Version 1.5 seems to be more or less the same patch from back in the ago, save for a some alleged bug fixes, some unspecified “various improvements,” and a title logo which has been unnecessarily updated to resemble a 2005 GBA port rather than the 1995 original. Regarding bugs, I’m not sure if anyone else has watched the whole opening story sequence only to get frozen on the ‘choose player’ screen, but it would appear that a bug has, in fact, been introduced. The translation doesn’t do anyone much good if it has to be skipped in order to play the game.

The second flaw has been present since the creation of the patch, which is an additional, anachronistic opening screen we’re forced to pass through in order to play the game. This screen is unskippable until it’s made absolutely sure the player has seen who’s responsible for the programming and translation. In case you forgot said screen within the span of one second, the patch reminds you again with an altered copyright screen. One has to question the motivation for and function of these additions. Hypothetically, if someone were to port this translation into their own patch, exactly what legal action could be taken by the “copyright” holders of the translation? These additions seem to serve no function other than self-indulgence and only diminish the experience for the player right on startup, forcing us to wait for an additional opening screen to become skippable. (Not even the creators of the game did that.)

This game is quite playable in Japanese. If you’re not a fan of bugs, unskippable opening screens, and seeing anachronistic, faux copyrights next to a hacker handle on startup, I’d recommend simply enjoying the 1995 original.