January was a big month for gaming, as several “major titles” came out across several developers. Some were brand new titles, and some were collections that had gotten an “upgrade,” such as the Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy. The games, brought to both console and PC, featured a visual overhaul of the Nintendo DS and 3DS titles so that players could enjoy them with modern looks on modern consoles. The results were well-received by critics and fans, and many are happy to have these games in their hands once again. But bringing the games to life both then and now has always been a challenge for the dev team at Capcom.
This was revealed during an interview with Kotaku. They talked with localization team member Janet Hsu, who revealed how different things were between the Japanese and English versions of the game simply due to how things are named on both sides of the ocean. For example, in Japan, the series’ main character is Ryūichi Naruhodō, but he’s more famously known as Phoenix Wright. It was that kind of “difference” that carried over across the franchise:
“With the main character of the first trilogy being named after a legendary bird, we had to go big for Apollo as well. Apollo is a god connected with the sun and truth, which fits his personality well. Similarly, Athena was also chosen for her god status and connection to justice, wisdom, and fighting spirit.”
But localization went far beyond basic names. Whether it was in the original Ace Attorney trilogy or the newer one that just got updated, the idea of bringing Japanese culture to the “Western World” of the game was important for the team. The English version of the games is based on a “version of Los Angeles,” but one that has embraced Japanese culture in a big way. That’s honestly not too far from what our world is now in certain aspects, such as with the love of Japanese-style video games, anime, manga, J-pop, and so on.
The team took that notion with all six games to keep certain things versus localizing them to “make more sense.” Oh, and as for the series future?
“I would love to see more Ace Attorney content in any form. We’ve had an anime, a live-action movie, multiple stage plays, orchestra concerts, and so much more in addition to the games.”
Capcom has said that the franchise “won’t be ending,” so hopefully, Hsu and the rest of the team will get to translate and localize more in the future.
