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NEWS: Atelier Ayesha Slated for March 5 With English Dub Only


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evilkorpse



Joined: 28 Feb 2012
Posts: 81
Location: UNITED STATES
PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:34 pm Reply with quote
You know it does suck that its only getting a "PARTIAL" dub, its kinda like what happen with the game Cross Edge, when I played the game in Japanese dub almost all the cutscenes had a voice over but when I played it in english dub on some cutscenes and not all had english voice over work. Meaning the Japanesse had more voice over work than the english.
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Draneor



Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 355
PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:10 pm Reply with quote
The fan in me, of course, is quite upset. I exclusively play RPGs with Japanese audio so, without it being included, I will be passing.

Yet, I also realize there is a licensing cost to the Japanese track, Maybe Gust didn't pay for overseas license when they made it and now TK has to renegotiate with the seiyuu agency they used. Maybe one seiyuu is asking for an absurd amount. Maybe any amount of cost towards the Japanese voice license will not be recouped because it only matters to a couple dozen of us (who happen to be loud on the internet about it). Which is to say, as much as the fan in may wants to believe it's because TK doesn't understand the market, they may have a good reason I'm not privy to. Even if it ends up in a result antithetical to my interests.
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kazziyan



Joined: 26 Nov 2012
Posts: 391
PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:15 pm Reply with quote
The cost issue doesn't make sense when it was with NISA, it was perfectly fine. They are also a considerably smaller company compared to Tecmo.

Ryujin99 wrote:
I guess we'll just have to hope that fans make enough of a ruckus for TK to realize the mistake they're making.

I think the main problem is that the market they're used to is quite different from the actual market for this game. It's really a shame that TK bought Gust. They're not going to make the games more successful for burning their existing fans, and I really feel like they're just not trying to put forth any effort in releasing the game in the first place. I find such a lack of effort insulting as a fan of the franchise.

It would be one thing if this was the first game in the series to get a release on this side of the Pacific, but it's not. I just don't understand why they're releasing it like this. Didn't they do any market research before deciding on things like this?


TK probably thinks this title isn't going to sell. As compared to NISA, the amount it sells is a profit to them. Since it is incredibly niche, and they probably feel DOA, NG, etc is worth more to them. :/
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LiuXuande



Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 201
Location: Chicago
PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:39 am Reply with quote
If this isn't a "Screw you, fans!" then I don't know what is. Get your act together KOEI.
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naninanino



Joined: 18 May 2008
Posts: 680
PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:06 am Reply with quote
LiuXuande wrote:
If this isn't a "Screw you, fans!" then I don't know what is. Get your act together KOEI.


Yup. Actually this affected me so much that I won't be getting their warriors games either. I'll take my money to someone who doesn't drop a huge bomb like this on their fanbase less than two months before the release. Was looking forward to it since last summer too. One of the biggest gaming disappointments in my life.
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nhat



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 922
PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:43 am Reply with quote
RyanSaotome wrote:
Sylontack wrote:
Wait, partial dub?

Sorry, but I am not quite sure what that means...
It doesn't sound good though .-.


It just means they are half assing it since Tecmo doesn't care about the franchise, and are just releasing it in America out of obligation.


I'm surprise this game is even coming out to the states. I'm just glad for that fact.
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DomonX2



Joined: 14 Sep 2012
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 12:16 pm Reply with quote
It's funny how people complain about this being dub/English audio only, but when it's Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, people seem to enjoy it being in English. I wonder why that is.
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
Posts: 4210
Location: Towson, Maryland
PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 12:25 pm Reply with quote
DomonX2 wrote:
It's funny how people complain about this being dub/English audio only, but when it's Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, people seem to enjoy it being in English. I wonder why that is.


Bigger budget stuff like Square games use competent voice actors. Low budget stuff like this uses bottom of the barrel actors who sound like they are reading while talking, and show no emotion. And also anything with a lot of cute girls sounds terrible dubbed since English speakers can't do the moe voices well and it comes off sounding very forced and unnatural.

nhat wrote:
I'm surprise this game is even coming out to the states. I'm just glad for that fact.


Why? Every Atelier game since the early PS2 games came out here. It would be a shock if it didn't.
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Tamaria



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 12:56 pm Reply with quote
DomonX2 wrote:
It's funny how people complain about this being dub/English audio only, but when it's Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, people seem to enjoy it being in English. I wonder why that is.


I don't get the complaint either, since the characters in the recent Atelier games are usually voiced by people with years of experience in the business. I'd go as far as saying some may even be household names within animefandom. Liam O' Brien, Michelle Ruff... People you may also find in titles with a bigger budget like, I don't know, Final Fantasy and/or Tales?

The main reason people are complaining is because they had the luxury of being able to choose and went straight to the Japanese track without giving the English track a fair chance. Now their first choice may be taken away from them and now they'll have to adjust to that scary second option they know next to nothing about.

I mean, honestly people, the dubs of the Arland series have been just fine and if NISA was indeed in charge of the localisation of Atelier Ayesha, I don't think there's any need to worry. Personally, I like many of the characters better in English, especially the girls. They sound less fake.


Quote:
Why? Every Atelier game since the early PS2 games came out here. It would be a shock if it didn't.


We didn't get Atelier Liese and Atelier Lina (both for DS).
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:04 pm Reply with quote
Tamaria wrote:
I don't get the complaint either, since the characters in the recent Atelier games are usually voiced by people with years of experience in the business. I'd go as far as saying some may even be household names within animefandom. Liam O' Brien, Michelle Ruff... People you may also find in titles with a bigger budget like, I don't know, Final Fantasy and/or Tales?


Those anime dubbers ARE bottom of the barrel. Theres a reason why they are stuck dubbing incredibly niche cartoons over getting actual reputable acting jobs.


Quote:
The main reason people are complaining is because they had the luxury of being able to choose and went straight to the Japanese track without giving the English track a fair chance. Now their first choice may be taken away from them and now they'll have to adjust to that scary second option they know next to nothing about.

I mean, honestly people, the dubs of the Arland series have been just fine and if NISA was indeed in charge of the localisation of Atelier Ayesha, I don't think there's any need to worry. Personally, I like many of the characters better in English, especially the girls. They sound less fake.


You just ignore that only about 50% of the game is even voiced in a dub. Its inferior that way, and theres no real argument there. Thats actually one of my biggest concerns here... I'm too used to every single scene being voiced, even talking to shopkeepers and such, that it'll just be so annoying to have entire scenes where nobody is talking. A visual novel style game without voices for every line just isn't acceptable these days.

Plus of course Ayesha also has Marina Inoue, one of my favorite seiyuus, who I was really looking forward to hearing. Now I'd be stuck with one of the couple female dubbers who can't do moe voices right instead of Inoues beautiful voice.

The best way to voice my complaints though is with my wallet, which is what I'm doing. If enough people tell Tecmo that this isn't acceptable, maybe they'll learn and add dual audio back. Or maybe they will just stop releasing the series in the states, but thats a risk worth taking... I'm not going to be buying it regardless if its dub only, so that won't matter to me.
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Yttrbio
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Joined: 09 Jun 2011
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:08 pm Reply with quote
The reason I go straight for the Japanese track is that I don't automatically process it like I do with English. And let's face it, the things that are said in these games can be pretty stupid. But there's something about hearing stupid lines which is incredibly grating, whereas reading them allows me to enjoy their fun.

I think the reason the dub lines sound so unnatural is because they are, content-wise. People have always been able to get away with writing things that would be cringe-inducing if spoken aloud. A foreign dub with English text let's us have the emotional cues of a voice with none of the pain of understanding it.
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Tamaria



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:25 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The reason I go straight for the Japanese track is that I don't automatically process it like I do with English. And let's face it, the things that are said in these games can be pretty stupid. But there's something about hearing stupid lines which is incredibly grating, whereas reading them allows me to enjoy their fun.


I know what you mean. That was my basic strategy while playing the Ar Tonelico games. The recent Atelier games aren't nearly as obnoxious/cringe worthy (they're mostly stupid in a fun and/or cute way), so I don't mind playing those in English.
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DavidShallcross



Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Posts: 1008
PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:51 pm Reply with quote
Tamaria wrote:
The main reason people are complaining is because they had the luxury of being able to choose and went straight to the Japanese track without giving the English track a fair chance. Now their first choice may be taken away from them and now they'll have to adjust to that scary second option they know next to nothing about.

Or they gave up on the English track a long time ago. I was playing Atelier Iris 1 fairly recently. That game defaults to English every time you start it up. I sometimes forgot about this, but always switched to Japanese over the first combat. The characters had different personalities in English, and were LOUDER.

In a later game, Mana Khemia, I thought the main characters were OK in English, but some of the side characters came out weird. The Vice Principal had an inconsistent accent, and didn't pull off the air of controlled fury at the end of the game that she had in the Japanese.

At this point, I didn't even try the English track in the Arland games.
Tamaria wrote:


Quote:
Why? Every Atelier game since the early PS2 games came out here. It would be a shock if it didn't.


We didn't get Atelier Liese and Atelier Lina (both for DS).


And a few of the earliest PS2 games, before Iris, didn't come out here either.
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kazziyan



Joined: 26 Nov 2012
Posts: 391
PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:07 pm Reply with quote
Tamaria wrote:
DomonX2 wrote:
It's funny how people complain about this being dub/English audio only, but when it's Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, people seem to enjoy it being in English. I wonder why that is.


The main reason people are complaining is because they had the luxury of being able to choose and went straight to the Japanese track without giving the English track a fair chance. Now their first choice may be taken away from them and now they'll have to adjust to that scary second option they know next to nothing about.

I mean, honestly people, the dubs of the Arland series have been just fine and if NISA was indeed in charge of the localisation of Atelier Ayesha, I don't think there's any need to worry. Personally, I like many of the characters better in English, especially the girls. They sound less fake.



Yeah, and that option is nice. It's been a staple since being released here and has always been included even when it was difficult to on the PS2. Many people are also fans of seiyuu over english voice actors which also stirs up some excitement when you see someone you like/well known. I can't speak for everyone else, of course. This is my reason. But I think a lot of people gave it a chance, going by some opinions I've seen, it just didn't fair too well.

At least to me, they are extremely mediocre and just fall flat. They don't convey the right emotions and its just awkward. It all sounds really bad. They're just not the right choice it seems. I'm not saying its intolerable, but they aren't fitting.

But all in all, it's really just nice to have a staple NISA has going.
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Tamaria



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:44 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Or they gave up on the English track a long time ago.


I sympathise (because I played most of the AI en MK in Japanese as well for the same reasons), but English voice acting in videogames, even the more niche titles, has come a long way. You shouldn't dismiss these dubs without ever hearing them. Nowadays which track to use is up to preferences rather than quality and that goes for the Atelier games as well.

Quote:
But all in all, it's really just nice to have a staple NISA has going.


No argument there. NISA really understands how to sell games like these to both hardcore and casual fans of the genre alike. I love the Atelier series for its gameplay, so I'll buy Ayesha regardless of how Koei screws it up, but NISA is the kind of company I want to support because their products often exceed my expectations.
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