I have posted an interest check thread over at the Voice Acting Alliance Forums to see if I find suitable voice artists for the game. I am also turning to you, Schwer readers. If you or anyone you know would like to be involved in this project and are actually willing to put forth semi-professional effort into it, I ask you to sign up for the VAA forums and post in my interest check thread. I have faith that this could turn out wonderfully, and it's the one last step to make before RKS gets a total English version.
Actually, there is one other thing. Now that things have died down a bit, Darkside and Zeppy will be going back over the RKS and RKSG scripts, because I think we can do better. I would like to release a final v2 translation patch that we can all be happy with. In fact, if you would like, play through our English patch and tell us what we did wrong. We will potentially take your feedback to heart and use it to better the final script.
Oh, and here's a little work-in-progress:
The English package looks pretty nice. Is there one in full size that we can look at?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if any of the voice actor that I know of across Newgrounds are to your liking...
frankly speaking, I'm not sure if dubbing RKS is a good idea or not, since Jap voice sounds really good, if it's replaced by Eng voice.....not sure about that
ReplyDeleteI...mm...
ReplyDeleteDon't think you want to know how my voice is.
Sides, there's really only one male voice that would be needed in that entire thing and I'm pretty sure I'd be in trouble trying to hit it that deep and sound convincing.
Then again I can pull a pretty good Akuma...
Could I do Grolla?
ReplyDeleteNo. My voice isn't sexy enough. What a shame.
The dubbing thing is intriguing...
ReplyDeleteReally like that English packaging!
It reminds me.. Ace Attorney.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have no idea that good or not.
About the package, i like it, do you have a higher dimensions?
If anyone wants to have English dub voices in the English version of the game, why doesn't anyone just translate the voiced quotes said by the characters? Almost all of the voiced quotes (the only exceptions being the additional Freudia voiced quotes "Rosenkreuzstilette" and "Freudenstachel", which I can translate easily) can be found at this Japanese RKS Wiki:
ReplyDeletehttp://rosenkreuzstilette.xrea.jp/
Wow. I would like to participate, as I do an pretty good fe-male voice. But I cannot because it is complicated.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like the English box-art.
My older comment wasn't posted, so I'll have to make it short.
ReplyDeleteDUBBING IS BAD!
If anyone wants to have English dub voices in the English version of the game, why doesn't anyone just translate the voiced quotes said by the characters?
ReplyDeleteYou don't think I'm already doing that?
Oh, so you're already translating them. Sorry I actually doubted you, Letty.
ReplyDeleteSorry to go off subject, Letty, but I found a fanart of Schirach on the RKS Uploader from an unknown artist. Have a look.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I last chimed in.
ReplyDeleteViper and Colonel, that package is a work-in-progress. Letty will only be uploading a hi-res version when he's totally satisfied with it. Aside from the source material and a sliver of constructive criticism, everything that went into the boxart is Letty's work.
Anonymous, I agree with your reservations to an extent; the average Japanese to English dub job is pretty atrocious. However, it can be amazing when done right (see Megaman X8 or Metal Gear Solid). I've spoken with Letty at length about his thoughts on and experience with English dubs, and I'm confident he can pull it off once he finds the right cast.
Hiryuu, there are two male voice roles, actually. [erka:es] just used the same voice actor and some post-processing filters to try and make the characters sound different. Letty could use the same approach or cast two different actors for the roles of Thanatos and Zeppelin.
Anonymous II, those lines will be included with the translation notes once they are online. My family life has gotten quite interesting as of late, so I'm sorry to say that I haven't made as much progress on that front as I would have liked. As you have probably noticed, many of the character voiceovers are references to Megaman X / Megaman Zero, Castlevania, Final Fantasy Legend II, and Dragonball, among others.
As you have probably noticed, many of the character voiceovers are references to Megaman X / Megaman Zero, Castlevania, Final Fantasy Legend II, and Dragonball, among others.
ReplyDeleteChiming in to say that my translations for the dub lines will not necessarily reflect any of these references. I will not waste my time cross-referencing literally everything just to make sure they match up. They will be spoken lines. They will work just fine as long as they are in suitable English. I care little about whether or not some words match up to a line from Gundam ep 53 or whatever.
I can agree with the English dubbing of Japanese entertainment (video games, anime, etc.) being atrocious, I mean take a good look at 4Kids (especially animes like One Piece and Sonic X, good thing that Funimation has the dubbing rights to One Piece now), or the original Resident Evil on the PS1 and Mega Man X4...
ReplyDeleteA time where we some good decent voice acting done in English is rarity these days.
Viper, that's probably the most inaccurate statement I've read in the entirety of my blog post comments. Dubs are, by and large, perfectly fine, with a handful of exceptions. I don't know what it is about anime fans and their hatred for the English language.
ReplyDeleteI've heard bad dubs and I've heard good dubs. This isn't unique to english either. But RKS has an added bonus. You don't have to worry about synching, which is what usually makes a dub go bad. All the examples given of bad dubs so far have befallen synching issues, actually.
ReplyDeleteI'm a guy with a fairly deep voice but I don't think I'd be right for Count Mike. I can however help with knowledge. I've worked with voice acting before so I can offer advice, ways to improve the performance and post-processing, and warn you of potential problems you may run into. E-mail me at my usual address if you think the advice will help, Letty.
I'm currently getting amateur VA's together for a project of my own, so I guess I can mention this to anyone who doesn't pick up on mine. No harm there.
This could get ugly...
ReplyDeleteWell, I will never get my hands on this dub so: I don't care.
Ideally, every game or anime released in English should have English voice acting on par with the original Japanese. I, for one, can't play Megaman X8 in Japanese anymore because the English voices are just that good (I have the PC version which includes a language select option). However, for every stellar Disney or Ocean Group voiceover effort, there are literally hundreds of half-assed attempts at dubbing (see pretty much every title released by Media Blasters and its subsidiaries).
ReplyDeleteThis isn't always the localizer's fault, though. Video games and anime are commercial art forms. Taking the time to find the most appropriate talent, allow actors and actresses to grow into their roles, and re-record lines whenever mistakes are made demands a bigger budget. Most localizers just don't have what that kind of money, so they have little choice but to streamline one or more of these steps. On the other hand, there are companies that are more interested in profit than artistic integrity and deliberately skimp on the above to maximize their bottom line (just look at XS Games). Couple that with the overzealous anime licensing blitz a few years back and we have a world oversaturated with rushed, subpar dubbing.
In any event, I only judge a dub by the quality of the dub itself, not by external factors. If a teenage character sounds like they're middle-aged or a clinically insane character doesn't sound crazy when s/he is supposed to, something has gone wrong. Fittingly enough, the majority of the people who oppose my stance (ie: enjoying a work in its original language) adamantly refuse to view a work in any language other than English (even when subtitled), making them oblivious to the significant nuances that were lost or altered in the dubbing process. Deliberately ignoring the original work is a great disservice to its creators, if you ask me. If you'll pardon a slightly strained example: dismissing the original voiceover would be akin to asserting that the American Street Fighter films are superior to Capcom's original series and at the same time refusing to actually play the games. That's more than enough to warrant a laugh whenever I hear them accuse the Japanese of being xenophobic.
Audio Atrocies is pretty much dedicated to showcasing the worst of the worst in video game voice acting. I'm sure their list would be several times larger if they included anime dubs. Many notable titles such as Ys III ~Wanderers From Ys~ are absent from the list, so the fifty-some-odd titles they mention are just a subset of the terrible game voiceovers out there.
I'd like to say that dub quality is improving as studios get bigger (and this is indeed true with video games), but it's just not the case in the world of anime. I often watch the English language track on DVDs or check YouTube to gauge the quality of the dub, and I am often disappointed by the results. Of course, I'm not up-to-speed with this year's releases (you know why), so I hope that the industry has improved during my absence.
I don't agree with those treating this idea as doomed from the start. Yes, it has the potential to be bad, but anything has that potential. It can also be good, and I think we ought to give them the benefit of the doubt, especially given the level of quality shown in the translation patch. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed by some of the reactions here.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying not to do it, but sorta thing seems "iffy". I would like to hear these characters in English though, as long the voice actors can match the characters personality that they're voicing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete^And now I'm going to quote Alucard from Symphony of the Night.
ReplyDelete"WHAT?!?" DX
>Justin:
ReplyDeleteYour ideas are as bad as your art.
Why thank you. I'm trying to improve.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm quite surprised about the idea of a dubbing, but now that you made me think of it, I'd be curious of the result. That may be a fun idea.
I'm quite pleased about recent dubbings in the industry, the lattest example I have in mind would be Tales of Vesperia, in which actors made a nice jobs. It's be ages since I didn't yelled "I want Japanese voices baaaack, you morons !!", or something like that...
As for Doujin dubs, to be honest it has been awful for a long time. Dubs quality seems to be improving nowadays, as well as thegames themselves... So why not.
My voice doesn't really fit with most of the girls, that's for sure. I'd be better wit the count Michael or Raymund, maube ^_^;
I don't know what it is about anime fans and their hatred for the English language.
ReplyDeleteUsually it's because the dubs are really, really awful in comparison, and even good dubs are usually pale in comparison to the japanese.
My favorite anime, for example, is one I saw both in dub and sub, and I vastly prefer the sub, both for the nuances in the language partically when it comes to romance, and the superior voice work. An anime like Kannazuki no Miko just doesn't get awesome english voice actors.
Take the game disgaea, for example. The english voices really make me wince. Other games were fine, like valkyria chronicles, but those are still quite rare.
If the general quality of dubs were higher, people would like them more.
Are you kidding me, Macha? Disgaea had an excellent dub, not to mention that Laharl was played by the voice actress who did Rita Repulsa, which is automatically more awesome.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, there really are good ones. The original Valkyrie Profile dub was really good, for example - Lezard was cheesy, but it fit.
ReplyDeleteI meant disgaea 3, Letty.
ReplyDelete>Justin:
ReplyDeleteNow I know you're just a big troll. Not the other anon tough.
Yea, I have Disgaea DS, and I think they have great voices. Laharl's voice was so awesome in the intro.
ReplyDeleteAnd to the Anonymous who keeps spamming me, I would like it to stop.
No matter what, Etna is still my favorite in the Disgaea series.
ReplyDelete"Sexy Beam !!"
Man, I want to get into Disgaea series, but I barely have any money... T.T At least there's the anime...
ReplyDeleteI thought "Waffenenergie" would have a translation above it in the English version... =\
ReplyDeleteAmen, Macha. My brother is playing Disgaea 3 this very moment on the couch across from me (and has been doing so almost every day for the past month or so). Whereas the original Disgaea had pretty good voice acting, I turn up the volume on my headphones whenever a story scene begins in D3; it's like the actors are actively trying to be "so bad, they're good" (Aksys misguidedly did the same with Castle of Shikigami III). In other words, the voice acting is horribly cheesy and makes me wish I could turn myself deaf for a few moments. That, and the J-Pop song in the main area grates on my nerves (and I typically love Japanese music...).
ReplyDeleteI agree that Valkyria has great English voice acting. I'm not sure why I didn't mention it when I brought up excellent dub jobs.
Viper, that was a deliberate omission on my part. In the first release of the English Trial, the line was translated underneath the original, but I didn't like the way it turned out since the addition knocked the presentation off balance. Remember that the localization has to look good both with no weapons and with every weapon obtained; I decided to remove the English line since I couldn't strike an appropriate balance with any sizing or placement I tried. Alternatively, I could have replaced the German with English, but I promised myself that I wouldn't remove any of the German text for any reason. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the line means "Weapon Energy", so I let it slide in the end.
On the other hand, I couldn't add the "My, how time flies..." translation to the replay OSD because the text was in the EXE itself and I would need to remove either the German or the timer to make it fit. Aside from those two lines (and the subliminal messages in the backgrounds of certain stages), every Japanese or German graphic has been translated.
Here's what I think:
ReplyDeleteThere are times when subtitles are best suited for the job. However, that doesn't matter if the movie/anime is lacking in the content department. On the other hand, there are times when anime needs to be dubbed.
It seems you don't get that that you have the option ti post as an anonymous person, and there's at least 3 different anons posting here. As I said, you are just a big troll, or just really dumb Justin. Oh, it seems you don't know what spam means. Life is not nice, so telling people not to harass you is just futile.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are times when anime needs to be dubbed.
ReplyDeleteI think both ways are fine. I will always use subs over dubs, because I am learning the language, and listening to the japanese is pretty good practice, actually.
In fact, I always prefer this method, not just when it comes to japanese media. I am german, and I do this for english movies all the time - I try to view them in english, not in a german dub, and I prefered subtitles when may english wasn't as good as it is now.
It is really a taste thing. A dub is never necessairy. Never.
A dub is instead helpful for these who don't read as fast, aren't used to subs, or don't know the source language enough. Dubs are legitimate.
But they aren't better.
"It is really a taste thing. A dub is never necessary. Never."
ReplyDeleteBut Ace Attorney was really good man ^_^ Have you ever play that game?