Unicorn Overlord - Tactical RPG by Vanillaware

[notpl]

I'm playing the demo and enjoying it, the auto-battles are less rng based than what I was expecting which was my biggest concern. I also like how you can explore the continent outside of battle and do extensive build testing if you want. Archers seem really exploitable though, having squads who just support with arrow fire looks really good based on one of the maps I fought. The writing is weird, the characters talk normally 80% of the time and then they'll throw in a line with overdone prose that looks like it was written by someone else. It's not a character trait, it happens with multiple characters.

The localization isn't very good, so that's why you feel some lines don't fit some characters, they say completely different things in the original Japanese dialogue.

Standard practice for rpg localization is to "punch up"/censor the main plot-critical dialogue and then 100% fabricate the incidental dialogue like combat barks, throwaway NPC lines, etc

 

[Lord of Riva]

I did not play the latest Fire emblem due to the fucked up localisation, i hope it's not that bad.

 

[Kem0sabe]

The demo is amazing, despite the automation of the combat and many of the mechanics, the art, the smoothness of it all... This is something the strategy genre needed for a long time.

 

[Jaedar]

What do you need to do to recruit Ochlys? Give her lots of divine fragments? I was very sad she didn't join my party immediately.

The writing is weird, the characters talk normally 80% of the time and then they'll throw in a line with overdone prose that looks like it was written by someone else. It's not a character trait, it happens with multiple characters.

I'm guessing the localizer is translating the various levels of japanese politeness poorly.

 

[Modron]

This is something the strategy genre needed for a long time.

It's something the genre had 25 years ago.

 

[Reinhardt]

What do you need to do to recruit Ochlys? Give her lots of divine fragments?

not even that much. iirc it should be in your quest list.

 

[Reinhardt]

only one side mission left - lvl 14, about plague doctors. then i will finish final quest in demo and wait for release.

 

[Abu Antar]

Yasumi Matsuno chimes in on localization. (You can translate his post on X.)


One of the things he says is that his team questioned some of the translation of FF Tactics, but they were on a tight schedule, and had to roll with it. There's more if you want to read through his follow up posts.

He compliments Alexander O. Smith for the work on Vagrant Stroy, Final Fantasy XII, and Tactics Ogre Remake.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Fine. Apparently I need to just learn the language myself.

 

[Lord of Riva]

Fine. Apparently I need to just learn the language myself.

I have been doing that, slowly. It's kinda ass you will take quite a while.

 

[Crayll]

I will say, the localization so far hasn't been anywhere near as egregious as, for example, the modern Fire Emblem games. Apart from one character with a stupid gimmick added, it's just been a bunch of purple prose from someone trying to show off their community college creative writing degree.

Wouldn't be a bad game to practice Jap on though, seeing as all the dialogue is pretty simple.

 

[Lord of Riva]

I will say, the localization so far hasn't been anywhere near as egregious as, for example, the modern Fire Emblem games. Apart from one character with a stupid gimmick added, it's just been a bunch of purple prose from someone trying to show off their community college creative writing degree.

Wouldn't be a bad game to practice Jap on though, seeing as all the dialogue is pretty simple.

in the twitter thread are som rather bad localisation examples though. One where one character is supposed to be aggravated by another characters treason as they know each other from before and in the localisation it's some boasting about taken this character down instead as if theyve only ever met as enemies.

I have not seen anything outrageous like mentioning the Patriarchy instead of clothing like in the latest stuff with that anime but it's not a good translation.

 

[Talby]

Me when I see a woman.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Me when I see a woman.
View attachment 47051

I played that game when I was much younger. They're missing an option.

 

[lvl 2 Blue Slime]

Looks awful

 

[Reinhardt]

Me when I see a woman.
View attachment 47051

I played that game when I was much younger. They're missing an option.

look at her underwear?

 

[Reinhardt]

being kang is suffering...

btw i liked how smol thing you do on global map affected this mission.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Me when I see a woman.
View attachment 47051

I played that game when I was much younger. They're missing an option.

look at her underwear?

I kind of want to cringe, but really, it's probably just that this is more of a North American reference.

Spoiler

I meant: "Marry, Fuck, Kill" -> "Recruit, ????, Execute"

 

[mediocrepoet]

being kang is suffering...

I like her, she seems like a real go getter.

 

[Reinhardt]

i like monica. clive is lucky nigga.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

So can you actually bang broads in this game? I'm starting to warm up to it. Is "recruit" code for sex?

 

[mediocrepoet]

So can you actually bang broads in this game? I'm starting to warm up to it. Is "recruit" code for sex?

Pretty sure Rance is going to be more up your alley.

 

[Jaedar]

Fine. Apparently I need to just learn the language myself.

がんばって

As for the localization: I kinda like some of the changes. Some of them are stupid, but a lot of the japanese text seems to be very functional with few frills.
I'll take wannabe shakespearan prose over purely functional prose.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Fine. Apparently I need to just learn the language myself.

がんばって

As for the localization: I kinda like some of the changes. Some of them are stupid, but a lot of the japanese text seems to be very functional with few frills.
I'll take wannabe shakespearan prose over purely functional prose.

日本語を学ぶことはとても名誉なことだ。ピンク髪の変人が読んでくれる漫画でオナニーするのではなく、原文からスマットを読むことができるようになる日が来るのだ。

 

[Damned Registrations]

Fine. Apparently I need to just learn the language myself.

がんばって

As for the localization: I kinda like some of the changes. Some of them are stupid, but a lot of the japanese text seems to be very functional with few frills.
I'll take wannabe shakespearan prose over purely functional prose.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the localizers making it all so flowery, but I gave it a pass for Frog in Chrono Trigger so I can't hate on it that much, even if they do kinda suck at it. Significantly changing scenes (like where the princess goes from being scared to unconcerned) is way over the line though. I HATE shit like that, and it tends to compound on itself and lead to characters apparently acting out of character later, lacking growth, or outright plotholes. Baffling that such changes are allowed.