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[ Josh Tolentino's blog ]

Weeaboo fight! Ignition speaks out on Muramasa, localization
Josh Tolentino \| 8:06 PM on 06.11.2009	28 comments

I noticed something on Siliconera today, namely Ignition folks mentioning that Muramasa would not be incorporating an English dub.

"For Muramasa we decided to stick with the original Japanese voices and only localize the text,” Shane Bettenhausen, Business Development Director at Ignition, told Siliconera in a post E3 phone interview. “We felt the game was deeply steeped in Japanese tradition, mythology, and culture that trying to dub it, trying to make something more Western is really not a service to the product."

“Who wants some goofy anime voices in this game?” Bettenhausen joked.

Quite surprising, I have to say, considering that not even my beloved Atlus has released an undubbed game (at least not to my knowledge). Also interesting, because the same post mentions that Ignition had outsourced Lux-Pain's localization - which I hear was terrible - and will be outsourcing Muramasa's, though to a different, "very high end" firm.

This revelation of sorts suddenly makes it interesting, as now we have a great three-way localization brawl to see who does it best: Atlus, Ignition (rather, whomever Ignition hires), or NIS-America, seeing as all three firms have each published a Vanillaware game, Odin Sphere, Muramasa, and GrimGrimoire, respectively, all of which included Japanese voice tracks.

NO DUBS
ONLY SUBS

FINAL DESTINATION

Winner takes the loli!

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28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

Josh Tolentino says:
(# 0) on 06/11/2009 20:17

To view the decision cynically, it might have also been cheaper for Ignition just to do the text and not bother with paying voice actors etc. Kinda smart, at least if you know your audience wouldn't care for the dub anyway.

MatCD says:
(# 1) on 06/11/2009 20:21

Zelda games have NO voice acting and those see to do alright.

Ckarasu says:
(# 2) on 06/11/2009 21:10

@Unangbangkay: I'm indifferent to this, but at least those who are on the subs side cannot complain. I just want to get my hands on it as soon as possible.

As a sidenote: Do you still want that KitN artbook? I have a spare, and it seemed like you wanted one.

Josh Tolentino says:
(# 3) on 06/11/2009 21:16

@Ckarasu

Oh, I do! How much do you want for it?

Insanity Warden says:
(# 4) on 06/11/2009 21:16

Laughed so hard at the "Final Destination" joke. But still, I would have wanted English dub if the VAs were anything like Disgaea's (see terribly hilarious). Otherwise, I don't care.

JLanphear says:
(# 5) on 06/11/2009 21:17

I'm mixed opinion on the sub/dub debate. It really just depends on the final outcome because when a dub is good, it's really good. But in this case, I think keeping the original Japanese VA's is a fantastic idea that I think is a true testament to how much attention Ignition actually pays to their fanbase.

Magnalon says:
(# 6) on 06/11/2009 21:17

Subs subs subs subs! I'm digging it.

Anyway, Josh, the Odin Sphere dub was great, and had many anime greats in it (like Faye Valentine: hell, it even have Colonel Campell!). I don't see why they couldn't make it comparable.

Dan CiTi says:
(# 7) on 06/11/2009 21:18

Goofy anime voices are why I like anime/anything voiced.

Ckarasu says:
(# 8) on 06/11/2009 21:19

@unangbangkay: It's absolutely free. I'm cool like that. Just PM me, and I'll send it out by the beginning of next week.

Colette Bennett says:
(# 9) on 06/11/2009 21:20

Having played it I can say it sounds great as is. I'm always more than happy to hear the Japanese voices though.

Josh Tolentino says:
(# 10) on 06/11/2009 21:25

@Ckarasu

Man, you're a saint. Thanks so much!

Magnalon says:
(# 11) on 06/11/2009 21:27

@Josh
Prepare for the greatest/most informative artbook ever made. It has spoilers even!

Monodi says:
(# 12) on 06/11/2009 21:31

I only will whine if the english voices are horrible.

Ckarasu says:
(# 13) on 06/11/2009 21:41

@unangbangkay: Just sent a reply. No need to pay anything at all (not even shipping). I sincerely hope you enjoy the artbook.

On topic: I've heard so many good things about this game, so it's most certainly going to be a day one purchase. I just hope the translation is accurate. So long as I can understand the story, then I'll be set.

covah says:
(# 14) on 06/11/2009 21:41

GOOD!

I always prefer Japanese made games to have Japanese audio. Because if it's considered a bad dub by Japanese players, I have no way of telling that. The only thing that will get on my nerves are the overly high pitched voices of young girls.

pedrovay2003 says:
(# 15) on 06/11/2009 21:57

Personally, I lean toward the Japanese voice tracks over the English ones, anyway, unless the English ones are really good. Unfortunately, outside of a few series, that doesn't happen often enough.

prolifikstudio says:
(# 16) on 06/11/2009 22:44

your avatar is so cute. plus your blogs are awsome

Frohike says:
(# 17) on 06/11/2009 22:59

The Odin Sphere dub was pretty mediocre, but a lot of that was due to the incredibly corny writing and plot. I'd hate to hear the dub from a smaller studio on this one. I think they made the right decision.

Ckarasu says:
(# 18) on 06/11/2009 23:06

@Frohike: I hate to say it, but you're kinda right. The voice acting was good, but the story made it sound corny at times. The Japanese VA fixed this (you don't understand what they're saying, so you can't say it sounds corny).

Zoel says:
(# 19) on 06/12/2009 00:19

Talk about good news. Playing the japanese version, the voice work was just perfect. I mean playing games in english is like watching a dubbed Brcue Lee film.

Tubatic says:
(# 20) on 06/12/2009 00:30

I clearly didn't turn full Weeaboo: I prefer dubs, how ever awful they may be. While I'll read subtitles, I'll ultimately realize I'm reading and not totally paying attention, and tend toward turning them off.

Having the japanese track included on an import-port though, should be standard practice. no exceptions.

Dan CiTi says:
(# 21) on 06/12/2009 00:39

This is actually great news seeing as there has never been any good English voice acting for anything ever, and all voice actors in Japan are perfect in every way(none of them are bad, forgettable, sound identical, or awkward).

Ckarasu says:
(# 22) on 06/12/2009 01:18

@Dan Citi: Persona 4 had great voice acting, and I will not hear otherwise. Makai Kingdom also had a good dub. There are others, but those are just some examples.

Necros says:
(# 23) on 06/12/2009 02:06

I like having the option to go either way, though we rarely get Japanese tracks. If I did have the option, I'd likely go for the Japanese track every time, unless the English dub was both excellent and fit the setting better, but I've never had an issue with well done English dubs.

@ Dan CiTi

And that, my friends, is an example of a weeaboo.

Stella Wong says:
(# 24) on 06/12/2009 03:03

I will always take the option of Japanese voices over English voices, unless if it's done really well in English, I prefer Japanese. That's why I usually play import games 90% of the time.

Lux pain's Japanese voice overs are perfect, I wished they localized it better here giving that option.

Aziel13 says:
(# 25) on 06/12/2009 03:29

BAKA! don't disgrace this title with your western devil tongue leave it as is
and as for teh loli make sure to leave air holes on the box and some peanuts in there for it to eat

BulletMagnet says:
(# 26) on 06/12/2009 10:38

In most cases I don't mind a solid English dub, but I have to agree with the guy from Ignition for this title - this particular game is SO overwhelmingly Japanese in its overall presentation that I probably would have found English voices, even well-done ones, distracting. If nothing else, it's one less thing for the localizers to worry about.

Vedicardi2 says:
(# 27) on 06/12/2009 15:59

subz 4 lyf

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