Erika Harlacher (Ann Takamaki/Panther’s VA) confirms that Persona 5 Strikers’ localization was delayed due to the pandemic

[Neoxon]

The entire video is definitely worth a watch, but here's the quote in question regarding the English voice production...

It was like about to start – right when quarantine went into effect, and then we had to like kind of put it on hold, thinking that we would just go back into the studio in a couple of weeks, and then we didn't. Then we had to come up with a plan B.

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Most already figured that the pandemic was what took Persona 5 Strikers so long to get localized, but now we have confirmation. Either way, I'm glad that everyone involved stayed safe & healthy.

Source: Cassandra Lee Morris (YouTube)

 

[theme park joe]

Makes sense - script localized and done before the game launches in Japan, set up studio time only for it to shut down, then pivot to remote recording.

 

[Richter1887]

It sucks it was delayed but this is for the best. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Gold Arsene]

Jesus Christ you nearly gave me a heart attack.

I just saw her name and thought this was gonna be another VA turning out to be an asshole thread.

Anyway that's about what I figured but nice to have confirmation.

 

[DanarchyReigns]

Yeah, I expect this is a story we're going to hear a lot over this year, and next year.
At least the game is coming.

 

[Curufinwe]

I hope they pronounce the names properly this time.

 

[Richter1887]

Jesus Christ you nearly gave me a heart attack.

I just saw her name and thought this was gonna be another VA turning out to be an asshole thread.

Anyway that's about what I figured but nice to have confirmation.

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Haha that's the same reaction I have every time I see "voice actor" or "music composer" or some other variant.

I hate that I get this reaction lately.

 

[Homura]

I hope they pronounce the names properly this time.

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What names did they mispronounce in Persona 5?

 

[Hailinel]

It was obvious, but nice to see confirmation.

 

[Listai]

I hope they pronounce the names properly this time.

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This is the fault of the director - not the actors.

 

[My Blue Heaven]

I hope they pronounce the names properly this time.

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voice director problem not an actor problem, common misconception. not that you probably care about that

 

[Dynamite Ringo Matsuri]

Jesus Christ you nearly gave me a heart attack.

I just saw her name and thought this was gonna be another VA turning out to be an asshole thread.

Anyway that's about what I figured but nice to have confirmation.

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haha, this is always my first reaction to these threads now. It's like, ugh, what now... Loved Erika as Ann and Violet. They both seem very sweet in this video

 

[Deleted member 10629]

This is the fault of the director - not the actors.

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Or by the company itself. I remember when the LatinAmerican Spanish dub trailer for BOTW a lot of people complained that Hyrule was pronunced as 'ee-roo-leh', and the dubbing company had to come forward to say that Nintendo mandated that pronunciation.

 

[InfiniDragon]

What names did they mispronounce in Persona 5?

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The last names mostly; the actors knew how to say them the with the "legit" Japanese pronunciations and were saying them as such, but the voice director explicitly instructed them to pronounce things the way they did in the final game, basically as a Westerner with some knowledge of Japanese would, but not like someone fluent in both languages would (too much emphasis on syllables).

Also, Erika herself is a pretty damn great person in case folks weren't already aware.

 

[Viale]

Or by the company itself. I remember when the LatinAmerican Spanish dub trailer for BOTW a lot of people complained that Hyrule was pronunced as 'ee-roo-leh', and the dubbing company had to come forward to say that Nintendo mandated that pronunciation.

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Lol I hadn't heard of that. That's wild. I wonder if they just assume it's more palatable to audiences with the change.

 

[Salarians]

Jesus Christ you nearly gave me a heart attack.

I just saw her name and thought this was gonna be another VA turning out to be an asshole thread.

Anyway that's about what I figured but nice to have confirmation.

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saaaaaame lmao

 

[Neoxon]

It was obvious, but nice to see confirmation.

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That's pretty much where most of us are at.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

It was obvious, but nice to see confirmation.

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It was the obvious reason, but I remember a lot of people didn't buy it because of how other games were had their localization out in that time frame.

 

[mindsale]

She's also Venti in Genshin Impact. Can't wait for more Persona 5 content.

 

[Lord Fanny]

It was obvious, but nice to see confirmation.

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I mean, it's Atlus so not sure if it was really obvious lol, but yes, it wasn't far-fetched that it had an impact

 

[ReginaldXIV]

The last name stuff was so weird, because it wasn't even consistent. Sometimes they pronounce the name correctly, and then someone else pronounces it the weird way. They also only do it for family names and not first names for some reason.

 

[Fuu]

I do wonder when they decided to develop the PC version (after P4G sales, but maybe before that?). If it wasn't the pandemic it probably would have come at a later date instead of day one with PS4/Switch.

 

[Virtua Sanus]

I do wonder when they decided to develop the PC version (after P4G sales, but maybe before that?). If it wasn't the pandemic it probably would have come at a later date instead of day one with PS4/Switch.

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I sorta doubt the Persona 4 Golden sales had that much of an impact. This is a Koei Tecmo game, and they were bringing over stuff like Dragon Quest Heroes well before Square Enix showed any interest in doing the same with the mainline games.

 

[Kiria]

I hope they pronounce the names properly this time.

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This is the fault of the director - not the actors.

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voice director problem not an actor problem, common misconception. not that you probably care about that

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It's not even the director (Keith & Valerie Arem knows enough to miss proper pronouncations)

Afaik it was Atlus mandated pronouncation dunno which if Atlus Japan or Atlus USA

 

[GreatBriTom]

I don't know who Persona 5 Strikers is for.

For those looking to get into Persona that felt like 5 was too daunting, this much more compact game is still incredibly dense.

Diehard fans will find it stripped of what made Persona 5 great.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Wasn't the dub for 13 Sentinels done completely via WFH? It's interesting if that was a bigger priority last year than this. Then again, 13 Sentinels releasing without a dub on day 1 was a real possibility and I doubt they would take that risk for a Persona game.

 

[Gold Arsene]

I don't know who Persona 5 Strikers is for.

For those looking to get into Persona that felt like 5 was too daunting, this much more compact game is still incredibly dense.

Diehard fans will find it stripped of what made Persona 5 great.

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Odd bump but ok.

You're assuming those are the only reasons someone could be interested in Strikers.

Maybe they like the idea of an action based Persona game. Maybe they just want more of the characters. I have my own issues with P5S but I'm still real excited to play it.

 

[GreatBriTom]

Odd bump but ok.

You're assuming those are the only reasons someone could be interested in Strikers.

Maybe they like the idea of an action based Persona game. Maybe they just want more of the characters. I have my own issues with P5S but I'm still real excited to play it.

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I say at the end of my preview that I think diehards will still like it. I just don't think their passion for it will come close to the passion they have for 5. Full review out in February.