Translations of early Famicom games

[KingMike]

If you're not translating the version as it is presented, then you're not really re-translating it. You're changing it to something else.
Also, wow that would be a lot of text for an NES game if everything is wordy like that.

[Spinner 8]

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]!"

Man, I didn't realize how much the GB translation sucks until you put them all side by side like that

[Psyklax]

that would be a lot of text for an NES game if everything is wordy like that.

It would, though after getting the DTE working it might still fit. Though I think most gamers would agree that brevity is the soul of wit, and such a wordy translation is more pain than pleasure.

[moritasan2040]

The dialogue seems to be taken from the revised dialogue of the Super NES remake. Most likely the changes are only for the more important scenes and aren't all that frequent. But in any case, it wouldn't be too hard to modify the mobile version's translation to better match the famicom version's dialogue, and even make it less wordy. If not, then I would have to recommend the Game Boy version's translation since it seems to be far better written than both the NES translation and the fan-translation that was linked to.

Below is a comparison of Erdrick/Loto's message to his descendant. However, I modified the mobile version's translation in two ways: removed the last two lines which was added by the Super NES version, and made it slightly less wordy.

NES: "I am Erdrick and thou art my descendant. Three items were needed to reach the Isle of Dragons, which is south of Brecconary. I gathered these items, reached the island, and there defeated a creature of great evil. Now I have entrusted the three items to three worthy keepers. Their descendants will protect the items until thy quest leads thee to seek them out. When a new evil arises, find the three items, then fight!"

GB: "My name is Loto. To my descendant... To reach the demonic island that can be seen from Tantegel, three magic implements were needed. I used them to cross the sea and defeat the lord of the demons. I will entrust the three mystic items with three sages. Their descendants will guard them. When evil returns to that island, collect the items and fight it. The three sages are waiting. It is your duty to go, my progeny!

Mobile: "I am Erdrick. Here me well, descendant... If you would reach the evil island visible from Tantegel's Shore, you will require the three sacred artefacts. Gather them, and you may yet cross to that accursed isle, and destroy the source of all evil, as I , too, did so long ago. Before my passing, I entrusted the three objects to three great sages. If the fates have been kind, their descendants guard them still. When evil rules the ill-starred isle once more... Gather the hallowed triad, and strike a blow for the cause of light."

[KingMike]

Man, I didn't realize how much the GB translation sucks until you put them all side by side like that

The GBC version sounds like a more literal translation than the others.
I've guessed it was a deliberate choice to have less text since the GBC is probably the platform with the least pleasant screen for extended reading on. (and the lowest resolution)

[moritasan2040]

The Game Boy version's translation doesn't really have any less text than the NES translation, and it's actually LESS literal than the NES translation.

[Psyklax]

Okay, since it's my thread I think I need my own opinion on all this discussion.

My feeling is, if you want a liberal interpretation of the original Dragon Quest, you have Dragon Warrior on NES and Dragon Warrior I & II on GBC. Personally, I'd rather go LITERAL than LIBERAL, in that case, and clearly the fan translation on GameFAQs is a very literal translation indeed - aside from all the thous and thines. So personally, I'd go for that. Since you mention that there are other releases games with English translations, I'd say "well play them, then".

[Pluvius]

Added a few more games to my post.

On the Black Bass front, I have the script dumped and translated.  There's only one thing that I could use some insight on.  There are five areas in the game to fish, and they have names that are puntastic versions of real Japanese places.  The first four I got pretty easily but I'm stumped on the fifth one.

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あしなこ --> Ashinako --> Ashinoko (Lake Ashi)
かわくちこ --> Lake Kawakuchi --> Lake Kawaguchi
やまそとこ --> Lake Yamasoto (outside the mountain) --> Lake Yamanaka (inside the mountain)
ひ゜わこ --> Lake Piwa --> Lake Biwa
けはらた゛む --> Kehara Dam --> ???

The most well-known dam in Japan is Kurobe Dam, but I don't get the connection.  If no one here knows it, I'll just translate it directly.  It's a little thing that I wouldn't even bother starting a thread in Script Help for, I just thought I'd bring it up.  I should be starting the rest of the hacking process in a few days.

[cccmar]

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.

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.

Filler translated Zoids already - you can find the script here: http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=24161.0, so with this one it's basically mostly a matter of hacking and perhaps some script revision.

SWAT is supposedly one of the buggiest Famicom games ever, which is why it's considered to be a terrible kusoge in Japan. It has tons of gamebreaking bugs - for instance, the game can randomly freeze at the end of each mission, after you kill all the terrorists, and the chance of that happening is pretty high. I think Pennywise looked into this one...?

I think someone is working on the Light of Indra. I noticed a video playthrough of that game in English somewhere online, just didn't look too much into it, so as not to spoil the game for myself. So, it's likely going to be finished at some point too, hopefully soon enough!

[moritasan2040]

Okay, since it's my thread I think I need my own opinion on all this discussion.

My feeling is, if you want a liberal interpretation of the original Dragon Quest, you have Dragon Warrior on NES and Dragon Warrior I & II on GBC. Personally, I'd rather go LITERAL than LIBERAL, in that case, and clearly the fan translation on GameFAQs is a very literal translation indeed - aside from all the thous and thines. So personally, I'd go for that. Since you mention that there are other releases games with English translations, I'd say "well play them, then".

I see. It's just that...I feel like the fan translation on GameFAQs is just as wonky as the official NES translation, so there's almost no point. With translations like "It is said that long ago the Hero Loto was given a Ball of Light from God and sealed away monsters.", you've got a missing comma after 'ago', and the "sealed away monsters" part isn't conveyed as something he could do BECUZ of the ball of light. I would even suggest simply uncensoring the original translation to make it easier for yourself, but you, of course, can do as you please, as I will not mind substituting one wonky translation for another. The only thing that matters to me is the removal of that ugly "Dragon Warriors" logo. Haha.

Also, thank you for work so far. Several games I wanted translations for, you have done.

[filler]

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けはらた゛む --> Kehara Dam --> ???

Looks like this is referencing Ikehara Dam. https://fishingvision.tv/video/d-impact/fishing-ikehabara-dam.php

http://damnet.or.jp/cgi-bin/binranA/enAll.cgi?db4=1565

[Psyklax]

you've got a missing comma after 'ago', and the "sealed away monsters" part isn't conveyed as something he could do BECUZ of the ball of light. I would even suggest simply uncensoring the original translation to make it easier for yourself, but you, of course, can do as you please, as I will not mind substituting one wonky translation for another. The only thing that matters to me is the removal of that ugly "Dragon Warriors" logo. Haha.

Forgive me for saying, but calling it a wonky translation because of the omission of a comma here or there is rather uncharitable to say the least. Having compared it to the original Japanese it looks pretty faithful to me, which as I said is the whole point. I just don't see why to take the script from a remake when you can just play the remake.

Of course I want to replace the logo with the Dragon Quest one, and I'm in the process of figuring out how it's done in the code.

[Pluvius]

Well, we sure got Indra no Hikari off of the list quickly enough.

Looks like this is referencing Ikehara Dam. https://fishingvision.tv/video/d-impact/fishing-ikehabara-dam.php

http://damnet.or.jp/cgi-bin/binranA/enAll.cgi?db4=1565

Yeah, that looks about right, comparing Google Maps to the in-game map.  Thanks for the help.

[moritasan2040]

Forgive me for saying, but calling it a wonky translation because of the omission of a comma here or there is rather uncharitable to say the least. Having compared it to the original Japanese it looks pretty faithful to me, which as I said is the whole point. I just don't see why to take the script from a remake when you can just play the remake.

I'm not saying that just from the lack of commas, tho; It's also full of run-on sentences, robotic dialog, and things that don't make sense ("If you took all the treasure boxes, there should have been a key inside.". I know it doesn't say "took FROM" in Japanese, but they have a different way of speaking than us.)... But I digress. Good luck with the title screen hacking. I can only assume it'll be tough since you KNOW someone would've done this long ago if they could've. :O

[Psyklax]

I'm not saying that just from the lack of commas, tho; It's also full of run-on sentences, robotic dialog, and things that don't make sense ("If you took all the treasure boxes, there should have been a key inside.". I know it doesn't say "took FROM" in Japanese, but they have a different way of speaking than us.)... But I digress. Good luck with the title screen hacking. I can only assume it'll be tough since you KNOW someone would've done this long ago if they could've. :O

You know, now that I've got the text sorted out, I might as well do several patches, one for each translation. That way everyone's happy!

As for the title screen, I don't think it'll be difficult at all, I just need time to look into it, because I'm a bit busy with life right now.

And on another topic, I've finally gone through each game from 1987 and filled out my list! Let's take a look!

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Arabian Dream Scheherazade Localised - The Magic of Scheherazade
Artelius No
Attack Animal Gakuen Yes - PentarouZero
Batsu & Terii - Makyou no Tetsujin Race Yes - Zynk Oxhyde
Bio Senshi Dan - Increaser Tono Tatakai Yes - Abstract Crouton Productions
Black Bass, The No
Booby Kids No
Chester Field - Ankoku Shin e no Chousen Yes - Aeon Genesis (inc)
City Adventure Touch - Mystery of Triangle No
Digital Devil Monogatari - Megami Tensei Yes - EsperKnight, Stardust Crusaders
Dragon Scroll - Yomigaerishi Maryuu Yes - KingMike
Erunaaku no Zaihou Yes - MrRichard999
Esper Bouken Tai Yes - Aishsha
Family Jockey Yes - MrRichard999
Family Mahjong No
Family Tennis Yes - Goldenband
Family Trainer 4 - Jogging Race Yes - MrRichard999, Jink640
Family Trainer 5 - Meiro Daisakusen No
Family Trainer 8 - Totsugeki! Fuuun Takeshi Jou Yes - MrRichard999, AgentOrange
Ge Ge Ge no Kitarou 2 - Youkai Gundan no Chousen Yes - Aishsha, Djinn
Getsufuu Maden Yes - RPGe
Ginga no Sannin No
Golf Club Birdie Rush Yes - MrRichard999
Haja no Fuuin No
Hana no Star Kaidou Yes - GAFF Translations
Herakles no Eikou - Toujin Makyou Den Yes - DvD Translations
Hi no Tori - Houou Hen - Gaou no Bouken Yes - Stardust Crusaders
Higemaru Makaijima - Nanatsu no Shima Daibouken Yes - Snark
Hikari no Senshi Photon - The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth Yes - KingMike
Hokkaidou Rensa Satsujin - Okhotsk ni Kiyu No
Hoshi wo Miru Hito No
Ide Yousuke Meijin no Jissen Mahjong No
Igo - Kyuu Roban Taikyoku Yes - Helly, MrRichard999, Proveaux
Ikinari Musician No
Indora no Hikari No
Jikuu Yuuden - Debias Yes - Gil Galad
JJ - Tobidase Daisakusen Part 2 Yes - DvD Translations
Jongbou No
Karaoke Studio No
Karaoke Studio Senyou Cassette Vol 1 No
Kyonshiizu 2 No
Labyrinth Yes - Suicidal Translations
Law of the West No
Lost Word of Jenny Yes - Zynk Oxhyde
Lupin Sansei - Pandora no Isan Yes - Vice Translations
Magnum Kiki Ippatsu - Empire City - 1931 No
Majou Densetsu II - Daimashikyou Galious Yes - Manipulate
Mezase Pachi Pro - Pachio-kun No
Minelvaton Saga - Ragon no Fukkatsu Yes - Aishsha
Mirai Shinwa Jarvas Yes - Stardust Crusaders, Aishsha
Momotarou Dentetsu - Peach Boy Legend Yes - KingMike
Morita Shougi No
Nangoku Shirei!! Spy vs. Spy Yes - Pacnsacdave
Nekketsu Kouha - Kunio-kun Localised - Renegade
Outlanders No
Pocket Zaurus - Juu Ouken no Nazo Yes - DvD Translations
Pro Yakyuu - Family Stadium '87 No
Romancia Yes - DvD Translations
Saint Seiya - Ougon Densetsu Yes - KingMike
Sanma no Mei Tantei No
Spelunker 2 - Yuusha e no Chousen Yes - Stardust Crusaders
Star Wars (Namco) Yes - Gil Galad
SWAT - Special Weapons and Tactics No
Taito Grand Prix - Eikou e no License Yes - MrRichard999
Takahashi Meijin no Bugutte Honey No
Tenka no Goikenban - Mito Koumon No
Tetsudou Ou - Famicom Boardgame Yes - MrRichard999, Proveaux, Jink640
Tokoro San no Mamoru mo Semeru mo No
Tsuppari Oozumou No
Uchuusen - Cosmo Carrier No
Valis - The Fantastic Soldier Yes - Satsu, Sliver X
Woody Poko Yes - Sqpat
Yamamura Misa Suspense - Kyouto Ryuu no Tera Satsujin Jiken No
Youkai Kurabu Yes - Stardust Crusaders
Zoids - Chuuou Tairiku no Tatakai No
Zombie Hunter Yes - KingMike


Well, there's a long and winding road to go here. Given how little there is to finish in 1986, and nothing (practically) to finish in 1983-85, the amount of untranslated games in 1987 is a bit daunting. Some of these have already been mentioned in the thread, but I just wanted to leave this here for all to look at. If you know of any errors on my part, let me know of course. In case anyone's just joining in, I've only included games which came out on Famicom and either a) have no complete translation (official or unofficial), or b) have an official translation but the graphics were significantly changed to make it a localisation rather than a straight translation. Anything that was released outside Japan with no major changes doesn't make the list (a different title screen doesn't count).

There are some easy ones in there, though, such as ones that only need a new title screen. I might have a go at some of them. The more wordy ones will have to wait since I've got Time Stranger on my plate and don't fancy another big translation right now. Keep up the good work, everyone!

ps. I've noted Chester Field as being "(inc)", because Gideon didn't bother to change the Vic Tokai logo or the game's subtitle at the beginning. It may be 15 years old, but still... sounds like a job for me...

[filler]

Thanks for all the work on this list and Dragon Quest!

Incidentally, I dumped the script for Outlanders a couple of nights ago and I've started translating it.

It's a little odd since it stores its script lines alphabetically, and uses some segments in multiple lines. It makes it a challenge to translate and probably to hack. It uses no punctuation, which is how it can get by with reusing some stuff.

[KingMike]

Aside from terrible patch for Stargazers (Hoshi wo Miruhito)...

I suppose it should be noted my Saint Seiya patch is based on the official French translation (as was the other group that did a second translation a few years after mine).

Both Bio Senshi Dan and Makaijima do have official localizations, though not officially released. ROMs have been released for both (Bashi Bazook and Makai Island)
(the official localization of Makaijima put the dialogue text on a separate screen since the JP text used sprites and as such would have been limited to an unusable 8 characters per line limit without some non-trivial hacking work)

[goldenband]

Aside from terrible patch for Stargazers (Hoshi wo Miruhito)...

Well, the patch starts out well. But the game itself becomes unplayable before long, sadly, given all the garbage/random text that rapidly takes over.

(Yes, I know it's a famous kusoge, but I was looking forward to checking it out when I played it for a couple hours a while back.)

Was it a technical roadblock that you encountered, or did you just move on to other things?

@Psyklax: I appreciate all the positive energy and hard work you bring to this! I'm guessing some of those baseball & other sports games might be low-hanging fruit, at least.

[cccmar]

KingMike has just released the patch for Indora no Hikari, so that one's done - you can cross it off the list.

Haja no Fuuin came out in English on SMS, so it's likely a similar situation to Mississipi Satsujin Jiken. Similarly, as Pluvius mentioned, Law of the West is also available in English. Also, is there any Japanese in Booby Kids? I don't remember this game well enough to be sure, but I believe there wasn't any... unless you count the bit on the title screen, which is just "Booby Kids" in Japanese.

Other than that, the list seems fine to me.

[KingMike]

Supposedly the SMS version of Haja no Fuuin (Miracle Warriors) is a significantly enhanced port, so the scripts may not be similar.

Stargazers was missing translations of most of the battle text. But I think I should redo the script insertion as well. I did rewriting probably on WD's level with that one. I should still have the unaltered script around.