Final Fantasy NES Trilogy Translations

[Masaru]

Not to veer too off-topic regarding FF4 but you can't "restore" the colors in the battle backgrounds from the GBA version because they were redone completely and there's no reference material to restore it to, but they're still overtly bright because it's a GBA game. It's not pixel art, it's already a downscaled painting/drawing to begin with. And most of the battle backgrounds from the PSP version seem to be based off of the same source paintings/drawings that the GBA version used, just not brightened. Either way the PSP battle BG's is the only thing closest to reference colors for the GBA battle BG's.

With that said I'm not sure if I'll ever mess with FF4 GBA. While working with GBA is convenient for a variety of reasons, the GBA port suffers from lag and the fast pace of the original SNES version is completely ruined in that. Maybe someday it could be fixed.

Thanks for the clarifications, i would love to see a FF4 translation made by you in the future

[91-MPH]

As far as box art is concerned, these are what I use -



Or some alternatives:

Also, don't forget about my box art.

These are for anyone who wants the logos on their covers to be reflective of their times.

[Chaos Rush]

I'm a little bit worried that some people will think that I took "creative liberties" with the script so I might as well get this out of the way now so that people won't question it in the future.

In the Japanese FF1, not all of the text is written in a fantasy-esque way, but some of it is written in a way that kind of gives off a humorous Earthbound-esque vibe; for instance, the description for the Rat's Tail: "なんか くさくないか これ?! すてちまおうか? いーや まずいんじゃない!" ("Gosh this stinks, doesn't it? Why not throw it away? Ughhh it's just so gross!") I'm not saying all of the text is like that, but it's definitely not as 'formal' as later Final Fantasies which makes sense because it was the first game in the series and they were still finding their footing for setting the tone of the franchise.

With that said, the shop owner for weapons/shields kind of gives off a lazy and impatient vibe that was lost in the original US localization (probably due to that really tiny text box for the shop). I don't want people to think I'm taking "creative liberties" so I might as well clear it up now and post some comparison screenshots:




In the Japanese version he actually gets impatient with you when asking about who will hold the weapon (the US localization just had, "Who will take it?"). Anyways I thought about just not mentioning this at all but I figured I might as well point out odd things in the original Japanese text so that people don't assume that I'm taking creative liberties if something is very different from the original US localization that people are used to playing.

With that said, here's some unrelated screenshots:


As you can see I'm focusing on menu and battle text right now, the main story NPC text will be the last part I work on. (And don't worry, I will provide a font patch for the original US font so people can get some form of nostalgia)

[CoolCatBomberMan]

Given that description for the Rat's Tail, it being a symbol of courage makes a lot more sense. Kinda wish the official localizations portrayed that bit a little better.

[Chicken Knife]

I just want to say that I'm extraordinarily intrigued by how different the Japanese text is by what you've demonstrated and how little all previous official and fan versions have done to capture it.

I'm looking forward to playing this. I only regret that it probably won't include the bug fixes that are somewhat necessary for me to enjoy and recommend a version of this game. I really hope someone takes on a complimentary bugfix patch.

[Chaos Rush]

I just want to say that I'm extraordinarily intrigued by how different the Japanese text is by what you've demonstrated and how little all previous official and fan versions have done to capture it.

I'm looking forward to playing this. I only regret that it probably won't include the bug fixes that are somewhat necessary for me to enjoy and recommend a version of this game. I really hope someone takes on a complimentary bugfix patch.

Just out of my own curiosity, would you happen to know where I can find a list of these bugs present in the original game? I've only played through FF1 twice - the GBA version in English and the Famicom version in Japanese, and I've never played any other version. When I played through the FC version the only bug I noticed was that reviving spells don't work in battle and that Tents and Cottages don't save MP if you reset. I'm sure there's more bugs though. In terms of gameplay balance I was expecting it to be a grind fest but it wasn't bad at all, the toughest part was probably getting the first crystal but after that everything was smooth-sailing.

I am interested in making optional bug fix patches, but I want to focus on the script first. Some time ago when I tried fixing the lack of level cap in FF2 (if you max out your stats it'll rollover to 0) and ended up breaking it in the process, so I'm kind of afraid to attempt bug fixes at the moment.

[Chicken Knife]

Just out of my own curiosity, would you happen to know where I can find a list of these bugs present in the original game? I've only played through FF1 twice - the GBA version in English and the Famicom version in Japanese, and I've never played any other version. When I played through the FC version the only bug I noticed was that reviving spells don't work in battle and that Tents and Cottages don't save MP if you reset. I'm sure there's more bugs though. In terms of gameplay balance I was expecting it to be a grind fest but it wasn't bad at all, the toughest part was probably getting the first crystal but after that everything was smooth-sailing.

I am interested in making optional bug fix patches, but I want to focus on the script first. Some time ago when I tried fixing the lack of level cap in FF2 (if you max out your stats it'll rollover to 0) and ended up breaking it in the process, so I'm kind of afraid to attempt bug fixes at the moment.

Thanks for considering this! Here's a web site that seems to capture the main ones.
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_bugs_and_glitches

Astralesper's final fantasy restored incorporated basically all of these, along with Grond's FF before it. Grond's had a more aggressive way of handling the int bug and restored had more relaxed way. Both were a big improvement over the original where the int stat had no impact on magic damage or healing whatsoever. This became most noticeable in the late game when enemies have high magic resistance and all your spells tend to do very low damage because of the stats failing to impact spell accuracy.

The bugs being fixed don't change the overall balance of the game significantly. In all the early versions, it remains like you say. Challenging early game, moderately difficult mid game, and very easy end game (especially with the free equipment spells to cast.) It's just something where when you know certain things are broken, you can't help but be bothered by them--especially with half the spells either not working or not working correctly.

[91-MPH]

will this work on canoe hardware?

[svenge]

will this work on canoe hardware?

They're Famicom/NES games, so Kachikachi is the relevant emulator.  And yes, Chaos Rush's versions of FF2 and FF3 work just fine the NES Classic (and the SNES Classic if you dual-boot). 

The only issue is that FF2 has some stuttering during battles when drawing new text windows, but only when the CRT filter option is selected.  That's not the patch's fault though, as the original Japanese ROM exhibits the exact same behavior.

[Heaven Piercing Man]

I just want to say that I'm extraordinarily intrigued by how different the Japanese text is by what you've demonstrated and how little all previous official and fan versions have done to capture it.

I'm looking forward to playing this. I only regret that it probably won't include the bug fixes that are somewhat necessary for me to enjoy and recommend a version of this game. I really hope someone takes on a complimentary bugfix patch.

Can't we just port the script later?

[Chaos Rush]

Can't we just port the script later?

Yeah I was gonna say I don't see the point in making my own bugfix hack when other finished projects that already fix all those exist. It's part of why I ignored FF1 for a while and started work on FF2 and FF3. Plus, while bugfixes are nice, with anything that affects gameplay balance that much, is it even the same game anymore? Sure it'll provide a more fun experience but to me FF1 is supposed to be an unbalanced buggy game. It's a reflection of history.

Though I will say, the MP not saving when using Tents and Cottages, that's a high priority bug that doesn't directly affect gameplay, and that's probably what I'd be interested in providing an optional patch to fix.

With that said, with my tool (that I'll eventually release but not for a while because I'm working on it as I work on FF1) it would be really easy to port the script over to other versions of the game (though some adjustment of parameters might be necessary). I could even inject the original FF1 US NES script into the Japanese version right now and release a patch tonight if I wanted to lol.

[Cristal]

I've been following this thread but only decided to post now. First of all, thank you for the good work, Chaos Rush. I just played a bit of the new FF3 translation and casually compared some of the lines with the Japanese originals. Everything seems to be on spot, and that's how I think translations should be: with accuracy and professionalism above all else. I think you're very qualified to take on any of the 6 original games.

Personally when playing through a series for the first time, I like to play a game in its original form rather than a remake so than I can see how its gameplay, graphics, and presentation evolved. Going from GBA/PSP FF2 to NES FF3 is a little strange to me, because then FF3 isn't really much of an upgrade. Likewise going from DS FF4 to SNES FF5 is just as strange to me. Of course, once I've beaten a game in its original form then I'll play the remake so I can appreciate the updates it offers.

For example, going from NES FF1 to NES FF2 you get to see how FF2 improved on these areas:
* improved battle HUD with new sliding menu
* expanded battle backgrounds a teeny tiny bit
* final boss actually has its own music
* an improved text engine with line scrolling within text boxes
* a much more character-driven story with twice the dialogue

Sure, the remake versions of FF1 already offer all of that, but then going from remake FF1 to remake FF2, FF2 suddenly upgrades a lot less to FF1.

Likewise, going from NES FF2 to NES FF3 you get:
* the classic "big blue bar at bottom" battle HUD is established for the first time
* improvements to battle HUD in general, such as the ability to view your entire inventory
* auto-targeting is added
* bosses now have boss music too, not just final boss
* major improvements to menus all-around, the original FF3 established the basic menu layout used from FF3-FF9

Again, you lose all these things when going from remake FF2 to either version of FF3, since then FF2 would already have all of these improvements, making FF3 suddenly offer a lot less that's new.
I think you'd be missing the point of doing a FF1 translation, to be honest. Sounds like what you're looking for is a title screen patch for FFR or GFF.

The whole point of translating the Famicom version of FF1 is so that people who want to play the original game with all of its original quirks intact can play it as it is. My projects aren't "definitive edition" hacks, they're just plain and simple translations with no gameplay alterations whatsoever. I would have no idea what kind of "addendum" I would do to a complete hack like FFR or GFF.

Couldn't agree more. And that's one of the reasons I opted to play through the original DQ1~4 (Famicom) titles in chronological order. It was a very satisfying experience, as I could enjoy all the little updates each subsequent title added (especially every newly added monster, which are among my favorite things in those games). This is the only way you can appreciate a series' evolution to the fullest.
____________________________

On the note of bugfixes, I agree that any of them should be strictly optional. Unlike some people are claiming, I don't think the original FF1 (even in its pristine bugged state) is unplayable by any stretch of imagination. Even the original Dragon Quest (DQ1 not DW1), which was released 1 year earlier in a 64kb ROM, isn't unplayable. For anyone who thinks FF1 is really that bad, try to play something like Hoshi wo miru Hito.

That's all I wanted to say. Not sure if I will post much anymore after this, unless if there's something else I really want to add. Chaos Rush, just follow Da_GPer's advice and keep doing what you're doing. It's great stuff, really.

[Chicken Knife]

If the new script were supplied with variant patch options for FF restored and / or grond's version, that does sound like a better solution than reinventing the wheel.

But as to this argument about preserving history in such a strict sense, doesn't that view kind of invalidate the majority of the work that this very community has produced--and even this very script? This was a time when developers had tiny teams and were typically given only one shot at getting a release correct. I know of specific bugs in the early FF's that Sakaguchi became aware of, confronted Nasir the coder about, and was nonchalantly blown off and told that it was good enough. Today, game companies take in feedback, release updates, etc, but not for these classic games. I think we as hackers have a unique and important responsibility to revisit history and offer an alternative where everything was done correctly, from capturing the essence of a script faithfully to delivering what is ultimately a bug free and uncensored product.

[Chaos Rush]

If the new script were supplied with variant patch options for FF restored and / or grond's version, that does sound like a better solution than reinventing the wheel.

But as to this argument about preserving history in such a strict sense, doesn't that view kind of invalidate the majority of the work that this very community has produced? This was a time when developers had tiny teams and were typically given only one shot at getting a release correct. I know of specific bugs in the early FF's that Sakaguchi became aware of that, confronted Nasir the coder about, and was nonchalantly blown off and told that it was good enough. Today, game companies take in feedback, release updates, etc, but not for these classic games. I think we as hackers have a unique and important responsibility to revisit history and offer an alternative where everything was done correctly, from capturing the essence of a script faithfully to delivering a bug free product.

Oh I definitely agree, and I do recall reading that about Nasir when asked why Ultima was bugged in FF2.

I guess my view point is, I'm just here to translate/update scripts, and I think my specialty lies in making programs that can unpack and repack text. I still consider myself rather new to NES hacking and being asked to fix a bunch of bugs seems like a tall order when all I set out to do was to just do translation stuff. With that said, I would love patches that fix all of the bugs in the original FC/NES trilogy, but understand that I'm not this magical NES hacker that can fix anything. Sometimes it feels like people are looking to me as this expert NES hacker when I'm not. (I'm a little drunk right now so excuse me if I'm speaking too brashly)

But also, these bugs have already been fixed in other projects, and I'll see what I can do about them in the future. But for now, I want to focus on the script, and we can talk about the technical stuff afterwards. I know that I have to be a bit more sensitive towards how people feel about FF1 in particular, because unlike the other two in the trilogy, it did have a western release and a lot more people grew up playing it and have strong opinions over it, and I want to respect that.

[Chicken Knife]

Thanks for the honest reply. Look--I'm in pretty much in the same boat myself. I've been involved with creating faithful English retranslations of the early Dragon Warrior/Quest games and figuring out how to get them inserted (with a lot of help). As far as dealing with bugs, I know all about feeling painfully limited with that. So as someone who does similar work I totally understand. I guess with FF games I am wearing the fan hat, hence spouting out all these opinions. You're doing the right thing focusing on one thing at a time. Thanks and apologies if I have been giving you a headache.

[Chaos Rush]

Thanks for the honest reply. Look--I'm in pretty much in the same boat myself. I've been involved with creating faithful English retranslations of the early Dragon Warrior/Quest games and figuring out how to get them inserted (with a lot of help). As far as dealing with bugs, I know all about feeling painfully limited with that. So as someone who does similar work I totally understand. I guess with FF games I am wearing the fan hat, hence spouting out all these opinions. You're doing the right thing focusing on one thing at a time. Thanks and apologies if I have been giving you a headache.

No worries. I appreciate your support for the project, and while I do this for fun as a hobby (and experience), I should still take other people's opinions into consideration. I'm not capable of fixing a bunch of bugs in a NES game with questionable coding to begin with (FF1 has a lot more hardcoded strings than FF2 and FF3 which is a little annoying), but I'm more than capable of porting text from one version of a game to another since I've already written programs that do that.

I recently played through the original Famicom FF1 on my Japan 3DS via Virtual Console, and I enjoyed it for what it is (well actually it sucked that there were no Hi-Potions LOL). I guess what I'm saying is, when I finish my project I hope that people can appreciate FF1 for what it is, but I understand many people already spent their childhoods playing the original FF1, and playing the same buggy game with a marginally better script doesn't provide much value, so because of that I'm willing to provide... options
July 09, 2019, 03:02:13 PM - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

I've been following this thread but only decided to post now. First of all, thank you for the good work, Chaos Rush. I just played a bit of the new FF3 translation and casually compared some of the lines with the Japanese originals. Everything seems to be on spot, and that's how I think translations should be: with accuracy and professionalism above all else. I think you're very qualified to take on any of the 6 original games.

Couldn't agree more. And that's one of the reasons I opted to play through the original DQ1~4 (Famicom) titles in chronological order. It was a very satisfying experience, as I could enjoy all the little updates each subsequent title added (especially every newly added monster, which are among my favorite things in those games). This is the only way you can appreciate a series' evolution to the fullest.
____________________________

On the note of bugfixes, I agree that any of them should be strictly optional. Unlike some people are claiming, I don't think the original FF1 (even in its pristine bugged state) is unplayable by any stretch of imagination. Even the original Dragon Quest (DQ1 not DW1), which was released 1 year earlier in a 64kb ROM, isn't unplayable. For anyone who thinks FF1 is really that bad, try to play something like Hoshi wo miru Hito.

That's all I wanted to say. Not sure if I will post much anymore after this, unless if there's something else I really want to add. Chaos Rush, just follow Da_GPer's advice and keep doing what you're doing. It's great stuff, really.

Somehow I missed this post, in fact some posts don't seem to appear for me right away. Oh well.

Thank you for your comments! I do appreciate it because I've worked really hard to improve my Japanese in recent years, and I've been told as recently as a few months ago that my Japanese sounds like "grammatically correct translated-from-English Japanese" which personally sucks to hear for me because I do have a Japanese background and it's kinda part of my identity and stuff that I've struggled with for years (when you're half-Japanese you're kinda held to a higher standard than others trying to learn the language). I know what I said might seem irrelevant because these are English-language based projects (and why I'm doing this at all), but it means a lot to me simply due to related things I've been told in the past.

With that said, as you play FF3 keep in mind that I really had to cram the text in there and squeeze out every bytes of free space, so the language in that isn't as elegant as I'd like it to be (lots of contractions and trying to get the point across with as little words as possible). I'm proud that I made very few omissions (only very irrelevant stuff, like characters that say "Thank you" twice in the Japanese version say it once in my translation) and was able to retain all of the points expressed by characters, but again some more space would've been nice. I couldn't get DTE compression working in battle screens but maybe in a future update I can figure it out, giving the story text a little more breathing room.

My project plans for now are:

1. Finishing the FF1 translation
2. Addendum patches for Grond's FF and FFRestored
3. Update the FF2 translation since I'm better at compressing text than I was 3 years ago, and do something about that magic menu
4. Update the FF3 translation (hopefully get DTE compression working in-battle and squash a text display bug related to it)
5. Port the FF1 and FF2 translations over to the FF1+2 multicart
6. Maybe do something with FF4 SFC or FF4 GBA

(The FF3 update might come sooner than where I listed it though)

In a couple weeks I'm gonna get busy with IRL work, so these projects will take a while.

[Cyneprepou4uk]

Somehow I missed this post, in fact some posts don't seem to appear for me right away.

First 5 posts or something are moderated before actual posting if user has less number of posts, like when he has just registered. It seems this causes bugs like new (button) posts don't include newbie's post if someone else posted after him

[KillerBob]

Though I will say, the MP not saving when using Tents and Cottages, that's a high priority bug that doesn't directly affect gameplay, and that's probably what I'd be interested in providing an optional patch to fix.

Tents work as they should though. As for Cottages, can we be sure that Cottages doesn't recover your MP before saving your game is actually a bug? Yes, it's stupid but this game have a lot of unusual design choices.
It may very well be a programming mistake, but the fact is that both the Item Menu choice/description and the Japanese manual support this quirk being by design.

Cottage manual description:ふだんは手の平に乗るほど小さくなる魔法の小屋。辺境の地で休むにはぴったりのアイテムです。ＨＰ、ＭＰは大幅に回復します。（ただしＭＰの回復はセーブの後になります。）

[Chaos Rush]

Tents work as they should though. As for Cottages, can we be sure that Cottages doesn't recover your MP before saving your game is actually a bug? Yes, it's stupid but this game have a lot of unusual design choices.
It may very well be a programming mistake, but the fact is that both the Item Menu choice/description and the Japanese manual support this quirk being by design.

Cottage manual description:ふだんは手の平に乗るほど小さくなる魔法の小屋。辺境の地で休むにはぴったりのアイテムです。ＨＰ、ＭＰは大幅に回復します。（ただしＭＰの回復はセーブの後になります。）

I don't have the actual manual but thanks for pointing that out, "ただしＭＰの回復はセーブの後になります。" does clarify that it recovers MP AFTER you save.

Here is the in-game description:

HPかいふく!セーブしてまほうかいふくもする?
えーぼたん....はい  びーぼたん....いいえ

"HP recovered! Save and then recover magic?
A-Button..Yes
B-Button..No"

It does say it'll save first and then recover magic, but it doesn't say it as explicitly as the manual says. Oh well, it's still a weird design choice IMO (but of course such a fix will be OPTIONAL and not forced)

Also I just checked the digital manual for the 3DS VC version and the description for the Cottage has a footnote saying, "ＭＰはセーブをした場合のみ、回復します", which does clarify that it recovers MP after the save. Shame on me for not reading I guess.

[KillerBob]

I don't have the actual manual but thanks for pointing that out...

You're welcome. For reference, here's the item descriptions from the original manual: