#otome localization

Norn9: Last Era, the highly anticipated fan disk follow up to Norn9: Var Commons, is available now for the first time in the west on Nintendo Switch™. Each first run copy of the game includes an exclusive set of twelve full-color character cards, and North American customers who order from the Aksys Online Store can also receive a 1.25″ metal pin of the Norn9 insignia, while supplies…

Café Enchanté, localized by Aksys Games, is out on November 5!

Remember, remember the 5th of November ;)

2022 Otome Localization Survey is Live

Happy New Year! It’s the start of a new year, with the promise of even more otome games! 2022 was an amazing year for Western otome gamers, with several new titles making their English language debut! Publishers like Aksys Games and Idea Factory Intl are making sure otome gamers are getting fed. But, before we dive in to the upcoming otome titles making their way West this year; I want to look…

Aksys Games Anime Expo 2022 Announcements

During their Saturday panel at Anime Expo 2022 publisher Aksys Games made a few announcements about some of their existing projects and some new titles! Of course Western otome gamers are eager to see if anything new is on the horizon for us in the coming months and into 2023! So, here’s a rundown of the big announcements from Aksys Games at this year’s Anime Expo! (more…)

There is nothing on this yet, last I heard (if I’ve implied to the contrary somehow, my mistake).  Code Realize Future Blessings (and other fandisc material) will be localized in 2018, but I haven’t even heard a rumour about Collar x Malice.  That said, CxM has been extremely successful (as these things go), so there’s hope.

Based on recent fandisc localizations, there’s a decent chance that they’ll do it by bundling any fandisc material with the main game in a PS4 release.  Also, I’m expecting a long wait.

Localization/translation comments (for those interested):   

Aksys localized CxM, and took a bit of heat over the translation job; however, more detailed (and in my opinion) fairer reviews noted that the localization overall was actually quite good.  One commentator noted that it isn’t fair to say CxM has a translation problem.  Yes, there are a number of repetitive punctuation errors (for example, an ellipsis should have three dots exactly, not vary wildly from page to page).  However, CxM (almost?) never leaves the reader trying to figure out what’s going on (or on the floor laughing at the translation).  

[Hakuouki’s Kyoto Winds had a translation problem.  I have great hopes for Edo Blossoms to be better-translated.]

Overall, I’m hopeful that Aksys will localize CxM Unlimited and won’t be discouraged by some of the early comments. 

Things I’ve learned:  

(1) IF/Otomate has a bit of a reputation for rushing the localization process (despite how we the fans might see it!).  This can be a challenge.

(2) The translators do NOT have a copy of either the visuals of the voices while translating.  That… kind of boggles my mind.