Final Fantasy XIII [PS3, X360]

Unfortunately, those subtleties would probably still be lost to non-native speakers even with original voices and subtitles, since the subs themselves are translations. Perhaps, sometimes, more accurate translations since with subs they don't have to worry about lip syncing. But translations all the same, with many of the same limitations.

I really liked her voice in the demo. Despite not understanding a damn thing she was saying, her voice seem to fit really well with the character's persona, demeanor, and attitude.

 

To me it's because the Japanese voice actresses could scream and laugh more "demonically". Some of the stereotypical male characters have unnaturally deep voice, which kinda contradict their big-eyed, chisellled look. But other than that, I find their tone and intensity more faithful to the original intent of the story.

I also find it interesting that the actors/actresses may interpret the characters differently. e.g., In Spirited Away, the western VA chose a deep voice for YuBaBa (more evil) and a brighter voice for ZeniBa (more kind). The Japanese VA chose the opposite instead, ZeniBa's older and deeper voice vs YuBaba's younger voice.

 

Oniichan actually means Big Brother, I would'nt really prefer to hear Lightning be called Big Brother.So this only means that Oniichan was called out to refer to someone else rather than Lightning. Regardless I do think that Maaya Sakumoto sounds pretty sweet as Lightning

 

Same here, even if I can only understand by reading, the voice acting will put real emotion into it. The danger with USA voice-acting is that the emotion will be lost.

 

お兄ちゃん - oniichan - older brother
お姉ちゃん - oneechan - older sister

@nightshade: Just to make this clear, cause from your post it seems you think they are the same word

 

Damn thats a mess to pronounce for us, when someone like us pronounces it; it'll roughly sound the same ha..

 

As for the preference of Japanese voices, I've been all for the improvement of localization this generation so that there would be less of need for a Japanese voice track. In fact I think it's probably one of the most important things that Japanese developers/publishers need to work on this generation especially on HD systems once you look at install base for each region. Heck this game is an example of why it's needed. So I feel that great English (and other languages) dubbing is a must but at the same time I can understand why people still want Japanese voices with subs. I've been watching episodes of Bleach in both English and Japanese with subtitles and for the most part they do a good job but sometimes they make changes that I feel have less of an impact from what is in the subtitled version. Sometimes it has to do with cultural differences like what is talked about in one of the above post, sometimes I think the person who subbed was able to word things better and sometimes...I can't figure out what they were thinking but to tell you the truth the English dub would be enough if someone has never seen it with the original voices and subtitles.

Then again in many cases the subtitles aren't a direct translation anyway. Subtitles do allow for more freedom when it comes to localizing a product rather then worrying about syncing what is said with the movement of the characters lips. I know Namco admitted to worrying more about syncing than making a good translation while localizing Eternal Sonata. That is something that I hated about early English dubbing of anime and I don’t like it in games either. With all that said it doesn’t really matter for this game because for now a Japanese voice track will not be available in this game outside of Japan and maybe Asia.

 

Small thing but I read that at least the facial animation will be adjusted to the English language. The English voices are done, as are subtitles in other languages. May well be that we'll be able to import.

 

I agree with Arwin completely.

Foreign language does make every thing dreamy/fantasy believable. I, for a change, enjoy reading in my native as well as english language equally. Similarly, for movies, I can enjoy the same concept in my Local hindi as well as in English, but there are millions in India who can accept a "Matrix" in english very easily, but will never accept a similar concept in a Hindi flick. For them, the same concept or presentation, even with similr production values, is totally laughable ridiculous if done in a hindi flick (I am not talking about Matrix as such, but the concept of another perception of the world/fantasy), just because , being in their local language, it suddenly becomes totally unbeleivable, as such things do not happen to them in their lives. Whereas, if its an English flick, then its fine to them, as it feels alien to them, so it is easier to believe that this could happen in some other place, as it is in some other language anyway. Also, hindi dubbings of English flicks is horrible to watch, as many times, many dialogues totally lose their sensibility and the dubbing is never of the emotional quality as of the original.

I think, that is also one of the reasons that SOTC is able to suck you into its world more efficiently than other titles, as it has its own language. SImilarly for Okami(which, I don't think has any language, but just meaningless babble. Might not be a good example).

 

If you're going to import make sure that you buy your local version as well. Complaining that you want a Japanese language track is good and all but you have to show devs that it's worth the extra effort in order to make you happy. Buying the product from another region just helps with that regions sales and not yours. If you ever felt that your region is getting over looked you should make sure that you support the products once released in your region.

 

[http://www.rpgsite.net/news/425/final-fantasy-xiii-officially-confirmed-for-december-17th-.html ]

What's so special about this game to make it $100 ?

 

CG movies ain't cheap. It's not like the die hards won't buy it at that price initially at least.

edit: What's the usual local price for a new game

 

IIRC, that's about normal for a FF release, isn't it?

 

Well if it's normal, then there's really nothing to fuss about (for now)... exchange rates certainly have changed in the last few years.

 

If memory serves me, it has less to do with exchange rates, and more to do with cultural differences and the concepts of "value" and "worth". I remember reading an article on Edge about that some time ago. I think what it ultimately boils down to is that bigger name titles cost more in Japan than smaller ones, because they're "worth" more. Perhaps someone more familiar with the situation can shed some light.

 

In Holland, games at launch can be 68 Euros which is also $100 , if not more.
You cannot compare directly to USA because USA has worse economy, more jobless/homeless plus they have less taxes because of healthcare and schools etc.

Even Xbox 360 in Holland is 250 euros, which is about 400 dollar. That's a lot right?

conclusion: it all comes down to the economy of a country. If they are rich, they can, and will pay more.

 

250€ is 364$ and 9250 Yen is 69€, the common price for new game in euro-land, so actually is really a good deal to buy games in UK!

 

http://scrawlfx.com/2009/09/final-fantasy-xiii-to-launch-in-the-west-in-in-six-to-eight-months

 

I think we're heading back to the PS2 era with this shot, grassless plain is just not cool any more! What is it with the Japanese dev's hatred about grass rendering?

 

It probably consumes resources that they would rather spend on characters and special effects, games like this bath in alpha blended effects.