Game Translation

I’ve been working on game translations since late 1996. Back in those days, I was in charge of the Final Fantasy V translation. Yeah, you can blame me for that. For more information about the group it spawned and the scene it revived, check out Wikipedia’s nice and terribly nitpicked article on the subject.

Much of my work has been lost over time. I had dozens of incomplete projects floating around in 1998 – 2000 for games including Kûsō Kagaku Sekai Gulliver Boy, Ranma ½: Akanekodan Teki Hihō and, yes, Pocket Monsters Blue. No great loss on the last one.

If you’re interested in projects that were canned, groups I worked in, or translations I was credited or uncredited in, you can get a mostly complete list read here.

Completed Translations

The bad guy appearsDer Langrisser
Japanese Title: デア・ラングリッサー
Projected Date: June 8, 2007
Genre: Strategy RPG
Platform: Super Famicom

A project that has been in the works since 2001 and the magnum opus of my fan translation “career.” The game has one one of the largest scripts of any 16-bit era video game with raw unformatted text consuming 40 percent of the ROM’s space.

Secret StageMystic Balloon
Japanese Title: みすてぃっく☆ばる~ん
Completed: December 2, 2006
Genre: Puzzle
Platform: PC Windows

A puzzle game somewhat similar to the old Solomon’s Key series (cloned in Zipang). The game has an extremely challenging 55 levels and a community of fans who have created hundreds more. Includes an editor for designing your own puzzles.

LanceSpace Knight Tekkaman Blade
Japanese Title: 宇宙の騎士テッカマ ンブレード
Completed: October 4, 2004
Genre: Shooter/Fighter
Platform: Super Famicom

A game with very odd controls based on the old Tatsunoko cartoon series, Tekkaman Blade. The translation adds new cut-scenes to explain the story for players unfamiliar with the show.

CemeteryHydlide: Download Edition
Japanese Title: ハイドライド(ダウンロード版)
Completed: September 27, 2004
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC Windows

Condensed edition of a modern PC remake of Hydlide, the classic early PC Action-RPG famous for players dying on the first screen.

Attack!Sonic Eraser
Completed: February 21, 2004
Genre: Puzzle
Platform: Sega Megadrive

An old SegaNet broadcast game. It’s a very generic puzzle game who’s only value is its featuring of Sonic. It remaisn one of the only Sega puzzle games I’ve ever seen that is not a Columns clone.

Battle MenuThe Crest of Gaia
Japanese Title: ガイアの紋章
Completed: December 19, 2003
Genre: Strategy
Platform: TurboGrafx-16

The NCS 8-bit prequel to the Langrisser series. The game follows the El Sallian wars between Sieghart and Böser before Langrisser I’s storyline.

Defending BaldeaLangrisser I
Japanese Title: ラングリッサー
Completed: August 29, 2003
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC Windows

A porting of Langrisser I&II’s remake of Langrisser I to the PC platform. Essentially the same game, but with a wider screen resolution and mouse control.

Get the power up and win the ... you knowAkuji the Demon
Japanese Title: 魔王のアクジ
Completed: January 10, 2003
Genre: Platform
Platform: PC Windows

A short platform romp somewhat in the same vein as recent Castlevania games. You play as Akuji, a demon who was sealed away, now hellbent on getting revenge on his archnemesis, the hero.

How Japanese ...Kid Niki 2: Karakuri Land
Japanese Title: 快傑やんちゃ丸2: からくりランド
Completed: March 24, 1998
Genre: Platform
Platform: Famicom

A sequel to the beloved, quirky platformer featured in tonds of old Tips’n'Tricks magazines, Kid Niki, the ass-kicking ninja.

Incomplete Translations

No child left behind.Heroine Anthem: The Elect of Wassernixie
Chinese Title: 圣女之歌
Projected Date: On Hold
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC Windows

One of the first Chinese RPG translation projects anyone started. Aside from it being a very good game, it is ideal for translation because all its terminology follows Norse mythology, something easier to bridge into English than Chinese myths.

Simplified Chinese (简体) Patches

Fengshen Ying Jie Zhuan
Chinese Title: 封神英杰传
Genre: Strategy RPG
Platform: Sega Megadrive

Fengshen Ying Jie Zhuan is an unlicensed Megadrive title loosely based on the Chinese classic, Fengshen Yanyi (封神演义). The story is set at the fall of the Shang Dynasty when the Goddess Nü Wa decides to bring it to a premature end. The gameplay is somewhat similar to Shining Force.

Destiny of an Emperor III
Chinese Title: 呑食天地III
Genre: RPG
Platform: Sega Megadrive

An unlicensed sequel to Destiny of an Emperor II on the 8-bit Famicom. The story is the same as the first two games in the series, except instead of army battles, the game has a more Final Fantasy style engine where the heroes can cast spells and do Limit Breaks.

Legend of Wukong
Chinese Title: 悟空外传
Genre: RPG
Platform: Sega Megadrive

A fairly simplistic RPG loosely based on Journey to the West. The game stars Sun Wukong an Zhubajie, and — for reasons I cannot fathom — Xiaolongnü. To be honest, I never played the game much. I was asked to work on it for a short time, and after the Traditional Chinese table was made, I decided it would be fun to stick a Simplified Chinese font back into the game.

Decensor Patches

Rewritten linesLufia & the Fortress of Doom
Japanese Title: エストポリス伝記
Genre: RPG
Platform: Super Famicom

A patch to add back in the censored graphics and item names that were pulled from Lufia & the Fortress of Doom in its English release. The patch also restores the uncensored but still arbitrarily changed names for many monsters and items.

Canceled Translations

BattleHeroine Anthem II: The Angel of Sarem
Chinese Title: 圣女之歌2
Projected Date: Canceled
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC Windows

The sequel to Heroine Anthem. The game has been canceled due to disinterest and issues with running the StarForce rootkit on my laptop. The game continues the adventures of Edda, Bedin and Hülen.

Unsupported Patches



Info

My name is Derrick Sobodash.

I live in Beijing, China, where I work as a professional copy editor and freelance journalist. My articles have appeared in The Oakland Press, Beijing Today and PiQ.

You may contact me for any reason at derrick@cinnamonpirate.com or find me on Facebook and Flickr. Further contact information is on the Colophon page.

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