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Dark Road ► KINGDOM HEARTS Dark Road, Chapter 1: Unexpected Departure



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zander1995

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Uh... what you're suggesting here is that they're translating blindly and didn't bother to consult the writers, people they have access to, about their intentions. People may have their gripes with the quality of localization work in this series but I doubt the translators would be so irresponsible as to do that.

Edit: You know what, I take that back. After the nonsense answer we got from Nomura about Special Attack Bonus, that is entirely possible.
Not necessarily translating blindly, but that Nomura's always bringing back terms that seemed like throwaway generic names but in fact are important to the lore, or there are terms that are mistranslated specifically because they sound like Proper Noun terminology but are just generic names. (Case in point: Sleeping Worlds being mistranslated as Realm of Sleep at one point in DDD because of the vague separation between a world and a World in JP kingdom hearts, basically screwing up fan theories for years)
 

maryadavies

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...Sounds like there was a disconnect there, which is why we have these weird translations.

I wish they'd take lessons tho from the XIV translation team; believe me, there's NO misunderstanding there even tho they did do some localization. AND they have content released faster; on the same day.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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I'm quite out of the loop on interviews, do you mind pointing to this one for me?

This is from the Dandelion Meeting:


When they asked Nomura, he didn’t seem sure what he was being asked but answered that perhaps they shortened Special Attack Bonus to Guilt despite that not really being the question lol

The audience was audibly and visibly upset by the answer lol I remember sitting there in the audience just watching people go “what???”
 

zander1995

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...Sounds like there was a disconnect there, which is why we have these weird translations.

I wish they'd take lessons tho from the XIV translation team; believe me, there's NO misunderstanding there even tho they did do some localization. AND they have content released faster; on the same day.
Eh, not really. They work with the JP side, but they can't exactly ask for Nomura's input on every single line of the script, especially when he isn't fluent in English. And sometimes it's only afterwards that he decides he wants to incorporate something into later plot points since he prefers to make an overarching plan and fill out the details as he works on the games rather than meticulously planning every single plot point.
 

The_Echo

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but they can't exactly ask for Nomura's input on every single line of the script, especially when he isn't fluent in English.
Nomura might not speak English, but there are people near him who do, like Yasue. Obviously they're busy working on a bazillion games at once at all times, but it's worth it in the long run for the localization team to put in the effort for as accurate a translation as possible.

Though honestly, it feels like SENA just doesn't care that much about KH. Not even just about translations, but merch and advertising, even stuff like voice direction or audio quality is completely up in the air with this franchise.
KHIII was the highest-selling KH ever, and somehow Jason Dohring sounds like he's being microwaved in Re Mind.
 

zander1995

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Nomura might not speak English, but there are people near him who do, like Yasue. Obviously they're busy working on a bazillion games at once at all times, but it's worth it in the long run for the localization team to put in the effort for as accurate a translation as possible.

Though honestly, it feels like SENA just doesn't care that much about KH. Not even just about translations, but merch and advertising, even stuff like voice direction or audio quality is completely up in the air with this franchise.
KHIII was the highest-selling KH ever, and somehow Jason Dohring sounds like he's being microwaved in Re Mind.
It's still not really feasible to ask them about every line in the script. The FFXIV translators are part of the writing team for the game, but the Kingdom Hearts series isn't like that. Most translators really aren't given as much context as they should have when it comes to game translation.

And I'd put that on Disney more than Square Enix. Disney controls the rights to the characters of the series and didn't really care to do anything with it until KH3 sold blockbusters. A lot of the voice acting can also be attributed either to awkward voice direction or Disney interfering leading to a lack of quality. Frozen world kinda sucked cuz Disney told them no every time they wanted to do something with it. Same thing happens with a ton more details in the series that we aren't privy to.
 

Sign

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It's still not really feasible to ask them about every line in the script. The FFXIV translators are part of the writing team for the game, but the Kingdom Hearts series isn't like that. Most translators really aren't given as much context as they should have when it comes to game translation.

And I'd put that on Disney more than Square Enix. Disney controls the rights to the characters of the series and didn't really care to do anything with it until KH3 sold blockbusters. A lot of the voice acting can also be attributed either to awkward voice direction or Disney interfering leading to a lack of quality. Frozen world kinda sucked cuz Disney told them no every time they wanted to do something with it. Same thing happens with a ton more details in the series that we aren't privy to.
No one is proposing that they ask about every line, just for the few that they need more clarification on. And quite frankly if a translator actually feels the need to consult with someone about every single line, then that is a big cause for concern.

Disney has no involvement in the recording process for this series. SE uses the same team of staff to oversee voiceover for KH, FF and other games.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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Disney lets SE handle the actual game-making decisions, up to and including translation and voice acting. They might be giving them money and their characters, but they leave game development to the developers.

SE's had some of the same translators working on KH since KH2. There is a limit to my disbelief in their ability to work on these game and deliver top-notch work. If freelance volunteer translators can take the time to do a little research into what they are translating, then it should not so hard for paid professionals to do the same thing.

They should be asking questions and seeking out clarification. They should be keeping an eye out for callbacks and doing research into previous scripts. They should be asking questions about "Special Attack Bonus" vs "Guilt".

And SEJP should be putting in the same effort to make sure their work is being represented well to their largest audience. KH has been a series full of translation errors and inconsistencies for forever. Why? Why does this keep happening?

DR is great. I am very happy with the quality of translation work they are doing, and I think it is because they had more time to work on it, and I hope this level of work continues into later episodes.

In regards to the voice acting, nah, I don't buy that either. How the heck do they have the same voice director from FF7R working on every single KH game since KH2 and KH sounds awkward and weird while FF7R sounds great? Bob Bucholtz has been doing this for SE for years. He's worked on tons of projects that sound way better than KH ever has.

ANYWAYS.

I feel like I'm griping. I recognize that they are doing the best they probably can. It's not above critique, though.
 
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rokudamia2

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In regards to the voice acting, nah, I don't buy that either. How the heck do they have the same voice director from FF7R working on every single KH game since KH2 and KH sounds awkward and weird while FF7R sounds great? Bob Buchholz has been doing this for SE for years. He's worked on tons of projects that sound way better than KH ever has. I feel like I'm griping. I recognize that they are doing the best they probably can. It's not above critique, though.

There we’re actually five voice directors for ff7r. Collette Sunderman, Keyeth Farley, Kirk Thornton, Micheal Sorich, and Bob Bucholtz. And I think the main voice director wad Collete Sunderman.
 

Antifa Lockhart

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There we’re actually five voice directors for ff7r. Collette Sunderman, Keyeth Farley, Kirk Thornton, Micheal Sorich, and Bob Bucholtz. And I think the main voice director wad Collete Sunderman.

Bob's credited first, and the credits aren't in alphabetical order, meaning he was the lead director.
 
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