PS names - which do you prefer?

What do you all think of the changing of names SEGA decided to go with? For instance, Rune's real name was Thray, Alys' real name Lyla. I had no clue about the name-changing until I checked out the compendium.

So, do you prefer the original names for some, or do you mostly prefer the changed names?

I honestly couldn't imagine Rune and Alys as Thray and Lyla, but that's just me.

PSI: I dunno why, but I prefer Alisa, Tairon, and Lutz over Alis, Odin, and Noah. Well, Lutz over Noah because it's more consistent with PSII/IV, and Alisa over Alis because it seems like a more complete name to me. (Myau's still Myau in Japanese, I think.)

PSII: Rolf, Rudolph/Rudo, Amy, Hugh, Anna, Kain, and Shir are my preferred names, but I guarantee you the more PSII stories I write, the more references to the Japanese names (Eushys, Rudger/Rudy, Anne, Huey, Amia, Kainz, and Shilka/Shiruka) will show up. Rolf's last name is Eushys, Shir's parents call her Shiruka, Anna's going to start calling Rudo Rudy, and oh god Thoul put the chair down ow ow

PSIV: I prefer the US names (Chaz &c.) over the Japanese names with one exception- Chaz's last name. I use "Ashleigh" (the Japanese) over "Ashley" (the US) because it reads better for me. That, and I know it irks Trenz. ^_^

PSIII: The US names. Then again, I don't know too much about the Japanese names, or the non-Sean branches of the game. ^_^;

I actually prefer the US names, in general. Part of the reason is just that I've played the US versions and that's all I know the characters by; another part of the reason is that I just have the tendency to stick with the US names over the JP ones; and the last reason is that I think that the US names, in general, sound cooler than the JP ones. ^_^''

I generally prefer the US names as well, because that is what I've played and those are the characters I know. I played a game that had people called Rune and Rika in it, not Thray or Fal, ya know? Noah is the one case where I reverse this, mainly because I played PSIV years before PSI, so that character was introduced to me as Lutz instead of Noah.

Alisa instead of Alis is another I can accept without much trouble as well, thanks to playing PSIII first and the very small difference between those versions. Arisa is too much, though.

Another reason I tend to stick to the US names is that the Japan versions can be translated into so many different versions. Take for instance some used in the Phantasy Star Collection book: Alicer, Myaw, Tylon, Rile, Myew, and Yousis. It's too much to keep track of all the different name versions.

That makes sense about Rune since the name to his theme song is called 'Thray'.

I generally prefer the US names only due to the fact that's what I've been subjected to. Lutz/Noah...well I accept that Lutz is the actual name and not Noah but that's the only real exception to the names.

US names...for basically all the same reasons as everyone mentioned. But I can accept Lutz...also for the same reasons.

I agree with what everyone has said, basically. The one thing that confused me as a kid was the Noah/Lutz error; it would have been nice for Noah to have been Lutz in PS I, but then there's those "theories" I've read claiming Noah and Lutz are not the same...

I don't really take those "theories" that Noah and Lutz are 2 different Espers. That's more of the fan's trying to create canon instead of accepting the fact someone over here goofed in translating. If anything you could just say Lutz was using Noah as a nickname with no rhyme or reason to it.

another blame it on SegaUSA quirk
i swear if SegaUSA tried to sabotge SegaJ they couldnt have done a better job then they already did.

but yea, after all these years i prefer the English names.

Speaking in terms of PSIV, I definitely prefer the US names because it's what I'm used to after all these years.