How much should a game be changed during localisation?

CM30

CM30

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As you likely know, certain changes to recent video games... haven't gone down so well. Like how the Tomahawk class in Bravely Default 2 has become the Cowboy class, or how certain aspects of Fire Emblem Fates have been changed by Nintendo's localisation team.

But with all that said, how much do you think a game should be changed when it's localised? Should there be major changes to the script and story? Should things be censored for different audiences? Should any memes or in jokes be added?

Or should it be kept as close to the original as possible?
 
As for myself... not sure. On the one hand, sometimes things are made much, much more amusing after localisation, like Fawful in general:


And sometimes memes can be funny:



But then you've got stupid stuff, like how the Game Corner was removed from Pokemon because the EU apparently hates gambling or something (despite it being very legal in the UK). Or the recent stuff in Fire Emblem Fates.

What do you think?
 
Nothing should be changed during localisation. If it offends someone, boo freaking hoo. You can't please everyone so you shouldn't ruin it trying too. However, if it's a Japanese game and they reference something that only Japanese people would understand, then yeah, go ahead and change it to something people in their respective region would understand, but if the main character is too revealing or if there's something about religion, they should just leave it in. If it offends someone, oh well, they just shouldn't play it.
 
I have watched Disney movies and pokemon in both languages and it amuses me a lot noticing the localised jokes and stuff. I don't think a bit of the changes are bad. Sometimes that change is memorable in a good way, like it happened with Kafka.

The problem, I agree with you all, is when the idea for these changes is not longer about helping the user to understand the original idea. I feel like nowadays the political correctness and the Nanny mentality is going way too far. It's so bad that we have the oriental companies preventively removing content or deciding against releasing it to the west because of the insane amount of backlash over something like a gambling machine or too many boobs in a game.

The gamer should be the one making the decision if they want to support a Mis McMelons adventure game. Instead we get robbed of that and assigned what we can or not have. It is not about if the material can or not be offensive, it is taht they hinder the game vision and take away the decision from the consumer. It is specially annoying when they censor things in games that are geared towards adults anyway or are remakes from games taht already showed that material before.
 
Personally I wish they wouldn't change things at all, but I know that's not possible. The censorship BS needs to stop though.

I guess Nintendo specifically has kind of built themselves up against a wall there though. I mean, in Japan, cute is kind of thing that's acceptable over there. It's okay for things to be cute and fun, on top of everything else they are too- in the US at least, not so much. If it's gonna be cute, it seems like it's not acceptable for it to also be sexy, or violent, because cute means it's for kids. With Nintendo having always gone along with that, they've built themselves into a kids company over here, and now have to censor to match. It seems like most of the changes they make to censor midrifts and similar aren't changes that'd ever be made if it were a PS4 or Xbox game, but because it's on Nintendo in the west they feel like they have to maintain that kid friendly aspect. Or at least it seems that way to me because most of the 'they censored a midrift, or changed this girls pants!' censorship debacles seem to be on Nintendo's part. Or at least the ones I hear of!
 
Localization, in the general sense, is usually a hit or miss. Whether it be video games, television shows, movies, music, etc. Personally, I don't find localization of media to be appealing. When someone creates something, it's supposed to be viewed or played the way that it is. If you start changing things too much, then the point is lost. Anime, for instance, when localized in America will often remove all instances of swearing and any other content that would be NSFW. That is to say that there are still plenty of shows that are simply translated and dubbed. Some of the ones that aren't are very big titles though. Naruto, for instance, removed cursing. Yeah, if it's something that's going to be directed at a younger audience, you can take out things that wouldn't be suitable for them. If a show has a lot of gore or sexual tendencies, then you should probably direct that at an older audience. Don't take things out that you don't have to.

In games, a game developer puts a lot of time and effort into making their game. The game should be experienced the way they want you to experience it. It's understandable to translate a game if it's not in your area's native tongue. Don't start taking things out or changing them just because you don't like them. If something within the game violates your country's law or beliefs then it's acceptable to take that out or alter it the way you see fit. There are ratings in place for a reason. America has the R rating which is for people of age eighteen and older. If a game has graphic violence, nudity, or swearing, that shouldn't be changed unless, for some reason, it's being directed towards a younger demographic.

I will admit that I've seen instances where localization has worked out. Moments where a reference has been put in that the viewer/player will understand. Humor that wasn't there originally but was needed. Things like that I don't mind and wouldn't take too much away from the original. Basically, when a company is localizing something, they should use a lot of discretion. They should think about why they want to take something out. Why does this need to be changed? Who is going to be viewing/playing this? Would the person viewing/playing this prefer it this way? Honestly, more effort should be put into beta testing. You have a group of people whom you can ask, "Would you prefer this to this here?"

Localization, in any form of media, should be very carefully thought out process.
 
Brunn said:
Personally I wish they wouldn't change things at all, but I know that's not possible. The censorship BS needs to stop though.

I guess Nintendo specifically has kind of built themselves up against a wall there though. I mean, in Japan, cute is kind of thing that's acceptable over there. It's okay for things to be cute and fun, on top of everything else they are too- in the US at least, not so much. If it's gonna be cute, it seems like it's not acceptable for it to also be sexy, or violent, because cute means it's for kids. With Nintendo having always gone along with that, they've built themselves into a kids company over here, and now have to censor to match. It seems like most of the changes they make to censor midrifts and similar aren't changes that'd ever be made if it were a PS4 or Xbox game, but because it's on Nintendo in the west they feel like they have to maintain that kid friendly aspect. Or at least it seems that way to me because most of the 'they censored a midrift, or changed this girls pants!' censorship debacles seem to be on Nintendo's part. Or at least the ones I hear of!
Click to expand...
You reminded me of the Kirby is always angry in America meme.
 
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