Startling Odyssey II translation patch released!

M1Savage · 03/31/2010, 11:37 PM

I know this was posted here already but I thought it deserved its own thread.

Long time PC Engine fan Tru has released an alpha version translation patch for this cool game:
_{pcengine-fx.com/downloads/
pcengine-fx.com/downloads/StartlingOdyssey2(US)v099.zip
pcengine-fx.com/downloads/StartlingOdysseyII-vwf.zip - _{(VWFont by EsperKnight, only works with YAME emulator!)}
http://forums.magicengine.com/en/viewtopic.php?t=2411}

Already trying it out here!

These results IF you use the VWF ISO and only with the included YAME emulator!
_{pcengine-fx.com/downloads/StartlingOdysseyII-vwf.zip}

SignOfZeta · 04/01/2010, 01:31 AM

Oh shit! I haven't touched this game since it was a year old, but I loved it. Looks like I'll be playing though it again.

Arkhan Asylum · 04/01/2010, 01:33 AM

shit yeah!

*gets some*

esteban · 04/01/2010, 07:19 AM

I posted in the other thread, but I'll repeat myself:

"YAY!"

M1Savage · 04/08/2010, 11:04 PM

Finished the game today at around 24 hours at level 39 or so. Probably would have taken a little longer if I hadn't already played through most of it before.

Not going to give anything away so I'll just say it's a good, old school RPG. My only complaints would be that some of the areas suffer from "2 steps, fight" and the battle music wasn't a favorite of mine. It's well done, but too circus sounding to me. The translation itself is very well done, especially for a "beta" release. Not sure while this isn't generating more interest around here so maybe this bit of information will help out....

THERE'S BOOBIES IN THE GAME!!

termis · 04/09/2010, 02:42 AM

Nice, I'll definitely give it a go.... (sometime in the future when I get back into the RPG playing mode)

anRPGlegend · 03/10/2011, 02:20 PM

The translation is rather simplistic and leaves much to the imagination. BUT it IS better than nothing and still greatly appreciate the hard work the main designer put into the translation (MACHINE translated btw)!!

Here is a pic of Lady Sword 100% translated!

https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1574/

Keith Courage · 12/06/2011, 03:48 PM

Does anyone know if this will work on the actual system or just emulator only?

Arkhan Asylum · 12/06/2011, 04:02 PM

Quote from: Keith Courage on 12/06/2011, 03:48 PMDoes anyone know if this will work on the actual system or just emulator only?

If you burn a CD, it will work on the thingy.

at least, that would make sense... if it doesn't, the patch is garbage.

SignOfZeta · 12/06/2011, 11:47 PM

I played it on my Duo R. It runs great. There was one point where it spat out some glitched untranslated text, but it was fine other than that.

Everyone who likes RPGs should play this, btw. It so totally destroys shit the CF2 and most of the rest of the puny selection of official English Turbo RPGs.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/06/2011, 11:53 PM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/06/2011, 11:47 PMI played it on my Duo R. It runs great. There was one point where it spat out some glitched untranslated text, but it was fine other than that.

Everyone who likes RPGs should play this, btw. It so totally destroys shit the CF2 and most of the rest of the puny selection of official English Turbo RPGs.

Cosmic Fantasy has a certain charm that can't be beat though. It's very hard to describe how that game makes me feel every time I hear the title music.

shubibiman · 12/07/2011, 06:43 AM

I still haven't had time to play this game but is it better than Star Breaker, from the same company, that I found quite disappointing (it repeats itself other and other again)?

Arkhan Asylum · 12/07/2011, 08:22 AM

Yeah. star breaker is kind of derp.

SignOfZeta · 12/07/2011, 11:19 AM

I really like Star Breaker.

Nazi NecroPhile · 12/07/2011, 11:36 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/06/2011, 11:47 PMThere was one point where it spat out some glitched untranslated text, but it was fine other than that.

Was that the original patch? There's an updated patch that translates a conversation that was missed the first time around.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/07/2011, 11:41 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/07/2011, 11:19 AMI really like Star Breaker.

Agreed. It's still kind of derpy though.

It's got that same derpy charm as CF2 to me.

shubibiman · 12/07/2011, 12:04 PM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/07/2011, 11:19 AMI really like Star Breaker.

I like it too but from a certain point in the game, it kind of always goes the same. I always had to use the same tactics against the bosses and it's a shame that even though you go from one planet to another, the planets are so small with only one village or two.

SignOfZeta · 12/08/2011, 04:51 AM

Yeah, well, its a PC Engine game, not some 50 million dollar PS3 game from Square. Rayforce was a REALLY fucking small company.

shubibiman · 12/08/2011, 05:51 AM

I know that. I would have prefered less planets but with more villages and a little bit more mazy. I think they came with the idea "travelling in entire galaxies will be great" but when you look at it, you only encounter one maze in an almots 40 hour RPG. They wanted to make an RPG that would last long rather than a shorter but more challenging RPG.

I'm not saying it's a bad game, the numerous bosses are really cool and impressive, I love the battle system and the chara design, don't get me wrong on this one.

Edit : and I enjoyed the spaceship fights.

About the repetitiveness (is that an english word?) of the game, after some time spent on the game, I didn't have to wonder where to go and what to do as it was always the same pattern over and other again. It's OK for players who can't read japanese as it makes things easier for them, not for me.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/08/2011, 11:50 AM

Rayforce doesn't have any bad games really.

FraGMarE · 12/08/2011, 01:57 PM

Is there a comprehensive site out there with all the PC-Engine translation patches to date? It seems I've missed a lot of these.

_Paul · 12/08/2011, 03:26 PM

Quote from: fragmare on 12/08/2011, 01:57 PMIs there a comprehensive site out there with all the PC-Engine translation patches to date? It seems I've missed a lot of these.

We need a compiled list and a sticky.

Bernie · 12/08/2011, 03:50 PM

A list would be nice. Just in case Ive missed one.. lol. Right now the disc games I have translated are

Code Select

Xak III
Ys IV
Startling Odyssey II
Dracula X

I believe thats it. I dont have any translated ROMS, although I know they are out there. With no flashcart, I have no way to play them except via emulation...and after having actual hardware, I have kinda got away from that.

Nazi NecroPhile · 12/08/2011, 03:57 PM

There's also Motteke Tamago and Super Daisenryaku, Bernie. Romhacking.net has many of the disc and rom translations, but not all of 'em (no SO2).

spenoza · 12/08/2011, 04:00 PM

Bubblegum Crisis has also been translated.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/08/2011, 04:28 PM

Insanity was translated too.

oh wait.

\o/

Bernie · 12/08/2011, 04:46 PM

Quote from: guest on 12/08/2011, 03:57 PMThere's also Motteke Tamago and Super Daisenryaku, Bernie. Romhacking.net has many of the disc and rom translations, but not all of 'em (no SO2).

Yeah, I kinda forgot about those. lol.

M1Savage · 12/08/2011, 11:34 PM

A few more -

Bikkuriman World
Die Hard
Gekisha Boy
Load Runner
Maison Ikkoku
Son Son 2
Tower Of Druaga

Probably more I've missed.

HercTNT · 12/08/2011, 11:41 PM

Great!! Just Great! Thanks to this thread i'm now playing SO2! Like I needed another distraction................. the game kicks ass btw:)

nat · 12/09/2011, 01:42 AM

Quote from: m1savage on 12/08/2011, 11:34 PMA few more -

Bikkuriman World
Die Hard
Gekisha Boy
Load Runner
Maison Ikkoku
Son Son 2
Tower Of Druaga

Probably more I've missed.

Don't forget Puzzle Boy. Good thing Puzzle Boy got translated. That game had me bewildered until I discovered the single menu option was "Quit." I got stuck playing that thing for days once; I didn't know what to do!

.....Some of the decisions on what gets translated are downright odd.

I've heard the excuse that some of these things are done as "tests." Tests for what, I'm not sure, nevertheless, the people doing said "tests" never seem to actually go on and do anything else. They'll show up out of nowhere, translate all two strings of Japanese in a game like Puzzle Boy, and then disappear back to wherever they came from, never to be seen again.

Some real Field of Dreams shit right there.

esteban · 12/09/2011, 07:31 AM

QuoteSome real Field of Dreams shit right there.

Ha!

I hear ya'.

I don't mind, though. I'm sure these folks wouldn't have been able to tackle much more, since the necessry skills/time/energy would be significant.

I want a non-sanitized localization of Drop Rock Hora, myself. It turns out that many aspects of the NA release were censored/changed.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/09/2011, 08:33 AM

Quote from: nat on 12/09/2011, 01:42 AMI've heard the excuse that some of these things are done as "tests." Tests for what, I'm not sure, nevertheless, the people doing said "tests" never seem to actually go on and do anything else. They'll show up out of nowhere, translate all two strings of Japanese in a game like Puzzle Boy, and then disappear back to wherever they came from, never to be seen again.

Some real Field of Dreams shit right there.

This made my friday morning 100x more enjoyable.

It also made hot chocolate come out of my nose.

arromdee · 12/09/2011, 04:29 PM

romhacking.net lists:

Blue Blink
Bubblegum Crash
Crest of Gaia, The
Lady Sword
Lode Runner: Lost Labyrinth
Maison Ikkoku
Märchen Maze
Photograph Boy
Puzzle Boy
Shanghai
The Tower of Druaga
Wonderboy in Monster Land

(CD games:)
Motteke Tamago
Super Daisenryaku
Xak III - The Eternal Recurrence
Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys

Wonderboy, of course, is Bikkuriman World; I have no idea whether it's just called that on romhacking.net or whether the translation patch actually renames anything to the Wonderboy versions in the game. Sonson II is on romhacking.net as unfinished, because the ending wasn't translated. Dracula X is listed as unfinished because of graphics hacking. This leaves Die Hard and Startling Odyssey 2. I personally wouldn't count SO2 because it's not really translated (and worse yet, this sort of thing usually discourages anyone else from doing a real translation later). No idea about Die Hard.

SignOfZeta · 12/09/2011, 09:11 PM

Not really translated? I've only ever finished it in Japanese, but I played the English hack for several hours and it seemed pretty translated to me. Is it not complete?

nat · 12/09/2011, 09:19 PM

Quote from: arromdee on 12/09/2011, 04:29 PMWonderboy, of course, is Bikkuriman World; I have no idea whether it's just called that on romhacking.net or whether the translation patch actually renames anything to the Wonderboy versions in the game.

It doesn't change the titlescreen, but all in-game text makes reference to "Monsterland" and the same locations (Bora Bora Island or whatever, for example) as the English version of Monsterland.

arromdee · 12/09/2011, 09:43 PM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/09/2011, 09:11 PMNot really translated? I've only ever finished it in Japanese, but I played the English hack for several hours and it seemed pretty translated to me. Is it not complete?

My point is that a machine translation is likely to have a number of problems that nobody could ever notice without the ability to translate it manually.

SignOfZeta · 12/09/2011, 10:12 PM

...who cares? Now we're grading games based on their language competency? If that's the case then there are a fair number of officially released NES games that are "untranslated".

HercTNT · 12/10/2011, 12:45 PM

Exactly, golgo 13 for the nes comes to mind. I could care less how exact it is, as long as its close enough. After all for those of us that dont speak japanese, we can enjoy the game now.

spenoza · 12/10/2011, 01:04 PM

Machine translation couldn't be much worse than early Japan-origin translations. Many early game that came out over here were translated by someone on the Japanese team and simply handed to the US publisher or publishing division for release. Current machine translation probably has an advantage over that.

BigusSchmuck · 12/10/2011, 01:10 PM

Just read this thread and all I have to say is wow! I'm glad we are getting a few more rpgs translated, but its still a small list compared to how many super famicom games that have been translated by fan groups. It would be kind of interesting to see how many rpgs are on the super famicom vs the pce engine cd.

SignOfZeta · 12/10/2011, 04:45 PM

Its probably pretty close to the same. RPGs were the most popular genre in the early 90s (with fighting and, of course, sports) and the PCE did just as good of a job as the SFC (although in a completely different style).

Arkhan Asylum · 12/10/2011, 08:29 PM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/10/2011, 04:45 PMIts probably pretty close to the same. RPGs were the most popular genre in the early 90s (with fighting and, of course, sports) and the PCE did just as good of a job as the SFC (although in a completely different style).

according to some people here, RPGs weren't very popular at all.

Nazi NecroPhile · 12/10/2011, 08:37 PM

Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 12/10/2011, 08:29 PMaccording to some people here, RPGs weren't very popular at all.

They weren't all that popular in the US - Japan is a different story, of course.

Arkhan Asylum · 12/10/2011, 08:42 PM

America blows.

If we didn't, you would have been released in the US!

incrediblehark · 12/10/2011, 10:57 PM

I don't know if rpgs weren't as popular in america or game companies just thought they weren't as popular, marketable, etc. I grew up playing rpgs and all of my friends who played video games did too.

spenoza · 12/10/2011, 11:09 PM

Quote from: incrediblehark on 12/10/2011, 10:57 PMI don't know if rpgs weren't as popular in america or game companies just thought they weren't as popular, marketable, etc. I grew up playing rpgs and all of my friends who played video games did too.

By raw sales they were not as popular.

nat · 12/11/2011, 03:35 AM

I can only speak for myself, but I didn't play RPGs at all back in the day. As a matter of fact, I didn't start playing RPGs until the 2000s.

The closest I got to RPGs in the early 90s was Dungeon Explorer.

SignOfZeta · 12/11/2011, 04:02 AM

Quote from: guest on 12/10/2011, 08:29 PM
Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/10/2011, 04:45 PMIts probably pretty close to the same. RPGs were the most popular genre in the early 90s (with fighting and, of course, sports) and the PCE did just as good of a job as the SFC (although in a completely different style).
according to some people here, RPGs weren't very popular at all.

Since we are talking about PCE I didn't specify, but yeah, I meant in Japan. RPGs were dominant in Japan, so much so that they would put "RPG elements" in games like World Court Tennis and Final Lap.

In the early 90s people really did NOT want to do in-game reading in the US. That has changed a lot, obviously. There is now 10x as much text during the unskipable tutorial in your average bullshit FPS than there is in the entirety of Dragon Warrior 1.

My friends and I either bought or rented literally every single RPG released in the US for TG-16, SNES, and Genesis. It...wasn't a lot. This is why I got into playing import RPGs. Americans only got one every three months during the 16-bit era, and if it was crap like 7th Saga or Secret of Evermore you just had to either learn to like crap or wait for the next one. I'd rather play Starling Odyssey 2 in Japanese than 7th Saga in English, which is exactly what I did. When I got stuck once I literally called Rayforce (number on the back of the box) and they helped me. This was back before internet FAQs. There were "help lines" back then for US releases, but they were usually 900 numbers ($1+ per minute). The US game industry really sucked dick back then, come to think of it.

shubibiman · 12/11/2011, 04:25 AM

Quote from: guest on 12/10/2011, 08:29 PM
Quote from: SignOfZeta on 12/10/2011, 04:45 PMIts probably pretty close to the same. RPGs were the most popular genre in the early 90s (with fighting and, of course, sports) and the PCE did just as good of a job as the SFC (although in a completely different style).
according to some people here, RPGs weren't very popular at all.

We're talking of japanese market here. Tengai Makyou II is the best sold game for the PCE.

incrediblehark · 12/11/2011, 10:22 AM

well if there was more marketing behind rpgs in america like they had for street fighter, mortal kombat, nba jam, or FMV games (ugh) then maybe sales would have gone up.

12/31/2025: Localization News - Year of the Dragon...Emerald Dragon!

Startling Odyssey II translation patch released!