Major Release ~ Royal Stone
Royal Stone
# Posted on Dec. 12, 2013, 1:35 a.m. by Gideon Zhi

I have an awful lot to do today, so I'm going to keep this short. Royal Stone is done! It's a neat strategy/RPG for the Game Gear, and it's the sequel to Crystal Warriors if you're familiar with that. It's a dramatic improvement over its predecessor and is easily one of the prettiest games on the platform. Enjoy!

Major Release ~ Ys 5, At Long Last
Ys V - Kefin, Lost City of Sand
# Posted on Nov. 27, 2013, 4:01 p.m. by Gideon Zhi

I must admit, I am at a loss for words writing this. Ys 5 has been a trial in so many ways and it has been in the works for so long that I don't feel like I could do it justice in a one- or two-paragraph blurb. As such, I will let the translation speak for itself: it is without issue (that I know of), and includes some fairly substantial under-the-hood modifications to data storage and menu structures. Despite how bumpy the road has been, or perhaps because of it, I am intensely proud of this release. Enjoy!

As a further note, earlier this week XSeed Games released Memories of Celceta for the PS Vita, and their Ys releases on Steam are currently on sale. If you enjoy Ys 5 and haven't bought any other titles in the series, please give XSeed your business. In celebration I've updated the translation of Ys 4 Mask of the Sun, of which Memories of Celceta is a remake. This update brings some of the terminology in line with XSeed's version and includes various other fixes to the text, including the nasty glitchy too-long strings that erased bits of the frame.

Lastly, I've updated TwinBee Rainbow Bell Adventure with a minor fix to the Battle mode screen.

I'm going to attempt to keep up a bi-weekly release schedule for the foreseeable future, but I don't like to make any hard-and-fast promises for something like this unless I've already got something very nearly ready for release. I think I can manage it for at least two more, though!

In any case, Ys 5 is now available. Enjoy!

Major Release ~ TwinBee Rainbow Bell Adventure Launches
TwinBee Rainbow Bell Adventure
# Posted on Nov. 14, 2013, 8:20 a.m. by Gideon Zhi

Today sees the release of TwinBee Rainbow Bell Adventure for the SNES! Translation is 100% complete, so enjoy! I'm not going to claim that this is the best platformer on the SNES or even that it's one of the best, as it frankly can't hold a candle to Mario, Metroid, Megaman X or Front Mission Gun Hazard (yes, I went there!) But it's still a damn good game, and if you're itching for a cute but challenging platformer with plenty of secrets to find, here's a great chance to have a good scratch.

I'm currently planning another release for two weeks from today. Fingers crossed!

Major Release ~ JoJo's Bizarre SNES Translation
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
# Posted on April 13, 2013, 3:24 p.m. by Gideon Zhi

A week late, admittedly. Sorry about that, but school kind of got in the way, and a few nasty unexpected issues crept up during the playtest. It should be all fixed now, though!

For the uninitiated, this is an RPG based on Stardust Crusaders (no relation), the third arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It's a reasonably okay game, not great but not bad either. If you're a fan of the source material, you'll probably get the most appreciation out of it. Enjoy!

Major Release ~ Dungeon Hacking in Cave Noire
Cave Noire
# Posted on Feb. 14, 2012, 3:28 a.m. by Gideon Zhi

This was a small project that was supposed to take a week at most, and ended up taking more than a month! But it's done, thanks to EsperKnight and a host of folks each helping out with tiny bits of text. Cave Noire is loosely a roguelike; you have a limited inventory, a limited set of items, and enemies that hit very hard. It's almost more of a puzzle game, about learning to dodge enemies rather than grinding levels and plowing through them. It's completely translated, too; hope you enjoy it!

Major Release ~ Hourai High Celebrates 15 Years - Now in English
Adventures of Hourai High
# Posted on April 19, 2011, 10:50 a.m. by Gideon Zhi

Fifteen years ago today, Hourai Gakuen no Bouken was unleashed upon an unsuspecting Japanese public. It does not seem to have made much of a splash, which is unfortunate because it's quite a neat little game! But today we honor its 15th birthday with a complete English translation of the title. I hope you enjoy playing it! (I'm certainly going to enjoy washing my hands of it!)

Major Release ~ Ancient Magic is out.
Ancient Magic
# Posted on Dec. 18, 2010, 5:31 p.m. by Gideon Zhi

Ancient Magic is a fairly generic little RPG for the SNES by the much-maligned Hot-B. See if you can spot their advert for another of their products in the game! Despite its rather pedestrian roots, the game takes several surprising twists towards the end, and is generally worth sticking it out even if the wrap-up (or lack thereof) is a bit of a let down. As a note, there's more game past "THE END." Also as a note, do set your window speed to "fast" in the in-game options menus - it'll improve your experience dramatically.

A godawful amount of work went into this, probably more than was worth it. If I can find the time sometime in the next week or so, I'll put up some kind of postmortem showing off before-and-afters of a bunch of the interface rearrangements. Fun fact, in the original Japanese version, you couldn't see your max HP or MP in battle! You can in mine, though!

And now I'm going to bed.

Major Release ~ Tactics Ogre, For Real This Time
Tactics Ogre ~ Let Us Cling Together
# Posted on April 7, 2010, 7:16 p.m. by Gideon Zhi

Yes, the actual English version is available now. Enjoy!

Major Release ~ Tactics Ogre, available now (in Al Bhed!)
Tactics Ogre ~ Let Us Cling Together
# Posted on March 31, 2010, 8:31 p.m. by Gideon Zhi

Frankly, I'm sick to death of looking at this thing. There are still a few minor cosmetic issues, all detailed in the readme, but they shouldn't really alter your enjoyment of the game on the whole.

You're welcome.

Major Release ~ LUNAR: Walking School
LUNAR Walking School
# Posted on Dec. 17, 2009, 2:17 p.m. by Gideon Zhi

At long last, it's done! Sorry it took so long.