Retro Fan Translation thread! Let's talk about Japanese-only games we get to play!

[souio]

Fan translations are probably one of the best things that can happen to retro gamers imo. When a new one, especially an RPG get released, it can almost feel like a new NES/SNES/PS1 game just came out.

Some of my fav games I discovered through fan translations are Front Mission: Gun Hazard (a 20+ hour Run n Gun campaign which is basically a Cybernator RPG?? Yes plz! Beat it 3 times and had as much fun each time), Tales of Phantasia (it has the extremely creepy "F---s like a tiger" line in it, but the rest of the translation is really charming and apparently surprisingly accurate outside of a couple liberties). Also, one of my fav SNES games as a kid was Legend of Mystical Ninja and it wasn't until I got into emulation that I learned there were three SNES sequels to it! So the fact I can play them in English now is amazing!

One thing I'm hyped for is more PC98 games to be released. Being a Japanese only console, there are literally 100s of JRPGs, Visual Novels and ARPGs that are just begging for a translation. I also want the pseudo SNES sequel to Landstalker (which has a female protagonist, which gave it the unfortunate title of "Lady Stalker") translation.

Going back to the PC-98, I'd love to see translations of more Falcom releases, especially since that's where Legend of Heroes got its start and would like to play the original version's pixel arty goodness to see how they compare to the PSP remakes.

How about you, Fami Fam? What are some of your favourite fan translations and games you're glad you've discovered through? What are some upcoming translations you're excited for? What are some Japanese-only games you wish/are hoping get translated?

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

Tales of Phantasia (it has the extremely creepy "F---s like a tiger" line in it,)

yeah, that definitely wasn't in the original text. (though there's still a bit of questionable dialogue that the translation made more noticable) the translation group had a tendacy to "spice up" their dialogue with content like that.
i swear i remember one of the team members that worked on the project apologizing for this decades later, but i'm having trouble finding the post.

 

[Zellia]

Let's get this one out of the way, because it's almost unfair - the fan translation of Mother 3 is an incredible effort that easily passed for an official localisation, and not just because Mato is a professional translator.

 

[UnassumingLocalGuy]

I recently played through the fan translation of Shining Force III. Very high quality work, and must have been quite the undertaking. It’s a shame that these games are trapped on the Saturn because they’re a real hidden gem, an impressive and ambitious strategy RPG told across three games. But it’s great that fans have provided a way for English-speaking players to still experience them.

Last year I played the fan translation of Tales of Destiny Remake too. While the translation was more of a mixed bag there at least in its current state, bordering on unintelligible in some scenes, I was still glad for the effort since I really enjoyed the game overall. It quickly became one of my favorite games in the series thanks to its battle system, puzzle-driven dungeons, and endearing characters.

 

[souio]

I recently played through the fan translation of Shining Force III. Very high quality work, and must have been quite the undertaking. It’s a shame that these games are trapped on the Saturn because they’re a real hidden gem, an impressive and ambitious strategy RPG told across three games. But it’s great that fans have provided a way for English-speaking players to still experience them.

Last year I played the fan translation of Tales of Destiny Remake too. While the translation was more of a mixed bag there at least in its current state, bordering on unintelligible in some scenes, I was still glad for the effort since I really enjoyed the game overall. It quickly became one of my favorite games in the series thanks to its battle system, puzzle-driven dungeons, and endearing characters.

ToD was the very first Tales game I've ever played on PS1 as a kid in the 90s waiting for FF7 to release, so has a special place in my heart (blew my mind that an RPG could have action combat). I tried playing the remake with the patch last year, only for it to crash for every cutscene in PCSX2. It's a shame because it's a project I was literally following since nearly the beginning.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

A few off the top of my head that I enjoyed a heck of a lot:

This game is so. damn. good.
If you are a Fire Emblem fan, it's a must play. New Mystery of the Emblem. The gameplay is so snappy and honestly one of my favourite entries in the series, it's so fun.

Doesn't really need any introductions, it's the original Shin Megami Tensei on SNES/GBA (the GBA version is the way to go nowadays). The game that launched a franchise. It's a bit "archaic" nowadays but it's such an important game with so much thick atmosphere that you can cut with a knife.

Valkyria Chronicles 3:

Secretly the best game in the series. The real tragedy of this series is we got 2, we never got 3 outside Japan. But I am very glad we got the fan translation. Not only is it far better than 2, it's also better than the classic original (graphics aside). My favourite cast in the series, some of the best music, the best story and QoL improvements to 2's systems. One of the best games I've played from the PSP.

 

[Gingerbread Man]

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, a fantastic adventure game from the Metroid / Detective Club team.

The Satellaview Zelda games have been dumped and translated since forever, but more recently, the community went out of their way to fan-dub Ancient Stone Tables and include the prototype Link from the Gigaleak in Zelda 1 remake.

Only a few Love-de-Lic games have been localized, but luckily most of them can be enjoyed with a fan translation

A few off the top of my head that I enjoyed a heck of a lot:

This game is so. damn. good.
If you are a Fire Emblem fan, it's a must play. New Mystery of the Emblem. The gameplay is so snappy and honestly one of my favourite entries in the series, it's so fun.

New Mystery is really great. Nowadays, Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, and Blazing Blade have good/great fan translations too, even with some QoL improvements here and there.

Let's get this one out of the way, because it's almost unfair - the fan translation of Mother 3 is an incredible effort that easily passed for an official localisation, and not just because Mato is a professional translator.

Mato also worked on the GBA version of Mother 1, which is worth checking out. He translated the script from scratch, and it is way better than the one from EarthBoung Beginnings. It also includes an easy mode (on top of the other improvements the GBA version provided). IMHO, it's the definitive version of the game.

MaternalBound is not technically a translation hack but a... back-localization hack, I suppose? It brings EarthBound closer to Mother 2, following Mato's translation notes.

 

[souio]

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, a fantastic adventure game from the Metroid / Detective Club team.

The Satellaview Zelda games have been dumped and translated since forever, but more recently, the community went out of their way to fan-dub Ancient Stone Tables and include the prototype Link from the Gigaleak in Zelda 1 remake.

Only a few Love-de-Lic games have been localized, but luckily most of them can be enjoyed with a fan translation

New Mystery is really great. Nowadays, Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, and Blazing Blade have good/great fan translations too, even with some QoL improvements here and there.


Mato also worked on the GBA version of Mother 1, which is worth checking out. He translated the script from scratch, and it is way better than the one from EarthBoung Beginnings. It also includes an easy mode (on top of the other improvements the GBA version provided). IMHO, it's the definitive version of the game.

MaternalBound is not technically a translation hack but a... back-localization hack, I suppose? It brings EarthBound closer to Mother 2, following Mato's translation notes.

Thanks for that love-de-lic chart! Gives me a few new things to check out.

I feel like romhacking.net just tends to have English translations from a select few translators nowadays and many translations are released independently from there so it can be tough to find new ones.

 

[Zanreo]

Loved the Ace Attorney Investigations 2 translation! Just. a Very Good Game

 

[Megafan96]

Rent a Hero baby!!