Hello! I believe this is my first time posting here -- and if this isn't the right place for this topic, please forgive me.
I have been debating this for months now, possibly almost a year (around the time I started playing FFXIV.) I am a lover of many final fantasy titles, and something that always bothered me was the name of spells in XIV. Of course, I'm referring to 'Blizzard II' instead of 'Blizzara'. I'm aware this has been brought up before. I'm also aware that '-ra' and '-ga' were not always a part of the spell names. This is a more recent development, and that the numbers system was used for convenience.Â
However, I would like to point out that I really don't think any of the points I read as to what brought the localization team to this decision make any lick of sense.
(Yes, I'm aware it doesn't matter, that I could continue on my life and 'get over it' but this is important to me, and I want to know if it's important to you, too.)
I'd like to petition square enix to change the spell names back to the original incarnation that the german and japanese versions use. I know this would be a massive, abrupt change that would throw more than a handful of players for a loop, but hear me out.
I read the full summation of their logic behind the decision in this post.Â
Many of their points stood out and, again, I feel they made no sense.
I'll quote a few in question.
For one thing, Fire II/Fira does not grant 2 stacks of astral fire??? and if i'm reading this right, the entire explanation was leading up to that. I'm not sure if fire 2 granted 2 stacks earlier on in development, but if it HAS changed, then so must their reasoning. "Keep it so as to avoid confusion of abrupt change" is a valid reason, I admit, but I still firmly believe that I would prefer seeing the change happen now, than never.
I felt their reasoning for Materia specifically was sound enough. If I were to petition them to change spell names, I feel like keeping Materia I, II, III, is a welcome change. It is much more clear, and easier to identify this way.
My reasoning for that is that spells are named after the order they are obtained. Fire is obtained before Fira, Blizzara is obtained before Blizzaga. This is clear with both this version, and the numbers. Because of how different each spell is, logically, it doesn't really matter either way what the spell is called. But it's different with items.
Yes, theoretically speaking you will first be obtaining Materia I, before obtaining Materia II. But this can't really be applied practically, as many players go all the way until level 50 without bothering with materia in the slightest -- and even then, many continue to ignore it. It's less 'chronological' and more assuming what the player will be exposed to in what order.
Spells, on the other hand, are always going to be obtained in the exact order that they are set in the class.
Another point I feel is strange, is this:Â
Bear what burden? It virtually makes no difference remembering that Fira is an AoE and Fire is not. Most players will read the spell once or twice, and memorize it by its icon on the hotbar. This is the *primary* way for players to recognize their skills, and thus their logic is moot.
I understand that many people feel that BECAUSE it makes no difference, that we shouldn't bother with it.
but that is my logic exactly. It makes no difference, sans I genuinely, honestly would feel happier honoring the legacy of final fantasy and its spell names. Final Fantasy XIV deviates a LOT from some of the more traditional 'quirks' of older titles, and at some points? It honestly doesn't feel like a final fantasy. (unable to use items on allies, elemental weaknesses and exploiting them couldn't be less relevant to gameplay, strategies focusing almost entirely on positioning most of the time) and I feel like this change would breathe back a little bit of familiar nostalgia into the game. I sincerely would be happier seeing Cure, Cura, and Curaga on my bar and be reminded that I am indeed playing an online final fantasy title. Final fantasy is rarely defined by its core values -- it is defined by the details, and that is how it's always been IMO.
Not to mention, it is bloody awkward saying "Ah yes, he cast Blizzard II and froze my feet to the ground." In character. "He cast Blizzara and froze my feet" sounds.. much more natural, to me. This is an incredibly minor point as I know Square Enix's main focus isn't to cater to roleplayers, so I didn't feel it warranted significant mention.
But, yes. Those are a few reasons of why I feel like petitioning them to change the spell names to the original japanese versions would be a fun, refreshing change to the game. It's small enough that it wouldn't be a burden on the localization team -- but a big enough change that it would genuinely delight me, and hopefully many others whom miss this traditional feel.
I understand that this was brought up long ago, and no change was made and thus one might see this as a futile effort, but I want to try anyway. Our community has grown so much bigger, and there *has* to be some more people that want this than there used to be. I know this.
With that said; do you support this? Would you actively want to contribute to asking square enix to bring back legacy terminology?
I have been debating this for months now, possibly almost a year (around the time I started playing FFXIV.) I am a lover of many final fantasy titles, and something that always bothered me was the name of spells in XIV. Of course, I'm referring to 'Blizzard II' instead of 'Blizzara'. I'm aware this has been brought up before. I'm also aware that '-ra' and '-ga' were not always a part of the spell names. This is a more recent development, and that the numbers system was used for convenience.Â
However, I would like to point out that I really don't think any of the points I read as to what brought the localization team to this decision make any lick of sense.
(Yes, I'm aware it doesn't matter, that I could continue on my life and 'get over it' but this is important to me, and I want to know if it's important to you, too.)
I'd like to petition square enix to change the spell names back to the original incarnation that the german and japanese versions use. I know this would be a massive, abrupt change that would throw more than a handful of players for a loop, but hear me out.
I read the full summation of their logic behind the decision in this post.Â
Many of their points stood out and, again, I feel they made no sense.
I'll quote a few in question.
Quote:Take for example Cure and Blizzard.
Cure and Cure II both heal single targets, whereas Cure III is an AoE spell.
On the other hand, while Blizzard is a single target spell, it is Blizzard II, not Blizzard III that has the AoE effect. Not to mention, none of the Thunder spells (I, II, or III) have AoE effects at all.
Instead of having a system where ‘ga’ suffix is always going to mean AoE, it just means “learned third in order.â€
We also noticed that with the thaumaturge action system, casting Blizzard or Fire stacks what is called ‘umbral ice’ or ‘umbral fire’.
Casting Fire I grants 1 umbral fire
Casting Fire II grants 2 umbral fires
Casting Fire III grants 3 umbral fires
Seeing this, we agreed that I, II, III corresponding to 1, 2, 3 was, in a way, slightly more intuitive than -, -ra, -ga corresponding to 1, 2, 3.
For one thing, Fire II/Fira does not grant 2 stacks of astral fire??? and if i'm reading this right, the entire explanation was leading up to that. I'm not sure if fire 2 granted 2 stacks earlier on in development, but if it HAS changed, then so must their reasoning. "Keep it so as to avoid confusion of abrupt change" is a valid reason, I admit, but I still firmly believe that I would prefer seeing the change happen now, than never.
I felt their reasoning for Materia specifically was sound enough. If I were to petition them to change spell names, I feel like keeping Materia I, II, III, is a welcome change. It is much more clear, and easier to identify this way.
My reasoning for that is that spells are named after the order they are obtained. Fire is obtained before Fira, Blizzara is obtained before Blizzaga. This is clear with both this version, and the numbers. Because of how different each spell is, logically, it doesn't really matter either way what the spell is called. But it's different with items.
Yes, theoretically speaking you will first be obtaining Materia I, before obtaining Materia II. But this can't really be applied practically, as many players go all the way until level 50 without bothering with materia in the slightest -- and even then, many continue to ignore it. It's less 'chronological' and more assuming what the player will be exposed to in what order.
Spells, on the other hand, are always going to be obtained in the exact order that they are set in the class.
Another point I feel is strange, is this:Â
Quote:Again, this is not the only reason, but even with a Schrodinger’s box filled with reasons, I’m sure that over hours and hours of play, everyone would sooner or later remember all the combinations. However, the way we saw it was, why try to make everyone bear that burden for the sole purpose of bearing it? If there was a simpler way to make everything line up, why not introduce that?
Bear what burden? It virtually makes no difference remembering that Fira is an AoE and Fire is not. Most players will read the spell once or twice, and memorize it by its icon on the hotbar. This is the *primary* way for players to recognize their skills, and thus their logic is moot.
I understand that many people feel that BECAUSE it makes no difference, that we shouldn't bother with it.
but that is my logic exactly. It makes no difference, sans I genuinely, honestly would feel happier honoring the legacy of final fantasy and its spell names. Final Fantasy XIV deviates a LOT from some of the more traditional 'quirks' of older titles, and at some points? It honestly doesn't feel like a final fantasy. (unable to use items on allies, elemental weaknesses and exploiting them couldn't be less relevant to gameplay, strategies focusing almost entirely on positioning most of the time) and I feel like this change would breathe back a little bit of familiar nostalgia into the game. I sincerely would be happier seeing Cure, Cura, and Curaga on my bar and be reminded that I am indeed playing an online final fantasy title. Final fantasy is rarely defined by its core values -- it is defined by the details, and that is how it's always been IMO.
Not to mention, it is bloody awkward saying "Ah yes, he cast Blizzard II and froze my feet to the ground." In character. "He cast Blizzara and froze my feet" sounds.. much more natural, to me. This is an incredibly minor point as I know Square Enix's main focus isn't to cater to roleplayers, so I didn't feel it warranted significant mention.
But, yes. Those are a few reasons of why I feel like petitioning them to change the spell names to the original japanese versions would be a fun, refreshing change to the game. It's small enough that it wouldn't be a burden on the localization team -- but a big enough change that it would genuinely delight me, and hopefully many others whom miss this traditional feel.
I understand that this was brought up long ago, and no change was made and thus one might see this as a futile effort, but I want to try anyway. Our community has grown so much bigger, and there *has* to be some more people that want this than there used to be. I know this.
With that said; do you support this? Would you actively want to contribute to asking square enix to bring back legacy terminology?
![[Image: tumblr_ntvop2500w1tefln4o1_540.png]](https://40.media.tumblr.com/a5345c8e8730c3e0d216edb3dc5e86dc/tumblr_ntvop2500w1tefln4o1_540.png)
![[Image: pQEVynb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/pQEVynb.png)
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
![[Image: tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png]](https://68.media.tumblr.com/80be4033cdf57fb6268473ef9ce37db6/tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png)
![[Image: IvpjiCs.png]](http://i.imgur.com/IvpjiCs.png)
So, there's a set of older players who remember fondly the days of Cure4, Fire3, Bolt 2, and so on from FF6 and earlier.
