Why are new translations of old video game classics always translated so literally?

Is it just me, or do new translations of old games tend to follow the Japanese script too much?
It seems to me like the original translation of a game is always much more spontaneous and independent, and that the translator actually goes out of the way to make things sound more adapted to English speakers and come up with funny one-liners that didn't exist in the Japanese version.
But whenever there is a new translation it suddenly follows the Japanese dialogues very closely, and in my opinion that's kinda boring.
Am I just imagining things, or is there any specific reason why it always seems to be this way?

Another phenomenon I often notice is a very slight change of certain lines just to make it look different from the original translation, for example the FF6 line "Same damage from back row" changing into "Same damage dealt from the back row".
It seems like such a pointless change, like it was made only to no look "too similar" to the original translation.

Its largely due to the very vocal Japanophiles who often feel the "original" script in its purest form is the only way to go and any alteration of the script, regardless if it was made to match limitations in text boxes or mouth flaps, is a vile act of artistic butchering. In essence, blame the late 90s anime fans for making a big stink over this.

While I have no issue calling out a game for making a translation/localization that weakens the story cause it omits things, like say FFVI where Woosely's script kind of lost Setzer's melancholic fatalistic persona, I also feel that sometimes the localization makes things work like say Frog's "Ye Olde Butchered English", which gave him a more endearing personality over his straight and more accurate translation.

FFTactics also tends to split people, because while the dialogue is certainly better translated and more accurate. Some people prefer the lack of "Ye Olde Butchered English" and the non-translated or poorly translated names of groups and places.

Literal translations are not always a good thing; if it's too literal, then you can actually lose the meaning of the original message.

But as for more recent translations of older games, I think for the most part they are good. The example you gave from FF VI is a nice one. The revised translation is actually less vague than the first. Translations back in the day were limited by data space. Japanese is a pretty efficient language, and English is one of the most redundant languages in the world. Trying to cram all that information into a cartridge in English script was a feat, and they did the best they could. Luckily that has become a non-problem now that technology has improved, and the industry is also learning how to better translate games. :up:

But I agree with you to some extent. Localizations should not have to be word for word. Localization projects sometimes need to change things for the target culture.

And honestly, if you're playing a translated game, you're bound to miss out on something from the original. My suggestion is to learn the original language if one is that gung-ho about it. :D

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Originally Posted by Yar

My suggestion is to learn the original language if one is that gung-ho about it. :D

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Yes I have some skill in Japanese, enough to be able to follow scripts in RPGs quite well.
But my vocabulary is still a "work-in-progress", and I will usually need to look up about one word per sentence on average.

I'm not sure if it's a current trend to make more literal re-translations, could you give a couple examples?

The latest re-translated game I've played was Tactics Ogre and Alexander O. Smith/Joseph Reeder are just amazing at not only taking a script and making it meaningful for the target audience but to also make it read and flow so epic.

To be honest, I actually do like literal translations. The FFVI fan translation by Chris RPG and Skyrender just really did it for me, I really doubt the profanity of the original Japanese will ever make it through on an official American localization. Some things were weird like Cyan's "I am your worst nightmare," intro being "If compelled, I will forego my honor and engage you as a common soldier!" but for some reason it just worked for me.

I cannot give any specifi examples, all I can say is that when I see a new translation of an old video game it usually tends to follow the original script word-for-word, more or less, and I think this makes it lose some charm.
Your Cyan example is a pretty good demonstration of how weird a literal translation can turn out.
That's what bothers me with translations in general, actually - when they are so eager to translate the lines literally that they even forget to make it sound natural, and it does seem more common in newer translations.

But of course there are many great re-translations as well; I am usually quite fond of DeJap's translations since while they may take some liberties a bit too often sometimes (they tend to overuse swearwords, for example) they are at least capable of thinking for themselves and not focusing too much on the original script.
After all, the most important part of a translation is to write the script in a way that native speakers of that language would have expressed it, not necessarily with the same words.