Summoning a Devil Hacker, bis
Posted by Gemini on May 19th, 2009
Time to officially reveal what’s in the oven:
For those not very familiar with this game, it’s Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, also known as the Legendary MegaTen of 1000 Orgasms. I posted those screenshots at romhacking.net just out of boredom and then made the project thread visible to everybody. As you can see from the date in that thread, the project didn’t start just a few weeks ago, but it has been semi-active since August 2008. Semi-active means that I asked Tom not to translate it until a couple weeks ago because we both had other things to do, like the Innocent Sin beta testing, and Echo Night 2.
Just in case somebody’s gonna ask it, you don’t need to know what happened in the first Devil Summoner in order to play Soul Hackers. We are not going to translate the original Devil Summoner, not for now at least. I mean, it could be interesting to do that, but there are several things that would make it trivial, that is Saturn and PSP emulation. Personally I would work on the PSP version because I have no means to access a Saturn game, but after analyzing the code in Soul Hackers and the way it was handled, maybe the translation of another porting isn’t such a brilliant idea.
Back to Soul Hackers, we don’t have any plans about a release date, and this project isn’t our top priority right now, even though it’s the second of the three secret translations I was talking about. I’m just annoucing this because I feel like I wanted to. Don’t make me regret it, please. :p
May 19th, 2009 at 16:17
What!? Isn’t top priority? What kind of a devil hacker are you? I will make you regret annoucing this!
OK, OK. Enough of bullshit. Great thing you guys decided to work on this bitch. We all wanted to fuck her, even the homo ones.
Yes, I don’t know what I’m talking about but blame it on the euphoria of seeing such na epic post.
May 19th, 2009 at 17:24
It isn’t top priority because I’d like to have Echo Night 2 and the SOTN retranslation out before Soul Hackers. Those are way more complete than Soul Hackers on the hacking and translation sides. There’s also the third secret project, which has been on hold for over 3 years now.
May 19th, 2009 at 17:35
I know it doesn’t look like it but I’m a pretty reasonable man and I fully apprehend the current position of Devil Hackers’. I would be surprised if you suddenly jumped over EN2 translation and SotN retranslation. I am happy just for the fact that you and Tom want to work on this gem. I’d like to see Gideon Zhi’s face now – the face of the man who sad that “hacking-wise, the game´s a piece of cake” and ended the project right at the start even though the script was translated…
May 19th, 2009 at 17:49
I question the fact that he has a translated script. Currently our project is far ahead Gideon’s both for hacking and translation, but that wasn’t really hard to do…
May 19th, 2009 at 18:23
Go easy on me, Gemini. I’m just quoting his translator – I don’t know if he’s a fucking liar or not but I assume, as a good, people-loving guy, that he told the truth.
May 19th, 2009 at 18:58
His translator actually spoke somewhere about that? I’ve never seen him posting anywhere. :0
May 19th, 2009 at 18:59
Yes, he did. I’ll try to find it.
May 19th, 2009 at 19:27
I can’t find it. Did the romhacking.com forum was cleaned recently?
May 21st, 2009 at 04:13
Hurray for Soul Hackers! :D
Now I’m curious about this third secret project, more things for me to ponder…
May 21st, 2009 at 12:43
It would be great if that project was… SMT: IF. Oh, I’m so gay for that Persona protoplast. But yeah, it will probably be some none-SMT obscure shit that nobody cares about. XD
May 21st, 2009 at 14:32
The third secret of Fatima is a Nippon Ichi game.
May 21st, 2009 at 14:53
Are you serious? If that’s the case I can think of a few things that it might be. ^_^ (although I was hoping deep down that it just might be Ibunroku :P)
May 21st, 2009 at 17:57
Don’t tell that you’re going for Little Princess: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2… O_o
May 21st, 2009 at 19:10
Or maybe it’s… Angel Present: A Marl Kingdom Story? :P
May 21st, 2009 at 21:40
Gemini and a PS2 game? Madness!
May 22nd, 2009 at 09:14
This is a great game. I have only played the Saturn version, though I hope there are not any changes (for the worse) on the PSX version.
May 22nd, 2009 at 17:59
Dude you’re a kidding right?
oh man I am going to cry
thank you Gemini…
You have officially done for me more than any other internet person have done for me.
May 22nd, 2009 at 22:44
I’ve been waiting forever for someone to really translate Soul Hackers, since Aeon Genesis seems to have given up. But that fact that you are doing it makes me about 100 times happier. I hope this translation is as awesome as IS was (but knowing you guys, it will be).
May 22nd, 2009 at 22:58
Eh, what’s next? PSX Shin Megami Tensei I and II translations? (If you guys did that, you would be true heroes…the SNES version just looks too outdated and the PSX version looks too…mmmm…japanese?)
Anyway, this is some seriously awesome news.
I’ll sit and wait for this. :D
May 23rd, 2009 at 03:10
Maybe you can play Last Bible 2 while you wait?
http://mtglb2.wordpress.com/
May 23rd, 2009 at 05:07
Just stick with the SFC SMT I & II. The PSX remakes are almost unplayable. The auto-battle feature does not speed up the combat text, so the game literally takes twice as long to play through. That may not seem so bad, but trust me, it sucks.
If you are used to the SFC games, avoid the PSX ones. However, if you have not played the originals, you likely won’t be driven too (more) insane.
May 23rd, 2009 at 05:46
I find that the best versions of SMT 1 and 2 are the GBA versions. Added story scenes, better graphics, unlockable bonuses… Kaioshin planned to do the GBA SMT 1. He couldn’t find a translator, and I’m too busy working on other things. The GBA remakes are the best version of SMT out there though, by far. The PS versions, on the other hand, don’t really offer anything new at all. It’s a shame that SMT if… didn’t get a GBA remake.
“If” does actually add a few minor things for the PS remake, but they are nothing special, especially if you don’t have save data from other Japanese Atlus games on your memory card.
I would like to translate “If” on the PS, but considering the fact that it’s also a Super Famicom game, somebody is bound to hack that version eventually. People will do ANY game on the SFC, even something really out there, like Super Mahjong Soccer Princess IV: Ultra Edition. They’ll get to it eventually.
There really is not that much of a difference between the SFC and PS versions. Then again, if Gemini actually wanted to do it, he knows I’d be up for it. Heh heh!
I’m going to try to finish up the shops in Soul Hackers tonight, if I can! (The shop tutorials aren’t very fun to translate.) But after I’m done with these, I get to translate demon conversations! Hooray!
May 23rd, 2009 at 08:18
I wouldn’t be so sure about SFC IF translation but mybe you’re right. Still, it would be more fun if Devil Hackers hacked a devil’s game. Another one, and tackle down the first Devil Summoner while you’re at tit. :P
May 23rd, 2009 at 09:11
“It would be more fun if Devil Hackers hacked a devil’s game.”
Be careful what you wish for! You just might get PS1’s Devil Children! Ha ha! (No, no! Even I don’t like the PS1 version!)
As for Devil Summoner, I have only played about 10 to 20 minutes of the Saturn version. Maybe it gets better later on? I found it to be very dry and lifeless. It didn’t catch my attention.
I bet if I stuck with it, I would like it more. (I originally didn’t like Persona, after all.) The only problem is that when I played Persona 1, I had no other game to play at that moment, so I stuck with it…
But with Devil Summoner 1, it’s very hard to force myself to keep playing it. Maybe I will try to play it again once I’m finished translating Soul Hackers.
P.S. The shops are done now. (Yay!)
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:08
“Maybe it gets better later on? I found it to be very dry and lifeless. It didn’t catch my attention.”
Yes, it does. Quite frankly, I’m spechless because of the awesomeness of the later parts. But try the PSP version, for God’s sake. The Saturn one sucks… a lot. Also, you should play it before Soul Hackers, since it’s a direct sequel to DS1.
And don’t even joke about Devil Children or I’ll hunt you down and purge your gamer’s soul with a hot iron stabbed in the heart. It’s not as cool as it sounds.
May 23rd, 2009 at 13:35
It’s a little late, actually! I’ve already translated all of Soul Hackers’ story segments. I already know the whole story as well as DS1’s rather vague connections to it. Honestly, they could remove all of the connections to DS1 and the plot would be entirely unchanged.
In any case, I was under the impression that there were almost no differences between the Saturn version and the PSP version. Is that not true?
I was almost going to get the PSP’s DS1, but I thought I’d be a sucker if I rebought the same game I already had for the Saturn. I doubt I will rehook up my old Saturn, but I may be able to get it running on an emulator.
May 23rd, 2009 at 14:56
“Honestly, they could remove all of the connections to DS1 and the plot would be entirely unchanged.”
It looks like it on paper but in practice it’s not true. There’s more than just words than you translate that make the experience of Soul Hackers being better if you had played DS1 first. But in such a grimm situation, with only you guys being able to hack and translate those games, it’s all good even if we get only Soul Hackers. I’m just saying that it would true orgasm if both parts were tackled by Devil Hackers. Just the completion aspect (all parts of Devil Summoner being in English) is important.
“Is that not true?”
In theory, both version are the same. In practice, the Saturn version suffers from technical flaws and PSP one – running extremely smooth – is the way to go. I guess you can make the Saturn version run so good on an emu but then again, the Saturn emus tend to have strange problems, and there’s also the fact that they require quite powerful PCs.
May 24th, 2009 at 06:01
I had fun with both games. I have not played the PSP version, but I know for a fact the Saturn game is awesome. I have all of the Saturn Megaten games, and I had fun with them all (though Ronde was kinda lame).
I have a bunch of Megaten games on SFC as well, such as Last Bible III and Spiral Nemesis. Both are fun.
May 24th, 2009 at 09:29
I can understand how Take feels. It’s only natural to want to play the series in the order that it was intended to be played. Even if the stories are rather independant, there is a natural “growth” of the series that you can only get when you play it in the order that it was originally released.
Still, that aside, I don’t think that this project will disappoint you guys. I am trying hard to make sure that it is a lot of fun.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:28
I’m sure it won’t, Tom! ^^
May 24th, 2009 at 16:43
How can anyone go wrong with Soul Hackers? :0
The first Devil Summoner is a pretty decent game, I have the PSP version myself (I didn’t get a Saturn until many years later) and the game looks and feels very fluid. If PSP hacking isn’t too hard I would love it if Gemini tried to tackle it.
May 24th, 2009 at 17:13
awesome thanks dude waitin with glee
May 24th, 2009 at 19:36
Getting a Saturn capable of playing imports is actually very easy. If you have a round-button Saturn you can make “modifications” which will allow you to play any game you want. For just imports, not back-ups, you can buy an Action Replay Pro cart.
If you don’t have a Saturn or a PSP, it will be far cheaper for you to buy a Saturn. Plus you can play all of the other marvelous Saturn titles like Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Linkle Liver Story, Princess Crown, Radiant “motherfucking” Silvergun, Asuka 120% Burning Festival J, and the list goes on.
I have had a lot of fun on my PSP, but I think that Soul Hackers belongs on the Saturn.
And to state, I own a physical copy of every single Saturn game I mentioned. Btw, I have an extra copy of Devil Summoner if anyone wants it. Seriously, I will give it to you. I am that nice.
May 24th, 2009 at 20:10
Then give it to me. I assure you that I will play it sooner or later. I was going to buy Saturn for ages but there always were some other expenses.
To make it clear – I didn’t change my mind, I prefer the PSP version. But being a little MegaTen bitch I’d like to have as many original MegaTens as possible.
As for Saturn itself – it’s a great console indeed, but it was just too damn hard to programm for (I know this is a simplification).
May 25th, 2009 at 00:29
I would LOVE to get my hands on Radiant Silvergun, the only problem is… it’s too freaking expensive. I don’t ever see that game go below a hundred dollars and the highest I’ve seen it go is about $300… *cries*
May 25th, 2009 at 02:15
I think that the Saturn’s biggest problem is that you need a lithium battery inside of the console to save your game.
I got the action replay cart to play Japanese games, and it can also hold save data too, but you can’t save directly to the cart. You have to save to the system, turn off the game, then transfer it to the cart.
But I can’t do that if the battery isn’t working, because if I turn off the console, my save will disappear. :(
And I am glad that the PS version is the one Gemini’s doing, because it offers much more than the Saturn version (and I’m not talking about the Pocketstation).
May 25th, 2009 at 05:03
You should get an official Sega memory cart, you can save directly to the cart without saving to the console first. I had to buy one with my Saturn because the battery was already dead when I bought it. >_<
May 25th, 2009 at 06:05
The problem is that I need the action replay cart to play import games in the first place. Is it okay to swap the cart while the power’s on?
May 25th, 2009 at 06:18
Once the game is boots up you don’t need to have the action replay in the slot anymore. So yeah, it’s fine to swap carts once in you’re in play. ^_^
May 25th, 2009 at 06:34
It’s too bad I never got a regular memory cart!
May 25th, 2009 at 07:39
Too bad for ya! :P
But you’re right about Soul Hackers on PSX. It’s better. I know that the original hardware has its charms but let’s be realistic about this – Soul Hackers on PSX will make far more people happy. I didn’t know there a lot of bonuses, though. I thought that the two versions are almost the same.
May 25th, 2009 at 09:02
Maybe they are almost the same, but that’s the key word. “Almost…” Ha ha! Unlike with Devil Summoner 1, they decided to add some new events and stuff. :D
Anyway, I am getting deeper into the demon conversation file now. I am doing the hardest file first, so it’ll get easier and I can go faster (without having to deal with pause tags)!
Basically, imagine at having to stop typing at every other word to move past speed tags. Its a slow and painful process, but fortunately it’s the only file like this!
May 25th, 2009 at 11:14
The Action Replay Pro has a memory card function. Its not as simple to use as the official sega memory card, but it does work. My ARP literally has an end game save for every Saturn RPG. Just bragging, haha.
May 25th, 2009 at 11:35
I know that ARP can be used to store your saves, but you can’t save directly to it. You have to save to your system first, reset, and then transfer your save from the system to the cart.
Unfortunately, to do that, you have to turn off the system after playing a game to access the save management system in the ARP. If you turn off the system without a working battery in it, you lose all of your system data (your save)
And that’s the problem.
May 25th, 2009 at 21:15
Oh, yes. I missed that part somehow. Fortunately, you can buy the battery for a Saturn for about 2 dollars at Radio Shack. I actually remember buying a box of them which I still have somewhere…
It is funny, because I got my first Saturn for X-Mas back years ago, and living in Missouri at the time, I could not find the battery back up anywhere. Seriously, you could go into a Wal-Mart and find a dozen copies of Chrono Trigger, but nothing for the Saturn.
I have about 100 Saturn games, a set of Twin-Sticks, two or three ARP or PAR for it, but I never once bought the memory card. Which sucks, because I know that a lot of games have a memory card screen that features artwork you cannot see elsewhere.
Years ago (2000) I joined a group of romhackers dedicated to re-translating Working Designs games. We all hated their localizations. I mainly just donated money and original copies of games. Our main hacker (Antigone), unfortunately, committed suicide and that undid us all.
May 25th, 2009 at 21:26
WTF…? Committed suicide…? How can you write about something like that in such a manner? O_O
Well, I guess re-translating Working Designs games is serious business…
O_O
May 25th, 2009 at 21:28
Fuck, I just fathomed how ironic that nickname is… O_O
May 26th, 2009 at 00:39
I think he was just depressed. I don’t know. It sucked, though. He was pretty cool. And, yes, we all thought of the irony of his name. We got about 1/3 of the way through Albert Odyssey. Funny thing, WD claimed they sped up the load times for the game as well as making the fights easier. We hacked the original Japanese version and found WD to full-of-fucking-shit. The only difference was the terrible goddamn English translation with valley-girl faeries and anachronisms abounding at every turn.
May 26th, 2009 at 22:29
Ever since that april fool’s blooper, i had this gut feeling that it wasn’t just a simple gag, Gemini’s too practical and workaholic to go out of his way and just do that(my perception at least!)
To see that faint hope actually realized is just…so satisfying !
@Launder
“You have officially done for me more than any other internet person have done for me.”
Devil Hackers already did this for me when they released Tsumi. Seriously, they are the best thing that ever happened to me since the internet (with kaioshin being right behind them ^^). oh! there’s another thing that was the best…but nobody but me need to know that ^^”
Now, there’s something beautiful to look forward to in my little sorry excuse for a life \o/
kudos you guys!
May 26th, 2009 at 22:55
Translating a game is slightly rewarding, but I think it’s even more rewarding to see the positive effect that it can have on people!
Those sort of comments are the kind that keep me motivated!
May 26th, 2009 at 23:19
And we better keep you motivated, especially after that Antigone story…
May 27th, 2009 at 02:05
Life is always worth living, no matter how tough things get. Hopefully a few small things like Soul Hackers will make life a little more pleasant for everyone.
May 27th, 2009 at 09:57
Well, as long as Take doesn’t go all hormonal with another random poster…i think everything will be just fine XD
*ducks and cover*
May 27th, 2009 at 15:26
Chris wasn’t a random poster, mind you.
Cover all want you but a cold, emotionless, exoskeleton ninja is already after you.
May 27th, 2009 at 19:18
Nice news indeed.
i’ve been wanting to try the soul hackers for quite a while now.
somehow it just looked interesting in it’s obscurity, i don’t know :P
keep up the good work guys, i’ll just follow :)
–
that nippon ichi game sounds like fun too, i wonder what it is now…
would it perhaps be… , ..no it wouldn’t :P
i’ll be waiting to hear from that later then.
May 28th, 2009 at 03:28
Angel’s Present is the sequel to Rhapsody and not too bad of a game, despite its terrible (yet oddly fun) precursor. I don’t remember much about it, save that Cornet and her andro husband are adults.
On PSX they only made two RPG’s, I think; most of the rest of their games are puzzle or cooking sims and whatnot.
If so, great, I have been interested in playing Angel’s Present in English for awhile. I dated a psycho j-phile girl years ago who imported it, but her fucking-crazy-bitch clicked in before I could finish it and we let each other go.
May 28th, 2009 at 06:36
So… wait… I got it right? O_o
May 28th, 2009 at 17:10
You are a god.
May 28th, 2009 at 18:23
just to completely crush any fantasized hope i have, i need to hear this again -_-
Tom, you’re still not including the honorifics when you’re translating this game right..?
May 28th, 2009 at 19:02
That’s a secret to everybody!
/me prepares next april fool
May 28th, 2009 at 19:44
http://tsumi.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/summoning-a-devil-hacker/
LOL
May 28th, 2009 at 21:18
Imagine that, with honorifics. Perfect joke for april fools.
May 28th, 2009 at 23:02
I’ll let Nemissa-sempai tell all of you about using honorifics.
Nemi-tan: Iesu, ai uiru teru yuu abauto supikingu feiku japaniizu desu ne. Bai yuuzingu japaniizu waadozu in an ingurishu toranzureshon uen ze aa notto niidedo, uii kan puromoto za suteriotaipu zatto a huoren rangueji masuto notto saundo nachuraru afutaa bi-ingu toranzuretedo. Ifu uii toranzureto japaniizu in a noomaru fashon, piporu uiru sinku zatto japaniizu izu an oojinari rangueji. Zatto izu notto akuseputaburu.
May 28th, 2009 at 23:57
My wife works with a Japanese woman named Chieko. We were watching Karate Kid 2 with her over, and she (having never seen it) was appalled by much of the film. She said that Japanese-Americans rarely use honorifics when speaking English as simply is not correct. The two languages simply do not always coincide pound for pound as to speech patterns and the meaning of tenses.
“Daniel-san” was considered rude because when used in English, it is considered slang. And slang is like swearing in Japanese.
I, personally, cannot argue on this point, as I don’t know. But that is what Chieko went on about.
May 29th, 2009 at 00:08
*phew*
That did the trick! crushed to tiny pieces beyond recognition and gone with the wind!
Thanks you guys!
*goes harasses some random “weaabo”*
-_-”
May 29th, 2009 at 00:19
That was some wonderful Engrish.
I agree with the sentiment of having no honorifics in the English translation. They’re only confusing for many English speakers, and feels tacky.
May 29th, 2009 at 00:35
Right.
Most people don’t realize that forcing honorifics into an English translation is rather stereotypical and not very respectful of either language. This is also why it’s a bit insulting. It’s like saying Japanese people can’t speak normal English and must use inappropriate terms.
Japanese may use honorifics in English rarely during some situations, as you said, but it’s not a regular practice, certainly not to the extent that movies like Karate Kid or the recent Persona translations would have people believe.
People think that it seems more Japanese that way, but it’s more like a mockery of Japanese, like somebody who isn’t Asian squinting their eyes and saying, “look at me, I’m Japanese!”
It doesn’t feel honest or natural, and that takes away from the flow of the script. When you read a translation of two people having a regular conversation, it should sound like they are just having a conversation… Not a “Japanese” conversation, but an average conversation.
Unless a character is supposed to be a walking Japanese stereotype, or is speaking directly about which honorifics’ terms are used, I wouldn’t want to include them in my translation. I hope that this trend of Atlus’ dies out sooner rather than later.
May 29th, 2009 at 07:55
You should have all Japanese characters refer to any Westerners as, “A-Number-One Cowboy.”
That should appease the fan-girls.
May 29th, 2009 at 08:34
On a more serious note, I just want to provide a good translation for everybody out there. It’s the least I can do right now, since I have the time. When I bought Soul Hackers so long ago, I never even imagined that I would translate it. I know that if there’s anyone out there who can get it hacked, it’s Gemini. I just consider myself lucky to be able to a part of the translation process.
I hope that you’ll all stick around for the ride and post your thoughts (even if you still want honorifics, heh heh) because without an audience, there’s no point performing. Translating is a long process, so it’s always refreshing to see all of you guys posting here. You are the ones who keep it exciting.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:21
I still want honorifics because I’m a stupid anime cunt (or a dick, if you really want to stick to the sex) and I like shitty translations with honorifics that sounds unnatural and even insulting for native Japanese speakers. The more shit, the more I’m happy! I don’t care about your professionalism! Give me shit! This not a Bergman’s movie script, this is not art, this bullshit aka video games.
May 29th, 2009 at 14:34
I know I’m awfully late to the party, but would it still be okay if I came in just to say this was the best game-related news of the year and with this my loyalty to Gemini and Tom just got MAXed? :D
May 29th, 2009 at 17:03
Everyone’s welcome to join the party, of course. The more the merrier!
May 30th, 2009 at 03:17
Amazing. Love you guys.
May 30th, 2009 at 15:44
Just got late to the party here. Best translation news I’ve heard in months since, as mentioned above, everyone seems to be focussing on really obscure, almost pointless titles (I know every game is someone’s favourite, but come on…). It never ceases to amaze me how the Megaten fandom has so much left untranslated out there in terms of both games and manga.
Still, this is fantastic news. The only way things could get any better would be if someone announced they were working on SMT 1&1GBA and Majin Tensei 1&2. I can’t be the only one out there waiting for the MT games can I?
…can I?
May 30th, 2009 at 16:31
No, you’re definitely not the only one. :)
May 30th, 2009 at 20:25
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May 30th, 2009 at 22:58
What are the differences made for the GBA SMT I&II? I would really like if they included better shop and menu systems. As well as item and spell descriptions. SMT I&II as well as Phantasy Star 2 are included in my “difficult due to poor menu structure” genre. Though I was still more than happy with the games, cause they kicked ass.
May 31st, 2009 at 01:17
The GBA SMTs have improved graphics (including a more realistic city map), different menu setup, additional items that unlock new story scenes (!), and unlockable content that differs depending on your alignment when you beat the game. (For example, beating it with the law alignment unlocks the sound test mode, I believe… Or was it a demon encylopedia? I forgot.) In order to see all of the additional scenes and unlock everything, you will have to beat the game multiple times. They are the ideal releases, much better than the Playstation versions.
May 31st, 2009 at 09:43
Awesome news, guys. Keep up the good work!
May 31st, 2009 at 14:06
Seriously, someone needs to hack those !
I appreciate what AG did to SMT1 & 2, but they are buggy as hell! you’ll always enter a battle or a room while putting your hand on your heart, afraid it might freeze in you.
besides, even if they were rendered perfectly without any problem, the GBA’s version have much more to offer in almost every aspect.
We already have an awesome translator who’s welling to tackle it if the chance present itself. What we obviously lack here is the able hacker (bear in mind the limitations of the system).
I wish we had a GBA genius hacker like we have a genius hacker for the PSX here ^^
May 31st, 2009 at 22:28
Kaioshin and Kingcom are really capable of handling GBA games. It’s just that they are too busy to work on them right now. It’s a real shame because they have the potential to work some GBA magic. (You can see their great hacking work in Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart.) If they put that same level of effort into the SMT games, I know that they could make the best English versions… But they have to finish Oriental Blue and Devil Children: Ice Book first, at least! :)
June 3rd, 2009 at 02:07
This will probably sound dumb, but I actually considered the possibility of the secret project being the customizable mahjong game that Nippon Ichi did, which also had a story mode, among other things. I own the game, but it’s understandable why many people are apathetic towards mahjong games because they’re dime a dozen and don’t understand how to play. However, there are some good ones that give the genre a more experimental twist, and this one I’m talking about is one of the better ones.
Anyways, it’s also interesting to see Dokkaebi in the MegaTen game pictured. That monster is actually from korean mythology.
June 3rd, 2009 at 08:27
Mahjong and korean mythology, eh? I guess being a nerd doesn’t hurt.
June 18th, 2009 at 04:08
There is an interview with ATLUS staff in the back of the Persona 4 strategy guide that states that for each new Megaten title they choose all of the demons/persona from scratch. One question was asked as to whether they would choose Jehovah as a Persona for P5. The above was their answer.
Additionally, they mentioned that Philemon is indeed in the P3/P4 universe.
What I wanted to hear, was that they do not intend to continue making crappy Persona games likes 3 and 4. I like the format of the original 2(3).
I don’t know if anyone has seen the videos for the PSP Persona remake, but its no longer subtitled “Be Your True Mind” and they scrapped the soundtrack and opening to replace them with ones more similar to the P3 and P4.
The battle theme is awful. It sounds like some Japanese chick reading out magazine ads out of boredom while she is taking a shit.
I like the horror themed soundtrack of the original Persona titles. I am not a fan of the “Japanese-girl-mumbling-about-stupid-shit” theme of the newer Persona games.
I don’t like lyrical battle themes.
It’s like when Microsoft remade Conker’s Bad Fur Day on the X-Box and made it into a first-person shooter.
Persona was a perfectly good game without altering it to fit thematically into the newer standards of the Persona game universe.
Imagine if they remake Innocent Sin?
June 18th, 2009 at 12:30
That’s so great ! After Innocent Sin, you wanna to translate Soul Hackers !!
You are the bests translator/hacker that I ever seen !
All over the world, we are awaiting for that big day !
June 18th, 2009 at 14:56
Persona 1 was total crap and thank God for the remake. Also, I thank Lucifer that you’re not an employee of ATLUS.
June 18th, 2009 at 21:48
The original translation of Persona 1 was crap, but the game itself is fantastic. I want a localization of the original cut, not what they’re doing with it. P3 and P4 do not represent what I liked about Persona and Persona 2. By going back and doing a ret-con with P1 they are killing the horror theme by replacing its theme with one of modern pop-culture.
Persona games, actually, all Megaten games are heavily entrenched in the horror genre, save for P3 and P4 which seem to be more interested in youth culture and hip-hop music.
I mean, I am surprised they didn’t add fucking Sephiroth to the P1 remake.
June 19th, 2009 at 00:25
“P3 and P4 do not represent what I liked about Persona and Persona 2.”
Total agreement on this one.
“By going back and doing a ret-con with P1 they are killing the horror theme by replacing its theme with one of modern pop-culture.”
I’ve been talking about this few days ago till death so I won’t roll this shit again. All I will say is that: P1 was a good game (yeah, only a GOOD game – excellent one is Innocent Sin) but suffered from severe technical drawbacks that came from the fact that ATLUS didn’t know a damn thing how to program for PSX (that didn’t change much with P2 but it still was an enormous improvement). The remake fixes that issues while introducing new OST that’s, yeah, totally different and kills the horror aspect of the original but it’s not Square Enix-like bullshit. It’s an incredibly well done remake for the new Persona crowd in Japan. They want it, they have it. Don’t call them idiots just because they don’t want to listen to oldschool music and fight with retarded technicals of the PSX version.
June 19th, 2009 at 02:10
I never called anyone an idiot.
I think that the remake is targeted to people like my friend Jared, who would not touch a megaten game until P3 came out.
I was fine with the original Persona before I knew it even was a butchered facsimile of its true self.
I do not have any problems fixing the poor technical aspects of the game, though from what I can tell the game play remains unchanged.
Its the killjoy soundtrack that bugs me. I am pissed that if I want to play the remake I have to put up with the annoying soundtrack. When I played P3 I just changed the audio cable to a CD player and listened to something else while I played…with the PSP I just have to turn it down.
And I think Square-Enix generally does a fantastic job on sound tracks, though that does not include opening and ending songs sung by pop-singers and marketed to death. Final Fantasy XII had a magnificent score…complete with a total lack of Koda Kumi.
All I can keep thinking of is the same thing I thought when I excitedly popped in my import of P3 years ago…”did ATLUS just make the Kingdom Hearts of Megaten?” That is not certainly true, P3 and P4 are not bad games…they just are not the dark and sterile games I have come to love as part of the Megaten franchise. And it appears they are now in the business of making all Persona that way. You watch, they are going to anally rape Tsumi and Batsu. Watch.
June 19th, 2009 at 05:00
“When I played P3 I just changed the audio cable to a CD player and listened to something else while I played”
chaoticprime, I did the exact same thing (3 and 4)! The music started to get on my nerves, especially when I had to level grind.
June 19th, 2009 at 07:36
Me too, listened to to some NIN and Iced in its place…
June 19th, 2009 at 10:20
I mostly listened to CCR.
June 19th, 2009 at 23:17
Music gets on my nerves in 99% of games after about 100 hours so that’s hardly an argument. And the gameplay was changed in plus thanks to eliminating the PSX technical bullshit and refining the battles.
June 20th, 2009 at 00:13
I do not think I have put 100 hours in to too many games. I think I put over 100 in FFXII, but most others I finish up with in 30 – 40. I think Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Vesperia, Xenogears, and a few others reached into the 65-70 hour range. My first playthrough of Eternal Punishment was pretty long, like 60 hours. I can finish the Mary quest in Persona in about 20, though.
And, seriously, Takehaniyasubiko, you can quit trying to argue with me. You cannot prove your opinions over my own. I did not ask for your input. I read nothing in the forum rules stating that I could not bitch about whatever I want to…I do not need you trying to invalidate my opinions. I have been playing console rpg’s since 1986, I know what I am talking about.
June 20th, 2009 at 08:30
I am interested to know if anyone has played Tales of Symphonia 2. I have been playing through it this week (its dreadfully easy) and I need to know if anyone else thinks its…well, largely crap. It does not seem very well done at all. I have read that Tales of Vesperia (a magnificent game) was developed at the same time, so perhaps that accounts for the lackluster production of ToS2.
Has anyone seen the movie Twins? If so think of this, Tales of the Vesperia is Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Tales of Symponia 2 is Danny DeVito.
June 20th, 2009 at 18:39
“Music gets on my nerves in 99% of games after about 100 hours so that’s hardly an argument.”
No offense, but… did I just read this? Hardly an argument? Are you trying to say a soundtrack that gets on your nerves A LITTLE after DOZENS of hours is the same as something that makes you want to bang your head against a wall from the very first minute it starts playing? Jesus, this was the worst argument EVER. You’re just being stubborn because you don’t want to admit you were wrong.
If you had simply said you like the new soundtrack, I would have kept quiet about it. But saying it’s all the same is simply ridiculous. And what’s even worse, using the fact Atlus fixed TECHNICAL PROBLEMS to justify the fact they changed the SOUNDTRACK. It’s like saying no one has the right to complain something tastes horrible just because it isn’t poisoned. -___-
June 21st, 2009 at 02:50
It will be nice to see Soul Hackers finally finished. I only have the Saturn version, but I could get the PS version I suppose (don’t think it’s very pricey). I wonder if the old project will keep moving at all, Cless is still trying to finish TOP, even though a quality translation was already done by Gemini (Guess they didn’t want those YEARS of work to go to waste?)
As for Tales of Symphonia 2, I actually enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time in it.. I guess I really liked the Pokemon-esque stuff. It isn’t super well-made though, it definitely seems like it was banged out pretty quick. Tales of Vesperia is technically a great game and it’s beautiful, but I felt it was a little soulless. I did like it, but I didn’t love the story or characters as much as many of the other Tales games, it felt like there was something missing.
Oh yeah and from earlier.. I feel like the only person who enjoyed Working Designs’ translations. Sure they were incorrect, silly and often stupid, but damn I had fun. I have all the originals and they are still good games, but when playing them, I find I really miss the whacky bullshit from the WD translations (especially with the NPCs). I like accurate scripts too, but I don’t get super pissed about ones that deviate, especially in an entertaining way.. I guess I’d be more annoyed if I couldn’t read Japanese.. maybe @>@
June 21st, 2009 at 06:30
I enjoyed Tales of the Abyss, Vesperia, and Eternia all quite a bit. I did not much care for Symponia, Legendia, or Destiny. Phantasia, Rebirth, and Destiny 2 were all fun. Symphonia 2 is the worst of the lot, of those I have played.
As for WD, I strongly dislike how they bill themselves as higher than the games actual creators in the credits. Victor Ireland acts like the game was created specifically so that he may localize it in the US and then take total credit for it. Similar to how Funimation does with anime. The put their logo first and foremost, mentioning the original production team only after they have established their second-hand involvement.
In addition, their translations were generally pretty bad in terms of accuracy. LIke, for instance, Epic Stella on PSX. They renamed it Vanguard Bandits because they thought Epic Stella sounded stupid. Who are they to decide? I would have bought Epic Stella regardless of its title, because it was a goddamn TRPG on PSX.
Fucking douschebags.
June 21st, 2009 at 09:03
“If you had simply said you like the new soundtrack, I would have kept quiet about it.”
It’s about the very fact – the music being irrating. Dosen’t matter if it’s irrating becasue you don’t like Meguro’s work or if it’s just too many hours of listning to it. It’s stupid to complain about music in a great game just becasue your mental state dosen’t allow you to listen to it. My point is – people are very diffrent. Some can do stupid things like turning off the music in Persona PSP in a matter of secons, some may love it until the first 100 hours and then hate it. But one’s idiosyncrasys shouldn’t be an argument and that’s why I’ve said. Objectively, Persona PSP music is good. You can’t just go to garage and record something like that. You may thinks so but that’s just bumptiousness.
chaoticprime, that fact that you are playing RPGs since 1986 is the very fact that have made you twisted about RPGs. You’re yet another person who can’t see a better version of Persona when he sees one just becasue sentiments cloud your jugdment. I’m not trying to invalidate your opinions. I just think you’re overly dramatic about things. ATLUS JP did a fantastic job with the remake and to be honest, it’s only ATLUS US fault that you have antyhing to brag about. Why? Becasue ATLUS JP dosen’t give a flying fuck about non-Japanese gamers. They did that OST for them, not for us. ATLUS USA is simply brining that over without any sense of cultural diffrences. It’s funny since with P1 they had too much of it.
June 21st, 2009 at 09:23
*with P1 for PSX
And to clarify the last point – I like ATLUS USA localizatons just as they are but at the same time, it’s clear that ATLUS USA has become a strange being. They brining obscure Japanse stuff to their nerdy crowd that loves honorifics (Hi, Tom!) and other otaku – for the lack of a better word – bullshit. P3 and P4 hit a bigger crowd, but those are just exceptions. Besides, P3 and P4 were fresh for many Square Enix fans (and for the Square Enix).
June 21st, 2009 at 10:37
I hate the new Persona style for the same reason I hate Tetsuya Nomura. It is ugly and pop culture pedantic.
It seems to be more about the style than the substance. It’s like Tales of Symphonia, a battle system with a game based around it.
There is no point arguing about this further, but I stand by my statement. They could have easily fixed up the technical issues of P1 without having to “upgrade” its visual and audio style to accommodate the current accepted Persona format.
I could rant, but I don’t wanna, my dog is dying and I don’t wanna think about this.
Hate the Square, love the Enix.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:57
Sorry about the dog but still – Nomura is way worse than even the most pathetic pop shit that came from Soejima. Kaneko didn’t disappoint me even once (OK, some of his promo stuff for Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon is quite off) and I love his work on the Persona remake. As for the music – like I said, Meguro did a good job but it’s it was a job for the current Japanese crowd.
OK, I’m off – my plasma is dying.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:58
*Nomura’s work
June 22nd, 2009 at 23:46
I think the main problem with Persona PSP OST is that those new jpop sugar happy tracks do no fit with the game’s atmosphere at all. They may be perfect for the direction P3/P4 took, but certainly not P1.
The original OST was also a lot more diverse, whereas now in the PSP OST you have same songs playing in different areas.
Honestly, I’m just happy I finally get to play P1 with a faithful translation and SSQ.
The enhacements like faster loading are also nice.
June 23rd, 2009 at 08:51
Get this, my dog Banjo, who is only six years old, has come down with luxating patella on three of his knees. This is a common condition for shih-tzu’s that results in their knee-caps sliding out of place thusly crippling them. Banjo cannot walk, and I have been having to carry him out to shit and piss.
If I do not get him surgery I will have to euthanize him, and that would wreck me something fierce. He is like one of my kids…I have had him longer than my kids, though I still love my kids more…they’re my fucking kids.
I have to get surgery on all three of his legs. The total cost at a normal vet is $2,500 per knee. I have a friend who is a vet who will do it for $750 per knee. With X-Rays, the total is just under $ 3,000.
To pay for this, I am selling off my immense game collection until I get enough money. I already have about $ 1,200, as I sold my PSX rares (Suikoden & Suikoden II, Tales of Destiny, Tales of Destiny II, Tactics Ogre, DoDonPachi, Symphony of the Night original print, Final Fantasy VII original print, Rhapsody, Valkyrie Profile, and Xenogears). I still have many good PSX games, but those are all I could sell to a private collector who lives here in KC.
I am offering to sell my Megaten games here for cheap. Give me an offer, I will likely not refuse. Shipping is on you, you pay for what you want.
Here is what I have immediately on hand, I have some other stuff in storage, but that’s in another state:
Super Famicom: Majin Tensei (box, manual, cart, excellent condition), Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis (box, manual, cart, good condition), Shin Megami Tensei (box, manual, art, excellent condition), Kyuukyauku Megami Tensei I & II (cart only), & Last Bible III (cart only).
Sega Saturn: Devil Summoner (book, case, cd, fair condition)x2, Ronde (book, case, 2 cds, good condition), Devil Summoner 2: Soul Hackers (book, case, 2 cds, good condition).
Playstation: Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (box, 2 cds, good condition).
Playstation 2: Persona 3 Fes (complete, new condition), Persona 4 (complete, new condition), Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne (complete, new condition), Devil Summoner 1 (complete, new), Devil Summoner 2 (complete, new), Digital Devil Story 2 (complete, new).
I don’t have to sell everything here, as I have a ton of other stuff I am trying to sell via other sources, but I thought I would offer Megaten fans like you all a first crack at these. I really do not want to let my stuff go, but Banjo is my fucking dog, so that’s that.
I will not be offended if no one is interested. Like I said, giving you first crack.
June 23rd, 2009 at 08:53
Oh yeah, I also have a Sega Saturn that is modded to play burns and imports. I would gladly sell it for my dog.
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:11
WOW! I can’t belive you’re doing that!
Not to sound as if I find to wrong… Not at all. It’s just… Well, I can’t belive your that so much devoted to that dog! Germans love their pets, I guess. O_O
Well, good luck! I hope Banjo gets well (even though I hate shih-tzu).
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:13
*believe
**to be
***you’re so much devoted
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:28
Good luck with your dog. Vet bills can be killer, my birds can run up massive bills so fast, I opened a savings account just for them.
I’d take your games, but I have most of them. Do you have the original english Persona 1? I’d take that XD
Also, I agree that WD were kind of jerks about the original titles and stuff. I wonder if they’ve learned their lesson, Ireland’s new company just put out a game with Hudson and his name and company aren’t mentioned at all really. BUT even with the dickish behaviour, they did do some good work back when other people couldn’t be assed to even try. By today’s standards they suck, but I do think they were part of a positive change. I’ll just go put on my rose colored glasses and play Lunar again now XD
June 24th, 2009 at 03:13
My father’s dog had this same problem. We also had to carry her out. You’ll have to continue doing that for a couple weeks after the surgery until it re-learns to walk. It is WORTH IT! Dogs really are a member of the family. Games can be replaced, but your dog’s life can’t! Don’t euthanize it!
I’d also recommend giving your dog less food – less weight means less strain on the joints. You should start helping it lose weight before the surgery. Since it can’t run around now, you should limit its food intake as much as you can while still remaining in a healthy limit. That’ll make the recovery easier.
I also recommend two vitamin supplements in particular: glucosamine and chondroitin. These supplements have done wonders for our dog.
I wish you and your pup the best!
June 24th, 2009 at 07:18
I am glad to hear that other people know what I’m talking about. I have started feeding him less, and we have started condroitin, but not glucosamine…though I will start with that.
I do have the first Persona, but it’s in storage in the south of Missouri. I have been in Kansas for a few years, and about six totes of my belongings never made it up here with me.
I went down to my local game store and sold off some of my 1ed DnD books and came home with over $400.
With any luck, I will meet the requirements sooner than I had hoped.
I do also have the original strategy guides for Persona and Persona 2. The Persona guide was released by Gamefan magazine and is pretty damned rare. The Persona 2 was released by BradyGames I think and is fairly rare as well.
With the new Persona coming out I imagine there will be a guide for it as well that will make the old one pointless…though I did not buy it because I needed it, I bought it because it was fucking cool as hell.
Banjo had the strength today to bite the new puppy (named Doctor Ninja) when it tried to steal his chew-rope, so that was a good thing. Banjo not biting people or animals all the time was kind of the shocker than set reality in for me.
When new people come over he’ll jump up in their lap, but when the try to pet him, he snarls and growls so they just sit there frozen with this surly mop showing teeth at them. I had this pagan girl over visiting my roommate and she looked at him after I warned her that he bites and she said, “I can tell he’s got a kind spirit.” She tried to pet him and he bit her. I said, “You can’t tell shit from shit, can you?”
June 24th, 2009 at 08:01
That pagan girl story should be put into the newset edition of Bible. “Parable of the foolhardy woman and the spitful German.”
June 24th, 2009 at 10:36
That story is nothing. There used to be (maybe still is) an internet columnist named Pastor Brown. In one of his stories, he claims that while he and a friend were riding together looking for a place to park, his friend, a pagan, claimed he would find a parking place using his pagan magick. They drove around for a while longer and when they found no parking place, Pastor Brown announced that he would pray to Jesus for a place to park. Low and behold, a parking spot opened up immediately. And that, according to Pastor Brown, is his proof that Christianity is better than Wicca.
I thought it was specious reasoning, but I’m an atheist.
June 24th, 2009 at 22:32
ma io ti amo gemini :D
June 25th, 2009 at 08:55
I guess Wicca really got owned by Christianity on that parking, lol.
June 25th, 2009 at 10:40
Yes, that there was solid evidence that when parking is a concern, monotheism is your best course of action.
I wonder which religion governs waiting in line for something?
June 29th, 2009 at 05:21
Thunderbirds are go!
I made all the money I needed. Banjo went into surgery today, and he should be fine. He’s staying overnight, but I’ll get him tomorrow, if all goes well.
My friend Tim bought me Devil Survivor after he found out I already had reached my goal. It is really quite a good game. It took my mind off of the Banjo problems for awhile. I finished it pretty quickly, but it was still a very good game.
When my in-laws found out how much I just spent on my dog they flipped out. I borrowed a grand from them several years ago. They told me not to pay it back. So I didn’t. They now want to know when I am going to pay them, if I can drop 3k on a shih-tzu.
The answer is never.
My big regret is selling my copy of Terranigma still in the shrink wrap. I got it in Germany years ago. I got $275 dollars for it, though, so that was all good.
June 29th, 2009 at 07:22
Like I said, I would never sell those game for ANY animal. Call me a mothefucking bastard but I would simply not do it. Besides, I don’t beleive in animal’s medicine. It’s just stupid. I think that the dog will only suffer more but it’s your choice and if your happy, I guess we’re also happy.
June 29th, 2009 at 07:23
*you’re happy
June 29th, 2009 at 10:22
I would gladly sell all of my games to save the lives of my family members, which includes my pets. I can get all those games again, but I can never get my pets back. If you have no emotional connection with your animal(s), then okay.. but why have pets at all if that’s the case?
If I kept my games and euthanized my animals, I would feel absolutely terrible. I might regret selling my games for a little while, but a few years down the road and I probably wouldn’t care very much any more and be happy I saved my pets instead.
Also, why do you think animal medicine is stupid? If they’re sick, they shouldn’t have to just die. If you feel this way, you shouldn’t have pets, I’m sorry. It’s immensely selfish to bring an animal in your home for your own amusement and do nothing to help it if it gets sick or hurt.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:28
Forgot, I hope Banjo does well after his surgery. Maybe you should pay them back at some point, just to get them off your back. I find having any kind of debt with family is worse than having debt with the mob, ugh. They are total shitheads for saying that though.
I don’t get why people place no value on their pets. Why the hell do they bring them home then? To play with for a while and to just dump at their earliest convenience? I’m not a douchebag animal rights person or a vegan, but that shit is just low.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:51
Well, I look at it this way. Banjo likely has another 6-7 years in him. The games I sold I have played through many times in some cases. They are things. I have had a ton of pets in the past, and I likely would not have shown them as much consideration as Banjo, but I have had him for six years, and he has a personality atypical with dogs. He never comes when anyone calls him, he likes to hide in dark places and growl at anyone who walks by, he screams his head off when you leave him alone in a room, he has bitten me many times–occasionally requiring stitches, he stinks as bathing him is a terrible chore, and he hates my children. On the plus side, however, he always jumps up on my when I get home, he will leap into the air to grab food out of your hands (he does this charge jump, like on Super Mario Bros 2, where he squats and then leaps), he follows me around wherever I go, he plays “shreddies” where I toss him a piece of paper and he tears it apart like he is a manic depressive, he has his 3 AM freak out, where between 2:30 and 3:30 AM he just starts running around like mad and then rolls around on his bad making these weird gurgling moaning sounds.
Those don’t all sound good, but they are his personality, and I am so used to them my life would be so weird with their absence.
My best comparison is the first time I played Xenogears, which is a long-ass game. I played the hell out of that game. By the end of the game, I knew the characters pretty damn well. So I stopped playing it at the last dungeon. I didn’t want the game to end. Keep in mind, I was a heavily medicated teenager with emotional instabilities at the time, but still. I did beat the game. And how.
I hope that makes sense to anyone.
June 29th, 2009 at 19:20
I don’t believe in animal medicine simply because pets never were destined to be treated by specialist who cash gigantic sums for cutting the hell out of them (just don’t tell me it was the same with people). It’s different with simple procedures (a broken leg, cold and crap like that) but when you spend thousands on some complicated surgeries it’s not empathy for animals, big love and big devotion – it’s plain insanity and/or negatively idealistic outlook. In this big, violent world of people who don’t understand people it’s easy to escape into your own little world where pets are members of the family but the reality is still there. People are dying out hunger, people are dying because they don’t have the most basic medicine and here we are spending big cash on pets just because some high-ass vets are using people’s emotions and naivety.
There is so much trauma in this world that I just can’t stand when people are preaching about the value of love as if they were freaking Jesus reborn. It’s not that easy as you may think. I had many pets and know many vets and that’s exactly why I wouldn’t throw money at some crazy operations. I simply don’t think it’s right to play the all-loving when you live in a rich country (current economic crisis aside). There are priorities. I would not feel right treating dogs better than people that are dying in places like Africa or Chechnya. I know, I know – nihili novi sub sole, the ancient Egyptians and cats are one of the examples of such idiocy. But why did they do such things? Because the rich and spoiled where wacko…
I don’t want to indulge in this crap, I know I won’t fix the world. But at least I can fix my own backyard and that’s why I’m personally saying NO to such acts. Chaoticprime can do whaterver he wants to with Banjo since I’m not a God who can punish him.
June 30th, 2009 at 00:57
I don’t think people should feel guilty over spending money on their pets. Yes, the world is a messed up place and we can’t forget those suffering, but most people don’t. All the people I know who provide veterinary care also volunteer and donate money to worthy charities. There are lots that don’t, but it’s their life.
I also want to mention that people aren’t dying in Africa because us richer people are just saying fuck you. People, governments and charities provide a lot of money, food, medical care and other aid. The problem is that a lot of Africa is absolutely corrupt. The warlords end up taking all of that money and food, while their people die of famine and aids. We can’t just take out the bad guys either, that never works.. and throwing money at the problem isn’t working either. It’s going to be a long, hard road for those countries to get where we are and we should help, but we shouldn’t feel guilty about making our lives more enjoyable. And truly, there are a lot of people who really can’t contribute much to these problems at all, I’m afraid.
And if you want to go into medical care based on nature, humans weren’t really “meant” for medical care either. I don’t believe any humans or any animals were meant for anything, we just are. Humans evolved the awesome ability of sentient thought and thus developed many things to better mankind. Perhaps veterinary care is sort of an “extra”, but so is dental care (in most cases), cosmetics, clothing, video games,etc. I won’t deny medical care for my animals based on some vague notion of “what they were meant for” or the fact that that money could have gone to someone else, maybe. Perhaps helping them would be a selfish notion, but I seriously don’t care.
Anyway, this totally derailed, can we go back to Soul Hackers or something? lol
June 30th, 2009 at 01:02
Forgot to add: I did really simplify the Africa issue, but I don’t think I have enough room to really go into it. But the biggest problem is corruption and how food and supplies just don’t make it to the people who need it the most.
June 30th, 2009 at 01:24
You forgot to mention that the Catholic church, the religion of 90% of Africa, stalwartly bans the use of birth-control thusly adding to the massive overpopulation and widespread aids and tuberculosis epidemics. One could easily suggest that religion could be largely to blame. But, you know, as long as they don’t use contraceptives and let their children die of aids God will surely let them into heaven because that’s how he rolls.
At any rate, I should think spending my money on my dog rather than purging the endless aids epidemic will likely fall behind the many others sins I have committed…to list: masturbation, sodomy, blasphemy, covetousness, lycanthropy…wait, not that, I voted Democrat in the last election–I think that’s a sin, I hate my mother and father–and tell them that often, though I have never committed adultery, my wife and I have had a few three-ways…does that count?
I also took a shit in a copse of trees in front of a church in 6th grade because I thought it would be funny. It really was.
Therefore, other than my worship of graven images regarding the Megaten games series, I have plenty of sins to top my vain excessive decision to prolong the life of my psychotic dog.
Alright, I am done with this subject as well.
On to Soul Hackers?
June 30th, 2009 at 02:59
I think your dog is awesome, I would like to see a picture. Let’s move onto Soul Hackers and ignore the troll.
I wanted to say, that it’s always kind of weird when you see Hitomi in Nemissa’s outfit lol. I also feel like playing the game again…
June 30th, 2009 at 07:23
When I think back to this game, I confuse the ending with that of the first one. I should probably play through it again, but I guess waiting for the English version might be worth it. I cannot read kanji for fuck-all, so I only get about half the story.
You should get Devil Survivor, it’s pretty damn good. It has a lot of ‘neat’ shit in it that really appeals to me. It lacks communicating with the demons, but it makes up for it in many ways. It’s the best Megaten game, in my opinion, since Nocturne.
June 30th, 2009 at 07:28
[IMG]http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt271/chaoticprime/Banjo.jpg[/IMG]
This is Banjo about three years ago. He looks largely the same now.
June 30th, 2009 at 07:29
Sorry, use this one http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt271/chaoticprime/Banjo.jpg
June 30th, 2009 at 08:47
Cidsa, you know nothing about Africa. Your talk is worth a shit, it’s just a pseudoacademic propaganda thought up to clean modern society’s sins in regards to Africa. All you can do is spit bullshit and pretend that your world is magnificent while those who oppose it are ugly trolls from the infernal depths of earth. Way to go, girl! You will live a happy life of an intellectual cunt. I envy you. “I wish I were like you, so easily amused…”
chaoticprime, that photo is just a shi-tzu, they all look the same, and most of them are psychotic. So, I really don’t know what you are talking about. A regular psychotic shi-tzu, they should sell them in convenience stores. Dalmatians are far more psychotic, and they also often homosexuals. Too bad you have a shi-tzu. But, like I said, if you’re truly happy with shitting in front of churches and loving your shi-tzu, then we’re happy as well. But really, you should shit on the doorstep of that church.
June 30th, 2009 at 09:06
Awe he’s a cutie. He reminds me a little of our old Lhasa Apso, he was a sweet dog. I hope he pulls through his surgery alright, it can be rough for a little while.
By the way, I got Devil Survivor and I quite like it. A lot of people are saying it’s pretty easy, but I’ve found the first bit a little hard. I guess it’s because I didn’t manage to win any good devils from the auctions.. have to keep grinding for macca lol.
I’m really interested in the storyline, so I imagine I’ll have it finished pretty quickly.. assuming I get better at playing it anyway D:
June 30th, 2009 at 09:08
Whoops forgot to add, I have some trouble with the kanji in Soul Hackers too. I know kanji up to about a grade 5 level, so I have to constantly look up stuff, which kind of drags it down. Although, I’ve beaten it multiple times now, so it shouldn’t be too bad the next time through XD
July 1st, 2009 at 05:45
Devil Survivor’s difficulty really lies in your communication with the other characters in the game. A lot is determined by your choices in conversation…and there are a lot of them. The actual battles really sort of surge up in difficulty for boss fights, where I found you need to level or change up your demons to win. I found having a ton of demons on hand is always a good thing. Keep your stock at least in the twenties as it is faster and easier to summon a replacement than pay MP to resurrect which is more usable to attack enemies with.
Giving your leader Fire/Ice/Force/Elec Dance with their respective Fire/Ice/Force/Elec Rise skills and then dumping most of your level up points into Magic (only upping the others to qualify for skills) makes your main character a fucking death-dealer.
By near the end of the game I could one-shot enemies with a Strong attribute against the element I hit him with.
July 1st, 2009 at 08:24
Thanks for the hints, I’ll keep those in mind. I’ve been getting a little better at the game now, but I’m not very far in XD
I’ve noticed lots of choices, neat to know that they actually count for something.. might add some replay value :)
July 5th, 2009 at 08:09
There is a swap meet here in Kansas City every Saturday and Sunday morning. I go out every so often to look for good deals. There is a group of guys who mod PSX’s and PS2’s and sell bootleg import games. I went out there this morning, and they were selling bootlegs of Tales of Phantasia and Innocent Sin using your translation. There was nothing I could do, but I informed them that they are making money off of other people’s hard work, and that they should by all rights donate some of their profits to the translators.
They told me to “fuck off,” which is what I expected.
At any rate, I know where one of them lives. He used to owe me money, but I got paid back from his brother who thought it pretty lame of his brother to owe people money. I am pretty sure I could get something done about them selling the translations, I just thought I would ask the opinions of the translators before I became passionate about it.
July 5th, 2009 at 15:54
Burn their village and let their bodies rot in the sun.
July 5th, 2009 at 16:20
Yeah, I already have a “you’ll soon be feeding the ravens” take on it. But, still, all I am likely to do is break the fuckers’ windshield. Still, that’s $175 bucks…and I can do it every other month or so for a year. He drives an Eagle Talon, so that could get pricey.
July 6th, 2009 at 03:07
That sucks pretty bad, but it’s always going to happen. You should just hang around and let people know that it’s free online, hopefully killing business…
July 7th, 2009 at 15:37
Yeah, the best you can do is tell people where to get it online. People shouldn’t have to pay for something that wasn’t meant to be paid for. These assholes’ really need to get a life; there’s a shop in China Town somewhere that sells burned copies of PS2 games kinda like that. They priced way more than the original game which of course is not cool…
Give ‘em hell Chaotic, just don’t get yourself in too deep. :0
July 8th, 2009 at 14:19
I got it taken care of, the bootlegging jack-offs that is. There is a Sony Store here in KC, I walked in, told the manager what was going on, and he said he would personally go and take pictures of the booth at the swap meet. Apparently, six years ago, another group of guys got busted out there selling the very same thing…except they were bootlegging Dragon Ball Z games.
July 8th, 2009 at 17:09
Good job, chaoticprime. Your shi-tzu is proud.
July 9th, 2009 at 16:56
Yes, he rewarded me by limping over and puking on my shoes.
July 9th, 2009 at 23:34
How is it going with Echo Night 2 translation? I am pretty suprised and happy that you are working on this because first one was a great game. I really appreciate that you are putting your work to an obscure seguel to an mildly known game.
July 10th, 2009 at 02:26
I believe the only things that remain for Echo Night 2 now are the graphics hacking, memory card screens, and revisions. The translation itself is done.
Gemini is busy with college exams, so he hasn’t had time to devote to hacking, so it may be a while before any of our projects show any progress.
I am glad that you’re excited about Echo Night 2. I have wanted it in English for years!!
July 12th, 2009 at 11:06
Chaotic, I’m pretty far into Devil Survivor and I had a question. Did the game repeatedly crash for you? I’ve locked it up at least 10 times now. In most cases it was when I was losing, but just now it was when I was winning a battle I was having problems with.. Starting to drive me crazy -_-;
July 12th, 2009 at 18:16
I have had the game crash twice, both times in Free Battles. I do not know what caused it, but it was annoying. Had I to guess, it has something to do with the localization. I have heard a lot of tales lately about localized games crashing because the translators removed something or changed something. I know if you reference an object that is no longer there the game will crash on you. There is a big screw up with the localized Ar Tonelico 2 that is almost game-breaking.
July 12th, 2009 at 22:14
Yeah I know about AT2, I got a fan-made patch that fixes the problem. It seems like it has something to do with status effects clearing up, but I’m a little unsure. It’s kind of a bummer though, Atlus found a bug in Class of Heroes and fixed that.. but I guess they missed this one :(
Seems like all these companies have QA problems now :/
July 17th, 2009 at 18:29
Hi there Mr.Gemini.my name is Christopher,and i sent u before an email regarding my request.about the translation of tear ring saga…..pls pls pls…this game is really going to be a booommmm!!!…if it is translated into english!….well.just saying…i know that you are a great dude.and good job translating the persona 2,innocent sin…i looooovvvveeeeeddd playing that game.anyway im still playing it.
pls sir translate the game tear ring saga for psx…thank you..and God Bless!!!!!!
July 17th, 2009 at 23:13
Well, I figured since I did the GFAQs pictures for a good chunk of your games, I might as well register here…Can’t wait to take pics for Soul Hackers….Last set of pics I did was for Last Bible 2 for the GBC. I know at least Tom has seen my work… ;)
Anyways, to the poster above me, I doubt begging like that is going to make the guys want to work on that game much….There’s plenty of games we would like to have done, but they choose to work on the games, we should be thankful that they are even doing the games they have done and are doing at this moment…..Plus as I have been told, at least for one person, they like to do games they have played and enjoyed themselves before. Something tells me they have plenty of games lined up already and unless that game was already on their list of things to do, I doubt saying please over and over again is going to change anything….
July 18th, 2009 at 05:12
Holy shit! You worked on Innocent Sin and now will work on Soul Hackers?!
YOU-ARE-GODS!!! *¬*
July 19th, 2009 at 08:13
Well Mr.Saikyo Mog.atleast i said PLS!!!. and FYI,its just a suggestion,it is still up to them if they want to make it happen… i suggested that game to be translated because i know that it is a worthy game.and knowing how great the team of Mr Gemini is,i think it is possible. im not demanding that they do it now,as in now…as i said before.im just suggesting…
And for the Guy above me,yeah!..your right they are GODS sent from Valhalla!!!…jejeje!..=)
Keep it up Devil hackers….
July 19th, 2009 at 16:35
Even if it’s just a suggestion, and even if you said please, your message there wasn’t exactly presented in a nice, calm tone. Your message makes you sound like some little kid begging their parents to buy them some toy at a store, all the while running and jumping around them.
Plus, don’t you think they get plenty of emails suggesting what games they should do? I doubt you are the only one who has sent them one. And kissing their feet isn’t going to sway them in any sense of the way…..I could easily list plenty of games that I think are more than worthy to be translated, but I doubt they ever will be. You should be happy with what is given to you…..
July 21st, 2009 at 14:54
Tear Ring Saga does look good. Of course, were I to beg for translations, I would have been begging for Wachenroder on Saturn. But there’s the old adage, “shit in one hand and dream in the other; see which fills first.”
July 21st, 2009 at 22:01
Ha I’m probably the last person to find out about this but even so I have to say this is fantastic news! You are awesome.
Regarding the GBA SMT Kaioshin writes on his page that he’d be really eager to do it but he’s lacking a translator: http://kaioshin.romhacking.net/?page_id=46
So if you Tom some time happen find yourself without anything to translate… *cough* *cough*
Ps. Any idea when you’re going to spill the beans on the last one of your secret projects? :>
July 22nd, 2009 at 02:45
Thank you for a Devil Summoner and Echo Night 2 projects guys, I’m looking forward to them :) And to Christopher PSX, dude I know that you would like to play some japan games in english, so do I and everybody else here. We all have games that we would like to be translated but seriously, we all know that is a hard job. So be happy with that what you got, begging won’t help you. Maybe you should learn how to hack a games and try to translate them by yourself with a help of people who know japan language. I have few games that I would like to play in english but i doubt that they will ever be translated (I’m affraid that they are not to popular), but maybe some day I will be able to translate them and by the way make happy some gamers like me.
BTW. I was always wondering why Shin Megami Tensei if wasn’t translated, unlike SMT 1 and SMT2. I assume that there are some technical problems to make such translation. Could someone clear that situation for me? And sorry for my bad english but this isn’t my native language :)
July 22nd, 2009 at 04:04
I remember someone wanted to do If… but I really don’t remember who. There are very few people who bother to hack PS games (and other CD games) and even fewer who actually get it done. I’d say If… is playable enough if you know at least basic Japanese, you’ll miss the story but so much of it is dungeon crawling anyway..
But yeah, to anyone who really wants to see their favourite game done, it’d probably be better if you learned to hack games. It’d be awesome to have more people with that ability too, it’s so rare.. I tried to learn myself, but I don’t have a knack for this stuff XD
July 22nd, 2009 at 08:25
“Regarding the GBA SMT Kaioshin writes on his page that he’d be really eager to do it but he’s lacking a translator.”
I worked with Kaioshin on SMT: Devil Children Ice Book after I translated Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart with him. I finished the Ice Book translation, but it still isn’t fully hacked. Until he finishes hacking that, I don’t want to drop another translation in his “inbox,” because he’d just get further behind.
July 25th, 2009 at 05:29
I think it would be interesting to see a translation group that takes polls or something. I personally would not be interested (should I somehow become a hacker overnight) in doing so much repetitive work to please strangers who are a lot of complete ingrates…but I am hardly a philanthropist.
In other news, I managed to finally beat Ronde on Saturn. I want to die a little now. Baroque on the Saturn, the game I previously considered the worst RPG ever, was arguably no worse than Ronde. On the plus side, I found a copy of FEDA: The Emblem of Justice REMAKE! at the swap meet along with some other Saturn titles that were mostly crap. My first find of 09′. Last year I got a copy of Segata Sanshiro which I amuse friends with.
By the way, I own a business which designs and distributes 25mm miniatures for use with role-playing games and I anticipate actually making folding money at it this year. I may be willing to pay for a translation of a couple games if the price is right.
July 25th, 2009 at 07:40
Pay for a translation of Front Mission 2 if you’re so psychotic and rich.
July 25th, 2009 at 16:29
Dude, that is a wonderful idea. Front Mission 2 was kickass. I really want to see Wachenroder in english, that games kicks super ass. You should look it up. It’s a tactical rpg like Front Mission but with a steampunk setting. You have gas-powered weapons which you can rev-up before you make your attack to inflict more damage. Its cool, check it out.
July 26th, 2009 at 13:29
The group behind Front Mission 5 translation, plans on translating Front Mission 2, after the release of their final FM5 patch.
July 27th, 2009 at 01:45
I loved Wachenroder, but that is the last game I’d expect to see translated lol.
I don’t think I could handle doing so much hacking work for a bunch of assholes either, but the few people who appreciated it might make it worth it.. I dunno.
July 27th, 2009 at 07:44
The translations that I do are for everybody to play, regardless of who they might be. Some people might be mean or something, but people might change over time. They might just be stressed out about something else in their life, or are just in a bad mood and need to vent. On the other hand, a game doesn’t change over time. It’ll be there for those who want to play it, whenever they want to play it, no matter who they are.
I am happy when I hear anybody played Innocent Sin and had a fun time, regardless of who they are. It’s times like those that I know that my work was worthwhile.
I wish that I could help everyone play their favorite games, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I personally am too bad at strategy RPGs to play them long enough to give them a decent translation. I suppose I could cheat through any game, but I want a game to be given a loving translation by a real fan. Anything less than that is certainly not what it deserves.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:44
Wachenröder really is super kick ass! Damn, SEGA was over 9000 back then. Sometimes I can’t believe that Saturn died with all those awesome titles… A damn shame Wachenröder didn’t make it outside Japan.
You really should make some money wonders for the FM5 translation team if they are willing to take down FM2, chaticprime. Those guys really deserve some kind of a reward for their epic efforts.
July 28th, 2009 at 05:04
Saturn really did not die in Japan. It continued production until 2000 when the Dreamcast was Sega’s weapon of choice. I believe the Dreamcast was released in 1998, too.
In the US the Saturn died off quickly. Of course, I remember seeing one TV commercial and I remember driving around for a whole day looking for a ram cart (and never did find one).
Plus the cases were absurdly large.
I usually make donations to any translation groups which I want to heavily inspire. I quit doing that a few years ago when I dropped $100 on a certain company translation the PSX Tales of Phantasia which, I might ad, still has not finished the translation. I am not saying my donation had anything to do with motivating them, but still, its been like, nine years.
Thankfully I had fun playing through the Devil Hackers translation which I made a neat label and case for.
July 28th, 2009 at 21:27
Sega had terrible promotion in the states it seems, not as bad as Hudson but yeah.. The Saturn and the DC both died terribly fast.. while the last Dreamcast in Japan came out in 2008 (and there could always be another..)! Although, I’d say another problem is that the Saturn’s ace in the hole were adventure games, which just weren’t popular here.. That and very few RPGs while Sony had Final Fantasy..
I hear that other group is almost done ToP, which is kind of hilarious.. It’s been so long and Gemini already finished his XDDD
July 29th, 2009 at 04:39
Dark Saviour for the saturn is one of my favorite games ever. I won’t really say it was that good of a game, I just enjoyed the hell out of it for some reason. I liked Landstalker on the genesis quite a bit as well.
If anyone is interested, Shining Force Central has translated the latter three parts of Shining Force 3. They are a great play.
August 2nd, 2009 at 10:05
I watched a pretty long video of the Persona remake. I like most of the changes save for the inappropriate music. The point of the video seemed to be that fans of P3 and P4 can settle into the game nicely, which is good. They did not, however, show even one second of the first person dungeon crawling aspect of the game. This seemed deceptive to me. I mean, were I ignorant of P1 and the first opportunity I had to play it following having played P3 and P4, I don’t know if I would be able to acclimate too well to the different viewpoint. First person dungeon crawling can be a pain, particularly in later levels of the game such as Deva Yuga with the blind areas.
Any else agree?
August 2nd, 2009 at 18:20
I more than agree, the Thanatos Tower and the last dungeon in the Snow Queen Quest were HORRIBLE. Especially since in that quest you only had those stupid temporary saves and not regular ones. Avidea was a big pain in the ass too… oh the memories.
August 2nd, 2009 at 19:46
Avidea’s final area, thankfully, was just a big spiral, but before that part…it was a large pain in the scrotum.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:09
I’ve just got to say thanks! I know everyone says it, but just yetserday I had a thought…
I want to play soul hackers….in english…and oddly enough my second thought was that I wanted to play a version done by Tom and Gemini (Your Innocent Sin was btter than most official translations)….I searched and I can’t believe it.
I think I actually got much more excited about it than I do about official releases. Haha. I don’t want to just repeat what everyone says, but I’m really happy about this!
November 8th, 2009 at 08:37
Hello all,
I’m deeply appreciative of the translations you’ve been providing for the MegaTen fanbase, and will continue to provide. I’m sure others feel the same.
I’m posting primarily, though, to encourage Tom to play the first Devil Summoner when he has time. Not only does the game pick up tremendously (the storyline is lighter, but the gameplay is better relative to Soul Hackers – at least, in my opinion), it’s a game worth playing – and quite possibly, of translation. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Although, I understand Saturn translation isn’t a priority at all, and I can’t be sure about the PSP, either. Still, I think someone should do it at some point. Every MegaTen title is worthy of a good translation!
Except Ronde.
November 9th, 2009 at 06:02
Is anyone alive out there?
November 9th, 2009 at 09:41
Me …
November 10th, 2009 at 01:15
Yeah, Ronde was not very good. I somehow managed to finish it…but I was on pain killers from a back surgery so pretty much any game felt like the best game ever.
November 10th, 2009 at 22:46
Sure thing, Asema. I may get the PSP version of Devil Summoner when Soul Hackers’ patch is released, along with the cell phone SRPG sequel, just to have the full series set.
As for Ronde, well… It would probably take plenty of pain killers to get that one completed. That’s all I will say. :)
November 11th, 2009 at 04:52
Two months worth, if you want an exact count.
November 30th, 2009 at 08:47
Thanks tons for performing this service, this task, for SMT addicts everywhere. People everywhere thank you, Genesis — particularly the ones who want the uncompromising experience of the original game.
Musicians get tons of attention throughout the creative process and are able to milk it afterward in studios, live performances and people’s everyday responses to the sex of what they do (people respond to it in cafes and laundromats). Writers toil in isolation but may then perform their work, publish, and watch whatever level of praise they’ve attracted crest at their doors. I know because I’ve done both things professionally. What I’ve never done is to create a port and translation for an obscure masterpiece, let alone knowing I won’t get paid. I haven’t done that because I lack the chops and the modesty for such quiet and valuable work.
On some other forum, an ignorant twit claimed that people like you do this for attention. They said it with the false authority of an amateur psychologist — you know the one — who tries to substitute self-certainty for talent, training and experience. Productive and independent game translator, an attention-whore? That’s an impossibility. A person who craved attention would never have the tunnel-visioned drive to accomplish what you have. A person who craves attention can’t even write and make music effectively — because the rail we ride is made of something else: the drive that pulled you toward the task in the beginning — let alone, labor over, trouble-shoot and perfect work that the rest of the world thinks is dated and irrelevant because they tend to mistake better technology for better or equal content.
I can’t imagine doing what you’ve done under any circumstances, let alone, in your spare time. It’s important and it matters — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You don’t even get to make a living with your work and, despite this wall of gratitude, you don’t receive *nearly enough* attention. These translations of yours, the work of your collaborators — it’s all selfless, disciplined, tasteful and creative, and people need to be more aware of that. Fools express themselves. Perfectionists get to work.
Thanks for thinking enough of the rest of us to devote a huge chunk of your life to this project and to Innocent Sin. May you get twenty times more out of this than we do playing the games, because that’s what you deserve. May you get the same white light rush that teachers sometimes do after leaving a classroom and knowing they helped someone else. That’s how it feels to do something good, which is exactly what you’ve done.
November 30th, 2009 at 08:50
And before I go — the name, of course, is Gemini, not Genesis. If I could edit the above post, I’d put your alias where it belongs (instead of that of a certain 80s noise musician I knew briefly, hence the switch).
December 7th, 2009 at 14:57
Thanks for the clarification, Almonds. For a minute there I thought you are prasing him: http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/34851120061229_001501_0_big.jpg
December 8th, 2009 at 09:28
Genesis did one thing right as a villain…I really wanted to kill him.
December 10th, 2009 at 06:18
all i want for x-mas is a soul hackers update :D
…and an early release of strange journey in english would be nice too :P
December 12th, 2009 at 22:49
That update would be nice but the Strange Journey is a long shot..considering its going to be in English anyway, why waste time on that. I think I check this page every day to see if anything new…I am glad I bought that PS copy of soul hackers long ago on eBay…it was just fate that this would be translated soon!
December 19th, 2009 at 07:43
wow, it wasnt obvious that was a joke?:P
December 20th, 2009 at 17:11
Yay yay gemini yay. I check this site everyday, hoping to read anything new. Don’t consider this a “HURRY UP YOU BASTARD EYE WONT SOUL HACKURZ UPDAET!!!112£” message, just take your time, I’ll be overjoyed to play one of the greatest games we missed on, with a professional translation, when the time comes. Good work <3
January 9th, 2010 at 17:51
I had to take lucky number “187″ for my post. This is still my most eagerly awaited translation!
March 9th, 2010 at 13:44
Wow finally some purpose is brought to my empty excistence. >w< Eagerly awaiting this n_n
btw. the mass brainwashing system known as monotheism seems to be the root of our present cycle of destructive emotions, especially in the middle east…………
March 9th, 2010 at 15:01
To be fair, the root of destructive tendencies isn’t religion. A world without religion would still be as destructive as the current world. Religion is often used as a scapegoat for worldwide problems, much like videogames are blamed for violence. (The devil made me do it. / Grand Theft Auto made me do it.)
Let’s keep in mind that religion has a wealth of interesting stories, culture and history. Without those stories, we would not have Soul Hackers in the first place!
Perhaps here, in the context of videogames, people can put aside their differences and just enjoy a fun story and an interesting game… That is, when it’s finished. I’m looking forward to it!
March 10th, 2010 at 01:06
I have a important question about the game. I use swap disc to play burned/imported games on my ps1. they work great the only problem is since it relies on tricking the playstation to think it is always closed you can’t swap disc on multidisc games. This is ok with games the have a save option before switching disc like the FF games since I can just save, Turn off the system, and reload the second disc with the swap disc, some games don’t have that option and your kinda stuck if thats the case. So I was wondering if the game features a save option before disc 2?
March 11th, 2010 at 13:32
I’m sorry to say that it’s been so long since I beat disk 1 that I forgot if it gave a save prompt before switching to disk 2. :(
March 11th, 2010 at 18:43
damn, well, thats ok I am sure someone is bound to know. Its such a small detail but makes all the difference in whether you can use swap disc or have to have to use a emulator/modded system.
March 11th, 2010 at 23:13
A walkthrough from gamefaqs states you get to save the game at the end of disk 1, so I guess you can.
March 15th, 2010 at 05:14
awesome. I’m safe then.
April 21st, 2010 at 22:14
Is there an update progress-wise? If the translation has been cancelled, would it be to much to ask, Tom, if you could upload the translated script to a server like sendspace or mediafire? I’ve always longed to play this game… Thanks!
April 23rd, 2010 at 09:40
Well, it’s not cancelled, but Gemini is focusing on Little Princess 2, since it’s much closer to completion. Next will be Soul Hackers or Echo Night 2.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:04
The translation has not been cancelled, but it is not moving either. I assume that once it moves, it’ll move in leaps and bounds.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to upload the script for a read-through, because it’s stored in “area” order rather than chronological order. Basically, one area is a huge text file with every single thing anybody ever says in that area.
It would be pretty useless to try to use it to do a playthrough, because each file leaps around in time and space, and there’s no key to know what part you’re supposed to read next.
I haven’t heard anything about LP2 lately, but I think I might be able to help Gemini get a hold of a special font that he needs for it… If I’m lucky, that is.
April 26th, 2010 at 18:54
A Chinese translation of Soul Hackers was just released. It’s supposed to have some minor issues but nothing that hinders a full playthrough. Might be something multi-lingual folks want to check out.
April 26th, 2010 at 19:32
I really doubt that’d be any useful for occidental languages, especially hacking wise.
April 27th, 2010 at 08:25
“The translation has not been cancelled,”
Excellent. I’m still waiting for this one myself. I’d rather play this than almost any of the trash that passes for new releases today. It’s too bad that Sony cockblocked Atlus back when this was new but then again given all of the strange stuff in Atlus USA’s pre-SMT: Nocturne localizations, I can’t say if this is a good or bad thing really.
April 28th, 2010 at 17:05
Can this be played on the PC? Sounds really good.
April 28th, 2010 at 19:56
Black Magick, the original works on an emulator and most likely the ROM hacked version will as well.
April 28th, 2010 at 20:51
This looks awesome!
I’m so looking forward to this. Thanks guys =)
April 28th, 2010 at 21:05
@horrorgram: there are actually some bugs on PC emulators. :S Most of them happen in battle and are all related to sound not stopping when it’s supposed to. Fortunately the game works just fine on a PSP emulator, which is what I intend to play it with for my tests and playthroughs. :3
April 29th, 2010 at 02:44
Awesum I’m glad to hear it works fine on the Psp, Persona 2 had a couple of bugs on my psp if I remember aound the beginning. All I need now is a bit more of the patience n_n
April 29th, 2010 at 09:14
You can try using an epsxe 1.6.0 instead of newer, and gve a try to the F7 hack. It works for Arc the Lad III on a very similar bug.
Now, I’m not saying that it definetly works, since I didn’t test it myself, but who knows, maybe it will.
April 29th, 2010 at 13:24
One of the emulators… I forgot if it was epsxe or pSX… One of them has a problem when you reach the haunted mansion area. When you enter any of the memory event rooms, the screen goes black and stops responding, but the music keeps playing.
April 29th, 2010 at 17:19
Tom,
This looks a lot like the Arc the Lad III bug. But since it’s on a side quest, probably, few people know about it.
April 30th, 2010 at 15:07
“The translation has not been cancelled, but it is not moving either. I assume that once it moves, it’ll move in leaps and bounds.”
Wow, this is great to hear! You guys are awesome.
July 17th, 2010 at 12:12
Can’t wait for it, buddy. Rock on!
July 17th, 2010 at 12:14
By the way, I live in China, but I’d rather play your version for sure as your work on P2 was some of the best I’ve ever seen.