bugs me because her name isn't actually Lightning. As such, only Hope's name has any real meaning because Clair just has a silly nickname. I also didn't have trouble figuring out Hope was a boy. I mean, he had a young boy's voice for one. Besides, I played XIII after XII and XII had the biggest loving "what...IS he/she?" in an FF game.  "Lamont" is not a name I could assign a sex to and the voice was very soft and feminine. Combined with the fact this is a bishounen twelve-year-old and they don't specify it's a he or a him until you find out his real name, and I was very confused for a good while.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:58
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NikkolasKing posted:
Best part is when he stands with the other 2 royals at Mt. Bur-whatever You've got Lady Ashe, Al-'manliest man owner of the only set of sunglasses'-Cid, and Larsa in between.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:05
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Thievery posted:I was looking for a suitably confused and terrified smiley to put here but I can't find one.  is what I'd do.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:13
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Schwartzcough posted:Based on the timing of the graph on this page, I think FFXIII inspired a lot of parents to make a terrible, terrible decision: http://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-hope-514735.htm
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Jul 24, 2013 23:18
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Endorph posted:I briefly ran into a kid named 'Squall' once. I suppose we should just all be thankful that nobody named their kid Butz because of FF5. You can't blame me, I was sure it was going to be the new fad!
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Jul 24, 2013 23:20
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I'm playing through FF13-2 for the first time, and holy mother of god is Academia 400AF awful. Monsters spawn every 2 seconds and half the time you can't even see where they are because of the multiple levels. It's going to be hard to muster up the will power to play through this level.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:27
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Seph posted:I'm playing through FF13-2 for the first time, and holy mother of god is Academia 400AF awful. Monsters spawn every 2 seconds and half the time you can't even see where they are because of the multiple levels. It's going to be hard to muster up the will power to play through this level. I was about ready to return the game because of this part. I have no idea what the hell they were thinking. Thankfully it's the only one of it's kind.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:59
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NikkolasKing posted:"Lamont" is not a name I could assign a sex to and the voice was very soft and feminine. Combined with the fact this is a bishounen twelve-year-old and they don't specify it's a he or a him until you find out his real name, and I was very confused for a good while.
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Jul 24, 2013 23:59
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DACK FAYDEN posted:His real name even ends in -a, just in case you wanted to only go by that. I mean goddamn. (P.S.: "a he or a him") The -a feminine name ending doesn't really apply to English, though.
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Jul 25, 2013 00:04
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Given the surprising amount of love (or at least, lack of hate) directed at XIII's party, which FF do people think had the worst party? I mean, of the FFs I've played, it seems like a no-brainer. FFVIII "wins" because most of the characters are just there to fill the Stereotype Quota and have no development or relevance to the plot. It's not even that I hate them. That would probably be better because then they'd leave some sort of impression on me. As it is, they're all just so forgettable. The only party members I liked were Selphie and..wait just Selphie. I know a lot of people really hate X's party though.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:10
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I dislike the characters in X a good deal, but there's at least a couple that are pretty cool, like Auron and Wakka. I give a pass to Lulu even though a lot of people dislike her apparently, just because it's one of the few FF female characters that isn't on an extreme end of the "trying too hard to be badass" or "eye-rollingly naive and innocent" scales. That said I like X quite a bit so I dunno. FFVIII had the most forgettable playable party for sure. Zell seemed alright when I was younger but he's basically just a shittier Wakka looking back now. The main character's dialogue was like literally 1/3 comprised of "...", to the point that the antagonist (Seifer) ends up being infinitely more interesting (he also has one of the better and more realistic character arcs for an FF "villain", imo). FFIX has my favorite party by far, which is pretty impressive considering a decent chunk of the playable characters were fairly bland. Freya is an incredibly shallow character, Eiko and Quina are just kind of annoying, and Amarant I have mixed feelings about. Which just goes to show how good the characterization is for everyone else, I suppose. I also like VII's cast a lot, despite almost nobody remembering them correctly. Barret's walking Mr. T impression wears thin nowadays, and Cait Sith only exists for plot convenience and to be obnoxious, but the rest are good.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:23
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My least favorite is 3's. Do they count? They barely have half a personality between them. My favorite is probably 5 or 9. I like the 12 party individually, but they never really seem to come together as a cohesive unit in terms of how they interact. That is, they never really seem to interact as an actual group beyond the early going, so there's no party dynamic.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:32
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NikkolasKing posted:Given the surprising amount of love (or at least, lack of hate) directed at XIII's party, which FF do people think had the worst party? FFIV. Kain, Cecil, and Rosa were all pretty terrible, and the only interesting/engaging characters sacrificed themselves for the greater good.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:48
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FFVIII is an easy winner for the worst party. They're the ultimate mix of irrelevant, boring, stupid and unlikable. Other games have unlikable party members but FFVIII's the only one who doesn't have at least one likable one.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:53
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Selphie's enthusiasm kinda rubs off on you, though that may be because there's none to be found anywhere else in the game.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:56
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dis astranagant posted:Selphie's enthusiasm kinda rubs off on you, though that may be because there's none to be found anywhere else in the game. Also because the game can't seem to decide if her quirkiness is meant to be endearing or terrifying, which somehow makes it both.
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Jul 25, 2013 03:58
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ImpAtom posted:FFVIII is an easy winner for the worst party. They're the ultimate mix of irrelevant, boring, stupid and unlikable. Other games have unlikable party members but FFVIII's the only one who doesn't have at least one likable one. Killing my desires for wanting to finally dig up a copy of this game!
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Jul 25, 2013 04:17
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Pope on fire posted:Killing my desires for wanting to finally dig up a copy of this game! Well, you get to play as Laguna sometimes and he's actually pretty fun. He's just more like a guest than a party member. 
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Jul 25, 2013 04:24
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Pope on fire posted:Killing my desires for wanting to finally dig up a copy of this game! You're best off skipping the entire game altogether. You miss nothing.
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Jul 25, 2013 04:40
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Oxxidation posted:Also because the game can't seem to decide if her quirkiness is meant to be endearing or terrifying, which somehow makes it both. That's what makes her the best character.
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Jul 25, 2013 04:48
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 12:03 |
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Esper is a slang term for an ESP User. Woolsey used the term because it fit within the character limit, definitely sounded distinctive, and kinda-sorta reflected the Espers' status as vaguely-human-like things (well, formerly human things at least) that use supernatural powers. Yes it's a tremendous stretch but so what, it's way better than Phantom Beasts. Square also used the term Espers in the older SaGa games, though they were translated as Mutants for the FFL games. Though it's interesting to note that the back of the box for Final Fantasy Legend actually refers to ESPers.
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Jul 25, 2013 05:28
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