dtgreene: If you *really* want to play the game as it was originally meant to be played, you need to play it in the original language, as some things can't be translated losslessly. Unfortunately, this may involve actually learning the language the game was originally written in, but it is sometimes the only way to appreciate things like wordplay and puns, not to mention language-based puzzles.
Here's an example of something that doesn't translate smoothly: In SaGa 1, there is a mysterious man who appears at a few places in the tower. In the Japanese version, this man (unlike the rest of the townspeople) speaks to you in formal language. In the English version (Final Fantasy Legend), however, this nuance is lost.
Another example from the same game: There is a shrimp enemy called "Ebiru", I believe, which means "evil". It just so happens that "Ebi" means "shrimp". This sort of thing just does not translate well.
There are other factors, like the fact that in informal Japanese, men and women use different words; even the word for "I" is different.
Incidentally, this sort of thing is one of the arguments I have that region locking is bad: Some people actually want to play the game in the original language rather than a translated version.
Yes, that is a good point and this won't happen. It's extremely unlikely I will learn japanese. Therefore what I need is a close enough translation without any deliberate detour and censorship additionally built in.
Some things are always lost when translating but by deliberately wrongly translating (for example changing numbers of years in an age) one can lose even more. That's what I don't like.
For your first example I don't understand why the formal language part is lost in the translation? One can express formal language, yes Sir one can, in English, can one not?
So why I think that an untranslated version surely is always superior I cannot and very likely will not learn a lot of new languages. A really good English (or German) translation is therefore all I desire.