Granblue_en: Certain characters’ names are different between the Japanese and English version of the game. What is your reasoning behind the changes?

Cygames: We believe the best kind of localization is when the audience doesn’t feel like something’s been localized, as that realization can hinder their experience in enjoying the content. This is something we constantly keep in mind as a company that strives to provide the best experience through our products and services.

When our Japanese writers come up with names, one of the things they consider is the impression the sound of the name gives. Although this can be subjective to some extent, it’s also something largely dependent on the player’s personal linguistic knowledge and cultural background.

A name that gives a certain impression to someone proficient in one language might give a totally different impression to someone more acquainted with another language. As much as we respect the original writer’s intentions, keeping a name the same can end up delivering a different idea than what was originally intended to those unfamiliar with the source language.

The English version of Granblue Fantasy has been blessed with a very diverse audience. Each player has a different understanding of Japanese language and culture, and it is our intention to make the game experience enjoyable for as many people as possible through our style of localization. Of course, if you like a character’s name in its original Japanese, that’s great too!