Topic: Localization stuff you liked?

[Kaneda]

I know Konami gets a lot of flack for some of the questionable changes or additions they made in localizations. Those manuals are pretty ridiculous in the old days. But is there anything among all the crap that you do like?

For me...

*Calling the main weapon the "mystic whip". Vampire Killer is cool and all, but it sounds a bit modern for a game mostly set in the middle ages.

*Adding the "Tomb of Terror" detail into Dracula's grand plan in CVIII. Pretty metal.

*Making Super Castlevania IV a sequel. I've said it elsewhere, but I think it wraps up the loose ends from Simon's Quest and it's so vastly different from the original that reducing it to another retelling feels like a letdown.

*Giving some of the SCVIV bosses specific names rather than generics. I'm thinking Rowdain, Koranot, Sir Grakul, and Puweyxil. Not Paula Abghoul and Fred Askare.

What are yours?

[Eric Roman]

Good post.

All of CastleVania III: Dracula's Curse, which fired my want for a Nintendo Entertainment System in the first place.  Akumajou Densetsu, in all its full un-emulated glory, arrived too late to be as impactful or creativity-inducing/defining as that game and the contemporary Nintendo Power coverage surrounding it. 

The English name of Dracula Densetsu II, CastleVania II: Belmont's Revenge.  RRRRRRGH.

How the voiceover performances of Symphony's First Edition have aged.  You guys got fucking Alucard to voice your fangame, fer chrissakes!

[Abnormal Freak]

The original SOTN translation was good. Much better than the redo and all the handheld games where enemies have terribly generic names. At least SOTN brought some imagination into the mix.

Granfal(l)oon > Legion

[LuxKiller65]

My favourite are consumer support and limited warranty on page 24 and 25.

[Eric Roman]

#konamisealofquality 

[theplottwist]

"Castlevania", the name itself.

I like "Demon Castle Dracula", and that the castle itself is called "Castle Dracula", like in the Stoker novel. But giving it the name "Castlevania" made it stand out immensely. Sounds like something you should be really scared of if it existed for real and appeared out of nowhere.

[Kaneda]

I can't believe I didn't think to include that, but you're right. Castlevania was a great branding decision on Konami's part. It immediately evokes horror imagery with its combination of castle and Transylvania.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

The original SOTN translation was good. Much better than the redo and all the handheld games where enemies have terribly generic names. At least SOTN brought some imagination into the mix.

Granfal(l)oon > Legion

200%


Also like, all the dialogue in SQ. It's not a good game and the dialogue definitely gets very in the way, but it's such a bold stylistic choice and does a lot to make the characters feel like they actually inhabit their own world. No normal person would just be a helpful textbox.

[crisis]

It’s both incredibly dumb & hilarious that the devs decided to call the city in Lords of Shadow 2 “Castlevania City”


like, what lol. It’s not even a clever play on words. Imagine if IGA named the town in OoE “Belmont Village”