Donabe seasoning complete ✨

I first played RE4 in 2023 and instantly fell in love with Leon's character. But apparently, when the OG came out, some fans blamed the EN translation for changing his character. In this month's blog, I set out to uncover if this was truly the case. annacairistiona.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/d...

Finally put up some soundproofing panels in my office! Not the nicest looking setup, but it’ll do the thing. Maybe I’ll finally record a cover for the first time in forever.

Promoting your blog in a sophisticated server vs. your friend's

I first played RE4 in 2023 and instantly fell in love with Leon's character. But apparently, when the OG came out, some fans blamed the EN translation for changing his character. In this month's blog, I set out to uncover if this was truly the case. annacairistiona.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/d...

I wanted to get the next chapter of my FFT translation comparison out this month, but unfortunately, it's taking longer than expected. Most likely going to be posting an analysis of OG RE4, instead. The concept of which I came up with back in 2023, when the remake came out, so uh... pretty timely.

"If we should get separated, just whistle. I'll come running. I promise." - Yuna

Cupcaaaaakes

Just finished my first ever playthrough of Kingdom Hearts/// 👑💖 Those flying pink orbs in the final boss fight had me livid, but we got there in the end…

It's so surreal to see my itty-bitty blog be the third result on google///

Must. Play. More. Games. (+235 hours in BOTW on my JP account)

読書会の準備✨

Finished my October read just in the nick of time 🎃✨

Spooooky

I missed baked beans, so I tried a copycat recipe//// It actually tastes better!! And it was easier to make than I thought it’d be! ✨

I updated my "Lost Woods" article! I've added more examples of how 迷いの森 (mayoi no mori) has been translated in many different ways into English legendsoflocalization.com/articles/los...

I hadn't heard about this slipup before, but looking through the material, I agree 100%: the issue in question is a *really* easy mistake even for an experienced translator to make because of the mechanics of Japanese as a language. I've corrected this issue *a lot* on projects I've proofed/edited.

This month, I looked at one of the most infamous mistranslations in Zelda history. In comparing the English translation with the original Japanese script, I hoped to uncover what may have led to this unfortunate error and how it might have been avoided. annacairistiona.wordpress.com/2025/10/22/e...

Next blog post is scheduled and ready to go! Gonna be a shorter one while I work on some other projects~

Finished Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box today! Tempted to find the next game in Japanese so I can fail at maths in my second language too~

This is a GREAT piece that really seems to show how difficult localization can be. In this case, WotL was actually *more accurate* by paying attention to the type of speech being used and rewriting it into a similar type of English than the more literal and direct translation of the PSX version.

Overwatch x banana bread

Finally finished Dual Destinies! ✨

May or may not continue this as I watch my husband play for the first time, but I wanted to see what changes have been made to the Japanese script before analysing the new English translation. As a non-native speaker, it's interesting to see how the text has been edited for spoken dialogue.

For #InternationalTranslationDay here's a roundup of some of my favorite articles/podcasts/etc. on video game localization from the past year or so, starting with this one:

And because the Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is out today, you'll definitely want to give this a read:

For more good game translation analysis, you'll want to give Anna Cairistiona a follow. She has a fantastic series on the terms surrounding Final Fantasy's summons (there's a link to part 1 in the replies of the quoted post):

Watching the launch stream of Ivalice Chronicle and absolutely thrilled that the new loc really is based on WotL's loc with VO tweaks. So glad it's not been thrown out

Family gaming sesh 🎮✨ Me: Ace Attorney Dual Destinies Rayray: Silent Hill f Spyro: Sock

I very almost didn't post this month's blog bc my inner critic was being obnoxiously loud, but I'm glad I didn't listen////

Man, I love deep dives like this. I'm looking forward to enjoying Final Fantasy Tactics with yet another localization (and additional dialogue!) next week!

I've been griping about this for years to anyone who would hear me, so seeing someone truly more adept than I've ever been picking this content apart is hugely validating... If you're a big FFT fan you should give this a look, especially before playing Ivalice Chronicles. It's brilliantly laid-out.

This is old and I would probably write it differently now (it's partially a personal essay about what I learned playing WotL), but I also wrote about WotL and Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day when I was a baby translator. www.rpgfan.com/feature/the-...

Shouting the part about "tough" being a misinterpretation of the JP from the rooftops. I know people love that line, but it is outright changing his intent from the JP to the EN in the OG PSX version. I wrote about this a long time ago on RPGFan, as well!

A sleepy boy.

A friend talked about a mobile game he was playing that had weird translation issues. That got me to thinking about what the cause of those issues could be, and considering the wider question of how many factors can influence a translation before even considering an individual translator's merits. 🧵

This does a wonderful job of showcasing how the Japanese text uses vivid wording and elevated diction just as much as the WotL translation. (FF4 also does this to an extent, which is another reason why I consider the DS translation to be the best both in terms of accuracy and writing quality.)

September's blog is an in-depth comparison between Final Fantasy Tactics' OG translation and the WotL retranslation. To avoid spoilers, I've only covered the prologue. Can't wait to see what changes The Ivalice Chronicles brings to the table, too! annacairistiona.wordpress.com/2025/09/24/f...

September's blog is an in-depth comparison between Final Fantasy Tactics' OG translation and the WotL retranslation. To avoid spoilers, I've only covered the prologue. Can't wait to see what changes The Ivalice Chronicles brings to the table, too! annacairistiona.wordpress.com/2025/09/24/f...

Finished my September read// ✨ I loved the anime as a teenager, so I’ve always wanted to get into the light novels to see the full story. 1 down, 12 more to go, I guess—

I passed a thing so Rayray surprised me with more FF MTG cards/// (sTiLl nO YUNaaaaaa ww also i want the balthier and fran full art so bad orz

Spyro’s thoughts on Silksong so far:

It’s time/// ✨

Alexander O. Smith gave his thoughts on the translation change in the comments! It's an honour to get his perspective on something I've been curious about for so many years.

I finally tidied the cables under my desk!!! Now I can actually use the /standing/ function on my /standing/ desk www (Also now Spyro can’t nibble on the cable ties—

久しぶりのカラオケタイム

I finally beat Metroid Dread! ✨ (Don’t look at the death count—) Definitely my favourite in the series so far// That final boss was so satisfying!

I thought it was over…

アンナ・カリスティオナ 杏奈・狩棄恩菜

This is a great interview with Brody Phillips, one of the translators that worked on Final Fantasy IX's fantastic localization. Absolutely worth a read! www.timeextension.com/features/int...