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Forum - View topicGAME: Cherry Tree High Comedy Club
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Reibooi
 Posts: 394 |
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I was interested in this game but I think I'm gonna pass simply based on the name changes. I can understand the need to change the jokes and what not just to make it so there are things for people to laugh at as most of the Japanese jokes and puns would go over most folks heads(and I fully support that when done correctly) but the names didn't need changing and they are quite simply terrible. I mean I don't wanna play something with a character named Miley as I will likely be thinking about that damn Disney show I despise. It would have been nice for them to have either kept the original names or at the very least had a toggle that changed just the names back to the Japanese original.
I'm kinda sad about it. The game looks interesting but that is my stance and I doubt I'll be changing it anytime soon. Very rarely do things like this bother me in games or anime as quite often it's par for the course but this time I don't know just didn't sit well with me. |
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RyanSaotome
 Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Wait, this is completely localized? Lame, I guess I'll pass on this. There is little I hate more in terms of Japanese stuff then changing the entire meaning of the game/anime by changing names, location, culture, etc.
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Trying to pretend a Japanese setting is an American setting usually comes off as kind of farcical but I don't know why it gets people so excited when it's done to a simple video game.
Isn't this game a silly comedy about a girl trying to recruit members for a club? How is that meaning changed by changing the names? |
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RyanSaotome
Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Because its a game that takes place in Japan, in a Japanese style school and with Japanese culture. Like the review says theres a shrine priestess kinda character... how are you going to try to fit that into American culture without feeling weird or out of place? Plus, the whole plot sounds like something that is Japanese... maybe my school was different, but there weren't student created clubs that needed to recruit people to not be disbanded, yet thats a typical thing in anime with Japanese schools. I'm a stickler for the original, too. I absolutely hated some of those 90s dubs where they'd change anime characters to American names and act like they're not in Japan. For something like this, I just don't see the point. You're gonna alienate the anime fans, and the non anime fans probably weren't interested in the first place. |
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Cecilthedarkknight_234
 Posts: 3820 Location: Louisville, KY |
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despite the localization issues I think i will give this a go when I am able to scrap up enough change. Yes it's old to go a game this way however showing support to let the companies we want these type of indie games. Besides I give it 5 months before some does a re-translation patch for the game.
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DJcream
 Posts: 60 Location: NorCal |
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CTHCC has been on my indie game radar for a long time. After buying it and spending an entire afternoon to complete a playthrough, I was actually surprised by it in a good way.
First off, I have hold no grudges on the localization of the setting, dialogue and names. All this things could have annoyed me if I were exposed to the original doujin game, but I decided to let the finish product speak for itself. It's kind of like meeting someone for the first time despite hearing rumors/gossip about him/her. You can allow heresay to affect your first impression of someone but only when you take time to sit down with them, you get to know how they really are. Playing through this game, I enjoyed how the translator dances around the idea that this game is set in America. There's a particular scene where the witty shrine maiden character legitimizes why there would be a Japanese shrine in this American town and it was good stuff. Names are fine and rarely does it distract me from enjoying the game. I agree for the most part that the music is the real low point of the game. It sounds like CTHCC is like two tracks of annoying shopping mall music. After a while, I opted to mute my game and turn on some Flux Pavilion and Nero dubstep tracks to keep me entertained. Another low point I discovered is that since my initial playthrough, I've only gone back once more. I dunno how everyone else fared, but I managed to recruit four members during my first playthrough and then got them all during my New Game + run. After recruiting everyone and reading through each individual arc, there's basically nothing else to enjoy out of the game. It makes me wonder how many indie games I wished I could of rented for $5. Cherry Tree High at its core all about Miley and how she interacts with everyone she meets. In that respect, the game does an amazing job. The way Miley helps out all of the recruits, with exception of Tyler, become a better person and help them get pass a life problem makes it a rewarding playthrough. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5936 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Nice to see a good review for a PC game. Hope more reviews happen more frequently for Japanese PC games.
Sad to see the hate for a localized game, that got a good review. Guess the purists can always download the version they want. I might mind the localization if this was a more involved game with a significant back story. But as a school slice of life involving the formation of a school comedy club, I don't think it is much of a problem. Also as mentioned, if done in Japanese there might have been a high threshold of detailed knowledge of Japanese entertainment and culture required for the game to be funny or entertaining. |
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DJcream
Posts: 60 Location: NorCal |
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Looking back I actually forgot the the game was only $8, which would my point on renting it for $5 really fickle.
I'm so used to indie games being $10-$15 nowadays that I would often be disappointed at the end of playing. The most recent that comes to mind would be "Analogue: A Hate Story: but that's for another time. |
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RyanSaotome
Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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You see, I don't mind them localizing the jokes. Thats fine. Its when there are characters who are obviously Japanese named Bob and Sarah, eating Japanese foods that are renamed into American foods, and going to obviously Japanese types of locations (like shrines) and the game or anime is acting like it all takes place in America. Thats just dumb. |
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DJcream
Posts: 60 Location: NorCal |
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Personally, I find it more enjoyable to just go into wildly new experiences without any real expectations. It often turns out to be really fun that way. If you can't seem to shed the idea of Americanizing the game for American audiences, then nothing can really help you find a way to enjoy the game. |
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Reibooi
Posts: 394 |
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The issues Saotome brings up are exactly what annoy me as well. I mean even with the Americanizing of the game there are still so many elements that are clearly Japanese. I mean character design alone would give that away. It's clearly got a Moe art style which is a instant turn off to alot of people outside of the anime scene. Lets face it this game was never gonna reach a wide audience. Pretty much the majority of people who will buy it are those who knew what it was before hand and don't mind the localization. Had the game been a High profile release on say the DS or something I could see the translation it got making a bit more since. But as I said the majority of people who buy this are likely gonna be those who like anime and found out about it via sites like ANN(like I did) and many of those people hate these kinds of translations. Again keep in mind this isn't about the script per say most have no issue with that. the issue is making the characters who are clearly Japanese in a Japanese setting American in a American setting there was no need for that it would have been fine otherwise. |
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Dagon123
Posts: 194 |
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I can sympathize with keeping the original names and places to a certain point, but...
Please enlighten me to the anime in the 90's that did this, because the only one I EVER remember doing so, was Gatchaman OVA, and that's only because of its previous incarnation "Battle of the Planets". Pretty sure that died for good in the Mid 80's but 
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Cecilthedarkknight_234
Posts: 3820 Location: Louisville, KY |
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Ryan it works for comedy type game since Japanese humor is so different and unusual than ours. However if this was a horror game like corpse party I would complain becasue that is Japanese horror deals more with messing with a persons mind/physc some out which has more foot hold here then their style of comedy... however this is just a opinion also edit update due to crappy tablet. Last edited by Cecilthedarkknight_234 on Tue May 08, 2012 8:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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RyanSaotome
Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Sailor Moon? Yugioh? Pokemon (for the name part)? |
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potatochobit
 Posts: 1373 Location: TEXAS |
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where do they sell this?
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