NIS America is committed to bringing Falcom's acclaimed Trails and Ys series to Western audiences faster. Read on to learn more about their accelerated localization efforts.
NIS America Speeds Up Localization of Trails and Ys Games
Faster Falcom Games for Western Fans
Fantastic news for JRPG fans! During last week's Ys X: Nordics digital showcase, NIS America's Senior Associate Producer, Alan Costa, announced a significant commitment to accelerating the Western release of Falcom's beloved Trails and Ys franchises.
"I can't discuss specifics of our internal changes," Costa told PCGamer, "but we're working hard to localize Falcom games more quickly." He cited Ys X: Nordics (releasing now) and Trails Through Daybreak II (early 2025) as examples. Even Trails Through Daybreak II's early 2025 release, despite its September 2022 Japanese launch, represents a substantial improvement on past timelines.
Historically, Western fans faced notoriously long waits. Trails in the Sky, released in Japan in 2004, didn't reach a global audience until 2011's PSP release by XSEED Games. Even more recent titles like Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure took twelve years to reach the West.
The lengthy process was explained in 2011 by former XSEED Games Localization Manager, Jessica Chavez. In a blog post about Trails in the Sky II, she highlighted the challenge of translating millions of characters with a small team as a major bottleneck. The sheer volume of text in Trails games explains the historical delays.
While a two-to-three-year localization process remains, NIS America prioritizes quality. As Costa explained, "We want faster releases, but not at the expense of quality. Balancing speed and quality is something we've worked on for years, and we're improving."
Localization's time commitment is understandable, especially with massive amounts of text. The one-year delay of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana due to mistranslations serves as a reminder of potential pitfalls. However, Costa's statements suggest NIS America is successfully balancing speed and accuracy.
The recent release of Trails Through Daybreak signals a positive change, demonstrating NIS America's ability to deliver high-quality localizations faster. With the game's positive reception, this suggests a promising future for NIS America's localization efforts.
For our full review of The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak, please see the link below!
