Localizations

For a list of the different physical releases of Oni, see Releases.

Oni in Castilian Spanish for the Mac.

After being developed by Bungie West in the United States, where the canonical English version was developed, Oni was translated into several other languages for worldwide distribution. The following languages received full localizations, encompassing the game packaging, the manual, in-game text and in-game voice acting:

• Russian
• French
• Italian
• German
• Spanish
• Japanese

One language received a text-only translation, where the subtitles were translated but the voice acting was left in English

• Chinese

Other languages, perhaps ones in smaller markets, received box-and-manual translations where the game was left in the original English:

• Hungarian
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Slovak

There are almost certainly more languages which received these box-and-manual translations, but they have been poorly documented. If you have evidence of one not mentioned here, please let us know.

Results

These localizations were then used in multiple physical releases in different territories, as documented at Releases, sometimes including multiple languages on the disc which could be selected during installation. The releases were sometimes made for all three platforms, Windows, Macintosh and PlayStation 2, but sometimes perhaps only for Windows, or for Windows and PS2. The technical details of the localizations are explored resource-by-resource at OBD:Localization, and the resulting versions of the game data files are documented at OBD:Versions.

Out of the seven versions of the game that were dubbed, fans have generally reacted most positively to the English, Italian and Japanese versions, with special interest given to the Japanese dub since Oni is, after all, descended from the world of anime. This dub was created with care, and Konoko was played by well-known voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi.

The localization process was not, of course, without its mishaps. Translators sometimes failed to understand the nature or context of what they were translating, such as when the Slovakian translators called the Hoplite Class (blue Strikers) the "Hopping Class", or when the Spanish translators referred to Griffin as a veterinarian with the line "¿Dónde está el veterinario de Griffin hoy?" The Russian dub was content to call Griffin "lovely", but had some confusion about the factions in the game and labeled the final mission "TCTF Mountain Compound" on the translated splashscreen. Doubtless many more delightful gaffes and false friends await any players who possess an English copy and a translated copy of Oni and want to take the time to compare them. Finally, localization offices sometimes translated and released files that were not meant for release at all.

In Spanish Oni, questions begin with a peculiar character that no Spanish speaker has ever seen. Ending question marks are followed by a period, as are some sentences that already end with periods. As for the quality of the translated dialogue, well… Kerr asks Griffin, "Why are you sending her inside?"