I'm not fully aware of what fan arguments you guys are talking about. Forgive my ignorance, but would you mind explaining?

Just look around Dragon's den or read any of Dwaine(sp?)'s posts.

It's like the ocean group dub vs funimation, but dumber.

I'm kind of ashamed that I understand this.

All I care about is Dragon Quest doing better internationally.  I could play every Dragon Quest game via emulators, but I want it to actually be somewhat popular in America and Europe.  But its never going to have a fair shot as it is now.  DBZ got plenty popular, even with tons of editing to its scripts.  But it had one thing Dragon Quest didn't have.  Marketing.

Obviously the original Dragon Quest didn't do well so the people can debate about Eldrick or Loto name changes up the wazoo.  That was then, this is now.  They need to start fixing the localizations NOW and doing them right with each subsequent game.  They can't go back and fix the games of the past.  The people who want to argue about the games of the past being bad are just living in the past.  You should just reference the bad examples of the past to try to generate a better translation in the future.

And yes, these Dragon Quest games are being like the The Ocean Group/4kids dubs of the gaming world.

The only problem is finding a way to get these nitwits to get their act together and actually do their job. Didn't Satoru Iwata say that nintendo would help market DQ9 in the states?

While Nintendo may be helping them market DQIX, they're most likely not going to fix their localizations.  And Nintendo isn't exactly known for having 100% perfect localizations themselves.

The only thing anyone can really do is send them writen letters/e-mails telling them they're doing a bad job (in as nice of terms they can) and hope others are doing the same.  I'm going to be after I finish DQV pointing out a bunch of key points.  I mean, associating the Zenith Dragon with Ned Flanders and the endless bad puns/cultural references that show total ignorance to the cultures their referencing (Tutti Frutti! Tutti Frutti!).....this has to stop.

I still don't think that the localizations are the primary things stopping these games from selling.

Unless we're having two different conversations here. I am under the impression that you are saying the localizations are tied into the sales.

I've been saying throughout this tread that the two biggest deterrents to Dragon Quest doing well internationally is a lack of marketing and a clear distain for upholding the quality of the creators vision and the original product (its localization).  Both have to be followed.  Its not one or the other.  If you do a ton of marketing but have a horrible localization, you will just get a bunch of short term profits, but no long term fanbase.

Think of it this way: would a modern RPG with a script of the first FF's calibur be appealing to anyone?

The reason any bad translation is harked on is because it lowers the enjoyment of the game on two levels: 1, simply reading and taking in information and 2, actually bonding with the protagonists and imersing yourself with in the games fictional world. An RPG character is supposed to be an appealing, relatable character who you form a kinship with, not a 2 dimensional fool whose only distinction is that he has a scottish or spanish accent. And where have you actually seen anyone write something with a dialect?!

All right, then, given this, what kind of translation would be most conducive to improved sales? What kind of voice do the Dragon Quest games have that isn't being communicated?