So, when you're translating a Nintendo DS you frequently can't use more letters (or characters) per line than the Japanese text did, even if you really need them. Changing the number of characters in a line in a cartidge-based game can cause crashes, bugs, glitches, and all kinds of other nastiness.
Here, Mark Engler translated Retro Game Challenge, I'll let him describe some of the problems you inevitably run into when you're mucking around with Japanese game code.
According to the development team, [Retro Game Center] wasn’t made to be localized, so they didn’t take into account things like changing graphics files or switching out text when doing the initial coding.
In addition, getting the final text character limits took a lot of trial and error, which made my job as the principle editor an absolute nightmare -- a nightmare that continued on throughout the QA process.
So if you've ever wonder why a video game attack with a big long elaborate Japanese name becomes "DOOMBLADE" in the English version, well, there you go. It's easier to change number of characters per line in a game running off disc-based media, but even there text changes can create bugs and crashes.
Given the problems they inevitably faced, XSEED really outdid themselves with the localization for Retro Game Challenge. For a game never intended to be in English, the translation is superb and absolutely conveys the humor of Game Center CX.
