The 1995 Japan-exclusive Sega Saturn version of Cyberdream's Dark Seed has just been translated into English for the first time by fans.
The patch is the work of Kitchen34 and is available to download now from the website SegaXtreme. It localizes all in-game text and also adds English image assets to allow players to experience it with full English support.
If you're a fan of classic point-and-click games from the 90s, there's a good chance you may have heard of the psychological horror title in the past. Originally released for MS-DOS computers and featuring artwork from Alien visual designer H. R. Giger, the ambitious project was one of a small number of titles launched in the early 90s that sought to combine the storytelling potential of the point-and-click genre with striking horror visuals and has since become regarded as something of a cult classic.
It follows the story of the ad executive Mike Dawson (portrayed by the game's designer, also named Mike Dawson), who one day is implanted with an alien embryo inside his head that is capable of destroying the world.
It went on to be ported to various other platforms, including the Commodore Amiga, Macintosh computers, Amiga CD32, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation. However, the latter two versions were only ever released in Japan. These versions of the game featured Japanese text, but kept the original English voiceover, making them somewhat import-friendly for those who wanted the novelty of playing them on the Sega and Sony consoles.
As far as we're aware, the Sega Saturn version of the game doesn't add anything particularly special that is missing from any of the other versions, though it does boast support for the Sega Saturn Shuttle Mouse. Because of this, we're guessing the appeal of this translation will likely be for those who already own a copy of the game, or just want to see how it stacks up to the version they remember.