SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke

[Ryushikaze]

@Ryushikaze Oh, god. Actually, a moment ago, someone here did me the favor and linked me to a page where this interview was shown, in excruciating detail, including the screenshots. I had a pretty crap week due to real life circumstances, but I can tell you this. The amount of joy and laughter this brought me was the best way to de-stress.

I need to bookmark this page for when I need a good laugh.

Ah, Desfail. A snapshot to an even more lawless time.

I still remember the interviewees' names (they were Kenji and Saicho). That 'interview' really left me with a lasting impression and I probably won't ever forget it until the day I die. I'll always remember how the proponents and supporters of said 'interview' genuinely believed Wacdonalds was a real thing. That's probably the most ludicrous thing about it, among others (explanation on the koi_bito, the Japanese lessons, alleged Japanese consensus and zeitgeist, etc. etc.). Those I enumerated were probably more sad than funny, imo.

Was Shrouded the actual originator of the interview or did he just post it on the CxA boards? I forget. It's been over a decade, I think.

 

[RhinoKart]

It's like... completely butchering author's intent and what players can draw from the way Cloud talks... I mean, we're going to have years of fights simply because of that inversion.

I love hearing Cloud speak softly to Tifa in all the different languages, but in a way I also really appreciate the "trying to be cool and tough" vibe of the English version. It seems to go better with my understanding of the Cloud/Tifa dynamic at this point in the story.

I in the promise flashback Cloud IS trying to be cool and impress Tifa, and in Crisis Core Cloud is too embarassed of not being in SOLIDER (and therefore cool enough) to speak to Tifa at all. To have him show up in Midgar and still be trying to impress her/act cool around her actually fits really well for me.

The only reason it feels off now is because I've listened to the other languages delivery, but if all I had was the English version I wouldn't think the direction was out of place. There are a few exchanges that on my first playthrough felt odd, but the fact I can only come up with a couple of lines out of entire game isn't really an issue.

 

[Strangelove]

this is out of left field, but on the topic of how people interpret localisations, do people still think johnny is tifa's childhood friend?

But then again, VA work in Japan its such an important career in itself. People there study and work a lot to be able to convey so many nuances in their voices because this is really important and necessary to get good jobs in their field there. Idk, but I think that people don't give the same importance to this field of work here in the West, unfortunately.

as far as i'm aware, isn't cloud's english va primarily a tv actor? given the difference between acting on a set with others and acting in a booth alone, sometimes they don't give the best performances. peter dinklage in destiny might be the most well known example to bring up (later getting his work entirely redone by nolan north, an actual voice actor), but personally my example is that ps2 x-files game where mulder and scully just sound completely dead on the inside.

although it doesn't happen all the time, i think it might a more common occurrence for japanese voice actors to record with other casts members present at the same time whereas english ones more commonly record alone? that happens with japanese productions too (bts footage for advent children showed cast members doing solo recording sessions) and i imagine it would happen a fair bit with large projects like dialogue heavy video games rather than getting everyone in a studio together each time, but having other people to bounce off helps a performance sound natural.

 

[odekopeko]

What I found interesting about Cody's voicing towards Tifa and Aerith is it came across to me as the opposite of what was done in with the Japanese VA's.

Cody comes across as trying to act cool towards Tifa, and acting soft towards Aerith.

There were moments I felt this way, but not when it comes to their resolution scenes.

I just watched Tifa's Resolution scene a moment ago, and I can't really find fault with him there. Yes, his "that's not true" was a bit disappointing, but it's like, one line. There wasn't much dialogue to begin with, and the scene focused more on Cloud's expressions.

Although Sakurai's "Unh?" ん ? after Tifa calls his name was definitely a nice addition, and I was craving something similar in the English version. It's like he originally wanted to comfort Tifa, but sort of got a little too comfortable with the hug.

 

[Eerie]

There are many moments where Cloud tries to play it cool with Tifa, but if you give his soft moments to Aerith, then the nuance's gone. Plus Tifa isn't attracted to cool!Cloud, so that is literally saying that Tifa can't be interested in Cloud

Edit: @odekopeko I think the final line of the scene is kinda important, having Cloud failing at dedlivering this line is why people think he's just a friend comforting Tifa Because he sounds off, that's why. Also I say it again, but it's not totally his fault, because the localisation team botched the line, IMHO. He should have said "that's not true" in English, but he didn't for I don't know what reason because it sounds perfectly natural to answer such a thing to "crying is useless".

 

[looneymoon]

@Eerie all your posts about the French version makes me wanna attempt a play through to brush up on it. The last game I attempted in French was Detective Pikachu on the 3DS, but it didn't hold my attention very well

 

[odekopeko]

Wait, I thought he did say, "That's not true" in English though? @Eerie
Anyway, I get you. I was craving a bit more from him there, too, but it didn't happen.

 

[RhinoKart]

this is out of left field, but on the topic of how people interpret localisations, do people still think johnny is tifa's childhood friend?

I never understood where that impression came from to begin with, but I certainly didn't get any hint of it in the Remake, he just seemed like one of the many guys in Sector 7 who had a crush on Tifa.

I just watched Tifa's Resolution scene a moment ago, and I can't really find fault with him there. Yes, his "that's not true" was a bit disappointing, but it's like, one line. There wasn't much dialogue to begin with, and the scene focused more on Cloud's expressions.

I don't think it is disappointing, but I do find his voice is not soft the way it is in Aerith's scene. This might just be something we disagree on. I still liked both scenes, I just personally here a softness in Cody's voice in the Aerith scene that I don't here in the Tifa scene.

"that's not true" in English

He does say "that's not true" in English. Edit: Oh whoops someone already said this while I was typing.

 

[Eerie]

@looneymoon I think the game's fairly easy to understand (they speak well, there's not too much slang), your main problem may be with all the noise, it can be hard to focus on dialogues. You'd probably need to tune down the NPC's dialogues as well as the music.

Edit: oh he does? Weird, I thought I saw & heard something else. Oh right I'm mixing up with the French that says "don't say that" lol my bad. See the tone and the sentence don't match so it didn't make a lasting impression on me.

 

[Strangelove]

I never understood where that impression came from to begin with, but I certainly didn't get any hint of it in the Remake, he just seemed like one of the many guys in Sector 7 who had a crush on Tifa.

he has a few lines in the original game where he calls cloud '[the] childhood friend' as a mocking reference to his relationship to tifa, which might have got a bit mangled in the english version and people took it as saying he was tifa's childhood friend. to bring that back into the main topic, i think a few random people in the past tried to use that to diminish cloud and tifa's relationship

 

[minami758]

he has a few lines in the original game where he calls cloud '[the] childhood friend' as a mocking reference to his relationship to tifa, which might have got a bit mangled in the english version and people took it as saying he was tifa's childhood friend. to bring that back into the main topic, i think a few random people in the past tried to use that to diminish cloud and tifa's relationship

Damn, I never realized that was an argument. That doesn't even make sense in the context of the story, as Cloud and Tifa are the only remaining Nibelheim survivors (aside from Zangan.)

Although Sakurai's "Unh?" ん ? after Tifa calls his name was definitely a nice addition, and I was craving something similar in the English version. It's like he originally wanted to comfort Tifa, but sort of got a little too comfortable with the hug.

I really liked that detail, in English and in Japanese. I do think it's more pronounced in Japanese, but in both languages (coupled with the body language) you can see that he was ready to stand there hugging her for the rest of the night. If she hadn't said anything I'm sure they would've been there for much longer.

 

[odekopeko]

I'm sharing a room with someone else, and had the volume really low. That's probably why I didn't hear it in English @minami758

 

[minami758]

@odekopeko Makes sense! It's there, it's just quieter. Haha

 

[Yumelinh]

as far as i'm aware, isn't cloud's english va primarily a tv actor? given the difference between acting on a set with others and acting in a booth alone, sometimes they don't give the best performances. peter dinklage in destiny might be the most well known example to bring up (later getting his work entirely redone by nolan north, an actual voice actor), but personally my example is that ps2 x-files game where mulder and scully just sound completely dead on the inside.

Yep! And this is his first work as a VA as far as I know as well ( and overall I think he did a pretty good job), but I definitely can see a difference in delivery btw him and say... Barret's VA (who did such an AMAZING job!) who is more experienced in this field than him. But in the end, I was really surprised at how good everyone was really! I tried to watch AC/C w/ English dub once and I didn't have a really good experience tbh =(
(that said, I really liked Zack's VA )


---

annnd back to topic: the mayor Cloti is... THE BEST

 

[MasterMoogle]

Okay, I missed out on a lot and haven’t completely read everything I missed but...

I don’t see how Tifa mentioning Aerith in her resolution scene takes away from Cloti. If anything, I think it’s kinda cute that he calls Cloud on it, that he really wasn’t smooth as he wants Tifa to perceive him (“I knew there’s something weird going on, you buying flowers”). That she knows that it was probably Aerith who insisted that Cloud buy a flower which is true. That’s how I read it anyway. Basically to me, it’s not a point taken away from Cloti and not proof that Cloud is in love with Aerith. Because at the end of the day, Cloud still gave the flower to Tifa. How will it ever be a proof of Clerith romance if he gave the flower to Tifa and it’s not like Tifa forced him to (“A guy can change, has been five years”). I can’t wrap my regular sized brain around it.

Just my humble two cents

Re: Brianna’s insight, she does have a lot of interesting bits to share since she’s a streamer and I suppose she’d naturally gravitate towards Aerith and Clerith. If Britt was a streamer too I’m sure we’d hear tons of pro Cloti insight too.

I also don't understand how the clips included in the credits prove anything. As for Brianna, she doesn't view Cloud as relationship material.

 

[Graymouse]

I also don't understand how the clips included in the credits prove anything.

I almost always get caught up on that one too. Noone as of yet has explained that to me properly. That scenes in the credits prove that they are canon.

 

[Cat on Mars]

I also don't understand how the clips included in the credits prove anything.

I almost always get caught up on that one too. Noone as of yet has explained that to me properly. That scenes in the credits prove that they are canon.

They aren't more "canon" than other scenes. It's a feeble attempt to argue that some scenes "matter more" than others.
Why someone would draw that conclusion is everyone's guess.

 

[Master Bates]

On the topic of VAs, was it Sakurai who voiced teenage Cloud in the Japanese? Or was it another VA?

Was Shrouded the actual originator of the interview or did he just post it on the CxA boards? I forget. It's been over a decade, I think.

Eh, I don't think we're allowed to talk about this here anymore, but in any case I'll just answer your question.

No, it wasn't Shroudy. It was a young woman (name withheld) who purported to have Japanese ancestry and was the Cleriths' primary Japanese 'translator' and source-expert on 'Japanese perspective' before Chibica (although Chibica never purported to be expert on anything JP; she was just translator). Shroudy's role was limited to posting the interview in the CxA message boards.

 

[Strangelove]

it's a different va for the teenage cloud (yukihiro aizawa). cloud, tifa, and aerith all have different vas for their younger versions

 

[Master Bates]

I see. Thanks. Just wanted to be sure.

Anyway, I don't think the subtle differences in tone between the dubs are solely attributable to the VAs and their skill. Methinks a lot of it also has to do with the voice direction. Was the English localisation also directed by the same direction team in JP? Or was it a different team, but with instructions from the JP team?

I just don't think it's fair to solely put the blame on the VAs because Cody, imo, is doing a good job for an amateur voice actor.

 

[MasterMoogle]

This is rude and uncalled for when I have done my best to be respectful and open-minded to everyone else’s points. I very specifically said that Zack will always be important to Aerith and conceded that Zerith may happen in the future of the remake even if SE has already stated before that Aerith loves Cloud more than Zack (in Dismantled even if we throw out Maiden as non-canon).

I won’t bother posting here anymore.

Thank you to everyone else who was incredibly nice and legitimately welcoming. You all made excellent points and have given me a better understanding of Cloti and the LTD in general.

@Cat on Mars Likes to have fun, that's all.

Anyways, Dismantled isn't canon either. In fact, I think it was written by the same person who wrote Maiden who Travels the Planet.

 

[Graymouse]

@Cat on Mars Likes to have fun, that's all.

Anyways, Dismantled isn't canon either. In fact, I think it was written by the same person who wrote Maiden who Travels the Planet.

I for some time was led to believe that those two stories were canon. I find it kinda disingenuous that those two stories are almost always brought up in blogs and tweets and other mediums to strengthen Cloud X Aerith relationship. Maybe that is why I was led to believe that they were canon.

 

[MasterMoogle]

Question: was the line where Aerith said: "gotta look forward, not back" in the OG?

 

[Eerie]

As for Brianna, she doesn't view Cloud as relationship material.

And she's right lol. He's too young in his head, that's why, people that young tend to not be relationship material - that's why people are teens before entering adult life. Cloud is trying so hard at being an adult, sometimes it's almost comical, especially at the beginning with Tifa when he talks about building savings and al, I was like "are you for real, Cloud? "

Edit: also for Cody's voice, as I said, it's not his fault. Someone directed him that way, which is strange because they had to view and copy the JP's VA, and clearly there is a change of direction in his case. But it's not his fault. When I say "they", I usually talk about the management at SE who chose to change that for the international release.

 

[Purple]

Anyway, I don't think the subtle differences in tone between the dubs are solely attributable to the VAs and their skill. Methinks a lot of it also has to do with the voice direction. Was the English localisation also directed by the same direction team in JP? Or was it a different team, but with instructions from the JP team?

From Cody’s interview about his VA gig for the remake

“Luckily, I already had a lot of substance to work with. Steve Burton did a phenomenal job in paving the way for this character and establishing nuances, tone, etc. So, I took a lot of inspiration from him, and on top of that I had a lot of guidance from an amazing team of directors and also the creative team from Square Enix in Japan.

“We had two translators so any question or any information they thought was necessary that aided to the story, I was provided with. So it was definitely a smooth transition from never working on a video game to being handed one of the most iconic characters in the last 20-25 years!”

https://www.fandom.com/articles/cody-christian-britt-baron-cloud-tifa

Sounds like even the JP team is involved in his performance. Either way, I think it will just boil down to preference at the end of the day.