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I've partnered with TheMajinZenki, cccmar, Xanathis, and Filler for another Game Gear translation: the 1994 RPG Moldorian ~ Hikari to Yami no Sister (Moldorian: The Sisters of Light and Darkness). The patch is 100% complete and hot off the press, so get it here: http://stargood.org/trans/files/Moldorian%20-%20The%20Sisters%20of%20Light%20and...

Credits:

TheMajinZenki -- Translation
Supper -- Hacking
cccmar -- Editing and testing
Xanathis -- Testing and editing
Filler -- Original script dump

In the village of Keuzon within the Human Realm of Moldoria lives a boy named Navarre, shunned by his peers as a coward and weakling. His only real companion is Miria, his friend since childhood. One day, goaded by a village boy, Navarre ventures with Miria to a cave near the village to prove his strength. But unbeknownst to any of them, dark forces are at work upon the land, and Navarre will soon find himself swept up in an adventure beyond his imagination... -- imaginary back-of-the-box blurb

Moldorian is a fairly standard handheld RPG notable for having some nice art, an unusual combat system based on special button combos, and a pretty slick soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto (arps? from a Japanese composer? believe it!). While nothing revolutionary, it's not a bad little game and I hope you'll give it a go.

Since the combat system is a bit confusing at first, you should probably read the user manual, which we translated and included in both the patch ZIP file and the game itself. For best effect, you should read it in conjunction with scans of the original manual, which can be found on Sega Retro. Sorry we couldn't do a scanlation, but no one in the group really has the skillset for that :(

On the technical side of things, you'll notice I implemented a full variable-width font. This turned out to be a very good decision which, together with using a hash map to remap the old string pointers to the new ones, saved me a ton of time compared to my previous efforts with Magic Knight Rayearth (the hacking and playtesting combined took only about 2 weeks total). Hopefully it looks a bit nicer, too.

While working on this, I also turned up a long-lost "cheat code" of sorts that unlocks an extra scene. Apparently this code was never released by the developer, or fell into obscurity if it was. See the readme for details.

Finally, I've placed the project source code on Github for anyone interested.

Hope you enjoy!

Moldorian - The Sisters of Light and Darkness EN [v1.0].zip (83.19 KB)

Just want to say nice job on this. I checked it out last night and enjoyed what I played. I love how the game feels modern for the time and the portraits are really nice looking. Also cool how you added the manual text to the in-game menu. I made sure to read through that as I remembered the battle system throwing me for a loop the first time I tried it. It was helpful.

Awesome job!

Thanks a lot.

I was working in Moldorian to convert it into master system game, but now in English, it is a pleasure.

filler wrote

Just want to say nice job on this. I checked it out last night and enjoyed what I played. I love how the game feels modern for the time and the portraits are really nice looking. Also cool how you added the manual text to the in-game menu. I made sure to read through that as I remembered the battle system throwing me for a loop the first time I tried it. It was helpful.

Glad you like it! Thanks a bunch for doing the initial script dump -- it let us get everything put together a lot faster.

I should be able to get to our planned Game Gear projects soon. Sorry to keep you waiting :(

BcnAbel76 wrote

Awesome job!

Thanks a lot.

I was working in Moldorian to convert it into master system game, but now in English, it is a pleasure.

Thank you, hope you enjoy it!

Nice work, Supper, Filler, TheMajinZenki, cccmar and Xanathis. I'll check this game when I have time. But, from the screen shots, I can tell the translation looks very well made. :)

Another Japan only RPG for Game Gear by Sega translated, togheter with Royal Stone, Sylvan Tale and Phantasy Star Gaiden. I think the only Japan only RPG for Game Gear still waiting for a translation is Eternal Legend...

Excellent! I've always wanted to play through this one! You guys are an awesome translation team. I admire the work done on Kishin Douji Zenki, it has got to be one of the most colorful GG games I have ever played, really takes advantage of the Game Gear VDP color palette and the music is good too!

rouken wrote

I think the only Japan only RPG for Game Gear still waiting for a translation is Eternal Legend...

There is also one more and its Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (not to be confused with Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, they are two different games.)

https://segaretro.org/Megami_Tensei_Gaiden:_Last_Bible
I guess its really obscure since there isn't much info out there on it, only for the fact that it was released a year before Special was released. I attempted to play it once but couldn't understand anything so I just walked around town like a clueless idiot before eventually giving up on it :P.

The GG "Last Bible" is a port of a Game Boy game.
The GG version was released between the original GB release and an updated GBC re-release (the latter was officially translated as Revelations: The Demon Slayer).
Though I am imagining a fan translation is going to ignore the official canon.

kaportza wrote

rouken wrote

I think the only Japan only RPG for Game Gear still waiting for a translation is Eternal Legend...

There is also one more and its Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (not to be confused with Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, they are two different games.)

https://segaretro.org/Megami_Tensei_Gaiden:_Last_Bible
I guess its really obscure since there isn't much info out there on it, only for the fact that it was released a year before Special was released. I attempted to play it once but couldn't understand anything so I just walked around town like a clueless idiot before eventually giving up on it :P.

Well remembered... As part of a long running game franchise, a translation for The Last Bible Gaiden and Gaiden Special could be very interesting too.

KingMike wrote

The GG "Last Bible" is a port of a Game Boy game.
The GG version was released between the original GB release and an updated GBC re-release (the latter was officially translated as Revelations: The Demon Slayer).
Though I am imagining a fan translation is going to ignore the official canon.

I don't know the level of the translation of the GB version, but I think something could be lost during the localization process, once, after Jack Bros., this was the first Megami Tensei game released overseas. Anyway, an independent fan translation could offer a more faithful translation than the GB original.

I'm just saying... If I said something wrong, please, correct me with the proper information. =)

It's hard to think of many official translations which have been faithful to the original.

Either way I'm betting it's no easy task, considering there are certain words and expressions in one language that have no literal equivalent for another language. It wouldn't be surprising if one had to improvise every now and then when translating a game.

Its just a shame so many good GG titles never got released outside of Japan back in the day.. who knows, maybe it could've helped sales of the Game Gear platform as a result had they been localized? Oh well, at least we can finally play most of them now.

Certainly, localisation is a very difficult job to do well, it needs professional writers who are able to adjust the script to capture the feel of the original without simply being able to directly translate it. There is much debate to be had and no correct solution. Fan translations often err on the side of literal translation - they don't often call it localisation instead of translation.

rouken wrote

I don't know the level of the translation of the GB version, but I think something could be lost during the localization process, once, after Jack Bros., this was the first Megami Tensei game released overseas. Anyway, an independent fan translation could offer a more faithful translation than the GB original.

I'm just saying... If I said something wrong, please, correct me with the proper information. =)

According to Tom, who translated most of the 'Last Bible' games (and wants to translate this one), the GBC port has a rather butchered script compared to the GG port, both in Japanese and in English - so, it's not the localizers' fault it would seem, it just wasn't very good in the first place. It's not only worse in terms of writing, but it also has much less world building, and the GG version also has a 'true' ending, which wasn't present in the GBC port. In other words, the story in GG version is apparently better by a long shot, so it would be great to see how this project unfolds.

And yeah, the last RPG is Eternal Legend - unless you count Madou Monogatari dungeon crawlers too, that is. Only a few text-heavy games to go. :)

One more thing - LB Special has already been translated (also by Tom) - you can find it on RHDN too.

Thanks for this! I played through the entire game, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

cccmar wrote

TL;DR: Tom does things

Please don't mind me, but before someone gets confused, I just wanted to appear in this topic to clarify that I'm not the Tom he's talking about. Since it looks like the other Tom is doing some good things I wouldn't want to involuntarily steal his credit just by being his homonymous.

Now please continue.

Author	Message
Supper Joined: 31 Jan 2014 Posts: 39	Moldorian: The Sisters of Light and Darkness translation Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:24 pm
Supper Joined: 31 Jan 2014 Posts: 39	I've partnered with TheMajinZenki, cccmar, Xanathis, and Filler for another Game Gear translation: the 1994 RPG Moldorian ~ Hikari to Yami no Sister (Moldorian: The Sisters of Light and Darkness). The patch is 100% complete and hot off the press, so get it here: http://stargood.org/trans/files/Moldorian%20-%20The%20Sisters%20of%20Light%20and... Credits: TheMajinZenki -- Translation Supper -- Hacking cccmar -- Editing and testing Xanathis -- Testing and editing Filler -- Original script dump In the village of Keuzon within the Human Realm of Moldoria lives a boy named Navarre, shunned by his peers as a coward and weakling. His only real companion is Miria, his friend since childhood. One day, goaded by a village boy, Navarre ventures with Miria to a cave near the village to prove his strength. But unbeknownst to any of them, dark forces are at work upon the land, and Navarre will soon find himself swept up in an adventure beyond his imagination... -- imaginary back-of-the-box blurb Moldorian is a fairly standard handheld RPG notable for having some nice art, an unusual combat system based on special button combos, and a pretty slick soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto (arps? from a Japanese composer? believe it!). While nothing revolutionary, it's not a bad little game and I hope you'll give it a go. Since the combat system is a bit confusing at first, you should probably read the user manual, which we translated and included in both the patch ZIP file and the game itself. For best effect, you should read it in conjunction with scans of the original manual, which can be found on Sega Retro. Sorry we couldn't do a scanlation, but no one in the group really has the skillset for that :( On the technical side of things, you'll notice I implemented a full variable-width font. This turned out to be a very good decision which, together with using a hash map to remap the old string pointers to the new ones, saved me a ton of time compared to my previous efforts with Magic Knight Rayearth (the hacking and playtesting combined took only about 2 weeks total). Hopefully it looks a bit nicer, too. While working on this, I also turned up a long-lost "cheat code" of sorts that unlocks an extra scene. Apparently this code was never released by the developer, or fell into obscurity if it was. See the readme for details. Finally, I've placed the project source code on Github for anyone interested. Hope you enjoy! Moldorian - The Sisters of Light and Darkness EN [v1.0].zip (83.19 KB)

filler Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 17 Location: Here	Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2018 7:33 pm
filler Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Posts: 17 Location: Here	Just want to say nice job on this. I checked it out last night and enjoyed what I played. I love how the game feels modern for the time and the portraits are really nice looking. Also cool how you added the manual text to the in-game menu. I made sure to read through that as I remembered the battle system throwing me for a loop the first time I tried it. It was helpful.

BcnAbel76 Joined: 28 Feb 2016 Posts: 503 Location: Barcelona	Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2018 9:29 pm
	Awesome job! Thanks a lot. I was working in Moldorian to convert it into master system game, but now in English, it is a pleasure.

Supper Joined: 31 Jan 2014 Posts: 39	Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 4:47 pm
Supper Joined: 31 Jan 2014 Posts: 39	filler wrote Just want to say nice job on this. I checked it out last night and enjoyed what I played. I love how the game feels modern for the time and the portraits are really nice looking. Also cool how you added the manual text to the in-game menu. I made sure to read through that as I remembered the battle system throwing me for a loop the first time I tried it. It was helpful. Glad you like it! Thanks a bunch for doing the initial script dump -- it let us get everything put together a lot faster. I should be able to get to our planned Game Gear projects soon. Sorry to keep you waiting :( BcnAbel76 wrote Awesome job! Thanks a lot. I was working in Moldorian to convert it into master system game, but now in English, it is a pleasure. Thank you, hope you enjoy it!

rouken Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 248 Location: Aracruz - ES, Brazil	Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:19 pm
	Nice work, Supper, Filler, TheMajinZenki, cccmar and Xanathis. I'll check this game when I have time. But, from the screen shots, I can tell the translation looks very well made. :) Another Japan only RPG for Game Gear by Sega translated, togheter with Royal Stone, Sylvan Tale and Phantasy Star Gaiden. I think the only Japan only RPG for Game Gear still waiting for a translation is Eternal Legend...

kaportza Joined: 14 Sep 2018 Posts: 50 Location: Earth	Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 9:36 pm
kaportza Joined: 14 Sep 2018 Posts: 50 Location: Earth	Excellent! I've always wanted to play through this one! You guys are an awesome translation team. I admire the work done on Kishin Douji Zenki, it has got to be one of the most colorful GG games I have ever played, really takes advantage of the Game Gear VDP color palette and the music is good too! rouken wrote I think the only Japan only RPG for Game Gear still waiting for a translation is Eternal Legend... There is also one more and its Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (not to be confused with Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, they are two different games.) https://segaretro.org/Megami_Tensei_Gaiden:_Last_Bible I guess its really obscure since there isn't much info out there on it, only for the fact that it was released a year before Special was released. I attempted to play it once but couldn't understand anything so I just walked around town like a clueless idiot before eventually giving up on it :P.

KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 510	Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 12:31 am
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 510	The GG "Last Bible" is a port of a Game Boy game. The GG version was released between the original GB release and an updated GBC re-release (the latter was officially translated as Revelations: The Demon Slayer). Though I am imagining a fan translation is going to ignore the official canon.

rouken Joined: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 248 Location: Aracruz - ES, Brazil	Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:42 pm
	kaportza wrote rouken wrote I think the only Japan only RPG for Game Gear still waiting for a translation is Eternal Legend... There is also one more and its Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (not to be confused with Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, they are two different games.) https://segaretro.org/Megami_Tensei_Gaiden:_Last_Bible I guess its really obscure since there isn't much info out there on it, only for the fact that it was released a year before Special was released. I attempted to play it once but couldn't understand anything so I just walked around town like a clueless idiot before eventually giving up on it :P. Well remembered... As part of a long running game franchise, a translation for The Last Bible Gaiden and Gaiden Special could be very interesting too. KingMike wrote The GG "Last Bible" is a port of a Game Boy game. The GG version was released between the original GB release and an updated GBC re-release (the latter was officially translated as Revelations: The Demon Slayer). Though I am imagining a fan translation is going to ignore the official canon. I don't know the level of the translation of the GB version, but I think something could be lost during the localization process, once, after Jack Bros., this was the first Megami Tensei game released overseas. Anyway, an independent fan translation could offer a more faithful translation than the GB original. I'm just saying... If I said something wrong, please, correct me with the proper information. =)

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14740 Location: London	Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:04 pm Last edited by Maxim on Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
	It's hard to think of many official translations which have been faithful to the original.

kaportza Joined: 14 Sep 2018 Posts: 50 Location: Earth	Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 8:51 pm
kaportza Joined: 14 Sep 2018 Posts: 50 Location: Earth	Either way I'm betting it's no easy task, considering there are certain words and expressions in one language that have no literal equivalent for another language. It wouldn't be surprising if one had to improvise every now and then when translating a game. Its just a shame so many good GG titles never got released outside of Japan back in the day.. who knows, maybe it could've helped sales of the Game Gear platform as a result had they been localized? Oh well, at least we can finally play most of them now.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14740 Location: London	Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:05 pm
	Certainly, localisation is a very difficult job to do well, it needs professional writers who are able to adjust the script to capture the feel of the original without simply being able to directly translate it. There is much debate to be had and no correct solution. Fan translations often err on the side of literal translation - they don't often call it localisation instead of translation.

cccmar Joined: 21 Dec 2018 Posts: 2	Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:42 am
cccmar Joined: 21 Dec 2018 Posts: 2	rouken wrote I don't know the level of the translation of the GB version, but I think something could be lost during the localization process, once, after Jack Bros., this was the first Megami Tensei game released overseas. Anyway, an independent fan translation could offer a more faithful translation than the GB original. I'm just saying... If I said something wrong, please, correct me with the proper information. =) According to Tom, who translated most of the 'Last Bible' games (and wants to translate this one), the GBC port has a rather butchered script compared to the GG port, both in Japanese and in English - so, it's not the localizers' fault it would seem, it just wasn't very good in the first place. It's not only worse in terms of writing, but it also has much less world building, and the GG version also has a 'true' ending, which wasn't present in the GBC port. In other words, the story in GG version is apparently better by a long shot, so it would be great to see how this project unfolds. And yeah, the last RPG is Eternal Legend - unless you count Madou Monogatari dungeon crawlers too, that is. Only a few text-heavy games to go. :) One more thing - LB Special has already been translated (also by Tom) - you can find it on RHDN too.

fx Joined: 09 Sep 2001 Posts: 236 Location: Umeå, Sweden	Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 10:52 pm
fx Joined: 09 Sep 2001 Posts: 236 Location: Umeå, Sweden	Thanks for this! I played through the entire game, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Tom Joined: 16 May 2002 Posts: 1356 Location: italy	Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:51 am
Tom Joined: 16 May 2002 Posts: 1356 Location: italy	cccmar wrote TL;DR: Tom does things Please don't mind me, but before someone gets confused, I just wanted to appear in this topic to clarify that I'm not the Tom he's talking about. Since it looks like the other Tom is doing some good things I wouldn't want to involuntarily steal his credit just by being his homonymous. Now please continue.

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