Pondering English Fan Translations of Japanese Video Games.
Jan 11, 2019 13:52:05 GMT -5
Post by toei on Jan 11, 2019 13:52:05 GMT -5
Just a few comments about some games that have been mentioned already:
I love Treasure of the Rudras. I'd rate is as the third best Square SNES release, behind Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6, and as one of the best fan-translated games, along with Mother 3. Both are 9s to me. And Holy Umbrella, a light-hearted mix between top-down towns and side-scrolling platform levels, is just excellent.
Glory of Heracles III probably had the best story in any Japanese RPG when it was released in 1992. It starts a bit slow, but uses Greek mythology and the pantheon to do some really great stuff in the end. Gameplay is standard Dragon Quest-style, but it's much more story-intensive ultimately. I'm a plot twist snob - I feel like most twists in videogames end up being either predictable or completely stupid - but this game has my favorite plot twist ever. I don't want to overhype it, but it's a really well-written game. Glory of Heracles II is also one of the few NES RPGs that doesn't suck, though the story isn't as developed (obviously) and it feels more like a legit DQ offshoot.
Xak III is a really solid, classic-style action RPG, but the anime cutscenes are NOT subbed. You will need to get the text file translation (I think it's on gamefaqs? Or somewhere) and follow along. Solid 8. Fast-paced story, fun gameplay.
FEDA is very good, like a more adult Shining Force (so like SF3, basically, but not as long), except the fan translation had some garbage inserted into it by the usual culprit at Dynamic Designs. There's only maybe 3 or 4 instances that I remember, and you'll probably notice them for how out-of-character and rabidly political they are (the one that stands out the most for me was the NPC conversation that triggers a long rant against neutral countries in wars - this was around the Irak war, so wildbill just had to get his anger at France out in a '90s fantasy Japanese RPG), but it's still well worth playing.
Silva Saga is one of the better NES RPGs. What stands out about it is how fast it plays. There are a lot of dungeons, but they're all short and straightforward, and the battles are fast, so the game just progresses at an unusually rapid pace. Otherwise, it's standard. I expected Silva Saga II to have a more elaborate story since it's on the SFC, but the fan-translator told me at the time that the script was around the same size. I played through it, and remember almost nothing about it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special. There are literally dozens of SNES RPGs you should play before that one.
People talk about Chaos World as if it's special, but I don't know why. I played it for a few hours and it seemed like the average boring and empty NES RPG to me.
Mystic Ark is uneven. The chapters vary wildly in style, setting and quality; the more combat-intensive ones get tedious, while the more out there ones are really cool. Very intriguing setup and ending. I'd recommend it overall; just know that the first chapter is not one of the best.
I love Treasure of the Rudras. I'd rate is as the third best Square SNES release, behind Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6, and as one of the best fan-translated games, along with Mother 3. Both are 9s to me. And Holy Umbrella, a light-hearted mix between top-down towns and side-scrolling platform levels, is just excellent.
Glory of Heracles III probably had the best story in any Japanese RPG when it was released in 1992. It starts a bit slow, but uses Greek mythology and the pantheon to do some really great stuff in the end. Gameplay is standard Dragon Quest-style, but it's much more story-intensive ultimately. I'm a plot twist snob - I feel like most twists in videogames end up being either predictable or completely stupid - but this game has my favorite plot twist ever. I don't want to overhype it, but it's a really well-written game. Glory of Heracles II is also one of the few NES RPGs that doesn't suck, though the story isn't as developed (obviously) and it feels more like a legit DQ offshoot.
Xak III is a really solid, classic-style action RPG, but the anime cutscenes are NOT subbed. You will need to get the text file translation (I think it's on gamefaqs? Or somewhere) and follow along. Solid 8. Fast-paced story, fun gameplay.
FEDA is very good, like a more adult Shining Force (so like SF3, basically, but not as long), except the fan translation had some garbage inserted into it by the usual culprit at Dynamic Designs. There's only maybe 3 or 4 instances that I remember, and you'll probably notice them for how out-of-character and rabidly political they are (the one that stands out the most for me was the NPC conversation that triggers a long rant against neutral countries in wars - this was around the Irak war, so wildbill just had to get his anger at France out in a '90s fantasy Japanese RPG), but it's still well worth playing.
Silva Saga is one of the better NES RPGs. What stands out about it is how fast it plays. There are a lot of dungeons, but they're all short and straightforward, and the battles are fast, so the game just progresses at an unusually rapid pace. Otherwise, it's standard. I expected Silva Saga II to have a more elaborate story since it's on the SFC, but the fan-translator told me at the time that the script was around the same size. I played through it, and remember almost nothing about it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special. There are literally dozens of SNES RPGs you should play before that one.
People talk about Chaos World as if it's special, but I don't know why. I played it for a few hours and it seemed like the average boring and empty NES RPG to me.
Mystic Ark is uneven. The chapters vary wildly in style, setting and quality; the more combat-intensive ones get tedious, while the more out there ones are really cool. Very intriguing setup and ending. I'd recommend it overall; just know that the first chapter is not one of the best.