Gaming Is it right?

[No]

[i][color=lightpink]I dont know for sure if this is in the right area becuase it has to do with Final Fantasy X-2 [B]but[/B] in the opening scenes you see Yuna dancing and singing in [B]english[/B]. Have you see the japanese version of the song. To my point. The english version is not sung by Koda Kumi. But by someone else. It's the same lyrics just only in english, and they put the same music to it. I dont see it as right. They should keep the [B]original[/B] version. It upset me greatly. I feel like the creators of FFX-2 put some of their fans down. Do you feel the same as me?[/color][/i]

[Manic Webb]

Moving to the Square-Enix forum...

[ZytaZiouZ]

Um, FFX-2 put the fans down in many respects. It reduced a Final Fantasy to a game that is promoted through skimpy clothing, it is a sequel, it is in my own opinion not a true Final Fantasy, etc. They changed too much just trying to get a little profit. I mean, come now. Final Fantasy is a series of linear RPGs that are unrelated, and primarily exist to tell a story. This game should not be entitled to have the name "Final Fantasy." Maybe they should call it "Stare at Rikku you filthy minded people!"

Yea, I am a hardcore Final Fantasy fan who is upset with Final Fantasy X-2, and am not too happy with FFXI. I have issues, I know.

[Guest TenshiKurai]

I haven't seen it yet, but now I'm upset! They shouldn't have changed it! OMG! Now I'm pissed!!! It's bad enough they dressed the girls slutty, but now they're Americanizing it!!!! NOOOOO!!!! *still want it though...*

[Angelus]

oh yes, I very much dont care. I will still buy this game and I will probably still enjoy it very much.

[James]

[color=#707875]What is wrong with you people? Who really cares whether she sings in English or Japanese?

Geeze. It's one little sequence in FFX-2. Whether she sings in English or Japanese has absolutely no bearing on the game at all.

Other than it being a case of "Ooo! Cool! She is singing in Japanese!" I don't see the complaint, really.

Also bear in mind that the majority of players would probably prefer English lyrics. Afterall, Square-Enix is trying to market the game globally. As a pure question of sales/marketing, it would make little sense to have Yuna sing in Japanese for non-Japanese audiences.

As far as the "skimpy" outfits go...again, I don't see the complaint. Unless you're incredibly anal, why should you take issue with the costume design in the game? I've seen nothing so far that has made me gasp in shock and clutch a crucifix to my chest.

Honestly, if you read the interviews with the creators, you'll see that the "female focus" is [i]very[/i] much story-oriented. It makes sense to me. I mean, Wakka can run around wearing no shirt and other male characters in FFX can be dressed in a somewhat "skimpy" fashion, yet the same shouldn't or couldn't be true for females in FFX-2? Give me a break.

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't go out and buy a game because it has scantily clad women. The day I sit there and get aroused over some digital drawing is the day I know that my social life is dead. lol

In any case...it doesn't surprise me that people are cutting up rough over FFX-2. It doesn't surprise me, but it's still a big shame. [/color]

[Desbreko]

[color=indigo]Well, seeing as I don't have a PS2, I haven't played FFX-2 for myself. [i]But[/i] I can still have an opinion, since you don't really need to have seen the cutscene to have one on the issue. :toothy:

Basically, I look at it this way: If they're going to translate other voice acting into English, why not the song? (Same thing with the text, too; that also has to be translated). Is it really any any different than the rest of the spoken dialogue? If you think the song should be in Japanese so that it's in its "original version," shouldn't you also want the rest of the voice acting to be the original Japanese? After all, they had to get different voice actors for the English version, the same as they had to get someone else to sing the song in English. And I don't know about you, but unless I were fluent in Japanese, I wouldn't want to play a game with all Japanese speech/text. And since this is the [i]North American[/i] version of the game, not many people are going to be fluent in Japanese.[/color]

[SephirothNIN]

Most songs in squaresoft games are translated into English for the US version, so why would you expect Real Emotion to be any different? I mean, ok suteki da ne from FFX was kept in Japanese, but Eyes on Me (FF8), Melodies of Life (FF9), and Simple and Clean (KH) were all translated. Also I'd bet that Small of Two pieces from Xenogears was in Japanese for the Japan version, not sure though. I DO like the Japanese version of Real Emotion a lot, ever since I saw it on Unlimted Saga (ugh what a horrible game), but I saw a tiny bit of the English one on the commercial for FFX-2 and it seemed fine too. If you're that crazy about seeing Yuna sing in Japanese, just download the trailer off of Kazaa.

[Digital Monster]

Yeah, I have both Eng. and Japanese versions of RE and 1000 Words and I like all of them in their own way, I personally think they're well done.

Has anyone on this Board actually bought and/or played the game? In the UK it won't be out until the 12th Feb. I have it pre-ordered, but I really would like some decently constructed criticism.

[Break]

[size=1][color=CC0000]Kuja was dressed skimpy-like...

I am gonna go with the "whatever" view, I mean, who really cares if Yuna sings in Japanese or English? It's not like it's gonna affect the whole game and change everything, is it?[/size][/color]

[Charles]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Digital Monster [/i]
[B]Has anyone on this Board actually bought and/or played the game? In the UK it won't be out until the 12th Feb. I have it pre-ordered, but I really would like some decently constructed criticism. [/B][/QUOTE]

:Raises hand:

I don't have enough time, so I'll have to be fairly brief.

It's a fairly good game. Despite the heavy recycling of Final Fantasy X material, there's enough secure FFX-2 as more than simply "Final Fantasy X Revisited." Honestly, it's difficult to say if it's truly better than its predecessor per se, but it is different.

This is a much faster paced experience. The active time battle system seems faster than it ever has. People have compared it to Grandia II--and those comparisons are valid to an extent--but it's not quite as polished. By timing your attacks, it is possible to land combos and delay enemy attacks for a couple seconds, but you can't cancel them.

The removal of the sphere grid doesn't hurt as much as I expected it to. The garment grid works nicely; you can equip different grids to each character that works to their strengths. The main problem lies within changing garments in mid-battle. The process is very similar to summoning an aeon. Meaning, you have to wait through cinematics that can't be skipped. It can become very tiring. Especially when you need to switch multiple times.

The storyline isn't as prevalent as it was in Final Fantasy X. You won't see as many cut scenes. The plot and storytelling that is there (and there's still quite a bit) isn't terrible. It's just a different kind of storytelling since it's another person's story. In the grand scheme of things, it's not as epic (it shouldn't be either). It's still quite serious, more so as the game progresses, but it feels female. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but it just feels right for what it is. The lightheartedness works considering the circumstances.

I'm not exactly sure I like having the entire map open from the start because it does serve to break up the plot. Well, unless you want to totally dismiss the side quests.

In my opinion, I don't think the final product is as good as its predecessor. But, that's a matter of taste and it certainly doesn't mean this isn't a good game. It's very fun. Japanese voice acting would have probably made me hate it since I don't understand Japanese and there is no reason for America's Yuna to speak it.

I'm still not sold on the idea of Yuna's character dressing like a Tomb Raider. I'm not offended by scantily clad video game women; I didn't care about Lulu's cleavage and I don't even care about how Rikku dresses. It fits their characters--just as how it isn't a stretch for Wakka's character to wear the clothes he does. You know, seeing as how he's an islander. But, innocence was the main point of characterization for Yuna. There's something wrong about seeing that face on a body wearing those clothes. I mean, the clothing isn't as revealing as I thought it would be during the game (it's only the gunner outfit too), but a woman's achievement of more freedom doesn't mean they should automatically wear hoochie mama clothes.

Still, it's only one minor gripe. I'd say that the heavy use of recycled material from FFX is more of a concern than clothing or Japanese voice work. Obviously, the game takes place in the same world, but we could have visited some new lands and encountered a heavier dosage of new enemies.

[Erika]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i]
[B][color=#707875]Geeze. It's one little sequence in FFX-2. Whether she sings in English or Japanese has absolutely no bearing on the game at all.

Other than it being a case of "Ooo! Cool! She is singing in Japanese!" I don't see the complaint, really.

As far as the "skimpy" outfits go...again, I don't see the complaint. Unless you're incredibly anal, why should you take issue with the costume design in the game? I've seen nothing so far that has made me gasp in shock and clutch a crucifix to my chest.

Honestly, if you read the interviews with the creators, you'll see that the "female focus" is [i]very[/i] much story-oriented. It makes sense to me. I mean, Wakka can run around wearing no shirt and other male characters in FFX can be dressed in a somewhat "skimpy" fashion, yet the same shouldn't or couldn't be true for females in FFX-2? Give me a break.

[/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]I couldn't've said it any better. That's exactly how I feel. "All-female roles" shouldn't be anymore surprising than the casts for the past BOF series.

Insane, I tell you. I [B]always[/B] get the impression that just because a female is the main character (or plural, pert. to FF X-2), people have to make an issue out of it and compare it to "Charlie's Angels"--it's [B]not[/B] "girl power." I'm not a feminist, either. God forbid.

Think about the cast for BOF II: a psychotic cat girl, a girl with bird wings, a blue-haired dragonian freak-boy, a womanizing monkey ex-soldier (you go, Sten!!), a walking plant...thing-person that's strangely effeminate and typically quiet and non-combatant, pretty much. Oh yeah, can't forget the "big clunky blacksmith," an oversized animal wielding a big-a** hammer. God, I can't even tell what the thing is! Pro-wrestler with a donkey head?

And you people out there, who think an "all-female" cast is something to talk about, tell me if that's [B]unusual[/B] or not. Of course, it's not, because the main character pretty much is, you guessed it, the blue-haired dragonian freak-boy.

What my point is, the impression I'm getting is that people think it's all "girl power" just because the main characters don't sport hardly any muscle at all and don't throw their weight around like a 'leader' is expected to. And I can hear guys saying, "Oooh, what have we here? More digital goodness just for us!" (*still laughing at James*) and the girls saying, "Ohmigosh! Yay Charlies Angels! Whoo hoo! I never expected this in a game! Girls rule! Yay!"

Seriously, people. Seriously. Take a chill pill. It's just a game. Breathe deep.

I'm looking forward to this game, really, though! Even if it doesn't [B]'deserve'[/B] the Final Fantasy title, it's still a video game, right?

Besides, other than Wakka (I already miss the 'ya?'), Rikku's the greatest. She was a bit underrated in FFX, based on my observations. And she didn't seem to 'fit in' with the game. It was like she was just an addition to the cast as a guardian and, well, that's pretty much all I saw.

Yay, Wakka![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Semjaza]

I'm personally not interested in this because of the apparently weak gameplay and story that is cited in nearly every review about it. I play RPGs for the gameplay, personally. Then I read that you can get through most battles by mashing X. Again, this brings my interest down.

The fact that I'll have to sit through pop concerts simply adds to me not wanting to bother... it's not the MAIN reason. I read that there is a minigame in here where you rub one of the characters backs while she moans. Again, this doesn't help my opinion on the game. It just makes it look like the DOA Volleyball of the RPG world.

I've played plenty of games with lead female characters, so I have no problem with that. Metroid is a good example, and it's one of my favorites. Then there is Star Ocean 2, Ghost Lion, Valkyrie Profile, Persona 2 and several other actual RPGs I doubt anyone else here has played. Hell I even play as female characters in every fighting game I own, as well as my character in FFXI being a girl. It doesn't affect my decision and I am not fond that simply not liking the idea of this game lumps me in with a bunch of idiots who apparently just don't like girls being in games.

This one just sounds ridiculous to me. There are other RPGs out that I'd much rather play, personally. In every thread about this someone else has come in and been like "you only hate it because it has girls as lead characters!!!!!" and I think that's equally as lame, honestly. It's probably true in some cases though.

[No]

[i][color=lightpink]Okok whoa there! Man...we got way off topic here...I mean i felt hurt when I heard the original version of the song being changed to something its not. Its like a whole new identity change. I feel that America (this is all my opinion) disconects itself from world culture. I know we have a bunch of foriegners and stuff, but, to the fact that compaired to other countries that have embraced our type of music plus their own. But yet we (americans) do not take it the same way. We just have people translate it and change it. That kind of upsets me.

I have absolutly no problem with girls being the main characters. More power to them. That wasn't the issue to me at all. But...i'm lost in the game...and don't know who is who...with that Tidus look-a-like. What's his name again? And that chick that looks like Yuna too...I'm lost...and where is Tidus anyways?![/color][/i]

[James]

[color=#707875]I don't see how not translating the game is isolationist. Square-Enix isn't selling it to Japanese gamers...they're selling it to American gamers. Generally, American gamers cannot speak Japanese. It makes logical sense to change it to English.

You still have the same visual theme being carried through the game and apparently the lyrics themselves aren't actually changed. So...again, I don't see the concern. If you avoid buying this game [i]just[/i] as a result of it being in English, then I don't know if you wanted the game for the right reasons in the first place (the "right" reasons being gameplay/story/etc).[/color]

[No]

[i][color=lightpink]Ok I have a question then about this whole translating thing. When they sell it in other countries such as Germany, France, Mexico...ect. Will they have a new person sing the song in their language? It's what I am wondering.[/color][/i]

[James]

[color=#707875]It depends. I don't know if Yuna's lip-synching has been changed for her English lyrics or not, for example.

If they have changed it, then no...there is no chance that they'll change it for various other languages.

It's also unlikely that they'll dub in other languages; they will most likely just provide subtitles in languages other than English. But I honestly don't know. Different developers go to different lengths when it comes to things like that.[/color]

[Sandy]

It's really not in custom - at least not in Scandinavia - to dub or even text out other games than kiddy games. All FF-games here have even come with English manual - which makes me wonder why does it take so long for them to get here... All games come at least a year after their Japanese release... Bweh...

[Semjaza]

It makes most sense to put that song in English in English speaking countries. The amount of people who want to be able to understand a song without reading is far higher than the amount of kids who want everything to be subbed so they can feel like they're more Japanese. That's just how it is.

That said, I don't see why they can't give a choice. The thing is on a DVD, they could have easily fit both vocal tracks on there, I'm sure.

[No]

[i][color=lightpink]They could have fit both tracks on there but did they no. It just upsets me that we block out foreign stuff like we are afraid of it. Dunno, just my opinion and all, like that ever counts for anything. this just gets me to not like Final Fantasy anymore.[/color][/i]

[TeRRaFLaMe]

You dislike Final Fantasy now because they changed a song to English? It's not really a big deal... it's not changing the game. I mean, seriously, the only reason they did it is because we Americans are a bunch of stubborn fools who think we're better than everyone else... I agree that they shouldn't have changed it, but it's not THAT big of a deal. o_o;

[Dagger]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by TeRRaFLaMe [/i]
[B]You dislike Final Fantasy now because they changed a song to English? It's not really a big deal... it's not changing the game. I mean, seriously, the only reason they did it is because we Americans are a bunch of stubborn fools who think we're better than everyone else... I agree that they shouldn't have changed it, but it's not THAT big of a deal. o_o; [/B][/QUOTE]

Er... what?

I just don't see why it's necessary to drag what you perceive as exaggerated notions of American superiority into a discussion of [i]lyrics[/i], for heaven's sake. In your own words, it's not THAT big of a deal. I personally think we're privileged for even being able to hear an English version of the song in question; it's not as though they produced it solely to spite subtitle purists. Like James and Semjaza said, it just makes sense to change the song to English. "We Americans" didn't exactly beat down Squaresoft's door demanding that they alter the lyrics, so I really have no idea why you made that particular comment.

~Dagger~

[Erika]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]"Translating" shouldn't be considered if it's foreign music. Just like the Greatest Hits Chrono Chross, they can just simply include the translated lyrics in the instruction book! I mean the lyrics for the "main" song, the Radical Dreamers, in case wondering what the hell I'm talking about. o_O;

It's as easy as that. In that case, people that buy the game in other countries will know what the song means, and the song will remain in its original language. It makes sense to me.

Also, the translators can translate the lyrics into the three most widely-spoken languages i.e. Spanish, English and French, for example, and include them in the instruction book.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Semjaza]

There are no lyrics in the non-Greatest Hits version of Chrono Cross. There also aren't any songs in that game that are included in important areas, they're pretty much just background songs. In FFX-2, the songs are sung in key story parts... and I doubt the average user would want to keep looking back and forth at his instruction manual to understand it.

They could have added subtitles, but people seem to forget that there is a LARGE amount of people who don't like them. That's why there is such a large dub market in anime and foreign films. FF, unlike Chrono Cross, sells to a far larger group of people and thus they have to make it more accessible for everyone. Annoying a few kids who would rather have the Japanese song is a lesser evil than annoying a large group of people who don't know what the hell is going on in their game... especially considering they speak English in the rest of it.

Like I said before, I don't get why they couldn't have inlcluded both. I would have liked a total Japanese option in FFX, for example... but they didn't. Not much can be done, I guess.

So as much as I would like it, I guess I'm just trying to give a reason as to why they don't do it. I know it's annoying, but that's just how localizing works most of the time.

[No]

[i][color=lightpink]You know what. I agree with Dark Serena and TerraFlame. They make sence to me actually. I know I shouldn't have made a huge deal out of it but man, i saw the commercial at 2 am in the morning and i was upset becuase even the song was in the background. And I think we could have kept it in japanese, the original way, with either the translation in the book, or have subtitles. But as going as far as changing the singer is not right. [/color][/i]