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The Castle Shikigami(式神の城) Fan Translation Project
cj iwakura
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
So I really love Castle Shikigami.
Around a year ago, I got the crazy idea to ask at a few fan translation sites about taking on a fan translation of the first game in the series, since it's never gotten a proper localization.
The first game was released on the PS2 in the US, if you can call it that.
All the dialogue was removed from the game, and they pretended it had no story at all.
(Even the opening text was removed, but oddly enough, the book explains everything.)
So, I got ahold of the PC version.
Shikigami doesn't have a very elaborate plot. There's snippets of dialogue between characters and bosses, barely 20-30 lines of dialogue per story.
The dialogue it does have though, in series tradition, can get pretty dang convoluted.
A group of psychic investigators set out to stop a series of murders committed by vengeful spirits, and to stop them, they have to endure a hell of a lot of bullets.
It's been a year of slow but steady progress, since a hacker volunteered to help in what's probably as obscure as a labor of love could ever get.
For months, we had no idea how to get the script out of this game.
When we found out why: There wasn't one.
All of Shiki's text was stored in graphic format. So we had to edit the images, and reinsert them back into the game.
Once we figured THAT out, the translation hit the ground running, thanks to the help of some awesome freelance translators(a couple of whom I found from here, no less).
And now, here we are.
50% completion. Three characters left to go.
If you're interested, we're always glad to have beta testers. If you have Shikigami no Shiro EX(the PC version), send me a PM and I can get you the files you need.
Otherwise, I'll be glad to update when we have the patch ready.
It's been an exciting experience.
Around a year ago, I got the crazy idea to ask at a few fan translation sites about taking on a fan translation of the first game in the series, since it's never gotten a proper localization.
The first game was released on the PS2 in the US, if you can call it that.
All the dialogue was removed from the game, and they pretended it had no story at all.
(Even the opening text was removed, but oddly enough, the book explains everything.)
So, I got ahold of the PC version.
Shikigami doesn't have a very elaborate plot. There's snippets of dialogue between characters and bosses, barely 20-30 lines of dialogue per story.
The dialogue it does have though, in series tradition, can get pretty dang convoluted.
A group of psychic investigators set out to stop a series of murders committed by vengeful spirits, and to stop them, they have to endure a hell of a lot of bullets.
It's been a year of slow but steady progress, since a hacker volunteered to help in what's probably as obscure as a labor of love could ever get.
For months, we had no idea how to get the script out of this game.
When we found out why: There wasn't one.
All of Shiki's text was stored in graphic format. So we had to edit the images, and reinsert them back into the game.
Once we figured THAT out, the translation hit the ground running, thanks to the help of some awesome freelance translators(a couple of whom I found from here, no less).
And now, here we are.
50% completion. Three characters left to go.
If you're interested, we're always glad to have beta testers. If you have Shikigami no Shiro EX(the PC version), send me a PM and I can get you the files you need.
Otherwise, I'll be glad to update when we have the patch ready.
It's been an exciting experience.
cj iwakura on
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Nanayozuki is a VN, and would take a lot more time and effort. This is our first project.
(For the unfamiliar, Nanayozuki Gensoukyoku is a Castle Shikigami visual novel/shmup. Seriously.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/shikigami/shikigami4.htm)
Not to say I wouldn't like to do Nanayozuki eventually, but that'd be a lot more work.
And I'm not entirely sure more than 10 people will care about this. I'd probably be the only person on the internet who'd play a translated Nanayozuki.
This is to complete the circle of the Shiki trilogy in English.
Then other things. (Maybe even a redone Shiki 2, if people don't think the 'translated' version isn't perfect already; which some think it is.)
I actually wouldn't mind a entire thread on hilariously bad Americanized versions of Japanese games. There something of a rarity nowadays--instead, they just don't have NA versions--but there were some real doozies back then. Turning Ranma 1/2: Chounai Gekitou Hen into Street Combat for example.
Or the cover for Battlemania on Megadrive--since they could edit so much of the actual game itself, I guess. What are the odds that the American cover would look ten years older than the Japanese one? I guess it did come out in the US a year earlier...
Anyway, hopefully you guys won't get stalled a bit past 50% like a lot of translation efforts.
No one's more excited about this coming to fruition than me, and I will see it through.
Currently debating whether or not to edit the title screen.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
I disagree, because Shikigami 3 gave the game a proper translation, and was all the better for it.
Shikigami 2's script, hilarity aside, makes a mockery of a genuinely good story. So that was never an option for this project.
http://www.twitch.tv/cj_iwakura/b/307584042
Ending is still due to be patched, but it's a start!
I'll be youtubeing it soon.
One that someone at NeoGAF helped me do:
And one that someone from Romhacking did because he didn't like it(:()
I love the font of the first, and the placement of the second.
I'm working on a happy medium.
Also, Gennojo's script is go.
Tagami and Kim are all that's left.
I prefer the second one, if only just for the fact that the kanji in the title banner hasn't been replaced.
Tagami, a silent character with a mysterious past, originally a hidden character, newly available in the PC & PS2 versions.
She has no dialogue whatsoever, but that doesn't mean the bosses won't have things to say to her.
If you want to unveil the truth of the Castle of Shikigami, this is the route for you.
Tagami is hiding all the secrets.
She originally appeared in Alfa System's classic lightgun shooter, Elemental Gearbolt.
Dialogue time!
So what's left, you ask?
*The Art Gallery
*The End Credits
*The Endings
*Errata
So, we're at 85%.
Very close to the finish line. Endings should be implemented later today.
Mild spoilers for Tagami's path, also didn't have audio enabled because Fraps hates me.
Because apparently the proper action to atone for killing your girlfriend is to crossdress.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
No, but it's a game I want.
I still have the disk, its so good.
Open Beta Time!
All the endings and story dialogue is done. The gallery and errata's gonna take a little time.
So I want to share what we have done.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?q3l1mekyopodt87
You need Shikigami no Shiro EX installed on your computer to run the patch.
I have included everything you need beyond that.
Replace the appropriate files, and enjoy. (We'll work out a proper patch installer before long.)
Of course, this is a beta, so this isn't quite finished. We expect feedback(and/or hatemail).
Read the translation guide if you have questions, I spent like an hour of it.
(Read all of it, I think you'll like what awaits at the end.)
Screens
ENJOY!
Will try it this weekend.
I've have a 1cc clear of Shikigami 2 arcade with 3 characters and love the series so this is just a treat.
So we're taking auditions.