Translating superior JPN only ports using US inferior ports?

[cr4zymanz0r]

So, this is probably going to be such a small niche that most probably won't care but maybe there'll be some other crazy people like me.

Basically the premise is I generally prefer ports of arcade games, probably because they're much more accessible and require less hardware if you're already big into console games. I might one day dive into arcade PCBs, but probably not for games that have perfect or near perfect ports. I'm also picky where I want the best port that's the original (usually 240p) resolution. I'm not near as keen on PS2 and onward ports/collections that are primarily emulation, 480i or HD, and have filters that can't be disabled.

Here's some examples of what I'm talking about.

Street Fighter 2
Capcom Generation 5 on JPN Saturn: Gorgeous Saturn RGB, native 6 button controller, less loading than the PS1 port. However, there is US port on PS1 which has English (Street Fighter Collection 2). US arcade version has English as well, of course

X-Men vs Street Fighter
Fantastic JPN port on Saturn. US English versions on PS1 (crippled) and arcade.

Capcom Dungeons & Dragons Collection
Saturn port looks great. Only downside I'm really aware of is it having a maximum of 2 players. I'm aware it's had a recent release on PSN/XBLA/Steam/etc., but it'd be nice to have it in nice low res on a CRT

*Many other Capcom games* (and probably more I'm not thinking of off the top of my head).

I'm sure many think it's silly. "But cr4zy, you don't need to be able to read the text in Street Fighter 2. It's just some after battle taunts and short endings". Maybe so, but I'd still like to have it in English in a good port at 240p on a CRT. It's a bit more useful in D&D since it helps to be able to read the choices you're making.

So has anyone ever had a similar interest? I'm more of a hardware guy when it comes to consoles. On PC I can program ok in C++, Java, etc. but I don't really know the first thing about hacking a console game other than hex editing a Dreamcast game to enable VGA mode and such. I have no idea if in some cases this might as simple as editing a Saturn ISO and replacing the language files with ones from the PS1 port, or if there's far more hacking involved. Also, if there's other forums that'd be more likely rally behind this idea I'm open to those suggestions as well.

[tacoguy64]

Most likely impossible to do.
I'd love it if there was a way that I could translate the Saturn version of Castlevania but i'll just most likely end up getting the PS1 version. There probably are a couple of games that would benefit from this but I don't think I care too much.

[Sumez]

The Saturn version of Castlevania SOTN is terrible anyway. Don't bother unless you're like me and have a stupid obsession with Castlevania and need to get them all.

[SGGG2]

Most likely impossible to do.

It's very possible, there are dozens of released translation projects. It just requires a lot of work and knowledge.

I'd love to see Capcom vs. SNK Pro translated myself.

[Guspaz]

The Saturn version of Castlevania SOTN is terrible anyway. Don't bother unless you're like me and have a stupid obsession with Castlevania and need to get them all.

I only own the PSX version, but from what I've seen in playthroughs, the Saturn version suffers from major slowdowns. The PSX version is definitely the one to get.

[mvsfan]

the saturn version does have a couple extra levels though.

[tacoguy64]

Most likely impossible to do.

It's very possible, there are dozens of released translation projects. It just requires a lot of work and knowledge.

I'd love to see Capcom vs. SNK Pro translated myself.

That's what i was trying to allude to. You would need some really, really hardcore fans to undertake such a project. Were talking niche of the niche of the niche here.

The Saturn version of Castlevania SOTN is terrible anyway. Don't bother unless you're like me and have a stupid obsession with Castlevania and need to get them all.

I only own the PSX version, but from what I've seen in playthroughs, the Saturn version suffers from major slowdowns. The PSX version is definitely the one to get.

I wasn't even trying to buy the game but it came in this super bundle deal. Don't have the PS1 version yet but I am planning to get it eventually. Just thought the game might make a perfect example for this thing.

[bobrocks95]

I have no idea if in some cases this might as simple as editing a Saturn ISO and replacing the language files with ones from the PS1 port, or if there's far more hacking involved.

It is almost infinitesimally more complex than that, just dropping in English script files doesn't mean the game knows what to do with them at all.

You're not going to get these games translated unless you do it yourself, sorry to say. If a game's getting fan-translated, it's an old RPG that never got an English release, not a Saturn compilation of games that don't require language skills, and we got on lots of other platforms in English already.

The small amount of text doesn't matter- translation is the easy part, hacking is the hard part. Probably hundreds of hours of assembly hacking for each game, depending on the platform (not sure what the Saturn SDK provided, but I know programming for the Saturn was quite difficult anyway). It would likely be more advantageous to learn a little Japanese and memorize the small amount of text in the examples you cited.

[pegboy]

Or you could just play most of these in MAME.

[Guspaz]

It is almost infinitesimally more complex than that.

Just to clarify, it's the exact opposite of infinitesimally (which means extremely small) more complex. Translating a game isn't just about swapping out the script, often it's about a whole lot of coding (including rewriting the dialogue system) to account for the differences between Asian characters and western characters (from a technical standpoint, multi-byte versus single-byte), and the difference in information density (you need more screens of dialogue in English).

[bobrocks95]

I just used the word wrong, whoops. English is hard, but not as hard as romhacking full translations into games (probably).