First look - Dragon Quest V [US] Better Localization?

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

exindguy said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

exindguy said:
Ah, boo: I really enjoyed the accents in the DQIV translation (what, you mean an RPG translation that wasn't generic and run of the mill?! The horror!) and am sorry to hear that they might have been excised in V.

Well, if you liked them, then that's okay.  But other fans of the series didn't and sent complaints to Square-Enix.  And for the most part, its not good for an RPG series to make it harder for people to read the spoken dialogue between characters.  Especially when it is one of the longest RPGs on the system, clocking in at 60-80 hours long.  This will make those who aren't familiar with the series (casual gamers and new fans) shy away from the series because it takes too much effort to understand the story and play the overall game.

At first, the idea of adding accents and a 'European feel' to a fantasy game seems like a good idea.  But in practice, it hurts a game and detracts from the very crowd you are trying to pull in.  New fans and casual players.  And angers hardcore fans of the series all at the same time.

 

I don't know: I think the reason the translation was ill-received was because those hardcore fans have a lot of time on their hands to complain about such things (as you pointed out, it wasn't the average joe emailing them, it was the 'hardcore'). I am certain they bought it anyway, by and large, and the problem was with the more general audience that probably didn't pick it up for whatever reason certain gems get passed over (not well-known enough; too expensive; not graphically good enough; a combo of all of the above; etc.)

I highly, highly doubt that the dialogue is why it under-performed and why people didn't run out and buy it in droves. After all, Dragon Quest VIII didn't do very well, either, and you can't blame the translation for that.

Actually, the reason DQIV didn't sell well is from many factors.  One is from it getting almost no advertising, aside from on the main Square website and store based videos/signs.  But the other can be linked to its translation/localization.  And it started with Dragon Quest VIII.  Dragon Quest VIII had good points, from the addition of the orchestrated score and additional content.  However, the voices and 'British spin' added to the game wasn't nessisary.  In all ways, it was a gimmick to attract customers to the game as the general concensus is that games sell better with voices.  But the original game never had voices, let alone a British connection.  However you look at it, its a gimmick added to the game to help it sell.  And it may have helped that one game sell, but it didn't help the series overall generate a fanbase.  As the drop off sales for subsequent  DQ games show.

This is the problem with choosing a quick gimmick to sell games over good advertising and localization.  In the long run, it won't work and just hurt the game series.  The nail in the coffin was trying to immitate the accent style from DQVIII in text form, which is impossible without the text looking like its stereotyping various people groups (Scottish/Russian/etc).  At best, it looked as if they were immitating old Warner Bros cartoon accents, but what are they doing in a Dragon Quest game?  That just makes it seem like the localization team was treating the game like a joke.

In the end, all of this can be avoided if they just stick to plain (Queens) English.  As it looks like they might be doing.  And as a few of the DQ games have done in the past (DRagon Warrior I-III on the GBC and Dragon Warrior VII on the PSX).  And those games faired no worse for their translation.