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The JRPG Days are not over yet!
You've been playing Zwei: The Arges Adventure and Legrand Legacy: Tale of the Fatebounds while snagging genre classics on the cheap from our jRPG Days sale. Now it's time to take a look behind the scenes: team leader Ken Berry and localization producer Thomas Lipschultz have taken some time to chat with us about how XSEED handles the release and localization of their beloved JRPG series.
The interview is broken down into two parts, for convenience. Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow, January 30.

So, let's start with a quick year in review – from your professional point of view, has 2017 been good to Japanese games in the West?

Ken: Yes, I would say that 2017 has been a very good year for Japanese games in the West. The obvious big winner is Nintendo with their extremely successful launch of the Switch, as I remember some Japanese executives being concerned whether the idea of one machine being both a home console and a portable machine could succeed in North America where public transportation is not nearly as prevalent as Japan.
The PC platform also continues to get more support from the Japanese gaming industry. Not only are you seeing more instances of simultaneous PC launches with the console release, but they seem to be gradually accepting the idea of DRM-free on PC as well, which had always been a huge challenge in the past because they would often mistakenly equate “DRM-free” to “free.”

A lot can be said about different sensibilities in Japan vs. the West. In the past year, maybe more than ever, sexuality, sexualization, and consent, are talked about in mainstream Western culture – taboos are being broken and lines being drawn. Has this had an impact on your approach and your work?

Tom: As a company, I think it’s definitely made us stop and take stock of a game’s content a lot earlier in the process than ever before, so we know well in advance whether there will be any potentially problematic content, and can prepare ourselves to deal with that content as production ramps up.
For me specifically, it’s been kind of an inner struggle, as I think a lot of people are aware that I have a personal zero-tolerance policy for censorship in video games, along with a fairly broad definition of what constitutes censorship (for me, it consists of any content changes made not out of legal or contractual necessity, but solely in an attempt to avoid offending or upsetting members of the target audience). Despite this, I do fully understand that from a business standpoint – and even from a moral standpoint – it’s always best to avoid upsetting your fans, because obviously, an upset fan is not going to remain a fan for very long, and signing off on upsetting or troublesome language or imagery is never something anyone wants to do!
The problem I have, though, is that I truly do consider video games – ALL video games – to be art, and just as it wouldn’t feel right to me if someone painted over offensive material in a painting, edited out offensive material in a book, or cut offensive material from a film, I don’t want to see anyone (least of all us) editing out offensive material in games. My thought is, if it’s that offensive, then we probably shouldn’t be releasing the game at all – though that’s obviously not always a realistic option.
Recently, however, with all the news that’s come out about systemic sexual harassment and abuse in Hollywood and elsewhere, as well as the issues being faced by the LGBTQ community in this modern political climate, it’s become much harder to justify maintaining a zero-tolerance approach – and with a lot of Japanese games starting to really push the boundaries of “good taste” more and more, the looming threat of censorship has become much larger and more imposing than ever, and certainly more of a beast to fight on multiple levels. And it’s really not a battle I WANT to fight – I’d rather just localize games that everybody can enjoy!
I still hold firm in my belief, however, that if we want video games to be classified as an art form on par with books, films, and paintings, we need to maintain zero tolerance for censorship in localization, no matter how offensive the content we’re localizing may be. And if there’s any positive to be gained by doing so, it’s that the presence of offensive content in localized titles will spark much-needed discussion about those topics, and hopefully lead to a dialogue on the state of the industry in Japan, possibly even resulting in creators being a little more cognizant of people outside their tight-knit circle of acquaintances when designing new titles from here on out.
But for the immediate future, I believe content alteration will occur a little more often in the West than it has before (hopefully not by us, but regrettably, that isn’t outside the realm of possibility!), while little else will change for the industry overseas. My solace lies in the thought that we’ll just keep getting more games like the Zwei titles to work on: superb examples of classic action JRPG design with content that’s often snarky and a little mischievous, but never crosses the line into offensive territory, and thus isn’t at any risk of being toned down in localization. Those remain a joy to work on, and the more games of that sort I’m given, the less worried I’ll be about censorship moving forward.

The titles. We need to talk about the game titles...
What is it that makes Japanese naming conventions so different? How do you approach localizing a game's title, and what does it take to make it work in the West?


Tom: I don’t think most Japanese naming conventions are all that different, honestly, save for the fact that they’re usually much longer than the names we tend to see here (with subtitles on top of subtitles, e.g. “Corpse Party: BloodCovered: …Repeated Fear”). Which, I believe, is mostly attributable to some general differences in the way games are advertised in Japan, with more text meaning a bigger poster on the wall and more space allotted to discuss the game in print… not to mention the ability to strike a pose and rattle off a long name, looking and sounding kind of dorkily awesome in the process!
In the Western world, though, we’re definitely all about succinct naming: something short and to the point, that rolls off the tongue, with one or two words being the ideal. Especially if it’s unique enough to be Googlable! We want the name to be easy to remember so that prospective fans can always find information on it at a moment’s notice, even if they haven’t heard anyone talking about the game for quite some time.
I assume you’re speaking more in terms of translations, though (“Sen no Kiseki” → “Trails of Cold Steel”), as well as the rare addition of subtitles (“Zwei!!” → “Zwei: The Arges Adventure”). In the former case, the goal is to come up with something that remains relatively true to the original Japanese but still sounds snappy and natural in English, with bonus points for picking a name that perfectly fits the tone and content of the game (as “Trails of Cold Steel” most definitely does).
And in the latter case, we were really just trying to avoid drawing attention to the fact that we were releasing “Zwei II” before “Zwei” – a luxury afforded us by the fact that the two games tell standalone stories, and necessitated by the fact that Zwei II was finished and ready for release quite a bit sooner. We considered numerous possible subtitles for both games, but ultimately chose “The Ilvard Insurrection” for Zwei II because… well, it preserved the acronym, “Zwei:II”!
We attempted something similar with the first game, but despite our best attempts, we couldn’t come up with any viable names that would form the acronyms ONE, EINS, or even WAN, nor any single-word subtitles beginning with the letter I. We settled on AA to preserve the double lettering of Ilvard Insurrection, and because A is the first letter of the alphabet… and also because the first Zwei is a pretty tough game, so we anticipated a lot of people would be saying “AAAAAA” when playing it!
Post edited January 29, 2018 by maladr0Id
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amok: going on about this, just stresses even more that you did not get a single word of what I said, nor what the Wikipedia page said. until you do (I doubt it), this is pointless.
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kohlrak: Ah, yes, the victim returns. I'm going to take the bull by the horns and say, yes, i'm stressed, too. Who cares? You're denying a demographic that fits a definition, meanwhile slowly starting to appear to be a part of said demographic. Please, tell me this isn't so, because while it is funny to some, i've heard this joke so many times it's getting to be a bit dull.
victim? I'm kind off saying LootHunter don't get it, I would not go so far as to call him a victim.

Anyway, I am not saying those people do not exist, I am saying that the labels ("social justice" / SJW) are made by the opposition and it is in fact not what they stand for. Also, this is a marginal and extreme group with very little influence.

ask your self this - at what point did Sarkessian identify herself as an SJW? If she did not do it - who did?
Post edited February 15, 2018 by amok
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kohlrak: Ah, yes, the victim returns. I'm going to take the bull by the horns and say, yes, i'm stressed, too. Who cares? You're denying a demographic that fits a definition, meanwhile slowly starting to appear to be a part of said demographic. Please, tell me this isn't so, because while it is funny to some, i've heard this joke so many times it's getting to be a bit dull.
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amok: victim? I'm kind off saying LootHunter don't get it, I would not go so far as to call him a victim.

Anyway, I am not saying those people do not exist, I am saying that the labels ("social justice" / SJW) are made by the opposition and it is in fact not what they stand for. Also, this is a marginal and extreme group with very little influence.

ask your self this - at what point did Sarkessian identify herself as an SJW? If she did not do it - who did?
I'm saying you're priming yourself to be a victim, by saying you're stressed and we choose to continue to press you. I'm just trying to call it out so it doesn't happen, or if it does, the writing's on the wall.

Anyway, regarding Sarkeesian, I didn't make that argument. I think she's flipped her lid, but, then again, I have my own category for that one, and, naturally, it's one of my own choosing, not hers. Frankly, I don't think she represents much of anyone.
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amok: victim? I'm kind off saying LootHunter don't get it, I would not go so far as to call him a victim.

Anyway, I am not saying those people do not exist, I am saying that the labels ("social justice" / SJW) are made by the opposition and it is in fact not what they stand for. Also, this is a marginal and extreme group with very little influence.

ask your self this - at what point did Sarkessian identify herself as an SJW? If she did not do it - who did?
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kohlrak: I'm saying you're priming yourself to be a victim, by saying you're stressed and we choose to continue to press you. I'm just trying to call it out so it doesn't happen, or if it does, the writing's on the wall.

Anyway, regarding Sarkeesian, I didn't make that argument. I think she's flipped her lid, but, then again, I have my own category for that one, and, naturally, it's one of my own choosing, not hers. Frankly, I don't think she represents much of anyone.
stress
verb
gerund or present participle: stressing
1.
give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing.

*sigh* I am not stressed... I made an emphasis...
Post edited February 15, 2018 by amok
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kohlrak: I'm saying you're priming yourself to be a victim, by saying you're stressed and we choose to continue to press you. I'm just trying to call it out so it doesn't happen, or if it does, the writing's on the wall.

Anyway, regarding Sarkeesian, I didn't make that argument. I think she's flipped her lid, but, then again, I have my own category for that one, and, naturally, it's one of my own choosing, not hers. Frankly, I don't think she represents much of anyone.
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amok: stress
verb
gerund or present participle: stressing
1.
give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing.
Congratulations.
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amok: stress
verb
gerund or present participle: stressing
1.
give particular emphasis or importance to (a point, statement, or idea) made in speech or writing.
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kohlrak: Congratulations.
I don't understand this - what part of that sentence, grammatically or syntactically, made you think I was stressed? is it something Americanized English i need to look out for? or don't you use this term?
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dtgreene: Her reaction to Edgar hitting on her, and in particular, her thoughts afterwords (presented as dialog when nobody else is around IIRC, much like a soliloquy).
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kohlrak: Could you be more specific? It's been a few months, so i don't remember it off hand. I don't recall anything glaringly standing out that suggests anything more than "I don't care, because we're totally screwed." Since you're making the claim, i'll leave you to back it up.
Fortunately, this part of the dialog is not skipped in speedruns, so I can quote it. (This happens after Terra meets Edgar for the first time, and Edgar hits on her.) (Quote from the US SNES version.)

Hmm...I suppose a normal girl would have found him dashing.
But I'm hardly...normal...

Hmm...I suppose a normal girl would have found him dashing.
But I'm hardly...normal...
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dtgreene:
I don't know the context, but such (inner) dialog doesn't necessarily implly that she is lesbian. Maybe she is not normal in some other way and thus wants not normal guy.
Post edited February 15, 2018 by LootHunter
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LootHunter: I don't know the context, but such (inner) dialog doesn't necessarily implly that she is lesbian. Maybe she is not normal in some other way and thus wants not normal guy.
I never claimed that Terra is a lesbian; I claimed that she is asexual, that is, not experiencing sexual attraction at all. There is a difference.

(Also, when pressing "reply", the quote tags were messed up.)
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kohlrak: Could you be more specific? It's been a few months, so i don't remember it off hand. I don't recall anything glaringly standing out that suggests anything more than "I don't care, because we're totally screwed." Since you're making the claim, i'll leave you to back it up.
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dtgreene: Fortunately, this part of the dialog is not skipped in speedruns, so I can quote it. (This happens after Terra meets Edgar for the first time, and Edgar hits on her.) (Quote from the US SNES version.)

Hmm...I suppose a normal girl would have found him dashing.
But I'm hardly...normal...
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dtgreene:
Spoiler warning below!!

Ah, yes, I remember that line. The most reasonable interpretation for this is, she's not human. She's half-human, half-esper. She's far from normal. You could say she's asexual, lesbian, or anything else, but the pink elephant in the room is that she's not entirely human. There's no reason to look any deeper into that statement.

EDIT: And let's not forget she's also the catalyst for the destruction of the world. Frankly, she's been an unintentionally very, very bad girl. She probably feels that getting tied to Edgar would just add to the problems. And, being so important, she could also very well be saying that she doesn't feel he's good enough for her, which would be a real bitch statement, but, given all that has happened, I really don't expect her character to be above that.

EDIT2: It could also be seen as a reference to the fact that she knows him and doesn't respect him being a playboy.

EDIT3: it's also important to note that she's easily the most apathetic character in the game, except when it comes to the children. I did see a potential ship, but i forget who it would've been (maybe Locke, but i think that'd be too stereotypical for this atypical FF game).
Post edited February 15, 2018 by kohlrak
I hate Censorship I feel that games these days are overly toned down and overblown with Censorship because of SJW and Radical Feminist types and in Australia we have a whole board called the Australian Classification (Censorship) Board filled to the brim with SJW and Radical Feminist types and men and women that appear old enough to be my grandparents, and I'm nearly 35!

The Nanny state is Hyper Indentured over here worse then Sweden even

Here:

Australia the nanny COUNTRY of the world

1.) Freedoms increasingly restricted in Australia with a thicket of regulations
2.) Latest ban forbids smoking outside in many public areas of Queensland (And the rest of Australia)
3.) Authorities imposing rules on leisure activities as well as traditional 'vices'
4.) Drinkers cannot access bars or pubs after 10pm in central Sydney
5.) Even e-cigarettes are banned at railway station in anti-tobacco clampdown
6.) Owners fined if dogs are not on a lead - and cyclists for not having a bell
7.) Senator has set up parliamentary inquiry to investigate the 'fun police'

From cyclists being fined for not having a bell, to getting a drink after 10pm or hosting a 'barbie' (BBQ) for more than twenty people on the beach - it's all banned.

CHILDREN CAN'T PLAY ON A GROWING NUMBER OF FOOTBALL FIELDS IN PUBLIC PARKS WITHOUT A PERMIT, you can’t smoke even an e-cigarette on a railway station - let alone a real cigarette - or at a cafe’s pavement table.
Post edited February 15, 2018 by fr33kSh0w2012
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fr33kSh0w2012: I hate Censorship I feel that games these days are overly toned down and overblown with Censorship because of SJW and Radical Feminist types and in Australia we have a whole board called the Australian Classification (Censorship) Board filled to the brim with SJW and Radical Feminist types and men and women that appear old enough to be my grandparents, and I'm nearly 35!

The Nanny state is Hyper Indentured over here worse then Sweden even

Here:

Australia the nanny COUNTRY of the world

1.) Freedoms increasingly restricted in Australia with a thicket of regulations
2.) Latest ban forbids smoking outside in many public areas of Queensland (And the rest of Australia)
3.) Authorities imposing rules on leisure activities as well as traditional 'vices'
4.) Drinkers cannot access bars or pubs after 10pm in central Sydney
5.) Even e-cigarettes are banned at railway station in anti-tobacco clampdown
6.) Owners fined if dogs are not on a lead - and cyclists for not having a bell
7.) Senator has set up parliamentary inquiry to investigate the 'fun police'

From cyclists being fined for not having a bell, to getting a drink after 10pm or hosting a 'barbie' (BBQ) for more than twenty people on the beach - it's all banned.

CHILDREN CAN'T PLAY ON A GROWING NUMBER OF FOOTBALL FIELDS IN PUBLIC PARKS WITHOUT A PERMIT, you can’t smoke even an e-cigarette on a railway station - let alone a real cigarette - or at a cafe’s pavement table.
To be fair, second hand smoke is a legitimate concern. The rest, not so much.

Oh, and in america, we had this rumor about 10 years ago that santa can't say "ho ho ho" in Australia, because it's too offensive.
Post edited February 15, 2018 by kohlrak
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fr33kSh0w2012: I hate Censorship I feel that games these days are overly toned down and overblown with Censorship because of SJW and Radical Feminist types and in Australia we have a whole board called the Australian Classification (Censorship) Board filled to the brim with SJW and Radical Feminist types and men and women that appear old enough to be my grandparents, and I'm nearly 35!

The Nanny state is Hyper Indentured over here worse then Sweden even

Here:

Australia the nanny COUNTRY of the world

1.) Freedoms increasingly restricted in Australia with a thicket of regulations
2.) Latest ban forbids smoking outside in many public areas of Queensland (And the rest of Australia)
3.) Authorities imposing rules on leisure activities as well as traditional 'vices'
4.) Drinkers cannot access bars or pubs after 10pm in central Sydney
5.) Even e-cigarettes are banned at railway station in anti-tobacco clampdown
6.) Owners fined if dogs are not on a lead - and cyclists for not having a bell
7.) Senator has set up parliamentary inquiry to investigate the 'fun police'

From cyclists being fined for not having a bell, to getting a drink after 10pm or hosting a 'barbie' (BBQ) for more than twenty people on the beach - it's all banned.

CHILDREN CAN'T PLAY ON A GROWING NUMBER OF FOOTBALL FIELDS IN PUBLIC PARKS WITHOUT A PERMIT, you can’t smoke even an e-cigarette on a railway station - let alone a real cigarette - or at a cafe’s pavement table.
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kohlrak: To be fair, second hand smoke is a legitimate concern. The rest, not so much.

Oh, and in america, we had this rumor about 10 years ago that santa can't say "ho ho ho" in Australia, because it's too offensive.
That wasn't a rumour! santa cant say it because it's too offensive
IT'S TRUE!
Post edited February 15, 2018 by fr33kSh0w2012
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kohlrak: To be fair, second hand smoke is a legitimate concern. The rest, not so much.

Oh, and in america, we had this rumor about 10 years ago that santa can't say "ho ho ho" in Australia, because it's too offensive.
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fr33kSh0w2012: That wasn't a rumour! santa cant say it because it's too offensive
http://www.rense.com/general79/ho.htm]
IT'S TRUE![/url]
What's funny is, I had australians i knew online denying it.
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fr33kSh0w2012: That wasn't a rumour! santa cant say it because it's too offensive
[url=http://www.rense.com/general79/ho.htm ]IT'S TRUE![/url]
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kohlrak: What's funny is, I had australians i knew online denying it.
Yeah well here is the full article:

HERE!
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kohlrak: What's funny is, I had australians i knew online denying it.
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fr33kSh0w2012: Yeah well here is the full article:

HERE!
Doesn't seem to like external links, but thanks anyway. XD