Sometimes that's true. But more often than not, Baskett changed them due to either faulty thinking (sword and item names being renamed so an English audience will "get it") or because he simply didn't know any better (such as "Bomb's Right Arm becoming "Right Arm").
There are too many examples of poor translation as opposed to localization choices. Nomura also places the names of enemies on his drawings, so he clearly has a decent grasp of English and certainly wanted them named that way. There's no doubt that some terms are from a lacking understanding of English, but it isn't for me or anyone else to start riding roughshod over their wishes. That's not the job of a localizer. Changing Stimulant to Hyper, or Gold Needle to Soft (for example), isn't good localization. It's simply unprofessional.
That's not counting the numerous mistakes, like Gighee (Ziggy).
I don't share the philosophy of most professional localizers like Alexander O Smith, or Baskett, or Woolsey. I don't think they have any right whatsoever to interfere with certain things unless they have permission directly from the writers. There's a point where a localizer can cross over from localizing to writing - and it shouldn't happen (Yes, I have also done this at times. In extreme cases). It's not their job to do that - no more than it is their job to change Midgardsormr to World Snake or Murasame to Village Rain. There is always a bit of grey area, but, for me, there is far too much liberty taking by professional localizers. It even happened with FFX - The Judge - Or, more correctly, Die Richter - becoming Penance. To name one thing.
We can all argue over Neck Hunter and Head Hunter - but I am fairly certain the original writer knows the difference between a neck and a head. I didn't consider it at all detrimental to use the one that the writer decided on. On the other hand, I did not use "Super Ultimate War God Supreme Slash" [Omnislash] or "What???" [Enigma]. I agree Head Hunter sounds better, but that's the exact point I am making here. "Sounds better" is not a good argument.
We HAVE localized. We've just done it on the side of caution and with respect to the writers as much as possible. We haven't got the philosophy "Anything goes". We also try to preserve cultural and mythological references as much as possible. That's the key difference.
Edit. Let me be clear: I am not saying we have no contradictions or that everything we've done is perfect. There isn't such a thing. But we've stuck to the philosophy I have just mentioned. In my opinion, that leads to far less contradictions and downright oddities that would otherwise creep in. The changing of Gold Needle to Soft is a great example of what can go wrong when you have a philosophy of playing god with someone else's work.
