Localization of Square Enix video games
Encyclopedia
The Japanese video game company Square Enix
translates most of its video games for North America
and the PAL region
.
worked with them regularly on a contractual basis. In the late 1990s, Richard Honeywood decided to create a localization team when he was recruited for Square. While there were only two members at first, including Honeywood, the staff grew to include more than 40 employees by 2007, four years after the merger between Square and Enix. The staff works mainly from Japanese
to English
and the other way around, and from American English
to British English
, French
, Italian
, German
, and Spanish
. Critically acclaimed translator Alexander O. Smith
has also worked with Square Enix, notably on the Ivalice
titles.
, his first translation project at Square, as "pure hell". He stated that he started to change the company's approach to localization after that game, moving booths to always work very closely with the original development teams, improving communication with them, and introducing full-time editors. The localization process depends on factors such as the development teams' wishes, as well as budget and schedule. Translation usually starts late in development, although some titles, like Final Fantasy XI
, are translated from Japanese to English during initial development, making the translators appear more like additional planners than actual translators. A few titles, like The Bouncer
, have actually been developed in English first and only then translated to Japanese.
Before a translation is greenlighted and translators are allocated, the localization, QA and marketing staff play through a build of the game and sometimes do a focus group
study. The localization team's playthrough can sometimes take over 100 hours of gameplay. Once the company greenlights a localization project, a period of brainstorming starts in which glossary, style, naming schemes, fonts, etc. are chosen. During the translation phase, voiced sections are translated first. Text files are cross-checked by multiple translators and editors. The text is then integrated along with any graphic and sound changes, and the game goes to quality assurance. During a period of several weeks to up to three months, Japanese QA teams look for bugs while Western QA teams check linguistic issues. The localization team often re-plays the game during this phase, translates the manuals and help out on the guidebooks if these are made. Finally, the game is sent to the hardware manufacturers to be approved.
Challenges for the localization teams include space limitation (due to data storage and/or on-screen space), achieving a natural dialogue flow despite multiple plot branches and script lines being stored out of order, and, when voiced footage is not re-recorded for lip movement, dealing with file length and lip-synch limitations.
, visual references to the Japanese folk heroes Momotarō and Kiji
were changed to depict Hansel and Gretel
instead, since the game was designed mainly for children, and Hansel and Gretel are better known to Western children than Momotarō and Kiji. According to Honeywood, trying to explain to the original development teams why some changes are needed can range from "frustrating to downright hilarious". Generally, older development teams trust the translators with making changes while newer teams can be more reluctant, though they usually build up trust gradually.
Censorship can also affect the localized versions of the games and require obscuring mature themes, altering graphics or removing parts of some scenes. This was common in the NES
and SNES
eras but less drastic later on once video game content rating system
s were established. Less commonly, this also goes the other way, for instance with Final Fantasy XII
, in which a sequence involving violence on a female character was censored in the Japanese version but restored in the American and European releases.
Gameplay may also be altered when it is felt that a game might be too easy or difficult for the Western audience. Some of the older Final Fantasy
titles were altered to be more easy to play in the West than in Japan, though their remakes and ports have generally restored the difficulty. On the other hand, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
was made more difficult in localized versions because the Western market was judged "more familiar" with the real-time strategy genre than the Japanese market.
, he worked with Masato Kato
, the director and scenario writer of the game, to rewrite sections and add explanatory dialogue which was not in the original version. For Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, voice-overs and orchestral music were recorded for the Western releases, while the original Japanese version did not have them. Generally, gameplay content left out of the original game due to time constraints may be completed and added in the localized versions. Sometimes, the expanded, localized games are re-released in Japan (usually based on a direct port of the North American releases, with only text translated back in Japanese and Japanese subtitles to English dialogue) and branded as "international version
s," and if the North American release has been censored, the international version of the game might possibly get a lower content rating than the original Japanese version.
, producer Hiromichi Tanaka
had stated that while Japanese/North American/Australian simultaneous releases are possible due to only translating Japanese to English, it was not possible for European countries due to the difficulty of finding good Japanese-to-European-languages translators, and the fact that second-hand translations from the English would be akin to "Chinese whispers".
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
translates most of its video games for North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
.
Staff
Enix did not initially have a localization department and outsourced its Western releases to translators who had no close contact with the original development teams. Like Enix, Square did not initially have a localization department, though Kaoru Moriyama and Ted WoolseyTed Woolsey
Ted Woolsey is an American video game translator and producer. He had the primary role in the North American production and localization of Square's role-playing games during the SNES era between 1991 and 1996.-Square:...
worked with them regularly on a contractual basis. In the late 1990s, Richard Honeywood decided to create a localization team when he was recruited for Square. While there were only two members at first, including Honeywood, the staff grew to include more than 40 employees by 2007, four years after the merger between Square and Enix. The staff works mainly from Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and the other way around, and from American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
to British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Critically acclaimed translator Alexander O. Smith
Alexander O. Smith
Alexander O. Smith is a professional English/Japanese translator and author. While his output covers many areas such as adaptation of Japanese novels, manga, song lyrics, anime scripts and various academic works, he is best known for his software localizations of Japanese video games...
has also worked with Square Enix, notably on the Ivalice
Ivalice
is a fictional location in the Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Vagrant Story universe. The world was conceived by Yasumi Matsuno when he joined Square Co. in 1995, and has since been expanded upon by several games, with more yet due with the Ivalice Alliance series...
titles.
Approach
Honeywood described XenogearsXenogears
is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
, his first translation project at Square, as "pure hell". He stated that he started to change the company's approach to localization after that game, moving booths to always work very closely with the original development teams, improving communication with them, and introducing full-time editors. The localization process depends on factors such as the development teams' wishes, as well as budget and schedule. Translation usually starts late in development, although some titles, like Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI
, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a MMORPG developed and published by Square as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan on Sony's PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers in November 2002...
, are translated from Japanese to English during initial development, making the translators appear more like additional planners than actual translators. A few titles, like The Bouncer
The Bouncer
is a beat 'em up for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. It was co-developed by Square and DreamFactory. The game features character designs by Tetsuya Nomura and music by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi....
, have actually been developed in English first and only then translated to Japanese.
Before a translation is greenlighted and translators are allocated, the localization, QA and marketing staff play through a build of the game and sometimes do a focus group
Focus group
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging...
study. The localization team's playthrough can sometimes take over 100 hours of gameplay. Once the company greenlights a localization project, a period of brainstorming starts in which glossary, style, naming schemes, fonts, etc. are chosen. During the translation phase, voiced sections are translated first. Text files are cross-checked by multiple translators and editors. The text is then integrated along with any graphic and sound changes, and the game goes to quality assurance. During a period of several weeks to up to three months, Japanese QA teams look for bugs while Western QA teams check linguistic issues. The localization team often re-plays the game during this phase, translates the manuals and help out on the guidebooks if these are made. Finally, the game is sent to the hardware manufacturers to be approved.
Challenges for the localization teams include space limitation (due to data storage and/or on-screen space), achieving a natural dialogue flow despite multiple plot branches and script lines being stored out of order, and, when voiced footage is not re-recorded for lip movement, dealing with file length and lip-synch limitations.
Changes
When translating its video games, Square Enix tries to take into account the cultural differences between Japan and the Western countries. This sometimes involves rewriting dialogue or altering graphics, animations, and sounds. For instance, in Chocobo RacingChocobo Racing
Chocobo Racing, known in Japan as is a racing game for the PlayStation game console. The game was developed by Square Co., creators of the Final Fantasy series of video games. The game was first released in Japan in March 1999...
, visual references to the Japanese folk heroes Momotarō and Kiji
Momotaro
is a popular hero from Japanese folklore. His name literally means Peach Tarō; as Tarō is a common Japanese boy's name, it is often translated as Peach Boy...
were changed to depict Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
instead, since the game was designed mainly for children, and Hansel and Gretel are better known to Western children than Momotarō and Kiji. According to Honeywood, trying to explain to the original development teams why some changes are needed can range from "frustrating to downright hilarious". Generally, older development teams trust the translators with making changes while newer teams can be more reluctant, though they usually build up trust gradually.
Censorship can also affect the localized versions of the games and require obscuring mature themes, altering graphics or removing parts of some scenes. This was common in the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
eras but less drastic later on once video game content rating system
Video game content rating system
A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of video games into suitability-related groups. Most of these systems are associated with and/or sponsored by a government, and are sometimes part of the local motion picture rating system...
s were established. Less commonly, this also goes the other way, for instance with Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2006, it is the twelfth title in the Final Fantasy series and the last in the series to be released exclusively on the PlayStation platform...
, in which a sequence involving violence on a female character was censored in the Japanese version but restored in the American and European releases.
Gameplay may also be altered when it is felt that a game might be too easy or difficult for the Western audience. Some of the older Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
titles were altered to be more easy to play in the West than in Japan, though their remakes and ports have generally restored the difficulty. On the other hand, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
is a real-time strategy RPG developed by Think & Feel and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. It is a sequel to the best-selling 2006 PlayStation 2 role-playing game Final Fantasy XII....
was made more difficult in localized versions because the Western market was judged "more familiar" with the real-time strategy genre than the Japanese market.
Additional content
The localized versions sometimes expand on the original games. For example, when Honeywood found contradictions in the story of Chrono CrossChrono Cross
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
, he worked with Masato Kato
Masato Kato
is a Japanese video game artist, scenario writer and director. In the early days of his career, he was credited under the pseudonyms of "Runmaru" and "Runmal".- Biography :...
, the director and scenario writer of the game, to rewrite sections and add explanatory dialogue which was not in the original version. For Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, voice-overs and orchestral music were recorded for the Western releases, while the original Japanese version did not have them. Generally, gameplay content left out of the original game due to time constraints may be completed and added in the localized versions. Sometimes, the expanded, localized games are re-released in Japan (usually based on a direct port of the North American releases, with only text translated back in Japanese and Japanese subtitles to English dialogue) and branded as "international version
International version
In video games, an international version is a relocalized version of a previously released title in its native territory that has gained additional features and contents in foreign releases...
s," and if the North American release has been censored, the international version of the game might possibly get a lower content rating than the original Japanese version.
Releases
In 2008, Square Enix expressed willingness to make worldwide "simultaneous releases the norm". Concerning Final Fantasy XIFinal Fantasy XI
, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a MMORPG developed and published by Square as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan on Sony's PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers in November 2002...
, producer Hiromichi Tanaka
Hiromichi Tanaka
is a Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director and game designer. He is currently Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix and the head of Square Enix's Product Development Division-3. He is best known as the former lead developer of Final Fantasy XI, Square's...
had stated that while Japanese/North American/Australian simultaneous releases are possible due to only translating Japanese to English, it was not possible for European countries due to the difficulty of finding good Japanese-to-European-languages translators, and the fact that second-hand translations from the English would be akin to "Chinese whispers".