Square Enix on the long localization times for Dragon Quest games, looking to shorten the process
Dragon Quest is no stranger to long localizations. It can take years for games to leave Japan after all. With Dragon Quest VII on 3DS for example, it took over three years for the RPG to reach North America and Europe.
Dragon Quest XI producer Yuu Miyake spoke about this with Game Informer. Due to the large amount of text in each game and creator Yuji Horii’s dedication to the translation, it can take quite some time for different entries in the series to appear around the world.
Miyake said the following about that:
“It has a disadvantage in that way. It’s really the speed of localization; it takes a long time because of how the game is and the text by Mr. Horii is a very important part of the game and appeals to the fans. Obviously, we have to look at making that process shorter and more efficient.”
“For the quality of the translation, the translators really have to understand the world itself and get it just right. We really do make sure to add the accents of the people in the world to make it work for each individual region.”
Effort is put into the translation, but Dragon Quest still isn’t terribly popular outside of Japan. Miyake said, “From our point of view, [the series is] still is not where it needs to be [in the West].”
Producer Hokuto Okamato also commented briefly on the Switch version of Dragon Quest XI. “We’ll make it,” he said. “We’ll make it. Don’t worry.”
