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Anyone who speaks more than one language will understand that humor can be difficult to translate because what is considered Tibia coins funny in one culture may not make sense to another.
According to Smith, there can only be so many jokes about fermented soy beans, but he noted that the humor should stay, and that he would sometimes have to step back and let the characters personalities shine through. He also pointed out that whenever he had the opportunity, he would consume as much pop culture as possible.
Cultures differ even among groups of gamers. What gamers expect from their interaction with non-player characters differs between the Japanese and Western audience. Reeder talked about how Japanese games don't try to cover up the fact that they're about to give the player useful information.
An example he gave was the text, "Hey Vaan, this is a chocobo." Reeder and Smith would instead find a way to weave the important game-play mechanics or instructions into the dialogue, without it being jarring and interrupting the immersion.
Smith also noted that "translation should fulfill the potential of the target language." He went on to talk about how they had to rebuild the world of Final Fantasy XII and find something that would make sense to the American audience.