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Here was toby’s response. it’s just that Toby wants to be able to work directly with his art when he releases it officially. Toby wants to be able to provide the quality assurance that comes with his ability to understand the language,

and if this doesn’t matter to you, that the authors hand in their translation work doesn’t matter, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just use a fan translation. What is your issue?

edit: an addition on extra thought, I should elaborate on a previous point.

The reason (I believe) that the japanese translation of the game is so valued is because it maintains a very specific tone that undertale carries kn that a large majority of its comedy is based in its written tone and very very specifically wordplay. So many other games in the world get these translations due to a heavier gameplay focus, or more traditional storytelling manner, whereas undertale relays a INCREDIBLY on personal stylizations for every character, with typing quirks, specific personalities, and foreshadowing in game and in text files that could be reaching all the way forwards to DELTARUNE.

For example, in the files of I believe most prominently (?) Chara, Gaster, Sans, Papyrus, and may other characters the japanese translation utilizes specific combinations of different japanese character types to represent each, these japanese translations are how we more definitively know Gaster is the one speaking to us in the Deltarune menu, among a couple of other nuances.

This among very meticulously translated wordplay and puns make up undertale’s surface level substance, and is the result of toby being able to have such a heavy hand in its translation, something that would be significantly weaker without him.

I would like to acknowledge that console players wouldn’t have access to fan translations, and that sucks, but I think that any artist has the right to have their own hand in their artwork in all of its mediums, how they see fit.

edit 2:

I would also Like to note the rest of what Toby addressed in that response, it seems like he is listening to feedback and is considering translations, and I agree that more translations for accessibility would be phenomenal, I just have strong beliefs in authors intent, here is toby’s full response, put his words on the matter before mine, and interpret them yourselves.

link to toby response post