Just a quick update to let you guys know we’re still alive and we love you. Or is that we… Heart… you?
I noticed that I never put up a screenshot of the main menu. I figure I ought to since Absolute Zero’s initial teaser shot was of the main menu. You know, just out of the sheer principle of it.
Also, here’s a shot of the Connect Panel screen where you can summon allies from outside the battle party. As you can see, for now, both the Hometek localized name and the romaji name for the arte are listed… this may change in the future.
A shame that Guy isn’t voiced in this game; I would have loved to hear sage advice from him like “Never fight a battle you can’t win!” Oddly enough, that doesn’t stop him from jumping into the arena pit only to be cut down by Xing’s beamspam. Hypocrite. Oops, was that a spoiler?
Moving on, a shot from the prologue FMV:
Of note is that Kohaku is called Amber here. This is because I figured that people might have naming preferences that don’t match my own.* The default names are Xing, Hisui, and Kohaku. However, if you prefer names of the Localized variety, simply hold L as you start a new game, and the default names will be Xing, Jaden, and Amber. If you find that crazy names like Xing are a sacrilege to you and to the Honorable Japanese Nihongo Language, you will probably be most pleased with the Rocarized option, which can be accessed by holding R as you start a new game. Doing this will change the defaurt names to Shing, Hisui, and Kohak. I hope that these options will satisfy everyone who plays the game, and if not, well, you can rename the characters once they join your party proper.
Well, that’s all I have for now. Thanks for the comments, guys, and catch you later!
Kaji
* P.S. Were this an official localization effort complete with dubbing, I would prefer Jaden and Amber. However, since it is not, I feel that the very obvious name/voice mismatch that would result from this makes Hisui and Kohaku a better choice. Just wanted to clarify in case anyone was by some rare chance curious as to my opinion.
February 19, 2010 at 8:34 pm | Permalink
“the Rocarized option” Excellent humor, mister! *round of applause*
February 19, 2010 at 8:48 pm | Permalink
Sweet, dude.
February 24, 2010 at 8:48 am | Permalink
when are you going to release a menu patch?
And good work!
March 4, 2010 at 6:08 am | Permalink
Hi Kajitani-Eizan
I was wondering: If you use one of the option at the New gamefor the name, will it change the subtitle in the video ?
And if yes, after Name change (in the menu) Will it change too ?
March 9, 2010 at 2:08 pm | Permalink
Yes, if you change a character’s name by any method, that change will be reflected anywhere the character’s name is used.
March 17, 2010 at 6:17 pm | Permalink
One question again ^^
Why do not use the actual “real” name of the character as default ?
I mean, when you change country you don’t change your name…
http://toh.namco-ch.net/
Just look at the Character section… it’s Shing Meteoryte, Hisui Hearts and Kohak Hearts
I understand people have preference but like you said you can always change it.
It’s Just my opinion though =)
March 18, 2010 at 4:01 am | Permalink
@StorMyu: Japanese + so called “official romanization” isn’t exactly what I’d consider a reliable source for anything, but general reference, when you’re dealing with names.
As for people “changing names” when changing countries… in some cases, you actually kinda do. I usually use Queen Elizabeth I of England as a sample, as it’s a perfect sample of how the name of a renowned historical figure may differ between languages. In English it’s just Elizabeth I of England, in Norwegian it’s Elisabeth I av England (s instead of z) and in Spanish it’s Isabel I de Inglaterra.
Of course, in more recent times, this isn’t as common as it used to be… Take Abraham Lincoln; his name’s mostly the same in all regions, although the Italians may use Abramo instead of Abraham.
Anyway, the names found on the JP website are in the patch too. I believe Kaji mentions them in the portion about starting a new game with the R button pressed (Rocarization names von nihongo superialis!)
March 18, 2010 at 6:46 pm | Permalink
Yeah sure.
and i see i was just thinking of it ^^
March 23, 2010 at 12:07 pm | Permalink
In the off chance you ARE doing dubbing, please email me. I’d L-O-V-E to audition for Hisui!
March 23, 2010 at 1:46 pm | Permalink
Nope, I am not doing dubbing. That sort of thing is best left to the professionals.
April 2, 2010 at 11:30 am | Permalink
lol, I had the idea of naming Kohak to Amber too.
April 2, 2010 at 4:31 pm | Permalink
“Kohak” is a pretty garbage romanization anyway. Always take “official” romanization with a grain of salt.
Like in SRW where the “official” romanization of the Shirogane is…something ridiculous like Shilowugane or something along those lines.
May 5, 2010 at 8:28 pm | Permalink
Xing and Amber sounds fine for me, but Jaden? wth yu-gi-oh much? hisui doesnt deserve that even though his weapons looks like duel disks lol