English localization almost done, but…
Last Friday I received a private message on the Operation Suzaku Facebook page from someone who had information on the localization of Final Fantasy Type-0. Out of respect for their privacy, they will remain anonymous for the time being.
Of course, I checked out their profile on Facebook, Twitter and Google to be certain they were legitimate. In my opinion, this source is someone who can be trusted based on the type of work they’ve done before.
I ended up giving them my phone number and we started talking about the localization of the game. Our conversation was brief, but by far the most interesting part is this:
According to our source, who recorded voice-over for one of the characters in the game, at least 90% of the English localization is complete. The dubbing sessions took place in the last quarter of 2011, just after the release (October 27th) of Final Fantasy Type-0 in Japan. The entirety of the English dub recording is said to be complete.
But things went wrong near the beginning of 2012. PSP software and hardware sales had not been doing very well in the US–namely SE’s own PSP titles which had failed to perform at retail earlier in the year. Square Enix reacted to this by essentially shelving Type-0 for good, which is evident from the lack of any sort of dialogue on the game since hints of an overseas version were last shared in the game’s Ultimania guide book.
Our source claims that Square Enix is now waiting for a strong show of interests from fans. Recently, director Hajime Tabata shared some concerning comments on Type-0 with GameSpot, and this is what prompted action on part of the v
oice actor. According to them, the project is “currently on hold.”
What’s more is that we have confirmation from a second source that Square Enix is having a hard time coming to any sort of resolution regarding a western release. They claim that Sony Computer Entertainment hasn’t been much help either, and so the title is at a standstill as they’ve exhausted all options. They did not elaborate further, but admitted their frustration in all this mess. At this point they wouldn’t be surprised if Type-0 never saw an overseas release.
After chatting with several others involved in past rumors surrounding the project, we’ve come to the conclusion that everything said about the localization’s status is quite solid. We hope to hear from even more sources who’ve worked on the game as the operation moves forward. It’s just surprising that it took so long for this information to come to the surface.
The whole point of Operation Suzaku is to convince Square Enix to release the game. We know that our battle is worth the effort now and we invite all Final Fantasy fans to join us by signing the petition and joining our weekly actions on Facebook and Twitter.
Essay Pro