Specifically for the Neptune series, but this has a point. So any fan of the PS3 series has known how bad the localization has been due to having NISA as the translators. Then IFI took over the series and released Re;Birth 1, which was essentially a perfect localization - liberal with all the jokes but faithful to the character's personalities. But every Neptune game thereafter, they've taken a lot of liberties with the dialogue - Neptune herself especially is changed heavily every game. This culminated in Hyperdevotion Noire, which was almost as badly changed as Victory. While the latest game, Neptunia U, isn't quite as bad as Noire was, a stream I'm watching indicates that it's quickly following along the same path.
So here comes the point of this thread. Good localizations don't change the impact of the characters - namely, their personalities - but still take liberties with the jokes to make the game more suitable to a western audience. A bad localization damages the way a character is brought across. Generally this is done in an attempt to "fix" dialogue to suit the taste of the localization team. As a result, it alienates fans who appreciate the original writing. In this particular case, going from Re;Birth 1 to a very liberal localization had no point, because Re;Birth 1 was received very positively and fans who don't know any Japanese can't tell the difference anyway.
Where do you stand on localizations? Is a liberal localization which attempts to "fix" a character's dialogue more important than remaining faithful to the source material? Is a more literal (not straight to english) localization better, as delivering the same experience to fans in a different language the entire point of a localization company? When has a translator gone "too far"?
Sorry if this came off as more of a rant - it definitely is.
(For anyone that feels the same way as me about the Neptune series, please send an e-mail voicing your concerns to support@ideafintl.com or post on their forums at forum.ideafintl.com!)
So here comes the point of this thread. Good localizations don't change the impact of the characters - namely, their personalities - but still take liberties with the jokes to make the game more suitable to a western audience. A bad localization damages the way a character is brought across. Generally this is done in an attempt to "fix" dialogue to suit the taste of the localization team. As a result, it alienates fans who appreciate the original writing. In this particular case, going from Re;Birth 1 to a very liberal localization had no point, because Re;Birth 1 was received very positively and fans who don't know any Japanese can't tell the difference anyway.
Where do you stand on localizations? Is a liberal localization which attempts to "fix" a character's dialogue more important than remaining faithful to the source material? Is a more literal (not straight to english) localization better, as delivering the same experience to fans in a different language the entire point of a localization company? When has a translator gone "too far"?
Sorry if this came off as more of a rant - it definitely is.
(For anyone that feels the same way as me about the Neptune series, please send an e-mail voicing your concerns to support@ideafintl.com or post on their forums at forum.ideafintl.com!)
