Thanks to the hard work of a passionate group of fans, Dragon Quest X’s story cutscenes for Version 1-4 have been fully translated into English. First released on the Nintendo Wii in 2012, Dragon Quest X stands out from the rest of the beloved JRPG series by being an MMO instead of a single-player game. It takes players to the far-away fantasy world of Astoltia, where they start their journey as a human who is forced to transfer their soul into another body following a deadly attack by Lord of Hell Nelgel. From there, player characters must gather mystical gemstones to seal Nelgel while utilizing a mix of real-time combat gameplay and a character-developing job system.
Dragon Quest X has been ported to virtually every Nintendo system since the Wii, as well as PC, Android and iOS compatible devices, and the PlayStation 4. However, Dragon Quest X hasn't received a western release despite its critical acclaim and a strong desire from Dragon Quest fans to try the MMO out for themselves. During last year’s 35th anniversary Dragon Quest livestream, Square Enix stated that there are currently no plans for a Western Dragon Quest X Online or Offline release, and since then, a group of dedicated fans has decided to matters into their own hands.
Earlier this week, Dragon Quest X player ExalinExcels posted an update video on their YouTube channel for the DQXClarity project, an effort to fully translate Dragon Quest X’s in-game dialogue into English for English-speaking fans to enjoy. In this latest update, Exalin announced that while the game's overworld NPC dialogue is still being machine translated by the AHKmon program, all of Dragon Quest X's story dialogue for Version 1-4 has been translated by hand. “Machine translation will never be a substitute for straight-up knowing Japanese,” Exalin explained in a later quote to Screen Rant editor Austin King. “But having phrases and terms saved within the machine add some context back into it, making when you DO have to use machine translation much cleaner.”
Dragon Quest X Fans Create The Localization Square Enix Won’t
Exalin also thanked the team responsible for the DQXClarity project for their hard work in assuring that fans who don’t understand Japanese will be able to play and enjoy Dragon Quest X. He also directed curious viewers toward dqxabbey.com, a website created by Dragon Quest X fan @sevithian containing information about the resources behind the DQXClarity project and links to tools needed to play the game in the West. The original video, which encompassed Version 1, can be still be viewed below:
While Square Enix still seemingly has no plans to release Dragon Quest X in the West, there have been special events, like the Dragon Quest X/Final Fantasy XIV crossover event, that serve as the closest many Western players have gotten to experiencing Dragon Quest X firsthand. Mobile game DQ Tact also recently offered fans a peek at DQX content. However, these small mash-ups are no substitute for a full localization of DQ10, and arguably made Square Enix’s refusal to release it in the West all the more frustrating.
Thankfully, these fans can now experience Dragon Quest X in English thanks to the hard work and dedication of the DQXClarity project team, who have now managed to translate all of Version 1’s cutscenes by hand. There is still much more work to be done in translating Dragon Quest X, but this talented group of fans deserves credit for providing players with the Engish localization that Square Enix is seemingly unwilling to produce.
Source: Exalin Excels/YouTube, ExalinExcels/Twitter, dqxabbey.com