Sakura Wars Progress Update: 18%

Posted by cj_iwakura on December 7, 2014

We have roughly 2/12ths of the script in-game.

Without further ado, screens up until the end of Chapter 1. Now with more Maria and Sumire!

Golden Reverie Updates: New Font, Translated OP, Ronove, Chiester, Kanon scenarios

Posted by cj_iwakura on July 20, 2013

Lots of updates. Firstly, I’ve included a video of the OP with annotations of the lyrics I created. I adapted a translation into phonetic lyrics so you can sing along! (I’m sure you Ranma 1/2 fans will appreciate the touch.)

It will be hard-subtitled in-game.

Also, we have 5 out of the 18 scenarios done. Sorry it’s taking a while, but inserting the text is the tough part. Once it’s there, I edit, and golden.

Additionally, we have a new font!
Straight outta OMK Cross. (That’s the sequel which we’ll do someday, most likely.)

Here’s some screens:

Original Font (Ronove Scenario)

New Font (Battler/Lucifer & Chiester/Eva scenarios)

Stay tuned.

Spaaaace Chan-
wait, wrong game.

Golden Reverie: Battler & Beatrice, Stage 1

Posted by cj_iwakura on June 14, 2013

Walterion, one of our testers, was kind enough to record some in-progress videos of the alpha patch in action.

You can find more here as well:

(Ronove & Virgilia)

(Kanon & Shannon)

As an aside, editing is around 70% there.

A Beginner’s Guide To Kanji Tables

Posted by cj_iwakura on April 9, 2013

Oh wait, wrong Kanji.

There we go!

Kanji tables are integral to fan translations. This is currently the obstacle for Shadowrun. In a nutshell, they’re image-format depictions of Japanese characters that have to be transcribed into text to make facilitate the process of replacing Japanese text with English text.

That’s the Kanji table for Shadowrun Scenario 2. There’s one for each scenario.

We’re hacking away at it, so stay tuned.

It includes some hiragana and katakana as well, but mostly kanji. Hiragana & katakana are simpler characters, often used to spell out kanji for ease of pronunciation or saying non-Japanese words, such as “Ku-Ri-Su’ for Chris(see: Steins;Gate).

(She prefers Christina, I’m told. It’s not that she likes it or anything, though.)

If you’d like to know more about kanji tables, read here.

http://www.romhacking.net/documents/56/

If you’d like to know more about Kanji hitting people with tables, play Persona 4 Arena.

-cj

Shadowrun [Sega CD] Progress Update & Gameplay

Posted by cj_iwakura on April 7, 2013

Hey all. I’ve been getting a lot of contact about the Shadowrun project, which is awesome. Not sure if it’s the Shadowrun community or niche Sega CD/SRPG fans or both, but I’m not complaining.

Unfortunately, it’s proving to be a complicated task. The game uses some very intricate kanji tables, and though we have the first Scenario translated, implementing the script is gonna be a pain, chummer.

That said, I decided to get some screens up to and including the first few battles to tide you all over.

Our wayward posse of Runners decide to run around the city looking for clues, and they find a lot.

As well as a gang who need to have their faces smashed in.

And maybe, just maybe, the elusive Samurai Killer…

The gameplay as said, is SRPG format, and uses a fantastic dice-rolling mechanic to determine damage and defense, as well as chances of the attack hitting.

I had a blast playing it, and I hope you will too. Keep on runnin’.

If you’ve played Snatcher or Policenauts, the gameplay should feel very familiar. You talk to people, get ignored, talk some more, then bust some skulls and then they start talking. Expect a LOT of talking, this is a very wordy game. (This is a huge plus for me.)

When The Seagulls Cry: Golden Reverie Fan Translation

Posted by cj_iwakura on March 24, 2013

I know it seems like I’m a busy bee, but almost every project I’ve posted about here since Shikigami has been stuff I’ve helped out with.

This one is my next personal endeavor.

Golden Reverie, translated from Ougon Musou Kyoku, is a fighting game based on the universe of When The Seagulls Cry(Umineko no Naku Koro Ni).

This is an official follow-up to the visual novel, taking place after the events of Episode 4, canonized and sanctioned by 07th Expansion.

Of course, odds of it getting officially localized in any capacity, much like the VN, are just about non-existent.

So we’re translating it, and plan to release a patch to make all the game’s dialogue viewable in English.

FAQ

Should I play the visual novel before this?
YES. The events and even backgrounds of Golden Reverie contain massive spoilers to Episodes 1-4 of the visual novel.

What about the expansions like Cross?
We’re doing the original first. Cross and its ilk may come later.
No sense getting in too deep just yet!

Will the Japanese voice overs be intact?
Yes. We have no intention of dubbing this, as it would be a massive project. Almost every line of dialogue is voiced from the cast who did the PS3 VN/anime voices, and they did a fine job.

What about spoken dialogue during matches?
As cool as having subtitles in-game for that would be, that would be a massive undertaking. Most likely, we’ll include translations for all the battle quips in a read-me, same goes for the opening song and such.

I love Umineko but I hate fighting games. Will finishing this be a nightmare?
The AI can be cheap as hell, fair warning. But there is an easy mode, so you should be fine.
It’s also very easy to exploit cheap combos and get story mode over with if that’s your preference.

How far along is the project?
Hacking is already going smoothly. The script is at 75%.

Can I help?
If you’re both:
A. An Umineko scholar
B. Fluent in Japanese
Then absolutely, PM me.

The Players

The one who defies magic, and will explain it all through reason. Locked in an endless battle with the great witch, Beatrice. It may be all useless, but you can still turn the chessboard around.

The one known as the Golden Witch. There’s only one known way to kill her.
Can you defy the strength of her magic through sheer force of will, or will you be another broken beneath her heel?

The younger sister of Battler, fighting to regain the family stolen from her by the Golden Witch. What awaits: a happy future, or one of endless despair?

An elegant butler in service of Beatrice, yet he also has great respect for Battler. Where do his loyalties lie?

A maid sworn to the service of the Ushiromiya Family. A master of spiritual defense, she will let no harm come to those she loves.

The youngest of the Ushiromiya servants, he is never far from Shannon, and any who try to harm her or those under his protection will find he is all too capable of enforcing it.

A legendary witch, reputed to be Beatrice’s elder and instructor. Does she aspire to bring Beatrice back to her senses, or help the Golden Witch in her schemes?

One of the Ushiromiya Family, twisted by the promise of power with a penchant for unending cruelty.

The eldest of the Seven Stakes of Purgatory, executioners of Beatrice’s will(as well as her victims).

One of the Siesta Sisters, each of whom is easily a match for the combined might of the Seven Stakes. Yet, they serve not Beatrice, but the fearsome sorcerer known as Goldsmith.

English screens, testing:

Other screens:

Generation Xth: Code Hazard [PC] Fan Translation

Posted by cj_iwakura on January 26, 2013

Yeah, a few days late in posting about this here. I’m a tester for this one, and the hacker I work with is doing the coding along with another translator.

Full disclosure: I’ve never heard of this game.

But it’s

*Cyberpunk

*Modern-futuristic

*Dungeon-crawling.

Sold.

From the project lead, Shram:

Team Muramasa, to exaggerate slightly, are responsible for the resurgence of Wizardry-clones (old-school, first-person dungeon romps) in the East, and subsequently in the West. The popularity of their official Wizardry games, Xth and Xth 2 on the PS2, caused a flood of games like Elminage, Etrian Odyssey, Unchained Blades, and many more.

The Wizardry Xth games boasted a fairly open world, an extremely intuitive but in-depth crafting system, and many overall improvements to the Wizardry formula, particularly focusing on speed and efficiency of controls. They took that formula to the indie PC scene in 2007 and created the Generation Xth trilogy, the first entry of which, Code Hazard, is the reason why you are here now.

Team Muramasa continued after the Generation Xth trilogy to create Meikyu X Cross Blood, then Students of the Round, which was successful enough to warrant a 360 and PSP port, and now they’re working on two new dungeon games for the PSVita and 360 under Kadokawa publishing, called Demon Gaze and The Stranger of the Town of the Blade (Tsurugi no Machi no Ihoujin).

Info website: http://www.exp-inc.jp/xth/

Hope you all find them as enjoyable as I do.

Here’s pics.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I am.

Rhythm & Gaming Obscura Podcast: Episode 1

Posted by cj_iwakura on January 1, 2013

After listening to a ton of podcasts over the holiday, I was inspired to do something a little different.

Download Links:

http://iwakuraproductions.akaisora.org/RGO1.mp3

http://www.mediafire.com/?6hkv4w6stybnze6

Note: the audio is a bit off balance. The music came out louder than the spoken portions. This should be fixed next time, so just be careful if you have the speakers up high during the spoken segments.

Little under an hour long, you can listen to me ramble on about assorted projects, rhythm games, and quirky stuff I’ve been playing recently.

Legend:

00:50 – Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

11:27 – Pump It Up Fiesta 2

20:43 – Shikigami no Shiro

27:14 – Bulletstorm

30:46 – Persona 2, Persona 4 Golden, DJ MAX Technika Tune

38:36 – Shadowrun (Sega CD)

Music:

Big Bang – Fantastic Baby

Garoad – Out of Orbit

Jake Kaufman – City Stage 02 / Mango Tango – Neon Jungle (Double Dragon Neon)