Which FE do you you think was the most well-written?

[Baldrick]

It would be a good deal easier if the original text is in your mother tongue, or you were working closely with someone who did; you would more easily find the references and understand the implications of certain words or names.

[Axie]

Was it changed in the NoE version? I figure most of the European names got shifted around so NoE's audience wouldn't be wondering why they were attacking real places in a fantasy setting. Not every name gets axed, but there is probably a little sensitivity to that in the localization.

Yes, they changed Bern to Biran. I wish NoA did too, actually, that sounds kind of cool.

[Rapier]

These name changes sometimes feel worse than the names used before. Also, the worst offenders, such as Macedonia, Thracia, Miletos, Peruluke (wut) are still intact.

Did they really need to change Alvis to Arvis? In both meaning and spelling, I don't see a reason to change there.

[General Banzai]

Did they really need to change Alvis to Arvis? In both meaning and spelling, I don't see a reason to change there.

there was no "change"

alvis never existed

arvis is the only translation there was

[Rewjeo]

Arvis really just feels like they didn't want to use Alvis, though. At least, I assume so. I'm guessing it's アルビス and while that technically could go to Arvis, the general trend in Japanese is for that to go to アービス. That suggests that Alvis was the intent. and I think Arvis is a dumb name

[amadeuscho]

I prefer Arvis to Alvis, as Alvis remind of Alvin, which remind me of chipmunks. Not really that threatening to me. Arvis sounds better as a result.

[DomesticHausCat]

I prefer Arvis to Alvis, as Alvis remind of Alvin, which remind me of chipmunks. Not really that threatening to me. Arvis sounds better as a result.

Lol! Back when I played FE4 for the first time his name reminded me of Elvis! But after beating the game I thought he was one of the best FE villains in the series.

[Celice]

For some reason or other, I always associated the young Alvis with the 'l', and the older with the 'r', due to my own language associations.

[Soledai]

there was no "change"

alvis never existed

arvis is the only translation there was

I wonder, is that really true?

Fanslation or TCG be damned, proof of it existing means it exists

Even you can't deny that... or so I'd like to think

Back when I played FE4 for the first time his name reminded me of Elvis! But after beating the game I thought he was one of the best FE villains in the series.

Glad to see this wasn't just me the first time, but this was when I was a kid, so yeah

[Celice]

I checked the official strategy guide and the Nintendo Power preview, and I didn't see any translation of Alvis's name, for what it's worth. I think an unofficial guide I had did have some romanized names, but I dunno where it is now. I can't seem to find a version of his name on the Fire Emblem Museum site, either :/ Not that this negates his name being confirmed for at least one appearance as Alvis.

(checking the Nintendo Power article, I noticed that Sigurd's old portrait can be seen? Lachesis also looks a bit different)

Edited November 27, 2013 by Celice

[General Banzai]

I wonder, is that really true?

Fanslation or TCG be damned, proof of it existing means it exists

Even you can't deny that... or so I'd like to think

i can deny that because as i've said before the tcg names are just romanizations and not actual translations

[LunaSaint]

Banzai is right about Japanese TCG/Artwork names being direct romanizations. I really avoid relying on them as any kind of reference.

-

Regardless, I did really like Arvis as a character. I'd have liked him in a game with better storytelling than FE4 though. At the very least, would have liked more face time with him as opposed to narration.

Edited November 27, 2013 by LunaSaint

[Soledai]

Okay, though the point in that was to show that an 'Alvis' existed, as in clear legible text, credible or not... still I can't just give up on what I'm used to, it'll take another 13 years for that to happen

Regardless, I did really like Arvis as a character. I'd have liked him in a game with better storytelling than FE4 though. At the very least, would have liked more face time with him as opposed to narration.

This is why I believe that Kaga never got to fully realize his 'story' for these characters, If there were to be an FE4 remake or what have you, I would want Kaga to return and finish his story for Jugdral unlikely though it is, I can't see Alvis in another FE game, even if it had perfect story and telling and room for him

[Cymbalina's Revenge]

Okay, though the point in that was to show that an 'Alvis' existed, as in clear legible text, credible or not... still I can't just give up on what I'm used to, it'll take another 13 years for that to happen

This is why I believe that Kaga never got to fully realize his 'story' for these characters, If there were to be an FE4 remake or what have you, I would want Kaga to return and finish his story for Jugdral unlikely though it is, I can't see Alvis in another FE game, even if it had perfect story and telling and room for him

Even if Kaga were on good terms with IS, I do believe he's close to or has passed the mandatory retirement age, so sadly it can't ever happen.

[Roy: Marquess of Pherae]

I thought Macedonia was Medon in one of the games...

[Soledai]

Even if Kaga were on good terms with IS, I do believe he's close to or has passed the mandatory retirement age, so sadly it can't ever happen.

Yeah... If I recall the Japan retirement age is 61, and he's... 63 Damn ...Well, Kaga-dono you've earned your rest...

Now I have the random desire to see Gen Urobuchi write a story for FE

[General Banzai]

Even if Kaga were on good terms with IS, I do believe he's close to or has passed the mandatory retirement age, so sadly it can't ever happen.

isn't Miyamoto super old too that doesn't seem to stop him

[Celice]

Banzai is right about Japanese TCG/Artwork names being direct romanizations. I really avoid relying on them as any kind of reference.

If they were all direct romanizations, there wouldn't be any discrepancies between different versions of the name. Yet on different media (dolls, cards, websites, artwork, manuals, boxes, etc.) you can find one character or object whose English name differs. There is a fair amount of interpretation on the pronunciation of a name, which spills out as different spellings, in different FE merchandise, which yields different ways to spell or say the same name. The interesting part is when several romanizations feature the exact spelling conventions throughout their existence, which some take to be an intentional spelling.

A direct romanization would yield a direct replacement in every instance, wouldn't it? Disavowing all instances of English in a Japanese game or context, however, is quite haughty and self-serving.

[General Banzai]

A direct romanization would yield a direct replacement in every instance, wouldn't it?

No

Disavowing all instances of English in a Japanese game or context, however, is quite haughty and self-serving.

This is also wrong

Assuming that because something uses the latin alphabet it's immediately English, however, is rather haughty and self-serving

Edited November 27, 2013 by General Banzai

[CT075]

A direct romanization would yield a direct replacement in every instance, wouldn't it?

if there was an official kana->roman "translation set" (for lack of a better term), there probably would be

but there are really far too many ambiguous cases (offhand i'm thinking of ル but there are many others, most of which are nontrivial) to expect any kind of consistency

[Celice]

if there was an official kana->roman "translation set" (for lack of a better term), there probably would be

but there are really far too many ambiguous cases (offhand i'm thinking of ル but there are many others, most of which are nontrivial) to expect any kind of consistency

That's my point, as an addendum to the sometimes seemingly-intentional attention to spellings in the name. It's not an arbitrary conversion between different kana and their romanized equivalent in every case we find an English name in a Japanese context (looking at the FE Museum as a good example); to disavow such cases simply because they're English in a Japanese setting is quite uncharitable and blind-sighted.

[CT075]

skimming through i can't see anyone actually disregarding it just for "being english" (as you say); the closest thing i see is banzai saying that it's not a good reference because it's just one written form of what the name sounds like when spoken aloud

[Cymbalina's Revenge]

I thought Macedonia was Medon in one of the games...

NoE used that instead of Macedonia/Macedon, yeah.

[Celice]

Banzai is right about Japanese TCG/Artwork names being direct romanizations. I really avoid relying on them as any kind of reference.

My point is on this: direct romanizations are themselves a little fickle, as in romanizing there is a decision as to what is actually being spelled out (a basic example is sometimes a word might be spelled out in as close a literal form to the English spelling as possible, whereas sometimes there are words which are phonetically transcribed regardless of the English spelling equivalent). However when you see a pattern of names being adopted across several different mediums with particular English form, even if romanized, then this might suggest a more intentional English choice than mere romanization.

It's an awfully messy area without actually speaking with whomever decided on the English equivalent.

[Rapier]

there was no "change"

alvis never existed

arvis is the only translation there was

You know that IS is on par with how the internet called them before, right? They're not completely oblivious to the fandom. They wouldn't make a game with retro elements that include FE4 if they were.

Also, Alvis seems more like a legit name than Arvis.