DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Withered World ships with nine text languages on Steam and two voice languages, switchable in game. Square Enix publishes its Western site in eight locales, and the localized copy in those locales is where several of the game's translated proper nouns come from.
Supported languages
The Steam listing records the following. English and Japanese are the only languages with full audio; every listed language has interface and subtitle support.
Language | Interface | Subtitles | Full audio |
|---|---|---|---|
English | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Japanese | Yes | Yes | Yes |
French | Yes | Yes | No |
Italian | Yes | Yes | No |
German | Yes | Yes | No |
Spanish (Spain) | Yes | Yes | No |
Simplified Chinese | Yes | Yes | No |
Traditional Chinese | Yes | Yes | No |
Korean | Yes | Yes | No |
The North American physical release lists a shorter set: text in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, with audio in English and Japanese. Version and format differences are on Platforms and Versions.
Switching the voice language
Voice language is a setting rather than a version choice. From the in-game menu, go to System, then Options, then Sound. Under Voice & Text you can switch the voice language between Japanese and English, and the same screen adjusts the volume of voices, music and other audio. The cast for both languages is on Characters.
Published locales
The official Western site publishes copy in eight locales: American English, British English, French, German, Italian, European Spanish, Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Four further locales are declared on the site but do not resolve to a published page, so no Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese version of that site exists yet.
Localized place names
The Kingdom of Witherwood is translated differently in each locale, and the Brazilian Portuguese copy leaves it in English.
Locale | Name of the Kingdom of Witherwood |
|---|---|
English | Kingdom of Witherwood |
French | royaume de Boisflétri |
German | Königreich Immerwelk |
Italian | regno di Vizzalbero |
Spanish (Spain) | Reino de Yermavida |
Spanish (Latin America) | reino de Yermavida |
Brazilian Portuguese | Kingdom of Witherwood |
The French copy also spells the second protagonist as Néra, with an accent. Every other locale writes Nera. The setting itself is covered on Story and Setting.
The game's title
Two first-party answers exist here and they do not cancel each other out. In all eight locale copy files on the official Western site, the game's title is left untranslated, so the site shows the English title everywhere. At the same time, Square Enix's own German and French channels title the release trailer as DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Die welkende Welt and DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Le royaume de Boisflétri, so localized titles genuinely exist. Italian and Spanish localized titles have not been confirmed by any Square Enix channel.
Localized terminology
A handful of system and item terms have published translations, taken from Square Enix's own regional trailer copy.
Term | German | French |
|---|---|---|
Monster wrangler | Monsterzähmerinnen | meneuses de monstres |
Synthesis | kreuzen | Not published |
Monster Munchies | Monstermampf | monstrobec |
Bonus Balls | Reichmacher | balles bonus |
Seeds of Skill | Talentsamen | graines de compétences |
Those item names come from the Adventure Starter Set, whose English contents are listed on Editions and Pre-Order Bonuses.
Japanese naming
The Japanese release is titled ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ４ 枯れ木の国のビアンカ・フローラ and is branded as the fourth numbered entry in the series, which the Western branding drops. Several proper nouns differ between the two: the second protagonist is フローラ in Japanese and Nera in English, Fluffy is わたぼう and is romanized as Watabou on the Japanese site, and Fizzy is アゲぴぴ. The Japanese edition structure is on Japanese Editions and Retailer Bonuses.