Jeremy Blaustein

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Jeremy Blaustein (born June 7, 1966 in Long Island, New York) is a Japanese translator and localization coordinator specializing in the localization of video games, such as Metal Gear Solid, as well as anime and other television programs, such as Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl. He currently resides in rural Massachusetts with his wife and three children, where he operates his own translation agency, Zpang, Inc.

Contents 1 Selected works 1.1 Video games 2 Style 3 Trivia 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Selected works

[edit] Video games

Title	Year	Platform(s)	Role
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations	2007	DS	Translator (with Nanica Co., Ltd., edited by Capcom)
Hamsterz Life	2006	DS	Translator and coordinator (with Gabe Glick)
.hack//G.U.	2006	PlayStation 2	Translator and coordinator (with Gabe Glick)
Shadow Hearts: From the New World	2005	PlayStation 2	Translator, scriptwriter, English VO director, voice actor
Shadow of Rome	2005	PlayStation 2, PC	Translator, English VO director, motion capture director
Silent Hill 4	2004	PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC	Translator, English VO director, motion capture director
Shadow Hearts: Covenant	2004	PlayStation 2	Translator, scriptwriter, co-directed certain sequences
Airforce Delta Strike	2004	PlayStation 2	Translator, English VO director, motion capture director
Silent Hill 3	2003	PlayStation 2, PC	Translator, English VO director, motion capture director
Lost Kingdoms II	2003	PlayStation 2	Translator, scriptwriter, English VO director
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits	2003	PlayStation 2	Translator and coordinator
Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball	2003	Xbox	Translator
Dark Cloud 2	2002	PlayStation 2	Translator and coordinator
Beach Spikers	2002	GameCube	Translator
EOE: Eve of Extinction	2002	PlayStation 2	Translator
Fatal Frame	2001	PlayStation 2, Xbox	Translator and coordinator
Silent Hill 2	2001	PlayStation 2	Translator, English VO director, motion capture director
Ape Escape 2	2001	PlayStation 2	Translator and English VO director
Shadow Hearts	2001	PlayStation 2	Translator, scriptwriter, English VO director
Dragon Warrior VII	2000	PlayStation	Translator and coordinator
Valkyrie Profile	1999	PlayStation	Translator and English VO director
Alundra 2	1999	PlayStation	Translator and scriptwriter
Suikoden 2	1998	PlayStation	Translator and coordinator
Metal Gear Solid	1998	PlayStation	Translator and assistant-directed English VO sessions with Kris Zimmerman
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	1997	PlayStation	Translator
Vandal Hearts	1996	PlayStation	Translator
Snatcher	1994	Sega CD	Localization supervisor (with translation by Scott T. Hards)

While working at Konami in Tokyo, Japan in the early 90s, he also contributed to the localizations of the following games:

• The Adventures of Batman & Robin
• Animaniacs
• Biker Mice from Mars
• International Superstar Soccer
• Lethal Enforcers II: Gunfighters
• NBA Give 'N Go
• Rocket Knight Adventures
• Sparkster
• Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge

[edit] Style

Blaustein is consistently recognized for his superior work. GameFan praised Snatcher, calling the translation "perfect" and the voice acting "flawless,"^[1] while GameCritics said, "The writing and adaptation from the original Japanese is so good that you don't even think about what an achievement it is for the video-game industry," with the voice cast "going above and beyond anything the industry had previously seen."^[2]

IGN said of Valkyrie Profile, "this is one of the best English scripts I've ever read in a role-playing game... Characters speak like they ought to - some rough, some formal, some friendly, some distant - and you relate to them accordingly."^[3]

GameSpot noted Alundra 2's localization as one of the game's strongest points, saying "The character voices are lively, and the text is grammatical, occasionally amusing, and pretty natural - Activision's localization team has done a great job."^[4]

GameSpot also praised Blaustein's work on Dark Cloud 2, saying, "Dark Cloud 2's translation and voice acting deserve special mention because they show how far the localization of Japanese games has come in the last decade or so. The dialogue's phrasing is imaginative and the voices are of the caliber you'll find in any animated television show. ... Sony clearly put some real effort into localizing Dark Cloud 2, and the work pays off big."^[5]

In their review of Shadow Hearts: Covenant, PSM said, "This amazing sense of humor is one of the game's greatest strengths. Excellent localization and quality voice-overs deliver an incredible level of sarcastic humor, as well as RPG-standard melodrama and personality. Amazingly scripted with more humor than every RPG put together."^[6]

For Silent Hill 4, IGN said, "One of the best changes in the series since its humble beginning is the improvement in voice work. Even since Silent Hill 3, the voice work in this version has markedly improved. ... Conversations are much more realistic and fluid. ... The dialog has also improved to stay in step with the voice-over work."^[7] Furthermore, Gaming Target said, "However, it's definitely the evolving story that lies within Silent Hill where you'll get the peak of performance from the actors' as you'll get to view some of the most inspired death sequences in gaming right here. Great cast. Great acting. Good going, Konami."^[8]

[edit] Trivia

• His "ghost" may be viewed in Metal Gear Solid by taking an image of or near the corpse of Sniper Wolf. Many of the production staff of that title are immortalised in this way.
• His brother Michael Blaustein worked for Konami of America, and can be seen as a shotgun-wielding badguy in Lethal Enforcers II.
• He is the brother of voice actress Maddie Blaustein.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Zpang, Inc.
• Jeremy Blaustein at MobyGames
• Jeremy Blaustein at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Superfami.com's Chris Barker mirrored at JunkerHQ.net