Lost Judgment's head of localization has explained why the upcoming game's English dub isn't quite as neat as the previous Yakuza title.
The launch of Lost Judgment is fast approaching, something fans of the first game and the Yakuza series were reminded of this week via its cameo in PlayStation's State of Play. Sega will be doing something a little different with Lost Judgment when compared to the rest of the Yakuza games. Well, something a lot different. Launching the game simultaneously worldwide.
Previous Yakuza games, as well as Judgment, have launched in Japan before the rest of the world. Sometimes more than a year before. The amount of work that has gone into having Lost Judgment release everywhere at the same time can't be downplayed. Its producer recently revealed the dev team's work has tripled in order to make it happen.
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A lot of that work will have gone into creating the English dub for the game. Since the game is made and set in Japan, Lost Judgment is in Japanese. However, to ensure it actually sells outside of Japan and in English-speaking countries, the game will get an English dub. Some fans of the series may have noticed the dubbed version doesn't look quite as good as the dub work in Yakuza: Like A Dragon. Its head of localization Scott Strichart has explained why that is.
Hi. I'd like to talk to those of you considering playing Lost Judgment with the English dub. If you are playing in JP audio, this thread won't apply to you, you are already experiencing the game as close to the creators as we can make it without teaching you Japanese.
— Scott Strichart (@TriggerRedd) July 9, 2021
“You've probably noticed it's not as silky as Like a Dragon's was, and it won't be – Why? The short answer is 'sim ship,' Strichart explains in a thread on Twitter. “YLAD finished recording ~9 months out from launch and the lip adjustments were a post-production process. You can't do that before the actors say the words, obviously. Lost Judgment… finished 4 months from launch.”
Simply put, in order to ship Lost Judgment simultaneously worldwide, Sega hasn't been able to spend as much time on the English dub as it would have liked. Since Like A Dragon launched in January 2020 in Japan, but not until November that same year worldwide, it allowed for a lot more time to be spent on the English dub. Strichart signs off by saying if you don't like the way it looks, stick to playing it in Japanese. “It helps us grow the brand, and it's only going to get *better* with time. Thanks for playing, in any language.”
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