GuestLog in

Translation hacks are one of those things that can seem easy but require much more work than simply plugging in a dictionary and converting sentences from one language to another; there are certain aspects of language that have be looked at when translating a game, and Zynk Oxhyde succeeds in covering all of his bases to deliver a high-quality translation hack that looks and feels like a professional US Konami release.

The translation uses a bold, all-caps typeface that is fitting for the 8-bit era, and it works tremendously well because it's easy to read through a low-resolution CRT display. This is significantly better than the thin, overly-squished typefaces that are seen in some hacks that attempt to squeeze as much as they can out a single character graphic, which is still legible but is harder to visually digest. It's also clear that no corners were cut, as he managed to not abbreviate names wherever possible.

I also appreciate the quirky characterizations of Dr. Cinnamon and Saimon, which is fitting for how they appear in-game as eccentric scientists. Their dialog segments feel natural and instill personalities into their characters, a quality that is sometimes either done poorly or a bit lacking. In fact, this is a problem that I have with the Demiforce translation of this game, where the two scientists come off sounding too robotic.

Another great point is that care was taken to localize the game's naming conventions to English-speaking audiences, as noted by the references to "Belmont" instead of "Belmond", though I don't really see many things that would require an analog or change for an English-speaking audience. My only criticism is that the demon-slaying Fuma being a "Wave-swords master" doesn't really have a particularly strong bite to it, and I wonder if our hero would benefit more from being called, let's say, a "Hadou-sword master", but this is a minor nitpick at best.

One last thing that I like to point out is the incredible work done on the title screen, which retains the original styling of the Japanese text when converted into English letters. Extra kudos for that throwback to Konami's old-school logo as well.

I want to say that I was able to explore it thoroughly but this is a case in which the game itself doesn't hold a candle to the amazing quality of the translation; annoying camera issues make it very hard to get through the game, so I haven't seen much else beyond the first few sections. From what I have seen though, I think Zynk Oxhyde did a superb job, and it's definitely worth trying, even if the game isn't really one of Konami's better titles.