Local names

The No-Intro and Redump standard is to romanize title names from languages that don't use a Latin-based alphabet. They also restrict filenames to the 7-bit ASCII character set, which removes vital pronunciation cues from even latin-derived alphabets.

While this is useful as a standard for those who primarily speak English or are managing a collection, it's not great for those looking to operate in their own language, or for people who are multilingual.

The following examples show how to correct for common local naming scenarios.

Single language names

These names fall into one of the following categories:

• Names that have have been romanized (given Latin characters to represent the original characters) or reduced to 7-bit ASCII in a DAT file, but have a proper local name.

• Names that copy the American or European name for the sake of easily bundling together clones, but don't actually feature that English name on the title screen or box.

For example, Shining Force II - Inishie no Fuuin is the romanized version of the proper Japanese name, シャイニング●フォースII 『古の封印』. The title doesn't support English, and when someone chooses local names for Japanese titles in Retool, the name should be replaced with the Japanese version.

Here's how to add this information to a clone list:

"variants": [
  {
    "group": "Shining Force II - Inishie no Fuuin",
    "titles": [
      {
        "searchTerm": "Shining Force II - Inishie no Fuuin",
        "localNames": [
          {"japanese": "シャイニング●フォースII 『古の封印』"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
]

If a user adds Japanese to their local names list in Retool and then processes the DAT file related to this clone list, the following process occurs:

1. Retool looks up the short name Shining Force II - Inishie no Fuuin in the input DAT file, and finds that the full name Shining Force II - Inishie no Fuuin (Japan) matches.

2. Because the user has indicated that they want Japanese local names, if a localNames object is present within a searchTerm, Retool checks for a japanese key. If found, it uses the key's value for the title's new full name: シャイニング●フォースII 『古の封印』.

   Retool doesn't check if the title actually supports Japanese — because No-Intro and Redump language data can be incomplete, this is up to the clone list maintainer to determine.

3. All tags are copied from the original title to the new full name. In this case, (Japan) is appended to シャイニング●フォースII 『古の封印』.

4. シャイニング●フォースII 『古の封印』 (Japan) is used instead of Shining Force II - Inishie no Fuuin (Japan) in the output DAT file.

All languages supported in Retool are also supported in the localNames object. Use the lowercase representation of the language as shown in config/internal-config.json or RetoolGUI. For example, Chinese (Simplified) becomes chinese (simplified) in a clone list.

Warning

Romanized or translated English names by definition don't have native English titles, so don't include english in their localNames object. See multi-language names for situations where you can use the english key.

Multi-language names

When a title displays a different name depending on the hardware or software configuration it's loaded on, then it's a multi-region name.

For example, Streets of Rage shows exactly that name on the title screen if loaded in a US Sega Genesis. But load the exact same cartridge in a Japanese Mega Drive, and you'll see the English Bare Knuckle on the title screen. The Japanese box has both Bare Knuckle on it in English, and the katakana and kanji combination ベアナックル 怒りの鉄拳 — roughly translated, Bare Knuckle: Fists of Fury. Still, a Japanese person is far more likely to think of the series as ベアナックル than Bare Knuckle or Streets of Rage.

You're also likely to see multi-region names for European titles, which can include many languages.

Here's how to add this information to a clone list:

"variants": [
  {
    "group": "Streets of Rage",
    "titles": [
      {
        "searchTerm": "Streets of Rage",
        "localNames": [
          {"english": "Streets of Rage"},
          {"japanese": "ベアナックル 怒りの鉄拳"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
]

Depending on what languages a user adds to their localization list, a different name is written to the output DAT file:

• If a user adds no languages to the localization list, the default name, Streets of Rage (Japan, USA), is used.

• If a user adds only Japanese to the localization list, ベアナックル 怒りの鉄拳 (Japan, USA) is used.

• If a user adds Japanese and English to the localization list, but ranks Japanese above English, then ベアナックル 怒りの鉄拳 (Japan, USA) is used. If they rank English above Japanese, then Streets of Rage (Japan, USA) is used.

Tip

You might have figured out that you can use local names to rename a title to whatever you want. As a general rule, official Retool clone lists won't change English names as recorded by No-Intro or Redump. If you need to correct a name, report the issue upstream.

Automated local names

In many circumstances, No-Intro and Redump have listed local names in their databases. This information is stored in files found in the metadata folder. If there's no corresponding clone list entry for a title, Retool uses the localName value in the relevant metadata file for a title's local name.

Standards

The following standards should be adhered to when adding local titles to a clone list.

Use filters for multi-region titles

While there might only be one Example Title (USA, Japan) in a DAT file at the time you make a clone list, at some point in time an Example Title (Europe) or Example Title (Japan) might be added. To avoid a title getting the wrong local name, it's good practice to set a filter on a searchTerm, and set the localNames inside the filter so only the correct title is renamed.

It's likely good enough to use a matchRegions condition in most circumstances:

{
  "group": "Raiden Trad",
  "titles": [
    {
      "searchTerm": "Raiden Trad",
      "filters": [
        {
          "conditions": {
            "matchRegions": ["Japan", "USA"]
          },
          "results": {
            "localNames": {
              "english": "Raiden Trad",
              "japanese": "雷電伝説"
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Japanese titles

• Many Japanese titles show English names on their title screens and boxes, but are referred to online using katakana/hiragana/kanji. Follow the Redump standard and use Japanese kana wherever possible. When in doubt, search through Japanese sites that sell classic titles or Japanese Wikipedia to check what title is used.

• Use zenkaku (full width) characters, not hankaku (half width). This includes kana, punctuation, arabic numerals, and latin characters.

Chinese titles

Many entries in the Redump and No-Intro databases don't specify which written Chinese variant is being used: traditional (language code: Zh-Hant) or simplified (Zh-Hans). A lot of the time they just list the unspecified Chinese language code, Zh. Both databases also don't make a distinction between spoken languages (Mandarin or Cantonese in this case), written languages, or the availability of subtitles or dubs in a title.

For Retool, thankfully we're only dealing with the local written name for a title, and so can stick with one of the following languages in the localNames object:

• chinese (simplified)

• chinese (traditional)

For non-Chinese speakers trying to find out which language is used, you can make an educated guess. The following table serves as a cheat sheet for the Chinese variants that regions around the world mostly use.

Region	Written language	Spoken language
Most of mainland China	Simplified	Mandarin
Guangdong province, mainland China	Simplified	Cantonese
Hong Kong	Traditional	Cantonese
Macao	Traditional	Cantonese
Malaysia	Simplified	Mandarin
Singapore	Simplified	Mandarin
Taiwan	Traditional	Mandarin

For extra confirmation of the written language being used, try putting a Chinese title name into Google Translate, and see what language the auto-detect suggests.