Localisation of games into Chinese seems to have turned a corner (inc. game recommendations)

[StChris]

On 6/18/2019 at 3:59 AM, ZhangKaiRong said:

Which Yakuza are you currently playing? I saw that there is a sale ongoing, including the Chinese version of Kiwami 2 on play-asia, I'm tempted to buy it and play again, even though I finished and platinumed the English version.

 

Also, I just noted that Judgement / Judge Eyes has also been out in Chinese since December.

 

 

I'm in China and only brought along my potato laptop, so no Yakuza for me for the time being. I played 1-5 plus Dead Souls on PS2/PS3 these past couple of years, and am looking forward to playing 0, Kiwami 1 + 2 and 6 once I buy I decent PC (probably next year). For some reason, the Chinese localisation seems missing from the PC version, but hopefully someone will have modded it back it by the time I play them.

 

The western version of Judgment was just released this weekend, so you have a choice between that and the Chinese. I'm a bit disappointed that Sega didn't go in for full Chinese dubbing, seeing as they added an English dub this time round. 

 

Do you understand Japanese btw? Although I have no plans to study Japanese like I have Chinese (i.e. to keep going until I reach near-native level), it seems a wasted opportunity to be getting all this Yakuza-related Japanese listening in without being able to understand 99% of it due to not having studied Japanese before. I was thinking of putting myself through a self-created 100+ hour 2 week Japanese crash course, with the aim of adding a little value to my Yakuza (and other Japanese games) playing. Of course, I don't expect to get fluent in any way, it's more like using an altered version of the Pareto principle (only trying to get 10% of the results with 0.5% of the effort rather than 20/80). How is the Japanese used in the Yakuza games? 

[StChris]

Regarding new Chinese-made games, a new game, ahem, "inspired" by Nintendo's Zelda Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact, was announced earlier this month and now the beta has been released.

 

 

 

 

Trailer:   youtube

30 minutes of gameplay from the beta: youtube

 

It is scheduled for release on PC and phones sometime next year. From the gameplay, there seems to be a decent amount of audio and text, so hopefully it will be a good learning opportunity, as well as a fun game. It's getting English subtitles too.

 

One to keep an eye on for sure.

[Wurstmann]

血污：夜之仪式 is out and it's very good. Just beware, the traditional Chinese translation is very bad, the simplified one is fine.

 

 

[ZhangKaiRong]

On 6/22/2019 at 12:42 PM, StChris said:

I'm in China and only brought along my potato laptop, so no Yakuza for me for the time being. I played 1-5 plus Dead Souls on PS2/PS3 these past couple of years, and am looking forward to playing 0, Kiwami 1 + 2 and 6 once I buy I decent PC (probably next year). For some reason, the Chinese localisation seems missing from the PC version, but hopefully someone will have modded it back it by the time I play them.

 

 The western version of Judgment was just released this weekend, so you have a choice between that and the Chinese. I'm a bit disappointed that Sega didn't go in for full Chinese dubbing, seeing as they added an English dub this time round. 

 

Do you understand Japanese btw? Although I have no plans to study Japanese like I have Chinese (i.e. to keep going until I reach near-native level), it seems a wasted opportunity to be getting all this Yakuza-related Japanese listening in without being able to understand 99% of it due to not having studied Japanese before. I was thinking of putting myself through a self-created 100+ hour 2 week Japanese crash course, with the aim of adding a little value to my Yakuza (and other Japanese games) playing. Of course, I don't expect to get fluent in any way, it's more like using an altered version of the Pareto principle (only trying to get 10% of the results with 0.5% of the effort rather than 20/80). How is the Japanese used in the Yakuza games? 

Yeah, in the end I chose the English version of Judgment, it would take 5 weeks to ship from play-asia compared to a pick-up today, and I really want to try it out as soon as possible. I think for the next release, Sega will be braver and we will hear a Chinese dub in the next RGG game - it's pretty much confirmed that the Chinese-speaking part of the world boosts their sales figures. It's also very obvious that they the developers are focusing on themes involving Chinese characters in the plot.

 

My Japanese is passable, definitely far from my Chinese fluency level. I am fairly good in reading, Chinese help a lot to extract the meaning of a sentence with kanjis I don't know in their Japanese readings, but I have problems with listening and writing / speaking. I can understand approximately 60-70 percent of the modern Yakuza games (played the Japanese version of 1-2 HD, 5 and the two Kurohyou PSP spinoffs), the language and grammar were quite easy to understand especially if you are a fan of Japanese pop culture (anime, manga, jpop) and consume its products in the native language in some form. On the contrary, I struggled a lot with Kenzan, and struggled even more with Ishin, the two samurai spinoffs. Those have a massive amount of archaic expressions (e. g. Ishin has built-in Japanese-Japanese dictionary that you can pop during dialogues, explaining the meaning of certain words or expressions). Also, there are always some substories in every Yakuza games that involve puns, wordplays or dialects, and I definitely suck in these. Fortunately, Ishin and Kenzan had good guides available that can help you out in such situations. I think KHHSubs also finished his fan-translation project for the cinematic cutscenes of Ishin, so it can help for players with limited Japanese.

[StChris]

On 6/26/2019 at 8:28 PM, ZhangKaiRong said:

I think for the next release, Sega will be braver and we will hear a Chinese dub in the next RGG game

 

I hope so. Even better would be a game set in a Chinese speaking location, although I'm not sure how likely that is.

 

Thanks for the info about the Japanese used in the games. Sounds like pretty standard Japanese, so it might be worth a quick 1/2 week crash course in Japanese to pick up a little listening abilities after all.

 

Regarding Kenzan and Ishin, it sounds like they could possibly get localised after all. One of the producers discussed the possibility of a Kiwami style remake for Kenzan. Ishin is already a PS4 game, so that would be easier (just a translation needed).

I'm not so in to long games these days, but it took me 99 hours to complete Yakuza 5 and I don't regret a minute of it. I was pretty much smiling from ear to ear the whole time. Whenever I finish a Yakuza game, one part of feels I've just played a really fun game, one part that I have just watched an awesome Japanese crime drama, and another part that I have just come back from a trip to Japan.

[StChris]

On 6/25/2019 at 12:01 AM, Wurstmann said:

血污：夜之仪式 is out and it's very good. Just beware, the traditional Chinese translation is very bad, the simplified one is fine.

 

That's strange. I assumed that they would just write a traditional or simplified version, and then convert it to the other form, not that it would be two completely different translations. 

[StChris]

On 6/26/2019 at 8:28 PM, ZhangKaiRong said:

Japanese pop culture (anime, manga, jpop)

 

While taking about anime, have many of them received Chinese dubs? If so, is the quality of the translations decent? I haven't really watched much myself, but would be interested in getting into it a little bit. For now, I'd prefer a Chinese version.

[roddy]

Here's one for someone else to take a look at: Shenzhen I/O. Looks to be a game based around designing circuit boards - with the instructions manuals in Chinese. Fantastic reviews, low system requirements. Apologies if it's been mentioned already. 66% off today, at under £4.

[Luxi]

Chinese Parents has gone full circle and comes back to Steam fully translated into English. 

 

From the RADII e-magazine: Shanghai Indie Game Publisher Coconut Island Brings Chinese Culture to Steam :

 

Quote

 

... on June 20, Coconut Island released the game’s English version , a fairly monumental achievement given the game’s verbosity. For the publisher, it’s a fascinating experiment: how do you translate the many, many intricate nuances of Chinese parenting (and the culturally specific anxieties it channels) into another language?

 

 

Warning, off-topic!!! In-between  gaming sessions, you may want to check out RADII (an e-platform founded by Alibaba's Vicepresident Brian Wong), it is quite lighhearted and informative, with several interesting articles offering an unusually lively view of China. It's in English, I'm not sure whether there is a Chinese version.

Free, so far.

[StChris]

Playstation are doing a 2 hour broadcast highlighting new Chinese PS4 games starting from 5:30pm Beijing time tonight:

 

https://playstation-cj.u-see.com.cn/pscj2019/eve_fes/

[Mijin]

I've been dreaming of playing Skyrim with Chinese audio for some years now (I may even have made a thread about it), so I was interested to see some screengrabs of a mod for Skyrim called Canglong City, way back in about 2015, set in...I wanna say, Ming dynasty?

It was not available for download though, and nothing was heard about it for years.

 

Well apparently what happened behind the scenes is that the project grew in ambition and funding and will be released as a standalone game, variously Anglicized as "Canglong City" or "Cang Loong City". Trailer here, and article here suggesting the game should be out this year.

 

The visuals are impressive, however I don't hold much hope after seeing the trailer -- the focus on battles and not showing any dialogue at all makes me think they've probably removed all traces of Skyrim in favor of the "classic" button-mashing action RPG. *sigh* But we'll see.

 

Anyway, it's positive to hear a developer and publisher working on a project that certainly looks AAA from a technical point of view, targeting the Chinese market foremost. I'll be looking for what else is coming from Cubejoy. 

[StChris]

@Mijin That looks like it could be interesting. Trailers often focus on the action, so hopefully there'll still be plenty of dialogue in this. Please come back with a review if you do end up playing it.

[Mijin]

Well, in the meantime I took a punt on another game and already it's been the most useful game I've yet played for learning Chinese: Legend of Mercy

 

below link is possibly not safe for work as it is an erotic fantasy adventure

NSFW https://store.steampowered.com/app/676090/Legend_Of_Mercy/ NSFW

 

the reason it's so good is because all the dialogue, apart from the player's own character, is voiced, with subtitles too. After each sentence it will pause until you press a key, which is perfect for me, but you can turn that off if you prefer and have the sentences delivered consecutively. You can also review the entire dialogue and repeat any sentence as many times as you like. 

 

I'm early in the game though (I haven't even got to the medieval world yet). I'll give a full review when I'm further in.

But so far the features are great for practicing reading and listening and the story is fun enough that it doesn't feel like a chore. 

[StChris]

For Cantonese speakers, a Hong Kong horror game similar to last years Devotion has just come out, called 港詭實錄ParanormalHK

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1178490/ParanormalHK/

 

[StChris]

This Chinese-made detective game looks interesting:

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/942970/Unheard/

 

"What if you could hear every word spoken at the scene of a crime? “Acoustic Detectives” wanted for testing our new device! Return aurally to crime scenes and use the voices you hear to identify potential suspects and solve the mysteries. What is it that’s connecting these seemingly unrelated cases?"

 

"Step through time as you use our device to eavesdrop on conversations from past crime scenes. Every clue, every move, and every motive will be presented in the form of audio. Rather than controlling any one character, you only need listen to their conversations, following along as the story evolves. Use the information you hear to match names to voices and determine how everything (and everyone) is related. Can you discover the truth?"

 

I haven't played the game (the system requirements look to be a little over what my laptop can handle), but these reviews give a good idea of what to expect:

 

"Answering questions about an incident using only audio from the incident. Matching the voices with the names and piecing together what happened. It's a recipe for a good few hours of thought provoking fun. The only downside is there isn't really any replayability once you've figured it all out"

 

"Extremely unique game that is most enjoyable. The idea of solving mysteries by sound requires a different skill set and is quite captivating! I recommend this for anyone looking for a new gaming experience that is very immersive!"

 

Sounds like you would get a lot of Chinese listening practice from playing this game. It's currently on sale for £3.11 in my region. Might be worth a try.

 

 

[NinKenDo]

On 2/11/2019 at 7:19 PM, Mijin said:

StarCraft 2 is indeed available with mandarin voice over as well as subtitles.

IIRC it was a bit of a pain to set up though -- Chinese version needs online log in, and if you already have a western account or license number those of course won't work.
This is from memory though so I may be misremembering.

 

One problem I've had with Chinese games, specifically Starcraft II as an example, is getting Chinese characters displaying in Wine. It has been a massive pain. When I finally, finally managed to do it, the game wouldn't launch. So yeah, bit of a random point, but something to keep in mind for people running Linux. I recommend people on Linux go down the route of emulating classics rather than PC gaming, but this definitely shrinks the available game library significantly (and also forces you toward games in Trad characters, but that's no issue for me).

[roddy]

Just a quick link - Amazing Cultivation Simulator. Not a competitor to Farming Simulator 2021, but a chance to start your own sect and achieve immortality, with Chinese text and audio. Not tried it, but well-reviewed and 10% off just now. Should be some interesting vocab...

[feihong]

On 4/18/2020 at 3:31 PM, NinKenDo said:

I recommend people on Linux go down the route of emulating classics rather than PC gaming, but this definitely shrinks the available game library significantly (and also forces you toward games in Trad characters, but that's no issue for me).

I agree that emulating classic console games is much easier. But the vast majority of translated ROMs are in simplified, not traditional.

[roddy]

19 hours ago, roddy said:

Just a quick link - Amazing Cultivation Simulator.

While I haven' t bought this, I have had a closer look and am more tempted than I was - originally Chinese, so the language should be authentic, and it looks to be a base-building game along the lines of Rimworld with religious / mythological elements. Could someone else buy it and then tell me if I should?

[StChris]

19 minutes ago, roddy said:

While I haven' t bought this, I have had a closer look and am more tempted than I was - originally Chinese, so the language should be authentic, and it looks to be a base-building game along the lines of Rimworld with religious / mythological elements. Could someone else buy it and then tell me if I should?

 

The game looks really intriguing, both from a gameplay viewpoint, and also in terms of being a good language challenge. Unfortunately, one of my new year's resolutions is not to add any new games to my already scary steam backlog (not until Christmastime at least), so I won't be playing it for a while, no matter how tempting.

 

One game I already own and will finally get around to playing sometime this year is the old PC classic, Rollercoaster Tycoon 1&2. A group of hardcore fans of the game have created numerous patches for the game, not only making it look and run a lot better on modern hardware, but also localising it for different regions, including Chinese. I look forward to spending copious amounts of time "studying" the game in the coming weeks.

 

A good one I'm playing right now is a coding/engineering game called SHENZHEN I/O. The coding puzzles are a lot of fun, plus the Chinese localisation is handled very well too. I'll have a proper review of it up soon.

 

Lastly, has anyone been playing Cyberpunk 2077 in Chinese? I was originally hoping to play it, but the current lack of availability of GPUs and CPUs makes that pretty much impossible (my current laptop would explode if I even tried to boot it up). The voice acting seems good, pretty much on par with any Chinese TV drama. Here is some gameplay footage in Chinese:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeYyY1GaHEo