21

Personal Projects / Re: Chrono Trigger Bugfix and Uncensoring Patch

« on: May 22, 2019, 05:11:41 am »

It's revealed in the Prerelease that Magus ordered Heckran to protect the spot over which Lavos sleeps.

That's very interesting, I wonder why they chose to remove this detail in the final release? There's one thing that I don't quite understand though. Why would Magus order Heckran to "protect the spot over which Lavos sleeps"? Was this some kind of back-up plan in case he either lost or failed to summon Lavos the first time (in the original Middle Ages timeline before Crono and party interfered)? Surely he didn't believe that some random person would just dig deep in that exact spot and accidentally awaken Lavos. And could Heckran really be over 400 years old? Mystics might have a longer lifespan than humans, but this just seems too much. I'm assuming that Magus can feel the dark energy of Lavos or something which is how he knew the exact spot where Lavos was in. Does this mean that Heckran's Cave in the Present time is where Magus' Castle was in the Middle Ages? Or could Magus summon Lavos without actually being directly underneath it? And lastly, would Heckran really choose to continue guarding the same spot for over 400 years after Magus was defeated and disappeared? If so, that's quite some level of dedication! Maybe Heckran was still hoping that Magus would return some day.

All this just doesn't quite make sense. Perhaps that's why this detail was removed before release? Or does anyone here have any ideas how all this could have been explained in the game?

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Personal Projects / Re: F-Zero Climax translation

« on: May 22, 2019, 04:24:56 am »

I forgot all about "The Scratchpad" option available here. Sorry, but I'm not used to uploading projects done by other people. It's much easier when I submit my own translations here from Dynamic-Designs which has very nicely organized project pages made by Taskforce. I don't mean to boast or anything, but I do wish that other sites would follow our example in the way we maintain project pages. Everything is neatly displayed and easy to access. All the patches, screenshots and descriptions are all well laid out in the project pages.

Thanks! While this fixes the freeze, it doesn't appear to be any more complete than the current (broken) translation, unless I'm missing something (only played a bit, so I could be, but it mainly looks like the same menu translation).

Yes, unfortunately this translation is incomplete as well. The main focus of it is to fix the freezing glitch that the previous patch here had with the first race. I haven't played all that much of it myself yet, but aside from the previously mentioned bug fix, I've read somewhere on another site that a bit more of the story is in fact translated. At least the game is now made playable.

Edit: Looks like my submission got approved after all. I apologize for my earlier paranoia about it possibly being rejected. Once again though, I'm just not used to submitting other people's work even though doing so is quite common here with RHDN being a vast collective for both various hacks and translations. I suppose I'll consider this a learning opportunity not only on the submission process here, but also on idea of not quickly jumping to such negative conclusions in the future...

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Personal Projects / F-Zero Climax translation

« on: May 21, 2019, 09:20:14 am »

I just wanted to let everyone here know that there's an alternative translation available for F-Zero Climax that doesn't freeze unlike the one currently here at RHDN that does so after the first race. Well, here it is:
https://github.com/Normmatt/F-Zero-Climax-GBA-Translation

I've already submitted a project page for it here. However, knowing how strict the submission guidelines here are, I'm not 100% sure that it will even be approved which is why I wanted to at least inform all of you here where this translation may be obtained. Just click on the green button that says "Clone or download" then select "save as ZIP" to download the ZIP folder. Make sure to also follow the instructions carefully:

Place the Japanese F-Zero Climax rom inside the rom folder named input.gba and run the build.bat script.

And for those of you curious why I don't have complete confidence in my submission being approved, it's for these two following reasons:

1. For new authors, I added Normmatt, the lead project leader in this case and the first person listed in the credits. The problem with this is that the form asks you to fill in the home URL. I placed the linked above which may not be accepted since it's not his actual website. I don't even think he has one to be honest, but I may be wrong.

2. At least one screenshot is required for submission. The link above did not have any at all, neither did any other place where the translation is available. And not to mention the fact that even if I did find one, it might still be rejected on grounds of "hotlinking". Therefore, I placed a link to the second screenshot of the existing F-Zero Climax translation here at RHDN of the control pad scheme (since it has not changed in this new version).

This translation also had Clank Hughes listed in the credits as with the existing translation here. However, Normmatt is now listed as the lead romhacker in this version. If my submission does by some chance get rejected, anyone who wishes to submit this translation here may do so. I'm getting a bit too tired of tackling the RHDN submission form again and am already quite busy as it is already... But hopefully everything will work out and this won't be necessary.

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Personal Projects / Re: Shounen Ninja Sasuke Translation Hack

« on: May 21, 2019, 08:25:28 am »

Amazing work so far! I've been looking forward to being able to play this game in English for awhile now. Please keep up the good work, everything is looking great so far. I like the look of the font you picked for sure. It fits the game's style perfectly.

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Script Help and Language Discussion / Re: Ys V - PS2 opening

« on: May 02, 2019, 02:48:31 am »

Like Gideon Zhi said, Ys is indeed mostly based on real places with their names slightly edited. Just to add a few more places to the list above this post:

Eresia - Eurasia
Medo Sea - Mediterranean Sea
Ispani - Spain

They didn't bother changing anything for Europe though. You can see this right in the beginning of Ys Seven:

Commander Raud:
That red hair...
You must be from Europe.

The only thing left that would make the Ys series more close to reality was if the "Romun Empire" would sack/destroy "Altago" and salt the earth there so no more plants and crops could grow. Instead, if I remember correctly, they signed some sort of ceasefire agreement in this series. This was mentioned somewhere in Ys Seven.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carthage_(c._149_BC)

Edit: I also forgot to mention that "Canaan Islands" is probably either a reference to the Canaan settlement on the island of Saint Croix (in the United States Virgin Islands) or to the Canary Islands. That would seem to match the whole Spanish and Mediterranean theme in that area of the game (where Europe is supposed to be).

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Gaming Discussion / Re: Snes Recommended Translations...

« on: May 01, 2019, 05:32:59 am »

Like it was stated above, if you would like a complete list of all the SNES translations, you can always look here at the RHDN project page or at a group site like AGTP or Dynamic-Designs. My personal top ten recommendations would be the following:

Tales of Phantasia
Star Ocean
Seiken Densetsu 3
Bahamut Lagoon
Ys V
Magna Braban
Nekketsu Tairiku Burning Heroes
Record of Lodoss War
Wozz
Mystic Ark

Of course there's many other good ones out there as well. I just mentioned the few that I could quickly remember off the top of my head.

Edit: I also forgot to mention three other games that I would recommend playing: Rudra no Hihou, Live A Live and Treasure Hunter G. Ys IV is also pretty fun.

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Script Help and Language Discussion / Re: Ys V - PS2 opening

« on: May 01, 2019, 05:24:43 am »

Thank you very much for the translation! I always wondered why Dogi was left out of the SNES version of Ys V since he clearly came on board with Adol at the end of Ys IV as he always does. Maybe it was something they forgot to do and then decided to add him in the PS2 version. Or perhaps they chose to leave him out because Adol always fights alone in the Ys series up until when Ys Seven was released where a party system was introduced, including in the games after it.

In any case, thanks once again for the translation.

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Script Help and Language Discussion / Ys V - PS2 opening

« on: May 01, 2019, 04:06:10 am »

I've always been curious what the dialogue between Adol and Dogi is in the PS2 version of Ys V as this was not present in the SNES version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3shiIRVPC0

The actual dialogue takes place between time frame 4:30 to 5:40. If anyone could please tell what they're saying, that would be nice. Thanks in advance for the help!

29

Gaming Discussion / Re: Seiken Densetsu 3 questions

« on: April 24, 2019, 11:19:02 pm »

I've always had the best playthroughs with this combination:

Duran (Paladin)
Kevin (God Hand)
Hawk (Nightblade)

This will allow all party members to use their powerful charge attacks for multiple targets. In these classes, Duran learns heal light and saint saber, Kevin learns heal light, pressure point and aura wave and Hawk learns a large number of very damaging and status lowering spells. To learn these skills, Duran and Kevin should level up Spirit (PIE) and Hawk should go for Agility (AGL). As for which stats to focus more on in general, I would have to say that strength is the most useful one followed by vitality and agility. And if you ever decide to play with Angela, level up her intelligence so she can learn her attack spells. Grand Divina seems to learn the best and most amount of spells, so I would suggest that you go with that one. I never really bothered playing much with either Lise or Carlie, but I'd say that their light classes seem better spell wise (stat raising and healing ones respectively). So to summarize, I would choose all light classes, except for Hawk which is dark. It's an interesting balance. Aura Wave charges the attack gauge to full which will let Kevin unleash his powerful attack multiple times. This is why I recommend the God Hand class.

30

Gaming Discussion / Re: Best RPG

« on: April 24, 2019, 10:57:26 pm »

Well, when it comes down to facts, Chrono Trigger really is the best SNES RPG. It wins all across the board in terms of graphics, characters, music, story, battle system, etc. What I don't understand is why all those old Final Fantasy RPGs are so popular (1-6). The graphics are terrible, the monsters and their attacks aren't even animated. All they do is flash. At first glance, it looks like some kind of lame fan game. Even Phantasy Star III which was very rushed, still had some attack animations. And why are the first five Final Fantasy games all about crystals? Talk about over using the same plot elements over and over again. I pretty feel the same way about most Pokémon games as well. Bad graphics, cheesy music and the same old routine (beat the eight gym leaders and elite four to win). 7th Saga on the other hand is a greatly underrated gem. Everything about this game is fantastic, except maybe for the somewhat lame ending. It blows Final Fantasy right out of the water.

31

Gaming Discussion / Re: Homebrew titles

« on: April 21, 2019, 04:45:20 am »

If you like games like The Legend of Zelda, then you'll be sure to enjoy Anguna: Warriors of Virtue, which is available for both the GBA and DS:

GBA version: https://www.romhacking.net/homebrew/105/
DS version: https://www.romhacking.net/homebrew/106/
Official site: http://www.tolberts.net/anguna/

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Gaming Discussion / Re: Best RPG

« on: April 21, 2019, 04:37:35 am »

Chrono Trigger will always be the number one RPG in my book. I'll never forget how amazing that game was when I first played over twenty years ago. And even to this day, it still remains one of the best RPGs. I don't think that I've ever played a game more times than this one. As for somewhat more modern ones, I really enjoyed playing Ys Seven. It's probably my second favorite game after Chrono Trigger. Seiken Densetsu 3 was also very good, but far too easy and it lacked quite a bit of character development and dialogue. I found the party of Duran, Angela and Hawk to contain the most amount of interesting conversations. However, the all male team of Duran, Kevin and Hawk really kicked some serious ass. I could take down bosses in less than five minutes with these guys fully leveled up and stat buffed (using items and/or spells). I never really understood why people like Earthbound so much though. It's even worse than Secret of the Stars in my honest opinion...

33

Gaming Discussion / Re: What techs would a playable Schala have?

« on: April 08, 2019, 02:08:05 am »

That does look very impressive indeed! I hope that it all goes well and that the eighth character integration is a success.

I once read an article over at the CT Compendium that Gaspar was originally supposed to be the eighth playable character, but he was cut out before release. I wonder why this is? Did they think that having eight playable characters was too much or did they decide at the last minute that they didn't want to add an old man in the party? Maybe it was a data limitation of some sort or story conflict, who really knows? If anyone else is interested in this, they may read more about it here:
https://www.chronocompendium.com/Forums/index.php?topic=8944.0

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Gaming Discussion / Re: Theory - Turtle Island in SoM is Buskaboo from SD3.

« on: April 08, 2019, 01:53:11 am »

I don't really believe that this is the case. Just look at the size difference between Booskaboo in SD3 and the Turtle Island in SoM. Booskaboo is about as big as an elephant. Only three or four people can ride on it at a time (and actually fit on its shell). Whereas Turtle Island is large enough for an entire village to fit on top of it. Unless of course it grew that much larger than it originally was, but I doubt it. And the idea of Booskaboo's dead shell remains floating motionless in the middle of the ocean is not only disturbing and morbid, but also highly unlikely as a floating empty shell would be constantly moved by waves and could not be stable enough to have an entire village built on top of it. The villagers also say that "this island is actually a giant turtle" or something along those lines, but we don't know for sure if it's true or not. They could just think that because of its shape. Not only that, but said "gaint turtle" could also still be alive. That's just my opinion, but I could be wrong.

35

Personal Projects / Re: Chrono trigger plus

« on: March 28, 2019, 04:49:27 pm »

It might also be interesting if the End of Time had some stores in it as well. Perhaps with an inventory that changes/gets better every chapter. And maybe even a training room. And not just with Spekkio, but with the option to challenge your own party members and perhaps even other time travelers as well to a friendly sparring match (1 on 1, 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 options). I can easily imagine Magus being sour about losing and not admitting defeat. Something along the lines of: "I was going easy on you, but next time it will be a different story!" It could be a good way to level grind for money and experience points. Maybe there could also be Colosseum type matches. Win ten battles to get a rare item or something like that with the choice of easy, medium or hard. Or progressively harder matches like in Tales of Phantasia or Star Ocean. Prizes such as MegaElixers or strong pieces of equipment would be good choices to have. Now that would be something worth seeing!

36

Gaming Discussion / Re: What techs would a playable Schala have?

« on: March 28, 2019, 04:18:16 pm »

If a new character can't be added, then maybe one of the already existing ones could be replaced with Schala instead. Let's say Marle was replaced with Schala, it could lead to a Chrono Trigger hack with an all new story line. One in which Schala was teleported to 1000 AD via time gate like the other characters there were after the Ocean Palace disaster and was found and adopted by King Guardia as his own daughter. She might have a case of amnesia and not actually remember her past all too well. Perhaps only certain flash backs that appear slowly throughout the game until the party reaches 12,000 BC where at one point, she will remember everything. Think about it, this could be an awesome hack where that annoying spoiled Marle could be replaced with Schala as Crono's girlfriend and eventual wife.

In this version, the whole "Kingdom Trial" part would still happen and most things would probably still be the same overall, with a few interesting changes and twists. For example, when encountering Magus in 600 AD, there could be a different scene if Schala is in your team. Perhaps something like this for instance:

Magus: …!
Schala?!
No it couldn't be...
This must just be some strange coincidence...

Schala: How do you know my name?!

Magus: …

Another change to the story might be when Marle and King Guardia had that argument in 1000 AD during her side quest. Only in this case, Schala will question the king about why he didn't tell her that she was adopted all this time (after she finds out the truth during the Ocean Palace disaster). There could also be a touching moment where he apologizes and tells her because he always thought of her as his real daughter and didn't want to lose their bond or something along those lines.

Edit: I just thought of something pretty funny. If Crono (a red haired swordsman) had a child together with Schala (a blue haired mage), would their child be a purple haired swordsman with lightning magic? Kind of like future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z? Sorry, but I couldn't help myself. Akira Toriyama did make the art for both.

37

Gaming Discussion / Re: What techs would a playable Schala have?

« on: March 19, 2019, 12:46:51 pm »

Or she could alternate her attacks between punches and kicks kind of like the "gargoyle" type enemies do in Chrono Trigger. Although, this would just make her a weaker version of Ayla attack wise unless there was some sort of weapon she could equip like kung fu shoes or something. Either way, it wouldn't really matter since magic would be her specialty anyways. Though, you all can't tell me that you wouldn't want to see Schala doing some high kicks? The only question would be if she is still wearing her robe then or something else. Maybe some sort of fighting/martial arts outfit/uniform or perhaps even some tight yoga pants and a tank top?

Edit: I just realized that this might make her look a bit like Sarah from Shining Force 2 when promoted to the Master Monk Class (scroll down a bit to see her sprite):
https://sf2.shiningforcecentral.com/characters/shining-force-ii/sarah/

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Personal Projects / Re: Chrono trigger plus

« on: March 19, 2019, 01:48:34 am »

I agree entirely, having characters from other Square titles appearing at the End of Time is fine, but having random characters from different series such as Dr. Who appearing is just too strange. However, if you really want to see Dr. Who in the Chrono Trigger series, just watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ9Ej_EwI2o

Though after seeing this, we should all be glad that he isn't in the Chrono Trigger series.

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Personal Projects / Re: Chrono trigger plus

« on: March 14, 2019, 03:00:05 pm »

Though I know that this would be quite hard to implement, it would be interesting if there was branching story line options such as having the chance to save/recruit Schala at the Ocean Palace (like in the Schala edition hack or even before that incident) or being able to play as human form Glenn by having his curse removed (either by defeating Magus or having him remove it after joining the party). Azala might also be an interesting character to save and possibly recruit by having either Crono, Ayla or some other party member convince her to come along with them. But I suppose that such a thing would be unlikely to happen, though it's still an interesting idea. Frog is already an amphibian, why not add a reptilian Reptite to the team as well?

By the way, having a bar/lounge area at End of Time where you can talk to other accidental time travelers as well as your party members sounds like a great idea. Having new places like this in the game for players to explore adds a fresh experience to a timeless classic.

40

Gaming Discussion / What techs would a playable Schala have?

« on: March 14, 2019, 02:30:57 pm »

The idea of Schala being a playable character in Chrono Trigger has always been an interesting topic of conversation among fans. Most agree that if this was possible, she would have probably joined either before or after the Ocean Palace disaster. But what techs would Schala actually have? Based on what we see in game, although she is a powerful spellcaster, she doesn't seem quite as good as Magus/Janus is. Especially when it comes to offensive techs (being a nice and non-aggressive person). I honestly think that her techs would probably be somewhat a combination of what Magus and Marle has (and possibly a bit of Frog's techs).

In my opinion, Schala's tech list as a playable character might look something like this:

Heal
Cure2
Barrier
Shield
Fire2
Ice2
Lightning2
Life2

Not necessarily in that order, but something like that. Perhaps it would be better to have her learn the three offensive spells first like Magus, but this makes more sense to me seeing as how in the game, she is an expert at support/barrier type of magic, along with possibly healing. This tech setup would therefore make Schala a great healer and support character, but a bit lousy at fighting which again, makes sense for her character type and personality. She might also make Marle look a bit useless by comparison. Which brings up another point, instead of trying to add an eighth character, couldn't a romhack just replace Marle with Schala? Now that would be an interesting thing to see. Especially story wise, since the replacement of these characters would change the story line drastically. But enough of that. Moving back to topic now, what techs do you all think that Schala would have and why (assuming she joined the party).

Note: I only added what single techs Schala might have, but you can add double and triple techs as well if you like. Making such lists just seemed as though it would have taken too much time for me. Another interesting point of conversation would be what weapon she would use if any. I'm guessing that it would either be a crossbow like Marle or a staff of some sort. Either way, she would not be a good attacking character (which is to be expected of spellcasters).

Edit: And as a separate thought, it would also be a great idea if shield/barrier/haste would be changed to target all characters instead of just one at a time.