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Cloud Strife 137
05-07-2014, 07:07 PM
Hey, hello to all users of Eyes on Final fantasy! Did you know that there is a petition to localize the various Ultimania Final Fantasy Guide Books? The petition was started by a company called Interbooks which is interested in acquiring the license for official English releases of the Ultimania guides. It has already been in contact with Square Enix and expects response.
This petition can be signed here:

https://www.change.org/petitions/bentstuff-squareenix-translate-the-final-fantasy-ultimania-books-into-english

Getting a publisher to contact Square Enix for translation rights is pretty much the only way to see their books released outside of Japan. As such, this might be an unprecedented opportunity!!!
Personally It's years that I wish this to happen and I'd LOVE to see these guides in English (books that are gems for whoever love these games so much as to want to find out EVERY SINGLE DETAIL!)
Please do excuse me for the spammy nature of this request but I think we'll all agree that this situation warrants it.
Come on Final Fantasy fans, sign and spread the word!

Mirage
05-07-2014, 07:20 PM
Surely, you mean localize (or -ise if you're a brit), not locate :p

Cloud Strife 137
05-07-2014, 09:18 PM
Surely, you mean localize (or -ise if you're a brit), not locate :p

Yeah sure *sigh. English is not my first language of course. I should had checked.

Mirage
05-07-2014, 09:39 PM
I'll probably sign this sometime. I'd buy some of the books for sure

Cloud Strife 137
05-07-2014, 10:44 PM
I say that there's no harm in trying. I really want this to happen however: I don't see why it wouldn't necessarily work.

Colonel Angus
05-07-2014, 11:52 PM
I would prefer engrish.

Sephiroth
05-08-2014, 12:00 AM
English Final Fantasys are inaccurate, so no. Not without translators that focus mainly on the actual meaning.

Psychotic
05-08-2014, 08:31 AM
Great idea, 137! Good luck with the petition! I will sign.

Cloud Strife 137
05-08-2014, 08:41 AM
English Final Fantasys are inaccurate, so no. Not without translators that focus mainly on the actual meaning.

I bought some of these books in the Japanese language in the last few years. As a Final Fantasy fan I can tell that they're awesome. I don't see why someone who likes spending hours playing Final fantasy wouldn't love to have them.
The only problem is that everytime I want to understand the meaning even of a small paragraph, I have to go on the internet and search for English translations because I can't understand Japanese and problably never will because I study and I don't have time to learn such a diffiicult language to read those books.
I don't know if the translators will catch the actual meanig and they'll come to accurate translations.
However having those artbooks/guides and not beeing able to understand a single word that ther is written has always made me feel nervous and frustrated: why cannot I enjoy the saga up to the end? For some episodes I really feel the necessity to discover more details (than the ones I caught just playing the game) that come from the mouths of the guys who made the game (without searching all the web in the hope of finding someting).

Cloud Strife 137
05-08-2014, 08:55 AM
Great idea, 137! Good luck with the petition! I will sign.

Oh thanks Psychotic! I really don't want to completely miss this opportunity!
Ultimanias may be not considered not so important by many fans: not saying that they don't have their reasons but for some others these are like beautiful gems that they've waited years to read and fully enjoy along with the games!

Sephiroth
05-08-2014, 01:21 PM
I bought some of these books in the Japanese language in the last few years. As a Final Fantasy fan I can tell that they're awesome.

I have them, too and know Final Fantasy in three languages. The last thing I want is an answer book where fanboys say "it is like this because" just because the translation was inaccurate and the original meaning in the book actually is something different. My Japanese is enough for those books. If there is a good translator, so someone who does it accuarately, then okay. Even the Ultimania have some mistakes in general but I don't even mean that.

Cloud Strife 137
05-08-2014, 06:26 PM
I have them, too and know Final Fantasy in three languages. The last thing I want is an answer book where fanboys say "it is like this because" just because the translation was inaccurate and the original meaning in the book actually is something different. My Japanese is enough for those books. If there is a good translator, so someone who does it accuarately, then okay. Even the Ultimania have some mistakes in general but I don't even mean that.

Man I envy you!!! And, don't get me wrong, I also believe you: if the translation isn't accurate the all thing is worthless, I agree; and, of course, I also want to get an accurate translation that respects the original meaning (for the moment however I don't have any translation at all so I tend to say: one is better than nothing).
I only wanted to say that for games like Crisis Core or Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, for example, I really felt the necessity to have furter details and explanations that for how far I got into the comprehension of the all story would had helped me to feel more satisfied with the awareness that I had caught everything that there was to caught.
Of course I also wanted to have those books to English to have an "official collection" (forgive me the words if they're inappropriate) of informations that came directly from who "built" the game.
I also belive that gameplay guide is very accurate (I tend to believe it from the images and structure of the book at least) and I just wanted to have a chance to read it (the "book form/shape" is more comfortable for me tha searching in the web) because I don't have time to learn Japanese (if I had it I'd love to do it of course).
I would spend money to buy all of them, I don't play many other games apart form Final Fantasy.