Localization Update: Trails and Ys Promised for Swifter Delivery

NIS America commits to faster Western releases of Falcom's acclaimed Trails and Ys series. This article details the publisher's efforts to expedite localization.

NIS America Accelerates Localization of Trails and Ys Games

Western Fans to See Faster Releases of Falcom Titles

Good news for JRPG enthusiasts! During the recent Ys X: Nordics digital showcase, NIS America's Senior Associate Producer, Alan Costa, announced a commitment to quicker Western releases of Falcom's popular Trails and Ys franchises.

Costa, in a PCGamer interview, confirmed the company's dedication to faster localization, citing the upcoming releases of Ys X: Nordics (October) and Trails Through Daybreak II (early 2025) as examples. The latter's early 2025 release, despite its September 2022 Japanese launch, represents a significant improvement on previous Trails release timelines.

Historically, Western fans faced substantial delays. The Trails in the Sky series, for example, saw a seven-year gap between its 2004 Japanese PC release and its 2011 global PSP release by XSEED Games. More recent titles like Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure experienced even longer waits, taking twelve years to reach Western audiences.

The extensive localization process was previously explained by former XSEED Games Localization Manager, Jessica Chavez, who highlighted the challenge of translating millions of characters with limited staff as a major bottleneck. The sheer volume of text in Trails games is a significant factor in past delays.

While a two-to-three-year localization process remains, NIS America prioritizes quality. Costa emphasized the balance between speed and maintaining high localization standards, noting the company's ongoing efforts to refine this process.

The time-consuming nature of localization, particularly for text-heavy games, is understandable. The one-year delay of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana due to translation errors serves as a cautionary tale. However, Costa's statements suggest NIS America is successfully navigating the challenge of balancing speed and accuracy.

The recent Trails Through Daybreak release marks a positive step, demonstrating NIS America's progress in delivering high-quality localizations more efficiently. The game's positive reception suggests a promising future for the publisher's localization efforts.

For our review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak, please see the link below!