Genshin Impact’s Ver.2.7 update makes location names easier to read for Japanese players

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-05-31 17:58 JST)

HoYoverse released Ver.2.7 of Genshin Impact titled Hidden Dreams in the Depths on May 31. The update adds new content such as Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act II – “Perilous Trail” and a new character named Yelan. In addition, the Japanese version of the game saw an update to its map that basically amounts to adding phonetic spellings to hard-to-read location names.

Genshin Impact is an open world action RPG being developed and operated by the Chinese game company miHoYo. Within the game’s fictional world of Teyvat exists the Chinese-inspired region of Liyue. Because of this, the game contains a number of Chinese words, words that use Chinese readings, and words that are simply just difficult to read, especially when considering the strong relation between written Chinese and Japanese.

Some examples of words and names using Chinese readings include Hu Tao, Xiangling, and Tianquan. Take Hu Tao for example. In the Japanese version, the name is written as 胡桃. While the name of the character is supposed to match the Chinese reading of “Hu Tao,” this combination of characters (kanji) actually reads as “kurumi” (meaning: Walnut) in Japanese. Examples of difficult to read words include 瓊璣野 (Qiongji Estuary), 影向山 (Mt. Yougou), and 望瀧村 (Bourou Village).

Even among characters from the Liyue region, there’s a mixture of some using Chinese readings and others using Japanese readings for names. This has left Japanese players having a difficult time knowing which way to read a character’s name at first glance.

With this latest update, furigana has been added to parts of the map to help alleviate the issue. Furigana is a reading aid in Japanese that adds the phonetic pronunciation of a character or word in smaller print above the word in question. It’s often seen attached to words that are hard to read in books, manga, and video games. Especially those targeted at younger audiences.

Thanks to the update, Japanese players now won’t have to worry if they’re saying these location names correctly.

In addition, Ver.2.7 brings an end to maintenance on the Serenitea Pot. Serenitea Pot is the housing system in Genshin Impact and allows players to freely place furniture, terrain, and friends in their own world inside the pot. After the Ver.2.6 update at the end of March, the Serenitea Pot’s layout function went under maintenance, leaving players unable to place items for roughly 2 months. Now that maintenance has ended, players are now able to modify their Serenitea Pots again.

The latest update also added a new leisure furnishing called Confused Confuzzlement. This furnishing allows players to play a game similar to hide-and-seek by searching for objects called “Confuzzled Tubbers” placed within a specified area.