diff --git a/src/main/java/net/minecraftforge/fml/ForgeI18n.java b/src/main/java/net/minecraftforge/fml/ForgeI18n.java
index fa44543a24..58de941e76 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/minecraftforge/fml/ForgeI18n.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/minecraftforge/fml/ForgeI18n.java
@@ -88,7 +88,12 @@ public class ForgeI18n {
 
     public static String parseMessage(final String i18nMessage, Object... args) {
         final String pattern = getPattern(i18nMessage);
-        return parseFormat(pattern, args);
+        try {
+            return parseFormat(pattern, args);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            LOGGER.error("Illegal format found {}", pattern, e);
+            return pattern;
+        }
     }
 
     public static String parseFormat(final String format, final Object... args) {