Legend of Xanadu II Translation Patch announced!

[SignOfZeta]

Yes, thanks please.

[termis]

Nice.  I still need to finish up Ziria (in the middle of it, and it's been going slow...), but playing TM II without straining my brain would be nice.

[shubibiman]

Jiminy Christmas, some crazy Japanese person typed up the entire goddamn script of Tengai Makyo II and organized it really well. It's about eight times the size of Xanadu II, though that's just an estimate. Here I was thinking it would be nice to have something to work on while Esperknight tackled the hacking of Xanadu II, and I pretty much got it. Esperknight is already familiar with TMII's hacking side...damn, we could really do this.

Would you guys be interested in playing Tengai Makyo II?

Could you send me the script, I may help as I wouldn't want to tackle this game's translation alone?
I'll PM you my e-meil address.

[SamIAm]

I appreciate your offer, but if I'm going to do this, I'd rather do it alone. I can make it more consistent that way, especially since the typed-up script is linear. I've done professional translation projects (almost) this big before, and I can knock this out fast enough. I'm already making good progress on it while I'm waiting. I have a lot of free time these days thanks to the economy. 

The only reason why Xanadu II has been taking so long is because the hacking side turned out to be a giant pain in the ass. Similarly, I bet I can finish the TMII script before Esperknight can prepare a reinserter (maybe I should make a bet with him to motivate us).

Thanks again!

[shubibiman]

No worry. But I'd like to make a french translation of it at least ;)

[EsperKnight]

If I made a bet with you SamIAm I already know I'd jinx myself and lose

If anyone's curious about why it's taking so long with Xanadu II it's due to the fact that each script is hard coded to load for certain scenarios and the pointers to the pointers for the lines are hard code into the code plus they're all spread out (the pointers).  The scripts themselves I think number at almost 200 currently as each one has maybe a max of 10 lines a script (if even). 

The good thing is I can automate finding possible script blocks.  The pain is filtering them (which I do programatically but that doesn't mean a 100% hit).  The other part is just time and RL stuff

The next fun part will be going through all those scripts and setting them up for insertion

We're getting there though!

[CrackTiger]

If I made a bet with you SamIAm I already know I'd jinx myself and lose

If anyone's curious about why it's taking so long with Xanadu II it's due to the fact that each script is hard coded to load for certain scenarios and the pointers to the pointers for the lines are hard code into the code plus they're all spread out (the pointers).  The scripts themselves I think number at almost 200 currently as each one has maybe a max of 10 lines a script (if even). 

The good thing is I can automate finding possible script blocks.  The pain is filtering them (which I do programatically but that doesn't mean a 100% hit).  The other part is just time and RL stuff

The next fun part will be going through all those scripts and setting them up for insertion

We're getting there though!

We certainly appreciate all your hard work. Translating a game like this is as much a treat as a new original game.

[ParanoiaDragon]

If I made a bet with you SamIAm I already know I'd jinx myself and lose

If anyone's curious about why it's taking so long with Xanadu II it's due to the fact that each script is hard coded to load for certain scenarios and the pointers to the pointers for the lines are hard code into the code plus they're all spread out (the pointers).  The scripts themselves I think number at almost 200 currently as each one has maybe a max of 10 lines a script (if even). 

The good thing is I can automate finding possible script blocks.  The pain is filtering them (which I do programatically but that doesn't mean a 100% hit).  The other part is just time and RL stuff

The next fun part will be going through all those scripts and setting them up for insertion

We're getting there though!

We certainly appreciate all your hard work. Translating a game like this is as much a treat as a new original game.

Ditto!

[SamIAm]

Good news, guys! Esperknight just dumped the rest of the Xanadu II script!!
I don't know how long reinsertion is going to take, but the translation side is about to finish! Well, finish until play-testing begins, that is - I'm going to want to re-edit the script after I get a chance to play the first draft of my translation. I do want it to look good, after all.

[Arjak]

ZOMG! First LoX2, now TM2!? I think I'm feeling euphoric right now!

BTW, does anyone know how the translation of TM1 is going? I haven't heard anything for a while.

EDIT: One other thing, if you decide to make Manji Maru your next project, and if you are planning to do an English dub, send me an email! I'd be glad to try out for some parts! I really enjoyed playing Nuse in LoX2, and I would love to do more!

[SamIAm]

Just curious, but what do you folks in this community think of the Working Designs translation style? I've played a couple of their translations and the original Japanese versions (particularly Popful Mail on Sega CD), and working on an RPG translation myself, it's really easy to see how they approached their stuff.

They used a lot of pop-culture jokes, which I don't especially agree with, but they also had a way of twisting some of the more boring, asinine lines into something funny by saying essentially the same thing, but implying a little more mischief. It's mighty tempting to mimic some of that with LoXII, but I'm being conservative since it basically doesn't fit the tone of the original. If I do TMII, on the other hand, I think it's appropriate to let loose a little more. What do you guys think?

EDIT: Oh, and Arjak, thanks for your help! We'll be in touch.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Except for popular references that get less funny with each passing day, I'm generally okay with irreverent translations as long as the revised script is competently written and not cornier than Iowa in August.

[SamIAm]

Maybe I'll just take the Dave Barry approach and add "...HAR!" after any bad puns I come up with.

[Arjak]

I think that I'd would actually prefer if there were not too much rewriting, except things like making the jokes accessible to English speakers. If you think you can add a little pizazz here and there to the script and make it stay true to the tone of the original, I'm fine with that. Just don't, PLEASE don't go full-blown Working Designs style on us. For one thing, I know that some people are offended by how much WD changed things just to add cheap gags, and I also feel that jokes just for the sake of jokes is unnecessary, especially if it doesn't fit the style of the story being told. A good story can stand on its own without constantly winking at the audience.

Imagine if some idiot had written tons of pop culture references and poop jokes into Shakespeare's plays; I don't think people would appreciate them as much.

[SamIAm]

Heh, don't worry, you're safe from having me try to pull that kind of stuff.

I always try to maintain the tone of the original, and as I said, in LoX2's case, it's pretty straightforward. It's tempting to exaggerate the occasional pointless NPC line to make it a little more entertaining, but I'll hesitate to do that most of the time. Of course, as anyone translating Japanese dialogue to English should, I've taken a couple liberties in places so far. However, I think most would agree with the choices I've made, and that the changes themselves are fairly minor.

If I do TMII, on the other hand, I think there's a very silly tone that really ought to be represented in English even if it does mean taking a greater degree of liberty with the script. Again, a good example is Popful Mail on Sega CD. Pop-culture jokes aside, the stuff WD added to that game was mostly appropriate simply because being lighthearted and funny was the whole point from the beginning. In fact, that's one game where I dare say the translation was a little better written than the original, if only because the English characters and scenes are funnier and more memorable. That's just my subjective take on it, though.

How is Cosmic Fantasy II on the Duo?

[CrackTiger]

What Working Designs did in theory, particularly the way you describe it, is fine. It was the execution that was off quite often. Dropping any humor into a humorous or wacky game is not the same as using the right humor. Bad jokes are jokes... except that they're bad. A game having jokes in the Japanese original isn't an excuse for any jokes at any time.

People usually argue about whether WD should've put jokes into games at all. For me it was more the actual content that was disapoointing at times, not the principle. Cosmic Fantasy 2 was probably the best jokey translation they did. Popful Mail's Hanz and Franz impression was pretty terrible. It wasn't well written (or performed) humor, it was a bad rip off of someone else's character, reciting a list of puns in place of legitimate jokes.

What you are pitching would be cool and you sound like you could pull it off well. But I
think that Working Designs provided many examples of how not to do it. Although they did some good non-jokey writing, most of their humor was exactly like how a bad sense of humor is normally portayed in film, TV, etc. Michael Scott has the exact same sense of humor as Vic Ireland, except that he's a fictional character and his poor grasp of humor is the joke.

I might just not have sense of humor since I don't find everything or anything hilarious and movies like Norbit make hundreds of millions of dollars. So I'm definitely in the minority.

[roflmao]

Yeah, I remember finishing Cosmic Fantasy 2 (finally.. back in 96 or 97 or somewhere thereabouts) but man it was a complete slog by the end.  It didn't keep my interest like even some of the later WD Saturn rpgs, and didn't come close to most of the stuff Square did (though I never finished FF7 so take my comments with a grain of salt).

[SamIAm]

^^Do you mean slog in terms of dialogue, or in terms of gameplay/the experience as a whole?

Not to come off as haughty or anything, but back in college, I actually took a J2E translation class. One of the big concepts the professor drove home with us is just how much translation style depends on what the audience is expecting. At least from a certain perspective, the expected style of the output is actually more important than the style of the original material.

The trouble with a translation that's supposed to appeal to a wide audience is that there's simply no pleasing everybody. People often talk about translation in general being an imperfect process just because of differences in language and culture, but this target-audience aspect adds another layer to that as well.

Without a doubt, every Working Designs game I've seen has what I consider to be bad jokes in it. I also totally agree that they've taught the localization business what NOT to do just as much as anything else. Still, I can sympathize with them. It's bloody difficult to decide what kind of humor to settle on, in addition to coming up with material in the first place. I'd like to think that I can just roll with my own style and judgement completely, and maybe that's what they did, but in a way, that's even scarier.

Anyway...phew!...Sorry, I needed a break.

[roflmao]

I don't know if it was translation or part of the experience as a whole - I would guess the experience as a while as I cannot compare the Japanese version.  I don't mean to bag on WD - I'm thankful to them for bringing over as many RPGs as they did - you know it had to be a challenging task or more game companies would have attempted it.  I think the game just got way to repetitive from what I remember (though we're talking about a game I completed nearly 15 years ago so my memory's fuzzy).  Also I think the random battles happened way too often if I remember correctly, but what RPG out then didn't?

[termis]

I have mixed feelings about being super creative about translations.

I once translated something, and the editor of the series heavily changed the context/environment of the series into something that just didn't fit very well (Force-fitting European myth/legends over Korean ones).  It just came out reading... a bit weird to me.  That said, I guess it probably made it easier to read for the average Joe westerner.

In all, I think some RPGs are more suitable for creative translations - ones that already have humours, light-hearted background/music/charcaters/etc in the original.  For example, RPGs like Dragon Knight, Gulliver Boy, Lunar, Cosmic Fantasies.  On the other hand, taking more creative liberties in translating more "serious" RPGs like say... Phantasy Star series, would just come out sounding awkward.

Now, I haven't played LoX series yet, so I don't know much about the general atmosphere/mood of this particular series.

[ParanoiaDragon]

From what I can remember, I enjoyed WD's translations, I don't ever recall having any problem with ...well, anything.  I liked the pop jokes......though, probably moreso then the poop jokes   I don't recall any poop jokes at the moment, but, atleast these day, they don't ring well with me.  With that said, atleast in regards to NPC's, I really don't mind if you spice things up.  I've gotten to the point where I HATE talking to NPC's!  So, any spicy'ing that can be done, awesome, but, I'm just one man, with one man's opinion.

[CrackTiger]

From what I can remember, I enjoyed WD's translations, I don't ever recall having any problem with ...well, anything.  I liked the pop jokes......though, probably moreso then the poop jokes   I don't recall any poop jokes at the moment, but, atleast these day, they don't ring well with me.  With that said, atleast in regards to NPC's, I really don't mind if you spice things up.  I've gotten to the point where I HATE talking to NPC's!  So, any spicy'ing that can be done, awesome, but, I'm just one man, with one man's opinion.

I totally don't mind someone writing original dialogue for useless NPCs in the average RPG, instead of translating their text. I just think that it matters what you actually write for them. For a game as special as TMII, I'd really like to get an idea of what was really being said in the original version.

Joe has some nice screen captures from Magic Knight Rayearth. One priceless quote goes something like "Guess what? I just pooped my pants! Nice and squishy!" Another invloves someone in the fantasy world having too many condoms in their dresser.

[Bernie]

Another I cant wait till its done project. 

[SamIAm]

Joe has some nice screen captures from Magic Knight Rayearth. One priceless quote goes something like "Guess what? I just pooped my pants! Nice and squishy!" Another invloves someone in the fantasy world having too many condoms in their dresser.

That's pretty awful. I must've missed that line when I played MKR, or at least mentally blocked it. It's funny, I remember that they did most of that translation in a pretty straight-laced kind of way, too. Weird.

TMII fortunately shouldn't need any spicing up per se. It's just that there appear to be a lot of jokes, insults, and generally odd people, and with those, you pretty much just have to try to translate the spirit if you're not able to really translate the literal meaning. Otherwise, it just comes off as awkward, and that's always a shame in my opinion.

Basically, I take liberties and am conservative at the same time. I won't be replacing any lines like "It's a beautiful day." with lines like "Where are my pants?" or anything. If I tweak anything, you probably won't even be able to guess that I did so.

[TurboXray]

replacing any lines like "It's a beautiful day." with lines like "Where are my pants?"

Oouuuu :3

 I now have a new code-word for 'it's a beautiful day'

 Guy1: "Where's my pants, ehh?"
 Guy2: "Heh, yeah. I agree."
 Guy1: "<sigh> yeah...."

[CrackTiger]

Joe has some nice screen captures from Magic Knight Rayearth. One priceless quote goes something like "Guess what? I just pooped my pants! Nice and squishy!" Another invloves someone in the fantasy world having too many condoms in their dresser.

That's pretty awful. I must've missed that line when I played MKR, or at least mentally blocked it. It's funny, I remember that they did most of that translation in a pretty straight-laced kind of way, too. Weird.

I also missed most of the crazy NPC lines and thought for years that it was one of their better, less pop culture jokey translations. Then it came up in an old thread and later Joe Redifer posted some crazy examples, including screen shots like the examples I mentioned. Apparently there was also a Bob Vila reference and a masturbation joke.

But like I said in that original thread, I'm not too concerned with lame dialogue for non-story-moving NPCs so much as main characters. MKR may have some of WD's worst low-brow jokes sprinkled on the side, but the main story and performance was well done.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Good grief, I don't remember any of that in MKR, though, it's been forever since I've played it.  Just based off the fact that I've been watching the anime lately, I'd say, while there is humor thruout it, I can't imagine any poopy or masterbation jokes being in the original game, sheesh!  I'm glad they didn't do anything too wild in Dungeon Explorer 2, maybe TTI had them under control on that one thank goodness, cuz I don't recall there being much humor in it.

[CrackTiger]

Good grief, I don't remember any of that in MKR, though, it's been forever since I've played it.  Just based off the fact that I've been watching the anime lately, I'd say, while there is humor thruout it, I can't imagine any poopy or masterbation jokes being in the original game, sheesh!  I'm glad they didn't do anything too wild in Dungeon Explorer 2, maybe TTI had them under control on that one thank goodness, cuz I don't recall there being much humor in it.

Was it ever established that Working Designs did any translation or rewrites for DEII? I always thought that they only performed/recorded the voice work. Minor re-writes for voice dialogue I could see, but it never felt like a WD game to me.

[Keranu]

I just hope any translations done for future PCE games don't contain any internet memes like other fan translations have in the past.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Good grief, I don't remember any of that in MKR, though, it's been forever since I've played it.  Just based off the fact that I've been watching the anime lately, I'd say, while there is humor thruout it, I can't imagine any poopy or masterbation jokes being in the original game, sheesh!  I'm glad they didn't do anything too wild in Dungeon Explorer 2, maybe TTI had them under control on that one thank goodness, cuz I don't recall there being much humor in it.

Was it ever established that Working Designs did any translation or rewrites for DEII? I always thought that they only performed/recorded the voice work. Minor re-writes for voice dialogue I could see, but it never felt like a WD game to me.

That's what I recall WD telling me at the time(one of the Shirley Bros. I talked to) said they were handling the cinema translation & TTI was handling the text.  Other then that, maybe WD did it with TTI in the room like an 800 pound gorrilla to make sure all goes according to plan   That's also what he told me was suppsosed to happen since TTI ended up getting the rights to Shubibinman 3 to be called Shockman 2(originally Vic wanted it, & was going to call it Cyber Twins).  Though, there's not much text....if any in Shubibinman 3(other then the title/options), so, that would've been 99% WD in regards to translation.

Like you said, DE2 did have WD's voice cast, so, he was atleast partially telling the truth.

[grahf]

I just hope any translations done for future PCE games don't contain any internet memes like other fan translations have in the past.

Yeah, this sort of thing totally ruins it for me. It NEVER works. Even when it's funny, it completely disconnects me from the game experience. More often though I don't see them until after it's no longer funny, in which case it just makes the game feel dated and lame.

[SamIAm]

I'm not even putting curse words in the script, because I know that that's not how games were written back then. Recreating a fairly authentic kind of experience is an important aspect for me. Memes are out of the question.

[Tatsujin]

Good decision SamYouAre

[SignOfZeta]

WD-style translations...not a good thing, for the most part. Their games are loaded with stale as fuck early 90s time stamped lame ass jokes about Clinton and cable TV and other such crap. Fuck those guys. It wasn't funny to anyone with an IQ over 85 back then, and now its just old.

In the case of a game like TM2 though...you are going to have to do some "localization" as well as translation, I'm pretty sure. The game is hella Japanese.

I'd rather you came up for workarounds for certain "untranslatables". One obvious example is when fan translators use terms like "kun" and "chan". Sometimes its hard to express in English a significant use of honorifics, but its better to get creative with the translation than to use "san" all the way through the game just so you can bust out the "sama" at that one key point like the Japanese script did.

[Keranu]

I'm not even putting curse words in the script, because I know that that's not how games were written back then. Recreating a fairly authentic kind of experience is an important aspect for me. Memes are out of the question.

I feel the future of PCE translations is safe in your hands, I trust your judgement .

[Tatsujin]

I am a big opponent of censoring and deformations, therefore best thing is to put everything in place as it was meant to be. Doesn't matter how long it's since.

[DragonmasterDan]

That's what I recall WD telling me at the time(one of the Shirley Bros. I talked to) said they were handling the cinema translation & TTI was handling the text.  Other then that, maybe WD did it with TTI in the room like an 800 pound gorrilla to make sure all goes according to plan   That's also what he told me was suppsosed to happen since TTI ended up getting the rights to Shubibinman 3 to be called Shockman 2(originally Vic wanted it, & was going to call it Cyber Twins).  Though, there's not much text....if any in Shubibinman 3(other then the title/options), so, that would've been 99% WD in regards to translation.

Like you said, DE2 did have WD's voice cast, so, he was atleast partially telling the truth.

I remember Vic discussing this a bit years and years ago on the WorkingDesigns.com forum. TTI was doing a lousy job with localizations and as a favor, Working Designs handled the dub and a first draft of the script for DE II. My understanding was TTI then did the final draft of the text script with the WD voices.

[SamIAm]

I am a big opponent of censoring and deformations, therefore best thing is to put everything in place as it was meant to be. Doesn't matter how long it's since.

I totally understand where you're coming from, but in the case of LoX2, the original game gives off a very "Rated G" kind of vibe. Snatcher I could understand, but LoX2 I could not. Same goes for most old-school fantasy RPGs, IMO.

I'd rather you came up for workarounds for certain "untranslatables". One obvious example is when fan translators use terms like "kun" and "chan". Sometimes its hard to express in English a significant use of honorifics, but its better to get creative with the translation than to use "san" all the way through the game just so you can bust out the "sama" at that one key point like the Japanese script did.

That's pretty much my philosophy. If the original writer were writing in English, there's no way he'd use san/chan etc. so why should I?

Here's a good example. In LoX2, there's one scene that goes like this: the character Nuse shouts for his servant to bring him, Daimos and Arios some tea. Daimos and Arios haven't been there in years. The servant turns out to be Daimos's sister Lumina, which is a shock for Daimos.

The original, literally translated:
Daimos: What! Lumina!
Lumina: Big-brother! (Oni-chan)
Arios: Hey, I didn't know you had a sister, Daimos.

My translation (this is dubbed, so Daimos's line is short for time:
Daimos: My sister is your...
Lumina: Daimos!
Arios: Hey, I didn't know you had a sister, Daimos.

In my opinion, it's stretching it pretty thin to say that "Big-Brother" or even just "Brother" is something native English speakers would say in that situation. To me, that smacks of translated language. However, it's necessary for sake of Arios's line (and the next few lines) for Daimos and Lumina to communicate that they are related in that first space. So I take a little liberty, taking care not to compromise the scene, and *poof*, problem solved. You might say it's not the most graceful liberty, but I still say it's way better than "Big-brother".

[SignOfZeta]

Yeah, that's another example. In Japanese people refer to their family members by function more often than English speakers do, and often times (at least in genre stuff) refer to older roll model types that aren't even relation as "big brother" quite often. That's extremely rare in the English speaking world.

In Tengai Makyou...that might make sense, the game is set in Japan, but Xanadu is totally Western in setting.

[TurboXray]

That's what I recall WD telling me at the time(one of the Shirley Bros. I talked to) said they were handling the cinema translation & TTI was handling the text.  Other then that, maybe WD did it with TTI in the room like an 800 pound gorrilla to make sure all goes according to plan   That's also what he told me was suppsosed to happen since TTI ended up getting the rights to Shubibinman 3 to be called Shockman 2(originally Vic wanted it, & was going to call it Cyber Twins).  Though, there's not much text....if any in Shubibinman 3(other then the title/options), so, that would've been 99% WD in regards to translation.

Like you said, DE2 did have WD's voice cast, so, he was atleast partially telling the truth.

I remember Vic discussing this a bit years and years ago on the WorkingDesigns.com forum. TTI was doing a lousy job with localizations and as a favor, Working Designs handled the dub and a first draft of the script for DE II. My understanding was TTI then did the final draft of the text script with the WD voices.

Well, you can tell it's not simply some sublet WD game/work hidden/done under a TTi label... simply by the mere fact that it actually has a decent new font and print routine. </snicker>

 BTW, wasn't TTi new when DE2 came out? I'm pretty sure it was NEC doing it for most text heavy translations/localizations of Japanese games before that. IIRC, "TTi" was new on the scene. Actually, I think with TTi we saw the least amount of RPGs/action-RPGs/etc(anything text/script heavy) relative to translation during their reign. But that's probably just coincidence. ...or is it?

[ParanoiaDragon]

I was thinking DE2 was more near the end of TTI's days, but, maybe I'm wrong.

[CrackTiger]

I remember DEII as a later release (magazine coverage and all), which I bought as soon as it became available in my area. The Japanese version was released during 1993, after TTi took over.

I don't think that it was too lopsided between NEC/TTi when it came to RPGs/action-RPGs/etc(anything text/script heavy). Under TTi we got Dragon Slayer, Sim Earth, Dungeon Explorer II, DM Theron's Quest, Dynastic Hero, Loom, Might & Magic III and Neutopia II. There wasn't much in the way of heavy script translations for the Turbo by either company.

Thank god for importing.

[DragonmasterDan]

BTW, wasn't TTi new when DE2 came out? I'm pretty sure it was NEC doing it for most text heavy translations/localizations of Japanese games before that. IIRC, "TTi" was new on the scene. Actually, I think with TTi we saw the least amount of RPGs/action-RPGs/etc(anything text/script heavy) relative to translation during their reign. But that's probably just coincidence. ...or is it?

TTI started April 1st 1992 (not an April Fools day reference). DE II came out Fall/Winter of 1993. So it was a ways in. Also TTI planned to bring over Tengai Makyo II for example, but those games are a lot more difficult to localize than shooters, which is why the only ones I can think of that they did localize during their reign was Dragon Slayer (possibly started by NEC) and Might and Magic III.

[SamIAm]

OK, the first draft of the script is done, proofread, and submitted. Now it's pretty much up to Esperknight to get it reinserted. There are still tiny bits that are undumped, and I'll want to do one more revision after I see the first reinsertion in action, but the translating side is essentially finished. For now, I'm going to go back to working on the dub. Let's hope things come together quickly!

[SamIAm]

Say guys...

I was in the local game shop here in Fukuoka looking around at this and that, and I came across some PC Engine and PC Engine Fan magazines. They were wrapped so that I couldn't open them, but it seems like many issues of these two publications from between January and July of 1995 have articles about Xanadu II in them. It would have cost a fair chunk of change to pick all of them up, but I'll bet that there are interesting tidbits hidden somewhere in them.

So, if anyone has copies of mags with 風の伝説ザナドゥII　written up anywhere, and if you don't mind scanning or even taking a nice photo (I just need legible text), I'll see if there's anything at all interesting to share with you guys. Failing that, if anyone just knows which issues have the most info, I might consider buying one or two.

By the way, was there every anything like an official strategy guide for Tengai Makyo II?

[CrackTiger]

I have some PCE mags with decent LoXII coverage. That was what convinced me to spend a couple years tracking it down back when it wss never available in english speaking circles.

I also have the big official TMII guide book as well as some mini guides that were included with magazines.

[SamIAm]

So there was a big official TMII guide book? Can you tell me info to make it easy to search for? I'm actually starting to work on TMII a little on the side as well, and I'm thinking that having hard copy of the guide book so I can know the story context is better than having to play the game 3 times through to memorize the whole plot. Any idea how much it goes for? If it's like 10,000 yen or whatever, I'll be happy make do with your text guide instead.

As for LoXII, if you have spare time and a digital camera that can make the text legible from whatever is there, I would be happy to do some translating/summarizing. Walkthroughs are a little redundant, but I'm thinking there is probably some info on the development of the game that might be interesting for people to know. Reviews I've read hint at some things, but I'd rather get any info as directly as possible. Again, failing photos, do you know the specific issues that have good content?

Thanks!

[SamIAm]

Wow. I just listened to a super-preliminary but nonetheless complete mix of the dub for LoX2, which I played in-game via an emulator. I watched every cutscene in English for the first time ever.

I'll say this much: if you old-schoolers don't find yourselves grinning ear-to-ear while you watch these scenes with English voices, your heart is at least two sizes too small.

There's a lot of work left to do, including some retakes, but the end is in sight. I'll see this through to the finish. Wish us all luck!

[Keranu]

Awesome, very exciting! Can't wait to see/hear how the dub turned out!

[TurboXray]

your heart is at least two sizes too small.

Hah! I had a guess as to your nick name. That line just proves it ;) Great to hear (no pun intended) that it's actually coming along.