Adventure Gamers - Forums

GateKeeper - 05 December 2023 05:23 AM

Lamb’s message inspired me to

I feel like I’ve tapped into something inside you there because the time you’ve been putting into this subject matter is impressive! Keep it up, I’ll be sure to contribute to it when I finally find the time.

It’s party time!

We made it past the second page and onto the third one, so the thread didn’t die on the second page, as was feared.
Thanks to all who contributed so far (in the order of appearance): Agent Parser, luckyloser, Lamb, russ869, Karlok.

Let’s keep the discussion going!

This might be a good time to post a question or two about the whole fan translation thing to everyone out there.

If you have played the games we have discussed so far, what were good ones or bad ones?
Or if you haven’t played any of them yet, which you might be interested in trying out, or are all of them something that you don’t really care about?
Would you be more interested in these games if they were officially translated, so is the whole fan thing a hindrance?

Lamb - 16 December 2023 08:08 AM

because the time you’ve been putting into this subject matter is impressive!

It’s not that impressive to be honest.

All I do is that I copy some information about the games (I didn’t write the text), I put a video link there (I didn’t make the videos), so I simply choose a fan translated game to post about (obviously I didn’t do any of the translating either).

So it’s copy-paste, copy-paste, write a few words, submit.
Click, click, click, done.

Who really deserve credit and kudos are those translators who spend weeks, months, or even years hacking and translating these games. And also those who edit and release videos about them.

And the actual format of the thread just kind of happened to take the shape it did. I posted something very fast to get the thread started, and then I noticed that it might actually be a good format with a couple of minor adjustments. Something that is informative to those who don’t know anything about the subject matter, and is also easy to follow, as basically it’s just few sentences about each game plus some entertaining game videos. (And some of the channels those videos are from are worth checking out, you people might want to subscribe to some of them!)

Hopefully the thread is of some information/entertainment value to someone out there. If it is, then it’s more than worth the few minutes I invest in this. Any publicity is good publicity, especially when it comes to some more obscure or unknown adventure games.

Let’s look at something very challenging next, and this may take more than few minutes to sink in, as it’s very complicated.

It involves Japanese titles which have never been released elsewhere and are only fan translated, ports to other platforms which have a bit different title but are basically the same game, sequels which have been released in the Western market but have different version numbering, and undubs which try to make the content available in English as it originally was in Japanese.

So take a deep breath, try to take it all in and make some sense of it.
Even though it seems like someone has tried to make this as complicated as possible on purpose, this moon logic can actually be clarified. 

And we are of course talking about Clock Tower series, which I actually wanted to mention on two earlier pages, but I thought it was too complicated. I guess on page three we can already talk about this…

Clock Tower
Clock Tower is a survival horror point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Human Entertainment for the Super Famicom in 1995. It is the first installment in the Clock Tower series. The story follows orphan Jennifer Simpson soon after she is adopted by the Barrows family along with other orphaned girls. Shortly after arriving at the Barrows family manor, one of the other children is killed by a stalker called Scissorman. Jennifer must then explore the Barrows Mansion to find a way to escape while evading Scissorman, leading to one of the game’s multiple endings. Clock Tower utilizes a point and click interface with the player controlling a cursor to direct Jennifer’s actions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_(1995_video_game)

It was fan translated in September 2001 (SNES).

Clock Tower: The First Fear
“An updated version, titled Clock Tower: The First Fear, was ported to the PlayStation, WonderSwan, and Windows. Many years later, it was re-released again on the PlayStation Network, as well as the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console. The game has never been officially released outside Japan, although fan translations exist. In retrospective reviews, Clock Tower has been praised for its haunting atmosphere, but the puzzles and exploration have drawn criticism for being tedious. It is considered an influence on horror games and a pioneer of the survival horror genre.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_(1995_video_game)

It was fan translated in May 2015 (PlayStation) and July 2017 (Windows).

Those were the different versions of the original game, next more about the sequels.

Clock Tower 2
“Clock Tower, known in Japan as Clock Tower 2, is a survival horror point-and-click adventure game developed by Human Entertainment and released for the PlayStation in 1996. It is the second game in the Clock Tower series after the original Clock Tower, which was released exclusively in Japan for the Super Famicom one year prior. The story takes place in Norway and follows a variety of characters as they attempt to survive the return of Scissorman and uncover the mystery of his seemingly immortal state. The scenarios encountered and endings vary widely based upon the player’s actions.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_(1996_video_game)

As far as I’m aware of, there is no fan translation or undub patch for this one. It is available in English, but obviously with a wrong number. Strictly speaking it doesn’t belong in this thread with no fan patch available, but for the sake of clarity and completion it is included in this post.

Clock Tower: Ghost Head
“Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within, known in Japan as Clock Tower: Ghost Head, is a horror-themed adventure game developed by Human Entertainment and released for the PlayStation in 1998. It is the third game in the Clock Tower series. The story follows 17-year-old Alyssa Hale who occasionally is possessed by an alter ego named Mr. Bates. The player must guide Alyssa through various environments, altering between her normal and twisted personality, to uncover the secrets of her and her family’s past.”
“Following its predecessors, Clock Tower II is a point-and-click adventure game with 3D graphics and survival horror elements. The player can use either a standard PlayStation controller or the PlayStation mouse to control the protagonist, Alyssa Hale, through the game.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_II:_The_Struggle_Within

It was undubbed in February 2023 (an older, different version does exist).

- Fully restored Japanese voice acting, with the Ending A FMV subtitled.
- All Japanese character, location, and term names have been reverted to their originals–be it in graphics or text.
- Corrected various translation errors.
- Clarified the eight in-game hints.
- Almost entirely recreated Story Guide, including an all-new translation.
- Updated Gomoto’s Story Guide sketch to reflect his in-game appearance.

Clock Tower 3
“Clock Tower 3 is a survival horror video game co-produced by Capcom and Sunsoft for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2002, it is the fourth installment in the Clock Tower series, and the first and only video game directed by Japanese film director Kinji Fukasaku. The plot and characters have very little relation with the previous Clock Tower games. The story follows 14-year-old Alyssa Hamilton who is part of a family lineage of female warriors who travel through time to defeat evil spirits. Alyssa travels from her time in 2003 London to the 1940s and 1960s in order to defeat these “Entities” and bring peace to troubled souls.
As opposed to the point-and-click gameplay used in the previous games, Clock Tower 3 is the first game in the series to incorporate direct control over the protagonist. Alyssa is given no weapon for the majority of the game, and must evade and hide from her pursuers.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_3

It was undubbed in March 2021 (all releases are labelled beta releases so far).

Okay, so there you have it all, the whole series.
Is it confusing enough?

Doom - 18 December 2023 06:26 PM

Thanks, GateKeeper, glad you made this review of the series! The original game must be the most fan-translated game ever. There’s also a nice video comparing all versions:

That’s a great video link, Doom, and the other stuff that the guy has on his channel is also very interesting. Channels like his should have much more followers, but… they don’t.

Anyway, let’s continue with the horror theme with a 1997 PlayStation game that has a very bizarre name.

R?MJ: The Mystery Hospital
“R?MJ is an interactive movie horror adventure game with full voice-acting and without subtitles to feel more like a movie. The story takes place in a summer of 1999, as a large explosion occurred in a General Hospital. Due to a deadly virus being released, the hospital is on lockdown, and you are left with no way out. The player assumes the role of Hajime, who after going to visit his best friend, finds himself trapped in a hospital along with two friends, Ryou and Tomowo, and a rookie nurse, Aya. The gameplay consists of exploring locations in the hospital by moving in a certain direction (forward, turn left or right, or turn back) which uses pre-rendered animation for every movement from one point to another. Certain locations can be zoomed in to give you more details or to pick up an item. Your companions will often give you some comments while you explore, most of which may seem a selection of five sentences that are randomly selected. The game also features the use of player’s senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) which must be used at key locations and events in order to progress the game.”
https://www.mobygames.com/game/70897/rmj-the-mystery-hospital/

It was fan translated in October 2022.

Thanks Gatekeeper for keeping this thread going. You mentioned a lot of interesting games that I was unaware of.

In terms of games I’ve tried, I’ve played the b.l.u.e. translation for a little bit. It looks very interesting and I want to play more.

You can support the translation team Hilltop Works efforts for future games on their Patreon.

In terms of other translated games:

The Secret of Donkey Island

The Secret of Donkey Island is an English translation of ‘Tajemství Oslího ostrova’, the first nationally distributed Czech PC game.

The game was developed by two Czech teenagers, as a parody to ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’ series. It was primarily created using their school computer, and first released in June 1994.

With approval from one of the original developers, it was translated into English in 2023, and released as freeware.

Private Eye Dol

Private Eye Dol is a 1995 detective adventure game developed by HuneX and published by NEC Home Electronics for the PC-Engine Super CD-ROM² system. Released late in the PC-Engine’s lifespan, it showcases a highly polished presentation that often makes it feel more like a next-generation game, with large and detailed graphics, full voice acting, and features such as text scaling that are rarely seen on the console. Perhaps its biggest distinguishing element is its RPG-like overworld, which provides a higher degree of freedom compared to traditional menu-driven Japanese detective games.

It received an English translation in January 2023.

Croustibat

Croustibat is a game created to advertise the Croustibat line of fish sticks by Findus. It is a point-and-click puzzle adventure game that features the mascot, who is also named Croustibat. It was created by Coktel Vision using their Gobliins engine. It could be obtained by sending a letter to Findus for just the cost to cover shipping and handling. It also was included in a contest by Findus in which the winner would win a new personal computer system.

It received an English translation in August 2023.
Internet Archive link

Ihatovo Monogatari

Ihatovo Monogatari is an adventure game for the Super Famicom originally released in 1993.

The story depicts the action as taking place in the utopian world of Ihatovo.

The game focuses on collecting information (notebooks from Miyazawa’s fairy tales) and items (that are related to those fairy tales) instead of fighting monsters. Some of the surprises that the player finds includes a movie.

It received an English translation in 2018.

Urusei Yatsura: Dear My Friends

Urusei Yatsura: Dear My Friends is a point-and-click adventure game that was released only in Japan for the Sega CD in 1994 and based on the anime and manga of the same name. It is the story of Ataru, a high school lecher who loves nothing more than to try his luck with every pretty girl he meets. Although he is generally good-hearted, he does a good job of hiding that fact.

One day, Earth is beset by alien invaders who will conquer the planet, unless a chosen representative is able to beat an alien representative in their national game: Tag. Incomprehensibly, Ataru is chosen for the task. His opponent is Lum, gorgeous daughter of the invaders’ leader. Shinobu, Ataru’s long-suffering girlfriend, tells him that she could never marry a loser, and that he had better win the game of Tag if he wants to marry her. Ataru is filled with new hope, and against all odds, he manages to tag the flying Lum.

Ataru is overjoyed that he can now marry Shinobu, but Lum mistakes his victory cry as a marriage proposal. She immediately accepts, and then the two are inseparable - not that Ataru likes it that way. Lum’s unconditional love poses no challenge, and Ataru misses the thrill of the chase. Unfortunately, Lum dishes out a massive electric shock every time Ataru so much as breathes in the direction of another girl, so he’s stuck!

Urusei Yatsura: Dear My Friends is an original story of their adventures. It features full screen animation, and the original vocal cast of the animated series. The player advances the story by examining and interacting with on-screen objects using a cursor icon.

The game was remade with an English translation in Adventure Game Studio in 2020.

That’s a real nice bunch of fan translated games with different styles and variety.
But now we have a new difficult question to ponder: is a fan remake with translation a fan translation or its own thing entirely? 

In any case, I managed to find some video clips of them for those who want to see some actual game footage.

The Secret of Donkey Island

Private Eye Dol

Croustibat

Ihatovo Monogatari

Urusei Yatsura: Dear My Friends

I have been playing “Shenmue 2” during the holidays, but did you know that there are actually four Shenmue games? Kind of.

What’s Shenmue is basically an interactive demo of the first game, released in 1999 for Sega Dreamcast. But it has its own short story, and also some characters which appear only in that game/demo, such as Hidekazu Yukawa as himself.

So it’s debatable whether it’s a demo, or a short game on its own. In any case, it makes the list here, because it has been fan translated.

What’s Shenmue
“What’s Shenmue? (What’s シェンムー ～湯川(元)専務をさがせ～, What’s Shenmū ~Yukawa (moto) Senmu o Sagase~, lit. “What’s Shenmue: Search for Yukawa (former) Senior Managing Director”) was a special premier disc in Japan given to those who pre-ordered Shenmue, additionally another edition of the disc was given away in Famitsu, a Japanese gaming magazine. The only difference between the two is that the Famitsu version has an orange cover, as opposed to a blue cover. Due to a delay in releasing Shenmue in Japan, anyone who pre-ordered it was given this on the date it was intended to be released on. The game itself works like a demo of Shenmue, featuring Dobuita, a town in Yokosuka, although not all of it is accessible. You play as Ryo Hazuki much like you would in the full game.”
https://shenmue.fandom.com/wiki/What’s_Shenmue?

It was fan translated in July 2015.

Survival horror is a controversial subgenre of adventure games, and so are visual novels. So a visual novel adaptation of a survival horror must undeniably be an adventure game, right? That’s what we have here in the form of 2001 GameBoy Advance game anyway, or if you so choose, as a fan remake on PC.

Silent Hill: Play Novel
“Play Novel: Silent Hill is a side story to the original Silent Hill. It was only released in Japan. This is an adventure game along the lines of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. You are given some illustrated text, then choose from two or three options what you want to do next.
Players control officer Cybill Bennett in an adventure that takes place at the same time as Harry’s game in the original. Don’t think that because you played Silent Hill, you know how this ends, though.”
https://www.mobygames.com/game/23523/silent-hill-play-novel/

It was remade and fan translated as a PC game in December 2017, and fan translated as a GBA romhack in January 2021.

Let’s look at another visual novel type of adventure game.

Mirrors
“Mirrors is a Japanese-style adventure game. It was originally released on CD for the NEC PC-88 in 1990 and was ported (and graphically revamped) in 1992 for the Fujitsu FM-Towns.
The plot puts the player in the role of a musician, the lead singer for the band “Elleno Vision”, haunted by terrible nightmares and stalked by a mysterious murderer during the band’s world tour.
The game is played in first person and is similar to a novel, allowing the player to choose from different actions from a menu. Like many Japanese adventure games of the time, Mirrors features a branching storyline and different endings based on the player’s decisions.”
https://www.mobygames.com/game/41354/mirrors/

It was fan translated in September 2021.

Looks can be deceiving.

If it’s a GameBoy Color game, featuring a green dragon as the protagonist, with traditional JRPG graphics, and is available only in its original country, then we are obviously talking about a game from… Germany!!?? 

Believe it or not, it’s a 1999 GBC game by Infogrames based on Tabaluga character.

Tabaluga
“Zelda-like adventure in which the dragon Tabaluga goes out to protect his homeland, Greenland, from the evil snowman Arktos.
Licensed title based on the popular German kids cartoon character (and musical) Tabaluga.”
https://www.mobygames.com/game/5299/tabaluga/

It was fan translated in December 2018.

Ein, zwei, drei, Spitzenklöppelei.

Another German game (or two, depending on how you count episodic games) that has been fan translated, but hasn’t been mentioned in the thread so far. It was made for PC/DOS in 1994, but can be played in ScummVM too. The translation works only in ScummVM, as far as I’m aware of.

Mission Supernova
“Mission Supernova is a shareware adventure in German. The player is “Horst Hummel”, the spaceship’s chef de cuisine. Usually this would be a job without much stress, but when you wake up, the whole crew is gone. You’re alone on board.
The game is a classic point & click adventure. It features a verb-based interface very similar to early LucasArts games, e.g. Zak McKracken or Maniac Mansion. Like in those games, gameplay mainly consists of exploring rooms/scenes, collecting various items and solving puzzles. Some items can be combined to form new items, and most of the puzzles require clever use of collected things. From time to time, talking to other characters is also necessary, which involves choosing among different dialog options. Some scenes have a time limit, and it is also possible to die or get stuck in various ways.”
https://www.mobygames.com/game/4582/mission-supernova/

It was fan translated in September 2019.

The game is available as freeware, and no longer shareware, so you can get both “Teils” for free:
https://familie-dingel.de/simplicity/

The first 2 games of Cosmic Fantasy, an early-90s classic and influential franchise that mostly never left Japan, showed up with an English localization on eShop with a price of over $40. Turns out to be a complete mess with even characters’ names having typos and the battles being utterly botched.

I’ve been playing another JRPG but this time fan-translated, Tengai Makyō: Ziria (aka Far East of Eden) on my phone. It’s been cute in short bursts.