Translations News
LIPEMCO! Translations is pleased to announce the release of an English translation of Tengai Makyou: Ziria for the PC-Engine CD-ROM² system! Download it here: http://stargood.org/trans/tenma.php
Long, long ago, amidst the seas of the farthest reaches of the Far East, there was once a mystical land called Jipang: a beautiful and terrible place where gods and demons, wonders and horrors, men and beasts alike all coexisted in a strange and fantastic harmony. But that harmony is threatened when a foreign religion called the Cult of Daimon arrives on the country’s shores and begins spreading across the land, its leaders aiming to steal human souls in order to revive the sealed demon Masakado and transform Jipang into their own utopia. Will Ziria, the fated hero descended from the Fire Clan which once sealed Masakado, stop the wicked Daimonists – or will Jipang’s oriental beauty burn in demonic hellfire?
Tengai Makyou: Ziria is the debut entry of the Tengai Makyou series. Published by Hudson Soft for the PC-Engine CD-ROM² system in 1989, it was the first RPG ever released on CD and served as a showcase for the new medium, with elaborate visuals and voice acting far beyond what any competing title could offer. Its success led it to become the first in a popular series, very little of which was ever released outside Japan.
It’s also not quite as serious as the previous description might make it sound; much of the concept is actually an elaborate joke based around foreigners’ misperceptions of Japan. “Ziria” is a deliberate misspelling of “Jiraiya” in imitation of early systems for transliterating Japanese, and the story is a mixed-up mishmash of fact and fiction, featuring characters and events that were separated by centuries in reality (if they existed or happened at all).
This translation was the work of Supper (hacking), TheMajinZenki (translation), and cccmar (testing). Special thanks is owed to dot_lvl, without whom the project wouldn’t have happened.
The authors hope you’ll enjoy this translation of a cornerstone PC-Engine title!
[ COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
This hack will completely update NHL ‘94 for the 2023–2024 regular season. The goal is to try to provide the most refined and realistic modern versions of this all-time classic game. Key features include…
New in ’24. 800 players obsessively rated, up-to-date rosters, and realistic lines, based on even more extensive 2020-2024 regular season data. Logos, Colours, Uniforms, Arena names… everything up-to-date for the 2024 season. New puck design & animation, re-designed graphic overlays for Shoot-Outs, Penalty-Shots, Goal, Injuries, Stars of the Game, etc. and numerous other refinements.
Gameplay Revisioned. The gameplay has been adjusted for a more realistic modern hockey feel, with harder to score goals, easier to hit crossbars and posts, more realistic speed burst, fewer penalty calls, custom energy depletion and recovery rates (balanced for more realistic line rolling and shift length), and player rating distribution curves that have been carefully calibrated for more realistic gameplay on the ice.
Graphical Refinements. Hundreds of other refinements have been made including title screens, banners, player photos, scoreboard, audience, face-offs, player sprites, nets, ice markings, coaches, scorekeepers, Zamboni driver, and more. The goal is to bring the most graphically refined version of NHL 94 ever made, while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original art direction.
And so much more. Of course there is the weight bug fix, but also a custom weight scale, less variance in Hot/Cold rating randomization, immediate goalie control by pressing the (Y) button with a six-button controller, a custom 3-Stars of the Game rating formula, a Vegas / Washington / Winnipeg Menu & Player Cards crash fix, and more.
Every single change is documented in the Release Notes / README. Check it out!
[ COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
In June 1989, Namco released “LaSalle Ishii’s Childs Quest”, an obscure Famicom RPG that basically did “MOTHER” before EarthBound Zero. Its obscure Japanese celebrities, pop culture references, and dirty humor ensured that it had no chance of receiving an overseas release…
…until user Polinym created the localization, “Stardom Warriors”, in 2019 to simulate what the game might look like if Nintendo of America did take a chance on the game, altering the content to appeal to a new American audience who would have no clue who “LaSalle Ishii” or “Childs” are. References to more obscure Japanese media was changed, the questionable content turned wholesome, and the story was reworked around the absence of the celebrities. Finally, Polinym released a “LaSalle Ishii’s Kaizo Quest” challenge mode to offer some of the original’s unlocalized content with a new added difficulty for returing players.
Now in 2023, the same team behind the Stardom Warriors localization created a brand new sequel to the game, Octo Vinctum, following the events after the Manager (John Belmore)’s return to Vinland and the return of the Dark Curse. The sequel also features the same “fight enemies with your words” combat, obscure media references, and fun humor of the original. More info about the sequel can be found here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1899110/Octo_Vinctum_Revenge_of_the_Czar/
To celebrate the release of the new sequel, Polinym also created an “Octo Vinctum Consistency Patch” to bring some of the changes made to the continuity back to the original. Dialogue in the intro and ending received a major overhall, and some of the naming and terminology has been changed. For example, the old localization’s warp spell “Zuum” is now “BLJ” to match Octo Vinctum’s Managic Backwords Longjump.
The consistency patch also serves as a general revision to the original localization, with many of the heavily abridged lines like “Found zilch”, “None to use.”, “No one there.” properly written, badly translated lines fixed, and hints reworked to based on player experiences. In some places, the new dialogue is actually closer to the original Japanese than before. Also, the hidden Easter egg items now work properly.
Finally, as an added bonus, Polinym created a randomizer that is compatible with all versions of the game (Though they say plundering Kaizo Quest is a foolish choice). His randomizer can shuffle houses, shop locations, shop items, and more. The Stardom Warriors randomizer can be found in the related link.
Hopefully, this obscure game series can at last receive some love!
[ COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
Translations News
After many years, Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden, better known to the non-Japanese world as “Samurai Shodown RPG,” is finally available, under its new localized title of Samurai Shodown: Tales of the Bushido! Check the project page to download, and be sure to check the readme to make sure you have the right version of the game to patch properly.
If playing on real hardware with SDLoader, it requires the most recent firmware revision to run. Tested on real hardware from disc and ODE, as well as the NeoSD flash cart and MiSTer.
This translation is 100% complete and includes some bug fixes and quality of life improvements over the original!
[ COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
Crystalis Switched Roles is here! Simea has been switched out with Mesia for the hero role. See the parallel world where Amazones has been likewise changed to Monistar the town of Monks.
Gameplay itself remains unchanged for the most part except that you now play as Mesia who you can easily change the name of at the start of the game to whatever you deem worthy.
Stom and Akahana have also been changed in order to keep the story as it is intact along with the swapped people.
[ COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
Sonic Team contributed to a couple of Sega Saturn games starring their namesake character (Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R) but the only Saturn Sonic title with their name on is Sonic Jam. This is a compilation of the mainline Mega Drive games and includes Sonic World, a bonus feature with eight simple missions and several museums offering a look back on the history of Sonic, all within a small 3D level.
Yeah, Sonic in 3D! For real! It was a dream come true for Sonic-starved Saturn owners in 1997 and is still a lovely space worth exploring today, especially considering that it has never been replicated in any other Sonic compilation to date.
This ROM hack breathes new life into Sonic World by replacing the titular character with his trusty sidekick Tails, and it’s more than a mere model swap as Tails has a high jump that simulates his signature flying ability! Think of Tails as an easy mode for the missions.
Only a handful of bytes need to be modified to make Tails playable, which is a testament to the flexibility of Sonic Team’s game engine. Most of the changes are there to keep the game rendering Tails and a few give him his own feel, such as the faux-flying ability.
To play, simply select Sonic World from the title screen. Everything in the 3D world should be accessible to Tails. Fly high!
[ COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Rebalanced has been released! This hack changes the stats of almost all glyphs, items and enemies in the game, trying to make the gameplay more cohesive and balanced, and with more replaying value. The main goal was to produce a new gameplay that was interesting and at the same time that didn’t allow cheese ways of beating the game, nonetheless maintaining the feel of the original version.
This hack is harder than the original game’s normal mode because the healing items were removed/changed, but it’s supposed to be easier than it’s hard mode, and is targeted at both new and veteran players.
Some features include:
- Melee weapons based in magic;
- Change of location of some glyphs;
- Location of MP max up’s and of HP max up’s switched;
- A difficulty curve that is supposed to follow the experience of the player, beginning easy and ending hard.
