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A deeper look at the fumbles in Persona 5's localization, and the industry in general

Ardenyal

Member
It's pretty funny seeing this translation outrage. Gives the rest of you an insight to why Sony is pretty popular in europe. Most companies like Ubisoft just run the translations through non native speakers or google translator and call it a day.
 

Curufinwe

Member
I've just had a look at some of the examples and they're really stretching it. The whole thing exudes arrogance by someone who doesn't fully understand the difference between trifle and trifle. I don't know, this just seems petty.

Your post seems incredibly arrogant given that you clearly don't understand the difference between trifle and trifling.
 

CSJ

Member
That is a beautiful, beautiful site design.

At work so smaller screen than home, but not when you have the scroll back up multiple times just to scroll back down and read stuff. Horrible site design, the worst. Websites are not yo-yo's, for fuck sake.
 

Curufinwe

Member
Well, usually I'd say count how many threads or something, but this one's got its own website...

It really seems to hurt your feelings that someone took the time to document and explain the problems with the localization of this game.

if there were really only two minutes of wonky lines, this website wouldn't have 20 pages of examples. And they are only examples, not every poorly edited or translated line from the entire game.
 

Phu

Banned
What's wrong with "He here?"

Isn't that just omitting the "Is" part from the beginning of the phrase? I've seen that used many times colloquially, and that's certainly how I'd expect Ryuji to say it.

Yeah, 'he here' is fine for someone like Ryuji. I'd also believe other people like the MC, Futaba, Mishima, etc. would say it that way.
 

Isaccard

Member
It really seems to hurt your feelings that someone took the time to document and explain the problems with the localization of this game.

I think the fact that it got its own website criticism asaide is a little ridiculous. There are way worse localizations out there that nobody's even sneezed at.

Why are we talking about "This guy are sick" from FFVII? That was unforgivable. /s
 

Zakalwe

Banned
Ridiculous how? I'm not sure why one person's hot take defines the whole thread.

Plenty of people ITT and the other one are making it out to be much worse than it is, plenty of silly comments amongst them too. Have a read through.

It really seems to hurt your feelings that someone took the time to document and explain the problems with the localization of this game.

if there were really only two minutes of wonky lines, this website wouldn't have 20 pages of examples. And they are only examples, not every poorly edited or translated line from the entire game.

Why are you approaching me with this "hurt feelings" passive aggressive nonsense?

That comment was poking fun at the situation, lighten up.
 

Neoweee

Member
It's only part of the overall Localization package, but I think some of the voice acting is generally great. Ryuji's performance is one of the best I've heard in a JRPG in recent memory. Some people dislike the character, but his anger, frustration, and emotion really comes through with his voice work.

Sojiro is also a standout, despite clearly being one of the very regular Anime voice actors.
 

Neoweee

Member
Ryuuji doesn't speak any language particularly well.

They even joke about it constantly, in game. He should be worrying about the Japanese parts of his exams, not the English test.

"He here?" is also perfectly fine and normal in casual speech. It's just dropping "Is" from the from the front.
 

FluxWaveZ

Member
"He's here?" is how someone who speaks English would say it.

Those are two different ways of saying it; both acceptable.

"He's here?" has a connotation of astonishment or confirmation, as in a reply to someone implying that someone is there.

"He here?" is the question, where someone is asking whether the subject of a previous topic is there.
 

Acid08

Banned
"He's here?" is how someone who speaks English would say it.
Nah, not necessarily. I've heard tons of people say it like it is in the game who are similar kinds of people to Ryuji. It makes sense for him specifically which is actually an example of the good work that does exist in this game. Ryuji, most of the time, feels very well done.

You're right in that "he's here" is the proper way to say that but it's in character for Ryuji. There's a difference between well done slang speech and the lines that properly do not make sense.

Edit: and yeah, I was actually wrong above too as others pointed out. The question is different from "he's here".
 
Plenty of people ITT and the other one are making it out to be much worse than it is, plenty of silly comments amongst them too. Have a read through.

Yeah, I've read them, thanks. I think the first thread was worse with it, but for the most part this one has stayed much more reasonable with people saying it's a good game with a lot of head scratching translations.
 

Spman2099

Member
This source is massively over-exaggerating the problem. At one point it implies that one third of the dialogue is awkward; I find that assessment to be laughably hyperbolic.

I have absolutely noticed the odd piece of stilted dialogue, but that is all it is: the odd piece. You could certainly argue that those instances shouldn't exist at all, but to have made a website over THIS translation seems genuinely crazy to me.
 

T-Rex.

Banned
Those are two different ways of saying it; both acceptable.

"He's here?" has a connotation of astonishment or confirmation, as in a reply to someone implying that someone is there.

"He here?" is the question, where someone is asking whether the subject of a previous topic is there.
Exactly lol. That's a weird example to get annoyed over.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
To the butthurt people I love persona 5 dearly but seriously if your contribution in this thread boils down to fan parading and downplaying issues consider not participating in this discussion.

God forbid we criticize something in hope for improvement.
P5 is an amazing game and I'm sure the localization doesn't ruin it. That's not the goddamn point. The point is that P5 deserves an amazing Trails level localization and as such people should point issues out. Downplaying issues does no one good.

Also srsly how are people trying to make these ridiculous equivalencies. Bringing up FF7 are people real?
It's 2017 not 1997 when textbox limits and all kinds of other stuff were a real problem. So we can't do better 2 decades later? Ridiculous.
 

rhandino

Banned
Plenty of people ITT and the other one are making it out to be much worse than it is, plenty of silly comments amongst them too. Have a read through.
Previous thread was a bit messy, yeah, but this one seems more than OK with people that played the game saying that the game is mostly excellent but with some headscratching blemishes that are even more headscratching becuase previous ATLUS games have outstanding localizations.

I legit don't know what do "fans" gain by not making ATLUS know that they can do better because we know they can since we played their previous games.

I have absolutely noticed the odd piece of stilted dialogue, but that is all it is: the odd piece. You could certainly argue that those instances shouldn't exist at all, but to have made a website over THIS translation seems genuinely crazy to me.
Making a website (especially one as basic as the one linked) is not that hard.
 

Spman2099

Member
To the butthurt people I love persona 5 dearly but seriously if your contribution in this thread boils down to fan parading and downplaying issues consider not participating in this discussion.

God forbid we criticize something in hope for improvement.
P5 is an amazing game and I'm sure the localization doesn't ruin it. That's not the goddamn point. The point is that P5 deserves an amazing Trails level translation and as such people should point issues out. Downplaying issues does no one good.

Are people downplaying it or fighting against hyperbole? I would argue it is the latter... Maybe the people being hyperbolic should consider not participating in this discussion? Or maybe everyone should be allowed to defend their position...
 

Acid08

Banned
It's only part of the overall Localization package, but I think some of the voice acting is generally great. Ryuji's performance is one of the best I've heard in a JRPG in recent memory. Some people dislike the character, but his anger, frustration, and emotion really comes through with his voice work.

Sojiro is also a standout, despite clearly being one of the very regular Anime voice actors.
Agreed here. The site also says something like this but Ryuji's personality shines through more than most of the other party members. Way less of the stock phrases are used for him.

Ann specifically seems to suffer a lot from inconsistency. She goes from sounding really natural and casual in conversations to overly proper in texts sometimes.
 

Zakalwe

Banned
Previous thread was a bit messy, yeah, but this one seems more than OK with people that played the game saying that the game is mostly excellent but with some headscratching blemishes that are even more headscratching becuase previous ATLUS games have outstanding localizations.

I legit don't know what do "fans" gain by not making ATLUS know that they can do better because we know they can since we played their previous games.

No reasonable person is suggesting feedback isn't important.
 
No, the tweet in question is actually pretty reasonable. It's mainly just addressing how a lot of people consume bad translations (like the one this topic is about) and take that to mean that awkward, clunky wordings like that are somehow necessary to carry the nuances of the Japanese language over to English. It's essentially just railing against the idea that literal, bone-dry translations are preferable to liberal ones.

I've come across too many bad liberal ones to not prefer slightly clunky at times.
 

MikeBison

Member
To the butthurt people I love persona 5 dearly but seriously if your contribution in this thread boils down to fan parading and downplaying issues consider not participating in this discussion.

God forbid we criticize something in hope for improvement.
P5 is an amazing game and I'm sure the localization doesn't ruin it. That's not the goddamn point. The point is that P5 deserves an amazing Trails level localization and as such people should point issues out. Downplaying issues does no one good.

Also srsly how are people trying to make these ridiculous equivalencies. Bringing up FF7 are people real?
It's 2017 not 1997 when textbox limits and all kinds of other stuff were a real problem. So we can't do better 2 decades later? Ridiculous.

Well right back at ya. I'm not here as an 'apologist' or 'fanboy'. I'm here because I think the localisation and voice acting are pretty great in general. Can't have like 3 threads and a website complaining about these issues without some people countering it and saying it's nitpicking. Feels really overblown to me and others, obviously.

Never knew so many people were experts in Japanese to be able to compare and contrast.
 

Zakalwe

Banned
Well right back at ya. I'm not here as an 'apologist' or 'fanboy'. I'm here because I think the localisation and voice acting are pretty great in general. Can't have like 3 threads and a website complaining about these issues without some people countering it and saying it's nitpicking. Feels really overblown to me and others, obviously.

Never knew so many people were experts in Japanese to be able to compare and contrast.

This so much.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Are people downplaying it or fighting against hyperbole? I would argue it is the latter... Maybe the people being hyperbolic should consider not participating in this discussion? Or maybe everyone should be allowed to defend their position...

What hyperbole? + What hurt does the hyperbole bring? A better translation?
The difference is clear 1 side is motivated to protect their ego from their beloved thing not being perfect the other side shares criticism to bring up general standards.
So no it's very much people that only have a fanboy agenda that should see themselves out.
It's really annoying to see this culture of anti criticism where substantive criticism is downplayed or misconstrued as hate. Makes discussion unbearable.
News flash you can love something dearly and still be critical of it.

Well right back at ya. I'm not here as an 'apologist' or 'fanboy'. I'm here because I think the localisation and voice acting are pretty great in general. Can't have like 3 threads and a website complaining about these issues without some people countering it and saying it's nitpicking. Feels really overblown to me and others, obviously.

Never knew so many people were experts in Japanese to be able to compare and contrast.
Well you can think that but you'd still be wrong. Leave it to the people that actually know what they're speaking about to make the criticism. If you're fine with the status quo that's cool but then you'll also be absolutely fine if it gets even better. So really from your position there's really nothing of substance to share then.
Also for your information I read both JP and English so if that last sentence was a dig at it maybe don't.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Man... It really is pretty shoddy, isn't it? I have to admit I was one of the fans who brushed this off as just hyperbole, but reading these examples I realize they're actually quite common in the script (not so much the plain gibberish ones, thank god).

Admittedly I'm not a native speaker, so sometimes when something reads awkward I assume it's just another way to say things (unless it's clearly nonsense) instead of thinking there's a mistake, but it's true that our brains are meant to fill in blank spaces to process information, so that adds to the problem too...

Overall it's a big shame. This is one of the best Megaten games in more than 10 years IMO and it deserves better. It's clearly still playable and enjoyable, but this is probably Atlus' most important release ever so to expect it to at least be up to their past standards shouldn't be asking too much :/

I mean, holy shit, some of the examples read like they were written by whoever was in charge of english lyrics before Golden.

Between BoTW's framerate, Persona 5's translation, and Andromeda's faces what else will come out to contend these three as gaming's most overblown issues of 2017?

A spotty translation can sort of be ignored if it's good enough to still understand what's being said, but garbage performance that makes the game literally freeze at times is pretty inexcusable and definitely worse.
 

Spman2099

Member
What hyperbole? + What hurt does the hyperbole bring? A better translation?
The difference is clear 1 side is motivated to protect their ego from their beloved thing not being perfect the other side shares criticism to bring up general standards.
So no it's very much people that only have a fanboy agenda that should see themselves out.
It's really annoying to see this culture of anti criticism where substantive criticism is downplayed or misconstrued as hate. Makes discussion unbearable.
News flash you can love something dearly and still be critical of it.


Well you can think that but you'd still be wrong. Leave it to the people that actually know what they're speaking about to make the criticism. If you're fine with the status quo that's cool but then you'll also be absolutely fine if it gets even better. So really from your position there's really nothing of substance to share then.
Also for your information I read both JP and English so if that last sentence was a dig at it maybe don't.

Yes, everyone that disagrees with you has a "fanboy agenda". This is a mature response to disagreement.

Please excuse me, I have the sudden urge to aggressively roll my eyes.
 

MikeBison

Member
Well you can think that but you'd still be wrong. Leave it to the people that actually know what they're speaking about to make the criticism. If you're fine with the status quo that's cool but then you'll also be absolutely fine if it gets even better. So really from your position there's really nothing of substance to share then.
Also for your information I read both JP and English so if that last sentence was a dig at it maybe don't.

"Hey you, you know your opinion? Well it's wrong. You're not allowed to have it."

Maybe my position is to congratulate a team that obviously undertook a huge project and helped bring us a fantastic game with in my opinion, a great script with great acting.

Oh shit, I'm not allowed an opinion. Sorry Senpai.
 
Well right back at ya. I'm not here as an 'apologist' or 'fanboy'. I'm here because I think the localisation and voice acting are pretty great in general. Can't have like 3 threads and a website complaining about these issues without some people countering it and saying it's nitpicking. Feels really overblown to me and others, obviously.

Never knew so many people were experts in Japanese to be able to compare and contrast.

You don't need to be an expert in Japanese to know that abominous isn't a thing, or to notice some "pan" items are still called pan while others are translated as bread, or that there are a fair amount of sentences with awkward phrasing, some from directly translated colloquialisms and stock phrases.

I seriously don't recall seeing similar issues in their other localizations like P4. And it's not the worst localization I've ever see by far, but I kinda expect better from Atlus.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Yes, everyone that disagrees with you has a "fanboy agenda". This is a mature response to disagreement.

Please excuse, I have the sudden urge to aggressively roll my eyes.

Yes pls tell me what else? What is the end use of you downplaying translation issues.
Who is going to benefit from that? Pls tell me. I doubt you can downplaying substantive complaints as nitpicking doesn't serve anyone but fanboy ego.

"Hey you, you know your opinion? Well it's wrong. You're not allowed to have it."

Maybe my position is to congratulate a team that obviously undertook a huge project and helped bring us a fantastic game with in my opinion, a great script with great acting.

Oh shit, I'm not allowed an opinion. Sorry Senpai.

It speaks to your inability to judge that you somehow jump from me criticizing the validity of your opinion to you not being allowed to have it. Maybe you should admit you might not be the best judge when it comes to these things.
 

Acid08

Banned
"Hey you, you know your opinion? Well it's wrong. You're not allowed to have it."

Maybe my position is to congratulate a team that obviously undertook a huge project and helped bring us a fantastic game with in my opinion, a great script with great acting.

Oh shit, I'm not allowed an opinion. Sorry Senpai.
Lmao what even is this

You can congratulate them and still be critical of some of the very obviously lacking lines in the English version.

As has been said over and over, many of us LOVE the game. There is a productive conversation to be had about the localization's shortcomings though. Trying to hand wave it away by claiming people are just being mean to the team that did the work is dumb as hell though and doesn't contribute anything.
 

Alfredo

Member
I remember that some of the intro dialogue kind of confused me, but I just chalked it up to my not paying attention.

And I guess one could argue that I would pay closer attention if the dialogue was written/translated better.
 

MikeBison

Member
It speaks to your inability to judge that you somehow jump from me criticizing the validity of your opinion to you not being allowed to have it. Maybe you should admit you might not be the best judge when it comes to these things.

You've literally just told me again that I best just be quiet and keep my thoughts to myself. Again. On a forum.

Weird that somebody with such a masterful grasp of many languages doesn't understand what forum would mean.
 

Heartfyre

Member
There's no question that, looking at Persona 5 forensically, the game has notable localisation issues. If you're the type of person that's aware of the nuances of language, there are plenty of instances even in the first five hours that would make such a fellow wince. Yet if you're not similarly inclined, chances are you can accept what the game puts before you without noticing. Sort of like a 900p/1080p argument -- not everyone appreciates the difference.

Personally, I'm disappointed, but also impressed at the talent of some of the VO to usually pull off some of the clunkier lines. They can sound almost natural.
 

Phu

Banned
You've literally just told me again that I best just be quiet and keep my thoughts to myself. Again. On a forum.

Weird that somebody with such a masterful grasp of many languages doesn't understand what forum would mean.

They literally didn't.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
You've literally just told me again that I best just be quiet and keep my thoughts to myself. Again. On a forum.

Weird that somebody with such a masterful grasp of many languages doesn't understand what forum would mean.

No I'm telling you that if you have nothing substantive to add to the discussion you should consider not participating in it cause it doesn't create good discussion.
Know the difference.

By your logic we should not discourage people going into every thread and posting "this is shit". Cause what's the point of a forum if people aren't allowed to do that? Lol. Come back if you actually have a great point to the merits of defending the current state of the localization and why people should be less critical that doesn't boil down to I very much like this game and can't stand people criticizing it.
 

stupei

Member
Exactly lol. That's a weird example to get annoyed over.

This has actually been a bit of a problem with the discussion of this localization as it's gone on. There are obviously several lines that are inexcusably bad, but there also seems to be a disconnect between the idea that many want the characters to sound like real people (particularly teenagers), who all have distinct voices, but also want everyone to speak with proper grammar at all times. It feels like it muddies the water to see people complain about things that teenagers might say that they personally don't like hearing teenagers say because it's technically improper english.

People are obviously eager to add to the discussion, but that sometimes results in the inclusion of every example that bothered them, whether or not it's objectively unnatural sounding English or merely an annoying colloquialism. After a point, the examples may seem like "nitpicking" to some because a few (though not most) really are a matter of personal preference rather than obviously incorrect or completely inelegant sentences.

I also think that the suggestions that the localization team was incompetent or incapable -- "maybe interns did that part" sentiments or "8-4 should have done it" -- are not particularly helpful. We know that large parts of the game are localized very well, which suggests the glaring issues are a result of lack of time and resources rather than skill or care. It sounds as though a capable team simply did not have enough time to do their work as well as they could. Simply saying the localization is "bad" is not as likely to resonate with the people who made the poor decisions regarding scheduling as it is to specify that a localization should not be rushed and requires the consistent attention that can only come with more time, not more bodies.

When it comes to a discussion about clarity in communication, I do think the distinction is important.
 

MikeBison

Member
No I'm telling you that if you have nothing substantive to add to the discussion you should consider not participating in it cause it doesn't create good discussion.
Know the difference.

By your logic we should not discourage people going into every thread and posting "this is shit". Cause what's the point of a forum if people aren't allowed to do that? Lol. Come back if you actually have a great point to the merits of defending the current state of the localization and why people should be less critical that doesn't boil down to I very much like this game and can't stand people criticizing it.

So I'm only allowed to contribute if I think the localisation is terrible? So we can only have a one sided discussion in here?
 

Acid08

Banned
So I'm only allowed to contribute if I think the localisation is terrible? So we can only have a one sided discussion in here?
Dude he said at the end that if you think the localization is all good then provide examples and try to contribute to the discussion while supporting your point of view.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
So I'm only allowed to contribute if I think the localisation is terrible? So we can only have a one sided discussion in here?

Tell me what is your contribution beyond belittling the criticism made.
I already challenged people here on this. Nobody took me up on answering what's the end purpose to wave away criticism as overblown. Who is that going to serve?
 

Spman2099

Member
Yes pls tell me what else? What is the end use of you downplaying translation issues.
Who is going to benefit from that? Pls tell me. I doubt you can downplaying substantive complaints as nitpicking doesn't serve anyone but fanboy ego.

See, this is the problem. I'm not downplaying them, my statements reflect the actual quality of the translation, unlike your hysteria.

Who benefits from this? Well, we don't drag a bunch of translators, who did a solid job, through the mud. Your argument that everyone who disagrees with you is simply attempting to preserve their "fanboy ego" is a tremendously childish one.

I can see that you are passionate about this, but disregarding other people's opinion, simply because it does not align with your own, is tremendously petulant.

Tell me what is your contribution beyond belittling the criticism made.
I already challenged people here on this. Nobody took me up on answering what's the end purpose to wave away criticism as overblown. Who is that going to serve?

According to that logic we should never praise any game, instead choosing to refer to everything as awful. That way we will encourage everyone to step their game up, right?

"Grand Theft Auto V? More like Grand Theft Gamer $59.99! This is the worst game ever made; I give it a 1/10. If you don't agree then you are just attempting to feed your ravenous, fanboy ego."
 

hemo memo

Gold Member
This has actually been a bit of a problem with the discussion of this localization as it's gone on. There are obviously several lines that are inexcusably bad, but there also seems to be a disconnect between the idea that many want the characters to sound like real people (particularly teenagers), who all have distinct voices, but also want everyone to speak with proper grammar at all times. It feels like it muddies the water to see people complain about things that teenagers might say that they personally don't like hearing teenagers say because it's technically improper english.

People are obviously eager to add to the discussion, but that sometimes results in the inclusion of every example that bothered them, whether or not it's objectively unnatural sounding English or merely an annoying colloquialism. After a point, the examples may seem like "nitpicking" to some because a few (though not most) really are a matter of personal preference rather than obviously incorrect or completely inelegant sentences.

I also think that the suggestions that the localization team was incompetent or incapable -- "maybe interns did that part" sentiments or "8-4 should have done it" -- are not particularly helpful. We know that large parts of the game are localized very well, which suggests the glaring issues are a result of lack of time and resources rather than skill or care. It sounds as though a capable team simply did not have enough time to do their work as well as they could. Simply saying the localization is "bad" is not as likely to resonate with the people who made the poor decisions regarding scheduling as it is to specify that a localization should not be rushed and requires the consistent attention that can only come with more time, not more bodies.

When it comes to a discussion about clarity in communication, I do think the distinction is important.

It's mentioned in the website. P5 list 6 translators and 8 editors.

P5 was a monster in terms of localisation scope. It boasted the most number of translators and editors on a team, and everyone spent countless nights making the English version of P5 a reality.
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2017/04/04/how-atlus-has-kept-persona-5s-localisation-authentic-to-the-japanese-original/

Not an easy task and no time. It's AtlusJP fault and the translation (to me and i'm not a native speaker) is not that bad to make me stop playing. In the end it's not a text adventure. Yes, we discuss the problems with the translation but like someones previous comment in the thread like returning the game or not playing it only becuase of that?!

The game is fantastic.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
See, this is the problem. I'm not downplaying them, my statements reflect the actual quality of the translation, unlike your hysteria.

Who benefits from this? Well, we don't drag a bunch of translators, who did a solid job, through the mud. Your argument that everyone who disagrees with you is simply attempting to preserve their "fanboy ego" is a tremendously childish one.

I can see that you are passionate about this, but disregarding other people's opinion, simply because it does not align with your own, is tremendously petulant.



According to that logic we should never praise any game, instead choosing to refer to everything as awful. That way we will encourage everyone to step their game up, right?

"Grand Theft Auto V? More like Grand Theft Gamer $59.99! This is the worst game ever made; I give it a 1/10. If you don't agree then you are just attempting to feed your ravenous, fanboy ego.
"

This whole thread is basically contending this in a substantial way and your arguments against it have lacked any kind of substance. Also nobody is dragging the translators through the mud. At least I hope not. As the compiling site states there should be the implicit understanding that we're criticizing the work not the people behind it. And generally at least in this thread I hope people know that there are multiple different reasons that don't relate at all to people's skills that this is the end result.

Also I don't know but disregarding things on the basis of their merit is very much fair play. The same way I would likely disregard a flat earther talking about certain topics. You don't automatically earn the right for valid consideration by having an opinion.

As for the last part just a blatant lack of understanding of what I was saying but sure.
The statement you make there stands for itself. I don't feel like I need to pile on that.
 
I think the fact that it got its own website criticism asaide is a little ridiculous. There are way worse localizations out there that nobody's even sneezed at.

Why are we talking about "This guy are sick" from FFVII? That was unforgivable. /s

Are you really incapable of understanding why this game is getting so much shit?
 
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