XSEED Games Localization Blog Discussion

Explore Lulukoko, Tsukuyusa, and Westown in this multi-cultural farming game for Nintendo 3DS. [ Game Guide ] JP release = Jun 2016. NA release = Feb 2017. EU release = Oct 2017.
User avatar
Arcy
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 2068
Joined: Jul 05, 2004 5:14 pm

Post  Posted:

Want to address some concerns about localization time/release date.

1st: XSEED has not yet given an official release date for Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns other than a nebulous "Coming in 2017". Direct quote from XSEED's FaceBook page for this game.

If you don't see a MM/DD/YEAR date specifically from XSEED Games, the game does not yet have an official release date announced. Any other date is a "placeholder date" set by the big box & online retailers so that their computer systems will allow them to take preorders.

2nd: We know for a fact that they've (XSEED) had the game's script (either partial or whole) for longer than the game's been out in Japan because what they showed at E3 this year was partially translated. E3 ended on June 16th, the game released in Japan on June 23rd.

The only real question is: what is North America getting in the release date version? There have been a couple of major patches and updates to the Japanese version, so the more complete our version is at launch, the longer it will take to release. This is the only thing I see being a potential source of delay, as the updates hit every part of the game, not just dialogue that needs to be localized.
luph n joii
Ultimate Farming Fanatic
Ultimate Farming Fanatic
Posts: 1674
Joined: Dec 29, 2008 7:51 am

Post  Posted:

Personally, I prefer Rescht over Lisette because Rescht is more uncommon and interesting name, so her explaining the meaning of her name makes more sense rather than if she's named Lisette.

I hope they are going with something like Inie or Ririe instead of straight out Inari since the original was named Inari-chama and not Inari-sama; who knows they will make an Inari-sama in the future. Vixie is a bad choice since Inari-chama can be either gender.

Technically, Lulukoko is a mixture of multiple cultures, not just Hawaiian. Looking at the dishes, festivals, and wedding attires, it also has influences from southeast and south Asian culture (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, etc) and not just Polynesia (Hawaii, Samoa, etc). I think it'd be a shame that the village with the most diversity has to be generalized into Hawaiian culture. Why not just grab one word from one culture, one from another, etc to reflect the diversity instead of only taking words from Hawaiian language? Much more interesting and unique than simply "Oh, another Hawaiian inspired 3DS game!" Or they can just go with pig latin, like "Ellohay!", and "Hanktay ouyay!"
User avatar
Arcy
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 2068
Joined: Jul 05, 2004 5:14 pm

Post  Posted:

luph n joii wrote:Technically, Lulukoko is a mixture of multiple cultures, not just Hawaiian. Looking at the dishes, festivals, and wedding attires, it also has influences from southeast and south Asian culture (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, etc) and not just Polynesia (Hawaii, Samoa, etc). I think it'd be a shame that the village with the most diversity has to be generalized into Hawaiian culture. Why not just grab one word from one culture, one from another, etc to reflect the diversity instead of only taking words from Hawaiian language? Much more interesting and unique than simply "Oh, another Hawaiian inspired 3DS game!" Or they can just go with pig latin, like "Ellohay!", and "Hanktay ouyay!"
Disney did just that with Moana and there are a ton of people that didn't like that solution either. I would say given the limited resources XSEED has, I prefer them to hire an expert or a person who has studied one specific language and commit. Many Pacific Island countries have elements from many cultures (culture, art, food dishes, etcetera), but speak one unified language. Heck, some of them don't even speak the exact same language while being on the same island or chain!

In addition, I will add that having Westown being generically "cowboy southern" and Lulukoko being generically "Hawaiian/tropical island" will feel true to residents of the United States, which presently contains both Texas and Hawaii (as well as other islands, such as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands). Having the game being multicultural should prevent too much "oh, Hawaii again" from happening. People didn't react that way to Pokémon Sun and Moon despite Moana's popularity.

Rescht de Rose is all but unknown in NA's popular culture, while I have seen references to it in multiple entertainment media in Japanese, and it sounds harsh and Germanic in English. I prefer Lisette because even though it is similarly unknown to all but gardeners, it is just easier to say. It sounds more flowery and feminine, two traits that Lisette carries.
User avatar
PeachyKeen
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 3419
Joined: Jan 31, 2012 2:41 pm
Contact:

Post  Posted:

@Rescht vs Lisette: I agree with Arcy, Lisette flows better and sounds daintier and more feminine than Rescht which, for me, brings to mind "retch" as in vomiting.
User avatar
Sir Stardust
Pick Potatos, not boogers
Pick Potatos, not boogers
Posts: 872
Joined: Dec 02, 2011 1:17 pm

Post  Posted:

PeachyKeen wrote:@Rescht vs Lisette: I agree with Arcy, Lisette flows better and sounds daintier and more feminine than Rescht which, for me, brings to mind "retch" as in vomiting.
Ah, I'm not the only one who thought that, then. I couldn't figure out how to say it, so all could see was 'retch.' :(

I like the font, myself. Reminds me of something I've seen before, though I can't quite place it. Probably something I came across working in InDesign, bleh.
User avatar
Arcy
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 2068
Joined: Jul 05, 2004 5:14 pm

Post  Posted:

I um, may have found where I originally saw this font! Or a really similar font, rather. In Return to Popolocrois.

I wonder if this is some kind of unified design thing?
User avatar
Ronin19
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 5746
Joined: Feb 14, 2007 6:49 pm

Post  Posted:

Saw this on XSeed's FaceBook page! Just a picture of Komari.
Spoiler:
Image
User avatar
Shan O 123
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 7942
Joined: May 04, 2013 11:01 am

Post  Posted:

Ronin19 wrote:Saw this on XSeed's FaceBook page! Just a picture of Komari.
Spoiler:
Image
Holly? FMC's name?
User avatar
irulethegalaxy
Spinich Bodyguard
Spinich Bodyguard
Posts: 667
Joined: Oct 19, 2014 12:17 pm

Post  Posted:

Is it just me, or does that font have really bizarre spacing? Look at the word "great". G and R are practically overlapping, then a huge space before E and a sizeable gap before A. Then T is closer to A than the spaces before the vowels (but not as crammed as the G and R).

It's really...annoying. Really ugly.


Look at "whole". W and H actually touch, big space and then O and L are close, then a giant gap and E. I think any ESL readers will have a pretty hard time with this font, with all the mid-word spaces that are almost as large as the spaces between words. It's a really poor choice.
User avatar
gossipstone
Custodian of Corn
Custodian of Corn
Posts: 443
Joined: May 22, 2015 1:00 pm

Post  Posted:

irulethegalaxy wrote:Is it just me, or does that font have really bizarre spacing? Look at the word "great". G and R are practically overlapping, then a huge space before E and a sizeable gap before A. Then T is closer to A than the spaces before the vowels (but not as crammed as the G and R).

It's really...annoying. Really ugly.


Look at "whole". W and H actually touch, big space and then O and L are close, then a giant gap and E. I think any ESL readers will have a pretty hard time with this font, with all the mid-word spaces that are almost as large as the spaces between words. It's a really poor choice.
Yeah, it's really weird. I can't help but wonder if it's something to do with the screenshots, although presumably XSEED wouldn't be relying on Miiverse the way we do.
User avatar
OctavieKnite88
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Tubular Turnip Farmer
Posts: 361
Joined: Apr 03, 2015 4:29 pm

Post  Posted:

Shan O 123 wrote:
Ronin19 wrote:Saw this on XSeed's FaceBook page! Just a picture of Komari.
Spoiler:
Image
Holly? FMC's name?
It could be the name of the tester/someone from XSEED who's playing, but if it is her default name I'm probably never going to use it.
User avatar
Shan O 123
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 7942
Joined: May 04, 2013 11:01 am

Post  Posted:

OctavieKnite88 wrote:
Shan O 123 wrote:
Ronin19 wrote:Saw this on XSeed's FaceBook page! Just a picture of Komari.
Spoiler:
Image
Holly? FMC's name?
It could be the name of the tester/someone from XSEED who's playing, but if it is her default name I'm probably never going to use it.
That's what I'm thinking too.
User avatar
Terra575
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
UNoT Extreme Mooomber
Posts: 2037
Joined: Mar 17, 2006 6:01 pm
Contact:

Post  Posted:

irulethegalaxy wrote:Is it just me, or does that font have really bizarre spacing? Look at the word "great". G and R are practically overlapping, then a huge space before E and a sizeable gap before A. Then T is closer to A than the spaces before the vowels (but not as crammed as the G and R).

It's really...annoying. Really ugly.


Look at "whole". W and H actually touch, big space and then O and L are close, then a giant gap and E. I think any ESL readers will have a pretty hard time with this font, with all the mid-word spaces that are almost as large as the spaces between words. It's a really poor choice.
I agree, it looks really amateur, like someone just accepted the default font. Doesn't look like a professional text box at all. Also, I think the letters are just too sharp/thick. I feel HM font should be a bit lighter, more 'friendly' if you will.
User avatar
KonekoChan
Ultimate Farming Fanatic
Ultimate Farming Fanatic
Posts: 1524
Joined: Aug 03, 2008 11:33 pm

Post  Posted:

i don't think there's anything wrong with the font itself per say, but there's definitely some kerning issues that need to be addressed. the way the font looks in popolocrois is perfectly fine. i suspect they'll fix it before release.
User avatar
FuranSuwa
Growing Garden Gnome
Growing Garden Gnome
Posts: 76
Joined: Dec 28, 2015 11:25 am

Post  Posted:

The localization looks nice ! Iluka looks pretty funny

About the font, it must be weird because the picture isn't at its real game size, it happens a lot.
Post Reply