A Dragon Quest VII re-release arrived on 3DS in Japan back in early 2013, yet fans in the West have seen over two years pass with no sniff of a localised version. Square Enix suggested last year that it needs confidence in the size of the audience, yet the absence of news seemed to spur on fans in other ways. A fan translation project kicked off just a few months ago.
Unfortunately it seems that Square Enix has shut the fan project down, which it is legally entitled to do. The following was posted on Reddit confirming that the translation was being stopped.
So, we have just received a cease and desist order from Square-Enix. So we are packing up shop and hoping that this means we will see a release from them in the coming months.
If this is true, please consider buying the game to support Dragon Quest here in the west. It's the only way we will see more of these game from Square-Enix.
Thanks to everyone who offered a hand with the editing.
The optimist's viewpoint can be that this cease and desist is a precursor to an official release in the West, though it's also possible that Square Enix is simply asserting its legal right as owner of the copyrighted material.
We shall see - are you still hoping to play Dragon Quest VII on 3DS, or perhaps even the upcoming Dragon Quest VIII release?
[source gonintendo.com]
Comments 49
How dare Square Enix send them a cease and desist order, it's not like Nintendo ever....
...oh, right.
Well, let's just hope Square is actually planning to release it here now...If anything, they at least got the message now...
well it is Square IP so they are well within their rights, although it they actually released the game outside of Japan then no one would be trying to make a fan translation
Really hoping for a Western release, but still not hopefully. In the UK we've never been able to play DQVII. The PS1 version never came out here. All the others are available on PS2, DS or IOS.
It probably won't mean anything. S-E seems to throw these things around to a lot of projects...
o.0 Unless Square Enix actually plans on releasing the game in the west, a fan-translation so long as it doesn't distribute the full game, and just provides a patch is legal.
A. Supplying a patch does not circumvent the need to buy the game.
B. Translating the game allows a non-japanese speaker to enjoy the game.
This is why shutting down a fan-translation is unusual, unless they were planning on distributing an actual patched game.
Of course a company with lawyers could send nintendolife a cease and desist if they wanted to for this comment, just because they didn't like it. The DMCA would protect the host so long as they just complied.
Their loss actually and kinda sad. I love dragon quest games
A cease and desist for something like this should also come with an announcement of a translation coming. This still leave the possibility of them not doing anything for the fans. It is right out insulting for them to stop fans from making a translation when they themselves feel it is too expensive.
Until they provide more info, I am considering this SE's way of yelling at us that we're not allowed to play the game no matter what.
I don't know about a official release. When the guy who made the Final Fantasy Type-0 translation released his last year, Square announced the HD version about a week later and sued the guy.
OTOH, if we really wanted to get DQ7 released here, we have a better chance just organizing a boycott of all Square-Enix properties until they release it.
Not happening, deal with it.
Square Enix are pretty infamous for Cease and Desist orders for any alterations of their games or even fan projects.
Be it rom hack, fan translation or fan game made from scratch.
So it's really no surprise that they C&D'd this fan translation. I can only hope that Square Enix actually be fair and supply us with an actual translation. That's obviously what prompted a fan translation in the first place, demand for it.
It is ruining their planned release to iOS and Android.
No, SE is just relying on the fact that none of these guys have the money to tell them 'No'.
I don't think they have any plans on releasing another DQ game in the states beyond the Dynasty Warriors game.
I don't think we've had a Dragon Quest game here in the UK since Sentinals of the Starry Skies on DS...
I still own every Japanese release on 3DS but it would be nice to understand them when I play :/
If they are localizing it to the west, I'm ok with this.
Wait, is it illegal to translate something for free for fun? I thought as long as they weren't distributing copyrighted material, it was fine.
@Yorumi I meant remakes too 7, Monsters 1 + 2, Slime etc.
I would love to see both DQ VII and DQ VIII come to west. However, I am not holding my breath.
A few years ago there was a fan translation project for Final Fantasy Zero on the PSP. Square ignored the project until it was complete and then within a week of the completed patch being distributed Square sent a cease and desist letter. Perhaps they have decided to be more diligent about shutting these things down before they mange to get a playable game out there.
What exactly is the legal reason you're not allowed to translate text?!
@manu0 once the work is done they distributed it for free which is where the issue lies in. plus the company's localization team would want to change some things around in order to more genuinely convey the characters and world to the Western audience.
anyways the last time they did this to the type 0 fan translation team type 0 got released. you cannot hide its Square. We know eeeeeeveeeerrythiiiiiing
Would an eShop only release really hurt the bank if you're worried about sales SE?
@emiingham Yeah I hated that the Monsters remake didn't make it over. I enjoyed playing the first two back in the day. I was actually hoping we would see their release on the virtual console.
I really don understand Square Enix beef with fan hacks and fan games. They always get a C&D right at the last minute. Hopefully they release state side, I always wanted to get into the Dragon Quest series anyway.
I would buy these games day 1 of they came out here. I really loved DQ9 and it was my favorite game on the DS.
I'm starting to think that the instinct to ignore, or even deny, any good decisions should be called Squenixitis.
Kind of glad I never got into Dragon Quest. Fans here in the west seem to have it very tough.
Square enix has always being picky and C&D many fan related stuff.
I wonder why.
They better be localizing it or shutting down fans who are just looking to translate a game are being horrifically treated by a company they support.
@ekreig Though that Chrono Trigger fan sequel still got ahem leaked xD
Really though, SE shuts down like every fan project ever.
This won't result in a localization though. Just Squeenix protecting their IP.
Considering DQ7 was one of the top selling titles in the series... It would be silly to not release it outside Japan. DQ3, 4, & 5 being perhaps more interesting (and not grind-heavy imbalanced Godhand fests) notwithstanding, it's too bad that the series seems to have peaked with DQ8.
As for the legality of the cease and desist, I would be interested to know the extent of fair use in the case of importing a physical copy. Of course, the patch would have probably required at least softmodding the 3DS and/or using a rewritable cart, so I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo also had a hand in just preventing any headway in the matter.
At least Square remembered DQ exists
I'm not a Square Enix fan by any means but they're quickly going to my "used purchases only" category with their antics lately... Hopefully, as the article states, this points to an official release outside Japan.
Dragon Quest VII-Yes and Dragon Quest VIII-Yes I just don't think we are going to get them. You would think E3 would have seen those announcements. Square is getting a little weird. They are really getting into the Android Market and the iOS market. They must be making great money cause it sure seems they don't care much for consoles. I know we're getting Bravely Second. Is Nintendo Publishing That? If I remember right they published the first Bravely Default. It just seems Nintendo has to Publish any games from square that get ported west.
I know this ship has probably sailed but I would love to see Dragon Quest X get ported to either 3DS or Wii-U it wouldn't matter. I just think it's a little late now.
The're within their rights of course but really, what a douche move if they don't even plan on translating it themselves.
@TruenoGT I really did think Square-Enix was gonna announce Dragon Quest localizations at E3. The week before, the 8-4 guys hinted at big localization reveals. Dragon Quest was obviously where my mind went.
@Yorumi, DQ7 is a slog. It feels stretched out, and it's hard to play a really grindy RPG with little gameplay depth for 100 hours. I'd rather see DQ8 re-released since I have the least experience with that one.
My favorites are 1, 4, and 9. The Dragon Quest series has very simple games and the combat is not complex, but the appeal is that they're pleasant. They're comfort food. Don't think; just kill monsters. I can turn on a slower sports game like American Football or Baseball and spend hours grinding.
Better release it over here then, otherwise that's just stupid.
@yorumi @manu0 Anybody can send a Cease and Desist Letter, the receiver must then decide if they want to contest it.
It depends on the medium of translation, it is perfectly legal for instance to translate movies and distribute the subtitles (or a translation text file), its also legal to translate a website (google translate does this for example).
The main reasoning in the above cases, is that neither approach interferes with the distribution of the original work, nor the ability of the seller to monetize it. (You still need to buy the movie to use the subtitles, you still see the ads for the google translated page).
OTOH, a book which is mainly consumed by reading the text would be considered infringement if you translated it.
While some would say story is important to a video game, the main medium of experiencing it is playing the video game. Hence distributing a translation patch, or just a FAQ explaining what is going on so you can play the game IS NOT ILLEGAL. The player must still purchase the japanese game, and must combine the translation with the game themselves.
However, SE can send a C&D even if the translation is legal. Just like you can send the police a noise complaint against a commune of mimes.
They have the right to do this, but I don't see any good reason for them to do this. Of course, if they were going to release VII themselves in the West, then this would be different, and would be completely justified. I'd be up for purchasing this game if Square Enix locallized this.
...and how were they planning to play this modded 3DS game?
If I want to play Dragon Quest VII I'll just play my PSX copy of Dragon "Warrior" VII on my PS3 which ironically I've been doing for the past few days anyway. I'm fine with the original localization and really could care less for the 3DS remake, Square Enix can keep it.
@Yorumi Hmm... Story-wise, that stinks: I usually like DQ games for their quaint humor and decent stories. As for the grinding, I thought all DQ games were grindfests ::hehe:: Last Square Enix game I played that I absolutely loved was Vagrant Story.
I bet they're waiting to see how the ps3/ps4 dragon quest game sells first before any localization announcements honestly. It'd be nice if let nintendo bring it over like bravely default.
Squenix...
Somebody else is doing your job.
USE THEM!
I bet they would have even finished it for free with Squenix's blessing, and solved everyone's problems.
@Pokefanmum82 same here loved the combat system and overworld map of DQ9
Huh, seeing fan translations get struck down is actually kind of unusual,
surprisingly enough come to think about it.
I would 100% buy both VII and VIII (boxed please).
Oh the pain of being a Western Dragon Quest fan.
For all of those thinking 'They're probably just not translating it because it has too much text, so that makes sense' - While that is what they stated...
i am pretty sure that i have the complete right to buy my Jap version of DQ7 play on my 3DS and mofdify it as necessary as i want
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