• From: Hyrule
  • Registered: 2008-01-16
  • Posts: 1,440

No-intro 2007 convention uses Language tag to show language avaible in multilanguage games, I already said I don't like this part, but even if I'd love it we have a big problem IMO for CD media based games and expecially for new gens ones.
I want to explain this matter to avoid mistakes in DB and dats and to create a standard about language tag for our DB.
First, CD based games have 3 language levels:

1) Menus (normally set by bios in new gens)

2) Subtitles

3) Voices

Moreover a console like Wii have also a forth level - system menus - which can be watched in one of partitions.
Which is the ones to set as language / languages of our games? I ask this because we can have situation like this in many many games:

1) Menus: 15 languages

2) Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

3) Voices: English, Japanese

I think that Menus has not to be taken, we should have Wii, PS3, XBOX360 games with even 20 languages or more. Moreover normally no-intro set multilanguage according to ingame as long as I know.
So we have Voices (primary) and Subtitles (secondary).

Then we have some other esceptions.
Ex: Biohazard games have English voices and Japanese subtitles, they have to be set to (En, Ja)? I don't think so but we have to discuss it.

Ex2: Many Japan action and shooting games have English menus (normally they consist in "Start", "Option" and 2-3 other words), they have to be set to English in DB?
Moreover are the following right? I can test them with emu, but I don't think they have language setting. However I could be wrong.
http://redump.org/disc/6897/
http://redump.org/disc/1747/
http://redump.org/disc/1780/

At least if we'll have a new DB we should have 3 language field to set the 3 point above and create a standard. A Shooting game with no dialogues renamed (En, Fr, Es, De, It) looks completely weird to me.


Another issue about no-intro convention, we should rename all Demos (I suggest to act only on Euro/USA at the moment, don't rename Taikenban) as "Sample" in "dat version" field.

My patch requests thread
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  • Registered: 2006-12-24
  • Posts: 3,847

Different languages in menus may be mentioned in the comments, because if you can't choose the language of the game itself - those can't be named the "game languages".

Translated subtitles is enough to specify the language, because subtitles are enough to play and enjoy the game fully (of course, if everything, except the voices, is translated - menus, all the text, etc.). There are many japanese multilingual games with all the text translated (but w/japanese voices only).

  • From: Hyrule
  • Registered: 2008-01-16
  • Posts: 1,440

I agree at 99%.

Another issue is about those games that have hidden languages. Some Japanese games have English text hidden and some US games have Japanese text hidden, you can simply find it with emulators or modded consoles.
An example is Star Fox Adventures GC (I hope someone never suggest to add Foxian as language because of voices), this game have problems on a modded Wii (even if original and same country, it crashes at first level) by the way if you start a US release on a Japan wii you'll have Japan text. So I don't think these exception have to be considered, languages must be the ones selectable without tricks.

My patch requests thread
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  • Registered: 2006-12-24
  • Posts: 3,847

Yes, we're preserving the original medias, they don't need to be run w/modchips or on imported consoles.