Your Daily Dose of Gaming.

[termis]

I know WD gets crap from some gamers cause they say WD ruined the translations by not translating faithfully to the original script (also applies for many anime/manga dweebs whining about certain licensed translations vs. fansubs).  Now while it's true that WD randomly put in western-(or US) specific references that had nothing to do with the original script, I'd much rather take their style of translating than the other extreme of translating everything word-for-word.

If you ever take any recognized translation certification exams, and try to translate something in a literal fashion, they will fail you right away.  How do I know?  :oops: 

[GUTS]

Haha I thought the beat-off joke was pretty good.  And doesn't MKR take place in our present time?  The star wars joke would fit perfectly then.

My favorite WD humor I think was the town full of hicks in the first Lunar, I remember loving that place back when I first played through the game.

[Black Tiger]

I don't know why so many people believe that it's only possible to englishize a game in one of two ways: Samurai Pizza Cats or a literal direct translation.

Just because someone doesn't appreciate some extreme cases of WD 'humour' or one or two particular company decisions, it doesn't mean that they hate WD.

And there's still a difference between juvenile themes/subject matter and bad writing/jokes. Just as a single joke's effectiveness is dependant on how well someone tells it. The new Family Guy doesn't even use punch lines with most of it's pop culture references anymore, they just shoehorn in a name or show a personality, and that's it. Where as before, it was at least part of an actual joke. Because the joke's the joke, not the name dropping.

We've got people here talking everyday about things they don't appreciate about the Turbo/PCE universe (like Turbochip manuals), but just because they're not blind fanboy console war whores doesn't mean that they hate the Turbo/PCE, otherwise they wouldn't be here in the first place.

[Keranu]

Samurai Pizza Cats

Whoa, this is too awesome to comprehend with! This would also make a great cartoon show.

[Joe Redifer]

Just because someone doesn't appreciate some extreme cases of WD 'humour' or one or two particular company decisions, it doesn't mean that they hate WD.

Exactly.  I have every Working Designs game for the Saturn and quite a few for the TG-16 and Sega CD.  I have one for the Playstation (that Taito shooting game that sucked ass).  I have none for the PS2.

[esteban]

I don't know why so many people believe that it's only possible to englishize a game in one of two ways: Samurai Pizza Cats or a literal direct translation.

Just because someone doesn't appreciate some extreme cases of WD 'humour' or one or two particular company decisions, it doesn't mean that they hate WD.

And there's still a difference between juvenile themes/subject matter and bad writing/jokes. Just as a single joke's effectiveness is dependant on how well someone tells it. The new Family Guy doesn't even use punch lines with most of it's pop culture references anymore, they just shoehorn in a name or show a personality, and that's it. Where as before, it was at least part of an actual joke. Because the joke's the joke, not the name dropping.

We've got people here talking everyday about things they don't appreciate about the Turbo/PCE universe (like Turbochip manuals), but just because they're not blind fanboy console war whores doesn't mean that they hate the Turbo/PCE, otherwise they wouldn't be here in the first place.

Yeah, I know: I was responding moreso to the things I've read over the past few years about how lame WD was and how abominable Victor Ireland was. Our best discussion occurred a few months ago when NightWolve was here and we discussed the problems of literal translations. Until then, I had never known that there were so many folks (I was reading old threads and articles on various sites) who hated WD for, in their eyes, bastardizing the source material.

Emeril Rocker offers an objective reason to be upset with WD (promising to include extra features, or certain elements in a game, failing to deliver, and then lying about it... like the hidden boss in that PSX shooter)...

But even this isn't reason enough to dislike WD, and Emeril's list of such occurrences is short.

As far as delaying releases... I  don't have a problem with this. Yes, it is unfortunate, but I will never understand folks who get angry when a game is delayed. As long as I can play it, I'm happy. Timeframe is not important. I'm much more upset when a company announces a game and then cancels it, but even this isn't the worst thing in the world.

I've never seen Samurai Pizza Cats, but I'm sure it is bad. It takes a lot of work and creativity to make a serious, heartfelt localization -- in that sense, WD cut some corners by relying on Howard Stern humor instead of something more sophisticated. Nonetheless....

Just because someone doesn't appreciate some extreme cases of WD 'humour' or one or two particular company decisions, it doesn't mean that they hate WD.

Exactly.  I have every Working Designs game for the Saturn and quite a few for the TG-16 and Sega CD.  I have one for the Playstation (that Taito shooting game that sucked ass).  I have none for the PS2.

Well, I've said this before, but I think it warrants a repeat:
1. WD revitalized TG-16 & TG-CD. The releases from NEC were getting pretty sparse and weren't too exciting. WD single-handedly injected some hope into the TG-16 scene. Now, I know what you're thinking: NEC might have released the same, or similar titles. Even if this had happened, they wouldn't have been as charming as WD's localization (unless, of course, WD handled it for them... which they did on an occasion or two, IIRC). Anyway, WD was the only worthwhile third-party... releasing many titles and all of them rocked, except for Exile 2.

2. WD was a saving grace for Sega CD. My brothers and I sure knew how to pick the winners. First we support TG-CD, then we put our faith in Sega. Of all the games we played (a lot), we were grateful for WD's offerings. Those titles alone justified the Sega CD, which might be pathetic, or a testament to WD's library, depending on how you feel .

[Joe Redifer]

Vasteeeel rocked?  Looked lame.  Lotsa hexagons.  Only terrorists like hexagons.

I do like WD's manuals.  But it cannot be denied that Victor Ireland was quite the asshat.

[esteban]

Vasteeeel rocked?  Looked lame.  Lotsa hexagons.  Only terrorists like hexagons.

I do like WD's manuals.  But it cannot be denied that Victor Ireland was quite the asshat.

Yeah, I have to say that I really liked Vasteel.

Is there a collection of stories about Victor Ireland somewhere so I can read about what's he's done to earn his infamy? The "burning bridges" sort of stuff .

[Michael Helgeson]

Same here,me and Black Tiger like Vasteel also. Its not perfect,but as far as those types of games goes it was done really well and I found I could play the game for hours. Most of the cd music is just great too.

[td741]

I really liked Vasteel as well... I was disappointed that Vasteel 2 didn't allow you to take full control of the battle sequences (still am).

[Black Tiger]

Vasteel may be my favorite WD game. To this day, I won't play any war sim that isn't hexagonalish(in other words, I've gotten into Vasteel, Nectaris 1 & Neo amd Iron Storm).

Although a lot of the visuals are run of the mill, some parts are amazing and the game has some of the best 'special effects' of any Turbo/PC Engine game. I still want to replay far enough through to capture some videos of, among other things, the stage with a transparant layer of background that peels off of itself into a new layer and then warps all over the place.

Its been a long time since I played it, but I remember wondering if they actually made models of every unit and then snapped photos of them at 8 angles for the battle sprites.

[guyjin]

Vasteel may be my favorite WD game. To this day, I won't play any war sim that isn't hexagonalish

...but not Starcraft? 

[Michael Helgeson]

Beat Metal Gear Solid:Twin Snakes this evening on the Wii. Next up will prob be Eternal Darkness.

[Black Tiger]

Vasteel may be my favorite WD game. To this day, I won't play any war sim that isn't hexagonalish

...but not Starcraft? 

I don't really ever try war sims, but one other I really liked is Lords of the Rising Sun. It also has one of the Turbo's best bad dubs.

I also tried Vasteel 2 but didn't like it. I would've been fine without the controlable battles if they'd kept the rest of the gameplay at least similar to the original.

[TR0N]

GC
Zelda TP:Can't find the rest of those pose.

Famicom
CV3
Mike Tyson Punch Out!! My copy of that came today from JGS