I’m not getting my hopes up just yet. For a start, the guy responsible for doing the translation hack has only just begun, and claims that the whole process will take some time which will also be dependent on how much time he has to spare in the future himself.
Once the English text has been implanted, the hacked ISO should be compatible with Giri Giri.
I can just imagine Sega sueing someone for distributing translated incarnations of games they never had any intention of translating themselves. I’d love to see how Sega reacts once the translation hack is finished.
Yeah. Probably. I started reading the SF3ii translation a while back, and am on the Epilogue. I won’t just stop reading it because I doubt this will ever see the light of day.
Holy crap, that would be AWESOME if it was true. I’ve really been wanting to play Scenarios 2&3 since I was such a big fan of the first one, but obviously I gave up hope on that years ago.
And sure, the project may or may not get done, but since they’ve cracked the encryption on the text it would be possible for any group to take up the task of translating it (if they make the code public, anyway). And there are LOTS of groups out there willing to translate games, just look at Tales of Phantasia, FF5, or Bahamut Lagoon. It might take a while, but I’m confident that where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Surely these translations would be distributed as patches rather than full ISOs, though…? I wouldn’t have though that Sega would lift a finger for this sort of thing… in comparison to Nintendo on the other hand, who seem to approach legal action as a hobby half of the time…
But yes, if this comes to fruition I’d certainly be happy to play through these games at last. I’m sorry to say that I still haven’t played through SF3 Part 1 yet, but I think this’ll convince me to finally do so…
You never know how Sega might react. A part of me believes they will simply overlook this little project out of respect for their fans. It really all depends on whether or not Sega has any intention of recycling this particular intellectual property in the future, which is highly doubtful. Until we know what form the other unnamed Shining Force game Sega is developing at the moment will take, Sega’s plans for this series continue to remain unclear.
As for the translation hack, I’m not quite sure how the person responsible plans to implement it. It’s my fervant hope that a fully-working bug-free user-friendly Saturn emulator becomes available sooner or later, because my modded Saturn is screwed. Plus, Shining Force III will look wonderful in any of the higher resolutions an emulator has to offer. As graphically intense as SF III Scenario 1 was, the graphics paled in comparison to the following scenarios.
Oh, no no, for one thing the 3d model quality in the fight scenes is MUCH better from Scenario 2 on (the new summon spells are beautiful as well). Cities are a bit more detailed and alive, you’ve got additional, minor effects like fog during some battles…
There’s also more animations for the sprites, though they seem limited to the beginning of Scenario 2…Synthesis’ and Uryudo’s antics in Saraband come to mind. Lots more going on unlike the constant nodding and wagging in scenario 1.
Yes, I also heard that they improved the engine quite a bit for the later games. Heavy texture mapping on characters, etc. But the base technology is the same, so it still looks similar. Well, this is what I’ve been able to deduce from pictures and videos, anyway.
That would be quite a feat if he manages it. I never finished SF3 (battery died ), but if that’s ever finished I’d probably pick up the series again. I own the imports of Scenarios 2 and 3, but it’s harder to get enthusiastic about a game when you’re looking up every other word in a dictionary. ^^;
You didn’t miss anything. I thought SF3 one of the most boring RPG’s I’d ever played at the time. It really doesn’t possess that SF spirit of I and II that made the battles tense/dramatic/fun, too many changes I surmise and the production values were low. It’s the only RPG I ever sold after playing because it was that bad–and I’ve been buying/collecting games since before the NES. So I really could care less about the other scenerios at this point in the game…
Hm, yikes the harshest I ever read was that SF2 was simply better, I can’t understand you saying SF3 was outright boring or bad.
The first hour or so is a bit boring, yes, especially since you’re bombarded with names and places during the long chat with Benetram…but it kicks up pretty fast IMO.
I thought the fights felt more driven, more specific which I welcome in this sort of game. IIRC SF2 had lots of “random travel battles”.
The story was very interesting as well IMO, especially if you played STHA before it.
The battles in general…how can you say fighting Fiale (especially if you wanted the key he carries), the Golem(keeping your force on their feet while being bombarded), Basanda, hell even trying to save the refugees…are all not “tense”? Or dramatic, fun?
Well to each his/her own, though it’s a shame you couldn’t enjoy it.
The day may be coming a little closer where you have to get that modded Saturn Solo…
15 years later work is still going on the Shining Force III Translation project! The project lead has just posted an update to crowd fund the final translation push:
I ended up patching the originals a few years back and had played through them and it seemed to work well. Did they ever remove the restriction for having to use original copies? I never understood why they had that requirement when other fan translations seem to get along fine without restricting it to retail copies. I feel like it was a bit of paranoia on their part. It’s not like Sega is trying to re-release these or anything. They’re effectively abandon ware.
We will hopefully get to play Scenarios 2 and 3 in English sometime in the next fifteen years. But I’ll probably play these on an emulator, rather than a modded Saturn. Did Saturn emulators even exist fifteen years ago?
), but if that’s ever finished I’d probably pick up the series again. I own the imports of Scenarios 2 and 3, but it’s harder to get enthusiastic about a game when you’re looking up every other word in a dictionary. ^^;