Sky/Pegasus Knight naming

[Taka-kun]

One thing that buggers me is the change from Pegasus Knight to Sky Knight in the localization. Why did they feel the need to change it at all? I know the localization has done a lot of questionable stuffs but let's leave that for now.

IIRC, the japanese version changed so "knight" would only be presented in Nohr (going with the European equivalent) while Hoshido had "warriors". The idea seems to be dropped entirely in the localization since now there are knights on both sides. But for some ungodly reason, Pegasus Knights were changed to Sky Knights with no apparent explanation nor a need at all. Falcon Knights were still kept as they are for example.

And this is not consistent either. Reading through some of the supports, I only find Corrin/Hinoka B-support mentioning Hinoka training to become a sky knight. Hinoka/Subaki C and Shigure/Caeldori S instead uses the term pegasus knights. Feels like some in the localization team were not notified of the naming change.

[VincentASM]

Yeah, I thought it was kinda weird.

The only thing I can think of is maybe "Pegasus Knight" didn't fit in the allowed text space, nevermind "Pegasus Warrior" or any other variant. Somebody who actually fiddled with the text might have a better idea than me though.

Also, it's hard to find an equivalent term for "Musha" in English. "Warrior" is what I went with, but I doubt it's the best one.

Either way, it was probably hard for the localisers to find an alternative name for "Pegasus Knight" that you somehow associate with Pegasus Knights (and didn't sound stupid).

[Original Alear]

Why not call them horsebirds.

[Based Goomy]

I like to think they call the class "Sky Knight" now because it doesn't necessarily evolve into a Pegasus for both branches. Remember, Kinshi Knight still exists.

[Light Strategist]

Personally, I'm just in the mind to chalk it up to cultural differences.

No, I don't mean between real-world localizations, I actually mean between Hoshido, Nohr and Valla to any prior existing continent/country in Fire Emblem prior to now. Like how you have Shamans and Druids in Elibe when Ylisse has Dark Mages. See what I'm getting at? They basically do the same thing, but the methods are practiced differently.

[CWGameplay]

Why not call them horsebirds.

Why not?

[gayserbeam]

The Japanese version didn't directly call them Pegasus Warriors -- that was just the closest fan translation (as was mentioned above).

In previous Fire Emblem games, almost all clases were just English names in katakana, like ペガサスナイト (Pegasasu Naito, or Pegasus Knight). However, to retain the Japanese theme, they named all Hoshidan classes in real Japanese Kanji. But since there is no kanji for Western concepts like "knight" or "pegasus", they had to use the closest equivalents, which are "Musha" (like a warrior) and "Tenma" (mythological Chinese flying horse).

Since a Tenma isn't actually a pegasus, the localization team decided to avoid that word in the translation. Subaki and Selena's support emphasizes that the winged horses are not pegasi, and that pegasi are only ridden by women.

Of course, as you said, they literally use "pegasus" to describe the animal in every instance except for Subaki and Selena's support. So the answer is apathy.

Edited May 3, 2016 by gayserbeam

[Roflolxp54]

I like to think they call the class "Sky Knight" now because it doesn't necessarily evolve into a Pegasus for both branches. Remember, Kinshi Knight still exists.

Try older Fire Emblem games in which the Pegasus Knight exists. Falcon Knights weren't a thing until FE2, so Pegasus Knights promote into Dracoknights in FE1. Heck, in FE11, Pegasus Knights' default promotion (via Master Seal) is the Dracoknight, with the Falcon Knight promotion requiring the Elysian Whip.

[VincentASM]

The Japanese version didn't directly call them Pegasus Warriors -- that was just the closest fan translation (as was mentioned above).

In previous Fire Emblem games, almost all clases were just English names in katakana, like ペガサスナイト (Pegasasu Naito, or Pegasus Knight). However, to retain the Japanese theme, they named all Hoshidan classes in real Japanese Kanji. But since there is no kanji for Western concepts like "knight" or "pegasus", they had to use the closest equivalents, which are "Musha" (like a warrior) and "Tenma" (mythological Chinese flying horse).

Since a Tenma isn't actually a pegasus, the localization team decided to avoid that word in the translation. Subaki and Selena's support emphasizes that the winged horses are not pegasi, and that pegasi are only ridden by women.

Of course, as you said, they literally use "pegasus" to describe the animal in every instance except for Subaki and Selena's support. So the answer is apathy.

Almost.

There's a perfect kanji for "knight" in the form of "kishi". See "shikkoku no kishi" (Black Knight) or any of the horseback knights in the Japanese version of Radiant Dawn. "Musha" was clearly picked because it evokes Japanese culture..

Also, I think it's kinda silly to try and distinguish "tenma" and "pegasus", when Radiant Dawn implicitly established they were the same thing. But this is the fault of Japanese Fates as well.

[Alazen]

Reminder that Pegasus Knights weren't woman-only until Thracia 776. So they could have avoided this issue by just letting pegasi be gender-neutral.

[Taka-kun]

Why not call them horsebirds.

Funnily, Hinoka calls her steed "horse" all the time. You might not be that far off.

Otherwise, seems there is no symbolic meaning at all. It's just "knights in the sky".

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

Maybe because the word 'pegasus' seems too girly...? I'm just saying.

[iavasechui]

Odd that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus