GhaleonUnlimited

Man, this would have been awesome. Even as a Genesis owner, I always was more impressed with the SNES port.

@mjparker77 I don't use emulators honestly, and as stated above there are perma downsides to emulators. It's great that 360 emulation is good then though!

@mjparker77 don't you have to pay to access their stuff? I have Sindem lightguns and was disappointed by that

Just popping in to say if you like MGS play Ghost Babel and MG2! They're amazing!

I've played MGS dozens of times through, trying to find every obscure codec conversation I could in every scenario. Never seen this cos I never had to play in mono!

MGS1 is as famous as it is and yet I feel like it's actually underrated! Cool to see this story and remind people of the depth of what they thought of when making this game.

I wonder if the JP version has a line about the mono TV as well?

I completed a Phantasy Star IV retranslation and used the same boilerplate "don't use this without permission or for commercial use" but I was acutely aware I was working on a company copyrighted IP and there's nothing I can do if someone stole my writing or programming for commercial use.

IMO most of the carpet bagger, overpriced retro industry is BS lol.

Not surprised by this news at all but really what can you do about it if you did the work ;( I think you must have to resign yourself that you did it for the passion and people who actually will really appreciate it, and the work is available for free for anyone who wants to play it or make their own cartridge.

I really appreciate when companies license their repros though or do the work to credit people who did the real work though.

The FOMO ***** of LRE and the like is crap but licensing and rel releasing a super expensive game like Gley Lancer and owning it legally is pretty cool. I hope the backlash forces retro bit and others to pay more attention and not be lazy, money-grubbing dicks but I doubt the speculating ***** that but these up to sell them once they're sold out really care

@slider1983 All translations are all a series of choices. Great translations can and should read differently, simply because different people worked on them, especially with such wildly different languages as English and Japanese.

Really, it's only bad/basic translations that should read more closely because it'll mean the translator couldn't understand the nuances of the text.

I'm shocked, shocked to find these companies care much more about making a quick buck than a quality product that will last as long as these consoles have

I don't support any of these repro companies because their ***** is ridiculously expensive and pray upon FOMO addicts, but in fairness I think it's fair to ask what is the real-world chance of these damaging a console, and what might happen.

Like I know you shouldn't use AC adapters that have a much lower amperage than the OG power bricks, but I also don't know what the actual danger is

This is great news for retrogame fans. It's a dream that companies will localize games that never were released originally in English.

I hope it s written better than the description, though!

It's really academic because I don't think the average kid or parent can tell the difference.

I only play on real hardware but honestly when I play hardware or software emulation I'm hard-pressed to tell the difference in 99% of situations. People are welcome to argue and I'm all for best accuracy but to me it's kinda like people arguing about the resolution in Switch games or something.

I m not saying it's unimportant just because I don't get it. It's just my observation

Definitely whatever gets you to play a game instead of talking about them or watching someone else play them I think is good!

I needed to buy an MSX Turbo R and do a sound cap replacement because I just want to know what MSX Konami games most accurately play and sound like. Most people don't need to go to such lengths as we make them out to be.

Looks interesting!

I wish we got way more of these 2-D PSX games in the West. I will never forget that SoA tried to cheapen and kill 2-D gaming. ;p

@KingMike I put the EN ROM, corrected for NTSC, on my JP cart. Recommended!

I got an additional JP CIB copy for about $65 a year or two ago being patient on ebay so it's not ridiculously priced. Certainly would have preferred to get it for $10 tho lol.

My very longterm goal is to play it in JP eventually and tweak the EN script accordingly, but I might be doing that from the old folks' home at this rate.

@jesse_dylan I think he only did one track on PoR, the remix of Crucifix Held Close from Haunted Castle (happy to be corrected).

Terranigma is IMO the best SNES RPG and maybe SNES game period, so if this introduces you to Terranigma or reminds you of it, please play it through and see what you think of it! (A HG101 writer made this claim years ago, and I was skeptical, but then I played it and became a believer.)

Baruga's theme is kind of in a SoR style now that this connection had been made by the man himself. It's a really badass "villain lab/castle" theme.

@RetroGames only nerds still use Twitter or whatever it's called

@Cyber_Akuma for an extra price, on top of the way higher price of the unit itself

@slider1983 compatible with Mister cores, doesn't it say that? Pretty amazing if that's the deal

The SEGA 3D classics are one of the best, if not the best, reasons to have a 3DS! CFW your system if you haven't and take care of business!

You know what, I have bad news for anyone looking for real 16-bit music and that's your criteria.

The SNES still sounds like videogame music guys. It is not a live orchestra machine, even for the great ones. No one is listening to the SNES and thinking "Oh that's a real guitar on FFVI Epitaph."

I was honestly kind of disappointed hearing a lot of SNES games when I could get a system in 2001 because the chip had been built up for so many years.

If realism and max instruments playing at once is what you're after then SEGA CD/PCE CD/PC CD is the pinnacle of music from the era. The SNES does not sound real. Cmon guys.

"But that's not fair". OK, then why compare systems at all in the first place like you designed the things yourself?

No one is ever like "The NES sounds like crap compared to the Genesis or FM Sound on the SMS". Because you're comparing stuff instead of just enjoying them lol

@N64-ROX Just like with everything retrogaming, it's more like people decide to change increasing amounts for something and people keep paying it, regardless of how plentiful it is.

@Coalescence I had one of thee 3rd-party ones, and I didn't really realize the top weird grate thing was a heat sync. I removed it for asthetics and then the 64's picture gets randomly scrambled for a half-second, then rights itself, and seems ruined. RGB-modded too ;p

@GravyThief that's awesome!

I am not into the 3D Zeldas myself besides WW and BotW/TotK but there is something about all of them that's esp magical for kids.

My kids (5 and 2) are not super into playing or watching, but my younger randomly were interested in the 64 ones cos of the boxes apparently, and asked me to play them lol. I hope too theyll enjoy playing through some games with me as they get older!

@Sketcz someday :/

I still have a feeling in going to be fluent-ish in JP before a fan translation is done!

@bring_on_branstons This is all subjective but for me the Bloodlines version of Simon's Theme is one of my fav 16-bit tracks. I also really like that it's not a carbon-copy of the SNES version. It sacrifices a FEW elements but structures and arranges the song better IMO.

I think it's really underappreciated. I learned it on piano for my YT Videogame tutorials because I don't think it gets a lot of credit (for a variety of reasons, none of which are the track itself's fault).

I think a lot of SEGA fans have basically inferiority complexes because SEGA "lost the war" and winners write the history. I think all consoles from the era are great and have tons of games everyone should play. But you hear a lot more about Chrono Trigger than Lunar: Eternal Blue. You can say "well more people played CT" or "cos CT is better" but there should be more allowance in games criticism for opinion and subjectivity. Like Citizen Kane, Godfather, and Casablanca are each "best movies" but they're totally different experiences, and trying to rank one over the other comes down to preferences as a film critic.

People in games are less tolerant of diverging opinions. Like, people get mad over it.

So because Western retrogames criticism is pretty Nintendo-centric, a lot of SEGA fans and American PCE/TG16 fans feel the need to be like "hey, these really are just as good" because you don't hear people shut up about THEIR prefences, when this stuff is simply not ironclad.

I think people would be happier if we don't have the need to label "better", but instead just "great" on their own merits. A true games fan just tries to find great games I think.

@GravyThief The scan line thing is honestly ridiculous. I never even knew what scan lines were until the late '00s and I started learning shout RGB, and I've literally been playing retrogames exclusively on tubes since I was 3.

No kid noticed scanlines on a tube so it's unlikely nostalgia is a factor for anyone on the quest for scan lines.

I seriously think it's just become a nerd thing of "I must pay $$$$ to have the very best thing that I barely notice".

I play on a PC CRT with mainly XRGB linedoublers, and I change the sharpness depending on the system. You want a balance of RGB but also how the games were designed to be seen. Like, 64 games were designed to look smeary and be seen on a small TV. They look AWFUL to me otherwise.

Some of my arcade cabs have really sharp CRT monitors and I dull the sharpness so when you play TMNT or NBA Jam it looks how you remember it in arcades.

Bottom line I do think people should invest in a setup that allows them to actually play their games, so if it's a PVM or ultra-sharp picture, do it. Nothing makes me sadder in retrogames than someone who just compulsively buys stuff to be placed on a shelf like a museum piece. Play your games!

@CocktailCabinet I also really really hope Terranigma at least gets a text cleanup or some parts retranslated.

I've looked into it a little and I think tools exist to implement new text, I just have 2 small kids now and I know better than to take on something I'm not going to make proper time for lol.

But I'll do it someday if no one else does.

@Azuris Square sucks, is the answer. The only Enix game they seem to care about is DQ.

I know they did the Actraiser remake, but I didn't expect any other Quintet remakes personally since they don't seem as well-known as Actraiser

@KingMike it's even worse than the final IoG???

@RetroGames These are passion projects done for free (well, mostly, lot of patreons for these now); I don't think of it as anyone's obligation to work on more than they want to. Each one of these projects usually takes at minimum dozens but more likely hundreds of hours.

I'm not being snarky when I say to people if there s a game you want translated, see what work is out there already for it and see how you can get involved, or even jump start a project and (politely) ask for assistence as needed.

I was sick of PSIV having different planet names than the other games, set out to learn how to fix that, and ended up doing an entire retranslation because it turned out a disassembly was already out there for the ROMs, no one had just bothered to work on the dialog yet.

So the hacking part was relatively easy for me cos of work that had been done and made public, and being a writer/editor by trade with some JP study (and retranslation notes were also already completed) I was able to put in the time at what I like to do. For big programming problems I was fortunate to get help from real programmers!

So see what you can help with if there's anything you'd like to see worked on

The translator is adding graphics changes as well as translation (check out the title screen, which restores the 3 characters running on the planet like the JP box and end of game), and has a lot planned for a 2.0 release.

The writing is still a bit stilted/awkward for my taste but I know how hard it is to translate and then review the actual writing and editing.

It's a huge improvement over the bad localization we got, and I'm very excited to play it through! I'm just 45 min in. I hope some additional time will also result in increasingly naturalistic dialog.

It was clear playing through the stock translation that a lot was left out or translated poorly. IoG's scenario was written by a well-known JP novelist, so this is a game that REALLY needed someone willing to give it some TLC!

YouTube is not changing.

I know it's easy for me to say, but if you re working for a ***** boss, you probably aren't going to get the ***** boss to change (though it's great to try), you generally look for a different job.

I hope in the future that just like Twitter we have a different platform for competition so everyone doesn't "have" to rely on YT for both content and their salary.

@B3tan_Tyronne I don't know how, but it is possible to play some old lightgun games on modern sets. Look up the Duck Hunt LCD patch for instance

@MagicEmperor I've nice that people might start knowing who he is again with the remakes coming out lol. In DDR/FGC I've been going by Ghaleon for 20+ years and some people just thought it was my last name lol

Always also happy to see more Lunar fans!

Like, holy crap.

So I spent about $275 total on 2 8-input SCART switches (automatic, $75 ish), an 8-input VGA switcher (automatic, $60 ish), and a super old 4-input component switch (automatic, $65 ish) in the past 2 years.

That would cost me for this same thing... $550 ish in SCART inputs and $280 in VGA inputs, $140 in component, plus an output and whatever else this requires, I wasn't sure from the site. So that's about $1000 to do the same ***** stuff does that I bought separately for $275, 4x the price, before adding the outputs and then whatever else.

I wonder if these auto detect inputs?

Like if someone is making money on an $80 8-input SCART switch, like, Jesus, think what the profit margin must be on these lol.

There are moderately economical ways to do what your setup needs to do. I'm not telling anyone how to spend there money but I feel almost a moral obligation to let people know what worked for me at what price, haha.

@gojiguy It's a switcher, not a scaler. You can "scale" by way of adding the amount of inputs you want

@pixeljones If you mod your system and play your games as ISOs (which is legal of you care about that sort of thing) it's way faster, and much better battery life

Can't you plug the mid- and later-model PSPs into a TV via component? I only had a nodded 1000 but if so that sounded awesome

@DestructoDisk OH man! Well that's good you looked into it. I was pretty surprised since it was a rights thing why they redid the OST in the first place.

Well at least they paid homage in the menus ;(

Great piece! Super interesting. Did not know one of the Dragon's Lair GBC games was a port of the arcade.

This version might or might not be reference in "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" movie since Bailey gets DL on Gameboy

@DestructoDisk that's so cool, I figured the SEGA CD music especially was never to see the light of day again!

@jesse_dylan I love the Sol Feace OST. Nothing wrong with the game, it's just not especially creative IMO

Site is run by an awesome dude who was extremely active and proactive about updating the site with fanhacks, as well as keeping up with each hack's constant updates.

Maybe it was never sustainable, but it's a fantastic resource to help people enjoy videogames.

Visit and use it while you can

I bought this instead of Castle of Illusion. I didn't even like the movie. I think I just thought being the Sorecerer's Apprentice seemed cool.

It's awful.

I hope this makes it less so

Ah damn, these look nice, and probably the best way to play Final Conflict. Sound quality + art seem better for sure.

Doesn't Etsy still sell repros out the ass? Like isn't practically everything on Etsy that is game-related being sold without the IP holder's consent?

@sdelfin I think you'll enjoy them! You can anyways hit me up on bluesky as Ghaleon Unlimited anytime. Always happy to talk about Lunar or hear what you think of them.

@sdelfin very happy to talk about Lunar！

I'm prob in the minority, but why I prefer TSS and as long as someone is cool w/ 16-bit RPGs and don't mind a slight graphics downgrade:

A: TSS was dev'd by GA/Studio Alex at the top of the game, and both 16-bits have an intangible magic the shopped-out 32-bits don't have

B: Most ppl I think prefer TSS Ost (which is 99% different because of a studio disagreement).

C: TSS is especially brisk. Game isn't too long, no filler, battles are quick and straightforward, little-to-no-grinding.

D: I am a fan of most aspects of the WD style and prefer the translation in the 16-bits. I don't mean poop or President jokes, I just mean the dialog in general.

TSS has only a little voice acting but it's really good, esp the villain. It sticks with me after all this time! I don't think the acting is great in the 32-bit, it's just fine. 16-bit EB has much better acting too IMO and has a lot of it! Even a few more extras are voiced in 16-bit for some reason.

E: Villain in TSS pulls some hypocritical and evil ***** that they changed. He is humanized/rationalized more in 32-bit which he doesn't ultimately need for reasons I won't spoil.

F: Lunar 1 and 2 have some different scenes and things between the versions. Some of the adds are cool, but I prefer the extra/different stuff in the 16-bits generally.

G: EB is a 16-bit showcase on the SEGA CD, and it's just kind of another RPG in 32-bit.

So that's just my take. I'd say whichever ver you're able to try go for it.

@axelhander I'm glad people love what they love, but I played CT finally during the pandemic and it seemed like just another good RPG to me. Lot of cool stuff but most notable RPGs have good stuff. Terranigma ***** blew me away a few years ago so I always try to sing Quintet's praises as well as SEGA.

I know people absolutely jerk it for CT but it's a huge mistake to argue over what's better and sit alone on your hill missing amazing, different experiences.

Anytime someone talks about CT as like the 16-bit pinnacle I can't help but wonder if theyve played Lunar Eternal Blue for instance (shrug).

What I love about Lunar/PSIV/Shining Force II is they are so crisp and waste none of the players' time. There are no/few detours to the story in service of "RPG content". It also makes them so brisk to run through, and they've aged so well IMO. I feel like no one was better at unpretentious adventure than SEGA and GameArts.

It is nice to see other people understand you're allowed to have a critical opinion of Chrono Trigger lol

Is there a block function on the comments on TE? I just left Twitter to escape trolls, people are generally respectful and intelligent here so it's pretty disappointing to see it infecting here.

Does down voting a comment into negatives make it go away like reddit?

@TaurusBulba oh really glad you enjoyed it! And no prob. I have been very bad about it the last year ;( so glad I was able to do yours!

I really wish WD had localized PSIV. The game has a lighthearted tone they would have done great with.

I m grateful it came out here but and i was fine with the translation as a kid (besides the errors connecting it to other PS games), but as an adult I did my best to update the script, fix references, add stuff from the creators' notes, and use TCRF's retranslation.

We ve had tons of feedback and refinement so I feel like it's complete now, in case anyone hasn't given it a look. Phantasy Star Generation 4 if you ever do.

I love WD but some of Vic's claims are often exaggerated. I wish he'd focus more on helping people play and appreciate their games here and now rather than complain about stuff like this. Releasing a game you hope fails makes no sense even for SEGA.