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Originally Posted by SilverSyko
So you think they're insulting your intelligence huh? Maybe it's not you they're putting into consideration when changing the names but those who don't have any knowledge of the game and it's origins prior to purchasing it. There's always a possibility, even if it's very small, that someone outside the niche target audience will give the game a try.
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There is a drastic difference in changing the name for the hell of it and changing the names in order to get the point across.
That being said, Arfoire is no better than Maqiquone, because even saying out of loud doesn't always make sense either (be it english native or not). In fact, only those who know what's a flashcard/R4 would catch the reference, so I don't particularly think it is worse or better albeit a tad unecessary.
Some other changes are however a tad more questionable than that, and it is actually not better than change characters names like Kasumi and Shin into Ashley and Casey (gross exaggeration notwithstanding).
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Aaaaaaand? The gluttonous aspect of Neptune's character is not what makes up her core personality. That belongs to her air-headedness and genki-ness which is sufficiently expressed in the localization already. CFW Trick's pedophilic tendencies get across to the audience that he's a lolicon too, so I still don't see the problem.
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I disagree: when you actually translate/localize a fiction, you have to bring the points that should be understood by the audience, without putting your own perspective in it.
Neptune's gluttony actually came out of thin air and makes some actions a bit more "inconsiderate" when the english text indicate more often than necessary that she is hungry. It becomes a little crass when you have mentions like "whoa, I almost crapped my pants!" instead of a plain "whoa, you surprised me!".
Such kind of altered lines change how the character is perceived on the long run, leading to very different result at some point.
For instance, "US" Neptune sounds actually more flanderized and unable to read the mood than the original game.
Also, no Trick is quite different: in the US, he is basically a huge molester who would love to "eat" little girls.
The jp version actually makes him -worship- little girls and go to extreme measures to protect them (licking parts are gross, but actually "heal" Rom and Ram for instance).
A lot of instances actually make Trick actions nearly the complete opposite to what it was supposed to do. So the "message" of him being a lolicon is "sort" of the same, but the nature and magnitude of it are severely different.
And this is already emerging from what I can see (changing IH's "they are all mine!" into "they are my pets").