Sony’s last major first party exclusive Ghost of Tsushima is looming on the horizon. The game is already getting plenty of buzz on social media platforms, in part thanks to Twitter releasing a Ghost of Tsushima emoji to go along with its hashtag.
For those who may not know, Ghost of Tsushima is a third person action game set in a fictional timeline during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. While the game is entirely steeped in Japanese culture, some fans knowledgeable in Japanese translation are bringing up concerns over the game’s Japanese menu screen.
Sony has had an enormous amount of attention heaped upon the company this month thanks to the many high-profile announcements and like PS5 reveal event and the launch of The Last of Us Part II. Sony looks to be capitalizing on the amount of attention focused on the company by hyping up Ghost of Tsushima with a brand new cinematic trailer, as well as a stylish screenshot of the main screen.
The menu itself looks smooth and minimalistic, showcasing a lone katana sticking out of a field of tall, flowing silver grass. It has to be said that Tsushima has already demonstrated just how beautiful it’s environment and art direction is, showcased wonderfully by Sucker Punch releasing incredible new concept art of the game through its Twitter account. However, the game is now garnering a bit of worry from Japanese fans, as some social media users versed in Japanese have pointed out shoddy translations in the game’s main menu. Jon Riesenbach of Sega’s localization department took to Twitter to discuss the Japanese menu’s translation flaws.
Riesenbach explained the flaws in a tweet saying that nearly everything about the menu screen’s translation is off. The New Game option looks to translate “brand-new game” literally, similar in a sense to buying a freshly wrapped copy of the game. Additionally, the continue and load game options use poor or outdated verb choices. Riesenbach says on Twitter that the options should look more like, “Continue - 続きから Load - ロード New Game - 初めから or NEW GAME.” This Japanese menu screenshot comes from a report detailing when the Ghost of Tsushima embargo lifts.
As Riesenbach says in his tweet, hopefully this is just an instance of one small aspect of localization slipping through the cracks. Thankfully the western version of Ghost of Tsushima looks polished enough from the various images and trailers released ahead of launch, especially in the recent trailer titled ‘A Storm is Coming,’ showcasing a more story-driven and cinematic look at the game. Hopefully Sucker Punch’s Japanese localization team can remedy these issues before launch.
Ghost of Tsushima will be available on July 17, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
Source: Jon Riesenback (via Twitter)
