[aqualung]

Original message:

Spoiler:

I put this here because I'm not sure where it could fit, as it's not a translation request, but also not a personal project, nor asking about the status of an ongoing translation, etc.

The fact is, lately I decided to start playing the snes rpg Idea no Hi, as I read a post about people using OCR software to read Japanese manga and then using translation services such as DeepL. I tried the same using OCR soft with snes9x and the results have been good enough to play the game from start to finish. I already know a little Japanese so I don't start from zero. Some dialogs I understand them perfectly, and for the rest I OCR them and use DeepL (and also a little of my own common sense ) to get a general understanding of what it says.

And now it comes my question: is anybody currently working seriously in translating Idea? Or at least, has someone translated the script, even if it hasn't even starting to insert it into the rom yet?

Because, if there is already a project going on or someone has at least translated the script, I don't want to re-invent the wheel. I'll play the game on my own and that's all. But if there isn't any yet, I could do a little extra work and save every line translated in a text document, and then upload it for anyone who wants to use it (for instance to properly insert the translation into the game, etc). That way, other people could also benefit from the work I'm doing right now.

Later, my intention would be doing the same with other snes games such as Jungle Wars 2, Madara 2, Verne World, etc (assuming the OCR soft also works well with these other games. So far it's been a little hit-or-miss, to tell the truth. With Idea no Hi, it reads the text fairly well and I only have to do minimal corrections to what the soft manages to grab. But with other games, it has been a disaster).

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UPDATE: link to everything that has been translated so far (from the start to Mikoto joining the group) https://www.dropbox.com/s/4erw6pn57cu00ce/Idea%20no%20hi%20translation%2001.pdf?dl=0

UPDATE 2: two more pdf files. file 02 follows up to the end of Dr. Poe's chapter.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c82j2tn3wp6tufv/Idea%20no%20Hi%20translation%2002.pdf?dl=0

File 03 ends with the party reaching the underworld
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l8obdak2c1ibrqi/Idea%20no%20Hi%20translation%2003.pdf?dl=0

UPDATE 3: Here's the rest of the game script up to the end credits
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xlkzeni7cfj7pny/Idea%20no%20Hi%20translation%2004.pdf?dl=0

[Jorpho]

I tried the same using OCR soft with snes9x and the results have been good enough to play the game from start to finish.

I'm not sure how exactly you've been doing that, but Retroarch has that functionality included these days.

Anyway, I tried Googling and this was on the first page of results:
http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=28568.0

[cccmar]

I think it's probably better to have the script checked by someone with more experience in Japanese if you want to release a translation of any kind, just in case, especially if there's no kanji at all in there. Better safe than sorry and all that. It's more likely you'd find a person who knows Japanese really well and wants to just edit the script, as opposed to translating it from scratch. If it's just for yourself, Retroarch should do the trick.

[aqualung]

I'm not sure how exactly you've been doing that, but Retroarch has that functionality included these days.

Anyway, I tried Googling and this was on the first page of results:
http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=28568.0

Yes, I know of that project (in fact, I even wrote on that thread). But, according to some rumors, I have my doubts that it consist of a serious attempt.

I also know Retroarch but it doesn't use DeepL, which to me is the best way to translate Japanese right now.

What I'm doing is using capture2text on the snes9x window and then paste the results into DeepL (and when the capturing software makes mistakes, I fix them first on NJStar, a Word processor that supports Japanese)

I think it's probably better to have the script checked by someone with more experience in Japanese if you want to release a translation of any kind, just in case, especially if there's no kanji at all in there. Better safe than sorry and all that. It's more likely you'd find a person who knows Japanese really well and wants to just edit the script, as opposed to translating it from scratch. If it's just for yourself, Retroarch should do the trick.

Yes. In fact, once the translated script is uploaded, my idea was for someone more fluent than me in Japanese to give it a look and suggest corrections. DeepL works really well, though. So long as the text has enough kanji, the translation looks accurate enough in most cases. But first I wanted to ask in case someone had translated the script already (some group working in this game in secret, for instance), so as not to do the same work twice, hence my initial post.

[Vehek]

While it probably won't go anywhere given my lack of dedication and skill level, I've looked into Idea no Hi again lately. I started a ROM map on DataCrystal, if you want a bit more information on text data offsets than I gave back then. (For one thing, the dialogue is actually stored over multiple non-contiguous banks.)

[aqualung]

While it probably won't go anywhere given my lack of dedication and skill level, I've looked into Idea no Hi again lately. I started a ROM map on DataCrystal, if you want a bit more information on text data offsets than I gave back then. (For one thing, the dialogue is actually stored over multiple non-contiguous banks.)

Sorry, I didn't see there had been a new reply to my post. Any further info about the game is appreciated, although it isn't my intention to insert the script back into the game as I'd have to learn snes cpu Assembler, how to expand roms, relocate pointers, decrypt text if needed, etc and that's too much for my so-so brainpower.

I only intend to play these snes games I was craving to play for long and, in the meantime, leave some text files with their scripts dumped and, if possible, with a barebones English translations to be revised if anyone with the appropriate skills wants to insert them into its respective games.

Right now I'm half-way into Idea no Hi (I'm in Jad's chapter,

Spoiler:

trying to infiltrate into the museum to steal the diamond

).

I've dumped almost every line of dialog up to that point in the game into a text file and started pasting my interpretation of DeepL results (i've had to filter and modify several things because sometimes, DeepL can come up with some quite messed up things,  ). For instance, this small pearl from when I reached Mexico (the 12 year old in me is still giggling  ):

https://imgur.com/gallery/zoSPrue
October 01, 2020, 02:40:11 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)Well, I'm ready to share what I have "translated" (if it may be called so) of the Idea script so far.

I was using a Google Docs file originally, but sharing it meant giving a few of my info online (my personal gmail address, for instance) and given how things are with people wanting to raid your place carrying pitchforks over a simple word in a translation, I'd rather not do it. So I've downloaded the Google Doc in PDF format and have uploaded into a newly created Dropbox in which I registered using  a dummy mail account I use for spam and such things.

The file covers from the beginning of the game up to when Mikoto joins the group after

Spoiler:

being cursed in the air-raid shelter

. I might have missed a few lines here and there because I haven't talked to every npc exhaustively. I've also left out a sidequest that consists in

Spoiler:

talking to Rinko's dead parents in a factory in Fukushima.

Here's the link to the file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4erw6pn57cu00ce/Idea%20no%20hi%20translation%2001.pdf?dl=0

The translation has been made using DeepL and my barely JLPT N4 Japanese level, so don't expect a Tom, Aishsha (nor any other well known translator) level of accuracy, I'm nowhere near their league. In fact, I've left a few things I couldn't made sense of with "TO DO" tags to give it another look later or ask for help.

By the way, if there REALLY are other people working in this game even if it's in secret (just throw me a PM, I'm not going to spill the beans), now is a good moment to say it, before I continue further

[aqualung]

Well, time for another update, this time it's 2 files (I've updated the first post to add the links). I'm near the ending, so hopefully the next file will be the last.

This game's plot is really curious and also oddly prophetic for the time the game was made

Spoiler:

(there's a virus that spread throughout the world, a wall that separates Mexico from the US, albeit there's also another one separating the US from Canada...)

. It's almost as bizarre as Earthbound but in a little more somber way. It also reminds of G-O-D a little, with the main character having psychic powers, etc.

I have to warn that there are a few things that might trigger some people. There's one scene of violence against a woman, one npc who says a few not very nice things about men who like cross-dressing, and two confronted cities of only men and only women who talk shit of the opposite gender. I've tried to tone-down them a little to adapt to these new times we're living in. Nevertheless, if someone decides to use these files to attempt a real translation of this game, feel free to modify anything that might sound out of place, oddly phrased (my native language isn't English) or is innacurately translated (I've relied on DeepL to grasp the general meaning of every dialog and then I've made slight changes to make it sound more human and natural). I've also added a few "TO DOs" when I've felt unsure or just couldn't make sense of an expression or a full dialog.

Well, I hope some people find all this work useful someday. Thanks for putting up with me 

[aqualung]

Well, here's the last part. I'll update the first post as well, adding this last link.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xlkzeni7cfj7pny/Idea%20no%20Hi%20translation%2004.pdf?dl=0

As I've said, it's mostly a dialog translation, so that means item names and such are not translated unless they're relevant plot items. There's also some sidequests I haven't done, like the

Spoiler:

"talking to Rinko's dead parents" I commented before, and a village full of perverts which you can find in the underworld if you use the bulldozer to explore a few caves.

Maybe I'll try and translate these parts someday if I feel like it, but for now I've focused on this game toomuch and I'd like to take a brief rest and then start another untranslated snes game ("Jungle Wars 2" or "Shin Momotaro Densetsu").

I've certainly liked Idea no Hi, it has a fairly interesting plot albeit some game mechanics might be a bit cumbersome (the limited inventory space and the necessity to change your clothes often to avoid receiving damage). I hope someone tries to insert a translation into the game someday (be it mine or another one), as it's a game worth being played.

[Frostleaf]

So, I read the translation... Shouldn't 雷岩 be translated as Kaminariiwa, rather than Raigan?

[aqualung]

So, I read the translation... Shouldn't 雷岩 be translated as Kaminariiwa, rather than Raigan?

Hi, Frostleaf, thanks for taking a look at the translation. I used Kurisus's playthrough and review of this game on his blog, as a base for name characters, etc, and that's how he named the sumo wrestler character, so I just stuck with it (minimum effort's law, hehehe). Perhaps it should be read as you say, this I don't know. I read somewhere that the kunyomi reading is commonly used regarding names, but I suppose there might be exceptions, though. So, to tell the truth, I don't know if Raigan is correct or it should be named Kaminariiwa instead. I just went on with Raigan.

[Trickless]

So, I read the translation... Shouldn't 雷岩 be translated as Kaminariiwa, rather than Raigan?

The hiragana in the game manual is らいかん, so 'Raigan' is correct: https://note.com/kojiaihara/n/n3ee2f2e7f6f4

[Frostleaf]

I see... Anyway, I think I've got something that may help: https://www.mediafire.com/file/1feb3u0wyxcobtg/
I made a lot of saves states during a very old playthrough (mostly during boss fights and important cutscenes), and I think these may be of help to you. Open the game with Zsnes. The name I gave to Kamekichi is gibberish, don't mind about it.

There's also this FAQ which has almost all the names translated: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/snes/571054-idea-no-hi/faqs/31730 (just ignore how the author called Koji ''Corge'' lol)
On a side note: I dunno if you noticed, but Idea's four generals' names come from democracy, equality, peace, and justice. The faq translates their names as Demoku, Equale, Piizu, and Jasuti (which sound way cooler in my opinion, and Peace should be changed since it kinda stands out between the generals' names).

[aqualung]

I see... Anyway, I think I've got something that may help: https://www.mediafire.com/file/1feb3u0wyxcobtg/
I made a lot of saves states during a very old playthrough (mostly during boss fights and important cutscenes), and I think these may be of help to you. Open the game with Zsnes. The name I gave to Kamekichi is gibberish, don't mind about it.

There's also this FAQ which has almost all the names translated: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/snes/571054-idea-no-hi/faqs/31730 (just ignore how the author called Koji ''Corge'' lol)
On a side note: I dunno if you noticed, but Idea's four generals' names come from democracy, equality, peace, and justice. The faq translates their names as Demoku, Equale, Piizu, and Jasuti (which sound way cooler in my opinion, and Peace should be changed since it kinda stands out between the generals' names).

Hmmmm, that's a lot of nice info. The four generals names' meanings flew over my head (I imagined Piizu would mean Peace, but didn't make me realize that the names of the other generals were also related to similar concepts of justice). It's kind of ironic judging how tings turn out towards the end of the game and the things that those four "fighters of justice" end up doing. For example

Spoiler:

how Demok kills Poe's son in cold blood at the lab and then makes his father believe that it was the mob of angry citizens who assaulted the lab the ones who killed him.

Thanks a lot to both you and Trickless for all the new info, links, etc. It'll sure come in handy to whoever decides to take the challenge of inserting the dialogs back into the rom (I wish I had the skills to do it myself and make this game at least somewhat playable, but sadly it's not the case).

[Frostleaf]

Yeah, the 4 kings do things that pretty much go against the meaning of their names (tho iirc, Jasuti isn't really explored since he only shows up in the final dungeon, but his home village can be visited optionally... I never reached that part).

This was one of my childhood's games, I hope someday the game will be fully English-patched... I appreciate your efforts.

The game's director/artist is quite active on Instagram and Twitter, so if anyone wants to ask him questions about the game, you can find him as @Kojiaihara.