Tokyo-based localiser 8-4, Ltd. has offered to assist in translating Retro Game Challenge 1 + 2 Replay after Bandai Namco had confirmed that the game was not being planned for a Western release.
Likely due to soft sales of the original Retro Game Challenge on DS (which publisher XCEED had previously stated would need to reach 100,000 sales to justify a translation of the direct sequel), Bandai Namco’s Midori Sugiyama and indieszero’s Masanobu Suzui had spoken to Famitsu (thanks, Nintendo Everything) to state that an official Western translation would not be happening.
However, 8-4’s COO John Ricciardi has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to state that the company would be happy to assist in translation duties so long as “a publisher were to step forward”:
R-4 has provided translation duties for a vast number of Japanese titles over the years, including the likes of Unicorn Overlord, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and had recently worked to localise the video’s from the YouTube channel ‘Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games’.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Bandai Namco would be interested in bringing the game to Western shores at all, but it’s reassuring to know that a reputable localiser would be willing to take on the task of translating the game.
Right now, however, according to Masanobu Suzui, fans should simply “play the Japanese version this time”. Boo, if we must.