Final Fantasy Tactics Director Says Discussion on Localization Should be ‘Done by Players’

Yasumi Matsuno, the director of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre says that the debate for whether a localization should be loyal to the source or fit the market should be left to players.

Unicorn Overlord had a free demo released. After playing it, I can say quite confidently that the localisation is abhorrent. Here begins a thread of numerous examples. pic.twitter.com/udrMNUsaWb

— Zakogdo (@zakogdo) February 25, 2024

The statement was made in response to a thread on X/Twitter about the translation quality in the demo of an upcoming tactical RPG game by Vanillaware, Unicorn Overlord.

It is worth noting that there is no official announcement that Yasumi Matsuno is involved in the development of Unicorn Overlord, but the tactical RPG director shared insight into the development of his past work when discussing about the localization of the game.

In the aforementioned thread, the user Zakogdo pointed out a list of inconsistencies in the translation of Unicorn Overlord and explained how some of these are unnecessarily fancying the words, or completely change the personalities of characters in certain instances.

The original post concluded that the localization in Unicorn Overlord is abhorrent, stating that “A localization that can’t grasp subtleties like this does not inspire confidence.”

In response to this, Yasumi Matsuno says that this reminded him of the original version of Final Fantasy Tactics, where the level of the English translation was rather low, with the game translating ’北天騎士団‘ (Hokuten Kishidan) to ‘Hokuten Knights’ instead of a proper translation, which would be ‘Order of the Northern Sky’

これを読んで思い出したのが、FFTのオリジナル版(PS版）だ。翻訳者が暴走云々ではなくて、単純に英訳のレベルが低かった。例えば固有名詞ひとつとっても「北天騎士団」が「Hokuten Knights」という具合… https://t.co/TJnHrdNHC4

— 松野泰己 (@YasumiMatsuno) February 26, 2024

Reading this reminded me of the original version (PS version) of FFT. It’s not that the translator was out of control; the level of English translation was simply low. For example, even just a proper noun, “Hokuten Knights” was changed to “Hokuten Knights”  . At the time, even within the development team, there were questions like “Is this okay?”, but the schedule was prioritized and the process was continued as is. . Therefore, even when overseas players complimented me on how good the FFT scenario was, I was (and still am) thinking, “Really?”  Vagrant Story, on the other hand, had a high level of English translation and received high praise overseas. Thanks to Alex @aokajiya for the English translation. Since Beigura, he has also been in charge of “FF12” and “TO Remake,” and the evaluation of his English translations is largely due to his skill. ( ※ Mr. @josephreeder also participated in FF12 and later) (Translated by Google)

He stated that even though the decision was questioned at the time, it was still passed as the schedule was prioritized, which makes him doubt the game whenever he receives compliments about how good the scenario is.

He then goes on to praise Alexander O.Smith for his high level of English translation in Vagrant Story, which had a similar translation style to that of Unicorn Overlord, citing it as the reason for its high praise overseas.

When asked about whether Yasumi preferred the English localization of War of the Lions, which was known for Shakespearean-like localization, over the original Final Fantasy Tactics, the director answered with a simple ‘yes!’

yes !

— 松野泰己 (@YasumiMatsuno) February 26, 2024

In regards to this, the owner of the original thread Zakogdo instead felt that the localization of War of The Lions worked against it, as it affected the impact of some lines.

In response, the director said that he understands that there has been a long-standing debate on whether localization should comply with the original no matter what or whether it is good to freely translate it as long as it matches the market, he then goes on to emphasize that he does not stand for either claim, and the discussion should be left to players instead.

The insistence that you should comply with the original no matter what, and the claim that it is good to free translate if it matches the market.
I know that there has been a fierce debate for a long time.
I don’t stand for either claim.
The discussion should be done by the…

— 松野泰己 (@YasumiMatsuno) February 26, 2024

Many people have commented on the localization of Unicorn Overlord, some claiming that it is fine, often citing other games with similar translation styles, and others claiming that the localization ruined certain scenes and meanings of the original.

No matter which side of the argument you stand on, it is still worth noting that the current game available is only a demo, and things are subject to change. So fans should be a little more patient and wait for the full release of the game before making their judgment on this.

Unicorn Overlord

Publisher: Atlus

Developer: Vanillaware

Release Date: 2024-03-08

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Fight against fate and embark on a royal adventure to regain your reign alongside trustworthy allies. Unicorn Overlord combine the timeless tactical RPG genre with overworld exploration and an innovative battle system for a unique epic fantasy experience in iconic Vanillaware style.

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