Sega of America works hard to deliver strong localizations of Japanese-developed games, like the upcoming Yakuza Remastered Collection, because they want western fans to flock to their products. In an age where there are more localized games than ever before, wonderfully done translations can stand as the difference between buying and skipping for gamers.
Folks who spend their scratch on marquee Japanese franchises have come to expect strong translations. Gone are the days of “all your base are belong to us” as fans want localization efforts to pack a translation that matches the core meaning of the original product in working English. That has, in turn, made it so that companies who are willing to invest the time into training and developing strong localization programs now have the chance to really establish their appeal in western markets ahead of their competitors in Japan who might not have the same approach.
According to Sega’s Junior Localization Producer Jon Riesenbach, when it comes to Yakuza, there’s “a really strong fan base that buys into the Japanese culture aspect of it that allows us to go hard…and preserve a lot more of that original intent and in some cases, even have fun little language lessons and stuff in there.” Riesenbach spoke at length about Sega’s localization process with GameDaily. Sega of America knows their fans want localized games to stay true to cultural intent, and their localization team works to meet that demand. Riesenbach explained that there’s “a lot more focus and expectation on quality localization.“
There are times, of course, when a localization team has to consider cultural sensitivities when bringing someone from one side of the world to another. Sometimes, as Riesenbach explains, the team has to look at some of the sensitive portions of the games they’re working on and discern whether “it’s clear in those cases that the game is not supporting those ideas.” Perhaps rewriting is in order. In the case of Yakuza 3 Remastered, though, that meant cutting a mission entirely, which presents its own unique challenges to the team.
The Yakuza franchise has gone from a niche experience on the PlayStation 2 during the mid-2000s to a genuine hit with millions of fans with its later entries. That popularity has pushed Sega to rerelease, remake, and remaster essentially every game in the series. They even released a prequel to the series with Yakuza 0, a title that some mark as one of the best in the franchise. Its story and setup make it a wonderful place to enter the franchise for new players, too.
The Yakuza Remastered Collection brings Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5 together in remastered form on the PlayStation 4 for $59.99. Yakuza 3 came out in August of this year, Yakuza 4 released on October 29th, and Yakuza 5 will join the trio on February 11th, 2020.
