Anime Expo: NIS America Talks About Its Upcoming Games and the Localization Process

Posted by Tommy Coloma on 07.10.2009

At this year's Anime Expo NIS America held a panel in which it talked about its upcoming releases and broke down the localization process. 411mania was on hand to see what the publisher had to say.



Ar tonelico II is easily my favorite RPG to come out over the past year. The story is better than average, character development is quite good, combat is satisfying, and the music made me want to import the soundtrack. Unfortunately, there are two major problems with the game which one cannot ignore, no matter how much of a fan he or she is - the somewhat flawed translation and the game-breaking bug that was introduced during its localization. So, when I saw that the game's publisher, NIS America, was holding a panel called "NISA Breaks Down The Localization Process" at this year's Anime Expo, I was immediately intrigued. Thankfully, sticking around LA for an extra day just to hear what the staff members had to say was well worth it. In addition to getting a somewhat satisfying explanation for the ATII fiasco, I got to learn about the work that goes into bringing a game over from Japan, how much creative control the translators and editors are given, why localizations take so long, and so much more. Here is a summary of the presentation.


Upcoming releases

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Before getting to the main topic, "Marketing Master" Jack Niida took the opportunity to talk about one of NISA's upcoming high-profile games, Sakura Wars V. For the uninitiated, the original Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen in Japan) came out for the Sega Saturn back in 1996. According to Jack, "the game itself is a strategy RPG with a dating sim feature to it, and what's interesting is instead of fighting and just leveling up and grinding your way through the game, what you do is you interact with the various characters and then that's how you actually power [them] up." Despite being popular enough to spawn several Anime and Manga series, food products, and musical shows in Japan, none of the Sakura Wars games ever made it to America. So, when the US localization was first announced at NISA's Holy Drunken Shenanigans, Badman! event in May, it was pretty big news, at least amongst JRPG fans. At that time the only detail we got was that the game would come out on both the PS2 and the Wii in the near future. This time around, Jack added that because the Japanese and English voiceovers could not fit on one disc, the upcoming title will be released on two discs, with one containing an English voiceover and the other sporting the original Japanese audio track. As of right now, Sakura Wars V is scheduled to hit store shelves this Fall.

The segment ended with an announcement for the Fall release of Atelier Annie for the DS, a spin-off of sorts for the Atelier series.


The localization process

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To start things off, Nao Zook, PR and Marketing Coordinator for NISA, introduced the audience to the localization team members. Steven Carlton is an editor and script writer whose past works include all three of the Atelier Iris games for the PS2, both Ar tonelico titles, Mana Khemia, Grim Grimoire, Disgaea 2, Disgaea 3, and the portable Disgaea games. He also worked on the upcoming Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! and Mana Khemia 2. Phoenix Spaulding is also an editor and script writer. He was a little hesitant because of Steve's long list, so he just mentioned some of the more notable titles he's worked on, which include Soul Nomad, PRINNY - Can I Really Be the Hero?, Cross Edge, Sakura Wars V, and A Witch's Tale. Ryuta Sato is a translator and localization coordinator. He is somewhat new, so he has only worked on Cross Edge, Sakura Wars, and Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! Nao ended by introducing Yoko Nishikawa who, like Ryuta, is a translator and localization coordinator.

With the introductions out of the way, the discussion was steered toward the translation of text and dialog from Japanese to English and the editing that follows. Using Cross Edge as an example, Ryuta indicated that that particular game ended up being more work than they had anticipated. In fact, the translation process alone took over a month thanks to the over thirty-thousand lines of dialog that had to be processed. Phoenix continued by pointing out that the editing process usually takes about as long as the translation. On a good day they could do about a thousand lines, so finishing the game in a timely manner took roughly "a full month of hardcore editing." Moving to a slightly older title, Nao asked Steven to talk about his experiences with Ar tonelico II, a game that is notorious for its questionable translation. Steven revealed that "Ar tonelico II took me probably about three-to-four months to edit because that was a huge game and for that one we actually had three translators to translate, and then I got the whole funnel ... We actually did Disgaea 3 debug and edit in the middle of the Ar tonelico II edit, so that was kind of... fun as well." So, despite what others may think, NISA really did work hard on that game. Unfortunately, for a small publisher that does six-to-eight games a year, working on several titles at the same time is not unheard of. Ar tonelico II's problems were the result of stretching resources too thin.

For every localization effort, there are always those who tend to be critical of the final product if it does not follow the Japanese source perfectly. While there may be some merit to those complaints, there is usually good reason for the changes. In general, a lot of thought goes into figuring out when to stay true to the Japanese version and when to mix things up. Ryuta posits that "anyone who's played the original Disgaea knows that the way that Atlus worked on it was very... there were moments when it was obviously very close to the Japanese but then there were moments where they sort of go off and do their own thing. And I think to a certain degree that's really fun. I think a lot of people appreciate that, so it's always a balancing act, especially a lot of times the translators want to honor [the original 100%]. But sometimes, the editor might come up with something that maybe works better for an American audience or is funnier or works in a different way. So it's just a lot of discussion back and forth and sitting together and trying out a joke, [getting into] a few arguments and heated discussions, but we've never really had anything that really we disagreed on."


While a lot of energy is spent trying to keep the translations as close to the original as possible for most games, there are times when an exception is necessary. For example, in a game like Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! in which much of the text touches on Anime, Manga, and other media in Japan, Ryuta knew that many American players would not be able to fully appreciate the references. So, he did some research and made an effort to replace them with American pop cultural quotes, references, and jokes from movies, AmeComi (American Comics), and the like. He also worked closely with Steven during the editing process to make sure that he had a good grasp of what the jokes were trying to convey. Steven added that "I'd have all this stuff that I wouldn't understand, so I'd go to [Ryuta and ask what they are] talking about and then he'd explain like this is what it was so then I would find something in the US that is comparable."


Once the dialog has been finalized, the editors and translators get to move on to one of the more enjoyable parts of most projects - voice recording. When asked why he finds it fun, Steven put forth that "it's the part where the game really starts to come alive. Even though I put all my effort into the edit as much as I could, when you actually start hearing them say the words that you wrote, it really starts coming to life for you. And also, there's a lot of times where, especially in my games, there's a lot of innuendo. And just trying to explain what's going on to the actors in these parts, that's usually pretty fun for me." Phoenix adds that "one thing that's always a challenge, but can be really rewarding too, is with a lot of our games, the Japanese voices are so good and they're such big names that right out of the gate I know that we have a really high bar to live up to. And there are times where we'll pick the actor and we'll start hearing the actor do their version of the character and that just really clicks. Like for me anyway, I just really get a rush of energy when I feel that character coming through the American actor the same way that it felt from the Japanese [one] and it's really hard and challenging to find an actor to match what you're looking for originally, because Japanese and American cultures are so different that a lot of times it's hard to find an American voice that fits with the Japanese style. So when you do find that and you feel those lines coming out really well it's really rewarding."


After the voice recordings have been taken care of, it's time for the final leg of the whole localization process - the arduous task of debugging. According to Steven, "what we do is we get the new ROMs, we download them, we burn them on the discs, and we hand them off to our game testers ... So they play the game, they pretty much write down everything that's wrong, we compile that into a file, [and] we send it to Japan. Hopefully, they'll fix what we tell them to fix... hopefully. And then it repeats until it's pretty much done... hopefully." This process is made even more difficult by the fact that the other companies that are involved are located in another country. Ryuta explains, "you have to be really careful because when you're localizing a game from a Japanese company, when you get it, they're already moving on to their next game. And so it's not like they're just waiting around for us to give them things. They have their own set schedule that they have to follow for the next project, so finding that time and having to sync up your schedule with Japan can be really difficult. So it's really a balancing act. Not to mention the timing difference - if you need something now, [you'll usually have to wait for a response], so you really have to be flexible and extremely patient and willing to work with Japan very closely."


Why a whole panel on the localization process?

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Apparently, Phoenix Spaulding will be leaving NISA at the end of the month to pursue other interests, which leaves the company an editor short. So you could say that NISA's ulterior motive for hosting this panel was to drum up interest in working for NIS America as an editor. Though I appreciate it, I am fairly certain that it was not really necessary to dedicate a panel for that purpose as there are clearly many who would jump at the chance to work for any video game-related company.

Those who believe that they are up to the task should visit NIS America's web site and click on the "script editor needed" link to find out how to apply. The process is simple enough - after you send in your resume you will be given a rough translation to edit. They really need to see what you can do, so make sure that you don't half-ass it. According to Nao, resumes should be sent in by Tuesday, July 14. The edit needs to be sent back by Wednesday, July 15, so it would be wise for you to send your resume in ASAP to allow yourself enough time to do it right.


Q & A

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The panel ended with an audience Q&A session. Here are the highlights.
note: I reworded some of the questions for clarity.

My understanding is that games come out in Japan before you guys get a hold of them. So... where do the bugs get in?

Phoenix Spaulding: Sometimes the games aren't actually out in Japan yet. Especially [when it's from one of the] smaller developers like Hit Maker, it's almost always a simultaneous release, or really close. But actually, what happens is - even if it has been released in Japan, every time they change something in the game, it's possible that something will break. [For example], text limits are really really important, so if your text goes over the limit, that means they didn't tell you you had a limit, or the count was wrong or something. It can break a move or break a screen. Most of the bugs are text related. Like dialog boxes are too big and audio files are not playing. It's usually really little. But, like you said, there's such a lag between Japan and America that the turnaround time for each build can really take a while. And in the mean time you're collecting more bugs and things. And each time they fix one thing it's possible that it'll break another thing. And that's actually kind of common. So debug is almost never a smooth easy process. So it's mostly when they're adding that new stuff. And sometimes they have to change graphics - like they're changing art graphics and things like that for English. So the little bumps sneak in.

Do you know if Disgaea 4 is in the making?

Jack Niida: I'm pretty sure [it is], but it's probably not gonna be any time soon. But yeah, you can probably count on that.

In terms of voice acting, how do you decide when to use it and when to drop it? Because in Cross Edge, as soon as you get out of the main story, a lot of the voice acting is dropped.

Phoenix Spaulding: It's usually budget, disc space, or time. A full recording, if we do it with a certain method - it can take anywhere from three to four weeks to do a full game, and if we did all the text it could take even longer. And the longer you're out of the office, obviously, the more work is building up behind you. In Japan these games obviously sell a lot more and so when they get here our budget is such that there's a certain point, once we go past that, there's no way we can make money on it. And as much as we'd love to release it that way anyway, if we don't make money now, then we fold and go away and don't get to do things in the future. So it's usually a consideration of budget, time - that kind of thing.

Any chance we might be getting Ar tonelico III in the future?

Jack Niida: We can't say too much about it, but you can count on that as well. And, it's gonna be on a different platform this time, so...

Have you guys ever thought about bringing back any of the older Atelier Marie or Atelier Elie games?

Jack Niida: That's one thing we've been considering. We haven't figured that out just yet 'cause we have to talk to the original developer and they have their own politics and various things. So it's something we have to figure out and if we can we'd definitely love to bring [them] over.

What's up with the Ar tonelico II bug?

Jack Niida: I've got to apologize for that one. We'd gone through the entire game ... actually, maybe hundreds of times. And usually Sony does their check too. It's called like a master debugging. And they go through checking the game - the entire system and everything. And somehow that one just slipped through because it's one of those bugs where if you're powerful enough it just goes through and basically, you don't encounter it. And I think that's how it slipped through and we just didn't find it before the release.

When does Trinity Universe come out?

Jack Niida: It's not out in Japan yet. Usually, those games from Gust get released in Japan first. Then we get it. So, we have to figure out when they're gonna bring it out in Japan and then we'll find out.

Are you guys ever going to consider Makai Kingdom 2?

Jack Niida: All of us keep bugging Japan about it, but they haven't really responded back to us...

With regards to Sakura Wars, I know you're releasing the fifth one first. If this does well, will you go back and do a remake of the first ones?

Jack Niida: That's definitely a possibility. We're releasing Sakura Wars V first because we figured it's the last version that came out and it's obviously the most polished, at least battle system-wise. And it's something that's easier for Sony [to] accept and release a game like [Sakura Wars V], because previously Sony didn't like games that had dating sim aspects. They thought it might not be a suitable game for the PlayStation brand but they're actually happy about Sakura Wars now ever since they saw the actual game. So, if this one does well I think we'll be able to bring out all the various others - Sakura Wars IV and III and... I don't know about II and I. Yeah, hopefully we can bring out all the other games too.

How did you get past Nintendo with Sakura Wars?

Jack Niida: Actually, Nintendo... They don't really have an approval process, surprisingly. What we do is basically propose the game to them and they'll say like "OK, cool!" But the problem is Nintendo has a [tougher] standard for the final master approval, so if the game sucks at the very end they'll say like - "alright, get out of here!"


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