"Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island" Developer "eliminated confusing wordplay" for a simplified Western release
Localization is king!
Shiren the Wanderer has been around for quite some time now, but it’s always had a tighter grip overseas. Well, the developers behind the newest entry, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island intend to change that by making the game a little more palatable to Western audiences. According to Keisuke Sakurai, director of this new release, that started with toning down the game’s wordplay.
AL: There haven’t been too many Shiren titles released in the West when it comes to Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island. Was a Western release something you wanted from the beginning of development, and did that affect your approach to any gameplay mechanics?
Keisuke Sakurai: From the very beginning of development, we had the Western release in mind. For this reason, we eliminated confusing wordplay elements that had been common in previous titles, as we decided that they were not adaptable to other languages. Since awareness and popularity of the Shiren series are still growing in the West, we were conscious of keeping the game simple and easy to understand.
It’s quite interesting to see that they started off wanting this game to be a success in the West, and it all starts with a good localization! For more behind-the-scenes information, be sure to check out the full interview here!
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