Posts Tagged ‘fan translation’
Fan Translation Double Dip: Dark Half and Super Shell Monsters Story (SNES)
Not one, but two notable Japan only JRPGs from the SNES (Super Famicom) era received completed fan translation patches this weekend: Dark Half and Super Shell Monsters Story. Since you may be justified in having no idea what these games are, let us enlighten you.
Dark Half is most notable because it was developed by Westone aka the Wonder Boy developer. In proving its unique pedigree, this 1996 Enix published JRPG has you playing the hero and the villain in a dark and mature story and related game mechanics. It’s definitely worth checking out if you love Wonder Boy and want to try something new while the rest of us were getting caught up with the PS1 re-releases in the West. Thank you Aeon Genesis (AGTP) for the hard work.
Super Shell Monsters Story is a much more typical JRPG released on the Super Famicom in 1994 by Hudson Soft, this is a traditional turn-based title that like many others steals the Dragon Quest (Warrior) formula and gives it that super cute and bright colored spin Hudson was known for. It’s somewhat obscure, even to the Japanese, so playing through this title may be more for earning your otaku cred than anything else, but the team at Dynamic Designs worked hard and clearly love this game. Thanks for the hard work and I hope to someday give this title the love it deserves.
Clicking on the links in the opening line above will take you to the fan translation patch page.
Double Moon Densetsu (NES) Fan Translation Released
An English fan translation of Japan only Double Moon Densetsu has been released. You probably aren’t aware of this game, but from all I’ve heard Double Moon Densetsu is quite literally a Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest rip-off. The reason you may want to play this game is that as early as Dragon Warrior 2/Dragon Quest 2 the party system was introduced and the game changed drastically, so in a way this is the closest sequel/remix to the original title as you can get your hands on. So if you’ve been dying to play a newer version of the original game – of which I’m not totally against – then this may be worth your time. You can download the different patches using the link in the first sentence.
Podcast: Found in Translation
This week Fred flies solo to discuss the world of fan translations. Many titles come out in foreign lands and never make the trip over the United States, often only available in the native language of Japanese: enter the fan translation. We discuss the roots and makeup of a fan translation and then close with a long list of the most popular ones for each console.
Gaming History 101 