I've gotten a lot of new followers recently, so here's an interview I did last year about SaGa, localization, and more! (J/E) // 最近フォロワー数が増えましたので、去年撮ったサガやローカライズの話をするインタビュー動画を共有します。 https://t.co/9i9YFPYAS5

Once again, fall has lasted approximately 10 days this year. Freezing my butt off and it's not even November yet.

Paying the puppy tax. // 我が子の写真をアップします。

This is why I value my close relationship with SaGa creators. I think changes localizers make are best done in consultation with the creators to ensure a faithful final product. That doesn’t mean localizers make no changes. It means everyone is on board with the changes.

While localization is a creative pursuit that allows for self-expression, our goal is to convey someone else’s ideas in an authentic manner. Our interpretation of the original informs how we choose to recreate its meaning in a natural way, and may differ from person to person.

The same occurs if they are listening to EN voices but reading French text translated from the JP. A text cannot simultaneously be translated from both Japanese and English, so one of those players is guaranteed to get a slightly worse experience than the other.

If voice and text are the same language, it’s fine. But if the player is listening to JP voices and reading French text translated from the English, they will quickly discover there is commonly a timing mismatch in what information is provided when. Impossible problem to avoid.

EN/JP voices with text in a third language is hard. If a singular thought plays over multiple text labels/voice files, the EN often has to present the information in reverse order from the Japanese because of the difference in grammatical structure.(1/x)

Asian language translators generally have it easier because 1. There are fewer Asian-inspired themes in our games than western ones so less weirdness to work around, and 2. Asian players tend to care a lot less about what the EN version does than European players.

European translators have it the hardest, because often games only have EN and JP voices, and different players prefer one or the other. If terms aren’t all in a row across all languages the player experience gets degraded, but sometimes that’s a cost that just has to get eaten.

On new games with multiple languages, consultations on how things are named are done early to ensure everyone is on-board. With a game like Romancing SaGa 2, it’s impossible to ask a fanbase of over 30 years to change a legacy name because a foreign language doesn’t like it.

European translators can run into a problem in remakes where naming decisions were made without consideration of how they would sound to non-EN/JP speakers, so they may be priced into names of towns or characters that sound weird in their language. Hard problem to solve.

Halloween! Featuring cameo from my Australian friends visiting Japan!

When I was in high school, I at first resented having to study a foreign language because I thought that as an American who would never leave America, I wouldn’t need it. Oops.

I’m trying to cut back on caffeine, so I ordered a decaf iced coffee when we went to Starbucks after lunch. It took them 20 minutes to make it. Yikes.

Massive changes to the Gameboy SaGa titles were not in the cards for the 2020 remaster, but I often think about how the EN line lacks the punch that the JP does. I would have loved to change it to something equally pithy and direct like "The only ugly one here is you!"

If you were to ask a Japanese SaGa fan for their favorite line from a Gameboy SaGa game, many would say it's from SaGa 2, when the protagonist is about to engage Venus in battle. In JP, it's 今のあんたが一番醜いぜ！, which in EN is "You're the most graceless one!" (1/2)

Conclusion: don’t go to touristy areas on a three day weekend. 結論：3連休で観光地に行くな。

Went to the Keio Takaosan hot springs by Mt. Takao. Price was good and I enjoyed the microbubble baths, but it was kind of small and super crowded. 高尾山の京王高尾山温泉に行ってきた。値段は���心的でミクロバブル風呂は楽しめましたが、場所が狭く人が多かったのは難点。

Discover Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International for the first time translated into English, French, Spanish, Italian and German! 🌍

Some people think the original should always be prioritized. Some think any improvement in quality is worth the consternation it causes die hard fans of the original. I think a one size fits all approach doesn’t leave enough room for nuance, so I instruct my teams accordingly.