Translations of early Famicom games

[Psyklax]

My question is, what would be easier, taking text from the US release and inserting it into the Japanese game, or taking graphics from the Japanese release and inserting them into the US? Which way? If somebody could please take a look. Sorry if off topic, but i don't know where else to bring this up.

You're right, that's totally off topic. There is a thread called Hack Ideas where this question belongs:
http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=3282.0
But because I'm nice, I'll answer anyway.

Putting the Japanese graphics into the US version would definitely be much easier. Ten minutes pasting back in the graphics, then adjusting the palettes, which could take longer, but is still quite trivial. Of course it's not as "pure" as properly translating the Japanese version perhaps, but if the graphics matter to someone then it'd make a nice hack i suppose.

[Pluvius]

I was a little bored, and seeing as how Law of the West isn't really worthwhile for me to hack at the present (see below), I figured I'd give my subjective opinions on how hard the games in 1987 would be to hack based on a cursory look at them.

The Black Bass (J): Probably wouldn't be too hard.  Doesn't look like much text, and there's a good amount of free space in the fixed bank for routines.  Helps that this is the kind of game where a terse translation would work.  The pointer table is unusual (six bytes per entry, first byte is text length, second byte is number of lines, next two bytes are PPU address, last two bytes are the pointer) but I don't think it'd be very hard to make a dumper and inserter for it.

Law of the West: This one uses a nasty pointer table format that looks like this:

Code Select Expand

01 01 00 02 02 0A 0A 00 03 03 0B 0B 00 04 04 0C 0C 00 05 05 0D 0D
Where the zeroes are padding bytes, the low numbers represent pointers for the question asked of your character followed by four possible responses, and the high numbers represent pointers for the next set of pointers based on which of the responses you chose.  Not a whole lot of free space to make use of either.  Since this game is already available on other systems, I don't really have the inclination to deal with this.

City Adventure Touch: Mystery of Triangle: Looks simple.  Bog-standard pointer tables and plenty of free space in the fixed bank.  The small text window is a big pain in the butt, though.  The biggest challenge in this hack would probably either be making the window bigger (there's a lot of space for that) or dealing with it.

Sanma no Meitantei: Normal pointer table, but since this is a Portopia-style adventure game there's a good amount of text.  Not much free space in the fixed bank.  Lots of free space elsewhere, but hard to tell how much good it would do.  Would probably require playing with bankswitching and/or expansion to do this one.

Morita Shogi: Didn't look closely at this one.  Most of the text is in small icons so the difficulty in the hack would probably lie mostly in pixelart skills.

Takahashi Meijin no Bug-tte Honey: I beat this game a long time ago because the amount of Japanese text in it was miniscule.  Based on that, I'm guessing this would be the easiest hack on the list, maybe just a title-screen hack.

Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Okhotsk ni Kiyu: Judging by the text routine and a look at the ROM, this Portopia-style game crams all of its text into a 64K area of four banks with a massive pointer table at the beginning.  No free space in either those banks or the fixed banks.  Surely impossible to do without expansion, which would probably necessitate a nasty hack of the text routine and pointer tables to allow for more than four text banks.

Tokoro-san no Mamoru mo Semeru mo: This uses a truly bizarre text routine where it first reads the necessary information from a certain CHR bank using the PPU_DATA register.  This information is encrypted by being jumbled up in a certain way, so after this it has to run it through a decryption routine.  The first routine is at $8112 and the second at $8084.  Why the hell they went through the trouble of encryption for such an obvious kusoge, I couldn't say.  On the bright side, once you figure out the encryption the hack would be very simple, since the text routine prints to the entire screen.  Assuming that all of the Japanese text in the game is like this, it looks like only four screens at most would need to be translated.

Jongbou: Like the shogi game, I didn't look closely at this one.  But there's a ton of free space in most of the banks and a decent amount in the fixed bank.  The game already has an 8x8 text routine to replace the 16x16 with as well.  Probably would be pretty easy overall.

Family Trainer 5: Meiro Daisakusen: This uses a standard text routine and pointer tables and there's a lot of space in most of the banks, though little in the fixed bank and none in the bank before it.  This may not be a problem, though, since the intro text at least is in the first bank.  Even if there is text in the banks I mentioned, two of the other banks are completely empty, so moving the text to one of those would probably be relatively easy.  The biggest obvious problem is the small text window during gameplay, but there you'll still have double the lines to work with since the Japanese text has to waste half the lines on dakuten.

Family Mahjong: Again I didn't look too closely.  There's a decent amount of free space in all of the banks except the fixed one, but you could probably squeeze a respectable DTE in the latter if necessary.  This game also has an 8x8 routine to replace the 16x16 routine.  As usual with these traditional mahjong games, the biggest difficulty would probably be screen space during the gameplay segments.

Tenka no Goikenban: Mito Koumon: Aside from the obvious problem of the really impressive spoken dialogue at the title screen, this game also has very little free space and none in the fixed bank.  Furthermore, it's not expandable in its current state and uses a proprietary mapper that has no obvious analogue (to me, anyway) to other mappers.  I didn't bother looking any further than that.

Tsuppari Oozumou: Yecch, vertical text.  Aside from that, it's got 16x16 text including a name entry screen, and only one strip of 256 bytes of (I'm assuming) unused empty space.  Whether or not this would be enough to hold the code necessary to change the mapper to 41 (something which I would suggest for Space Hunter, incidentally) as well as any other necessary hacks that there isn't enough space in the existing code for is hard for me to say, whether or not you went through the herculean effort of converting it to horizontal text.

Zoids: Chuuou Tairiku no Tatakai: An RPG, with the attendant large script.  No obvious free space in the fixed bank, which isn't conducive to major hacking work.  However, the ROM is expandable and it shouldn't be overly difficult to come up with methods to get at that extra space without major rewrites to the text routine if you can find somewhere to put the minimum necessary code.  There's also a decent amount of text already in English (mostly the Zoid names).

SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics: Much like Zoids, an RPG without much free space that is well within the realm of possibility to expand if one can cram the code in somewhere.  It also has the reputation of being a very hard and buggy kusoge, so have fun with that.

Ide Yosuke Meijin no Jissen Mahjong: Yet Another Mahjong Game that's like all of the other ones except that it uses a special controller.  Shouldn't cause any hacking problems, but will take getting used to.  Again, no free space in the fixed bank, though there's a good amount to be found elsewhere.

Kyonshis 2: Like Mito Koumon, this is a 256KB game that uses a proprietary mapper.  However, this is a more complex mapper and in theory the ROM is expandable, though I see no documentation to confirm this and don't know what if any emulators support it.  Some banks have some free space, while the others including the fixed bank are more stingy.  This game uses three variable 8KB PRG banks, which may be helpful.  Also, the text is encoded strangely (some tile values have $#80 subtracted from them, others $#86), which is a minor annoyance.  Lastly, there are a lot of control codes and they're embedded in the pointer table instead of the text, a much greater annoyance.

Indra no Hikari: Tired of RPGs yet?  This is an MMC1 game and thus very expandable, and due to the fact that there's a PRG access mode that unfixes the fixed bank, you can probably exploit this relatively easily (though I admit I have no experience in this area).  There appears to be a small strip of free space at the end of the fixed bank to facilitate this.  Combined with the standard pointer table, this might be the easiest of the RPGs to do so far, though still a large task obviously.

Hoshi wo Miru Hito: Perhaps the last true "densetsu no kusoge" on the Famicom yet to be fully translated (definitely the most well-known one), Stargazers has the big advantage of having a lot of work already done.  Since KingMike is the one who did it, he'd be a better source for information about it than me.

Uchuusen: Cosmo Carrier: While this game uses standard pointer tables, the text and pointers are scattered all around, at least for the main interface.  Furthermore, the code for the text routine is in the non-fixed banks, which is a pain but could possibly make expansion easier.  Unfortunately, it uses a proprietary mapper with single-screen mirroring that isn't expandable.  The closest analogue appears to be MMC1, but it would still require some work to convert mainly due to that mapper's unique method of bankswitching.  On the bright side, there's free space in the fixed bank to facilitate that, as well as some free space elsewhere.  The text routine also requires an extra byte to print dakuten, which would allow for some savings.

Artelius: The only real problem with this one that I saw is the lack of free space in the fixed bank.  It's an expandable MMC1 game with a standard text routine and quite a bit of free space in some of the other banks.  The text code is again in the non-fixed banks, which may make the full fixed bank less of a problem.  Best of all, a lot of it is already "translated" into Engrish.

Outlanders: This is an expandable UNROM that uses a standard text routine, but there's not much free space anywhere.  Not much else to say about it other than the fact that it's a clunky action-RPG with the requisite amount of text.

Yamamura Misa Suspense: Kyoto Ryuu no Tera Satsujin Jiken: This uses the same mapper as Kyonshis 2, but there's basically no obvious free space anywhere.  On the other hand, while the text routine is normal, a profound amount of space is wasted both on dakuten and padding spaces for the beginning of lines.  The reason for the padding spaces is so dialogue will appear indented after the name of whomever is speaking.  It probably wouldn't be difficult to write a control code to add this padding or just remove it altogether, though that might still not solve your space problem. 

Ginga no Sannin: Arguably the most-wanted translation on this list.  I believe KingMike said he planned to come back to this one this year.  It's another UNROM without much free space to work with.  It uses a standard text routine with the strange twist of it having to read what seems to be junk data before it starts copying text to RAM.  Control codes are also handled in a separate step, and the game already appears to use its own dictionary compression routine.

Mesaze Pachi Pro: Pachio-kun: Another MMC1 game with free space here and there, though not much in the fixed bank.  Looks very straightforward otherwise.

Pro Yakyuu Famista '87: This is just the original Famista (RBI Baseball) with new league data.  The biggest difference is the addition of two teams, which unfortunately makes this not quite as simple as hacking RBI Baseball like the diehards do with Tecmo Super Bowl every year.

I would be willing to try my hand at hacking some of these if someone else would translate the scripts.

[Psyklax]

Great work, Pluvius! I'm still working my way through the list of 1987, and Touch was one that caught my eye. I expanded the text window in Aighina's Prophecy so I might be able to do it here. I won't be getting to the 1987 games for a little bit, but it's good to know what needs to be done.

[filler]

I may add more analysis to this list later.  I would be willing to try my hand at hacking some of them if someone else would translate the scripts.

I'm happy to help with any of the smaller scripts.

[Cavery210]

I know that the first Dragon Quest probably needs a retranslation due to Puff-puffs and Dev Names being censored and the sprites are much simpler. It also has a password system instead of SRAM. https://tcrf.net/File:Dragon_Quest-town.png

Here's a script you could use: https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563408-dragon-warrior/faqs/42955?print=1

[KingMike]

If you really want to play the original yes, but I think the Japanese version is worse in almost all ways.
The sprites are simpler because they can only face down which is awkward and actually kind of creepy IMO. Consequently as if having to open the menu to talk to people wasn't kind of slow, in that version you had an extra step of selecting the direction of the NPC towards the hero.

Also, despite the official localization's flavory text, they sped up the text spreed greatly. As I recall the JP version's text speed was slow enough that despite much fewer words it still took as long.

[Psyklax]

I know that the first Dragon Quest probably needs a retranslation due to Puff-puffs and Dev Names being censored and the sprites are much simpler. It also has a password system instead of SRAM. https://tcrf.net/File:Dragon_Quest-town.png

Here's a script you could use: https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563408-dragon-warrior/faqs/42955?print=1

I think DQ is a low priority since it was a) officially released in English, b) unofficially translated aeons ago on the SNES, and c) officially released again on the Game Boy Color. Having said that, a retranslation probably wouldn't be a bad thing, but you can see why it hasn't happened.

The US version is actually quite different to the Japanese release. There are new sprites to show in which direction you're pointing, and thus you don't need to indicate where you're talking. Also, it uses four 16KB PRG-ROM chips and two 8KB CHR-ROM chips, totalling 80KB, while the original used the opposite, totalling 64KB. Arguably the US version is the improved one, so it would be more logical to apply a retranslation to that instead of the Japanese one (and it would probably save a hell of a lot of effort).

Still, given that someone has gone to the trouble of translating the entire script on GameFAQs, it would probably be pretty simple to swap out the old script with this more accurate one. Unless there's some tricky compression involved, which there probably is. Also the original title needs to return, cause the "Dragon Warrior" one a) is no longer consistent with the series today, and b) sucks.

I'll take a look at it (it was in 1986 in Japan, so it does fall into this project in a way), but I doubt I'll do much with it. Perhaps someone else would like to, though.

EDIT: I see KingMike posted before I did with similar comments. Oh well.

[ObiKKa]

Have you been aware of Binary Land released on the Famicom in December 1985, which is a much enhanced port of a 1984 MSX port (also released in Europe) of a 1983 FM-7 Original? The Famicom port was never released overseas but all text in it seem to be in English.
The game page for this port has five hacks but no translation.
HG101 did a retrospective on it recently this month.

[Psyklax]

The Famicom port was never released overseas but all text in it seem to be in English.

You've just answered your own question. This project is "Translations of early Famicom games". I just checked Binary Land and there is no Japanese graphics present, unsurprisingly for a game like this. That's typical of early Famicom games (one reason I started the project: I assumed most games wouldn't need translating anyway.

Regarding Dragon Quest/Warrior, I just made a table file and I'm quite surprised: there's no compression at all. The text is all in one 16KB bank. Perhaps a retranslation is possible after all...

EDIT: after a bit of work on Dragon Warrior, I understand the text routine and might even be able to implement DTE (if necessary). I must say the game uses a beautiful text routine that loads each word into memory, checks if it will fit on that line, and if it won't then it puts it on the next line, and text can flow as long as you want. Anyone amongst us who has hacked other games will know why I love this, although I don't know if the original Japanese DQ did this since it seems like more of an English thing to do. Nevertheless it means that retranslating the US version is a no-brainer, as it removes a lot of extra work, and besides, the US version is the better version, with SRAM saving instead of passwords, plus better graphics.

[KingMike]

I did an auto wordwrap on Kaiju Monogatari and it was a pain.
No way was I going to fit some battle text within three line limit with just normal control code usage alone (I recall the original window was 16x4 but I modified it to support something like 24x3). At the start of each line, the game inserts a special code into the window buffer, so if a line overflowed and that code got wiped it would cause an infinite-text softlock.

Though I probably still left a bit of a mess. I tried to add normal SRAM to that game, including adding a save menu I disabled it as it was incomplete and an absolutely terrible and probably not at all hardware compatible code.
(I do remember making an update but I can't recall if it was disabling the single-slot normal SRAM hack for the original Namcot-106 internal-RAM save. Though I don't imagine emulators bothered with a way to distinguish which RAM on that mapper to save, as the internal RAM was used in other N106 games for sound and, as an example, Megami Tensei II used the regular $6000-7FFF RAM for saving.)

[filler]

City Adventure Touch: Mystery of Triangle: Looks simple.  Bog-standard pointer tables and plenty of free space in the fixed bank.  The small text window is a big pain in the butt, though.  The biggest challenge in this hack would probably either be making the window bigger (there's a lot of space for that) or dealing with it.

Someone popped by my blog and mentioned this game and I can't believe how ridiculous it is. A totally random adventure game for some reason using a license for the characters from Touch? Anyway, I made a quick table file and dumped and translated the "script". Basically all the text that's appears when you talk to folks. I haven't found the couple lines that appear in the dialog box.

Here's most of the script:

Code Select Expand

このまちに　くるのは　はじめてかい。あぶないから　いいものをあげるよ[END]
IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME IN THIS TOWN? IT'S DANGEROUS SO I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING USEFUL.[END]

おみせだと　おもったでしょうざんねんでした[END]
I'M SORRY, YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT THIS WAS A SHOP.[END]

きたの　はずれに　かせきのもりが　あるといういいつたえが　あるよ[END]
THERE ARE STORIES OF A PETRIFIED FOREST ON THE NORTHERN OUTSKIRTS.[END]

みなみの　はずれに　おてらの　まちが　あるという　はなしがある[END]
I'VE HEARD TALK OF A TEMPLE TOWN ON THE SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS.[END]

けいけんちは　たいせつに　するんだよ[END]
YOU SHOULD VALUE EXPERIENCE.[END]

まちの　なかには　けいけんちを　あげるための　どうじょう　が　あるよ[END]
THERE ARE DOJO'S THAT GIVE EXPERIENCE AMONG THE TOWNS.[END]

がっこうの　なかに　いいところが　あるよ[END]
THERE'S A NICE PLACE INSIDE THE SCHOOL.[END]

この　まちには　6ぴきの　ぬしが　いるという[END]
THEY SAY THERE ARE 6 GUARDIANS IN THIS TOWN.[END]

あいてむは　おみせに　うっているとは　かぎらないよ[END]
ITEM'S ARE NOT LIMITED TO BEING SOLD IN SHOPS.[END]

うえうえ　したした　みぎ　ひ　だり[END]
UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT.[END]

。。。。。[END]
.....[END]

TOUCH2は　みにいったかい[END]
DID YOU GO TO SEE TOUCH 2?[END]

あまり　ふぁみこんを　やりすぎないようにね[END]
TAKE CARE NOT TO PLAY TOO MUCH FAMICOM OKAY.[END]

1たす1は2だよね[END]
1 PLUS 1 IS 2 YOU KNOW.[END]

PROSー86　って　しってる[END]
DO YOU KNOW PROS-86?[END]

はじめは　きたのほうの　まちにいくと　いいよ[END]
YOU SHOULD START BY GOING TO THE TOWN TO THE NORTH.[END]

あいてむは　おなじねだんでうってないよ。　やすいところがあるかも[END]
ITEMS DON'T ALWAYS SELL FOR THE SAME PRICE. THERE MAY BE A CHEAPER PLACE.[END]

はいれない　ばしょには　なにかひみつが　あるのかも[END]
PERHAPS THERE IS SOME SECRET REGARDING PLACES YOU CANNOT GO.[END]

じんじゃは　おがんでみるかちがある[END]
IT'S WORTH YOUR WHILE TO TRY PRAYING AT SHRINES.[END]

かんづめがたべたいんだけど。。。。[END]
I'D LIKE SOME CANNED FOOD...[END]

ありがとう　　SHOP　WAOに　はいってごらん[END]
THANK YOU. PLEASE ENTER SHOP WAO.[END]

しゅくだいは　ちゃんと　やったかい[END]
DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO?[END]

がっこうには　ばけものが　いるぞ[END]
THERE'S A MONSTER AT THE SCHOOL.[END]

どこかに　こいぬが　とらわれて　いるぞ[END]
PUPPIES ARE IMPRISONED SOMEPLACE.[END]

がっこうの　　ばけものは　さびつかせるといい[END]
YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE SCHOOL'S MONSTER ALONE.[END]

ちゃんと　べんきょう　してる[END]
I'M STUDYING LIKE I'M SUPPOSED TO.[END]

きをつけるんだよ。ちかくに　　ばけものがいる[END]
BE CAREFUL. THERE'S A MONSTER NEARBY.[END]

あいつを　たおすために　ひつような　あいてむを　もっているかい[END]
DO YOU HAVE THE ITEM NECESSARY TO BEAT THEM?[END]

がっこうの　なかには　たおすのに　あいてむがいる　てきが　いるぞ[END]
WITHIN THE SCHOOL IS AN ENEMY WITH THE ITEM TO DEFEAT THEM.[END]

そうこの　どこかを　なぐるとなにかがおきるらしい[END]
IT APPEARS SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN IF YOU HIT SOMEPLACE IN THE STOREROOM/STOREHOUSE/WAREHOUSE.[END]

はいれなかった　みちに　はいってごらん　　それから　あとで　もういちど　おいで[END]
TRY TO ENTER THE PATH YOU CANNOT ENTER AND COME HERE ONCE MORE.[END]

この　かがみをもっていくと　いい[END]
YOU MAY TAKE THIS MIRROR.[END]

いっしょに　あそばないかい[END]
WILL YOU PLAY WITH ME?[END]

たしかに　おあ　ずかりします[END]
CERTAINLY, I WILL TAKE THAT.[END]

いらっしゃいませ[END]
WELCOME.[END]

きの　ほらあなにはいるには　おのを　てにもたないと　いけない[END]
YOU CANNOT ENTER THE TREE CAVE WITHOUT THE AX.[END]

がけの　ほらあなに　はいるにはしゃべるが　いるよ[END]
THERE IS A CHANT TO ENTER THE CLIFF CAVE.[END]

もりの　はずれの　せいんとに　あったかい[END]
DID YOU (MEET?) THE SAINT ON THE FOREST OUTSKIRTS?[END]

この　もりには　はいれない　みちが　あるというはなしがある[END]
THEY SAY THERE IS A PATH YOU CANNOT TRAVEL IN THIS FOREST.[END]

うみべの　じんじゃは　なんかいも　おまいりしないと　ごりやくがないよ[END]
IF YOU DON'T PRAY REPEATEDLY AT THE SHRINE ON THE BEACH, YOUR PRAYERS WILL NOT BE ANSWERED.[END]

ざんねんでした　はずれだよ[END]
THAT'S TOO BAD. YOU DIDN'T WIN.[END]

なにしに　きたんだい[END]
WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR.[END]

てがみは　うけとったよ。これをもっていくといい[END]
I RECEIVED A LETTER. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS.[END]

かせきに　なったものは　じぶんの　すがたをみせるといいらしい[END]
IT SEEMS YOU SHOULD SHOW YOUR FIGURE TO THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN FOSSILIZED.[END]

となりの　せいんとが　なにか　いいことを　おしえてくれるよ[END]
THE SAINT NEXT DOOR WILL TELL YOU SOMETHING GOOD.[END]

はやく　あぱーとに　とじこめられている　こいぬを　たすけておやり[END]
HURRY AND HELP THE PUPPY SHUT AWAY IN AN APARTMENT.[END]

あぱーとは　　じゅんばんにまわると　なにかおこるらしい[END]
IT SEEMS SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN IF YOU TURN AROUND IN THE APARTMENT IN ORDER.[END]

ひだり　みぎうえ　ひだり　みぎ　うえ。。。。。[END]
LEFT, UPPER-RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, UP....[END]

あぱーとには　かたい　おばけが　いるらしい[END]
THERE SEEMS TO BE A DIFFICULT MONSTER IN THE APARTMENT.[END]

もえそうな　お　ばけは　もやしてたいじできるはずだよ[END]
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO BURN TO DEATH MONSTERS WHO APPEAR BURNABLE.[END]

かなづちは　もっているかい。たぶん　ひつようだよ[END]
DO YOU HAVE A HAMMER? YOU'LL PROBABLY NEED ONE.[END]

おやおや　なにかようじかい[END]
OH MY, DO YOU NEED SOMETHING.[END]

こんなところでうろうろしていないで　はやくいきなさい[END]
DON'T LOITER HERE. HURRY AND GET GOING.[END]

きたまくらに　きをつけるんだよ[END]
BEWARE OF SLEEPING WITH YOUR HEAD TO THE NORTH.[END]

この　さきの　うみべの　じんじゃには　ぜひ　おまいりしたほうがいいよ[END]
YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY PRAY AT THE SHRINE AT THE BEACH UP AHEAD.[END]

この　まちの　いりぐちと　でぐちは　いっ　ぽうつうこう　だよ[END]
THIS TOWN'S ENTRANCE AND EXIT ARE ONE WAY STREETS.[END]

このまちには　きょだいな　にんぎょうが　いる[END]
THERE'S A HUGE DOLL IN THIS TOWN.[END]

めには　めを　にんぎょうには　にんぎょうを[END]
AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A DOLL FOR A DOLL.[END]

みぎまわりに　いけば　この　まちの　ちゅうしんぶへ　いける[END]
IF YOU GO IN A CLOCKWISE ROTATION YOU CAN REACH THE HEART OF THE TOWN.[END]

この　まちに　ようこそ。ふるいまちなみを　ゆっくり　みてよ[END]
WELCOME TO THIS TOWN. TAKE YOUR TIME APPRECIATING THE OLD SHOPS.[END]

こいんは　もうみつけたかい。このちかくに　あるはずだよ[END]
HAVE YOU FOUND THE COIN YET. IT SHOULD BE NEAR HERE.[END]

このまちの　でぐちには　き　が　うえてある[END]
THIS TOWN'S EXIT IS PLANTED WITH TREES.[END]

この　さきの　うみべの　じんじゃには　ぜひ　おまいりすると　いい[END]
YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY PRAY AT THE SHRINE AT THE BEACH UP AHEAD.[END]

あなたは　かみをしんじますか[END]
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD?[END]

こいぬは　8ぴき　たすけたかい[END]
HAVE YOU RESCUED 8 PUPPIES?[END]

となりの　ちゅうかがいにも　　いくといい[END]
YOU SHOULD VISIT CHINATOWN NEXT DOOR.[END]

となりの　ちゅうかがいに　ひつような　ものがある[END]
THERE IS SOMETHING NECESSARY IN CHINATOWN NEXT DOOR.[END]

みぎへ　いけ　ば　ふゆの　もりに　ゆける[END]
IF YOU GO TO THE RIGHT YOU CAN REACH WINTER FOREST.[END]

ひだりに　いけば　もりの　はずれ[END]
THE FOREST'S OUTSKIRTS ARE TO THE LEFT.[END]

この　もりの　きの　おばけは　もやしてしまえ　ば　いい[END]
YOU SHOULD BURN THIS FOREST'S TREE MONSTER.[END]

このしたの　みちは　いっぽうつうこうだから　したには　いけないよ[END]
THE STREET BELOW HERE IS ONE WAY SO YOU CANNOT GO DOWN.[END]

この　せいなる　べるで　そとの　おばけがたおせるよ。もっておゆき[END]
YOU CAN DEFEAT THE MONSTERS OUTSIDE WITH THIS HOLY BELL. TAKE IT WITH YOU.[END]

この　べるを　あげよう　あとで　やくにたつだろうから　たいせつにね[END]
THIS BELL WILL BE HELPFUL, SO AFTER I GIVE IT TO YOU, BE SURE TO TAKE CARE OF IT.[END]

きょうかいの　おばけを　たおすには　せいなるゆびわが　いる[END]
THERE IS A HOLY RING TO DEFEAT THE CHURCH'S MONSTER.[END]

だいせいどうに　はいるには　この　ほうせき　が　いるぞ[END]
THIS GEM IS FOR ENTERING THE CATHEDRAL.[END]

きょうかいの　おばけを　たおしたいのだろう。これを　もっていくといい[END]
YOU WANT TO DEFEAT THE CHURCH'S MONSTER DON'T YOU. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS.[END]

もういっけんの　くすりや　には　ひみつが　ある[END]
IT LOOKS LIKE A PHARMACY, BUT IT HAS A SECRET.[END]

このまちの　みんなの　あいそがよくなったら　くすりやへ　いってごらん[END]
TRY GOING IF YOU (WANT TO) IMPROVE THE MOOD OF EVERYONE IN TOWN.[END]

おたより　おまちしていまーす[END]
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.[END]

この　まちの　うごく　みずたまりは　てきじゃないぞ[END]
THE MOVING PUDDLES ON THE STREET ARE NOT ENEMIES.[END]

この　まちの　うごく　みずたまりを　あつめると　なにかおこるらしい[END]
IT APPEARS SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN IF YOU COLLECT THE MOVING PUDDLES.[END]

みずを　くむのに　つかうものはきまっているよね[END]
YOU MUST USE SOMETHING TO SCOOP THE WATER OF COURSE.[END]

さるかに　がっせんを　しっているかい[END]
DO YOU KNOW THE STORY OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB?[END]

じんじゃの　かにの　おばけを　たおすには　くだものが　いる[END]
THERE IS A FRUIT TO DEFEAT THE CRAB MONSTER IN THE SHRINE.[END]

そうこがいの　こんてなには　なにか　ひみつがあるらしい[END]
IT SEEMS THERE'S SOME SECRET TO THE CONTAINERS AT THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT.[END]

がっこうへ　はいるなら　ないふを　かって　いくと　いい[END]
YOU SHOULD BUY A KNIFE IF YOU WANT TO ENTER THE SCHOOL.[END]

6ぴきの　ぬしは　それぞれ　たおすのに　ひつような　あいてむがある[END]
THERE'S A NECESSARY ITEM IN ORDER TO DEFEAT THE 6 GUARDIANS.[END]

たべものは　もっていると　いいことが　あるよ[END]
IT MAY BE GOOD IF YOU HAVE FOOD.[END]

ここは　まちの　まんなか　あたりだよ[END]
THIS IS THE TOWNS CENTRAL AREA.[END]

(Note: Machi should mean town, but it may mean street here in some (all?) instances. I used town most of the time.)

EDIT:
Never mind. I found the "dialog" text:

Code Select Expand

ねえねえ　ふたりとも　りゅっくさっくを　かったら[END]
HEY, WHAT IF YOU TWO BOUGHT BACKPACKS.[END]

おやすみ　みたいね[END]
THEY LOOK TO BE ON BREAK.[END]

はいるのは　やめようよぉ[END]
LET'S NOT GO IN THERE.[END]

せいんとに　なにか　おみやげをかわない[END]
WHY DON'T WE BUY A SOUVENIR FOR THE SAINT.[END]

かんづめや　みたいね　それにしても　たっかーい[END]
THEY APPEAR TO SELL CANNED FOOD. IT'S EXPENSIVE THOUGH.[END]

おもしろそうな　ものを　うっているね[END]
THEY'RE SELLING SOME INTERESTING THINGS.[END]

なんだか　こわくない[END]
I'M NOT AFRAID AT ALL.[END]

もう　たっちゃんどうにかしてよ[END]
JEEZ, PLEASE DO SOMETHING TA-CHAN.[END]

もう　かっちゃんどうにかしてよ[END]
JEEZ, PLEASE DO SOMETHING KA-CHAN.[END]

　きゃっ[END]
EEK![END]

　いたーい[END]
OWW[END]

つかれたよ[END]
I'M POOPED.[END]

あれ　そとに　　　でちゃった[END]
HUH, WE APPEARED OUTSIDE.[END]

るすみたいね[END]
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE OUT.[END]

だれも　いないみたいね[END]
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYONE IS HERE.[END]

あきや　みたいね[END]
IT LOOKS UNOCCUPIED.[END]

だれも　いないみたいね[END]
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYONE IS HERE.[END]

うあー　うみがみえる[END]
WHOA-, I CAN SEE THE SEA.[END]

あいていない　みたいね[END]
IT LOOKS VACANT.[END]

かぎが　かかって　いるみたいね[END]
IT APPEARS TO BE LOCKED.[END]

ごみを　あさって　どうするの[END]
WHAT ARE YOU DOING SEARCHING THE TRASH.[END]

なにか　いいことが　かいてあるの[END]
SOMETHING HELPFUL IS WRITTEN.[END]

でんちゅうに　のぼるの[END]
CLIMB THE TELEPHONE POLE?[END]

いきどまり　みたいね[END]
IT APPEARS TO BE A DEAD END.[END]

そこは　はいれないんじゃない[END]
WE CAN'T GO IN THERE.[END]


Notes:
Script text
0x977-12C0
0x1515C-0x152BC

Title screen text
0x14D30-0x14E16

Character names
0x14E59-0x14F5D

Password screen
0X14F77

[Psyklax]

Dude, you just translated the whole of Touch?! That's awesome. I might just get on with that when I can, using your script. Hey, you couldn't help out with Time Stranger could you? I'm having problems with some lines. Kana only text is a pain. Maybe I should make a new thread in the Script Help section.

[filler]

Dude, you just translated the whole of Touch?! That's awesome. I might just get on with that when I can, using your script.

Yep. That would be sweet.

Hey, you couldn't help out with Time Stranger could you? I'm having problems with some lines. Kana only text is a pain. Maybe I should make a new thread in the Script Help section.

I struggle myself with all kana scripts in places. I'm sure this one could use a look-over, though I did watch this play-through and checked against it for context, but they didn't hit a lot of the text.

I'm happy to check your Time Stranger script. I'd go ahead and post it in Script Help like you were thinking, that way there are even more eyes on it.

[KingMike]

I had dumped City Touch earlier and had begun on it (I got as far as mapping the game as much as I could without actually progressing). From memory, the issue that made me put it aside was figuring out a way to clear the smaller text box after switching screens, as my plan had been to redesign the HUD to have a bigger text box to be reused for "inside" text.

[Psyklax]

So, mini update, with a question.

A few days ago Cavery210 suggested a retranslation of Dragon Quest/Warrior, providing a link to a good-looking script on GameFAQs. Since then I've added a DTE routine to Dragon Warrior and successfully inserted some text from that translation, with space to spare of course. So now it's just a case of copy-pasting the translation into the ROM and calling it a day (although I would like to replace the title screen, obviously). It's amazing that nobody thought of this before, given how little trouble I've had with it.

I do have one question, though, regarding the translation: it uses the same old-style 2nd person pronouns as in the official translation (thou, thee, thy, thine), and I'm not entirely sure I want it. I know he probably used that because it was like that in the official one, but the Japanese doesn't suggest some old-style language as far as I can see, and not all characters talk like that in his translation. So, what do you guys think? I have to email the guy, of course, because I don't want to make the patch without his permission, and ESPECIALLY if I want to remove 'thou' from it. Opinions?

[Pluvius]

I've updated my post above with more games.

filler, thanks for posting the City Adventure Touch script.  I will probably be looking at The Black Bass first myself, though, since that gives me an excuse to do some C programming, which I have even less experience with than 6502 assembly.

Psyklax, I think that would be a "spoony bard" situation.  People probably wouldn't get as angry if you changed the archaic dialogue as they would if Square changed that line, but it's still part of what makes people remember those games so fondly.

[cccmar]

Speaking of the games Pluvius mentioned, I remember trying out Tokoro-san no Mamoru mo Semeru mo and Mito Koumon. The first one has barely any text, whereas the characters in Mito Koumon never seem to shut up. Mito Koumon also had a sequel of sorts, which I think came out in 1988. Not surprising, considering that the show it's likely based off of had more than 1000 episodes, and Mitsukini himself is a very popular/well-known character in Japan.
As to Dragon Quest, I'd say it's up to you. Either way would be fine IMO, although if the archaic speech wasn't there in the first place, there's likely no need to do that.

[rainponcho]

My take would be.. how does the rest of the series go, averaging all the reboots, remakes and modern #d titles?

I can only think of maybe 1 or 2 people who would cry over the loss of 'honorifics' or something of that type. Or changing it back to Roto / Loto. They're likely more concerned about canon and terminology.



I think (thy, thee, thou, thine, ..) sometimes more distracting when it's over-abused. It's so "_formal_" and easily stereotyped. "Flashy" when thrown in just to look fancy (in a cheap way).

https://www.ecclesia.org/truth/thou.html
http://unenlightenedenglish.com/2009/07/thou-thee-thy-thine-ye-shakespearean-english/


Wizardry series uses it more often, even for Empire spellbook names (only Valiant holy religious class).

Maybe anyone who {considers} themself pretty important. Possibly in a demeaning "enlightened educated" way. High position authority.


I'll stop blabbing. Getting more confused.

[KingMike]

The Mito Koumon games have a bit of voiced lines, as I recall. (if in terribly scratchy 8-bit audio )
I suppose it's most likely a fan-translation would just ignore them, though.

[moritasan2040]

So, mini update, with a question.

A few days ago Cavery210 suggested a retranslation of Dragon Quest/Warrior, providing a link to a good-looking script on GameFAQs. Since then I've added a DTE routine to Dragon Warrior and successfully inserted some text from that translation, with space to spare of course. So now it's just a case of copy-pasting the translation into the ROM and calling it a day (although I would like to replace the title screen, obviously). It's amazing that nobody thought of this before, given how little trouble I've had with it.

I do have one question, though, regarding the translation: it uses the same old-style 2nd person pronouns as in the official translation (thou, thee, thy, thine), and I'm not entirely sure I want it. I know he probably used that because it was like that in the official one, but the Japanese doesn't suggest some old-style language as far as I can see, and not all characters talk like that in his translation. So, what do you guys think? I have to email the guy, of course, because I don't want to make the patch without his permission, and ESPECIALLY if I want to remove 'thou' from it. Opinions?

Why not use  Square Enix's official retranslation they made for the smartphone remake?

The dialogue was revized in the transition from FC to mobile, but the translation is top-notch. It impresses me how well-written it is. Here's an example of the differences:

FC: "ああ [HERO]! ゆうしゃロトの ちをひくものよ！　そなたのくるのをまっておったぞ. その むかし ゆうしゃロトが カミから ひかりのたまをさずかり まものたちをふうじこめたという. しかし いずこともなくあらわれた あくまのけしん りゅうおうが そのたまを やみにとざしたのじゃ. このちに ふたたびへいわをっ! ゆうしゃ [HERO]よ! りゅうおうをたおし そのてから ひかりのたまをとりもどしてくれ! わしからの おくりものじゃ! そなたのよこにある たからのはこを とるがよい! そして このへやにいる へいしにきけば たびのちしきを おしえてくれよう. では また あおう! ゆうしゃ [HERO]よ!"

Mobile: "おお! [HERO]! 勇者ロトの 血をひきし者よ! そなたが来るのを 待っておった. その昔 伝説の勇者ロトは 神から　ひかりのたまを さずかり この世界を おおっていた まものたちを封じこめたという. しかし いずこともなく現れた 悪魔の化身 竜王が その玉を　闇にとざしたのじゃ! このままでわ 世界は 闇に のみこまれ やがて ほろんでしまうことらどう. 勇者[HERO]よ! 竜王をたおし その手から ひかりのたまを 取りもどしてくれ! わしからの おくり物じゃ! そこにある宝箱を 開けるがよい. そなたの役に立つ物が 入っておるはずじゃ. そして　この部屋にいる者に たずねれば 旅の心得を 教えてくれよう. では また合おう! 勇者[HERO]よ!」"

NES: "Descendant of Erdrick, listen now to my words. It is told that in ages past, Erdrick fought demons with a Ball of Light. Then came the Dragonlord who stole the precious globe and hid it in the darkness. Now, [HERO], thou must help us recover the Ball of Light and restore peace to our land. the Dragonlord must be defeated. Take now whatever thou may find in these Treasure Chests to aid thee in thy quest. Then speak with the guards, for they have much knowledge that may aid thee. May the light shine upon thee, [HERO]."

GB: "Welcome...... I the distant past... The gods gave Loto the Light Orb. With it, he drove away the monsters that lay siege to the land. But DracoLord, evil incarnate, emerged from nowhere and sealed the sacred orb in darkness. Without it, darkness will swallow the world. Extinction will soon befall us. Brave [HERO]! We implore you to defeat DracoLord and recover the Light Orb. Take what you find in the chests. They should help your quest. Speak to those in my chamber. They will give you worldly advice. Let us meet again, brave [HERO]!"

Mobile: "[HERO]! Scion of the bloodline of Erdrick, hero of legend! Long have I awaited thy coming! In days of yore, thy revered ancestors did receive of the Almighty Goddess the Sphere of Light. By its power was our world rid of the menace which did beset it. Yet, alas, some few years past, there did arise a new threat—the Dragonlord. With his cunning, he did steal away the Sphere of Light from us, plunging the land into darkness once more. Should this state of affairs be suffered to continue, the night must surely take unrelenting hold, and our realm perish. So I say unto thee, [HERO] of the bloodline of heroes, vanquish the accursed Dragonlord, and reclaim the Sphere of Light! In the chests o're yonder wilt thou find items to aid thee on thy quest. Take what thou wilt, with my blessing. Partake thee also of the wisdom of those loyal subjects gathered here in my throne room. Doubt not but that their knowledge will serve thee as well as any shield. May the Goddess guide thee to victory, and return thee unto us ere long, brave [HERO]!"