First, I have a confession to make: I bought Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. On launch day. The eShop version. If you’ve listened to latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, you’re probably wondering why the sudden change regarding digital 3DS game purchases – to make a long story short, it really does end up a lot cheaper for me, considering I need to import North American games, and I honestly can’t think of a better game to have on you at all times than Monster Hunter. Needless to say, so far I’m loving it!
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While my new-found obsession with Monster Hunter might be a good discussion for a future post, that’s not what I’ve decided to focus on today. Instead, I’d like to talk about a series of blog posts by the localization director of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, appropriately titled “Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – Localization Notes.”
As someone who’s been involved in translation work and harbors a deep interest in game localization, it’s always a treat to gain some insight into how different companies go about localizing my favorite games. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is particularly intriguing because of all the various monster names –– though not quite as colorful as some of the stranger Pokémon nomenclature out there, localizers like Andrew Alfonso at Capcom have to consider both the Japanese name and the characters of the monster in order to come up with the perfect fit for the English version.
Take this fellow who was featured in the rather obtuse demo Capcom released for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate earlier in the month (seriously, if you’ve never played Monster Hunter before, I really wouldn’t advise trying the demo, as it paints a very poor picture of the game). Its Japanese name is Urukususu, but for the localized versions, the team settled on Lagombi. Their logic was to base the name off the Greek word for hare, “lagos,” and add the “-mbi” at the end to evoke a Bambi-like cuteness. I wouldn’t say Lagombi is particularly cute, but I actually like how the cute name is juxtaposed with its tubby, ferocious, albiet rabbit-inspired exterior.
Andrew discusses this fearsome-looking fellow in the second localization note post for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. The Japanese name, Doboruberuku, is apparently based off words from a number of different languages, so the team decided to follow that theme for the localized name, Duramboros. Andrew explains that the name is based off of three different words from three different languages: Duro (“hard” in Italian), Ambulat (“walk” in Latin), and Oros (“mountain” in Greek). He adds that they were also able to incorporate “ram” to emphasize its massive horns, which I think is a really great touch.
Finally, naming this creepy purple guy took some debating before the Monster Hunter developers agreed. In the final post of the series, Andrew discusses how this Gigginox subspecies was originally going to be the “Copper Gigginox” due to its normal color, but the dev team wanted a name that highlighted how this monster can paralyze hunters with its lightning attack. After some back-and-forth, they finally settled on “baleful,” as the word not only conjures up the color yellow and paralysis, but also has a unique sound to it. Given that their other choices were “Volten” and “Dread,” I think Baleful Gigginox was a great choice!
There are plenty more examples of different names the team had to localize at the blog links I provided, so if you found these descriptions interesting, I highly recommend checking them out! And Monster Hunter fans: what are your favorite monster names? I’m new to the series, but I’d love to hear the names that people find particularly interesting or evocative of the monster they describe.
So, is this your first time at the MonHun rodeo, Anne? If so, I’ll definitely look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on this game, as I’ve been curious about it for ages but have always been a bit too chicken to finally play it 🙂
It’s interesting that you decided to pick up the eShop version, BTW–although I can fully understand why. I’d probably go that route, too, if I were in the same situation.
Oh, and as for the real focus of this post: I love stuff like this! As such, I’ll definitely check out the full versions of these localization notes in a bit. Thanks for making your readers aware of them!
That would be correct, Bryan! I did play a couple hours of Freedom Unite on the PSP back when I first purchased it, so I do have a general idea of how to play the game/what to expect, but this is the first time I’m really diving in and trying to tackle a MonHun game.
What makes you “chicken” to play, if you don’t mind my asking? I know people say it’s notoriously obtuse, but I think if you start from the beginning and go through it systematically it’s not really that difficult, just a bit overwhelming at first. Well, I may say that, but I haven’t fought any big monsters yet, so we’ll see if I’ve actually done what I needed to do to beat a real monster when the time comes!
Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard a decision to go for the eShop version, in the end. I already had $10 eShop credit left over from Christmas (though I was kind of saving that for HarmoKnight, haha) and of course I’d have the game instantly rather than having to pay and wait for shipping. And when I really sat down to think about it, the main reason I want physical copies is for the box art and manual, but with how disappointed I’ve been by manuals these days I figured I wouldn’t be missing out on much (plus, that leaves more room on my shelf for adorable Japanese GBA boxes!). I’ll just have to be extra careful not to lose my 3DS XL, I guess >_<
On the flip side, I did preorder the physical version of Etrian Odyssey IV because not only does the box look gorgeous, but it comes with preorder goodies (soundtrack? I can’t remember now), so I’m definitely not going all digital by any means.
And I’m glad you like this kind of stuff too! Really, I wish we got more information about what goes into localization, as it’s quite fascinating (and a lot more work than many people realize, I think). As such, I always jump on what little information we do get! Reading stuff like this definitely makes me wish I got to name cool monsters for a living. Hey Capcom! You listening?! 😉
Sorry for the whale of a comment, by the way! I guess I got a little rambly!
Ha! You shouldn’t feel the need to apologize for leaving a long comment–especially since this is *your* blog 🙂
I think the main reason I’ve been too “scared” to play this game is because of its reputation for being kind of cruel to newcomers, Anne. And its reputation for being obtuse.
Also, I know the game tends to be centered on multiplayer experiences, and I’m probably kind of worried that I’d be some awful noob who doesn’t know what he’s doing, etc.
Of course, if I got the 3DS version, that wouldn’t be much of a problem, since I wouldn’t be able to connect with folks online, but it would be a problem if I ever get the Wii U version or MH4 when/if it’s released here.
None of this is too big of a deal, though, as I need another 3DS game right now like I need to be smacked with a frying pan 🙂
BTW, I hear ya about the depressing state of boxed games. I’m still planning to buy most games via retail in the near future, but I’m not against going digital when I need to–especially on non-Nintendo systems.