I'd be fine with a difference in translation, what I was worried about was a situation similar to Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana's infamous initial translation. Any change like this will inevitably mean at least some difference in localization style, and while they've done much better in recent years - with games like Labyrinth of Refrain and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III receiving excellent translations - I must admit that I wasn't entirely unconvinced if those titles might've been exceptions, rather than a sign of true structural change. Needless to say, when it was revealed that NIS America, not Atlus West, would be helming the localization efforts for the new remake of the original title, I wasn't sure what to expect.
When Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth were released by Atlus West back in 2017, they set a new standard for localizations - shining a light on the excellent worldbuilding and character-driven stories that the series is all about. but at the same time, I was more than a little scared. So, when Prelude to the Fallen - a remake of the very first game - finally got announced, I was glad that there would finally be a more elegant solution for players getting into the series. While the anime was a good enough adaptation of the first game's story, the situation was nevertheless anything but ideal.
That being the case, fans had three options - to either play a fan translation of the 2002 PC original that very much read like a fan translation of the era, watch the 26 episode anime adaptation of the first game, or to just go into the series blind and risk confusing yourself. Although you can enjoy Mask of Deception well enough as your first entry in the series, the story is very much a trilogy - and Mask of Truth heavily relies on knowledge of the first game and its narrative. Now, before I played through Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth, I did have one problem - the same problem that many potential Utawarerumono fans have had to deal with for the past 3 years. Mechanics like Attack Chains and Zeal/Overzeal elevated the battle system and helped accentuate what was already an engaging RPG, and a fascinating story about war, nations, and the allegiances that bind them. Although I started playing them while I was in the middle of a Visual Novel binge, by the end of Mask of Truth, I was just as much in it for the Tactical RPG gameplay as I was in it for the story. When I played Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth last year, I was blindsided by just how much the games ended up enthralling me. Going into Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen, I was worried.