English Dubs: Japanese RPGs’ Kryptonite

Poor English translations for Final Fantasy XII, Tales of Vesperia and Yakuza are good examples of an RPG’s kryptonite. Final Fantasy XII was a very good game, however the dialogue, story, and cut scenes were let down by the English voice acting. The good parts to these games are left as piles of ruin due to the unprofessional job of handling translations. I can play them for a few hours but I eventually leave the game and never come back.

Now fine translations like Final Fantasy X and Professor Layton have given me hope for localizations and have nailed to the coffin my memories of the dreaded dialogues of Chris, Jill, and Wesker from the first Resident Evil (watch the opening cinematic for that game, then you will see what I mean). Even though there has been progress, my issue here is about video games that don’t include an option for the original language, specifically for the Japanese RPGs. I’d like to see more upcoming international games that ship to the West have these options, like the Polish soundtrack in the next Witcher game, and especially the original language in Final Fantasy XIII, for people like me who are bit picky about how well the characters talk.

For example, many critics have praised Final Fantasy IX as another step forward in the series but when I played it at the time, I hardly enjoyed it thanks to the character Vaan. He talked too much like a kid, and I had a hard time being convinced that his team of politicians, pirates, and soldiers would really rally behind someone that sounds like he’s in high school. To me, Vaan had to carry this story. He was a central character, being in plenty of the cut scenes, and plus, the guy had terrific stats to begin with. That’s why he was the character I often played as. I wanted him to matter. Yet at the end, Vaan fell flat even though he was fun to play with. If the main character didn’t work for me, then neither would the story. Balthier and Fran were two other characters I can clearly say had monotonous and dry voices.

When I tried to play Tales of Vesperia I just couldn’t enjoy it since these characters reminded me of a poorly dubbed anime of Naruto from Cartoon Network. One pattern I see in poor translations is how similar they sound, with whiny voices and cheesy dialogue that reminds me of those hip American sitcoms about teenagers. The actors who replace the original voices should not just ‘œread the lines’ or follow a stereotype, but be keen on providing authentic emotions. That’s why in Metal Gear Solid 3, I felt some of the actors’ performances in the scenes’ serious moments didn’t communicate with enough authentic emotions. Instead of being engaged in those significant events, I’m more likely to smirk or laugh because they can remind me of performances from a B movie.

The story in Yakuza was cemented in Japanese culture, reflecting on the families and the traditions, to giving an inside look at the criminal underworld in Japan. I had hoped Yakuza would give me a rare experience in a video game that engaged me with authentic Japanese culture. But unfortunately the original actors who did a great job with the dialogue were replaced by an English dub that basically squeezed out the cultural flavor that I wanted to see in the game. Even if the voices were done by respected actors like Mark Hamill and Mark Madsen, my point here is that the localization wasn’t necessary based on what Yakuza was about. The story about what life was like for a Japanese family’s relationship with the country’s most dangerous gangsters would be more real and dramatic if the characters spoke their native tongue.

What I’m saying here about localization may be a minor issue to many, but some publishers have heard it clearly and taken action. For example, Sega was the one responsible for the Yakuza mess. Other people did not politely accept Sega’s decision to add a dub in the game and with enough public criticisms over their decision, last year the company decided to ship Yakuza 2 with only the Japanese language along with English subtitles. Kevin Frane, Associate Producer at Sega, gave the reason why:

When Yakuza was released in the U.S. without a Japanese voice track, there was actually a significant fan outcry. Obviously, this is a very Japanese game, set in Japan and dealing heavily with Japanese culture, and quite a lot of people thought that not having the original Japanese dialogue affected the game’s sense of authenticity. We definitely took that fan reaction into account when making the ultimate decision to go ahead with the Japanese voice track for Yakuza 2.

Would we continue to play the Grand Theft Auto series if the Russian and African American characters had an awful Japanese dub over their English voices? If a dub wasn’t handled with enough professionalism, accuracy is lost and it will dramatically affect the words, accents, and slang of the characters and soften up their distinct personalities and identities. Imagine that in Liberty City.

I don’t know how action adventure games like Ninja Gaiden II and Naruto: The Broken Bond managed to include an option for the Japanese language while some RPGs fail to have it like Tales of Vesperia and Persona 4, with their long scenes, heavy dialogue, and story driven gameplay. From my experiences playing recent games that included an option for the original voices, like Valkyria Chronicles, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, they sound good and authentic, enriching the story and the experience. I care about the characters and the narrative so any time a game features voices, it has to be convincing to pull me in. If Mass Effect didn’t have strong performances from actors like Keith David and Steve Barr, it would have been a very boring game since this space opera was piled to the top with dialogue.

Some may argue that the game disc may not have enough room to keep two audio languages. If that’s the case, then games that were shipped without an option for the original language track should have downloadable content as an alternative. Ubisoft did this with Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, releasing the Japanese voice pack on the Xbox 360 Marketplace. Downloadable content is already popular enough, from Rock Band and Guitar Hero, to upcoming episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV and Fable 2. It gets headlines and excites gamers so publishers should see this as a viable business opportunity. This can especially work for Microsoft, since they were the ones trying to build a strong library of Japanese RPGs.

If the dubs are done more professionally with respects to the culture, then I have no problem with the localizations. But many of these games I have played, without the original track, fail to impress me. Publishers should follow in the steps that Ubisoft and Square Enix have made to include an option to keep the original language in tact when the game is shipped here to the West. Fans of the genre will probably appreciate this more too. Just find any forum threads about whether the Japanese language will be in an upcoming RPG and you’ll see it’s been a hot debate.