It is time! I just got Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity for my brandnew Nintendo Switch and as you can see, I got it twice... That's actually two different copies, the one on the left is the German version and the one to the right the UK version.
Other than the disgustingly huge USK age rating logo, there is another interesting difference between the two. The German title is actually in German, where the game is called "Zeit der Verheerung". And this quite weird, because Nintendo Deutschland rarely ever translates the game titles into German. They usually go with the English one, probably because it sounds much cooler and puns like "A Link Between Worlds" simply don't work when you translate them.
But after 34 years they've finally decided to translate a Zelda-related game title into German, or at least half of it, and this didn't feel right to me. I think they did this because most casual fans in Germany might not be familiar with the word "Calamity", because it's a word that you rarely ever hear, and they wanted to make sure that there is no confusion what this game is all about.
Anyway, because I wanted the English version for my collection, I've got the game from an import retailer of my trust. But for a moment there it looked like I wouldn't be getting the game in time today, where according to the tracking it wasn't even shipped yet. And since I have more money than patience when it comes to new Zelda games and I took the day off for this, I put on my Yiga facemask, drove into the city and got a copy from a store... However, when I came back I had the UK version in my post box, where it turned it was just a tracking error.
Well, it doesn't matter, since the other copy will be a nice early Christmas gift for someone else – someone who doesn't mind the German title nor the USK logo. The squeezed title actually looks quite nice, though, and there have been worse covers, like the one for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where they had removed Yoshi (see here).
And it's certainly not as bad as the versions in other European countries with multiple languages (like Switzerland), because there they actually put the logo on the cover multiple times, one for each language..
Wow, just wow... One more reason to simply go with the English title.
Now, I will be focused mainly on the game for the next days, where I'm actually on vacation for the entire next week as well. I will certainly blog about my progress and thoughts during this, so either stay tuned or stay away if you don't want to know anything about the game yet.
4 comments:
I'm not the only one bothered by the German translation then? I already played Breath of the Wild in English so I wasn't even aware they call the calamity "Verheerung" here. What a weird word.
But yeah. I did get the German version because I don't quite have the disposable income to import a UK copy (having to import anime blu-rays to get English dubs is expensive enough) but I can see your logic in doing that.
@Tim:
I've imported via "okaysoft" on ebay, where it was 56€ without any delivery costs. So, about the same as any copy in the store... So, if you really want the UK copy of any game in the future, I can only recommend this seller.
okaysoft has even been around for quite some time, where I've imported the Unreal Tournament games in 2004 and 2007 from them.
Oh? Good to know, thanks for the tip!
Normally it's no issue for me though. I have my Switch set to English so that's the language games will play in, no matter which version I buy. And ultimately, the game itself is the most important to me. Incidentally, my copy of Skyward Sword is French I believe, though don't ask me why that is.
Yeah, I've also set my Switch to English, of course. The import was solely for the game's box.
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