One of gaming’s premier Japanese RPG developers is listening to fans and contemplating keeping Japanese voiceover audio as an option in future titles.
Earlier today, we had the opportunity to interview Yoshito Okamura, Gust Game Director on Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk. When asked about Western demand for Japanese audio as a dialogue option, Okamura-san professed he was quite surprised when he first learned that the option was in high demand: "We thought that Japanese audio was a feature enjoyed primarily by just the Japanese fans, so it honestly took us by surprise seeing and hearing the huge reaction and passionate requests from the overseas fans."
Okamura-kun continued: "While we can’t go into any detail about upcoming titles at the moment, we have heard the voices of our fans and will seriously consider re-introducing this feature in the future. We will take a careful look into what our fans expect to see from our games and come up with ways to shrink the gap between us and them, especially now that we have the overseas TECMO KOEI offices to help us get connected."
Hopefully, for all future endeavors, the studio will keep the original Japanese tracks as an option to counter what some gamers perceive as lackluster English dubs. Stay tuned to PSU for more Atelier Ayesha news and the full interview with Yoshito Okamura.