Battle Garegga story/setting translation +Namiki liner notes

[blackoak]

For the upcoming STGW on Garegga, I've translated the official Raizing homepage for Battle Garegga. Like the Mahou Daisakusen translation and the Armed Police Batrider translation I did with NTSC-J awhile back, this contains story and background info about the game world, all written by the very creative Raizing development team. It also has some humorous development trivia in the "Odds and Ends" page. The story is way more dramatic than I expected; I laughed quite a bit while translating it, but its also cool. Oh, and I didn't edit the page at all other than replacing the text, so expect some ugly 90s html. When I finish shmuplations (almost done, no really), I might reformat it to be more aesthetically pleasing.

Battle Garegga Raizing Homepage Translation

Finally, I looked high and low for other Garegga related developer stories/interviews/etc, but all I could find was this tidbit: the Manabu Namiki liner notes from the Battle Garegga THE MADNESS superplay dvd book. Special thanks to rancor for scanning it for me. Its short, but here you go:


Manabu Namiki - Battle Garegga "The Madness" Liner Notes

Its been 8 years since Battle Garegga's national debut at game centers. This strategy guide represents the hard work of the many scorers and shooters, and stands as a testament to the achievement and progress of many long weeks and months spent playing. As both a composer and a fan of Battle Garegga, it makes me very happy to see that work collected in one place here.

Garegga's development took place 9 years ago. The staff at Raizing was very experienced. There in the midst of these craftsmen who had captivated gamers with their various creations, I felt a lot of pressure as the new guy.

I wrote my songs and they matched the game, but as the days went by I felt they were inferior to the graphics, the bullet patterns, and the overall presentation... at the location test my mind was dominated by a vague unease that these songs weren't good enough. On that day I resolved to myself: "I'm going to re-write the first stage music. The song now feels like you're flying through a sea of clouds, but... it doesn't feel like the music of a first stage."

...and so with this new feeling I composed "Fly to the Leaden Sky". It felt like something had been set free within me, and for the first time I had a bird's eye view of what the Garegga sound should be. Its a very memorable song for me. If everyone who plays the game comes away from it with some memory like that of a particular bullet pattern or song or graphics--nothing makes us happier as developers.

Finally, I'd like to take this space to express my gratitude to all those who made this album possible, including all the fans of Battle Garegga and its music who have given their support and encouragement in these last 8 years. Thank you.

Addendum: As my final confession, I want to tell you: all those weird voices you hear in the music of Battle Garegga... were done by none other than yours truly.

[gray117]

A round of applause... as ever, very much appreciated just for the translations alone, let alone any extras you put into it format wise.

[ciox]

I knew all about the story by now but I really loved reading the Bosses page, thanks.
Also couldn't help noticing yet again this image, could it have been some cut level featuring giant rotating cogs?

[BIL]

Dear God you rule blackoak. I've been re-reading your Toaplan translations all week and then this pops up. <333333

[CloudyMusic]

You continue to do the lord's work, Blackoak.

[Hagane]

The usual: you rock, amazing work, etc.

[Skykid]

Garegga just got even more awesome. Didn't think possible.

[jepjepjep]

Many thanks blackoak!

[emphatic]

Thanks a lot! Let me know if you want anything Swedish translated, ever.

[Eaglet]

[Mortificator]

Like a Garegga plane, you deserve mad props.

[blackoak]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

@ciox, I wonder about that image too. But I think the webpage was put up after the game was released, so...? Seems weird that they'd put cut material on the official page, but who knows.

@Skykid, I know, haha. I'm not sure whether this stuff was all written during the planning stage, or whether it was embellished after the release. Either way it adds a nice layer of meaning to the intricate graphics/sound/presentation.

Really looking forward to the STGW with Eaglet's commentary.

[Obscura]

Holy crap, that "Madball with a drill under him" art is awesome.

I really wish they could have shown that in-game somehow.