Capcom considered several English names for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s Insect Glaive

Capcom is back with another localization blog about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Today’s write-up includes some discussion pertaining to the Insect Glaive, one of the weapons in the game.

In Japanese, the Insect Glaive is known as Souchuukon (???), which roughly translates into “Control Insect Cane”. The weapon was tentatively named Neopteron Handler in English, but the team was later given permission to change it.

Capcom ended up considering the following names before settling on Insect Glaive.

– Swarmstaff: This was the overall favorite of the localization staff, and we thought it was a short but effective name to describe the weapon.
– Hunting Bug: For this we ditched the actual weapon part and opted to focus on the bug that accompanies the hunter.
– Leechstaff: Focuses on what the bug does for the hunter while keeping the weapon name intact.
– Pherocaster: This may be a strange one, but we were trying to describe how the hunter uses pheromones to command the bug during a quest.
– Augmentor Staff: Again, this was to focus on what the bug does for the hunter rather than what the hunter does with the bug.

Capcom ended up submitting a few more names like Bug Bo and Insect Staff after director Kaname Fujioka said he “wanted something simpler and more in line with the other weapon names.” Insect Glaive was ultimately picked “due to the properties of the weapon – it’s capable of severing tails and doesn’t do blunt damage – and because there are more weapons that look like glaives than there are staffs.”

You can find more about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s localization on Capcom Unity.