Daniel McCalla is a Japanese to English video game translator and (occasional) editor. During his four years as a freelancer, he worked on titles such as Phantasy Star Online 2, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, Dragon Quest XI S, and Ender Lilies. He now works in-house at Capcom as part of their localization team.
In this episode he chose to chat about The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, which was released in English (and sadly English only) for the first time on the Switch, PS4 and Steam in 2021.
The localization was directed by Janet Hsu, with English localization by Plus Alpha (translation by Will Blatchley and edited by Clare Saracine).
“With all the fun and drama of the Ace Attorney series set against the backdrop of Victorian-era Britain and Japan, there’s sure to be no “Objection!” to the adventures of Ryunosuke Naruhodo as he turns the courtroom upside down!
Featuring an intriguing overarching mystery spanning across two games, it’s the most engrossing story in the series yet! ‘The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles’ is the definitive version of this beloved series!”
Additional
In this episode Daniel and I discuss a blog by a Japanese person who breaks down the English localization of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. It’s a really interesting blog from the perspective of a Japanese native speaker!
英語版「大逆転裁判1＆2 -成歩堂龍ノ介の冒險と覺悟-」解説 冒險第1話 法廷【その1】（1）
Daniel McCalla
Twitter: @Clidante_D
Translation Chat
A podcast where professional Japanese to English translators and editors chat about their favorite translations.
Hosted by Jennifer O’Donnell
Music by Alex Valles
Logo by Katherine Soldevilla
One thing that Daniel brings up as an example of dry British humour (Van Zieks mocking you by saying “…my learned Nipponese friend is obviously in training to be a clown, the way he regales us with such witticisms. [Van Zieks raises his glass in toast] To your future career in the circus”. – that’s also a nod to an English Ace Attorney fandom meme, where a fake quote is attributed to Edgeworth (the modern-day equivalent of Van Zieks) saying “You are not a clown. You are the whole circus.”
Additionally, this also ties into a bit of a tradition in the Ace Attorney localizations, where they add/translate pop culture references and have previously added a reference to a semi-viral fan video in a later re-release (the phrase “boot to the head” from a video animating a comedy using Ace Attorney sprites).