------------------------------------------------------------ Seiken Densetsu 3 English Translation Patch Version 1.01 Created by: Neill Corlett - ROM patch design, script editing Lina`chan - Script translation Nuku-nuku - Script translation SoM2Freak - Misc. translation With special thanks to Richard Bush. ------------------------------------------------------------ For further information and patch updates, visit the Seiken Densetsu 3 Translation home page: http://lfx.org/~corlett/sd3/ To see other projects by the same translators, visit Lina`Chan, Nuku-Nuku, and Filia's Translation Domain: http://translations.animangarpg.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------ The patch may not be distributed unless accompanied by this documentation. See the Legal section for details. ------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------ 0. What's new 1. Project history 2. How to install 3. About the game 4. Greetings 5. A word from Lina`chan 6. Legal / disclaimer 7. Before you contact us... 8. Contacting us ------------------------------------------------------------ 0. What's new ------------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.01 (August 27, 2000) fixes several typographical errors in the script. It will work with the original ROM image, or an image previously patched with version 1.00. Version 1.00 (July 27, 1999) was the first public release. ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Project history ------------------------------------------------------------ Some call it "the best Super Famicom game ever", some dismiss it as just another boring action game. But most people agree that Square made a grave mistake when they decided not to market Seiken Densetsu 3 overseas - especially after the success of its predecessor, Secret of Mana. Around 1996 and 1997, the growth of the internet, combined with the increasing popularity of video game emulators, sparked a number of unofficial game translation projects. Several of these came into fruition; most notably the RPGe translation of Final Fantasy 5, and Neo Demiforce's Final Fantasy 2 project. These groups proved that such projects were not only possible, but feasible as well. Some of the more complex games, however, have proven too big a challenge for the fan translation community. Seiken Densetsu 3 obscures its text behind numerous layers of compression, putting it well out of reach of the casual hex editor. In April of 1998, the RPGe web site announced that Richard Bush had quit his Seiken Densetsu 3 translation project. I (Neill Corlett) decided that my effort would be well- spent in seeing this project through, overcoming all the technical obstacles, bringing to the English-speaking world a game we should have had in the first place. With technical issues out of the way, translator SoM2Freak went to work. He finished the enemy names, item names, spell names, menu selections, and a small portion of the script itself, before leaving for Japan in spring of 1999. Translators Lina`chan (whose work includes the unofficial Magic Knight Rayearth translation) and Nuku-nuku finished the remainder of the script. ------------------------------------------------------------ 2. How to install ------------------------------------------------------------ Included in this archive is a patch file, "sd3en101.ips". When applied to an original ROM image from a Seiken Densetsu 3 game cartridge, this patch converts all text in the game from Japanese to English. The size of the ROM image will not change. (Obtaining the ROM image is up to you, and beyond the scope of this documentation.) Version 1.01 of the patch may be applied to an original ROM image, or an image previously patched with version 1.00. * If you're using Windows 95, 98, NT, or 2000: Run the "Install" program, also included in this archive. This will apply the patch to a ROM image of your choice, and optionally back up the original. * If you're using anything else: You'll need an IPS patching utility for your operating system. Several are included on the Seiken Densetsu 3 Translation home page: http://lfx.org/~corlett/sd3/ SRAM images from the Japanese version are compatible with the English version. However, the characters' names will appear garbled. You can use the included SRAM Name Fix utility (NAMEFIX.EXE) to convert all the character names into their English defaults. This is a command-line based DOS program which will work with either raw SRAM images (.SRM) or SWC Battery Backup images (.BBD). Saved states (.ZST, .RTS, etc.) from the Japanese version will not work properly with the English version, and are neither supported nor reccommended. ------------------------------------------------------------ 3. About the game ------------------------------------------------------------ Seiken Densetsu 3 is a prequel to Secret of Mana. That is, the events in the game supposedly take place centuries before Secret of Mana. Six young heroes are caught in the crossfire of a global struggle to revive the God-Beasts and control the world. They are: Duran Kevin Hawk Angela Carlie Lise You will choose one of them as the main character, and two more as partners. The other three will appear elsewhere in the game as NPCs. Your character choice is permanent. The three characters you choose are with you until the end of the game. Each of the six characters has his own introductory scenario; you'll begin the game by playing the main character's scenario before moving on with the rest of the game. There are also significant differences in the plot, based on who you pick as your main character. These plot differences can be organized into three "quests": Duran and Angela - quest #1 (easiest) Kevin and Carlie - quest #2 Hawk and Lise - quest #3 (hardest) Up to three players can play the game simultaneously, each controlling a different character. If there are fewer than three players, the remaining characters will be controlled automatically by AI. The default controller button assignments are as follows: A - Talk to another character (normally), swing weapon (during battle) B - Run (normally), use special tech (during battle) X - Bring up the ring menu. This lets you use an item or cast a spell. Y - Switch to menu subscreen. This lets you view character stats, change equipment, and configure various aspects of the game. Start - Switch to storage subscreen. This lets you put items in and out of "storage". Items which are in storage don't show up on the ring menu. Also, press Start on controllers 2 or 3 to activate or deactivate them. Select - Toggle which character you're controlling (if there are fewer than three players). L, R - Hold one of these down to control a different character temporarily. Also, try holding the L and R buttons while pressing RESET. (Consider it your reward for reading this text.) ------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Greetings ------------------------------------------------------------ Greetings, and thanks, to: * Lina`chan, Nuku-nuku, and SoM2Freak. Couldn't have done it without you. * Dantares, loyal last-minute-bug-finder. * Dark Force, for many nice things. * Regulars of EFnet #rom and DALnet #romhack, THANKS FOR ALL THE WHISKEY. * Everyone who reported the typos in version 1.00. * Anyone I forgot. ------------------------------------------------------------ 5. A word from Lina`chan ------------------------------------------------------------ Hello emulation and translations fans! This is Lina`chan and this is my section on the SD3 readme file. It has been a year since I accidentally stumbled into a translation page, j2e's translation page, after surfing around it and reading their documents on translations I decided to give it a shot and help translating games. At that point I knew nothing of translations projects, nothing at all. But thanks to many people, mostly those in #romhack Efnet, I managed to learn a few things to dive into this "scene" fully. After finishing my first translation for the SNES, Magic Knight Rayearth, I got in contact with Neill Corlett in an attempt of helping him and Som2Freak with the so desired Seiken Densetsu 3 translation. Neill was very kind and he openly accepted my proposition of help. After 4 months of work here we are with a 100%, fully translated Seiken Densetsu 3! During those 4 months we had been doing our magic and working on this project for you, it has been a great experience working on this project with these wonderful people. Also, I'd like to thank the different people that helped me on my translation assignment. -Neill Corlett: Thanks for being a great and understanding person and for working hard on this game. Thanks for all the help you've given me in this last year. ^.^ -Nuku-Nuku: My translation sidekick, thanks for your dedication, for all the excellent work and for enduring all my sillyness and crazy fits. -Francis Fortin for help on the french bits on the text ^^ -The people of #romhack: Thanks for all the miscellaneous help you've given me and for the support. -My 2 beta testers, Dantares and Michael Won. For playing the game torughly the 100+ times I asked you to do it, thanks! ^.^;; The translation community is growing and developing quickly, thanks to the efforts of many romhackers, utilities coders, document writers, translators and fans. However there are people who harm this community. I'd like to remind you that, like you, we are people, most of us simply are teenagers with lots of free time (^.^) and we too get angry, sad, happy, etc. just like everybody else. I get sad when I see people fight over things when they could simply accept the other person points of view and opinions. ------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Legal / disclaimer ------------------------------------------------------------ The Seiken Densetsu 3 English Translation patch ("the Patch") is UNOFFICIAL and is not supported in any way by Squaresoft. The Patch is freeware and may be redistributed freely as long as it is not modified, not applied to or distributed with any ROM image, and this documentation is included and not modified either. No money, goods, or services may be charged or solicited for the Patch, in original or applied form. The Patch contains a significant amount of 65816 object code which is Copyrighted 1999 to Neill Corlett. Anyone using the Patch does so at their own risk. Neither Neill Corlett, nor any of the other individuals mentioned in this documentation will be held liable for any loss or damage arising from its use. ------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Before you contact us... ------------------------------------------------------------ ATTENTION, EMULATOR USERS: If you encounter either of the following problems, they are emulator-related bugs: * The game will not start; it only shows the Sound Test screen. * The text is unreadable or garbled, or only every other letter is shown. I will ignore all bug reports unless you are playing the game on a real NTSC SNES system, by means of a backup device, EPROM cartridge, or similar. There is a known bug in the equipment exchange screen (top middle of the menu system) and another in the window style screen (top left). Both of these bugs are minor, cosmetic, and the screens are rarely used. I decided the bugs were not major enough to hold up a release. If you notice any other bugs or typographical errors in the English version of the game, and you are NOT using an emulator, please contact me. If you'd like to see Seiken Densetsu 3 translated into ___your_language_here___, visit the web page for more information. If you're stuck somewhere in the game, despite all the text being in plain English, there are walkthroughs available. Try one of these sites: http://gamefaqs.com/ http://www.rpgamer.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Contacting us ------------------------------------------------------------ Neill Corlett: email: corlett@lfx.org www: http://lfx.org/~corlett/ Lina`chan: email: abner@lfx.org Nuku-nuku: email: atsuko-natsume@geocities.com SoM2Freak: email: som2freak@lfx.org ------------------------------------------------------------