8-4

is a Japanese video game localization company based in Shibuya, Tokyo. The company was founded in 2005 by Hiroko Minamoto and former Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) editor John Ricciardi. They were joined by Ricciardi's EGM colleague Mark MacDonald in 2008, who departed in 2016 to work as VP, Production of Business and Development at Enhance Games. It performs Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese translation and localization on a contract basis with credits including Monster Hunter, Nier, Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, Tales, Undertale, and Deltarune, among others. The company is named after the final level of the original Super Mario Bros., where Mario defeats Bowser and rescues Princess Peach for the very first time.

Translation 8-4 generally gets involved in the localization process midway through a game's development, gaining access to a build of the game and script. Occasionally, they are invited to participate throughout the development cycle, as with the case of Shadows of the Damned. As publishers increasingly push for simultaneous worldwide release, they have noted earlier and earlier involvement in projects. In the first step of the process, they familiarize themselves with the game and others in its series by playing through them multiple times and taking notes. To perform the actual translation, they use large Microsoft Excel spreadsheets containing the script in both Japanese and English. In addition to word translation, they suggest changes to make the game more accessible to Western audiences. For example, in Glory of Heracles, they recommended that the battle speed be tripled in order to make fighting more exciting.

The team cites Richard Honeywood, founder of Square's localization department, as an influence on their translation style. Beyond merely translating the words, 8-4 attempts to convey the same experience as that of the original language version through attention to tone, user interface, and cultural references. Because of their text-heavy nature, most of 8-4's contracts are for role-playing video games such as Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia, and Star Ocean: The Last Hope, which are beyond the capabilities of in-house translation teams. In translating Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation, they inherited Honeywood's Dragon Quest style guide to aid them in keeping consistency between games. Speaking of their favorite projects, they look to games like Baten Kaitos Origins where the developers allowed them to take over every aspect of localization including script, debugging, quality assurance, and voice production. In 2022, 8-4 provided the translation for Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube web series, "Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games".

Games YearGameClientNotes 2005 Mario Tennis: Power Tour Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2006 Warship Gunner 2 Koei Japanese-to-English 2006 Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2006 Baten Kaitos Origins Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2006 Tales of the Abyss Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2006 Gunpey Q Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2006 Gunpey DS Q Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2006 Every Extend Extra Q Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2007 Rogue Galaxy Sony Computer Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2007 Lunar Knights Kojima Productions Japanese-to-English 2007 Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2007 Brave Story: New Traveler XSEED Games Japanese-to-English 2007 Jeanne d'Arc Sony Computer Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2007 Wild ARMs 5 XSEED Games Japanese-to-English 2007 Eternal Sonata (Xbox 360) Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Ape Quest Sony Computer Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2008 Culdcept Saga Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Wild ARMs XF XSEED Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Soulcalibur IV Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Tales of Vesperia Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Eternal Sonata (PS3) Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2008 Castlevania Judgment Konami Japanese-to-English 2008 Imagine: Ballet Star Ubisoft Japanese-to-English 2009 Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Wii) Ubisoft Japanese-to-English 2009 Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2009 Star Ocean: The Last Hope Square Enix Japanese-to-English 2009 Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (PSP) Ubisoft Japanese-to-English 2009 Imagine: Makeup Artist Ubisoft Japanese-to-English 2009 Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2009 Katamari Forever Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2009 Undead Knights Tecmo Japanese-to-English 2009 Petz Hamsterz Bunch Ubisoft Japanese-to-English 2009 Tekken 6 Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2010 Glory of Heracles Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2010 White Knight Chronicles International Sony Computer Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2010 Star Ocean: The Last Hope International Square Enix Japanese-to-English 2010 Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll Sega Japanese-to-English 2010 The Eye of Judgment: Legends Sony Computer Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2010 Nier Square Enix Japanese-to-English 2010 Monster Hunter Tri Capcom Japanese-to-English 2010 Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Konami Japanese-to-English 2010 Adrenalin Misfits Konami Japanese-to-English 2010 Echochrome II Sony Computer Entertainment Japanese-to-English 2011 Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2011 Dead or Alive: Dimensions Tecmo Koei Japanese-to-English 2011 Shadows of the Damned Grasshopper Manufacture Japanese-to-English, English-to-Japanese 2011 Disney Epic Mickey Disney Interactive Studios English-to-Japanese 2011 Wind-up Knight Robot Invader English-to-Japanese 2011 Zoo Resort 3D Ubisoft Japanese-to-English 2011 Aquaria Semi Secret Software English-to-Japanese 2011 The Black Eyed Peas Experience Ubisoft English Writing 2011 Otomedius Excellent Konami Japanese-to-English 2011 Fossil Fighters: Champions Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2012 Tales of Graces f Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2012 Soulcalibur V Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English DLC translation 2012 Tales of the Abyss Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2012 Touch My Katamari Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2012 Skullgirls Reverge Labs Inter-Office Communication 2012 Dragon's Dogma Capcom Japanese-to-English 2012 Gravity Rush Sony Computer Entertainment English Editing 2012 Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Capcom Japanese-to-English 2012 Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Capybara Games English-to-Japanese, promotion, marketing 2013 Rise of the Blobs Robot Invader English-to-Japanese 2013 Skulls of the Shogun 17-BIT English Writing, English-to-FIGSPCJKR 2013 Fire Emblem Awakening Nintendo Japanese-to-English 2013 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Konami Japanese-to-English 2013 Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Capcom Japanese-to-English 2013 Tales of Xillia Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English 2013 Hay Day Supercell English-to-Japanese, Consulting 2013 République Camouflaj LLC English-to-FGS 2014 Boom Beach Supercell English-to-Japanese 2014 Drakengard 3 Square Enix Japanese-to-English 2014 Threes! Sirvo English-to-FGJ 2014 Wind-up Knight 2 Robot Invader English-to-Japanese 2014 Azure Striker Gunvolt Inti Creates Japanese-to-English 2014 Tales of Hearts R Namco Bandai Games Japanese-to-English2015Rogue LegacyCellar Door GamesJapanese publisher 2015 Neko Atsume Hit-Point Japanese-to-English 2015 Xenoblade Chronicles XNintendo of America. Twitter. 2015-08-28. Retrieved on 2015-08-29. NintendoJapanese-to-English 2016 Super Time Force Ultra Capybara Games English-to-Japanese 2016 Mighty No. 9 Comcept Japanese-to-English, Consulting, community management, public relations 2016 Shovel Knight. Twitter. 2016-03-03. Retrieved on 2016-03-03. Yacht Club GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2016Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic GamesSegaJapanese-to-English2016Gotta ProtectorsAncientJapanese-to-English 2016 Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 Inti Creates Japanese-to-English2017Nier: AutomataSquare EnixJapanese-to-English2017Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of ValentiaNintendoJapanese-to-English2017UndertaleToby FoxEnglish-to-Japanese, console ports, console publishing2017Egglia: Legend of the RedcapDMM.comJapanese-to-English2017Style Savvy: Styling StarNintendoJapanese-to-English2018Monster Hunter: WorldCapcomEnglish translation support2018FirewatchCampo SantoEnglish-to-Japanese2018Slime RancherMonomi ParkEnglish-to-Japanese2018Dragalia LostNintendoJapanese-to-English2018Return of the Obra Dinn3909 LLCEnglish-to-Japanese2018Deltarune: Chapter 1Toby FoxEnglish-to-Japanese, console ports, console publishing2019Bloodstained: Ritual of the NightArtPlayJapanese-to-English2019CelesteExtremely OK GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2019SaGa: Scarlet Grace - AmbitionsSquare EnixJapanese-to-English2020Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash!GroundingJapanese-to-English2020Tales of CrestoriaBandai Namco EntertainmentJapanese-to-English2021Little Nightmares IIBandai Namco EntertainmentEnglish-to-Japanese2021Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...Square EnixJapanese-to-English2021HadesSupergiant GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2021Nier ReincarnationSquare EnixJapanese-to-English2021SpelunkyMossmouthEnglish-to-Japanese2021Spelunky 2MossmouthEnglish-to-Japanese2021Deltarune: Chapter 2Toby FoxEnglish-to-Japanese, console ports, console publishing2021IkenfellHappy Star GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2021Jett: The Far ShoreSuperbrothersEnglish-to-Japanese, English-to-German2022Disney Twisted-WonderlandAniplex of AmericaJapanese-to-English2022Gotta Protectors: Cart of DarknessAncientJapanese-to-English, North American and European publishing2022Fire Emblem Warriors: Three HopesNintendoJapanese-to-English2023Out ZoneBitwave GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2023TruxtonBitwave GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2023Twin CobraBitwave GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2023Zero WingBitwave GamesEnglish-to-Japanese2024Unicorn OverlordSega Japanese-to-English2024Bō: Path of the Teal LotusSquid Shock Studios English-to-Japanese2025EarthionAncient Japanese-to-English, English-to-Japanese2025Deltarune: Chapters 3 and 4Toby FoxEnglish-to-Japanese, console ports, console publishing2025UFO 50MossmouthEnglish-to-Japanese2026Deltarune: Chapter 5Toby FoxEnglish-to-Japanese, console ports, console publishing

Podcast 8-4 hosts a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to "Japan, video games, and Japanese video games", known as 8-4 Play. The main hosts include Mark MacDonald, John Ricciardi, Tina Carter, and Gabriel Deleone. Former hosts include Sarah Podzorski (now of MinnMax) and Justin Epperson. Being located in Tokyo, 8-4 has the opportunity to attend and share news about many Japanese video game industry events such as Tokyo Game Show, Capcom's Captivate, and Grasshopper Manufacture's Hoppers. As 1UP.com and EGM alumni, they maintain many of their video game journalism connections including James Mielke (now of Q Entertainment), Shane Bettenhausen (Ignition Entertainment), and David Abrams (Cheap Ass Gamer), who make regular appearances as guests on the show. They also occasionally have prominent designers as guests such as Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Akira Yamaoka. Since 2012, episodes of the podcast have been hosted on Giant Bomb. Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, 8-4 was involved in both Grasshopper Manufacture's Grasstream 2 charity event and Play For Japan: The Album, headed by Akira Yamaoka.

References

External links Official website 1UP.com site